Marathon runner to make monumental strides to help kids with cancer

INDIANAPOLIS – Eric Metz views his participation in the 2010 Indianapolis Monumental Marathon more than just a challenge. It’s his personal declaration of war against childhood cancer.

The former Northwestern High School (Howard Co.) football player was diagnosed in 2007 as having non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. His subsequent treatment at Riley Hospital for Children and what he has observed there as a patient stirred in him a call to action when he learned about this year’s IMM event, whose title sponsor is St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers.

The now 20-year-old Metz is organizing a team under the moniker “Team Metz” with the goal of raising funds to assist Riley patients and to support the work of oncology and hematology physicians at that hospital.

“Our goal is to do all it can within its means to make those children's treatments more tolerable and successful for them and their families,” Metz said.

Metz plans to run in the half-marathon event (13.1 miles), which is part of the overall marathon (26.2 miles) and 5K race through Downtown Indianapolis Saturday Nov. 6. All courses will begin near Washington and West streets and finish on Robert D. Orr Drive to the finish line, just steps away from the Indiana State Capitol building.

The urban courses are sanctioned and certified by the standards of USA Track and Field, the national body of road racing, with the marathon course serving as a qualifier for the 2011 Boston Marathon.

St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers continues in its role as title sponsor of the IMM, which it has done since the 2008 inaugural race. Jeff Peterson, M.D., leads a medical team of nearly 100 physicians, nurses, physical therapists and trainers. St. Francis volunteers also help runners and assist in a variety of ways.

Several lndianapolis-area educational institutions will get a leg up on their programs. The IMM donates its proceeds to those organizations. Last year’s donations exceeded $51,000.

To learn more about “Team Metz,” go to http://www.ericmetzwinthisbattle.org/

To register for the IMM go to http://monumentalmarathon.com.

More information about the St. Francis Sports Medicine program is at www.stfrancishospitals.org/Ortho/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=4&tabid=54.

St. Francis physicians use plasma-boosted therapy to treat sport injuries

INDIANAPOLIS – Many athletes with chronic musculoskeletal injuries have a new non-surgical treatment option offered by St. Francis Sports Medicine physicians.

It’s called platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapies, which uses a patient’s own plasma to stimulate healing. The procedure works best for chronic ligament and tendon sprains and strains when conventional treatment has not helped.

John Baldea, M.D., and Robyn Fean, M.D., sports medicine experts and members of St. Francis Medical Group, are specially trained in the PRP therapy.

Here's how it works: Blood is drawn from a patient during an office v

isit and placed in a special centrifuge which separates the platelets from other blood cells. Platelets are cells that contain a high concentration of growth factors, which can promote aling.

“After the wound area has been anesthetized, the PRP is injected into the wound area using ultrasound to ensure accurate placement,” said Baldea.

Following initial treatment, a follow-up visit is scheduled several weeks later to evaluate the healing.

“Some patients respond well to just one treatment,” said Fean, adding that it is typical for patients to receive two or more treatments to receive the maximum benefit of the therapy.

To learn more about PRP and other services offered by St. Francis Sports Medicine, go to www.s

tfrancishospitals.org/Ortho/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=4&tabid=54.

St. Francis Hospital joint replacement specialist to see patients in Vincennes

VINCENNES, Ind. – Michael E. Berend, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon specializing in joint replacement surgery with the Center for Hip & Knee Surgery in Mooresville, Ind., is seeing joint replacement patients in Vincennes each month.

The goal is to share the center’s specialized care, compassion and education with the community, Berend said.

The physicians at the Center for Hip & Knee Surgery perform nearly 3,000 knee, hip and shoulder replacements each year. Located at St. Francis Hospital in Mooresville, the center has been ranked No. 1 in Indiana for joint replacement surgery and in the top 5 percent in the nation for four years in a row by HealthGrades, a leading independent health ratings organization.

Board-certified in orthopedic surgery, Berend is a graduate of the Duke University School of Medicine and Orthopaedic program. He has additional fellowship training in joint replacement surgery. He has been at the Mooresville center for 12 years.

He has been published in more than 60 professional journals and has presented research papers nationally and internationally. He participates in research and education at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute.

Berend travels worldwide to train surgeons on the latest surgical techniques, including partial knee replacement and primary and revision hip and knee replacement surgery. He also participates annually in Operation Walk, a volunteer medical organization that provides joint replacement treatment for patients in developing countries.

His upcoming Vincennes clinic dates are Oct. 21, Nov. 12 and Dec. 1. For an appointment, call the Center the Center for Hip & Knee Surgery at (317) 831-2273 or toll-free at (800) 237-7678.

More information about the Center for Hip & Knee Surgery is at www.centerforhipandkneesurgery.org.

St. Francis Cancer Center offers support to breast cancer patients

INDIANAPOLIS. – There’s more to fighting cancer than good medicine and technology. That’s why St. Francis Cancer Center offers a well-designed support program to help breast cancer patients.

Designed for those with breast cancer, this group provides a safe place to share thoughts, feelings and gain practical information from others in similar situations at any treatment stage.

Beginning Oct. 14, the group will meet the second Thursday of each month from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Atrium, located at the hospital’s Inn at St. Francis (Indianapolis), 8111 S. Emerson Ave. The meeting location is best accessed at the Women & Children’s Services entrance.

The sessions are free; however, registration is recommended by calling 782-4422, or visit stfrancishospitals.org/cancer.

For more information about the support group, contact Mindi Matthews at 317-782-7794.

Child safety is thrust of Martinsville Safe Kids seat check, Oct. 2

MARTINSVILLE, Ind. – St. Francis Hospital-Mooresville, Safe Kids Morgan County and State Farm Insurance Martinsville are sponsoring a car seat safety check on Oct. 2.

The event, which is free to the public, will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Hollywood Video parking lot just off State Road 37 near Wal-Mart.

Inspectors will check all sizes of youngsters and car seats and have car seats available.

For more information, call State Farm office at 765-342-6807, or the Mooresville hospital’s Cherished Beginnings obstetrics unit at 317-834-5817.