In the News

Banner Health News Center

In the News

Hospital fuses Navajo tradition, modern medicine
PAGE, Ariz. (Aug. 18, 2008) - When a Navajo woman delivers a baby at Banner Page Hospital in northern Arizona, she invites her entire family — often more than 10 people — into the birthing room. She may give birth squatting, as is custom among Native Americans. A medicine man will offer ancient prayers and herbs for the mother to ease childbirth. After the baby is delivered, nurses will save the placenta so the family can take it home and bury it in a sacred place.

Born as one, conjoined twins have a good shot at life as two
PHOENIX (Aug. 14, 2008) - They came out of the womb in an embrace, holding each other in a tangle of arms and legs. The children, conjoined twins, were born at 10:38 a.m. Wednesday at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center in Phoenix.

Why a Wii could be good for your health
PHOENIX (August 7, 2008) - Nintendo's Wii console is not just a toy - one US hospital is using it as a training tool for its surgical residents

Diet diary helps those trying to lose weight
PHOENIX (July 11, 2008) - If you're trying to lose weight, you might try keeping a diary of what you eat while you're dieting. Nutritionist Nancy Vander Pluym of Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center said it works for her patients.

Spotlight continues to shine on triplets
SCOTTSDALE (July 1, 2008) - Scottsdale triplets Sela, Ari and Alex Poulos, 8, were born for the spotlight. They have been famous since birth in 1999, when Valley news cameras captured the newborns at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center as the "Labor Day Triplets."

10th set of quintuplets born at Banner hospital
PHOENIX (June 28, 2008) - A 10th set of quintuplets has been born at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center, a Phoenix hospital nationally known for its successful multiple-birth deliveries. Stephen and Ellen Howell of Houston welcomed five babies to their family Tuesday. The children were born at 30 weeks and five days. The Howell quintuplets include three girls and two boys and were all born within three minutes of each other.

Blood conservation helps avoid transfusion trauma
PRESCOTT, Ariz. (June 28, 2008) - It may be the latest buzzword in medicine, but blood conservation is here to stay, local experts say. Blood conservation is a way to conserve and strengthen a patient's own blood so that a blood transfusion isn't needed during surgery.

Simple move stops spins for vertigo victims
PHOENIX (May 28, 2008) - The next time the world starts spinning, Larry Janisch will know exactly how to make it stop. But two months ago, when the 50-year-old Phoenix man woke up one Saturday reeling from vertigo, he had no idea what to do. Fortunately for Janisch, he works at Banner Good Samaritan where a vestibular therapist, a specialist in inner ear disorders, is almost always available.

Banner Health plans teaching center in Mesa
MESA, Ariz. (May 28, 2008) - With 55 beds, two operating rooms and a full emergency department, Banner Health's new simulation center at the closed Banner Mesa Medical Center would be larger than many functioning hospitals in smaller communities throughout Arizona.

More snake victims show extreme symptoms
PHOENIX (May 27, 2008) - A rattlesnake strikes. The victim experiences extreme pain at the location of the bite, nausea, sometimes diarrhea. Then the mouth and throat swell, making it difficult to breath. The victim gets lightheaded, collapses and goes into shock - all within minutes of the strike. The potentially deadly symptoms used to be fairly rare, but toxicologists in Arizona, Colorado and California say they're seeing some or all of them more than ever, and that they could be contributing to an increase in fatal rattlesnake bites in Arizona.

Fighting Alzheimers with fun
PHOENIX (May 13, 2008) -- With a smile as bright as her red jacket, Alvina Alvarez is a beacon in the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art lobby. The 73-year-old Phoenix woman confides she's in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease and was hesitant to join the group waiting for a docent-led tour. She feared what people would think of her mental state.

Dog alerts hospital worker to impending seizures
GILBERT, Ariz. (May 9, 2008) -- Patient and calm, Rogue never leaves the side of Shannon Vande Krol as the pair make their rounds at Gilbert's Banner Gateway Medical Center three times a week. Rogue is an Akita, a dog known in Japanese culture to bring health and protect its family. And she lives up to the lore.

Young man's death gives new life, new bonds
PHOENIX (May 5, 2008) - Josh was 19. Jeff was 56. One had the charm of youth. The other was dying from hepatitis C, which had destroyed his liver. One year ago, their worlds collided. A car accident minutes from his Glendale home ended Josh Florence's life. From that violence, Mesa resident Jeff Register would get a second chance, receiving the young man's liver and a kidney.

Rattlesnake Bites Becoming More Dangerous
PHOENIX (April 26, 2008) -- More than a half-dozen people have been bitten by rattlesnakes in the last two weeks, and doctors are now warning that the venom is becoming more poisonous.

Carbon monoxide a 'sinister, silent killer'
PAGE, Ariz. (April 22, 2008) — Carbon monoxide poisoning is one of the larger causes of fatalities on Lake Powell, if not the largest. Several fatalities and many more cases of people getting sick off of the gas have prompted the stewards of public lands to take a more proactive stance in preventing it and taking steps to treat it, if possible. Dr. Robert Baron, the medical advisor for Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and emergency services co-director for two Banner Health facilities in the Phoenix area, has been researching what he calls the “sinister, silent killer” for years.

Warmer weather brings with it snake season
PHOENIX (April 15, 2008) - Angelina Martin stepped over a low wall as she was pulling weeds Sunday when something moved beneath her foot. She heard a rattling sound and almost instantly felt the pain of two punctures on her leg. The 68-year-old Carefree woman was one of five people who were hospitalized over the weekend for rattlesnake bites as warmer weather has brought the snakes out of hibernation. Dr. Frank LoVecchio, medical director at the Banner Poison Control Center at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center, said rattlesnake bites are painful and can lead to tissue damage, though the bites are rarely deadly if treated.

Davis begins recovery from surgery
PHOENIX (April 11, 2008) - Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Doug Davis returned home from Banner Good Samaritan Hospital on Friday morning only hours after surgery to remove a cancerous thyroid in his neck and is ready to resume some sort of physical activity, said the doctor who conducted the procedure.

'Never Shake' program helps parents cope with infants
MESA, Ariz. (April 10, 2008) - Mary Warren knows that infant abuse doesn't have to happen. As the state's coordinator for Never Shake a Baby Arizona, it's difficult for Warren to hear that an infant has been injured or shaken. Warren hopes the gradual implementation of the Never Shake a Baby program at hospitals throughout the state will stem infant abuse. Phyllis Palla, a neonatal intensive-care unit specialist at Banner Desert Medical Center in Mesa, said nurses are telling new parents that infants can cry up to three hours for the first three months.

Be informed, honest in drug discussions
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (April 8, 2008) - Crystal Darkness reveals meth's darkest sides, from side effects such as tooth decay to the inmates who speak through tears about how their lives fell apart around their meth addiction. Sean Walsh, an addictions specialist at Banner Behavioral Health in Scottsdale, said it's important for anyone starting a conversation about drugs, and specifically about meth, to know about the drug.

Banner ICU Care Unit
MESA (March 18, 2008) - Patients at Banner Health hospitals may want to take note: the eye in the sky is watching. Arizona's largest health-care provider, Banner Health, has installed cameras and monitoring devices that allow doctors and nurses to remotely watch over the most critically ill patients at nine hospitals in Arizona and Colorado.

Preparing for a successful hospital stay
GILBERT LIFESTYLE (March, 2008) Most hospitalizations are unplanned, but that doesn’t mean you can’t plan ahead. There are three specific steps everyone can take to prepare for a hospital stay, whether planned or unexpected. Patients who take an active role in their health care are more informed and often recover faster.

Banner Childrens Hospital surgery changes a life
MESA (March 3, 2008) -- Maybe there's a downside to the delicate facial surgery Elexis Wathogama-Nunez underwent to fix her jaw. Now, the 2-year-old can open her mouth and really let loose."She could cry, but not as loud as this," her father said with a half-smile as Elexis sat wailing in his lap.

Creature Discomforts
New York Times (February 29, 2008) - EVERYONE knows that unpleasant neighbors can take some of the fun out of a vacation house. They might be noisy. They might have junked cars in their front yards. They might bite. Property damage is not a problem with rattlesnakes. With them, the danger is more personal. The Banner Poison Control Center in Phoenix says that it receives more snake-bite reports than any other poison center in the Southwest. Last year, it recorded 103 reported bites in the Phoenix and Maricopa County area.

Don't feel great? Rethink flying, expert says
CNN (Feb. 25, 2008) -- The death of a passenger last week aboard an American Airlines flight underscores the importance of taking precautions before flying, an expert said Monday. MedAire, Inc., said its physicians last year advised 74 airlines on how to handle more than 17,000 in-flight medical events. Flight attendants with sick passengers call Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona, a level-one trauma center where emergency room physicians and a service able to translate 140 languages are on call to answer questions from any of 2 million airline passengers flying at any given time, she said.

Wii bit of technology aids medical education
(Feb. 22, 2008) - Practicing medicine is complicated, serious business. But learning to practice medicine – even surgical techniques – can be aided by some simple games designed for fun.

Give priority to fighting Alzheimer's
(Feb. 23, 2008) Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Sen. Bob Kerrey recently established a non-partisan Alzheimer's Study Group, consisting of national leaders, to increase public awareness about Alzheimer's disease and develop a strategic plan to address it in the most comprehensive way...But the hope of finding effective Alzheimer's prevention therapies will never be realized unless we are able to develop a rapid and rigorous way to test them...What can Congress do to find effective Alzheimer's prevention therapies in the shortest possible time? Here are some recommendations from Dr. Eric Reiman of the Banner Alzheimer's Institute.

Flu cases swamping ERs
PHOENIX (Feb. 16, 2008) A widespread flu bug has delivered a powerful blow to Arizona's hospitals, with crowded emergency rooms diverting ambulances and leaving frustrated patients waiting hours for care. ..."It isn't just happening here," Dr. Baron from Banner Good Samaritan said. "This is happening in every emergency department in the city."

Bill aims to boost emergency medical care
The Arizona Senate is considering a bill that would help fight the alarming number of trauma-related deaths in rural parts of the state by providing training to first responders and medical staffs. "We hope that by training these rural communities, we will lower the death rate," said Dr. Corey Detlefs, a trauma surgeon at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center who is involved in a program sponsored by Banner that trains rural communities on how to deal with trauma.

Prescription threat
The death of actor Heath Ledger was a tragic example of the danger of prescription-drug abuse. Dr. Steven Curry, director of medical toxicology at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center, has seen kids die from taking morphine or methadone prescribed for their parents or relatives. Teens make life-threatening mistakes as they rummage through pill bottles. For example, Curry explains, "They think they're taking a parent's pain medication, and take an anti-convulsant and go unconscious."

Support Level 1 trauma centers
An estimated 225,000 people will attend the FBR Open and Super Bowl XLII this weekend. This is an exciting moment for our state, but for Arizona's health-care community - particularly the professionals who staff the state's seven Level I trauma centers - it is a time of heightened awareness about the significance of the services we provide.

New Life for Banner Mesa
MESA, AZ (Jan. 30, 2008) The next life of closed Banner Mesa Medical Center would include one of the largest medical simulation centers in the country to train doctors and nurses on the latest surgical and treatment techniques.

Research suggests friendly bacteria in yogurt, other probiotics may aid gut health
Decades before the word "probiotics" began cropping up on food labels and in TV commercials and conversations, Lisa Sauby's mother kept her family healthy with them. The Wisconsin family knew only that they were eating Mom's homemade yogurt, and that it was delicious. Yogurt is a rich source of probiotics, the friendly bacteria (and a few yeasts) that live in the human gastrointestinal tract and protect against disease.

Banner buys $1.8M cyclotron as part of new imaging lab
Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center is buying a $1.8 million cyclotron as part of a new molecular imaging laboratory it is building.

With Wii bit of technology, surgeons hone their skills
PHOENIX (Jan. 18, 2008) Surgeons training at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center are hooked on Wii game technology - all the better to sharpen their surgical skills, a new study shows.

A Wii warm-up hones surgical skills
PHOENIX (Jan. 18, 2008) You might think it a bad idea for trainee surgeons to play games on the Nintendo Wii when they should be studying, but it might be time well spent. Kanav Kahol, PhD, and Marshall Smith, M.D., PhD, of the Banner Health Simulation Education and Training Center located at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona, have found that surgical residents performed better during simulated surgery after playing on the Wii console.

Hospitalists and Banner Gateway
GILBERT, Ariz. (Dec. 31. 2007) When Banner Gateway Medical Center in Gilbert, Ariz., opened its doors in September, it was billed as a “next-generation hospital.” That’s because the brand new hospital, which is located 20 miles from Phoenix, is packed with high-tech features that might seem more at home in Silicon Valley than a U.S. hospital.

Trauma surgeon flies to save lives
FORT DEFIANCE, Ariz. (Dec. 27, 2007) At dawn, Dr. Corey Detlefs takes off from a runway at Mesa's Falcon Field Airport and heads northeast to the Navajo Reservation, bringing a life-and-death message to emergency medical workers.

Electrical worker donates kidney to coworker's wife
Gabriel Bennett was working overtime on a Saturday morning in July shutting down a city block for a Scottsdale-based electrical company when he made a split-second decision that changed his life and saved another. He decided to donate a kidney to a woman he had never met.