In the News

A Buffalo woman got a second chance at life after doctors said she had just a 1% chance of survival. Just three months ago, WCCO shared the story of her miraculous recovery.

In March, Rachel Sands was helping her dad move some cows when a steer got spooked and stepped on her chest, which stopped her heart. She was airlifted to HCMC in Minneapolis, suffering four strokes along the way.

The reunion was part of the “Ride for Rachel” fundraiser.

“I think the average person who engages in this, I would wager, doesn’t know that is a risk,” said Dr. Jon Cole, an emergency room doctor at Hennepin Healthcare and medical director of the Minnesota Poison Control System.

Dr. Andie Rowland-Fisher said heat stroke is less common than heat exhaustion, but it’s more dangerous.

Hennepin Healthcare’s Talent Garden program aims to nurture young health care providers of color.

Three years ago, Hennepin Healthcare developed the Pediatric Mobile Health (PMH) community program to address these challenges. The goal of the program is to lower barriers to care, improve immunization rates, and help restore trust within the community. Lead Nurse Practitioner Amy Green notes: “There has been a decline in the rate of childhood immunizations during the pandemic. When our patients are not protected, our community is not protected.”

Dr. James Miner, the chair of emergency medicine at Hennepin Healthcare in Minneapolis, which has the largest trauma center in Minnesota, said he first heard about switches in 2020 when he was trying to make sense of why gunshot victims were arriving at the hospital with numerous wounds and why more people seemed to be reporting being shot by stray bullets.

“It’s more common now for someone to say: ‘I was walking down the street and I heard the sound and all of a sudden my leg hurt, my chest hurt,’” he said. “Rather than: ‘I was held up or I was involved in a drug deal gone wrong.’”

“I have been interested in healthcare since I was a little girl,” explained Makenzie Manuel, an HCMC Talent Garden Intern.

Neemah Kiarie from Albertville is deep in the Emergency Department.

“I even got to go to the stabe room and I have never seen blood or bones sticking out. Being exposed to so many people who need attention,” Kahira said.

Musab Mohamed, who’s about to be pre-med at Madison, is learning the ins and out of critical cardiac care.  Musab got inspired by watching his mother get diabetes care; his interest is now full-on.

“It just really solidified my interest more,” he said.

Esme Murphy spoke with Dr. Hannah Lichtsinn about the timeline between a lone star bite and when you’ll first see symptoms.

“We don’t have a good sense of the timeline from a tick bite until development of the Alpha-gal syndrome. What I can say, is when people do develop Alpha gal syndrome, that it generally comes like two to four hours after eating meat, so it’s not an immediate response to the meat. You think about a bee sting or someone who has a bee allergy, that allergic reaction happens right away. With Alpha-gal, it’s delayed a few hours.”

Maple Grove High School senior Jewel Figueroa is one of dozens of high school students that took part in Hennepin County Medical Center’s Talent Garden internship program. The students spent Monday learning from paramedics, an experience that will help certify them as emergency medical responders and possibly assist at large public events.

“Up until now we have been reliant on data that is often two to three years old to make decisions about funding and interventions and to understand where we are at in this crisis,” said Hennepin Healthcare physician Dr. Tyler Winkelman, who leads the Minnesota EHR Consortium. 

Even before COVID-19, more kids were coming to primary care with mental health issues, but the frequency and severity of problems since 2020 has intensified, said Dr. Eileen Crespo, president of the Minnesota chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

“We have just never had the volume of patients, who are all symptomatic at the same time, like we are seeing right now,” said Crespo, who practices at Hennepin Healthcare in Minneapolis.

“Due to elopement and safety risks, the adolescents are boarded in a highly restricted setting,” explained Dr. Sandeep Patel, a Hennepin Healthcare pediatrician. “Deprived of normal activities such as the ability to go outside, to access school, to have peer interactions.”

From the editorial: “As the Minnesota Poison Control System pointed out, ‘No one wants a child to be exposed to a life-threatening substance.’” But they are at an alarming rate.

“Since 2022, (we have) been contacted about 66 children under the age of 3, including those just learning to cruise or that put their hands in their mouths, who have presented to Minnesota hospitals due to exposure to opioids,” Dr. Travis Olives, associate medical director for the poison control system, said in a statement Thursday. “All required medical care, and a wide range of symptoms and severity of illness were reported to us. But there are likely many more that were not reported.”

“Whether you have pre-existing conditions or not, I think it’s really important to pay attention to how you feel,” said Dr. Nick Simpson.

Still, the heat and humidity can take its toll on anybody exerting themselves outdoors or living in places without air conditioning, said Dr. Tom Wyatt, a physician in the Hennepin County Medical Center Emergency Department. Heat-related illnesses — from dehydration to heatstroke — can strike quickly for people all ages.

“It’s insidious,” Wyatt said. “Stay hydrated. A lot of people won’t drink unless they feel thirsty. By then it is too late.”

Director of the Minnesota Poison Control System, Samantha Lee and Dr. Jon Cole, Medical Director for the Minnesota Poison Control System join Susie to talk about the uptick in child fentanyl overdoses as well as a general chat on all things poison control.

The number of children exposed is probably underreported, said Dr. Travis Olives, associate medical director for the Minnesota Poison Control System.

In Talking Points, two Twin Cities doctors told Esme Murphy these drugs can work, but they do have warnings. Dr. Iesha Galloway-Gilliam, medical director of Hennepin Healthcare’s Comprehensive Weight Management Center, says the drugs are not a short-term fix.