Continuum: A Healthcare Podcast Continuum

An Introduction to Sepsis

Approximately one in every three patients who die in a hospital had sepsis. But what is sepsis? What do we know about it and what have we yet to figure out?

In this episode of Continuum, we’re joined by Mandy Bodily-bartrum and Valerie Pasnau. Mandy is the vice president of infection prevention at Vibra Healthcare and Val is Vibra’s vice president of clinical education and operations.

Mandy and Val provide an explanation of what sepsis is and how it is identified and treated. Most importantly, they discuss how sepsis is prevented, which includes a high level of attention being placed on antibiotic stewardship.

Resources

What is Sepsis?

Infection Prevention in Hospitals

Antibiotic Stewardship Programs

CDC: Sepsis

Sepsis Alliance

Though the elderly and those with preexisting conditions are the most vulnerable to COVID-19, the virus can strike even the most unsuspecting. Just ask Gerry Hernandez, an otherwise-healthy 39-year-old Mayor Pro Tem from Adelanto, CA.

In this episode of Continuum, Gerry joins us to discuss his battle with the virus.

Gerry shares what his life was like prior to his hospitalization and the challenges of being hospitalized during a pandemic, which kept him separated from his loving family. He also discusses the current stage of his recovery, inpatient rehabilitation at Ballard Rehabilitation Hospital.

Resources

The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention: COVID-19

Johns Hopkins: What is Coronavirus?

Google COVID-19 Resource Library

In this episode, we discuss the coronavirus with Mandy Bodily-bartrum and Darla Perdue, the two individuals leading the way in protecting the patients of Vibra Healthcare & Ernest Health from the virus. Mandy & Darla provide some background on the coronavirus and address some of the hysteria currently circulating the internet, including:


Did coronavirus spread to humans because someone ate a bat?
Is the coronavirus a plague?
Has the coronavirus mutated?
Coronavirus vs. the flu
Is coronavirus curable?



Our Guests

Mandy Bodily-bartrum, DNP, NPH, RN, CIC, FAPIC is the vice president of infection prevention at Vibra Healthcare.

Darla Perdue, MSN, RN is the chief clinical officer at Vibra Healthcare.



Quotable

“People don’t really realize how many people touch a door handle in a day” -Darla

“When you hear about high-touch surfaces being focused on in at a hospital level, it really is something that you should be focusing on in your own homes, as well.” -Darla

“The media has created quite the hysteria, unfortunately” -Darla

“If you wash your hands, if you focus on the cleanliness of your environment, you’re going to reduce your possibility of being exposed to any infection significantly.” -Darla

“[The coronavirus is] something to be cautious about…but not necessarily to get too panicked about.” -Mandy

“There’s still a lot of unknowns about the coronavirus, just because it is such a novel virus that we are seeing.” -Mandy

“When you’re talking about general symptoms, they are very similar to the flu” -Mandy

“Unfortunately, right now we don’t have a general test that’s available for commercial labs, so you can’t just go to your doctor…and in five minutes know if you have COVID-19 or not” -Mandy

“The biggest element of protection is hand hygiene and cough etiquette” -Darla



Here’s a list of resources mentioned in the episode:

World Health Organization: QA on coronaviruses (COVID-19)

CDC: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)



For more information on infection prevention, how to properly wash your hands, and other important topics, be sure to check out Continuum: A Healthcare Blog and subscribe to Continuum: A Healthcare Podcaston your favorite platform.

When our veterans transition from active duty to life as a civilian, they often face an even tougher opponent: depression and anxiety. Unfortunately, this is a battle that is often lost, with 22 veterans committing suicide each day. But one organization is working hard to change that.

On this episode of Continuum, Dr. Diego Hernandez, the Clinical Director of ART Research and Dr. Carlos Garcia, a licensed psychologist, Marine combat veteran, and first responder, join us to discuss the mental health challenges many of our veterans face. Dr. Hernandez and Dr. Garcia work with HOOAH, a 100% volunteer organization dedicated to helping our veterans.

The doctors share sobering statistics regarding the mental health crisis our veterans face and explain why the transition from service to civilian life can be so challenging. They discuss emerging therapies that are providing relief to service members, how HOOAH is working to connect veterans with that relief, and how civilians and veterans can work together to end the stigma surrounding mental health.

Learn more about HOOAH and the V22 campaign at victoryfor22.org

When a person is critically ill and cannot breathe on their own, they are placed on a mechanical ventilator. Commonly referred to as “life support,” ventilators breathe for the patient. Weaning a patient from a ventilator is a complex process that has been greatly improved through the use of state-of-the-art technology.

On this episode of Continuum, Dr. Albert Loerinc, a pulmonologist and Vibra Healthcare’s National LTAC Medical Advisor, joins us to discuss respiratory failure and ventilator weaning. Dr. Loerinc is double board certified in Internal Medicine and Pulmonology and is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American College of Chest Physicians.

Dr. Loerinc explains what a pulmonologist does and the role of a long-term acute care hospital in weaning a patient off a ventilator. He reviews how technology has progressed from iron lungs to modern ventilators, including a state-of-the-art piece of technology called volumetric capnography.

Aphasia is a communication disorder that results from an injury to the brain. Though about two million Americans are living with it, very few know what aphasia is.

On this episode of Continuum, Nichole Reynolds of US Physical Therapy, Inc. joins us to discuss aphasia. Nichole holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence for Speech-Language Pathologists.

Nichole explains the basic types of aphasia and how they can affect a person’s ability to communicate. She explains how a speech-language pathologist diagnoses and treats aphasia and offers tips for communicating with an aphasic individual.