You are here

Home » News

Blanchard Valley Health System

Weekend doctor: What is osteoporosis?

Who is at risk? How can it be prevented?
Posted by Fred Steiner on Saturday, June 13, 2020

By Leah Eiden, MD
Family Medicine
Bluffton Primary Care
If anyone has ever told you to “Go out there and break a leg,” hopefully you didn’t think they were advising you to fall and fracture, but realized they were using an idiom to wish you good luck during a performance.

Your family doctor does not want you to break a leg, hip or any of your bones. In fact, we would like to help you prevent fractures if at all possible. Thus, our interest in osteoporosis.

»

Bluffton Hospital will allow one visitor at a time

Also in effect for Blanchard Valley Hospital, Findlay
Posted by Fred Steiner on Friday, June 5, 2020

Effective June 3, Blanchard Valley Health System (BVHS), including Bluffton Hospital, will allow one visitor at a time for most patients. Daily visitation hours will be from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. 

One designated visitor, age 16 or older, will be permitted to accompany inpatients at all BVHS locations as well as accompany patients to clinic appointments. 

Patients may have a guest accompany them for outpatient and testing services as well, however BVHS encourages guests to wait in their vehicle. Once a visitor leaves for the day, re-entry is not permitted. Visitors and guests will not be allowed in areas such as nursing home facilities and Orchard Hall (behavioral health).

»

Mid-week doctor: A couple reminders about hand hygiene

When practicing hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette, you are not only protecting yourself, you are taking measures to protect others
Posted by Fred Steiner on Wednesday, May 27, 2020

By Colleen Abrams, Infections Preventionist
Blanchard Valley Health System
Proper hand hygiene is the number one way to prevent the spread of infection, any time of the year. This is particularly important during winter months.

According to the Ohio Department of Health, this flu season alone, there have been over 5,400 influenza-related hospitalizations in Ohio. You can take measures to prevent illness at any time of the year by taking the following minimum measures every day:

»

Weekend doctor: The rise of spring allergies: Fact or fiction?

Posted by Anne Pannabecke... on Saturday, May 23, 2020

By Maria Slack, MD, MMSc

This spring allergy season could be the worst yet, or at least that is what you might hear or be feeling. Every year is particularly bad for allergy sufferers, but are spring allergies this year really worse?

While it’s true that allergies are on the rise and affecting more Americans than ever, each spring isn’t necessarily worse than the last. The prevalence of allergies is surging upward, with as many as 30 percent of adults and up to 40 percent of children having at least one allergy.

There are many events that can help predict how bothersome the spring allergy season will be and why allergies are increasing:

»

BVHS joins Mayo Clinic in convalescent plasma transfusion

For treatment of patients with COVID-19
Posted by Anne Pannabecke... on Thursday, May 21, 2020

Blanchard Valley Health System (BVHS) has been accepted and registered as a participating site in Mayo Clinic’s Expanded Access Protocol for Convalescent Plasma Program for treatment of patients with COVID-19.

Researchers believe that convalescent plasma (CP), which refers to blood plasma collected from people who have recovered from COVID-19, may help patients with advanced illness from COVID-19. The antibodies in the plasma may have the ability to help patients fight the virus and recover more quickly.

»

Bluffton Hospital will test all patients coming for scheduled surgeries, procedures

Change from previous practice
Posted by Fred Steiner on Tuesday, May 19, 2020

Bluffton Hospital has initiated COVID-19 testing for all patients coming to the hospital for scheduled surgeries and procedures. 

This is a change from the previous practice of testing only those exhibiting symptoms of the disease and referred by their primary care physicians.

The hours of operation for pre-surgery and procedure swabbing at Bluffton Hospital follows:
• Mondays through Fridays – 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Weekends – 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

Persons need to contact their physician to schedule a pre-surgery or procedure swabbing.

»

Pages