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Emergency on vacation
What would you do?
S
an Antonians love to travel, and summer is the perfect time. If you
plan to travel to Mexico, you can prepare a few things ahead of time
in case of an emergency. Methodist Healthcare provides Medical
Emergency Travel Assistance (META), should you need an emergency
medical transport to one of our world-class hospitals in San Antonio.
META provides the following services:
●
One-call program activation.
●
Medical Emergency Service 2 hours a day, days a week.
●
Air ambulance service.
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Physician specialist secured.
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Hospital admission secured.
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Visit by international department.
●
Care package.
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Follow-up with air ambulance company.
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Follow-up with referring physician.
Tips for you and your emergency contact before you travel:
●
Let your family and friends know where you will be in case they are con-
tacted about an emergency.
●
Record the telephone number for Air Medical in your cellphone and give
the number to family and friends:
001-866-945-8959
.
●
Travel with copies of your ID, your insurance card, a list of your medica-
tions and a list of your allergies.
●
Leave copies of all documents with your family or friends.
●
Leave a signed power of attorney with your family doctor and family.
●
Let your credit card company know where and how long you will be out
of town.
●
Let your medical insurance know where and how long you will be out
of town.
●
Check your international medical coverage and emergency medical trans-
port coverage.
Contact the Methodist Healthcare HealthLine at
210-575-055
to get
your META card to keep on hand in case of medical emergency while you
are traveling out of the country.
According to the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC), sepsis, or septi-
cemia, is a consequence of infection that
is difficult to predict, diagnose and treat.
Because of this and the alarming number
of cases—an estimated 750,000 people
annually in the U.S. alone—Methodist
Healthcare is working to increase aware-
ness by focusing on sepsis prevention and
promoting the prevention of health care-
related infections.
What is sepsis?
Sepsis is the body’s re-
sponse to infection. Normally, the body’s
own defense system fights infection, but
in severe sepsis, the body’s normal reac-
tion goes into overdrive, setting off a cas-
cade of events that can lead to widespread
inflammation and blood clotting in tiny
vessels throughout the body.
The forms of sepsis include severe sep-
sis, which occurs when acute organ dys-
function or failure results; septic shock,
which occurs in severe sepsis when the
cardiovascular system begins to fail so
that blood pressure drops, depriving vital
organs of an adequate oxygenated blood
supply; and septicemia, which is sepsis
that has an infection in the bloodstream
itself.
Sepsis can strike anyone at any age,
although the very old, the very young, hos-
pital patients and people with pre-existing
COREY K I NG AND ARNOLD VARDIMAN , MD
DEEP BRA I N ST IMULAT I ON THERAPY
Corey King gives
Arnold Vardiman, MD,
neurosurgeon, a model
airplane he built, a hobby and exercise in hand-eye coordination
that King is now able to enjoy thanks to undergoing deep brain
stimulation therapy. The therapy, which uses a surgically im-
planted, battery-operated medical device called a neurostimulator,
can stop tremors caused by Parkinson’s disease.
King, chairman of SA MOVES, the San Antonio Movement
Disorder Foundation, was diagnosed with early onset Parkinson’s in
2009 at the age of 47. As King’s medications had to be increased,
he was overwhelmed by the side effects—hallucinations, nausea
and insomnia—that caused him to go 2 to 3 days without sleep.
After Vardiman provided deep brain stimulation therapy, King
needed only half the medications he had been taking, greatly
improving his quality of life and allowing him to return to the
things he loves to do.
Methodist Hospital in San Antonio is one of the leading facili-
ties in the nation for using this therapy as a treatment of advanced
Parkinson’s disease tremors and other movement disorders. King
and Vardiman were two of the more than 150 patients and their
families and friends who attended the first reunion of DBS pa-
tients in April, sponsored by Methodist Hospital and Medtronic.
SEPSIS
A growing health concern
you need to know about
medical conditions such as diabetes or
severe burns may be at greater risk.
Patients who develop sepsis have an
increased risk of complications and death
and face higher health care costs and
longer treatment. The CDC is working to
increase sepsis awareness and improve
treatment among the public, health care
providers and health care facilities.
Signs and symptoms of sepsis
Sepsis
can develop quickly; therefore, the sooner
it is diagnosed and treated, the better. The
most frequent sites of infection leading
to sepsis are the urinary tract, abdomen
and pelvis. In up to 80 percent of patients,
however, a definite source of infection
cannot be identified. Some symptoms
include:
●
Fever and shaking chills.
●
Nausea and vomiting.
●
Diarrhea.
●
Reduced mental alertness, sometimes
with confusion.
●
Altered liver or kidney function.
●
Low blood pressure.
Treatment of severe sepsis
Diagnos-
ing sepsis can be difficult. Some of its
symptoms, such as fever, rapid pulse and
respiratory difficulty, occur frequently
and can be confused as being due to other
disorders. The first line of treatment is
to identify and eliminate the underlying
infection with anti-infection agents, or
surgery to drain the site of infection. De-
pending on the patient’s condition, other
treatment options may be necessary.
N E W S , V I E W S & T I P S
M E T H O D I S T H E A L T H C A R E
S U M M E R 2 0 1 5
K E E P I N G W E L L
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