Watch for ice!

After several days cooped up with the ice and cold conditions, many of us are getting a bit antsy wanting to venture out beyond the confines of our houses.

But as people are getting out they’re also getting hurt.

Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Hurst-Euless-Bedford has been seeing more and more patients of all ages coming in because of falls, said Dr. Adrian Church, a emergency room physician on the medical staff at Texas Health HEB.

“It’s been really busy today; they’ve been holed up waiting and now have the chance to go outside,” he said. “People of all ages are walking out, slipping and breaking bones. We’re seeing quite a variety today.”

When it comes to ice, the best advice comes down to common sense. But as a refresher, Church offered the following tips:

•         Be cautious of icy patches.
•         Be sure you have something to hold on to, for example when walking around the car keep a hand on the vehicle.
•         If you or a loved one has an unsteady gait have someone help guide you.
•         Take smaller steps and don’t rush.

In addition to trying those tips, Church echoes the caution of the past few days in that if you don’t need to go out it’s probably best to stay in and avoid the risk. 

Doctors on the medical staff practice independently and are not employees or agents of the hospital.

How exactly do I install the car seat?

Virginia and her husband

For first time mom Virginia Gonzalez the day when she’ll get to meet her baby boy is almost here.

After taking classes to prepare her for delivery and to learn infant CPR, Gonzalez decided she wanted a bit of extra hands-on training installing the car seat. “I was worried about not doing it correctly based on the video,” said Gonzalez, a nurse at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Hurst-Euless-Bedford. “It’s hard enough just trying to figure out how to work with the stroller and car seat. It’s hard to know if you have it correct.”

So she enlisted the help of Julie Smith, R.N. MS, Child Passenger Safety Technician Instructor at Texas Health HEB. Smith said that most car seats are not installed correctly, which can be a danger to the baby in the event of a crash.

Through snow and ice, outpatient rehab patients and therapists continue on

Cathy Borne

North Texas welcomed February with rain, snow, sleet and ice, causing most area residents to stay home, especially since area schools closed. But in health care, workers are conditioned to show up regardless of the weather storming outside and those working at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Hurst-Euless-Bedford today were no exception.

In spite of the conditions, 17 dedicated therapists and support staff made it in to the Texas Health HEB Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Center to provide outpatient physical, occupational and speech therapy services to patients. The patients are being treated for a variety of medical conditions and injuries such as low back pain, stroke, frozen shoulder and a displaced finger fracture. I am very proud of the therapy staff for their dedication to their patients and I asked some of them about their reasons for making it to work today. The short version of their answers though is that they knew other coworkers and the patients were counting on them.