Newspapers / InterCom (Durham, N.C.) / June 16, 1978, edition 1 / Page 2
Part of InterCom (Durham, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
CONCERNED ABOUT NUTRITION — Clini cal Dietitian Pat Custer (right) discusses a patient's diet with Annie Taylor, an LPN on Rankin Ward. Custer says that good eating habits are especially important for cancer patients. (Photo by Vic Lukas) Student health service active Nutrition important to patients in cost-control Duke's Student Health Service has ^en awarded a certificate of recognition for voluntary participation in a management information program designed to contain costs and monitor prcxiuctivity. The certificate was given to Duke by Hospital Administration Services (HAS) on behalf of the American Hospital Association. Dr. Dorothy E. Naumann, student health director, said participants in the HAS program submit monthly reports which include such statistics as numbers and kinds of student visits, hours and types of services provided, number of staff, salaries and expenditures for services. HAS computes indicators such as the cost per clinic visit and cost per inpatient day for each participant within a given reporting group. Duke is in a reporting group with other private universities of similar size. For each indicator, the median is established and the range is divided into quartiles. "We can compare each month's data with other months, with a yearly average or the like, as well as with similar ii^itutions," Naumann said. During the academic year 1976-77, the latest for which data is available, Duke fell into the highest quartile for cost to the facility per outpatient visit. Duke's cost Intercom is published weekly by the Office of Public Relations, Duke University Medical Center, Box 3354, Durham, N.C. 27710. Joe Sigler Director John Becton Editor Primary contributors: William Erwin, Comprehensive Cancer Center medical writer; Ina Fried, staff writer; Parker Herring, public relations assistant; Edith Roberts, staff writer; David Williamson, medical writer. Circulation: Ann Kittrell. program per patient day for inpatients, on the other hand, was among the lowest for schools in the same reporting group. Naumann noted that if a school is higher than most in the same group, it could mean one of two things. "It could be because you're providing more services, or it might indicate that costs could be cut," she said. "It's difficult to compare services between institutions, but the reports do provide important guidelines for management decisions," Naumann said. The HAS program, which presently has more than 3,000 participating institutions, was begun for hospitals in 1959. This is the fifth year the program has been extended to colleges through the American College Health Association. Duke has participated for two years. New reference books list The spring 1978 edition of the New Reference Books List has just been issued by the reference department of the Perkins Library. The list contains reviews of 24 new additions to the collection in the Perkins reference area written by seven members of the department. These works cover a wide range of subjects including: Canadian Book Review Annual: Festivals Sourcebook: A Reference Guide: The Futures Directory: Handbook of Internationa! Data on Women: The International Encyclopedia of Higher Education: Encyclopedia of American Agricultural History: The Washington Post Guide to Washington: and World Food Crisis: An International Directory of Organizations and Information Resources. Three dozen other recent publications are cited along with a three-page list of new periodicals and journals now being received in all the libraries of the Perkins system. Among these publications are: Arms Control Today; Creative Computing; Death Education; The Eugene O'Neill Newsletter; History of Photography; Ideologies and Literature; Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law; Nineteenth Century Music; Petroleum Intelligence Weekly; Optical and Quantum Electronics; Sea Technology; and Studio Potter. Copies of the New Reference Books List are available at the Perkins reference desk or by calling 684-2373. (Continued from page 1) Custer said that often the sight or smell of food makes a patient sick. For those people, she suggests such things as cold, rather than hot meals. Eating small amounts but often, can help the patient better tolerate his foods, she said. Patients with cancers of the head and neck have very specific problems, Custer continued. The swelling that often occurs after surgery for treatment of head and neck cancers makes it difficult for patients to eat by mouth. In these situations, the dietitian explained, it is necessary to rely on what is known as tube feeding — a process in which liquid foods are fed to the patient through a tube inserted through the nose, down the back of the throat and directly to the stomach. While the idea may sound unpleasant, tube feeding is relatively painless except for some mild discomfort and gagging when the tube is inserted down the back of the throat. This is usually temporary, she added. If necessary, a permanent tube can be placed directly into the stomach by making a small surgical incision in the abdomen. The patient can feed himself or herself with liquid nutritional supplements or solid foods blended at home by simply pouring them down the tube. This is called gastrostomy feeding. These are all general procedures and suggestions. But Custer works with her patient's individual tastes and preferences, tempting them with what sometimes seems like more choices than the local delicatessen. Her patients can choose from any of four standard menus from the hospital kitchen, in addition to another list of standard "extras." And if she can't coax them with that, she will at times resort to impromptu dishes of her own. For patients whose diets are restricted to liquid foods, Custer recommends nutritionally complete commercial products, called "liquid nutrition." Because of the expense involved, many people prefer to blend solid foods in an electric blender or use baby foods. She has some recipes to recommend for these patients too. Custer keeps up with her patients on an outpatient basis when they come into the clinic for checkups. But, she said, primarily they have to take care of themselves once out of the hospital. How is Custer received by the patients she sees? As the wife of one cancer patient commented recently to her, "You really keep us going." A HANDSHAKE AND A SMILE—Dr. Simon Brody gives a handshake to the 1978 Brody Essay Award winner. Dr. Richard Cytowic. Cytowic, a neurology resident at Bowman Gray School of Medicine, received the award for his essay, "The Neurologic Illness of Maurice Ravel." He presented his essay to a group of interested persons and committee members in the History of Medicine Room of the Seeley G. Mudd Building June 2. Cytowic's essay describes the difficulties French composer Ravel had comprehending musical language when he developed a progressive brain disorder. In the photo below, Brody looks at an exhibit done by Brody Scholar Denis Rackzkowski, standing behind him. The exhibit is on display in the Elon Clark Exhibit Area outside the History of Medicine Room. The Brody Essay and Brody Scholar activities are supported by the Irwin A. Brody Fund for the History of the Neurosciences. The son of Dr. Simon Brody, Dr. Irwin Brody was a Duke neurologist who died in October of 1976. (Photo by Parker Herring)
InterCom (Durham, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
June 16, 1978, edition 1
2
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75