tgc care news January 2016 Welcome to the first edition of TGC Care News, a newsletter for the patients of Texas Gulf Coast Medical System.

Transcription

1 tgc care news January 2016 Welcome to the first edition of TGC Care News, a newsletter for the patients of Texas Gulf Coast Medical System. Our goal is to bring you helpful and timely information to better manage the healthcare needs of you and your family. The content may vary each month but will usually include information about our doctors and staff, upcoming patient education programs, and news about our practice. We welcome your suggestions and ideas to make this newsletter more worthwhile for you. You can your thoughts to us at newsletter.editor@gulfcoastmed.com. Thank you for allowing us to serve you and we look forward to seeing you in one of our convenient locations. Randal Straach Executive Director

2 meet our newest physicians DR. AMRO EL FEKI Dr. Amro El Feki is our new neurologist at Texas Gulf Coast and we are excited to have him here. Dr. El Feki completed an Internal Medicine internship and a Neurology Residency at the University Of New Mexico School Of Medicine, and completed a Neurophysiology Fellowship (EMG/EEG track) at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Prior to joining us at Texas Gulf Coast, Dr. El Feki served as the Director of the Muscular Dystrophy and ALS Clinic, the Director of the EMG lab, and the Director of the Botox Clinic for Chronic Migraine at Unity Point Clinic in Des Moines, Iowa. Dr. El Feki specializes in neuromuscular diseases such as peripheral neuropathy, muscular dystrophy, and myasthenia gravis, in addition to other neurologic conditions. He specializes in epilepsy, seizure disorders, and the treatment of chronic migraines with Botox. He is dual Board Certified in Neurology and Neuro-Physiology. Some of the procedures that he performs include EMG, EEG, continuous video EEG, Epilepsy Monitor Unit (EMU), and pre-surgical work up for epilepsy surgery. Dr. El Feki s personal achievements include: publications in Epilepsy Behavior and Gastrointestinal Endoscopy medical journals, the Teaching Excellence Award in 2009 and the Best Resident of the Year Award in 2010, presented by the Neurology Department of the University of New Mexico. He is an active member of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) and the American Epilepsy Society (AES). Dr. El Feki is additionally an active member and speaker of the Epilepsy Foundation s Epilepsy Support Group. We are honored to have Dr. Amro El Feki join us. DR. WENTONG PAN Dr. Wentong Pan is our newest endocrinologist here at Texas Gulf Coast and we are delighted to have her as part of our team. Dr. Pan is Board Certified in Internal Medicine as well as Endocrinology including Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine and her fellowship in Endocrinology at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas. Dr. Pan has been working for over 15 years in the field of Endocrinology. Her interest in Diabetes led her to work at UT Southwestern in Dallas, Texas. While there, she had the opportunity to study the pathogenesis of obesity and islet/pancreas failure. One of Dr. Pan s personal achievements includes being the primary author in the study of Metabolic Consequences of ENPP1 Over-Expression in Adipose Tissue, published in the American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism in August In addition to managing diabetes and thyroid disorders, Dr. Pan is also board certified to treat any of the various disorders of the endocrine system. She is fluent in multiple languages including Mandarin and Cantonese. Dr. Pan currently resides in the Clear Lake area with her husband and two children. Welcome Dr. Wentong Pan!

3 Patient Education Seminars at bay area regional medical center BARMC offers a variety of FREE seminars located on the 2 nd floor conference room of the hospital. Again the seminars are FREE but registration is required. In order to register you can contact Abbey Lee at or you can her at alee@barmc. us. You can also find more seminar information on the website by going to Click on resources and then click on calendar. Here are some upcoming seminars that we look forward to seeing you at! Thursday, February 4 12 noon lose weight and gain life with surgical weight-loss The Heart Fair is a free event offering education and screenings that matter for your heart. Bay Area Regional will provide screenings such as blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose and BMI so you can complete a Health Risk Assessment to see your risk for heart and vascular disease. Screening appointments must be made in advance by calling upcoming grand opening of our women s imaging center Thursday, February pm

4 go red for women a n d aha national heart month Celebrate National Wear Red Day with Go Red for Women in order to help save women s lives from fatal heart disease Friday February 6, Heart disease remains the number one killer of women. It is estimated that one woman per minute dies from this serious disease. The American Heart Association s (AHA) Go Red for Women Movement advocates for more research regarding women and heart disease since the symptoms of heart disease in women vary from woman to woman and are different than the symptoms of heart disease in men. This is why heart disease in women is often referred to as the silent killer as warning signs can at times be difficult to recognize. To learn more facts regarding heart disease in women, you can visit There are many contributing factors that can increase a woman s risk for heart disease. Some of these include but are not limited to: high blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, weight, and physical inactivity. There are many ways to get involved in order to join the fight against heart disease in addition to National Wear Red Day which can be found on the website mentioned above. Living healthy starts by making healthy choices. Finding healthy ways to manage stress, choosing healthy foods, and getting plenty of exercise are all excellent ways to prevent the onset of heart disease.

5 Women s Imaging Center To better serve our patients and community, Texas Gulf Coast has merged its mammography service into the Bay Area Regional Women s Imaging Center opening in late January. The center will be located on the first floor of our main clinic at 250 Blossom Street in Suite 160. Our patients will have convenient access to the most advanced breast imaging and women s health diagnostic equipment available, including 3D technology which delivers a greater accuracy screening and detects cancer earlier. A Grand Opening is scheduled for January 28th from 6:00 to 8:00pm. We hope to see you there. The Women s Imaging Center will provide the following services: Screening Mammogram Bone Density Screening Diagnostic Mammogram Breast Ultrasound A doctor s order is not required for a screening mammogram. To schedule your mammogram, call Please join us for the Grand Opening on February 11 from 6 to 8pm. Beating Post Holiday and Winter weight gain Most of us enjoyed our holiday season with lots of food, family, and friends. And with the winter temperatures being cooler, especially in the evening, it is tempting for us to curl up on the couch and eat comfort foods after a long day. It s normal to gain a little weight in the winter so be gentle on yourself. However; making a habit of indulgence on a regular basis is not good for our health in the long run. Here are some simple ways you can battle the winter bulge and incorporate some healthy new habits for yourself in this New Year. Get at least 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise at least 3 days a week. Walking, jogging, running, biking, hiking, kayaking, swimming, and dancing are all excellent choices. Eat more leafy greens or make yummy green smoothies. Control your portions. I know that s easier said than done. However; if you try drinking a full glass of water before you have your meal, it helps to cut down your appetite so you end up not eating as much food. If you are interested in learning about surgical weight-loss options, please visit or join us for a free seminar at Bay Area Regional Medical Center.

6 w e wa n t t o h e a r f r o m y o u Texas Gulf Coast is proud to have been designated by the Texas Medical Foundation Health Quality Institute for the Texas Physician Practice Quality Improvement Award. This award is given to physician practices that have demonstrated excellence in health care quality by striving to meet national health care priorities as designated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. However, we want to go beyond those standards. Your feedback and input is essential to our goal of continuously improving the quality of our services. We welcome your comments either in person when visiting our offices or online by ing patient.care@gulfcoastmed.com. You can also offer suggestions for future newsletters by sending them to the same address. We wish you a healthy and prosperous proud affiliate of