Archive for category: Adult Medicine

June 27 is National HIV Testing Day, as proclaimed by HIV.gov, an agency of the federal government, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Since 1995, the federal government has recognized this day each year to encourage everyone age 15 and up to get tested for HIV, learn your status, and get linked to care and treatment.

This annual promotion is part of a national goal to achieve a 90 percent reduction in new HIV infections by 2030 – to effectively end the HIV epidemic in the United States.

“This goal is achievable if we all take steps to get tested for HIV,” said Dr. Naiomi Jamal, Chief Health Officer for Swope Health. “Swope Health supports this national effort and encourages everyone age 15 and older to get tested. This screening is simple and can occur during your regular examination, or by appointment, at any Swope Health clinic.”

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an independent volunteer group of national experts in preventive medicine, has championed the guideline that all persons from 15 to 65 should be tested for HIV.

“Screening for HIV is so important because we are able to detect infection earlier, meaning we can prevent further transmission and provide linkages to the more effective treatments that are now available,” Dr. Jamal said. “This is a practical approach that makes sense for everyone and can improve the health of people nationwide.”

HIV Basics

HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. This is a virus that attacks the cells that help the body fight off infection. Left untreated, the virus can lead to AIDS (which is short for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome). HIV spreads through human contact and bodily fluids, most commonly during sex or injection drug use.

There are about 1.2 million people in the US with HIV, and more than 10 percent of them are not aware they have the virus. HIV can affect anyone, but people of color, especially Black and Hispanic men, continue to be disproportionally affected.

HIV is preventable and treatable, which is why the federal government launched the campaign to eradicate HIV as an epidemic over the course of the next six years.

Take the Test!

Achieving the national goal starts simply – first, by increasing the number of people who are aware of their HIV status. That means encouraging more people to get tested.

The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion says EVERYONE age 15 to 65 should be tested at least once. People with higher risk of infection may need to be tested more often, for example if you:

• Are pregnant
• Have sex with someone who has HIV
• Use drugs with needles (other than prescription medications)
• Have a sexually transmitted disease
• Have sex in exchange for money, drugs or other items

Then what?

If you test negative, your healthcare provider can help you maintain your healthy status. For example, if you are in a relationship with someone with HIV, there are medications to lower your risk of also getting infected with HIV.

Learn more about preventive approaches, including PrEP. (PrEP stands for Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis – a medicine that lessens the risk of getting HIV.)

If you test positive, your healthcare provider can help you with linkages to care, including selecting a treatment option that will work best for you. There is no cure for HIV, but HIV can be managed with regular care, especially with an early diagnosis. Treatment works best when you commit to a schedule including regular medication and doctor appointments.

Learn more about HIV care.

Do you have questions about HIV testing, prevention, or care? Swope Health is here for you. Call 816-923-5800 to make an appointment and get answers.

May 14 kicks off National Women’s Health Week, a special focus designated by the Office on Women’s Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Additionally, the National Cervical Cancer Coalition also recognizes each May as Women’s Health Month, as do other organizations focused on maternal and female health.

At this annual Mother’s Day celebration, Swope Health invites you to join us in championing healthier lives for women, starting with the women in your life. 

Swope Health provides whole-person care for girls and women, covering all aspects of a woman’s life.

“Caring for women means caring for the whole woman, remembering that women’s health is more than only reproductive health,” said Dr. Naiomi Jamal, Chief Health Officer at Swope Health. “When we think about comprehensive health care for women, we include mental health, preventive care like mammograms and cervical screening, management of chronic diseases, family planning, healthy nutrition and exercise, well-woman visits, dental care, pre-natal and post-partum care and more.”

She added: “Women’s health care is whole-person health care.”

The whole-person care approach at Swope Health includes checking on each woman’s social well-being – asking about personal safety, access to food and housing, instances of depression and anxiety, for example. These questions can highlight other elements that play a determining factor in a woman’s overall health.

When any of these answers signal a need, Swope Health’s community health workers are engaged to bring resources to assist. The resources could include transportation assistance, support with obtaining medication, help with nutrition and meals, access to counseling or therapy and even help with employment and housing. The list of services and support is long, and Swope Health’s community health workers can help patients find the best resources for each individual’s situation.

And, knowing that women are often tasked with caregiving for others in a family, Swope Health helps make scheduling and planning health care easier, coordinating appointments for family health and dental visits, for example. Swope Health also provides convenient text reminders to help manage busy schedules.

At all of Swope Health’s clinics, we provide care for women in all stages of their life: adolescence, adulthood and senior years.  Services provided are:

• Pregnancy testing, with walk-in options, no appointment needed
• Prenatal and postpartum care
• Minor surgical procedures
• Comprehensive family planning services
• Preventive education, management and linkage to care for HIV/AIDSand other sexually transmitted diseases
• Preventive services including mammograms, colon cancer screening, chronic disease screening and treatment
• Cervical cancer screening and pap smears
• Overall health assessment and management

Nationally, the annual observance of Women’s Health brings together a range of organizations focusing attention on special health topics for women:

Heart disease: Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women, yet many women don’t recognize the symptoms, which can differ from symptoms in men. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention promotes a program called WISEWOMAN to prevent stroke and heart disease through integrated screening and evaluation for women.

Osteoporosis: This is a disease that causes bones to become weak and break easily. Osteoporosis affects mostly older women, but it is a disease that can be prevented with early action. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recognizes National Osteoporosis Awareness and Prevention Month in May annually.

Women’s Check-up Day: The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion of the Department of Health and Human Services names May 18 at National Women’s Check-up Day. It’s a reminder for women to schedule an annual well-woman visit.

Menstrual Hygiene Day: Nearly a thousand regional, national, and international organizations have joined forces to end the stigma of periods, using May 28 as a day to make menstruation a normal fact of life. The goal is to raise awareness about menstruation and create a world where no one is ever held back because of menstruation.

World No-Tobacco Day: The National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute champion May 31 as the international day to focus on ending tobacco use. A special focus highlights Smokefree Women, which offers a variety of tools to help women plan ways to end tobacco use with medications, counseling, apps and other resources.

Be a champion for women: encourage the women in your life to schedule an annual check-up with Swope Health for comprehensive whole-person care. Call 816-923-5800 to make an appointment.

March 28 is the American Diabetes Alert Day, as named by the American Diabetes Association.

It’s a day to share information about the symptoms and the health risks of diabetes. Swope Health supports this effort, because for us, diabetes prevention, education and treatment are part of our daily work.

Diabetes is a disease that occurs when your blood sugar (or glucose) is too high. Normally your body regulates glucose by producing insulin, which helps glucose get converted into energy in your cells. When your body doesn’t make enough insulin or when your cells become resistant to insulin, the glucose, which comes from the foods you eat, can’t be converted into energy.

There’s no cure for diabetes, but it can be managed and even prevented.

Swope Health launched an innovative program focusing on diabetes prevention and treatment in 2018. The program, piloted at Swope Health Independence, provided a diabetes checklist used with every patient to look for early signs of diabetes-related complications. As the primary diabetes-related issues are kidney disease, blindness and amputations, patients were asked to complete lab tests to evaluate kidney function, have a vision screening, and receive a foot exam at least once a year.

The vision screening occurs on-site, during the patient’s regular visit, using a hand-held device that sends images to an optometrist for review. Patients don’t need to schedule a separate visit to an optometrist.

The focused diabetes checklist is now in use at all Swope Health clinics, said Dr. Naiomi Jamal, Chief Health Officer at Swope Health. In addition, if any uninsured patients have uncontrolled diabetes, Swope Health provides extra support through an assigned Nurse Care Manager.

The Nurse Care Manager checks in regularly with the patient, and provides support for any questions about medications, diet or exercise. In addition, the Nurse Care Manager identifies any issues that might serve as barriers to good health, including other medical needs, lack of access to fresh foods or transportation, and behavioral health challenges. Similar services are offered to Medicaid patients with uncontrolled diabetes through Swope Health’s Primary Care Medical Home program

“The Nurse Care Manager develops specific care plans with each patient,” Dr. Jamal said. “We help our patients set goals and achieve them.”

The program offers promising results in diabetes management: “We tend to have better outcomes with the personalized care of the Nurse Care Manager,” she said.

Diabetes affects more than 9 percent of the population, according to the National Institutes of Health, an agency of the federal government. It affects one in four people over age 65, and often individuals are unaware they have the disease. Left untreated, diabetes can cause serious health problems including heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, eye problems, foot problems, dental disease and nerve damage.

Additionally, more than one in three adults in the U.S. have prediabetes – and most are likely unaware of it. Prediabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is a serious condition when blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not yet high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. Diabetes can be prevented or delayed through lifestyle changes like improving diet, increasing physical activity and stopping smoking.

The state of Missouri’s 2023 Diabetes Report shows that more than 537,000 Missouri residents, age 18 or older, had doctor-diagnosed diabetes in 2021. That’s about 11 percent of the state population. Based on national estimates of undiagnosed diabetes in 3.4 percent of adults, that means there are likely 160,000 Missourians with diabetes who don’t know it.

The report also shows that Jackson County is in the top 25 percent of counties statewide with diabetes.

What can you do for American Diabetes Day? Take a moment to check in with those you love and encourage them to learn about diabetes, through a doctor’s visit that includes a screening. If you are aware of your risk level, you can start to take action to prevent further risk.

Diabetes is often a risk factor for other diseases, including chronic kidney disease and heart disease. Managing your risk starts with being aware.

Call 816-923-5800 to make an appointment at Swope Health. We are here to help you prevent and manage health issues.