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Check out the latest news,  updates and what’s happening from Bonner General Health, general medical news and more!

Red blood cells
Articles

Blood Inflammation Can Cause Several Rare Diseases

By: Kathy Hubbard. When I chose vasculitis as a subject for this space, little did I know that it is the overall term for roughly twenty relatively rare, autoimmune diseases. Hang on while I try to explain what it is, who is affected, and when one should seek medical attention. Simply stated, vasculitis is an inflammation of the blood vessels. Cleveland Clinic explains that “the swelling makes it hard for blood to flow through your affected vessels, which can cause organ and tissue damage.”

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Mock DUI Photo
Articles

The Power of Prevention: Sharon Bistodeau, RN, Educator and Advocate of Mock DUI for 21 Years.

If you’ve been in Sandpoint for any amount of time, you have likely seen this energetic healthcare worker manning a med tent at the Festival at Sandpoint, the CHAFE 150, any run, or fundraising event. She is also a long-time member of the nursing staff at Bonner General Health.
Sharon “Bisty” Bistodeau has also poured countless volunteer hours and some of her own dollars into the Mock DUI at Sandpoint High School.

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Doctor and patient talking
Articles

T.I.A.s May Have Long Term Consequences if Ignored

By: Kathy Hubbard. T.I.A.s. Transient ischemic attacks. Should be called mini-strokes, and many physicians do. The word “ischemic” means that there’s a reduced blood flow to a part of the body. With a T.I.A. it’s the brain that’s affected most likely by a blood clot or by other particles in the blood vessel. “T.I.A. differs from a stroke because it’s temporary – with symptoms usually resolving within an hour but sometimes lasting anywhere from just a few minutes to 24 hours – and it does not cause lasting brain damage,” Yale Medicine’s website says.

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Anxious woman
Articles

Hypochondria, Now Called Illness Anxiety Disorder

By: Kathy Hubbard. People with this disorder often have symptoms that include, “Avoiding people or places due to worry about catching an illness; constantly researching diseases and symptoms; exaggerating symptoms and their severity; high level of anxiety about personal health; obsession with usual body functions, like your heart rate; oversharing your symptoms and health status with others; repeatedly checking for signs of illness, like taking your blood pressure or temperature; seeking reassurance from loved ones about your symptoms or health; uneasiness with healthy body functions, like gas or sweating,” Cleveland says.

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Family Tree in the Healing Garden
Articles

Children’s Healing Garden & Celebration of Life

By: Kathy Hubbard. “The challenge for many people is to speak about their feelings after the death of a child,” Tami Feyen, RN, manager of Bonner Community Hospice said. “If you haven’t gone through it, you can’t imagine what it’s like.” We were talking about the “tree” with the heart-shaped “leaves” that “grows” in the Children’s Healing Garden. This memorial, designed by artist Betty Gardner was installed in 2019 with the idea that people who had lost a child would have a comforting place to come to remember their loved one(s).

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Nurses
Articles

Let’s Celebrate Our Nurses!

By: Kathy Hubbard. I asked long-time BGH nurse, Sharon Bistodeau what the best part of nursing has been for her. She said that first of all she loves the profession. “Helping people is fulfilling,” she said. “You see life from beginning to the end. And nursing can take you anywhere you want to go. I’ve worked on an ambulance, and I’ve worked with ski patrol on the mountain. I’ve worked in just about every department in the hospital, and I’ve loved every minute of it.”

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Woman sick in bed
Articles

How to Know if it’s E. coli or Salmonella

By: Kathy Hubbard. “E. coli and salmonella are both bacteria that can cause food poisoning. If certain strains of either bacterium enter your body, you can become physically ill. Symptoms typically resolve themselves within a week, but if your symptoms persist you will need immediate medical attention.” So, what are they? E. coli (Escherichia coli) is a bacteria that lives in our intestines as well as the intestines of animals. Most E. coli is harmless, but certain strains cause illness through contaminated water or food, making it possible to catch it from infected animals or people.

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Teens sitting outside and talking
Articles

Talk to Your Teen About Testicular Cancer

By: Kathy Hubbard. “As a pediatrician, I find that the typical child begins talking at about one year of age and stops around age thirteen,” Dr. Naheed Alijilani, who practices in Riverside, California, said. “At least that’s what my patients’ parents tell me, when they complain how difficult it is to get teens to open up about anything that really matters.”

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Kid at a playground
Articles

What it Really Means to be “On the Spectrum”

By: Kathy Hubbard. People seem to use the term “on the spectrum” fairly loosely which led me to my favorite research sources. Now after reading about the signs of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) I’ve concluded that at one time or another we might all be described as “on the spectrum.” But most of us aren’t. ASD is a developmental disorder with symptoms that start to appear in a child sometime between birth and three years of age. The Autism Research Institute says that parents may think that the child is going through a phase and will “grow out of it.” But when the behaviors continue, they may begin to think otherwise.

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Articles

Help Us in the Healing Garden!

By: Kathy Hubbard. It’s finally feeling like spring. And you and I both know what that means. It’s time to put away the wooly mittens and get out our gardening gloves. Here’s the dirt. Bonner General Health’s Healing Garden (just north of the hospital) is in need of volunteers to clean up the mess Mother Nature made this winter. Everyone is invited to come down on Saturday, April 12 from 9 a.m. to noon. Bring a rake, a couple of trowels, your neighbor, you know, anything that will make your job easier and don’t forget a hat, and, of course, those gloves.

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Articles

Now is the Time to Talk to Your Teens About Alcohol Use

By: Kathy Hubbard. It’s estimated that there are more than 78,000 alcohol-related deaths in the U.S. each year. That makes alcohol one of the leading preventable causes of death in this country. And according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), alcohol is a significant factor in deaths of those under 21, including deaths from vehicle accidents, homicides, overdoses, falls, burns, drownings, suicide, you name it.

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Articles

Colorectal Cancer Rates Rising for Younger Americans

By: Kathy Hubbard. While the rate of colorectal cancer is declining in those over 65, the astonishing news is that the number of cases is increasing at an alarming rate for Generation Z, Millennials, and Generation X people. These are young adults in their mid-20s to late 50s. And researchers are perplexed as to why. The American Cancer Society’s 2023 report, containing the latest data, tells us that colorectal cancer cases have increased from 11 percent in 1995 to 20 percent in 2019 in adults younger than 55 years old. Thanks to these statistics the ACS lowered the age for recommended colorectal cancer screening from age 50 to 45.

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