June 12th, 2011 by DeborahSchwarzRPA in Expert Interviews
No Comments »
Francine Johanna Castillo, MS
Administrative Director, The Pancreas Center
Administrator, Division of GI/Endocrine Surgery
NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center
Patients usually seek treatment at centers such as NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia because of the expert care they know they will receive from the hospital’s physicians and surgeons. Patients may be less aware that a vast network of dedicated, highly trained staff is quietly working behind the scenes, tending to every detail of their office visits, testing, procedures, and follow-up care. The contributions of such personnel in ensuring the quality of patients’ and families’ experiences at the hospital can not be overstated.
In this brief interview, we highlight one such person: Francine Castillo, MS, Administrative Director of the Pancreas Center. As John A. Chabot, MD, Executive Director of the Pancreas Center explains, Francine is “the heart and soul” of the Pancreas Center. She bears central responsibility for ensuring that all aspects of the center run well: financial operations, patient care, community outreach, and fund-raising events. In addition, she is the administrator of the Division of Endocrine Surgery/NY Thyroid Center. Francine’s commitment to providing patients and staff with the best services possible has earned her tremendous respect among both patients and colleagues, who rely heavily on her administrative expertise.
What are your responsibilities at the Pancreas Center? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Columbia University Department of Surgery Blog*
May 19th, 2011 by KerriSparling in Health Tips, Humor, True Stories
No Comments »
Yesterday I wrote about my wedding, focusing on the parts that meant the most to me: the man I love, our families and friends, the church service, saying “I do,” and dancing ourselves silly at the reception.
But diabetes was a part of my wedding day. We did our best to keep it quiet and unnoticed, though, using several tricky methods. I’m like a diabetes wedding magician … sort of.
First things first: the dress. Wearing an insulin pump is the easiest and least intrusive way for me to take my insulin, and I wasn’t about to go off the pump just for the sake of fashion. My solution? Design a pocket to hold my insulin pump, hidden in my wedding dress. I spoke with the seamstress at Ye Olde Bridal Shoppe and she and I designed something that left the pump accessible, yet hidden.
Even if you were looking for it, the pump pocket was almost impossible to find. Hidden along the seam of my wedding gown, it was held shut with a small piece of velcro. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Six Until Me.*
May 15th, 2011 by KerriSparling in True Stories
1 Comment »
September will mark 25 years for me with type 1 diabetes, but I still haven’t learned that an afternoon of lazy 200+ mg/dl’s that won’t budge, even after multiple boluses (and one really solid rage bolus where I actually grunted “You. Frigging. Diabetes.” as my fingers mashed the buttons), after repeated tests that showed climbing numbers … wouldn’t you think I’d inspect that infusion set? Maybe just give it a peek? See how things are doing there, on the back of my hip, where that 6 mm cannula is resting (hopefully) comfortably?
Oh, you mean I shouldn’t have waited until I smelled that distinct scent? The one that smells like a cross between bandaids and the dentist’s office? And then, when I dabbed at the gauze patch around my site and felt the dampness, I still didn’t really hone in on it because I was so high that everything was on like a 20 minute delay? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Six Until Me.*
May 10th, 2011 by Medgadget in Research
No Comments »
A team led by researchers from University of Cambridge showed that closed loop insulin delivery was effective in controlling overnight blood glucose levels in patients with type 1 diabetes. The system took readings every fifteen minutes and automatically titrated a proper amount of insulin.
University of Cambridge researcher Dr Roman Hovorka led two studies to evaluate the performance of the artificial pancreas in 10 men and 14 women, aged 18 to 65, who had used an insulin pump for at least three months. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Medgadget*
April 3rd, 2011 by KerriSparling in Humor, True Stories
No Comments »
It’s been well-documented that my coffee addiction is … substantial. Briefly on hiatus during my pregnancy, I was reunited with my beloved beverage after the baby was born, and now I’m back in the habit.
Since I work from our home office and I’m also the primary caregiver for BSparl, sleep is a hot commodity. Actually, I don’t get to sleep much, so the coffee is very much my friend these days. Work hard, play hard, drink much of the coffee.
The other day, I was out with the baby, running a few errands. I had to visit the post office, the grocery store, CVS … and Dunkin Donuts. I try to make my order sound fresh and new (versus something I say almost without thinking), and I leaned out the window to order into the drive through speaker. (Instead of into the garbage can, which is something I’ve done more times than I’d care to admit.)
“Hi!” Total joy. “Can I please have a medium iced coffee with cream and two Splenda?”
“Sure thing. Please drive up.”
So I drive up. But when I get to the window, there’s a little bit of confusion.
“Okay, so one coffee with milk and sugar, two doughnuts, and a bagel with cream cheese?” The boy attending the window had a bag of deliciousness in his hand. My stomach said “YES! YES. THOSE BELONG TO ME.” Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Six Until Me.*
