Hard Time Swallowing? Relatively New Disease on the Rise in the Region

Eosinophilic Esophogatis is hard to say, and hard to swallow, literally.
The disease, also called "EE", is an allergic reaction that occurs in the esophagus, The disease makes it difficult to swallow, and can have serious, long-term consequences.

While it affects people of all ages, in recent years, the condition has been diagnosed in more than a hundred children in our region. Click below for recent coverage of the condition by WDBJ health reporter Joy Sutton, including an interview with Carillon Clinic Pediatric Gastroenterologist Dr. Michael Hart and one of his patients.

Panoramic View of Riverside Center Development

I was taking pictures from the top of the Riverside Center parking garage the other day and thought I'd experiment with the "panorama" feature of my digital camera. Click the image above to enlarge. The Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine is under construction on the left. Riverside 1, Home of Luna Innovations, Virginia Tech Riverside and VTC's temporary offices, is at the center. On the right, the Carilion Clinic outpatient facility - medical specialists will begin moving in by the fall. This facility features the largest "Green roof" in the Roanoke region.

Heart Attack Patient in the Right Place at the Right Time

If there's a "right place" to have a heart attack, Ed McCurdy found it.
He was exercising at the Botetourt Athletic Club when it happened. Click below for the story that aired on WSLS. Its also a great reminder to pay attention to the warning signs of a heart attack!

Rainy Weather Gives Green Roof a Healthy Start

It's not much fun for the rest of us, but the rainy March weather will help the new, "green" roof at Carilion Clinic's new outpatient facility on Reserve Avenue get off to a good start. Crews began lifing platforms of roofing plants onto the top of the building this week.

Green roofs retain rainwater,
minimizing stormwater runoff. They also reduce the surface temperature of the roof by as much as 40 degreees.

The plants, usually species of Sedum, Delosperma, grasses and mosses, also absorb airborn toxins and release oxygen.

When completed later this year, Carilion's outpatient facility will be the largest green building in the Roanoke Valley.

Salem Red Sox (and Mugsy) Visit Carilion Clinic Children's Hospital

A big thanks to the Salem Red Sox for visiting the Carilion Clinic Children's Hospital this week, bringing the 2007 World Series trophy and Mugsy with them. The sports fans loved the trophy, and the rest were wide-eyed when the "giant puppy" walked into the room.

Carilion Clinic Partners with Healing Strides of VA for Pilot Hippotherapy Program

Program supported by grant from Foundation of the Roanoke Valley

Carilion Clinic has partnered with Healing Strides of VA to secure a grant from the Foundation of the Roanoke Valley to provide four pediatric patients with Hippotherapy treatment this spring and four additional patients in the fall as a pilot program.

“This shared treatment opportunity with Healing Strides of VA is extremely exciting for us,” says Lisa Belderes, certified physical therapist at Carilion Clinic. “Hippotherapy has been shown to improve muscle tone, balance, posture, coordination, motor development and emotional well-being, all of which is important for our patients.”

Hippotherapy is a physical, occupational and speech-language therapy treatment that uses the equine movement as part of a program to achieve functional outcomes. The movement of the horse provides a multi-dimensional movement that has an effect on postural control, sensory systems and motor planning that is used to facilitate coordination and timing, grading of responses, respiratory control, sensory integration skills, and attention skills.

Children and adults with mild to severe neuromusculoskeletal dysfunction are candidates for hippotherapy as part of a rehabilitation program. Patients typically respond enthusiastically to this enjoyable rehabilitative experience because it exists in a natural setting.

“We are thrilled to partner with Carilion pediatric therapies to offer hippotherapy as an innovative treatment tool starting this spring,” says Lynda Gray, Healing Strides of VA president. “For over 15 years, our primary goal as a therapeutic riding center has been to provide the community with therapeutic benefits offered by using horses. To now be capable of doing this in partnership with the medical community is very exciting. Our hope is that this is just the beginning of a wonderful relationship where each organization can offer their experience and knowledge to better serve the community.”

Click below for video of a hippotherapy session, a discription of hippotherapy by Carilion Pediatric Physician Therapist Lisa Belderes, and news media coverage of our recent Hippotherapy demonstration

New Issue of Verve Hitting the Stands!

Look for a new issue of Verve hitting the newsstands in the next few days, with an eye-catching green logo and a photograph of Meredith Vieira. The cover story profiles the popular network anchor and game show host, including the challenges she and her husband face in dealing with his MS and colon cancer

This is the first Verve issue produced completely "in house", thanks to our new Publications Editor, Maureen Robb. As Maureen opened the first box, we celebrated with our first Verve cake ( kudos to the Cave Spring Kroger bakery for a near perfect color match on the image and icing!)