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Squash the flu in the shower

The heart of the matter: Northwest Indiana hospitals make fighting cardiovascular disease a top priority

While it's true a broken heart due to love hurts, a broken heart due to your health can be a legititimate killer, especially in Northwest Indiana.

American Heart Association launches campaign to reduce cardiovascular disease, risk

In 2000, critics believed the American Heart Association couldn't decrease heart disease and stroke deaths by 20 percent by 2010.

Franciscan heart surgeon brings minimally invasive expertise to NWI with new lab

While in medical school, Dr. Paul Jones initially thought he wanted to be an orthopedic surgeon, but something about the heart attracted him.

Porter uses diagnostic cardiology to help take care of patients

Mark Kime finds it easy to compare himself to a famous crime-fighter, specifically the star of a 1930's radio drama, "The Shadow."

Family deals with medical-error death without lawsuit

HOBART | Bob Malizzo knows that to make sure others benefit from his daughter's death, he must talk about it. Time has passed, but it's still difficult to discuss his daughter, Michelle Malizzo Ballog, who went in to the hospital for routine surgery, was put to sleep — and never woke up.

Health briefs for Jan. 24, 2012

Fundraiser to benefit shelter

Hospitals prepare for federal judgment of their patient care

Report card day carries with it the possibility of students being grounded or applauded. "Report cards" for hospitals will affect their bottom line.

New Porter Health System COO will oversee transition

VALPARAISO | Brian Sinotte will join Porter Health System as the hospital's new chief operating officer, CEO Jonathan Nalli announced Wednesday.

healthbriefs for 01/17

Health care organization taps its new chief financial officer

Porter hospital moves up move-in date

LIBERTY TOWNSHIP | Patients will be in the new Porter hospital three months earlier than anticipated, and the name over the door will be different.

Fake pot, real danger

LOWELL | Christmas was just more than a week away, and Eric Johnson was unsure if he would live to see it. Johnson had been smoking synthetic marijuana, known as "fake," among his friends.

Infectious fashion: Celebrity stylist Nick Verreos to host workshop

Celebrity stylist Nick Verreos hopes to leave region residents infected with the "glam virus" after he makes his first trip to the Hoosier state in March.

Healthbriefs for Jan. 10, 2012

Free mammograms available for qualifying region women

Infectious fashion: Celebrity stylist Nick Verreos to host workshop during Healthy U

Celebrity stylist Nick Verreos hopes to leave region residents infected after he makes his first trip to the Hoosier state in March.

Final report on train accident could take at least nine months

JACKSON TOWNSHIP | Federal officials are investigating Friday's crash involving three trains that left two crew members injured, but a final report won't be released for at least nine months.

Physician practice expands with new building

MUNSTER | The Munster-based Medical Specialists health care group is expanding with the construction of a new building at the corner of 45th and Calumet avenues.

NWI residents celebrate transplant donors, recipients by sharing in Rose Parade float

For Linda Ramos, it was an opportunity to thank a stranger who gave her a second chance at life. Kathleen Sojka expressed her appreciation for the new ability to see.

Even the big guy in red needs a helping hand

Because his schedule is so busy, Santa Claus handpicks helpers to share the load of mall visits, private holiday parties and school visits. We've tracked down four of Santa's helpers in the area to ask them what it's like to help one of the holiday's most recognizable faces.

A Hammond teen donates blood to help others in need

When Jadrian Doss, 17, signed up for an American Red Cross-sponsored blood drive at Morton High School, he had no idea he was returning the favor a stranger granted him 17 years ago.

Health briefs

Local surgeon's book looks at illness among kids, offers tips

Franciscan Alliance's WorkingWell clinic finds a new home

MUNSTER | The Franciscan Alliance's occupational health program WorkingWell has found a new home in the Franciscan Hammond Clinic Specialy Center, 7905 Calumet Ave.

Correction

In a story Sunday about dance therapy for Parkinson's patients, Andrea Dance was incorrectly identified in a fact box. The Times regrets the error.

Information exchange helps NWI hospitals know patients faster

MERRILLVILLE | A majority of Northwest Indiana's hospitals are working with the nation's largest electronic health information exchange to connect hospitals and physicians to important patient information.

Morton High teen donates blood to help others in need

HAMMOND | Jadrien Doss nervously smiled as he watched the needle slide into his arm. When Doss, 17, of Hammond, signed up Thursday for the American Red Cross-sponsored blood drive at Morton High School, he had no idea he was returning the favor a stranger granted him 17 years ago.

Parkinson's patients discover the best things happen while you're dancing

As Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons'"Walk like a man" played through the hall of the Crown Point American Legion Post 20, the men and women in the room made their way from one end of the room to the other, shimmying and swaying to the music. The only part of their bodies not keeping tempo …

Health briefs

Celebrity stylist to visit NWI

Health care group buys Illinois health system

BLUE ISLAND, ILL. | MetroSouth Medical Center announced Monday it has been purchased by a subsidiary of Community Health System Inc., which owns Porter Health System in Valparaiso.

Portage teen helps children of domestic violence through toy drive

Although he didn't know what to ask for for Christmas, Andre Taylor, 13, knew when he woke up Christmas morning there would be something waiting under the tree for him. He also knew that other children wouldn't be so lucky.

NWI leaders say nursing center's creation unites Hoosier nurses

Move over, Florence Nightingale. Nursing is changing, and Indiana is changing with it. While there always will be nurses in hospitals, many in today's workforce are in other venues. It's one of the many changes the newly formed Indiana Center for Nursing plans to address.

Impoverished NWI residents advise state panel

GARY | The woman said she had lost her job as a teacher at a charter school and hadn't been able to get a new one yet.

Parents prefer longer pediatric checkups, but are satisfied with short visits

Parents prefer longer wellness visits with their child's pediatrician, but believe shorter visits, sometimes as quick as 10 minutes, are satisfactory, according to a new study.

East Chicago health facility receives $261K federal grant

EAST CHICAGO | U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Merrillville, has announced a federal funding award to East Chicago Community Health Center from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Sisters to share stage with Russian ballerinas in Moscow Ballet's 'Nutcracker'

When Michelle Hartman's sister told her about auditions for children to participate in the Chicago performance of the Moscow Ballet's "The Great Russian Nutcracker," she decided on a whim to drive the two hours that day to the audition.

Hospital tree-lighting event honors cancer patients, hope for a cure

MUNSTER | After his oncologist retired and the the clinical trial site where he had been getting treatment for his Stage 3 lung cancer closed, Jim Miller was unsure what would happen next.

Health briefs

Grant to aid housing in Griffith for residents with disabilities

Study: Parents prefer longer pediatric checkups, but short visits still cover basics

Parents prefer longer wellness visits with their child's pediatrician, but believe shorter visits, sometimes as quick as 10 minutes, are satisfactory, according to a new study.

Sisters to share stage with Russian ballerinas in Moscow Ballet's 'Nutcracker'

When Michelle Hartman's sister told her about auditions for children to participate in the Chicago performance of the Moscow Ballet's "The Great Russian Nutcracker," she decided on a whim to drive the two hours that day to the audition.

Gary forum Thursday to address barriers to escaping poverty

GARY | The Indiana Commission on Childhood Poverty will host a public forum from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday to discuss how the state can reduce childhood poverty.

The biggest killers in the U.S. today are chronic diseases and bad habits

Our biggest killers today no longer are infectious diseases like polio. Instead, four of the top five leading causes of death are heart disease, cancer, stroke and chronic lower respiratory diseases. Our bad habits are now our worst enemy.

Healthbriefs for 11/29

IUN medical student places in competition, awarded $5,000

U.S.' biggest killers today are chronic diseases, bad habits

From 1840 to the 1950s, a single virus spread person to person terrified families worldwide who worried their children, once infected, might be paralyzed or die if their brain or spinal cord were affected.

Disease or decision?

Hospital billboards ignite community debate about obesity's causes, cures

HOBART | When Kathryn Galambos answered the phone a few weeks ago, the receptionist of the Healthy 4 Life weight-loss program expected a routine conversation.

South Bend, Elkhart health systems to combine

SOUTH BEND | South Bend-based Memorial Health System and Elkhart General Health system will combine to form a new company after a Wednesday vote by the board of directors for Memorial Health System.

HEALTH BRIEFS: Fundraiser planned for Illinois woman who needs kidney transplant

Fundraiser planned for woman in need of kidney transplant

Sugar in the sippy: Too much juice can lead to childhood obesity, health problems

Sue Ann Mellon never guessed the bottle of Hershey's chocolate syrup in the fridge would make filling her daughter's sippy cup so difficult.

Kicking the habit: One NWI resident shares her story

It pains Christy Eubanks to think about how much money she's spent on cigarettes over the past 26 years. She started smoking a pack a day at 14.

Kicking the habit: One NWI resident shares her story

CROWN POINT | It pains Christy Eubanks to think about how much money she's spent on cigarettes over the past 26 years. She started smoking a pack a day at 14.

Threat to Medicare, Medicaid sparks protest

GARY | The thought of cuts in Medicare and Medicaid funding scares home care provider Vicky Hernandez, but perhaps it scares even more the patients she cares for.