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2023 Health & Wellness

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<strong>Health</strong> & <strong>Wellness</strong><br />

<strong>2023</strong><br />

Dr. Deepti<br />

Bhasin<br />

Provides an<br />

in-depth<br />

look at<br />

Alzheimer’s<br />

and its effects<br />

on the patient &<br />

their loved ones<br />

A Special of<br />

The Houston Home Journal<br />

TAKE ONE!


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<strong>Health</strong> & <strong>Wellness</strong><br />

<strong>2023</strong><br />

Published by<br />

The Houston Home Journal<br />

A Division of the Dublin Courier<br />

Herald Publishing Company<br />

1210 Washington Street<br />

P.O. Box 1910<br />

Perry, GA 31069<br />

478-987-1823<br />

www.hhjonline.com<br />

ADVERTISING DIRECTOR/SALES<br />

Lori Kovarovic<br />

lorikhhjads@gmail.com<br />

Nathan Mathis<br />

nathanmhhjads@gmail.com<br />

MANAGING EDITOR<br />

Brieanna Smith<br />

hhjeditor@gmail.com<br />

STAFF WRITERS<br />

Sandra Hernandez<br />

hhjnewsroom@gmail.com<br />

Clay Brown<br />

hhjsports@gmail.com<br />

GRAPHIC DESIGN<br />

Kayley Trischan<br />

CONTENTS<br />

Discussing Dementia: A sit down<br />

with Dr. Deepti Bhasin......10-14<br />

Cantrell’s spirit of Caring:<br />

Houston <strong>Health</strong>care’s longest<br />

serving nurse reflects on<br />

career, hospital growth......20-23<br />

The DaVinci Surgical System:<br />

Houston <strong>Health</strong>care adds another<br />

robotic surgery tool<br />

to expanding fleet......26-28<br />

4


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9


Discussing Dementia:<br />

10 10


A sit down with Dr. Deepti Bhasin<br />

STORY BY BRIEANNA SMITH | PHOTOGRAPHY BY LORI KOVAROVIC<br />

11 11


November is National Alzheimer’s Disease<br />

Awareness Month, and the Alzheimer’s Association<br />

estimates 6.7 million Americans live with the disease. We<br />

sat down with Dr. Deepti Bhasin, a Child, Adolescent,<br />

Adult and Forensic Psychiatrist based in Warner Robins<br />

and discussed the impact dementia and Alzheimer’s can<br />

have on both individuals and the ones they love.<br />

As Bhasin explained, in a nutshell, dementia is<br />

marked by cognitive decline, and it falls under different<br />

stages, depending on severity.<br />

“There’s very mild dementia and then there can be<br />

very profound, where people even can stop talking and<br />

recognizing their loved ones and stop knowing what basic<br />

utensils are for or writing, just basic functioning,” Bhasin<br />

said.<br />

While the two are used interchangeably, Alzheimer’s<br />

Disease falls under the umbrella of dementia and can be<br />

brought about by more than just old age, and unfortunately<br />

cannot be fully cured, only slowed down.<br />

“There are different kinds of dementia. Alzheimer’s<br />

is the most common type of dementia that we see. But you<br />

can have dementia because [you] have vitamin deficiencies.<br />

You can have dementia because [you’re] an alcoholic and<br />

[your] brain, [your] neurons have been damaged. [You]<br />

can have dementia because [you] have an infection, like<br />

hepatitis and some HIV,” Bhasin said.<br />

Additional conditions and habits that can<br />

contribute to dementia include stroke, high blood pressure,<br />

COPD, high cholesterol, obesity, smoking and poor<br />

diet. Additionally, males are more likely to have a higher<br />

percentage of dementia, as well as minority groups, such as<br />

Black and Native Americans.<br />

Bhasin advises to look out for telltale signs that you<br />

or a loved on may be in pre-dementia, such as memory<br />

changes, changes to routine, change in personality of<br />

communications style, disorientation to time and place,<br />

as well as difficulty with abstract thinking and increased<br />

impulsivity. If symptoms are constantly happening, those<br />

could be warning signs.<br />

“There may be emotional disregulation; there<br />

could be personality changes; there could be hallucinations<br />

attached to it. But the basic definition, like when would we<br />

say ‘You know, I’m thinking this patient may be having it?’ is<br />

when we start seeing the neurocognitive changes in them,”<br />

Bhasin said.<br />

As Bhasin explained, scientists are still not sure<br />

why dementia can start to develop, but chalks the decline<br />

in cognitive function to a lack of communication between<br />

12


neurons in the brain. In Alzheimer’s specifically, telltale<br />

signs during brain scans are excessive protein deposits.<br />

However, public awareness around dementia<br />

according to Bhasin, is sending people in earlier for<br />

screening, leading to early intervention and an early<br />

slowing down of the disease, using medicine and FDA<br />

approved treatments.<br />

“So somebody may<br />

start seeing pre-dementia<br />

symptoms, and then now<br />

they’re in the mild<br />

stages of dementia.<br />

We can prolong<br />

that mild stage,<br />

intervene at that<br />

time and make<br />

it 15 years<br />

or 20 years<br />

instead of<br />

five years.<br />

We can’t<br />

stop, but<br />

we can<br />

definitely<br />

slow<br />

down the<br />

progress,”<br />

Bhasin said.<br />

A recent<br />

development,<br />

approved by<br />

the FDA in<br />

2008 is TMS, or<br />

Transcranial<br />

Magnetic<br />

Stimulation. First<br />

approved for depression,<br />

the treatment shows a 65%<br />

to 75% efficacy rate, is nonmedicinal<br />

and there are little to no<br />

side effects. Bhasin’s office has been using the<br />

treatment since 2010, and now the treatment is approved<br />

for smoking cessation, autism and of course, dementia.<br />

“One of the things that happens, especially in<br />

dementia, the connectivity between the neurons is getting<br />

lesser, and it’s getting faded and it’s breaking. So what the<br />

TMS does is it creates new networks. If they cannot fix or<br />

improve the existing network, they’ll create new networks.<br />

The concept is called neuroplasticity. That means that there<br />

is still ways to regenerate this neuron; it’s not completely<br />

gone.”<br />

Treatments, alongside habits that keep the brain<br />

active can help slow down the progression of dementia.<br />

“Very recently, a couple of years<br />

ago, we got FDA approved for<br />

one medication that is for<br />

dementia and agitation, so<br />

there’s a little bit more<br />

available in terms of<br />

medication. But<br />

also remember,<br />

if we can<br />

recognize the<br />

signs, then<br />

we can start<br />

putting<br />

things in<br />

place,”<br />

Bhasin<br />

said.<br />

“For<br />

example,<br />

slowing<br />

down the<br />

progression<br />

by<br />

stimulating<br />

the brain,<br />

engaging these<br />

people with more<br />

social activities,<br />

giving them some<br />

brain activities, like<br />

Sudoku, word puzzles,<br />

jigsaws, board games, card<br />

games. The more we can engage it<br />

is preventive, and also helps slow down<br />

some of the progression for the dementia.”<br />

For those who are afflicted with dementia, the<br />

mental health factor can also comes into play. Bhasin<br />

explained depression is also common among those who<br />

have dementia. Depression can also mimic symptoms<br />

of dementia. Those who are fearful they may be with<br />

dementia are encouraged to get tested and screened as early<br />

13


as possible; early treatment can help slow down symptoms,<br />

leading to longer functionality.<br />

“As they’re getting older, they’re already aware. One<br />

of the fears that most of us would have is, am I losing it?<br />

Am I getting demented? That’s a very common question.<br />

Once you start seeing patients in geriatric population that’s<br />

always in the back of our minds: Am I losing it? And so<br />

depression is a very big part of the dementia. There is a<br />

condition called pseudo-dementia, which is actually purely<br />

depression,” Bhasin said. “What happens is when you feel<br />

that loss; this is the age that we start losing loved ones, or<br />

spouses or companions or friends. In pseudo-dementia, it is<br />

actually depression where I may lose my cognition, meaning<br />

my thinking ability, my memory, my ability to reason, my<br />

ability to be motivated, because they overlap between where<br />

dementia and depression may appear.”<br />

Depression and burnout can also be symptoms that<br />

caregivers to those with dementia face.<br />

Bhasin also spoke to grief before a loved one passes<br />

away, highlighting a common scenario between those<br />

with dementia and caretakers, commonly children and<br />

grandchildren.<br />

“Grieving starts much earlier. We’re talking about<br />

stages. I mean, you’ve already started losing your loved one<br />

earlier on, their personality’s changing, their tastes might<br />

change. Who you known them for all these years, suddenly,<br />

they’re not that same person. And then, when it comes<br />

down to that, they don’t even recognize who you are, when<br />

you’re the one they’ve been with all your life… They raised<br />

you, now you’ve been taking care of them. It’s so painful,”<br />

Bhasin said.<br />

In the wake of what can be emotionally taxing,<br />

Bhasin advised for caregivers to treat themselves kindly and<br />

don’t be afraid to reach out for help, as there is a possibility<br />

as the disease progresses where constant monitoring is<br />

needed.<br />

“You need to take care of yourself first. You absolutely<br />

need to take care. And that’s not being selfish, because if<br />

you’re not healthy, both physically and mentally, you will<br />

not be able to take take care of anybody else. It’s a physical,<br />

emotional and financial burden. It’s from all aspects right.<br />

Have a good support system, a very good support<br />

system. Advocate for your loved ones. There are some<br />

services that can be in house, nursing. There are some<br />

services that can be provided and paid by the insurance,”<br />

Bhasin said.<br />

This in turn can make caring for loved ones easier<br />

and help maintain good relationships. Counseling can also<br />

serve as a support system for both those with dementia and<br />

caregivers.<br />

Bhasin’s office is located at 402 Osigian Boulevard<br />

Suite #400 in Warner Robins.<br />

•<br />

14


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19


Cantrell’s spirit of Caring<br />

Cantrell<br />

reflects on<br />

42 years<br />

of work at<br />

Houston<br />

<strong>Health</strong>care<br />

20 20


N<br />

Houston <strong>Health</strong>care’s<br />

longest serving nurse<br />

Nurses deserve more<br />

appreciation with the long hours<br />

they are on the job and overall<br />

help they provide to the<br />

community, no matter<br />

how big or small. It<br />

may be a tough job<br />

at times, but there<br />

are those who stick<br />

around and find<br />

reward in the field.<br />

Robbie Cantrell<br />

is one of those<br />

people.<br />

Cantrell<br />

is the Assistant<br />

Nurse Manager<br />

on the Pediatric<br />

floor at Houston<br />

<strong>Health</strong>care and<br />

has been working<br />

there for many<br />

years.<br />

reflects on career,<br />

hospital growth<br />

STORY BY SANDRA HERNANDEZ | PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRIEANNA SMITH<br />

Working at the<br />

hospital came full circle<br />

for her. Cantrell shared she<br />

was one of the first babies<br />

born at the hospital when it<br />

first opened back in September<br />

1957. She was born in December of<br />

“It’s just what<br />

I enjoy doing,<br />

I can’t imagine<br />

doing anything<br />

else other than<br />

being a nurse.”<br />

that year. She also shared all of<br />

her children were born at<br />

the hospital and even her<br />

grandchildren.<br />

She has been<br />

working at the<br />

hospital her entire<br />

nursing career<br />

and recently<br />

celebrated<br />

her 42-year<br />

anniversary<br />

back in May.<br />

“I work on<br />

the Pediatric<br />

floor, which<br />

is a small<br />

department.<br />

We do take<br />

adults and kids<br />

and I just think<br />

we’re the best<br />

kept secret in the<br />

hospital. … I just<br />

enjoy my job. I enjoy<br />

the people I work<br />

with. It’s different every<br />

single day when you’re<br />

a nurse. There’s no routine.<br />

Every patient is different; every<br />

diagnosis is different. It’s just a great<br />

21


job,” said Cantrell.<br />

Over the past 42 years, Cantrell<br />

has been through all the changes in the<br />

hospital both in new technology and in<br />

growth.<br />

Back when she started, Houston<br />

<strong>Health</strong>care was called Houston County<br />

Hospital and she said it was small then<br />

and still remembers when they built<br />

their first tower back in 1985. She has<br />

also seen the various names the hospital<br />

has had, she said she has seen it go from<br />

Houston Medical Center to now Houston<br />

<strong>Health</strong>care.<br />

She said she has seen the changes<br />

in the structure but always the changes in<br />

medicine.<br />

Cantrell shares that one of her staff<br />

members is a 21-year-old who recently<br />

graduated from nursing school, and she is<br />

always telling them the things they used<br />

to do on the floors, and she said they are<br />

always shocked when she tells them her<br />

stories.<br />

“A lot has changed. I used to wear<br />

the white dresses and the white hose and<br />

the white shoes and the hat when I first<br />

started. And, of course, now, we’re in<br />

scrubs and I still have a hard time wearing<br />

colorful shoes but the basics of taking care<br />

of patients stays the same,” said Cantrell.<br />

Cantrell started working as a<br />

nurse’s aide since she was still in nursing<br />

school. After graduating, she had already<br />

been working at the hospital for 11 months.<br />

She then moved on to working for<br />

three years in the PACU, which was then<br />

the recovery room. Then, she moved on<br />

to the Pediatric floor, where she has been<br />

working since her second child was eight<br />

weeks old, staying in the role for 36 years.<br />

22<br />

Cantrell shared she wanted to<br />

get married and was engaged when she


Over the years, she has learned the people she works<br />

with and tries to figure out what’s important to them. She<br />

said they all work together on a schedule and thinks that is<br />

what they appreciate the most.<br />

Cantrell said she works on a team leadership style<br />

on the floor because even though her team is small, they<br />

can’t survive unless they’re a team member.<br />

“We rely on each other, and we really build that<br />

confidence in each other that we’re going to be there, that<br />

we’re going to be dependable and that everybody knows<br />

their part,” said Cantrell.<br />

decided to become a nurse. She said she didn’t want to go<br />

to school for four years and instead went to nursing school<br />

for two years at Middle Georgia College nursing program<br />

in Cochran.<br />

“I just felt like that was something that I might<br />

[want.] A lot of people don’t know what to do when they<br />

first go to college. And back then, it was like, you could be<br />

a teacher or be a nurse and I just felt that God was leading<br />

me in the direction of working with people,” said Cantrell.<br />

She shared that while in nursing school, they did<br />

many of their clinicals at Houston <strong>Health</strong>care and admitted<br />

she never thought she would be in pediatrics because it<br />

wasn’t what she liked in school, but as it worked out, that<br />

was where she’s supposed to be.“I do love that it’s different<br />

every single day. I love our staff. I say to people all the time<br />

when they ask me if I’m going to retire and I’m like, ‘I come<br />

to work and play with my friends all day for 12 hours. So<br />

I’m not ready to give that up.’ But I like the variety. I like that<br />

there’s never the same thing twice. Every day is different in<br />

the nursing world,” said Cantrell.<br />

She said her motivation is the children she takes<br />

care of every day, also the new adults they are taking care of<br />

on their floor since the COVID pandemic.<br />

“It’s just what I enjoy doing, I can’t imagine doing<br />

anything else other than being a nurse,” said Cantrell.<br />

She shares her strength on her floor is scheduling and<br />

working around what is important to her staff members.<br />

Cantrell said they have a small staff made up of five nurses,<br />

and two have to work at a time.<br />

And for those interested in joining the field, Cantrell<br />

shared what she would like future nurses to know about the<br />

job and what to expect.<br />

“I would tell them to give it time, to find your niche.<br />

There’s so many different departments in nursing and if one<br />

is not fit for you then there’s plenty of other places. Don’t<br />

give up, there’s so many things you can do as a nurse and<br />

at Houston <strong>Health</strong>care. There is always a way to figure out<br />

what is your best position, whether you want to be in trauma<br />

or in the ER or whether you want to work with women and<br />

children in the women’s center or do the hard stuff in ICU.<br />

We have it all here, there’s a little bit for everybody here.<br />

Don’t let your experience in nursing school dictate whether<br />

or not you think you will do well in that department when<br />

you’re out,” said Cantrell.<br />

Cantrell’s whole life has been Houston <strong>Health</strong>care<br />

and she said that whenever she walks out the door of her<br />

floor, she always sees a familiar face.<br />

“I’ve been here long enough that somebody is going<br />

to know me and I’m going to know them when I’m going<br />

to the cafeteria or whatever. I have a rapport with people in<br />

other departments that have been there a long time. It’s just<br />

home and friends to me,” said Cantrell.<br />

Finally, for Cantrell, as far as Houston <strong>Health</strong>care is<br />

concerned, both the hospital and Warner Robins are home.<br />

“It’s just home to me. I can’t imagine being anywhere else,”<br />

said Cantrell.<br />

•<br />

23


25


Courtesy/Houston <strong>Health</strong>care<br />

Scrub Technicians/Surgical First Assistants<br />

Lori Williams and Danna Rogers.<br />

26


The DaVinci Surgical System:<br />

Houston <strong>Health</strong>care adds another<br />

robotic surgery tool to expanding fleet<br />

S<br />

STORY BY CLAY BROWN | PHOTOS SUBMITTED BY HOUSTON HEALTHCARE<br />

Surgery is one of, if not the toughest responsibility<br />

for doctors, given many procedures can last hours or, in<br />

some extreme cases, days. When you have to undergo such<br />

a lengthy and stressful operation with someone’s life in<br />

your hands, it’s important to have the right tools to allow<br />

for it to go as smoothly as possible.<br />

Though it might seem like adding the system to<br />

Houston <strong>Health</strong>care’s arsenal was an easy choice, change<br />

never comes easy. Going from tools used for decades to<br />

something brand new where you’re technically “hands off ”<br />

is quite the adjustment to make, especially with something<br />

like surgery, but it pays off for patients.<br />

The DaVinci surgical system is one of those tools<br />

that Houston <strong>Health</strong>care has introduced to the community<br />

in recent years.<br />

“It’s a computer-based robot that helps the surgeons<br />

perform what we call ‘minimally invasive’ surgery,”<br />

Nichole Blount, BSN, MBA, Director of Surgical Services<br />

for Houston <strong>Health</strong>care said. “It uses a camera and robotic<br />

arms and allows the physician to be able to see in a 3D<br />

mode or it can magnify what they’re seeing about 10 times<br />

that of the normal human eye.”<br />

The system was approved by the FDA in 2000, but<br />

Houston <strong>Health</strong>care brought their first one on board in<br />

2019.<br />

“We’re not the first ones to jump on the bandwagon.<br />

We kind of wanted to see how it was working for patients<br />

in other facilities,” Blount said. “When we do have new<br />

surgeons coming in, they bring training from the residency<br />

program. So like I said, it’s been around for a little while,<br />

but we decided to go ahead and go for it back in 2019.”<br />

2019 was when they brought their first machine in,<br />

but they’ve been adding to their count since then.<br />

“Six weeks ago, in August, we received our third<br />

robot, so our Warner Robins campus has three robots,”<br />

Blount said. “Probably more exciting than the third robot<br />

here at Warner Robins is that [Houston <strong>Health</strong>care - Perry]<br />

has now received their first robot. It’s not up and running<br />

yet but will be soon. So we’re really excited to see what it<br />

can do for the community.”<br />

“Well, with anything, change is hard, right,” Blount<br />

said. “I think all of surgical services, if it really bought into<br />

this modality and they have seen and heard the success<br />

stories, the surgeons come back and tell them that the<br />

patients that they were working on are doing great or they<br />

didn’t even have to get admitted to the hospital or they<br />

went back to work several days earlier than what they were<br />

expected to. So it really gets those patients out there and<br />

back to normal living conditions and that’s what we do.<br />

That’s why we’re here.”<br />

Dr. Danny Vaughn, a general and bariatric<br />

surgeon, is not resistant at all to the system; in fact he’s a<br />

big proponent of it.<br />

“I think it’s wonderful. I have been using the<br />

DaVinci robotic system since 2015 and have been a big<br />

proponent of it,” Vaughn said. “I’d say that I probably do<br />

90% of my cases on the DaVinci Robot system. I think it’s<br />

better for patients, I think patients are more likely to get a<br />

minimally invasive technique and a better operation.”<br />

“Well, it’s definitely a real nice advanced technology<br />

for our small community here,” Dr. Tan-Loc Nguyen, an<br />

obstetrician and gynecologist added. “It’s really helpful<br />

facilitating a lot of the surgeries that we do to make it safer<br />

and also for us to do a better job and take care of patients.”<br />

Dr. Sarah Stanescu, an obstetrician and gynecologist,<br />

really believes in its ability to minimize patient stays as well<br />

as pain.<br />

“I think it is revolutionizing the care of our hospital.<br />

I think we are able to provide much more, much better<br />

27


surgical care to our patients. It allows shorter patient stays<br />

and decreased pain.” Stanescu said.<br />

Dr. Thekkepat Sekhar, an obstetrician and<br />

gynecologist, not only believes the system has the ability<br />

to improve procedures, but also saves energy for those<br />

performing the procedure.<br />

“It’s a very useful tool and it has made my life a lot easier,<br />

and I think helps to prolong my longevity,” Sekhar added.<br />

Dr. Patrick Narh-Martey, a general surgeon, is glad<br />

that advanced technology like this is available for those<br />

who need it here in Houston County, something not all<br />

healthcare providers can claim.<br />

“I think it’s an extraordinary thing for the<br />

community, for the hospital system and most importantly<br />

for our patients, to be able to have the best, most advanced<br />

technology available for surgical care in our community.<br />

And for our patients to not have to travel to Atlanta<br />

or surrounding areas to receive care; most care can be<br />

delivered here with minimally invasive surgery,” Narh-<br />

Martey said. “Again, our patients have an outstanding day;<br />

having shorter hospital stays and less pain after procedures<br />

is phenomenal…I believe we are as cutting edge as we can<br />

be in this community.”<br />

Looking back, the system presented a learning<br />

curve, as Dr. Silvie Harrington, a general surgeon explained.<br />

28<br />

“I will say that it was positively accepted, was positive…we<br />

got trained and it all came together. I guess it was actually<br />

a pretty smooth transition and was a good addition to the<br />

community for sure,” Harrington said. “We didn’t know<br />

what to expect, but once the staff got their training we<br />

got comfortable with it, because it’s different for different<br />

surgeons. I didn’t come trained robotically from residency.<br />

So I was doing things a certain way, laparoscopy, so the<br />

transition was hard. But it was worth it in the end…They<br />

really were a great addition.”<br />

A fun tidbit about their third and most recent<br />

DaVinci system is that they’re partnering with Houston<br />

County School District to name the robot; they’re opening<br />

it up to fifth graders according to Blount.<br />

Houston <strong>Health</strong>care’s goal is always to improve the health<br />

of the community, and given physician testimonies, it<br />

seems the system does just that.<br />

“Our mission is to improve the health care of the<br />

community… and we do that by delivering high quality care<br />

that’s cost effective. That’s exactly what this robot is doing<br />

for us,” Blount said. “It increases the quality of care that<br />

we give the patients. It’s more cost effective for the patients<br />

because let’s face it, they can get back to work sooner if they<br />

don’t have to spend the night in the hospital.”<br />


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30

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