HELP YOUR VOG FAMILY GET THE CLOTHES DRIVE ON AND LOCAL KIDS BACK TO SCHOOL LOOKING SHARP!
Volusia Ob Gyn and local charity Clothes to You are holding a clothes drive from 8/29 through 9/12. We are accepting gently used clothes for all sizes and ages (underwear/socks however must be new). You can drop items off during regular business hours. This is a wonderful effort that will help our local children in need. If you have any questions feel free to call Amber at our office or Sandra Thompson at 386-212-0812. Clothes to You has an email as well clothestoyou@hotmail.com. These donations by the way, are tax deductible 
Thank you !
HELP TEAM “WOOOOSH WE’RE SO FAST”
On Sept 9th at 7am in the am, our staff, friends and family will be attempting to do the Halifax Hospice of Volusia/Flagler 5k/10k run/walk. Our team name is “Woooosh, we’re so fast” but in reality most of our team has never done a 5k , and frankly, the goal is to finish without PUKING OR FAINTING!! Our lead fundraiser so far is our ultrasound technician Karena Wallace, who will be running in memory of her “Meemaw”. She hopes to raise $500 and she’s almost there. So our dear patients, potential patients and friends of VOG, please take a minute to check out the race webpage, and if you have a bit of $ to spare, sponsor Karena. Here’s the link:
THANK YOU!!!!!
OB LECTURE AUGUST 9TH, RSVP TODAY
August 9th at 6pm Dr.Robertson will be speaking about pain management options for labor. This should be a very helpful lecture for those who are considering or are currently planning a family. Refreshments will be served and the lecture will conclude with a tour of the Birth Care Center. OH AND THEY WILL RAFFLE A COACH DIAPER BAG!!!
Call 386-231-2229 to RSVP
SUMMER LECTURE SERIES START TOMORROW, RSVP!
(CLICK ON FLIER FOR DETAILS)
Starting tomorrow, join Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center for an educational seminar series focusing on women’s health issues. Every seminar will include a drawing for a pair of movie tickets! You must be present to win, so please mark your calendars!
Additional events will be occurring through October. Topics vary, and all age groups will find subjects of interest! Seminars will take place in the hospital’s MOB 1st floor classroom.
Light refreshments will be provided. Space is limited, and registration is required. For information or to RSVP, please call (386) 231-2229.
Women’s Health Series: Lecture 1
Abnormal Uterine Bleeding – What to Look for & How to Treat
By Dr. Cecille Tapia-Santiago
6 pm on Thursday, July 12
305 Memorial Medical Parkway, Daytona Beach, FL
Call 386-231-2229 to RSVP
THE RESULTS ARE IN…THANK YOU :)
We just wanted to share with you the latest patient satisfaction surveys. As you know if you register an email account with us, you are sent an optional survey to rate our services.
Our overall Practice Score is determined by combining scores for the following questions: courtesy of the person who took your call / receptionist, helpfulness of the staff who assisted you with billing or insurance, caring and concern of the nurses or medical assistants, neat and clean office, comfort while waiting, privacy, ease of making an appointment, appointment available within a reasonable amount of time, efficiency of the check-in process, hours practice is open,
prompt return of calls, ability to obtain prescription refills, test results received within a reasonable amount of time, time in waiting room, time in exam room, and referral likelihood.
Our individual physician scores are determined by combining scores for the following questions: does your doctor listen to you, spend enough time with you, is friendly and courteous, answer your questions, explain things in a way you can understand.
Our patient response rate was 28% of those surveyed. Average for our neighboring practices was 18%. Almost 400 surveys were reviewed for the last quarter.
And here’s the scoop. Our scores were compared to 102 other practices throughout Florida and our practice ranked in the top 8 percent of all of them. Our individual practice scores were in the top four percent!
We of course are well aware that we have areas to improve upon…paperwork upon checking in was an subject of patient concern, wait times for appointments, and some “people skills” issues were brought up as well. We want to assure our existing as well as our potential new patients that we are working on these issues.
Once again thank you for taking the time out of your busy lives to help us with the surveys. We strive for continued improvement and we cannot do it without you
Cool Stuff, advances in genetic screening for Down’s Syndrome, Trisomy 18 and 13
For years one of the greatest challenges in Obstetrics has been to design a test for Down’s syndrome, Trisomy 18 and 13 that is accurate as well as non-invasive. Although amniocentesis and CVS remain as the golden standards, they are invasive tests that carry a small risk of pregnancy loss. We have non-invasive tests available, but they carry significant false positive and negative rates. This means that you can have a test indicating something is wrong when it is not, and less likely a screen test that is negative when in fact there may be an issue with the baby. Non-invasive testing for these syndromes has improved throughout the years, and in fact non-invasive first trimester screening is now up to 90% as accurate as invasive tests…but again not where we would like to be.
In medical school and residency, we were always taught that fetal (baby) cells and maternal (mom) cells never mixed…and that in fact, if that ever were to happen it was indicative of a problem. Well we now know for a fact that there is fetal DNA found in maternal plasma, and by extracting this DNA (through a simple blood test) we can test for Down’s syndrome, Trisomy 18 and 13.
The data on the MaterniT21 PLUS test is impressive. For T21 showed it detected 210/212 cases. Trisomy 18 and 13 are less common syndromes, yet the test picked out 59/59 and 11/12 cases respectively.
Downside in my opinion? Well of course being a new test the number of cases is not as large as with some other tests. Also, insurance may not cover it, and out of pocket expense is steep (around $2000). I anticipate these 2 issues will improve with time. Also the test is not as comprehensive as invasive testing in terms of being able to detect other conditions (for example, if muscular dystrophy runs in a family, invasive testing can be done for this condition). I also anticipate this will improve with time.
So, cool stuff…
OK…AN INSIDE LOOK AT VOG’S LUNCH BREAK
IN CASE YOU ARE WONDERING, NO WE’RE NOT QUITTING OUR DAY JOBS
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: GUATEMALA 2012
Back safe and sound from a very successful gyn surgical mission. I had the privilege of joining 77 wonderful people and what was accomplished was fantastic. Energy efficient stoves were built. Water filters were installed. A LOT OF TEETH WERE PULLED (right next to the gyn clinic…eeeek!!). We trained midwives in basic infant resuscitation and recognition of indications for hospital transfer. Pediatric, medical and well woman clinics ran for a week straight and averaged 200 patients/day. General surgeons repaired I don’t know how many hernias, took out gallbladders and excised a variety of “lumps and bumps”. As for gynecology we did hysterectomies galore.
My son put together a video with some pictures. Hope you enjoy it. If you have any questions feel free to shoot me an email or call. Oh.. and the soldiers packing Galil 55′s??? Security…they were sweet as pie. Any mom would be proud to call them “son”.
DrT
PS: no, I’m not 6’2″ Guatemalans just make me look tall! ( as a reference I’m 5’4″ on a good day 
February is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month!
Eva Peron, though mostly known today for the Broadway play Evita, or even the Madonna version of the song, “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina”, was first lady of Argentina from 1946 until her untimely death of cancer in 1952. As February is Cervical Cancer Awareness month, I thought I’d highlight Ms. Peron as an example as to why we must educate ourselves in the prevention of this cancer.
The youngest of five children of Juan Duarte and Juana Ibarguren, María Eva Duarte was born on May 7, 1919, in the little
village of Los Toldos in Buenos Aires province, Argentina. Following the death of her father, the family moved to the larger nearby town of Junín, where her mother ran a boarding house. At the age of sixteen, Evita, as she was often called, left high school after two years and went to Buenos Aires with the dream of becoming an actress. Lacking any training in the theater, she obtained a few small parts in motion pictures and on the radio. She was finally employed on a regular basis with one of the largest radio stations in Buenos Aires.
In 1943 Eva met Colonel Juan Perón, who had assumed the post of
secretary of labor and social welfare in the military government that had recently come to power. Eva developed a close relationship with the widowed Perón, who was beginning to organize the Argentine workers in support of his own bid for the presidency. Becoming Perón’s loyal political confidante and partner, she helped him increase his support among the masses. O n October 21, 1945, Eva and Juan Perón were married.
Following Perón’s election, Eva began to play an increasingly important role in the political affairs of the nation. During the
early months of the Perón administration she launched an active campaign for national women’s suffrage, which had been one of Perón’s campaign promises.
Because Eva came from a lower-class background, she identified with the members of the working classes and was strongly committed
to improving their lives. She devoted several hours every day to meeting with poor people and visiting hospitals, orphanages, and factories. She also supervised the newly created Ministry of Health, which built many new hospitals and established a successful program to fight different diseases.
In late 1950 or early 1951, it was evident to all
Evita was not well. She lost weight, became paler than usual, and had ankle swelling. She fainted at a public ceremony on August 23, 1951 and was hospitalized. Officially it was announced she had anemia,
but in fact she had advanced cervical cancer. Peron ordered a search for the world’s best cancer surgeon, and Dr.Pack from New York’s Sloan Kettering came to Buenos Aires and performed a radical hysterectomy, all without Evita’s knowledge. Election Day came while she was hospitalized, and photographs showed her casting her ballot, as this was the first time women voted in Argentina. Her course went downhill rapidly, and she was barely able to attend Peron’s inauguration for a second term. She died July
26, 1952, at the age of 33.
Eva Peron’s illness was quite consistent with the profile of cervical cancer. She was only slightly below the average age at
diagnosis, and she undoubtedly had early onset of sexual activity and multiple partners, the 2 best know risk factors. Peron’s first wife also died of cervical cancer at an early age, suggesting that he himself might have been the source of an exceptionally aggressive form of the HPV virus (the known cause of cervical cancer).
Eva’s influence on her country and the world was
profound and shows no sign of abating, more than half a century after her death. She represented a powerful example of how a woman of modest origins can rise to the highest seat of power, and have profound and lasting influence. Her record in improving the status of women is virtually unassailable. But Eva Peron also stands as a prominent representative of the millions of women who have fallen victim to cervical cancer over the years.
Patient education and screening for cervical precancer and cancer (pap smears) were just beginning at the time of Evita’s illness. Since then, cervical cancer is one of the success stories in the conquest of cancer, with the incidence steadily declining in developing countries. Today, we possess the ability to reduce, and perhaps in the near future even eliminate, this common cause of death and disability in women. Education is important. Unfortunately there are
still large segments of the female population living where necessary resources are lacking, and these women still face the dim prospect of the disease and death Eva experienced.
Read more:
2) Eva
Peron: Charisma, Controversy and Cervical Cancer by Roy M. Pitkin, ACOG
clinical review Nov-Dec 2004
3) Eva Perón
Biography – family, children, name, death, history, wife, school, mother,
information, born, house http://www.notablebiographies.com/Pe-Pu/Per-n-Eva.html#b#ixzz1jqdgxoxP
YOU MAY NOT NEED A PAP NEXT YEAR!!
By now some of you may already be familiar with the new Pap smear guidelines. Bottom line, a lot of our patients will be “rewarded” for being compliant with your annual exams and having a low risk for cervical cancer or pre-cancer. These new recommendations make A LOT OF SENSE and are based on solid clinical data. Now that does NOT mean you can skip an annual exam (we know most of you would rather skip the whole thing altogether and believe us, we understand). However no pap makes the whole thing easier and quicker, and a lot of you may save $ on lab fees. Happy New Year to all of you and here’s to a potential pap break!!!
PS: here’s a link to the new recommendations
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/detection/Pap-test
PPS: HERE’S HOW HAPPY SOME OF OUR GIRLS ARE ABOUT THESE GREAT NEWS!!!!!! (CLICK ON MOVIE)
