In the News

Banner Health News Center

In the News

Some IT Insight
CHICAGO (June 29, 2009) -- If you’re looking to add meaning to your healthcare information technology project, you’ve come to the right place. Welcome to Modern Healthcare’s inaugural IT Case Study Contest, where you, the reader, have the opportunity to tell your peers about your innovative IT projects, how those projects are improving patient care and how you intend to seek federal funding for those projects. . . .Banner Health is number three.

It takes an EHR to create a village
PHOENIX (June 29, 2009) -- Banner Health exists to make a difference in people’s lives through excellent patient care. . . A critical strategic initiative guiding the organization to its planned future state of clinical excellence, patient safety and operating efficiency is the implementation of a comprehensive electronic health record (EHR).

Health center is saved
WILLIAMS, Ariz. (June 30, 2009) - Health care experts are celebrating in Williams, thanks to overwhelming voter support for their services. Voters came out in favor of the Williams Banner Health Care Center following a June 23 special election, with 81 percent voting in favor of the tax. Unofficial election results showed a total of 1,374 voters coming out in support of the health care center, with 256 voting against the tax. Roughly 43 percent of all registered voters turned in ballots for the June 23 election, according to estimates.

FDA Advises Lower Dosage for Popular Painkiller
NEW YORK (July 1, 2009) -- A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel recommended on June 30 that the maximum over-the-counter dose of the popular pain reliever acetaminophen be lowered and that the current maximum single dose of the drug be available by prescription only.

Surgery on an unborn baby
PHOENIX (June 23, 2009) -- A Tucson woman who is 24 weeks pregnant undergoes an operation to repair her unborn baby's lungs. Doctors at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center were able to insert a device into the baby's lungs that will allow fluid to drain.

New careers as chaplains found later in life
GLENDALE, Ariz. (June 26, 2009) --The Glendale native Steve Isles has found a second calling in what is sure to be a growth industry in coming years. . This summer he is testing out his new career as one of a handful of chaplain interns in Banner Thunderbird Medical Center's program of clinical pastoral education.

Where is your heart?
MESA, Ariz. (June 17, 2009) -- A British survey found only 47 percent of Britons could find their heart on the diagram of a body and only about one-third could locate their lungs. Valley residents could probably do better, said Barbara Lambeth, research director at Banner Heart Hospital in Mesa.

SNIF tags are improving human efficiency
PHOENIX (June 19, 2009) -- The SNIF Tag, a kind of high-tech homing device that allowed pet owners to follow their dogs' activities and social interactions, was rated one of the worst new technologies in 2008. But Kanav Kahol of Arizona State University and Banner Good Samaritan saw other possibilities.

Nintendo Wii Could Help Doctors Prep for Surgery
NEW YORK (June 18, 2009) -- The popular Nintendo Wii console offers video games that venture into the world of exercise, but scientists now are taking it further, to help doctors heal the body.

Students volunteering at West Valley hospitals
SUN CITY, Ariz. (June 13, 2009) -- More than 100 students are spending their summer break volunteering at two Northwest Valley hospitals. Banner Del E. Webb and Banner Boswell medical centers each selected about 50 teens for their summer junior volunteer program, which began this month.

Banner Thunderbird introduces ouch-less shots for kids
GLENDALE, Ariz. (June 12, 2009) -- Children will no longer have to dread the sting of painful shots at Banner Thunderbird Medical Center now that its staff is offering "ouch-less" injections.

Sleep habits important for mental health
PHOENIX (June 11, 2009) -- A study by researchers at Columbia University shows that teenagers who stay up past midnight are 40 percent more likely to become depressed and have a 30 percent higher chance of having suicidal thoughts than teens who have a 10 p.m. bed time. Loreto Sulit, a sleep specialist at Banner Baywood Medical Center in Phoenix, said that's not surprising.

Retiree trains sights on labor of love
MESA, Ariz. (June, 10, 2009) -- John Macrone, 78, is keeping his wife's dream alive. Every day he tends to a 35- by 30-foot outdoor model "train garden" that honors her affinity for helping others. For seven years, the train garden has been an attraction for children who spend time at Cardon Children's Medical Center.

Fewer openings more competition for older job seekers
PHOENIX (June 4, 2009) -- Many Baby Boomers and older workers are hitting a hiring wall. Finding a job after age 50 can be tough enough at any time, but the recession is casting into a shrinking job market a lot of older people who never expected to be there. And it's taking them longer to find a new job than younger workers.

St. Mary's drive encouraged teens to buckle up
PHOENIX (June 2, 2009) -- It is a grim statistic. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, motor-vehicle collisions are the leading cause of death for teens (ages 16-20) in the United States.

Mammogram Parties Promote Women's Health
PHOENIX (June 1, 2009) -- It's a rite of passage many women would rather put off -- getting the mammogram. But some hospitals are trying a new, fun way to get women back into the examining room.

Burst liver tumor killed mom, infant
PHOENIX (May 30, 2009) -- The medical emergency that claimed the lives of state Treasurer Dean Martin's wife and newborn son began with a rare accumulation of cells on Kerry Martin's liver.

Fairbanksan hopes small change adds up
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (May 29, 2009) --John Kohler figures that everyone in Fairbanks has a change jar at home.“You dump your pockets at the end of the day, and that’s when you know you’re home,” he said.After a while, the coins add up. Or collect in drawers and under couches, etc.

New Doctor Check-Up
PHOENIX (May 22, 2009) -- Last fall, FOX 10 took their cameras inside a Banner Good Samaritan for a look at what it's really like to be a first-year doctor. They followed a newlywed couple who had just moved to Phoenix to begin their careers as doctors. Now, ten months into their residency, we caught up with them again as they continue to grow and learn their craft.

Gilbert to get cancer treatment center
GILBERT, Ariz. (May 21, 2009) -- Banner Health officials said they will relocate the 10-year-old City of Hope-Banner Bone Marrow Transplant Program located inside the Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center to the planned $90 million M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. The center, announced earlier this month, is scheduled to break ground in January on the Banner Gateway Medical Center campus in Gilbert.

Loveland couple takes leap of faith
LOVELAND, Colo. (May 22, 2009) -- Loveland resident Brenda Fenske admits she wondered what to say when she first talked to the woman who likely saved her life. “I don’t know, I was really hesitant to meet her because she gave me a part of her body,” Fenske said. Two years ago Friday, an Arizona resident named Sylvia donated her kidney to Fenske, a woman she never met.

Arizona’s First Transplant Patient Helped Others, Despite Her Medical Challenges
PHOENIX (May 19, 2009) -- The young social worker’s courage kept pace with her fear, but her energy level was reaching empty. She was in pain, rushing to Good Samaritan Hospital. Her kidneys were failing. It was early 1969. She was 25, the youngest in the family. It was 25 miles between home and help.

Iraq Marine watches birth in Loveland by computer link
LOVELAND, Colo. (May 13, 2009) -- Like many first-time fathers, Danny Gibson said watching his daughter’s birth was surreal, like watching a movie. But the Marine sergeant, who is stationed in Iraq, experienced it live on a computer screen.

Web cam brings baby's birth to Iraq - McKee helps connect couple
LOVELAND, Colo. (May 13, 2009) -- Danny Gibson did what any concerned husband does while his wife, Amy, labored with their first child Monday. "He would say good job, you're doing great, you look beautiful - just good husband things," Amy recalled as she cuddled newborn Kate Fay Gibson on Tuesday at McKee Medical Center.

If the outcome is good, can it still be news?
PHOENIX (May 12, 2009) -- "One of the officers suggested that I go with them to Banner Behavioral Health (in Scottsdale), but I was leery. He said that he had a lot of experience with the place and that they could help me."

A mother's living lesson
PHOENIX (May 10, 2009) -- When Josephine Moreno was a young woman, she taught her children how to love. She made them feel safe. Now, Josephine is an old woman. She likes sweet pie and shopping trips. She is often confused. Josephine, 85, has Alzheimer's disease, and it is stealing her away.

Banner CEO survives cancer battle
PHOENIX (May 6, 2009) -- It started as a tiny lump in his neck that wouldn't go away. Banner Health CEO Peter Fine last year asked his doctor, Dr. Bruce Bethancourt, whether he should be concerned. Bethancourt recommended a precautionary CAT scan that led to the biopsy of a lymph node.

Gilbert to get renowned hospital for cancer care
PHOENIX (May 6, 2009) -- Banner Health has struck a deal with one of the most recognized names in cancer care to open a new hospital and outpatient-treatment center on the campus of Banner's Gateway Medical Center in Gilbert.

Valley hospital sees spike in snake bites
PHOENIX (May 4, 2009) -- Patrick Hotchkiss spent his second night in the hospital Monday night. He was flown by helicopter to Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center after being bitten by a rattlesnake on Sunday afternoon.

Trauma nurse focuses on preventing injuries
PHOENIX (April 27, 2009) - Trauma prevention. It's a bit of an oxymoron - kind of like "original copies" or "act naturally." However, it is a mission that Paula Segebarth is committed to.

Virtualities and medical mannequins populate Banner Good Sam
PHOENIX (April 27, 2009) - First the nurse gently taps on the door before entering the patient's room. Then she speaks in hushed, calming tones, calling the patient by name and explaining why she's there and what's going to happen next. It's a one-sided conversation, though, because some of the patients at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center can't talk. They can, however, breathe, bleed, cough, have heart attacks, seize and give birth. They have wounds that weep and sometimes smell bad.

Volunteers fill vital needs at hospitals
SUN CITY, Ariz., (April 22, 2009) --The volunteers at Banner Del E. Webb and Boswell medical centers come in all forms: men, women, retirees, teens, four-legged and furry.

NCMC Unit Allows Patients to be part of Healing Process
GREELEY, Colo. (April 17, 2009) -- North Colorado Medical Center officially opened its $4.9 million Western States Burn Center at the hospital last week.

Stimulus to speed shift to electronic files
PHOENIX (April 17, 2009) -- Federal money could accelerate Arizona's push toward digital health records, making staples such as paper charts, written prescriptions and doctor's-office clipboards a thing of the past. Banner Estrella Medical Center was among the nation's first hospitals to go all digital when it opened in January 2005

Aging hospital reborn as corporate center
MESA, Ariz. (April 14, 2009) -- Less than two years after Banner Mesa Medical Center was closed as an antiquated hospital, its rebirth as a corporate center focused on education and state-of-the art technology is nearly complete.

Recession taking toll on Americans' mental, physical health
PHOENIX (April 12, 2009) -- The seemingly never-ending torrent of bad news is beginning to hurt us both mentally and physically. Recent studies suggest that more than 80 percent of Americans are stressed out by financial issues related to the economy. We're not sleeping. We're not eating right. We're just feeling lousy.

North Colorado Medical Center is improving how it treats burn patients
GREELEY, Colo (April 2, 2009) -- North Colorado Medical Center is improving how it treats burn patients. Today it showed off the brand new Western States Burn Center. It has ten patient beds and features a special rehab center specifically for burn patients.

Imaging may help gauge Alzheimers
PHOENIX (March 31,2009) -- A study by an Arizona-led research team found that imaging technology shows physical changes in the brains of otherwise healthy people who face genetic risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. "We want Arizona to be the place to come to find treatments to end Alzheimer's disease," said Dr. Eric Reiman, executive director of Banner Alzheimer's Institute and executive director of the Arizona Alzheimer's Consortium.

Power breakfast for kids
PHOENIX (March 31, 2009) -- Your children need to leave the home with a full tummy - ready to tackle their AIMS tests this week. FOX 10's Diane Ryan has the details on preparing a power breakfast for children.

New way to predict Alzheimers
PHOENIX (March 31,2009) -- Dr. Eric Reiman, executive director of the Banner Alzheimer’s Institute, led a brain imaging study that found amyloid plaques developing in the brain foreshadow the onset of problems with memory and thought processes.

Is the economy stressing you out? Get better sleep now.
MESA, Ariz. (March 30, 2009) --Are you tossing and turning like a lot of others across the Valley? People are stressed over money and more. One stressed patient turned to a sleep lab at Banner Baywood Medical Center.

Vegas man suffers 3000 stings
PHOENIX (March 29, 2009) -- More than 3,000 killer bees attacked Jeff Moser on March 21 as he was helping a friend clean up his yard in Las Vegas. According to Moser, the hospital in Las Vegas did not have a toxicologist or any specialized poison units with extensive knowledge to deal with a rare case like his. His wife researched the best places for treatment online and decided Moser's best chances for survival would be at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center in Phoenix.

Banner Childrens new pediatric surgeons saving lives
MESA, Ariz. (March 24, 2009) -- At first the long stares lasted a few seconds. Then, at three months old, Braeden Scott would fall asleep with his eyes open.... Two pediatric neurosurgeons who recently joined Banner Children's Hospital in Mesa were able to remove the marble-sized tumor in February. McKee said they saw a mass in his brain and told her it was operable and in an inactive part of his brain.

Rattlesnake Problems Starting Early
PHOENIX (March 19, 2009) -- Problems with rattlesnakes are starting early this year, and our unseasonably warm weather is to blame. Since the beginning of this week, three new snake bites have been reported to Banner's Poison Control Center. The center has logged a total of 10 rattlesnake bites since February. That is higher than usual for this time of year.

Spike In Scorpion Stings Reported
PHOENIX (March 16, 2009) -- Banner's Poison Control Center reported more than 100 calls about scorpion stings in the past week alone. Ann Marie Krueger said the warm weather may be why the Poison Control Center has fielded so many calls recently. Scorpions are more active when it's over 75 or 80 degrees.

Many skipping much-needed care to save money during recession
PHOENIX (March 15, 2009) -- Experts say there are many ways to safely save on medical expenses. But a lot of patients are doing all the wrong things and putting their health in jeopardy in the process."There are worse things than being unemployed," said Richard Watts, director of emergency and trauma services at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center. "And not properly managing your health is right up there."

Beware: Warmer Valley weather brings snakes out of hiding
PHOENIX (March 13, 2009) -- Tim Vaughn pointed to the rocks near the bus circle, and said, "We came back here to investigate and we found two more rattlesnakes here at that time." When he came across three rattlesnakes just yards from classrooms this week, he called in an expert to take them away.... Staff at the Banner Poison Control Center treat as many as 70 snakebites a year.

Resource available to everyone in case of poisoning
PHOENIX (March 13, 2009) -- It's Poison Prevention Week and there's a very important resource available to everyone.

Kidney donors pay it forward to strangers
PHOENIX (March 12, 2009) - Organ-donation surgeries have become both miraculous and mundane. But in July 2007, when doctors in Phoenix took a kidney from one patient and placed it in another, it was a groundbreaking procedure. That surgery, the first link in a kidney chain, is becoming a national model.

Poison control center shows care, skill
PHOENIX (March 11, 2009) - Brown identified what was left of the dissolving object - one of her father's pills. As a worried first-time mother, Brown immediately called Banner Poison Control Center - something she had learned to do in many parenting magazines and brochures.

New surgery for Parkinson's sufferers
PHOENIX (March 11, 2009) -- Celebrities like Mohammad Ali and Michael J. Fox are some of the most famous Americans living with Parkinson's Disease. But there are millions of Americans living with the debilitating disease, and when medications stop working there is a new brain operation that is showing a lot of promise. FOX 10's Kari Lake explains.

Local scientist cheers lifting of stem-cell ban
SUN CITY, Ariz. (March 10, 2009) -- In a crowded White House East Room room Monday, there were more scientists than Alan Leshner had seen in his 30 years in Washington. "More happy scientists than I've seen," added the CEO of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, who attended the ceremony where President Barack Obama lifted the contentious Bush-era restraints on stem-cell research. More than 2,300 miles away in Sun City, there was another happy scientist.

Obama's lifting of stem cell ban could have impact in Valley
PHOENIX (March 10, 2009) -- Scientists at a Sun City research institute believe Monday's lifting of the ban on embryonic stem cell research could lead to some major medical discoveries.

Deep brain stimulation relieves essential tremors
SUN CITY, Ariz. (March 4, 2009) --John DePesa suffered from such bad episodes of essential tremors that he found it hard to function with some of his everyday activities.The Peoria resident couldn't tee up a golf ball or use a screwdriver. The 70-year-old, who lives in Ventana Lakes, chose to undergo deep brain stimulation, a surgical therapy offered at Banner Boswell Medical Center to relieve symptoms associated with Parkinson's disease or essential tremors

Four sets of quads born at Phoenix hospital
PHOENIX (Feb. 25, 2009) -- Not all high-order multiple births come with a sideshow of paparazzi and lurid tabloid headlines like those surrounding the octuplets born to a single mother with six other children in California. Many are like the four sets of quadruplets delivered in one Phoenix hospital (Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center) within a six-week period — born to stable and responsible couples with the means to support the children and no desire for publicity.

Colleague's gift gives teacher new outlook
MESA, Ariz. (Feb. 17, 2009) -- As a new mom and a special education teacher at Gilbert's Patterson Elementary School, Brenda Chase's health was going downhill. But now, thanks to a special donation from a good friend and fellow Patterson teacher, Chase has a second chance on life.

Banner Baywood reaches out to young pregnant women
MESA, Ariz. (Feb. 10, 2009) -- An informal pregnancy class is part of Banner Baywood’s effort to educate young and teen mothers in the East Valley who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford costly prenatal education and pregnancy classes.