Dan Simmons, respiratory therapist at the Bond Center, was doing a routine check of a portable oxygen concentrator at a patient's home when he noticed that she was faint in color. He checked her oxygen saturation and her heart rate, both were uncharacteristic for someone who had only gotten up to answer the door. Dan thought that perhaps it was his pulse oximeter that was not accurate. After testing it on himself, the oximeter was proven to be correct. He then rechecked the patient, and with no change, he immediately contacted the patient's physician and asked for a verbal order to increase the patient's oxygen levels.

On February 25, the world lost a nationally-renowned leader in the field of prosthetic care when Ken Woodward, CPO, passed away suddenly at the age of 64.

Welcome to one of our newest facilities in Cadillac, Michigan.

Wright & Filippis is pleased to announce that now we will be able to provide the new LifeScan OneTouch Select meter. The features on the OneTouch Select include; test results in 5 seconds, alternate site testing, requires only a speck of blood, 350 test memory, downloadable, organizes results in 7, 14, and 30 day averages, English/ Spanish enabled, and has a large and easy to read screen.

The Livonia facility has a new and improved building and location!

RESNA, The Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America, has announced that Renee D’Andrea, Islam Ullah, Chet Kuskowski, Jim Zeeman, Daryl Rogers, Cori Mantela, and John Kamsickas have fulfilled all eligibility requirements and passed the credentialing exam necessary to become certified Assistive Technology Practitioners.

"More than anything, he was a caring gentleman who committed his life to helping others."
 - A.J. Filippis

Just when you thought Game Boys® and PlayStations® were toys for idle minds, hospital have put them to constructive use. If you were to walk into a hospital’s children’s ward you might think you were in an arcade if it weren’t for the beds.

New, experimental DNA vaccines could be the future of immunization, but they have not been effective up to now because they have been inefficient in producing antibodies.

An expert panel from the American Heart Association and the American College of Sports Medicine issued guidelines in 1995 stressing the importance of exercise in overall health. Apparently we didn’t get the message because less than half of all Americans exercise. So the guidelines have been simplified and reissued. Everyone needs two type of exercise for a healthy life: aerobic exercise and strength training.

If you have already been diagnosed with pre-diabetes there are ways to reduce your risk of becoming diabetic. Lower your risk by doing any one (or more) of the following:

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is recommending that over-the-counter cough and cold medicines which have been widely used for decades should not be given to children under 6 years of age. Several products previously geared for the under 6 age group have voluntarily been removed from the market. The USDA says that drug manufacturers have not proven that they work for children because all current data has been extrapolated from adults. So what’s a parent to do? Well, what is old is now new – your mother’s remedies are, once again, returning to the forefront.

Obstructive sleep apnea is a condition in which patients stop breathing for short periods during sleep. It occurs when soft tissues in the throat relax and temporarily block the airway. This common problem is often seen in people who are obese and those who snore.

Today seniors have a much different view of fitness than their parents. Colin Milner, CEO of the International Council on Active Aging says, "Exercise was actually a bad word. The term exercise meant hard work. It was what you did in the military, women were told that if they did it they weren't womanly or it would hurt their reproductive organs." But baby boomers have helped spark the modern fitness movement. Thirty-seven percent of health club members are 55 or older, that’s not counting people who workout at retirement homes -- an area that is exploding.

A group of veterinary surgeons is learning how to transform simple pieces of metal and plastic into working feet, legs and tails. What doctors are learning about animal prostheses could help them improve human prostheses, as well. Both human and animal prostheses need a makeover. Typically, the stump of a damaged limb is inserted into the socket of a prosthesis and held by a plastic sleeve or belt, or suction. Over time the prostheses have gotten lighter and more flexible, but the stumps' socket attachments can be unstable and cause the breakdown of soft tissues, as constant rubbing leads to pain and infection. Animals are worse off -- if prostheses exist at all, they have been crude contraptions at best.

A study of more than 1,000 COPD patients (38.8 percent of them women) found that smoking, the major cause of COPD, evokes different responses in men and women. Bronchitis tends to be more common in women and emphysema more common in men. In addition, women reported more breathlessness, a higher incidence of depression and a lower quality of life than the men. The findings are published in the August 2007 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

Prosthetics are becoming more functional and more comfortable, thanks to a variety of new technologies. Some advances involve improved designs and materials of construction, while others use microprocessors to increase the performance of prosthetics. Further improvements still in research and development offer a promising future to the estimated 5 million Americans, including 1.9 million amputees, who use assistive orthopedic devices.

Eating dark chocolate in moderation has been found to lower blood pressure, but chocoholics, don’t get carried away! A new study from Germany finds that the amount of chocolate required is no excuse to overindulge. Participants in the research consumed about 6 grams of dark chocolate daily, approximately equal to 1-1/2 Hershey Kisses. The test subjects were healthy, normal weight adults, aged 56 to 73, who showed mild hypertension (high blood pressure) at the start of the study. Those who ate the dark chocolate during almost 5 months of testing  showed a small but still significant reduction in blood pressure compared to those who consumed white chocolate.

Your feet may not seem like big news in terms of overall health, but they can be important in signaling conditions of concern in other parts of the body. Because feet are located at the farthest extremity of the body and are subjected to repeated stress every time you take a step, they can be the first warning when some body systems are in trouble.

Diabetes and obesity are often connected; being overweight is a primary risk factor in developing type 2 diabetes, and now it turns out that losing weight can help control the disease. After earlier studies showed that weight loss through diet and exercise reduced the risk of contracting diabetes, further research has revealed that diabetics who lose weight can achieve important health gains.

RLS, or restless legs syndrome, is a neurological and sleep disorder that affects millions of people in the US. Involuntary twitches or jerking movements of the legs, mostly at night, cause sufferers to awaken repeatedly. This interferes with normal sleep patterns and is known to cause fatigue, memory and concentration problems during the day. To date, there are no really effective medications to relieve the symptoms.

Studies have shown that most Americans don’t get enough sleep, and that a shortage of sleep can cause many problems in the areas of health, job productivity and even traffic safety. So you are convinced that you need to get a good eight hours a night, and you give it a go – but no matter how hard you try, you can’t fall asleep when you want to or stay asleep as long as you should. What then?

Here are some hints on fighting insomnia that may help put an end to counting sheep and keep you from all that tossing and turning.

There are many tested methods for cooking healthy food; it’s not that hard to cut down the fat, carbs and calories without leaving out the taste or nutrition. Here are some tips.

Now is prime time for the upper respiratory viruses that cause colds and the more dangerous influenza (flu). There are more than 100 different viruses that cause the common cold (no wonder it’s so common!), and they are constantly mutating into different forms. The influenza virus also appears in a new version every year or two, presenting the world with the threat of an epidemic. Every time you have a cold or flu, your body learns to produce antibodies against that particular virus, protecting you from catching it again. The viruses have evolved to defeat this defense by changing into new forms which the body can’t recognize.

Many Americans spend a considerable amount of time and money trying to control their cholesterol, but most of the attention until recently has been focused on lowering LDL (low-density lipoprotein) or “bad” cholesterol levels. Current research suggests more should be done to increase the level of HDL cholesterol, which is regarded as an independent factor in the onset or prevention of heart disease. In other words, even if your LDL cholesterol is within approved limits, you may be less healthy than you think if your HDL level is also low.

So-called "energy drinks" are increasingly popular among teenagers and young adult males. A reported 31% of American teens surveyed said they drink the highly caffeinated, sugary concoctions. Red Bull, the leader with a 37% share in the U.S., sells more than 2.5 billion cans a year in more than 120 countries. Hundreds of brands are now competing for the mostly youthful consumer market.

Most people need close to 8 hours of sleep a night. It varies by individual, but not as much as you might think, only 30 minutes plus or minus. Whether the amount of sleep you get is sufficient is revealed by your ability to get through the next day without feeling sleepy. If you fall asleep in  less than two minutes after going to bed, you are not getting enough sleep.

Be sure to pay attention to the fine print when reading the nutrition information on a food box. Just because the box is small doesn’t mean it is a serving for one person. Next time you grab a 20 ounce soda and drink it down, you might be surprised to find the label says 20 ounces is 2.5 servings.

The American Diabetes Association has issued a new set of guidelines for people trying to avoid diabetes. All are lifestyle modifications that can delay or prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes, which affects about 21 million Americans.

Two recently-released national surveys investigated the phenomenon of road rage. One found widespread occurrences of bad driving causing stress and anger in other motorists. The other focused on less frequent but more severe attacks of uncontrollable rage that may be due to an often-misunderstood mental disorder.

Powered by advances in medical technology and our understanding of DNA, doctors and researchers are developing vaccines to cure many previously stubborn diseases. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced the approval of a new oral vaccine that protects against rotavirus, a major cause of diarrhea, vomiting, fever, and dehydration in children.

Stress may seem to be inevitably attached to success in life, but it's important to keep your balance and have a healthy attitude. Doctors say that people who handle stress with a positive mindset decrease their risk of heart disease, while those who react with anger and negativity increase their cardiac risk levels.

Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. It strikes approximately 340,000 people in the United States every year and the majority of these people don't have any warning signs. The national survival rate for SCA is less than 5% because unfortunately, emergency medical services cannot reach them in time. The victim's greatest chance of survival is to receive a shock from a defibrillator within five minutes of collapse. With a portable on-site defibrillator, the chance of survival greatly increases - the American Heart Association believes that an additional 40,000 lives could be saved with the use of on-site defibrillators.

Substituting carbohydrates with protein and monosaturated fats can further lower blood pressure, improve lipid levels and reduce cardiovascular risk.

Sarah Reinertsen became the first female amputee to finish the Ironman triathlon. She lost her leg at the age of 7 after a birth condition that caused it to stop growing. She was fitted with a prosthetic leg but never quite fit in with regular school activities. She was always picked last for sporting events and sometimes was not allowed to participate.

20.8 million Americans now have diabetes, up 14 percent since 2003
Newly released statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) illustrate that diabetes has risen by over 14 percent in the last two years.

Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns unveiled a child-friendly version of the new MyPyramid Food Guidance System called MyPyramid for Kids.

A new study suggests that many people who are diagnosed and treated for depression may actually suffer from side effects of a sleeping disorder. Patiemts who were being treated for depression, many on medication, improved or even lost their depression symptoms when they were given treatment to remedy their sleep apnea.

Life is getting easier and less painful for people with diabetes. Both Type I (insulin dependent) and Type II diabetics can already enjoy the new generation of glucometers that require much smaller samples to measure blood glucose levels. This enables them to "stick" themselves on the forearm or other locations that are much less painful than repeated lancet punctures to the sensitive skin of the fingertips. Future devices, now in development, may eliminate the need for piercing the skin to sample blood for testing. Blood glucose would be measured directly through the skin using lasers or other sensing technology.

Diabetes has become an epidemic, affecting almost 200 million people worldwide. The number of sufferers is expected to surpass 300 million within the next two decades. In the United States, there are currently 17 million diabetics, an increase of 61% since 1990. These increased numbers correspond to a widespread rise in obesity; 44 million American adults are considered obese, up 71% since 1990.

Whether your house is new or old, the air quality inside it could be affecting your health. About 1 in 5 people have respiratory diseases, from asthma and emphysema to lung cancer. Even more suffer from allergies. With the average person spending up to 70% of the time at home, it’s no wonder so many respiratory problems begin there.

There is a popular acronym that has been used as a motivational tool for decades - T.E.A.M. - Together Everyone Achieves More. It's designed to indicate how important it is that everyone on the same team work toward a common goal for better results. Never has that been more apparent than right here in our own backyard. With the inception of AmpuTEAM at Wright & Filippis, we truly are seeing how teamwork can positively affect the lives of everyone involved, most importantly for the amputees to which the program is directed.

Pregnancy demands better nutrition than any other time in a woman's life. A special emphasis must be placed on supplying the proper quantity and quality of nutrients every day to support the baby's growth and keep the mother healthy.

Electrically-powered limbs operated by amplified nerve impulses from the body are the cutting edge in today's prosthetic technology, but they have been a long time coming.

During the 1960's, the original electric arms and hands seemed like far-out props from a science fiction movie or TV show like Lost in Space or The $6,000,000 Man. While futuristic in concept, early models were noisy to operate and ungainly in appearance. Their obvious artificiality made amputees who wore them feel awkward and conspicuous. Advances since that time have greatly improved the prostheses' appearance and functionality. This is especially true for today's leading prosthesis, the myoelectric arm.