News

Although John Kanera spent the 2024 holiday season recovering from open heart surgery, he didn’t miss a beat, and he’s already planning for the future. John found out last fall that a heart murmur he’d had for years was his aortic valve narrowing due to the build-up of calcium over time. Testing revealed he needed a valve replacement. John is one of the five million Americans diagnosed with heart valve disease each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “I first met with D r....

Congratulations to Melissa Szczembara, PA, our Allied Health Professional of the Quarter. Melissa is a physician assistant in our cardiology department. Melissa has a way with people that has inspired her colleagues, along with her excellent work ethic. "Patients and their families love Melissa. She has a great relationship with the hospital staff,” said her nominator. “She helps wherever she can and whenever she can, and on occasion will answer nursing staff questions even when she is away from the hos...

Congratulations to Dr. Alison Kinning, McLaren Flint’s Physician of the Quarter.  Dr. Kinning, a is a vascular surgeon at McLaren Flint.  Colleagues say her impressive bedside manner makes her more than deserving of this honor. "I have watched Dr. Alison Kinning round many times, and she always gets on the patient’s level, usually kneeling at the bedside and speaking with kindness and compassion,” said Dr. Kinning’s nominator. "She takes the time to thoughtfully answer patient's questions. She...

When should you go to the ER for the flu? With the 2024-2025 flu season being described as the “most intense” in 15 years, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have estimated there have been at least 24 million cases across the country. This has resulted in more than 310,000 hospitalizations and, tragically, 13,000 deaths. The widespread nature of this flu has caused many to seek care in their nearest emergency department, increasing the potential to overwhelm physicians and caregivers. In ...

When Lindsey Danias started having pain in her left breast, she did not think much of it at first. “I felt a large cyst, but I did not decide to get it checked out until the pain became unbearable and my breast felt hot,” said Lindsey. “Cancer had not crossed my mind. No one in my immediate family ever had breast cancer.” The 35-year-old’s doctor did not want to take any chances and sent Lindsey for a mammogram. “At that point, I was preparing myself for the worst,” Lindsey said. “I had started to plan ...

Last October, Vickie Christ, 65, of Mt. Morris, was having trouble breathing, so she called her primary care doctor to prescribe an inhaler, as she thought it might just be very bad allergies. Once her doctor assessed her symptoms, and they seemed worse than just allergies, he suggested she go to the emergency room at McLaren Flint. “I was admitted at McLaren Flint, and they began doing every necessary test to find out why I was having trouble breathing,” said Vickie. “It was discovered that I had pneum...

At what point should a doctor evaluate headaches? Everyone gets headaches. They can range, perhaps starting as a dull pain before escalating to the squeezing, dizzying feeling, and start from a number of causes: a lack of/poor quality sleep, certain foods, alcohol consumption, stress, eye straining, dehydration/lack of food, among others. In many cases, a drugstore pain reliever or headache medicine will resolve the symptoms relatively quick. There does reach a point, though, that consistent headaches —...

Congratulations to Pharmacy Tech Paula Rowe, McLaren Flint's January Outstanding Employee of the Month. Paula has been part of the McLaren Flint pharmacy team for years. Two things are clear after reviewing Paula's many nominations. Colleagues from around the hospital love and respect Paula, and she is a hard worker. "She comes in with a smile, always willing to help and eager to make things right for our patients," said one of her nominators. "She is patient and kind and, even as busy as she is, she do...

About 14 thousand women were diagnosed with cervical cancer last year, and the majority of those women were between 35 and 44 years old, according to the American Cancer Society’s latest statistics .  Nearly 4,500 women die from the disease annually, but so many of those deaths are preventable. “There is a vaccine against HPV (Human Papillomavirus), which is the leading cause of cervical cancer,” said Gynecological Surgical Oncologist Dr. Benjamin Mize .   The HPV vaccine is recommended f...

It’s Not Too Late to Get Vaccinated Across the winter months, emergency departments across Michigan have been treating patients arriving after experiencing the classic symptoms of upper respiratory infections—the seemingly ever-present cough, congestion, runny noses, though with the occasional fever. While these symptoms can be mild and be a sign of common cold, they can also be symptomatic of the season’s more serious conditions: influenza, COVID-19, and RSV (though any condition can only be confirmed ...