A new report on maternity care gives five-star ratings to both Boca Raton area hospitals.
Healthgrades.com, a consumer website that helps patients find doctors, dentists and hospitals, gave its top rating to the maternity departments at West Boca Medical Center and Boca Raton Regional Hospital. It’s June 21 report, Trends in Women’s Health in American Hospitals, used three years of data (2008-10) from 19 states where hospital patient outcomes data are publically available. The 224 best‐performing hospitals, including Boca’s two, were designated as five stars.
The hospitals were evaluated on:
The report also notes that after a few years of increasing, the number of C-sections nationwide has been flat since 2009, at 33 percent – although Florida is still among three states with the highest percentage of C-sections, compared to vaginal births, at 38.3 percent.
This may be the result of a nationwide push to eliminate induced labor or scheduled C-sections that are not medically necessary, according to the report.
Besides maternity care, the report made a startling find about women’s cardiovascular care: “Being a woman increased the likelihood of death in cardiovascular surgery and acute heart attacks when compared to men.”
Cardiovascular disease is the No. 1 cause of death among women. That’s right – more than all forms of cancer, including breast cancer.
The report found:
Part of the problem: “Women’s heart attack symptoms are easily confused for many other conditions–both by women who may ignore symptoms and by the medical team treating them,” the report said.
Learn more about the symptoms and risk factors in the full report at Healthgrades.com.
MORE ON MATERNITY
Read all about the maternity departments at West Boca Medical Center and Boca Raton Regional Hospital in the BocaParent blog.
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If you’re scheduling pre-camp or summer checkups for your tweens, chances are your pediatrician is going to talk to you about the HPV vaccine.
It helps prevent certain types of cancer that are caused by the human papillomavirus, including cervical, vulvar, vaginal, penile, anal, and some oral cancers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Because HPV is spread through sexual contact, the ideal time to get the vaccine is before kids become sexually active.
Because vaccines of any nature have been the topic of much anxiety for parents, BocaParent talked to a local pediatric infectious disease specialist, Dr. Jose R. Mateo, about why we should consider this one – for girls and boys.
For him, it comes down to the severity of the disease the vaccine aims to prevent – in this case, cervical cancer, of which HPV is the main cause.
“It should be used in every adolescent because there is a lot to prevent here,” Mateo said.
Cervical cancer causes about 4,000 deaths in women each year in the United States, according to the CDC. There are about 15,000 HPV-associated cancers in the United States that may be prevented by vaccines each year in women.
Beyond that, the vaccine can also prevent some oral cancers in men – and genital warts. Mateo says billions are spent every year to treat genital warts, which can also be transmitted to babies during birth and cause serious respiratory problems.
The vaccine is underused, with about 32 percent of eligible girls getting it in 2010. Mateo attributes that to its newness and the fact that it isn’t required by schools or other organizations.
There are two HPV vaccines: Gardasil, approved in 2007, and Cervarix, approved in 2009. Mateo said there are no significant side effects with either. Gardasil protects against four strains of the virus and is the only one approved for use in boys.
Mateo said the HPV vaccine, which is not a live virus, is safe to get alongside the other immunizations required for entry into seventh-grade: Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis and Meningococcal Conjugate.
Some insurers do cover Gardasil and Cervarix.
GETTING THE HPV For girls and boys age 11-12, the CDC recommends three shots over six months.
Mateo recommends bringing the kids in well-hydrated and having them sit in the doctor’s office a few minutes after receiving any shots, to avoid any faintness.
LEARN MORE
The CDC website has more details.
Dr. Jose R. Mateo is in private practice in Boca Raton and Coral Springs and is affiliated with West Boca Medical Center. You can reach him at 561-997-7686.
Find more on medical issues from local experts on our Kids’ Health page. - CHARLENE PACENTI
The flu season is on its way, and local pediatricians are urging parents to take kids for a flu shot – and to get one themselves.
Dr. Andrew Reiss, who practices at Pediatric Associates and West Boca Medical Center, said the good news is that this year’s flu shot is identical to last year’s. So if your kids got one last year, they may only need one dose this year, instead of two.
Reiss recommends the flu mist over an injection if you can get it, just because it’s more comfortable for the kids. You don’t get sick from the vaccine, he said, but you can get some side effects from the mist like a runny nose and a cough two or three days later.
Palm Beach County Public Schools are not be offering the vaccine this year because of funding cuts. (Read more about that in The Palm Beach Post.)
But so far the vaccine is widely available at pediatrician’s offices and local drugstores, sometimes for free.
The flu vaccine is covered by most insurance.
“It’s all the same. It’s all very reliable,” Reiss said.
Himself a father of three – ages 7, 9 and 10, Reiss recommends that parents get the flu shot, too. Because once one person in the house gets it, “Everybody else in the house is going to get it.”
And because there are multiple strains out there, you can get it more than once. It’s typically a weeklong illness that brings a high fever, headache, sore throat, cough, congestion and body aches.
Flu season usually starts in early November. It hasn’t hit South Florida yet, but it takes a couple of weeks after the vaccine to develop immunity. The peak months for flu are usually January-March.
TIPS FOR AVOIDING THE FLU
Reiss offers some other tips for keeping the flu at bay:
TO LEARN MORE
For more on the flu vaccine, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention online.
Get more Kids’ Health news, tips and local resources at BocaParent.com.
RSV OUTBREAK Another local health trend: We seem to be having an outbreak of RSV, which is common for South Florida in the fall, Reiss said. It’s a highly contagious virus that causes infection of the respiratory tract. Read more about the outbreak in the Sun-Sentinel. Read more about RSV and how to prevent it in BocaParent’s 3-Minute Guru.
RSV OUTBREAK
Another local health trend: We seem to be having an outbreak of RSV, which is common for South Florida in the fall, Reiss said. It’s a highly contagious virus that causes infection of the respiratory tract.
- CHARLENE PACENTI
For moms-to-be trying to decide where to give birth, medical expertise and support is the first consideration. After that, it’s usually about comfort.
West Boca Medical Center’s Birthcare Pavilion, which delivers about 200 babies a month, strives to offer both.
Thirty-six obstetricians and midwives deliver at West Boca, and an anesthesiologist is there 24/7. The hospital’s maternity care has been rated among the top 5 percent in the nation for the past five years by HealthGrades.com.
In case the baby arrives with complications, West Boca has the highest-level neonatal intensive care unit in the area, with a staff of 50 to watch over as many as 34 beds, including micro-preemies weighing less than 2 pounds. The NICU was expanded just two years ago. HealthGrades rates the hospital as “better than expected” in the newborn survival category.
Louise Toby-Harris, director of labor & delivery, has experienced the hospital’s success with preemies firsthand. Three years ago, her daughter gave birth to a baby girl at only 25 weeks into the pregnancy. The baby stayed in the NICU for four months.
Now, she’s a smart, energetic little girl, Toby-Harris said.
West Boca’s well-baby nursery can hold 24 infants at once, but the newborns are often rooming in with their moms for most of their stay.
The labor and delivery rooms – all private, with private bathrooms – are decorated to look more like a home bedroom than a hospital room, with dark wood armoires, wood floors and nicely tiled bathrooms. Framed pictures on the wall slide up to reveal the medical equipment for when the big moment arrives.
“We try to make it as homey as possible,” said Doreen O’Boyle-Neary, clinical manager of labor & delivery.
For those delivering via C-section, West Boca has two dedicated operating rooms in the maternity unit.
For postpartum recovery, the hospital offers two private suites and two “Princess Suites.” The luxury Princess suites cost an extra $150 a night (not covered by insurance). They can be reserved in advance for scheduled births; otherwise, it’s first come, first served. All other postpartum rooms are semi-private.
A lactation consultant is also available to assist with breast feeding.
On their last night in the hospital, the mother and partner are treated to a gourmet dinner.
BOCA BIRTH TRENDS
West Boca maternity staff say they are seeing more moms-to-be come in with research under their belt, many using midwives and also trying alternatives to pain medication, like the birthing ball.
“It’s their body and we let them do what they have to do,” Toby-Harris said.
NICU RATINGS
Level 2 – Babies need a little observation, or maybe a course of antibiotics. They usually stay in the NICU less than 10 days.
Level 3 – Babies who need more medical intervention. (West Boca has the only Level 3 NICU in Boca and northwest Broward).
OTHER DETAILS
Siblings can visit, but they may not stay overnight.
You can order food (like stir-fry, ziti and creme brulee) from the hospital’s restaurant-style menu.
To schedule a tour, call 866-904-9262.
Watch a video tour of the Birthcare Pavilion on YouTube.
CLASSES
West Boca offers several classes to get ready for your new arrival, and to care for the baby afterward. Check the schedulefor classes on childbirth, breastfeeding, new baby care, prenatal yoga and more at the hospital’s website. Select “Maternity” from the “Search by Topic” menu.
Kids already consider homework a pain in the neck, but in reality, it’s the overloaded backpack we should be worried about.
Dr. Sara Levine, a Boca Raton doctor of internal medicine and pediatrics, said she sees it all the time – kids with back, neck and shoulder pain.
“Sometimes it’s from backpacks, without question,” she said.
The load can affect kids’ posture, which can lead to worse problems in adulthood. The pain can hurt their sports performance. They may be too sore to exercise, which can lead to weight gain.
What can parents do about it?
With more and more textbooks online, many kids are being asked to carry around fewer books, which can help. But it is tempting to fill the bag to capacity.
You take a small child, give her a teen-size backpack to accommodate the binders she needs, then continue to load it up, and pretty soon you have a 50-pound kid about to tip over, said Levine, herself a mom of three kids ages 8 to 15.
Orthopedic surgeons have done studies on the issue, often finding signs of strain on children’s backs.
Levine, who has a private practice affiliated with West Boca Medical Center and Boca Raton Regional Hosptial, said that even if a child’s X-ray or MRI looks normal, the pain is real.
More information and tips on backpack safety at HealthyChildren.org.
More Kids’ Health stories at BocaParent:
