One call is all it takes for the stroke team to jump into action at Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital. In the event of a patient exhibiting stroke symptoms, time is vital.

Activating the Emergency Medical System by dialing 9-1-1 when a stroke is suspected is the first step to immediate …

Lis Palomba, RN, charge nurse in the Intensive Care and Medical Surgical Care Unit at Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital, has been named winner of this year’s DAISY Award. The recognition is part of a national program honoring nurses for their clinical skills and compassionate caring for patients and their families. …

By the time people reach the point of needing artificial hips and knees, they probably know about pain. But oddly enough, pain is what’s mostly on their minds as surgery approaches: How badly will it hurt?

That’s the primary concern people voice when they sign up for the free pre-operative …

Family history and stress are major players, but what we eat and how we live are still key factors in maintaining a healthy digestive tract, according to Dr. Andrew Chang, a Grass Valley specialist in gastroenterology.

“The digestive tract is an essential system for our survival,” he said. “It processes …

By Gary Cooke

Special to The Union

Whether it’s fair or not, one of the basic risk factors for developing varicose veins is merely growing older. Veins simply lose their elasticity and valves weaken.

Not much can be done about that, but Drs. Michael Hallenbeck and Robert Crockett, diagnostic radiologists …

The Blue Cross, Blue Shield Association has named Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital as a Distinction Center for Knee and Hip Replacement. SNMH is one of only 50 hospitals in California to receive that designation.

This new ranking recognizes the high quality of hip and knee replacement surgery done at SNMH, …

Ed Ryan, 59, of Penn Valley, has had to jump a lot of health hurdles in his race through life. But thanks to an office with a long name and a dedicated staff, his chances to finish the course are much improved.

In fact, after going through a series of …

He’s 83 and officially retired 10 years ago, but Dr. David Hosbein still keeps an office and can be found assisting in surgery several times a week at Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital. He plans to keep doing that until “I can’t do it any more or they don’t want me.” …

It took two surgeries and five days in the hospital to fix Andy Cassano’s leg after it was broken in a nasty bike accident in December.

Cassano, 63, is a longtime Grass Valley resident and CEO of Nevada City Engineering Inc. He said he received “very excellent and detailed care” …

February gets a lot of attention as National Heart Healthy Month, but the echocardiography lab at the hospital is a busy place all year long. In fact, the demand is so high some testing is done seven days a week, according to Michele Hughes, a clinical specialist in cardiology at …

Recent years have revealed a shift in the age of people joining the fitness trend, according to Mike Carville, president of the South Yuba Club. More people are becoming members in their 40s, 50s, and 60s, he said, and they are more interested in staying healthy than developing muscles.

“It’s …

Too often in the field of medicine, the psychosocial component of the patient/physician relationship doesn’t receive the attention it deserves.

Clinicians have some difficulty, not only in connecting with the feelings of their patients, but in processing the feelings that these encounters may provoke in them.

We are trained to …

The public is invited to an open house at the Penn Valley Diagnostic Center in celebration of National Heart Month and the center’s expansion.

From 4 to 6 p.m. Feb. 7, people can get an up close look at the new x-ray and electrocardiogram services at the facility, which is …

Longtime nursing executive Crin Stanford has been awarded the Curtis Grimes Perpetual Leadership Award by the Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital Foundation.

The award was presented at the foundation’s annual dinner meeting that took place Jan. 16 at the Miners Foundry, where the organization also named Ann Hendricks as Humanitarian of …

Nearly $60,000 in grants has been awarded to eight local nonprofits this year through the Community Grants Program at Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital.

The individual grants range from $4,000 to $10,000 and are intended to further the hospital’s mission of meeting needs of the underserved, according to Debbie Wagner, RN, …

As a long-time piano teacher, Nevada City’s Jean Poff probably has heard some very painful tunes over the years. But that was nothing like the abdominal pain she felt about six weeks ago in her own body.

By 5:30 in the afternoon that Monday, she and her husband Roger knew …

From a health standpoint, Jim Heard didn’t just do everything right. Many would say he overdid everything.

Running laps wasn’t enough. Marathon races weren’t enough. He had to try 100-mile endurance runs, as well — at least three of them. Peddling around the neighborhood didn’t do it for him. He’d …

International travel can be a wonderful way to see new sights, experience other cultures or just “get away from it all.”  

When you are planning your adventure, don’t forget to make an appointment with your doctor for a pre-travel visit.  

Travel to new lands means exposure to diseases …

Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital (SNMH) introduced hospitalists to its care team about a decade ago, and today “ they are a vital piece of our organization,” according Dr. Joseph Britton, vice president of medical affairs.

Hospitalists are physicians specializing in inpatient treatment, who direct the care of patients while they …