In the News

“We use it like water. It’s just, it’s there, we use it all the time,” said Dr. Gopal Punjabi, department chair of radiology at Hennepin Healthcare in Minneapolis. “Our current supply is about four weeks’ worth. I think in about two or three weeks we’ll have to start making some hard decisions if we don’t locate more contrast.”

While lawmakers attempt to identify quicker solutions, parents are still scrambling. Some are even floating the idea of making their own formulas, which is something both the FDA and Dr. Krishan Subrahmanian are warning against.

“And don’t water down trying to make it last,” he added. “I know both those things can be very tempting, they can also be very dangerous.”

An event in Minneapolis aimed to show young women of color that their future could be in health care. “We have clinicians that look like the patients they’re taking care of and that already breaks down some of the barriers that lead to patients not having good outcomes, and that’s one of the quickest and easiest ways to close the inequity gaps within our country, ” said Dr. Nneka Sederstrom, Chief Health Equity Officer at Hennepin Healthcare.

“The reason the alerts are being put out, the Health Alert Network in Wisconsin and in Minnesota and across the country, is there’s a little bit of a delay between the vomiting diarrhea and hepatitis that’s developing,” said Dr. Stacene Maroushek, a Hennepin Healthcare pediatric infectious disease specialist. “They want to make sure that everybody has this on their radar and we’re really looking at cases of hepatitis not as something else but possibly related to the adenovirus, as well as looking at other causes.”

“Omicron is different than Delta and the original forms of COVID, when the vaccine was initially tested for adults,” Dr. Hannah Lichtsinn, a pediatrician at Hennepin Healthcare and a spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics, said. “When we look at efficacy for adults and older kids against Omicron, this vaccine at the lower dose for younger kids is just as effective.”

“The most important reason why we’re focusing on children at a young age is that we have to provide opportunities for our young Black and Brown kids to see themselves in the field of medicine,” says Dr. Nneka Sederstrom, the chief health equity officer at Hennepin Healthcare.

“COVID is out there,” said Sheyanga Beecher, a nurse practitioner for Hennepin Healthcare. “It’s a part of our every day, but at the same time, these numbers tell me, because it is out there, we need to rethink what normal is.”

For Beecher, who is also program director for Hennepin Healthcare’s Pediatric Mobile Health Unit, that means rethinking mobile options to take wellness checks and immunizations on the road to better reach kids.

“This unit serves kids from newborn all the way through teenager and young adult,” Beecher said.

The idea for the mobile unit began early in the pandemic. Many parents were skipping well-child visits due to COVID concerns, which led to a different kind of concern for Dr. Dawn Martin.

“We saw rates of childhood vaccinations declining and we didn’t want to a see whooping cough or a measles outbreak in the setting of a pandemic,” said Martin, Medical director for the mobile unit. “So we knew we had to get vaccinations out in the community and meet our patients where they were.”

“It’s stressful,” said Dr. Krishnan Subrahmanian, a pediatrician at Hennepin Healthcare.

Dr. Subrahmanian says he has heard from several families, all saying the same thing. “They say, ‘I’ve been to five or six stores, and I’m seeing empty shelves.’ And there is a little bit of panic going on,” he said.

“We’ve had a double whammy,” said Dr. Krishnan Subrahmanian, a pediatrician with Hennepin Healthcare.  Subrahmanian says parents who are struggling to find formula can buy online or try looking in smaller stores and drug stores. They can ask a friend or family member if they have unused formula of their brand choice.

Dr. Krishnan Subrahmanian is a pediatrician at Hennepin Healthcare, and also one of many parents affected by baby formula shortages this year.

“We have a 6-year old, a 4-year old and a 1-year old, a baby who just turned 1,” he said. “We’re hearing a lot of concerned parents, worried parents.”

Kentral Galloway, director of the Next Step program at Hennepin Healthcare, and his team provides immediate hospital bedside support to young shooting victims and their families in an effort to interrupt the cycle of community violence.

Hennepin Healthcare family nurse practitioner Bolo Diallo-Young joins FOX 9 Morning News to talk about efforts to reduce health disparities among communities of color, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I think it’s the future of EMS that we have this on every single ambulance,” said Hennepin EMS paramedic Seth Bravinder, who discovered Bowler’s clot. “His right ventricle was way larger than it should have been.”

“Seeing people rally alongside them is inspirational,” said CEO Jennifer DeCubellis. “Right now they have a small chance to breathe, but what happens when you have a chance to breathe is you realize what you’ve been through. Seeing gratitude from the community, seeing people rally alongside them is absolutely inspirational.”

“This little token of thanks is really appreciated from everyone,” agreed Alicia Bravo, RN.

“The ironic thing about the pandemic of the past couple years is that many people felt really pretty good. They didn’t get a single illness,” Dr. David Hilden said.

Healthcare worker burnout was a top concern for health systems, hospitals, and physician practices before the coronavirus pandemic, and it has reached crisis proportions during the public health emergency. Burnout continues to play a leading role in the widespread healthcare workforce shortages.

Elizabeth Goelz, MD, is an internal medicine physician and associate director of the Hennepin Healthcare Institute for Professional Worklife in Minneapolis.

The melting snow is behind sneeze attacks and other symptoms connected to allergies.

“It’s a very unpleasant thing to go through. It feels very bad, it ruins your quality of life,” Hennepin Healthcare allergist Dr. Joshua Dorn said.

“When you outsource in the revenue cycle, you are looking for a partnership. I tell people all the time: An outsource partner is an extension of your business office,” said Phillip E. Brooks, vice president of revenue cycle at Minneapolis-based Hennepin Healthcare.

Arti Prasad, MD, chief of internal medicine at Hennepin Healthcare, is leading two projects that received funding through the MN DOH to promote non-narcotic pain management throughout the state.

“We have pretty conclusive evidence from international models, and the results are very compelling,” said Dr. Gavin Bart, director of Addiction Medicine at Hennepin Healthcare.