Franklin Square Planning Larger Unit For Littlest Patients

Fundraising efforts are underway for a new NICU unit at MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center in Essex.

The hospital wing is small, but so are its patients. The 1,850-square-foot Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center currently cares for around 20 tiny newborns—many attached to feeding tubes and heart monitors and resting in plastic bassinets. Only curtains divide each infant and care area. There are no private rooms and no access to natural light. Despite its size, Franklin Square's NICU has developed a reputation for quality specialized care. It is the only facility in northeastern Maryland to maintain Level III-B status, which allows the hospital to care for babies under 1 pound. It has also been honored for family-centered care by the March of Dimes.  On Tuesday, the hospital kicked off a campaign to …

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Centered on Your Health

Portion Distortion When Eating

Registered nurse Patricia Isennock, community outreach manager at Franklin Square Hospital Center, offers insight on what constitutes a single serving.

With summer nearing its close, many of us begin looking back at our New Year’s resolutions. We think maybe if we’d just gotten to the gym one more day a week (or month), we could have fit into those pants we’ve been saving for when we drop those extra few pounds. We try to eat right and exercise, as we should, but one thing we don’t always consider—but should—is portion control. Caloric Intake Sure, those 100 calorie packs of various snack foods are fun, and what’s 100 calories? Well, consider this: consuming an extra 100 calories daily for a year, without using them up through extra physical activity, can lead to a weight gain of 10 pounds. What does this mean for the individual? • Many women and older adults should limit calorie …

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Centered on Your Health

Weighing in on Childhood Obesity

Franklin Square Hospital Center pediatrician Dr. Harsha Bhagtani offers advice on raising healthy, fit children.

Childhood obesity has received a lot of media attention lately. The spotlight has been focused on First Lady Michelle Obama’s efforts to fight the epidemic, the recent announcement that several fast food chains have agreed to offer healthier items on their kids’ menus, and the idea proposed by one physician, who compared childhood obesity to child abuse and stated in some cases, obese children should be taken from their parents. Most recently, McDonald’s announced an overhaul to their Happy Meals to make them healthier. Childhood obesity is inarguably a growing problem for our nation. It is, without a doubt, a serious health concern. Extra weight puts kids at higher risk for Type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, arthritis, reflux, sleep apnea…

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Vaccines are Key to Good Health

The recent measles outbreak has returned the importance of vaccines to the limelight. Dr. Tia Raglan Medley, pediatrician at Franklin Square Hospital Center, explains why vaccines are important.

Polio, diphtheria, measles – they’re all diseases of the past, right? Wrong. So far this year, 156 confirmed cases of measles have been reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)—triple that of the previous year. In Europe, Africa and Asia, it’s much worse. The majority of U.S. cases were people who had traveled abroad and had not been vaccinated against the disease; half of them ended up in the hospital. Measles is a highly contagious respiratory infection that can cause fever, runny nose, coughing and sneezing, watery red eyes and rashes of small flat spots. Like a common cold, it’s spread very easily through the air when an infected person sneezes or coughs, and it can linger in the air or on surfaces for up to …

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Kicking the Habit for Smoke-Free Living

Nurse Karen R. Polite-Lamma, education specialist at Franklin Square Hospital Center, and a Tobacco Free Baltimore County Coalition member, talks about why now, more than ever, is the time for smokers to kick the habit.

We all know that smoking is bad for your health. Tobacco smoke is full of toxic chemicals and its list of harmful effects is endless: many types of cancer, emphysema, stroke, heart attack, coronary artery disease, high blood pressure and, for women, infertility, premature birth, low-birth-weight babies, miscarriages, early menopause and osteoporosis. In fact, cigarette smoking is the greatest cause of preventable deaths in the United States. Still, a tobacco addiction is just that—an addiction. And even though you know it’s bad for your health, it can be hard to quit. Now comes a reminder that you need to do it for more than just yourself. Baltimore County’s new “Smoke-free Cars and Homes” campaign aims to educate the public on the dangers…

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Walking for the Health of It

Judy Maberry, certified personal trainer at Franklin Square Hospital Center, shares the health benefits of walking and some ways the hospital can help you get moving.

What’s a good way to exercise that is also easy, cheap and something nearly everyone young and old can do to improve their health? Walking! Most experts agree that you should get at least 30 minutes of moderate-level physical activity on most, if not all, days of the week. But you don’t have to buy costly equipment or join an expensive gym. Walking briskly is a simple exercise you can do just about anywhere and at any time of day. And its health benefits are endless. Routine brisk walking can: If you’ve been sedentary for a while—meaning you haven’t exercised regularly in a long time—it’s best to check with your primary care physician or nurse practitioner first and then begin slowly. Don’t aim for a marathon right away. Start by walking …

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Preventing Injuries from Man’s Best Friend

With dog attacks in the news and summer on the way, Dr. Ravi Aloor, reconstructive and cosmetic surgeon at Franklin Square Hospital Center, offers timely advice on dog bite prevention.

Americans own 73 million dogs, and many consider them a part of the family. They provide companionship, entertainment and protection. But “man’s best friend” bites more than 4.7 million people a year. More than half of them are children. And every 40 seconds someone seeks medical attention for a dog bite. The annual cost of medical treatments for dog bites total $165 million. Dog bites can leave you physically and emotionally scarred for life. But many are preventable. As a reconstructive and cosmetic surgeon, I’ve seen my share of serious injuries from dog bites. While some bites—particularly those to the face, nose and eyelids—are severe enough to require plastic surgery, any dog bite can cause an infection or scarring. While most adults…

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