Yosef Gindzin carried his patient, Lillian Havenga, through the snow so that he could administer an injection in her right eye that saved her vision, in today's bite-sized hospital and health industry news from Illinois, Michigan, and New Hampshire.
- Illinois: OSF HealthCare has selected Michael Cruz to serve as permanent CEO for the health care system's central region. Cruz has been serving as the interim central region CEO for OSF HealthCare since January, in addition to his role as the president of OSF Saint Francis Medical Center (Vaidya, Becker's Hospital Review, 12/19).
- Michigan: Lillian Havenga, a woman suffering from an eye condition that requires time-sensitive care, said her ophthalmologist, Yosef Gindzin, helped preserve her vision by coming to the office on his day off and carrying her to and from his office through the snow. According to Fox 17's Ty Shesky, Havenga, who has wet macular degeneration, was originally scheduled to receive an injection that preserves the sight in her right eye (she is already mostly blind in her left eye), on Dec. 14, but she had to cancel because of a separate health issue requiring emergency care. Gindzin rearranged his schedule so Havenga could come into the office the following Saturday and then—after snow in the parking lot prevented her from using her wheel chair—carried her to and from the office for the injection (Shesky, Fox 17, 12/18).
- New Hampshire: The number of infants in the state suffering from neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) increased from 52 in 2005 to 269 in 2015, according to a report released Tuesday from the University of New Hampshire and New Futures Kids Count. According to the Associated Press, NAS occurs when a baby is exposed to opioids via its mother's use during pregnancy, causing the baby to go through difficult withdrawal symptoms after birth. CDC said the New Hampshire rate increase reflects a nationwide increase, with the overall rates of NAS increasing 300% between 1999 and 2013 (Casey, AP/Sacramento Bee, 12/19).
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