Blog Posts in 2014

Physician Assistant Julia Alexander Joins CVFM - Southeast Catawba

HICKORY, NC – Dec 15, 2014 – Catawba Valley Medical Group (CVMG) announced today that Julia Nell Alexander, PA-C, MSHS has joined its experienced team of providers at Catawba Valley Family Medicine – Southeast Catawba in the Denver area. Alexander is a certified Physician Assistant, who attended Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she was chosen as a Winter-Cohen Family ...

CVMC Receives Excellent Patient Experience Award

Catawba Valley Medical Center (CVMC) has been named a 2014 Guardian of Excellence Award winner by Press Ganey Associates, Inc. The award recognizes top-performing health care facilities that consistently achieve the 95th percentile of performance in Patient Experience metrics. “This national award represents the outstanding commitment and patient-centric culture our staff embodies,” ...

Why Seniors LOVE the Fitness Plus Pool at CVMC

We have all heard the term “move it or lose it.” However as we age, many individuals have ailments that limit their ability to move freely. For these individuals, the pool may be their only option for exercise or therapy. When you get into a pool, your body becomes buoyant which takes the stress of your weight off of your joints allowing you to exercise for longer periods of time. The ...

My Story: Childbirth at CVMC Was Like "Checking into a 4-star Hotel"

Now a Family of Five, Thompson Family is Complete Although Lenoir resident Tina Thompson had experienced the miracle of childbirth with her three younger children, she considers the birth of her fourth child, two-month old son Ricky, the “absolute best experience of her entire life.” Tina and husband William were ecstatic about the family’s experience at the CVMC Center for Women ...

Fun Indoor Activities for Kids this Winter

Don’t let the winter chill keep your children from staying active this season. Physical activity is necessary for a child’s physical and mental development, and will help create healthy habits into adulthood. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend children get 60 minutes or more of physical activity every day. This may sound like a lot, but children do not have to get ...

Dr. Schultz Joins CVMC Center for Wound Healing and Hyperbarics

HICKORY, NC – Dec 10, 2014 — Catawba Valley Medical Center (CVMC) has announced the addition of Curtis Schultz, MD to its panel of advanced wound healing providers at the CVMC Center for Wound Healing & Hyperbarics. Dr. Shultz has been practicing family medicine for more than 30 years. “We are excited to have Dr. Schultz join our growing team of wound care specialists,” ...

New Guidelines Encourage Screening for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms in Men With a History of Smoking

There is a new recommendation on screening adults age 50 years and older for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) for people who don’t have symptoms of AAA. After reviewing the evidence, the Task Force issued varying guidance for men and women according to their smoking history. A one-time screening with an ultrasound is recommended for men ages 65 to 75 who currently smoke or have smoked 100 ...

Catawba Valley Imaging Designated ACR Breast Imaging Center of Excellence

HICKORY, NC – Dec. 3, 2014 – Catawba Valley Medical Center (CVMC) announced today that its breast imaging center, Catawba Valley Imaging, has been designated a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence by the American College of Radiology (ACR). The Breast Imaging Center of Excellence status recognizes CVMC’s achievements in mammography, stereotactic breast biopsy, breast ultrasound ...

Coming Soon! More Volunteer Opportunities at CVMC

CVMC patients resoundingly praise our team of caregivers for providing the utmost care to our patients, by doing whatever it takes to meet each patient’s needs. Our new gift shop, scheduled to open in January, is a result of the responsibility our entire staff takes in providing an overarching quality of care to patients as well as their family and friends. Any hospital stay can be a ...

Give the Gift of Fitness to Someone You Love

Soon a New Year will punctuate the holiday season! Many people set resolutions to get started on a fitness program. However, nothing could derail your good intentions faster than an injury. Not all injuries can be prevented, of course. But taking precautions can help reduce your risk of injury and let you enjoy your newfound activity all the more. Marcus Osborne, CVMC Director of Fitness Plus and ...

Dixon Hucks: I was having a HEART ATTACK, not Indigestion!

“It was early morning last August when I was awoken by what I thought to be indigestion,” Dixon Hucks remembers. The “indigestion” turned out to be a heart attack. Hucks suffered cardiac arrest while at home. Emergency personnel provided initial resuscitation and transported him to the Emergency Department at CVMC. Following rapid stabilization, therapeutic hypothermia (TH) ...

Parents are Key in Fight Against Childhood Obesity

Childhood obesity has exploded over the last few decades. Estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) say the rate is now double or triple what is was in the 1980’s. Today the percentage of children who are overweight or obese is approaching 20 percent, according to government statistics. Obesity is the #1 health concern ...

Dr. Griggs Joins Catawba Valley Vascular Surgery

HICKORY, NC – Sept 17, 2014 Catawba Valley Medical Group (CVMG) announced today that Christopher Griggs, DO has joined the practice of Catawba Valley Vascular Surgery, adding to its experienced team of providers at 1899 Tate Boulevard, Suite 2106, in Hickory. In his role with Catawba Valley Vascular Surgery, Dr. Griggs joins Gary McDougal, MD in serving patients with advanced technologies ...

You Have Diabetes, Now What?

November is National Diabetes Month. Diabetes is a serious disease that affects the body’s ability to produce or respond properly to insulin, a hormone that allows blood sugar to enter the cells of the body and be used for energy. An estimated 16 million Americans have diabetes; it is the sixth-leading cause of death by disease in the U.S. – and it has no cure. It is the ...

Dry Needling Offers Fast Relief for Physical Therapy Patients

Physical Therapy is preformed using a variety of therapeutic techniques that are intended to decrease recovery time and improve a person’s mobility, functionality and quality of life. Trigger Point Dry Needling (TDN) is one little-known technique used- and though it sounds intimidating Matt O’Neill PT, DPT, OCS, CEAS I, a physical therapist at CVMC’s Center for Rehabilitation, ...

Carolyn Brown: A New Hip and I Went Home The Same Day!

For more than 10 years, Carolyn Brown lived with intense pain after injuring her hip in a sledding accident. Gradually, the pain grew more intense and began interfering with her sleep and her work. At 56, Brown was finding it difficult to stand or walk for extended periods of time, making the long shifts required by her job as a registered hospital-based nurse excruciating. She found no relief ...

Enterovirus D68: Another Reason to Wash Your Hands Often!

This year, enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) is unusually prevalent. This year the number of confirmed cases is much greater than reported in previous years. In general, infants, children, and teenagers are most likely to get infected with enteroviruses and become ill. That’s because they do not yet have immunity (protection) from previous exposures to these viruses. According to the CDC, this is the ...

Join American Cancer Society's Great American Smokeout

On Thursday, Nov. 20, people who want to quit smoking can visit CVMC’s Health First Center at Valley Hills Mall and Comprehensive Cancer Center, along with all 10 of the Catawba Valley Family Medicine (CVFM) practices, to get information to help them with their goal. This event encourages smokers to give up their cigarettes for a day in the hopes of inspiring them to become full-time ...

Kathy and Jenna's Touching CLIMB Story Featured in HDR

Breast Defense Against Cancer? Routine Screenings + Self-Exams for Women & Men

Breast cancer affects both men and women. As with most cancer, early detection is your best defense, therefore self-examinations and regular professional screenings are imperative. The American Cancer Society encourages us to become more familiar with our bodies so that we are more alert of any changes that might occur. In other words, get to know your breasts by preforming self-exams regularly. ...

Jenna Helps Her Grandmother with Skills Learned at PALS & CLIMB Cancer Support Groups

In 2005, Kathy Wood was ecstatic to learn she would soon be welcoming a new grandchild. However, during her daughter’s pregnancy, she was hit by devastating news – at the age of 46, she was told that she had Stage 4 metastasized colon cancer. Since her granddaughter’s birth, she has had non-stop chemotherapy treatments, lost her hair four times and the cancer has now spread to ...

Eve Agee Heals a Stubborn Wound

Two major abdominal surgeries left Hickory native Eve Agee with a large wound on her abdomen that was resistant to healing. The 14 by 20-inch wound cycled through periods of apparent healing, but then it would plateau, regress, drain continuously and become septic. The area was tender and inflamed. What’s more, Agee, who had been widowed for years, was in the beginning stages of a new ...

How Gastric Bypass Transformed Roger Whisnant

“Super Morbidly Obese”- the term used to describe Roger Whisnant on the medical record given to him by his family doctor. As weeks passed Roger found himself still haunted by those words and decided to discuss it with his doctor. Weighing 488 lbs, Roger was at high risk of death. He knew it was time to take control of his life. Roger’s next step: “weighing his ...

Dedicated to Treating Failing Hearts

Chronic Heart Failure (CHF) is often the result of cardiovascular disease that has weakened the heart over time. The annual number of deaths directly from CHF is increasing, and it’s the most common diagnosis in hospital patients age 65 years and older. While there is no cure for CHF, many patients live with the condition. A progressive cardiac illness, CHF occurs as the heart’s ...

CVMC Receives Women's Choice Award® for Outstanding Overall Patient Experience

HICKORY, NC – September 3, 2014 —Catawba Valley Medical Center (CVMC) has received the 2014 Women’s Choice Award for being voted one of America’s Best Hospitals for Patient Experience by women for the third consecutive year. This distinction is the only award that identifies the country’s best healthcare institutions based on robust criteria that consider female ...