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New MRI System Enhances Comfort for Patients at Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital

Avocate Good Shepherd Hospital continues to pave a path as a health care leader in the community with the acquisition of a more comfortable and technologically superior MRI scanner.

Beginning August 15, a new Optima MR450w 1.5T MRI system with GEM Suite coil technology from GE Healthcare will be operational and placed in service. This new MR scanner offers dramatically improved comfort, efficiency and will ease anxiety for patients.

“The new MRI room allows for greater comfort with larger tables, increased support for the head and neck and allows for a feet-first imaging to help reduce apprehension,” says Dr. Smitesh Patel, diagnostic radiologist at Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital. “This new MR scanner provides greater flexibility for Good Shepherd Hospital physicians as well as it provides clearer and quicker results with the latest technology.”

Poll: Do you agree with breaking SUV’s windows during N.J. fire response?

Poll: Do you agree with breaking SUV’s windows during N.J. fire response?
A hose runs from a fire hydrant through two windows of a Honda SUV in Pennsauken after crews responded to a house fire on May 27, 2015. (Photo courtesy of Ted Aurig)

Firefighters rushed to a pre-dawn blaze, a fire at a vacant house was extinguished and nobody was injured. Overall, the response by Pennsauken crews could be considered a success.

There’s just one thing: Did they have to break two windows on an illegally-parked car to douse the fire?

“This person made the conscious decision to park in front of the fire hydrant. Windows can be replaced; people cannot,” Pennsauken fire Chief Jospeh Palumbo said.

Firefighters rushed to a pre-dawn blaze, a fire at a vacant house was extinguished and nobody was injured. Overall, the response by Pennsauken crews could be considered a success.

There’s just one thing: Did they have to break two windows on an illegally-parked car to douse the fire?

“This person made the conscious decision to park in front of the fire hydrant. Windows can be replaced; people cannot,” Pennsauken fire Chief Jospeh Palumbo said.

What do you think? Take our poll and sound off in the comments section below.

Gurgaon: Iraqi boy faints during MRI scan, later dies

A 12-year-old Iraqi boy fell unconscious and later died while undergoing tests at a private pathological laboratory in Gurgaon on Monday, police said.
Ahmad Imad Faisal from Baghdad, who could not speak since his birth, had visited Fortis Memorial Research Institute (FMRI)-Hospital on Saturday to seek treatment for his speech. After check-up, a doctor of the hospital recommended MRI tests at an in-house lab, his father Imad Faisal said.
However, Faisal decided to get the tests done at another private lab not attached to the hospital.

The boy fell unconscious during the tests on the same day. His father rushed him back to FMRI hospital where he died during treatment, Ajay Maharaj, vice-president of FMRI said.
Dr Deepak Mathur of Gurgaon Civil hospital said, “We have conducted the post-mortem and no poisonous substance was found. We have sent the viscera for tests to ascertain the actual cause of death.”
The father raised a complaint with the police, though a formal case is yet to be registered.
“We have received a complaint from the deceased’s father, but have not registered an FIR against anyone. Post-mortem was conducted and a preliminary report has been sent to the Embassy of Iraq and the Ministry of External Affairs,” Gaurav Phogat, special house officer of Sushant Lok Police station, said.

Hospice patient gets last wish — sand, sugar and sangria

Carolina Beach Ocean Rescue lifeguard Dan Anderson wheels Ellie Duckett down to the water on Friday at Carolina Beach. Her last wish was to see the beach one more time before she died.
Carolina Beach Ocean Rescue lifeguard Dan Anderson wheels Ellie Duckett down to the water on Friday at Carolina Beach. Her last wish was to see the beach one more time before she died.

CAROLINA BEACH, N.C. —
Ruth “Ellie” Duckette wanted to fulfill her last wish at Carolina Beach as she nears the end of a 20-year battle with breast cancer, the Wilmington Star-News reported.

Her last wish was to be at the beach with friends and family. including her 94-year-old mother. Ellie also had doughnuts from a famous local eatery while drinking sangria.

Ellie enjoyed the doughnuts and the drink common in Spain and Portugal.

Alcohol is just fine and wouldn’t be denied to a hospice patient, her physician told the Star-News.

Paramedics also helped her dip her toes in the ocean for the final time.

“Oh, this is wonderful,” Ellie said.

Ellie will spend her last days as a patient at the Lower Cape Fear Hospice Care Center in Wilmington.

She said that she isn’t afraid to die.

“We are just such a speck of a speck. I don’t take myself too seriously. How can you?” Ellie said in Friday’s Star-News article. “God has a plan. I don’t know what that plan is, but I’m not going to question it.”

Her message is that life is beautiful and death can be beautiful too, especially when surrounded by loved ones.

“At the end of the day, it’s about relationships,” Ellie said. “Love your friends. Hug your friends.

Entire Bentley Fire Department Resigns

The city of Bentley no longer has firefighters stationed within city limits. The fire chief, and the rest of the volunteer fire department resigned Thursday at the city council meeting.

Bentley Fire Chief Donnie Bean, Jr. says the department has been working on a dwindling budget. In a statement, Bean said the 2016 budget was set at $35,000, which was cut to about $29,000 a few months ago. Bean says there had been talk about more cuts for 2017, even mentioning the department have no budget.

Bean says the department does have a need for a budget. Three members had been sharing the same set of gear, because it was the only set that fit them. He says he’s also heard discussion from the city about removing insurance for firefighters to save money.

The town’s mayor says Bentley’s budget problems stem from a 2007 $1.4 million federal loan for real estate development that the town’s been struggling to pay back. He says Bentley couldn’t afford what the fire department wanted.

“Financially, there’s no possible way,” Mayor Rex Satterthwaite said. “I don’t blame them at all, but that’s like major league trying to be in Wichita, we can only afford single A.”

Bean says he never asked the department to resign, it was a decision by the members of the fire department. He cites budget and safety issues as the reason for his resignation.

This doesn’t mean the city is without emergency services. For now, the Sedgwick County station in Maize will respond to all of Bentley’s emergency calls. The county is helping Bentley build another volunteer fire department.

“Sedgwick County is going to be involved to grow it from the beginning,” Mayor Satterthwaite said. “Where we’re the kind of fire department that we can afford, that can still bring the protection to this town that they need.”

The mayor said Bentley will also meet with other small town volunteer fire departments to figure out how to most effectively spend their money.

Police: Firefighter torched old Route 30 motel to stop drugs, sex

Police: Firefighter torched old Route 30 motel to stop drugs, sex
NORTH VERSAILLES, Pa. —An 18-year-old firefighter accused of torching a vacant motel on Route 30 told police he did it because he knew the building was used for drug and sexual activity, and he was “tired of it,” according to a criminal complaint filed Friday.

Allegheny County police identified the suspect as Joshua Wesley McKelvey, a volunteer with United Fire/Rescue Station 135. He was arrested on charges of arson, causing or risking a catastrophe and failure to control or report dangerous fires.

Chief Shane Spielvogle said McKelvey had only been with the department for less than two months.

“Situations like this for a person who was not truly what we would consider one of our brothers, to do something like this, is disgusting to me and makes me physically sick,” said Spielvogle.

No injuries were reported in the fire, which destroyed the former motel at 363 Lincoln Highway in North Versailles on June 25.

“McKelvey explained that he drove to GetGo and purchased about one gallon of gasoline and transported it to Motel 30 in a gas can,” county police said in the complaint. “McKelvey then stated that he parked in the parking lot of Fat Pocket Pawn and walked to the ‘D’ side of the motel’s main building. There, he entered an opened door and began pouring the gasoline about the motel steps and interior. McKelvey then lit the gasoline with a lighter, returned to his vehicle and drove home.”

Police said McKelvey is also suspected of setting a brush fire early Thursday morning on Wall Avenue in Wall.

McKelvey told investigators that he was “not feeling emotionally there” and “wanted to have a fire,” so he drove to a gas station on Route 30 and filled an iced tea carton with gasoline, then drove to Wall Avenue, removed a spare tire from his car, poured the gas on the tire and ignited it with a lighter, according to the complaint.

East McKeesport resident, Joseph Kleppick, said he used to work with McKelvey for two years at the North Versailles Goodwill store.

“I was like oh my god, I never knew, never thought Josh, would do that,” said Kleppick.

McKelvey, of East McKeesport, was being held in the county jail on $10,000 cash bond after his arraignment Friday.

Okaloosa paramedics charged in “selfie competition” using patients

OKALOOSA COUNTY, Fla.

Two Okaloosa paramedics are facing criminal charges after the allegedly engaged in a “selfie competition” involving patients.

“I think it was a sick juvenile game,” said Sheriff Larry Ashley with Okaloosa County.

The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office released new information Thursday concerning a months-long investigation into the Okaloosa County EMS division.

“The good news is that we self-policed,” said Ashley.

Accusations arose in May saying paramedics were taking unauthorized selfies with sedated patients in the back of ambulances then sending them amongst each other as part of a selfie war.

Now, two former employees face charges.

The two suspects, Kayla Renee Dubois, 24, of Navarre, and Christopher Wimmer, 33, of Crestview, allegedly took photos of themselves with 41 patients. Only three of those photos were consensual. Many of the rest were taken while patients were unconscious.

“We do intend to prosecute them vigorously and intend to seek jail time in these cases,” said Bill Bishop with the State Attorney’s Office.

“I can tell you that the victims that we identified and talked to were angry, were frustrated, were hurt,” said Ashley.

The Sheriff’s Office believes no images or videos were shared online or on social media, but they were sent to other EMS and non-EMS personnel. As a result, the county is making serious changes to its phone policy.

“We have banned the use of personal cell phones while in the back of an ambulance,” said John Hofstad, the County Administrator.

In addition, paramedics’ work-provided cell phones are now disabled from taking photos or video.

All the patients in the photos were contacted.

Monmouth Medical Center Names Eric Carney Chief Operating Officer

respiratory

Monmouth Medical Center recently announced the addition of Eric Carney to the facility’s leadership team as Chief Operating Officer (COO). In this position, Carney will be responsible for the oversight of all the clinical and non-clinical departments at Monmouth Medical Center.

He previously served as vice president of operations at Saint Barnabas Medical Center and site administrator for the Barnabas Health Ambulatory Care Center. In this role, he led efforts to develop an ambulatory network by acquiring and transitioning freestanding cardiac imaging sites, sleep laboratories and an infusion center to Saint Barnabas Medical Center, as well as establish an outpatient laboratory network. He also served as project lead for the Cyberknife vault project and was service line leader for Oncology and Neurosciences.

Carney began his career at RWJBarnabas Health more than 20 years ago as a respiratory therapist. In 1997, he was promoted to administrative director of respiratory care at Clara Maass Medical Center in Belleville. Since then, he has served in numerous positions of increasing responsibility across the health system, including administrative director of clinical operations and assistant vice president of clinical operations at Union Hospital and assistant vice president of ambulatory services at Saint Barnabas Medical Center.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in management science from Kean University and is working on a master’s of Healthcare Administration through Johns Hopkins University. He is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
He is a resident of Howell.