Checkup

Vital signs

Get Out and Stay Out!

Dear Readers,

As reported elsewhere in this issue of Checkup, construction continues on schedule for an early 2008 opening of our new hospital. Linking our outpatient and inpatient activities under one roof, the hospital will be an aesthetically pleasing and technologically advanced combination of form and function. The point of this essay, however, is to help keep you as far away from Mayo Clinic Hospital as possible.

If you do require admission to the hospital, your first goal should be to get out as quickly you can. Hospitals can be dangerous places. A much-publicized report from the Institute of Medicine estimates that each year tens of thousands of Americans suffer harm — even death — from errors such as medication mix-ups. Even if every step in your course of care goes flawlessly (which, of course, is our goal), your chance of getting a serious infection goes up significantly the longer you are an inpatient because the germs that inhabit hospitals tend to survive by developing resistance to standard antibiotics. Another problem is that patients sometimes become disoriented in unfamiliar surroundings, resulting in falls or other injuries. A hip fracture in an elderly patient can be deadly: the resulting immobility may lead to blood clots or pneumonia. And a Mayo Clinic study has shown that hospitals, in which work occurs around the clock, can be distressingly noisy and unrestful environments. So when your doctor informs you that you're ready to be discharged, resist the temptation to wait around for one more delicious breakfast in bed: get out of there and head for home immediately.

Once you've escaped from hospital confinement, stay out! Here are a few tips that might help. First, QUIT SMOKING unless you believe that heart disease, lung problems, cancer, visual loss, infertility, osteoporosis, complications from pregnancy, and squandering money are desirable. If you need help, Mayo Clinic's smoking cessation programs are among the best. For more information, please go to: www.mayoclinic.org/stop-smoking.

Eat well, but intelligently. Drink moderately if you wish, but, again, intelligently. Exercise at least 30 minutes daily: watch the news from an exercise bike or — my favorite, a cross country ski machine — rather than from your easy chair. Determine a suitable body weight goal with your physician and develop a workable plan to achieve it.

Plan ahead; be proactive with your health. Make sure that your vaccinations are current. Contracting tetanus or hepatitis can put a serious crimp in your vacation plans. Take advantage of screening tests for high blood pressure, cholesterol imbalance, diabetes, glaucoma, dental problems, and cancer of the prostate, breast, and colon. (I underwent my first colonoscopy recently and found it to be less stressful than going to the dentist. If you're avoiding this examination because of apprehension, DON'T.) To see what screening tests are appropriate for your age, please see the following link: www.mayoclinic.com/health/healthscreening/WO00112.

Finally, live smart. Wear sunscreen and a broad-brimmed hat. Use eye protection. Fasten your seatbelt. And get rid of the motorcycle or, at the least, wear a helmet. Adherence to all of the above directives won't counteract genetic tendencies toward certain diseases, but they will go a long way toward enhancing your health and well-being. Although our new hospital will be second-to-none, let's work together to help you get out and stay out.

Sincerely,

George B. Bartley, M.D.
Chief Executive Officer