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Meritus employees among group who brought man ‘back to life’
When a Falling Waters, WV, man suffered a heart attack, training kicked in for the medical professionals Scotty Bair had just planned on going to the Williamsport Red Men Tribe 84 that Wednesday night for a drawing and to get something to eat. It turned into a harrowing experience that, if not for the presence of several medial professionals that included two Meritus Medical Center clinical educators, could have ended in the Falling Waters, West Virginia, man’s death. “You don’t think about who is where you’re at and why,” Bair said, days later from his room in the Meritus Intensive Care Unit. “But I know one thing. They brought me back to life.” Theda Dofflemyer and Shannon Crilly, both registered nurses who have obtained advanced degrees that allow them to teach nursing curricula, were at the Red Men separately that night, along with an off-duty paramedic and a few other medical professionals. Bair said he doesn’t remember much from the evening, but Crilly said Bair had fallen out of his chair. “He just went down,” Dofflemyer said, adding later that she learned Bair wasn’t having any pain or shortness of breath before the incident. The nurses and medical professionals made their way to him individually and found he didn’t have a pulse. Training kicked in, and each medical professional took on a role in helping to revive Bair. “It was just a calm experience,” Crilly said. “Everyone was calm. We’ve all had experience doing this. We all knew our roles.” Dofflemyer said she asked a waitress if the club had an automated external defibrillator, or AED, which gives electric shocks to the heart to restore its normal rhythm. Moments later, the waitress returned from the kitchen carrying the device. After doing chest compressions and using the AED, they felt a pulse and Bair began to come around. All told, it was about six minutes they worked on Bair. An ambulance arrived and took him to the hospital. “It was like divine intervention that we were all there,” Crilly said. Bair, who said he was to get a pacemaker for his heart after the incident, agreed. “I can’t tell you how thankful I am that even one of them was there,” he said. “Thank goodness they were. They did a good job.” Dofflemyer was glad to hear that Bair was doing better, but said she didn’t feel special for what she did. “I don’t think I did anything that anyone else wouldn’t have done in that situation,” she said.
NEWS & UPDATES
Meritus Health earns recognition from American Diabetes Association
The ADA’s Education Recognition Program certification ensures quality diabetes education and support for people living with diabetes The American Diabetes Association, the nation’s leading organization committed to fighting diabetes, recently announced the recognition of Meritus Health through its Education Recognition Program (ERP). The diabetes self-management education and support service (DSMES) was recognized earlier this month. The ADA’s ERP certificate assures that educational services meet the National Standards for DSMES. The corresponding intervention provided is evidence-based and outcome driven. Services apply for recognition voluntarily and ADA-ERP recognition lasts for four years. “DSMES is an essential part of managing diabetes and is as effective as diabetes medication. Therefore, all people with diabetes benefit from it,” said Barbara Eichorst, MS, RD, CDCES, the ADA’s vice president of health programs. “We applaud Meritus Health for its commitment to providing value-based interventions such as DSMES, maximizing corresponding outcomes, and patient experience.” Meritus director of Community Health and Outpatient Care Management, Beth Fields Dowdell, said the certification aligns with the health system’s goal of improving the health of the community. “Having robust and informative education and support services for those with diabetes and prediabetes is vital to maintaining a healthy population,” Fields Dowdell said. “It provides patients with the tools to care for themselves and manage their diabetes.” According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) National Diabetes Fact Sheet, there are over 38 million people, or 11.6%, of the U.S. population who have diabetes. While an estimated 29.7 million have been diagnosed, unfortunately 8.7 million people are not aware they have this disease. Each day, nearly 3,300 Americans are diagnosed with diabetes. Many will first learn they have diabetes when they are treated for one of its life-threatening complications—heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, blindness, nerve disease, or amputation. Diabetes is the eighth leading cause of death in the U.S.—in 2021, it contributed to 399,401 deaths. The ADA’s Economic Costs of Diabetes in the U.S. in 2022 report confirms diabetes continues to be one of the nation’s most expensive chronic health care conditions with an estimated cost of diagnosed diabetes of $412.9 billion.
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Don’t get sucked in by thyroid supplement fads
Milay Lam, M.D., feels sorry for the thyroid. “The poor thyroid gland is blamed for everything going wrong in somebody’s health,” said the medical director and division chief of Meritus Endocrinology Specialists. Scroll through social media and often you’ll find a health and fitness account hawking some supplement that claims to affect the thyroid and improve your health. “There are non-healthcare people who have taken advantage of the population,” Dr. Lam said. “They prey on people really being desperate.” The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland in your neck that produces hormones that control certain bodily functions, the most important being metabolism. That process is the way your body breaks down food and converts it to energy. Therefore the thyroid is often linked to fatigue and weight-gain. And that, Dr. Lam notes, is how people are being drawn in to diet fads that, in reality, could be harmful. Some supplements contain unregulated chemicals, such as animal hormone, that could cause other side effects such as cardiac arrythmia or bone density loss. “Of course, nobody likes feeling tired. Nobody likes gaining weight,” she said. “But there’s not necessarily a thyroid reason for that.” In fact, it’s difficult to tell from symptoms alone whether someone has something wrong with their thyroid, she said. Often times, instead of hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid) or hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid), the symptoms are caused by some other medical issue. Usually, primary care providers use methods, such as a thyroid function test, to check how well the gland is functioning. Thyroid disease, when it is found, is more common in women than in men. While doctors are finding more incidents of thyroid cancer in the population, the mortality of those with the illness isn’t going up. “It’s one of the ‘good cancers’ in that, nobody wants cancer, but if you were to get cancer, this usually just involves removing all or part of the gland through surgery, not chemotherapy or radiation,” Dr. Lam said. That’s not to say some cancers couldn’t be more aggressive, she warned. “With every disease, you’re going to have a spectrum.” By the age of 70, around 60 percent of the population can have a nodule on their thyroid, which could become cancerous. Usually, patients will find a lump or swelling on their neck. Primary care providers and other health care professionals, such as gynecologists, are skilled at checking the gland in the neck and recommending a course of action. “Most are going to be benign,” Dr. Lam said of the nodules, adding that a visit to the endocrinologist will determine whether to schedule an ultrasound or a biopsy. To learn more about Meritus Endocrinology Specialists and the services they offer, go to meritushealth.com/Endocrinology.
Dr. Maulik Interview with News Talk 103.7 FM
In case you missed it, Meritus President and CEO Maulik Joshi was on 103.7 FM's Drive at 5 with Allison Trobaugh on Tuesday, January 14, 2025. They talked about what Meritus Health has done over the past five years to better serve patients across the community. They also spoke about what's to come in the next five years. Visit https://soundcloud.com/newstalk1037fm/14-january-2025-dr-maulik-joshi-and-meritus-health to hear the interview.
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