Category Archives: Industry: Healthcare

Healthcare is an ever evolving industry, and field. These Press Releases, will keep you up to date on the newest, greatest, best, solutions available.

Tipton Communications Welcomes Isabella Antignani as Communications and Marketing Intern


Tipton Health Communications, a full-serviced healthcare consultancy and strategic communications agency, is happy to welcome Isabella Antignani this winter as its communications and marketing intern. In her new position, Isabella will help create strategic campaigns for clients, providing writing support and developing concepts for marketing and social media campaigns.

“We’re fortunate to have Isabella join us,” said Dan Tipton, president and CEO of Tipton Communications. “We’ve had great success hiring talented rising communications students from the University of Delaware. Isabella will be a great addition to our team.”

Isabella is a senior at the University of Delaware, where she is studying media communications with minors in advertising and writing. Along with her studies, she serves on the executive board of the university’s Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) as their meetings director. She acts as the liaison between the board and the professional speakers she recruits to speak with PRSSA members. Previously, Isabella interned with Student Media Group (SMG) as a proofreading intern and with bloom daily planners as a social media intern. She proofread advertisements before print for SMG and helped support bloom’s social platforms.

“I am thrilled to be working with and learning from Tipton, because everyone here puts so much care into the work they do for their clients,” Isabella said.

About Tipton Health Communications

Tipton Health Communications supports clients nationwide with healthcare consulting and award-winning marketing communications services, including employee communications, human resources communications, public relations, marketing communications, intranet and Internet design, graphic design, and strategic communications. Tipton is one of the fastest-growing providers of Magnet®, Pathway to Excellence® and Practice Transition Accreditation Program™ consulting support to the nation’s hospital and healthcare systems. For more information, please visit http://www.tiptonhealth.com.

Tipton Health Communications products and services are neither sponsored nor endorsed by the ANCC. ANCC Magnet Recognition®, ANCC National Magnet Conference®, Institute for Credentialing Innovation®, Magnet®, Magnet Recognition Program®, The Magnet Prize® and Pathway to Excellence® Program are registered trademarks of the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Journey to Magnet Excellence™ and Pathway to Excellence in Long Term Care™ are trademarks of the American Nurses Credentialing Center.

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SVHI PRP Therapy Announces New Website Focused on PRP for Hair Loss in the San Francisco Bay Area


SVHI PRP Therapy offers innovative 'platelet rich plasma' therapy focused on hair loss at its Foster City, California

PRP for Hair Loss Bay Area

PRP therapy for hair loss is an innovative option for many Bay Area patients.

SHVI PRP Therapy, the leader in innovative hair loss treatments based on PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) at https://svhi-prp.com/, is proud to announce a new website. The new website is a “microsite,” focused specifically at the use of PRP to mitigate hair loss. Many Bay Area consumers are open to cutting edge technologies, and PRP is one option in their hair loss journey.

“PRP therapy for hair loss is an innovative option for many Bay Area patients,” explained Miguel Canales, surgeon and founder of SVHI PRP therapy. “Even more important, a patient who seeks out a consultation with me on hair loss will be able to review the entire range of options from PRP therapy to hair loss to hair transplantation. I will work with each patient to create the best treatment program for their hair loss needs.”

Persons who would like to learn more about the company can visit the new website. In particular, they can focus on the page specific to PRP therapy can visit https://svhi-prp.com/prp-therapy/. Another option is to read the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) document at https://svhi-prp.com/faq/. That document explains as follows. Hair thinning in women, which affects nearly 40 million American women, is mainly due to heredity and can start any time after puberty. However, we also know that female pattern hair loss can be strongly influenced by age, nutrition, stress, surgery, medications, illness, social/lifestyle factors, hair care and more. As hair follicles weaken and stop producing hair, hair loss occurs.

Remarkably, PRP for hair loss can impact the hair itself, often resulting in hair rejuvenation.

PRP or Platelet Rich Plasma for hair loss is an in-office, non-surgical, treatment derived from the patient’s own blood that can be performed in about an hour. After the area of concern is identified, evaluated and measured, standardized medical photos are taken in the photo suite. Special gentle and sterile techniques and equipment are used to separate and concentrate the platelets and plasma from a small sample of peripheral blood. PRP contains growth factors and cytokines that have been shown to be responsible for stimulating and enhancing hair follicle function. The scalp is prepared with antiseptic solution and anesthetic (a “ring block,” not simply local anesthetic gel) is used to completely numb the scalp. Small injections of the PRP deliver the powerful platelet-derived growth factors into the skin at the level of the weak follicles. Electronic, mechanical microneedling is performed.

ABOUT SVHI PRP THERAPY

SVHI PRP Therapy is a Bay Area company based in Foster City, California, that offers PRP for hair loss to clients from San Francisco to San Mateo, Palo Alto to Redwood City, Redwood City to Burlingame and beyond. Clients who are suffering from hair loss and are seeking innovative therapy come to SVHI PRP Therapy to explore their options, including PRP therapy for hair loss. The company offers a no obligation consultation on hair loss with Dr. Miguel Canales, a recognized specialist in the hair loss industry including hair transplantation.

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Dr. Tejal Kakade Named 2019 Top Patient Rated Carrollton Dentist by Find Local Doctors


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I consider it a privilege to serve my hometown community of Carrollton with exceptional dentistry. Being recognized as a 2019 Top Patient Rated Dentist is so rewarding. Providing excellent patient-centric care is always my goal, says Dr. Tejal Kakade

Dr. Tejal Kakade’s dental practice is located at 516 Newton Street, Carrollton, GA. Her clinic is among an exclusive group of practices receiving this award from Find Local Doctors. Find Local Doctors is a trusted online directory that helps consumers easily locate qualified and reputable physicians and dentists in their area. Dr. Tejal Kakade ‘s practice combines a comfortable and relaxed setting with state-of-the-art personalized dentistry. Through advanced technology and a wide range of effective oral health care techniques, Dr. Tejal tailors treatment plans to meet each patient’s individualized needs. Her professional team offers an expansive range of services for all ages, including general dentistry, cosmetic dentistry, pediatric dentistry, and implant dentistry.

The team at Tejal A. Kakade DMD, FAGD, PC closely works with patients to achieve their oral health goals, using the most affordable and effective approaches possible. They focus on determining whether preventive, restorative or cosmetic treatment options are right for each patient. Patients value the personalized care that they receive from the dental professionals at Dr. Tejal Kakade’s practice. Every member of her team is committed to ensuring that the treatments provided meet each patient’s needs. You can trust the oral health of your family to Dr. Tejal who holds compassion, understanding, and integrity as core values. She is committed to helping patients achieve their smile goals in Carrollton, Bremen, Villa Rica and the surrounding communities.

“I consider it a privilege to serve my hometown community of Carrollton with exceptional dentistry. Being recognized as a 2019 Top Patient Rated Dentist is so rewarding. Providing excellent patient-centric care is always my goal,” says Dr. Tejal Kakade

Many patient reviews mention the high level of personalized attention, knowledge, and expertise provided by Dr. Tejal and her team. They make it easy for patients to have a stress-free experience by offering excellent care, flexible scheduling, and affordable costs to make it convenient for patients to come in for dental services.

More about Dr. Tejal Kakade:

Dr. Tejal was raised in Carrollton, Georgia. She graduated from the University of Georgia and obtained her dental degree from the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta. Dr. Tejal opened her personalized dentistry practice in early 2012. Dr. Kakade was awarded the rare Fellowship in the Academy of General Dentistry and is currently working to obtain her Master in the Academy as well! With the fellowship award, Dr. Tejal Kakade is a member of the Georgia Dental Association, American Dental Association, Academy of General Dentistry and the American Academy of Facial Esthetics.

For more information on Dr. Tejal Kakade’s dental practice or to schedule an appointment please visit http://www. drtejal.com or call the office at 770-836-5313.

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Mount Sinai Research Finds that Heterogeneity of Liver Cancer Cells Help Explain Tumor Progression in Patients


Many liver cancer tumors contain a highly diverse set of cells, a phenomenon known as intra-tumor heterogeneity that can significantly affect the rate at which the cancer grows, Mount Sinai researchers report. The immune system’s contribution to this heterogeneity can have major clinical implications.

In a study published in January in Nature Communications, the team reported that this heterogeneity—either within the same tumor or between different tumor regions in the same tumor nodule—appears in about 30 percent of patients with hepatocellular cancer (HCC), the most common form of liver cancer, and that some of these tumors grow rapidly by hijacking different gene networks.

“Tumors are a complex ecosystem, and we’re developing for the first time a blueprint of the different ways they can evolve in patients with liver cancer by interacting with the immune system,” says Augusto Villanueva, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Liver Cancer Program at The Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai, and corresponding author of the study. “By better understanding how tumors progress, we’re learning more about how they adapt to pharmacological pressures, and how they can develop mechanisms of resistance to cancer therapies. This greater awareness will hopefully lead to the identification of biomarkers that can predict which patients will be responsive to treatment.”

Among the clinical implications associated with intra-tumor heterogeneity identified by the research team was the discovery that a single liver cancer biopsy could potentially mischaracterize a liver tumor.

“Some tumors are very homogeneous in terms of their genetic makeup and immune cell infiltration, while others are very heterogeneous,” says Dr. Villanueva. “This means that a biopsy from the same tumor could yield different information depending on where it was taken, and could thus affect clinical decision-making for the patient. That’s why our work aimed at learning how tumors evolve and the different trajectories they can take is so important to future cancer research, as well as to effectively treating the disease.”

As immunotherapy continues to transform cancer research and treatment, one of the most promising areas is liver cancer, which has become the fastest-rising malignancy in the United States in terms of incidence and mortality, responsible for 33,000 new cases annually. Two phase 2 clinical trials using PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitors, which help the body’s immune system recognize and attack cancerous cells, have achieved unprecedented responses in humans, prompting the Food and Drug Administration to grant them accelerated approval status for second-line treatment of advanced hepatocellular cancer.

More recently, a phase 3 clinical trial combining a PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor with an antiangiogenic improved survival compared to the current first-line standard of care, sorafenib. Still, only about 30 percent of patients with HCC are believed to respond favorably to immune checkpoint inhibition—an outcome not uncommon with immunotherapies.

“The immune system imposes significant constraints on liver cancer evolution, and by investigating the interaction of immune cells and cancer cells at the molecular level we’re trying to predict or anticipate mechanisms of tumor resistance,” explains Bojan Losic, PhD, Associate Professor of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Cancer Immunology Program, at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and lead author of the study. “Our work is particularly relevant considering the remarkable success of immune checkpoint inhibitors in some heterogeneous solid tumors.”

To understand the mechanisms that drive tumor progression on a patient-by-patient basis, the research team from Mount Sinai and other medical centers around the world performed an integrated molecular analysis of gene expression, immune activities, and DNA mutations from multiple regions of the same tumor nodule in 14 liver cancer patients. The study was the first to use single-cell RNA sequencing in multiple regions of the same tumor nodule, and was among the first to assess the contribution of the immune system to liver cancer evolution.

The Mount Sinai-led study consisted of researchers from the University of Sao Paulo School of Medicine in Brazil; the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf in Hamburg, Germany; Lausanne University Hospital CHUV in Switzerland; Universitat de Barcelona in Spain; Clinica Universidad de Navarra in Spain; Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia; and IBM Research.

About the Mount Sinai Health System

The Mount Sinai Health System is New York City’s largest integrated delivery system, encompassing eight hospitals, a leading medical school, and a vast network of ambulatory practices throughout the greater New York region. Mount Sinai’s vision is to produce the safest care, the highest quality, the highest satisfaction, the best access and the best value of any health system in the nation. The Health System includes approximately 7,480 primary and specialty care physicians; 11 joint-venture ambulatory surgery centers; more than 410 ambulatory practices throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida; and 31 affiliated community health centers. The Icahn School of Medicine is one of three medical schools that have earned distinction by multiple indicators: ranked in the top 20 by U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Medical Schools”, aligned with a U.S. News & World Report’s “Honor Roll” Hospital, No. 12 in the nation for National Institutes of Health funding, and among the top 10 most innovative research institutions as ranked by the journal Nature in its Nature Innovation Index. This reflects a special level of excellence in education, clinical practice, and research. The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked No. 14 on U.S. News & World Report’s “Honor Roll” of top U.S. hospitals; it is one of the nation’s top 20 hospitals in Cardiology/Heart Surgery, Diabetes/Endocrinology, Gastroenterology/GI Surgery, Geriatrics, Gynecology, Nephrology, Neurology/Neurosurgery, and Orthopedics in the 2019-2020 “Best Hospitals” issue. Mount Sinai’s Kravis Children’s Hospital also is ranked nationally in five out of ten pediatric specialties by U.S. News & World Report. The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai is ranked 12th nationally for Ophthalmology, Mount Sinai St. Luke’s and Mount Sinai West are ranked 23rd nationally for Nephrology and 25th for Diabetes/Endocrinology, and Mount Sinai South Nassau is ranked 35th nationally for Urology. Mount Sinai Beth Israel, Mount Sinai St. Luke’s, Mount Sinai West, and Mount Sinai South Nassau are ranked regionally.

For more information, visit https://www.mountsinai.org or find Mount Sinai on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

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Dr. Mitzi Morris Named 2020 Top Patient Rated Roswell Dentist by Find Local Doctors


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We believe that creating a great first impression, lasting relationships and providing outstanding dental care sets us apart from other dental practices. I am truly honored to be recognized by Find Local Doctors as a Top Patient Rated Roswell Dentist for our services, says Dr. Mitzi Morris

Find Local Doctors has honored Dr. Mitzi Morris as a 2020 Top Patient Rated Roswell Dentist. This trusted online directory helps consumers easily locate qualified and respected physicians and dentists in their area. Superior ratings and reviews from real patients have awarded Dr. Morris this recognition for her dental practice. Mitzi Morris, DMD, is located at 1295 Hembree Road, Suite 202 in Roswell, Georgia. This full-service practice uses a modern, personalized and comfortable approach to dentistry. Dr. Morris has over 25 years of experience, treating patients of all ages with superior quality and comprehensive services, including general dental care, emergency dentistry, cosmetic and sedation dentistry as well as dental implant restorations. Many patients have commented on how impressed they were with Dr. Mitzi Morris’ expertise and her friendly, helpful and professional staff.

“We believe that creating a great first impression, lasting relationships and providing outstanding dental care sets us apart from other dental practices. I am truly honored to be recognized by Find Local Doctors as a Top Patient Rated Roswell Dentist for our services,” says Dr. Mitzi Morris

More About Mitzi Morris, DMD:

Dr. Mitzi Morris is a 1993 graduate of the Medical College of Georgia School of Dentistry and has been practicing in the Roswell area for over 10 years. She remains active in the Georgia dental community with memberships in the American Dental Association, the Georgia Dental Association, the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, the Georgia Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry and the Seattle Study Club. Dr. Morris recognizes the value of providing modern dental services with superior, patient-centered care at all times.

For more information about Dr. Mitzi Morris or the services offered at her Roswell dental office, please visit http://www.mitzimorrisdmd.com or call (678) 459-2990.

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Seniors Housing and Care M&A Activity in Q4:2019 Helps Set Full-Year Record, According to Data from Irving Levin Associates, Inc.


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“Cheap and abundant capital continue to fuel this red-hot M&A market,” stated Ben Swett, Editor of The SeniorCare Investor. “This activity comes at a time of stubborn industry headwinds, such as labor availability and cost, persistent discounting and stagnant occupancy.”

The number of publicly announced seniors housing and care acquisitions in the fourth quarter of 2019 topped 100 transactions for the seventh quarter in a row, with 110 total transactions announced, based on new acquisition data from Irving Levin Associates. This represents a 7% jump from the 103 transactions announced in the third quarter of 2019 and a 5% increase from the 105 in the fourth quarter of 2018. It also brings the year’s transaction total to 447 deals, a full-year record and 5% higher than 2018’s total of 426 deals. However, buyers committed fewer dollars to Q4 deals, spending a total of $3.6 billion on seniors housing and care deals in the fourth quarter, 37% lower than the $5.7 billion in Q3:19. However, spending in the fourth quarter of 2019 was 21% higher than the Q4:18 total of $2.96 billion. “Cheap and abundant capital continue to fuel this red-hot M&A market,” stated Ben Swett, Editor of The SeniorCare Investor. “This activity comes at a time of stubborn industry headwinds, such as labor availability and cost, persistent discounting and stagnant occupancy.”

As per usual, private senior care providers made up the majority of buyers, counting for nearly 50% of all Q4 acquisitions. REITs and real estate investment firms made 27% of the deals, and 10% were announced by private equity firms, but these companies are often secretive about their purchases, so those proportions are likely low. Welltower was the most prolific buyer, thanks mostly to its third-quarter earnings report, with five deals. The Ensign Group announced four deals, a solid number for them, and Kayne Anderson closed two. The largest deal, by disclosed price, was announced by Healthpeak Properties and consisted of 13 CCRCs previously owned by Brookdale Senior Living.

Seniors housing deals, which include independent living, assisted living, memory care, CCRC and active adult properties, accounted for the vast majority of deals this quarter, at 69% compared with 58% last quarter. These deals also accounted for the top-16 publicly disclosed prices in the fourth quarter. “The dominance of seniors housing deals in the fourth quarter M&A market is not surprising given that skilled nursing owners are still watching how the implementation of PDPM will affect operations.” continued Swett. “If the new reimbursement rule proves not to be revenue-neutral, a revision downwards by CMS may further complicate investing in the skilled nursing business.”

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The Beryl Institute Offers Recommendations to Elevate Experience for those Living with Dementia


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Reinforcing its commitment to elevate the human experience in healthcare, The Beryl Institute releases a new white paper, Elevating Experience for those Living with Dementia.

Reinforcing its commitment to elevate the human experience in healthcare, The Beryl Institute releases a new white paper, Elevating Experience for those Living with Dementia. The paper explains the statistical significance of dementia, heightens awareness of the lived experience following a diagnosis, shares the potential impact of person-directed dementia care and provides opportunities for action to elevate the experience of those learning to live well with the condition.

Voices and perspectives contributing to this work include experts in the field, practitioners who provide care each day, people living with dementia and care partners who support those on the dementia journey. Through their reflections, the paper explores societal misperceptions and stigmas that point to an urgent need for a shift in the paradigm that will elevate the human experience for those living with dementia.

Opportunities for action in addressing experience for those living with dementia are focused on three key recommendations:

  • Place human rights and personhood at the forefront of care for those living with dementia
  • Support societal changes aimed at improving the experience for people living with dementia
  • Apply a person-directed approach to caregiving and support systems

The paper was guided by a team of thought leaders in aging services including Penny Cook, President and CEO of The Pioneer Network, Tammy Marshall, Chief Experience Officer, Thrive Senior Living, Dr. Allen Power, Schlegel Chair in Aging and Dementia Innovation at the Schlegel-University of Waterloo Research Institute for Aging and Jill Vitale-Aussem, President and CEO of The Eden Alternative.

“The foundation for all we do at The Beryl Institute is grounded in collaboration and connection with experts and champions in all reaches of the healthcare landscape,” said Jason A. Wolf, PhD, CPXP, President, The Beryl Institute. “In bringing together these leading voices and visionaries working to address dementia, long-term care and healthcare overall, we have all learned more, gained new insights and established critical connections that ensure a conversation on the human experience extends across healthcare for all it serves.”

To download the white paper, visit http://www.theberylinstitute.org/?page=WhitePapers.

About The Beryl Institute:

The Beryl Institute is the global community of practice committed to elevating the human experience in healthcare. We believe human experience is grounded in experiences of patients & families, those who work in healthcare and the communities they serve.

We define the patient experience as the sum of all interactions, shaped by an organization’s culture, that influence patient perceptions across the continuum of care.

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Teepa Snow and CareAcademy Alliance Empowers Home Care Providers with Comprehensive Dementia Training


CareAcademy, the leading automated training compliance platform, announced today their alliance with Teepa Snow, one of the world’s leading educators on dementia and dementia care. Her company, Positive Approach® to Care, educates, supports, and trains others in strategies that work for dementia care. CareAcademy is set to add nearly 100 hours of high-quality Teepa Snow dementia training to its course library on January 31, 2020, filling a growing specialization need in home care.

“Our alliance with Teepa Snow is powerful: given the rise of Alzheimer’s, direct care workers need adaptive training to continually learn and hone their skills to meet the ever changing research and best practices,” said Helen Adeosun, CareAcademy Co-Founder and CEO. “Our alliance means that agency owners can offer opportunities to caregivers to become dementia care specialists, and even launch their own dementia care programs, helping meet the growing demand.”

According to the Fall 2019 Home Care Pulse Benchmarking Study, 89% of survey respondents said that dementia and Alzheimer’s care is part of their home care agency’s formal training program for caregivers. Many CareAcademy customers, including Visiting Angels, Home Helpers Home Care, Home Care Assistance, and Comfort Keepers, have specialized dementia care business lines. This is not surprising, given the rising prevalence of dementia in the aging U.S. population.

CareAcademy’s automated training compliance platform provides the right caregiver training at the right time to its customer’s employees, automatically. CareAcademy’s library of over 100 class hours are made up of engaging, bite-sized videos that were designed to be taken on smartphones, no app download required. As a result of the class accessibility, text and email reminders, and an easy-to-use platform, classes have a 90%+ completion rate. With the addition of Teepa Snow’s dementia classes, agencies will have the tools they need at their fingertips to grow their businesses and provide the highest quality training available to their workforce.

“This alliance with CareAcademy supports my mission to change the culture of dementia support and care. Training plays a huge role in helping caregivers adequately care for those with dementia. There is still a lot of work to be done when it comes to working with people living with dementia, but this is a great step forward,” said Teepa Snow, CEO and Founder of a Positive Approach® to Care.

Sign up for CareAcademy now! Become a CareAcademy customer by February 29, 2020 and you can get started with CareAcademy for free! Subscribe for at least 12 months and receive your first month free and we’ll waive the set up fee ($499 value).

Learn more at: https://careacademy.com/training/

About CareAcademy

Founded by caregivers, CareAcademy creates online training that empowers senior care professionals to deliver the highest caliber of service and improve the lives of older adults. Over 65,000 caregivers are learning and growing professionally through CareAcademy. Coupled with its automated training compliance dashboard, CareAcademy is an end-to-end, scalable training solution that transforms home care businesses into efficient industry leaders. To learn more, visit: http://www.CareAcademy.com.

About Teepa Snow

Teepa Snow is a world-renowned occupational therapist with 40 years of clinical practice experience, and is one of the world’s leading educators on dementia and dementia care. In 2005, she founded Positive Approach® to Care (PAC), a company that provides dementia care training, services, and products around the world. To learn more, visit: http://www.teepasnow.com

Media Contact

CareAcademy Media Inquiries: Amanda Yao, ayao@careacademy.com

Positive Approach® to Care Media Inquiries: Cheryl Khaner, cherylk@teepasnow.com

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Southlake Dentist Tim Huckabee named Top Dentist by FT. Worth Texas Magazine


Dr. Tim Huckabee of Southlake, Texas was named in the April 2000 edition of Ft Worth Magazine as “Top Dentist in Tarrant County”

Local dentists were asked to choose whom they would select to care for themselves or a family member. This is Dr Huckabee’s 7th time to receive this distinction.

Dr. Timothy Huckabee received his dental degree in 1987 from Baylor College of Dentistry (now Texas A&M School of Dentistry) Since1991, he was been in practice as a Southlake dentist. Dr. Huckabee is a member of the American Dental Association, Texas Dental Association, Dallas County Dental Association, American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry and the American Dental Society of Anesthesiology. He is the founder of Ultra White Products a manufacturer of teeth whitening gel.

Dr. Huckabee is married with three children . He has authored articles in leading dental journals and received advanced training from some of the nation’s most prominent postgraduate dental training facilities, including the Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies. He is a graduate of the Advanced Aesthetic Program at New York University and Albert Einstein College of Medicine IV Sedation and Dentistry Courses and certified for intravenous conscious sedation.

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Get a Grip? It’s All About Pain for Thumb Tendonitis Patients


Dr. Alejandro Badia

Get a grip! That’s more than a matter of emotion for people with De Quervain’s tenosynovitis, a thumb-tendon disorder. In fact, gripping anything can mean sheer pain, according to orthopedic surgeon Alejandro Badia MD, who says the condition limits a person’s ability to grasp, grip and pinch; inhibits use of the hand; and limits range of motion in the wrist.

De Quervain’s tenosynovitis is characterized by inflammation and swelling of two main tendons that pass through a narrow tunnel located on the thumb side of the wrist and control thumb movement, explains Dr. Badia. He is a specialist in treating musculoskeletal disorders of the hands, wrists and other upper limbs.

Named after Swiss surgeon Fritz de Quervain, the disorder is sometimes referred to as “mommy wrist” because it occurs eight-to-10 times more frequently in women and its development is linked to post-partum hormonal- and fluid-shift changes – not to activities involving carrying, changing or feeding the new baby, as some experts contend, Dr. Badia states.

“Hormonal changes after a woman gives birth can lead to thickening and water retention of the tenosynovium, the sheath covering the thumb’s tendons, which are located in what is an anatomically-tight tunnel or compartment,” he says.

Experts concur. For example, authors of a report in the journal, Hand, contend that “soft tissue edema, fluid retention, and ligamentous laxity are common effects of pregnancy, [and these] can impact the [body’s] inflammatory response” and lead to conditions like thumb tendonitis.

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons describes tendons as “rope-like structures that attach muscle to bone and are covered by a slippery thin soft-tissue layer – the synovium.” The synovium is what enables the thumb tendons to glide readily through the tunnel. Any swelling or thickening of the tendons impacts their movement and can cause pain, says Dr. Badia, founder and chief medical officer of the Florida-based Badia Hand to Shoulder Center and OrthoNOW®.

Common symptoms of the disorder are pain and swelling at the base of the thumb or on the thumb side of the wrist, a sensation of “sticking” or “snapping” when moving the thumb and difficulty or pain, including pain that travels up the forearm, when attempting to grasp or “pinch” something forcefully. Physicians can diagnose the problem using ultrasound or simply applying physical pressure to the affected area by causing deviation of the wrist while maintaining the patient’s thumb in a fully flexed position — a technique called Finkelstein’s test.

Some scientists believe that advanced technology, including frequent use of the thumb to punch out text messages or play video games, is one reason for a growing prevalence of De Quervain’s tenosynovitis – or tendonitis. At least one medical journal has referred to the problem as “texting tenosynovitis.” But repetitive movements involving the thumb, including work-related activities like extended typing on a computer keyboard, gardening and carpentry, are less a “cause” of the disorder and more an “aggravation of a painful condition that is already present,” Dr. Badia says.

In addition to gender, pregnancy and post-partum hormonal changes, injury to the thumb, age (40 and above) and inflammatory arthritis are primary risks for De Quervain’s tenosynovitis.

Conservative therapy approaches — anti-inflammatory medications, corticosteroid injections and splinting — are normally first lines of treatment for the condition. However, surgery may be required in cases of persistent disease – and pain, Dr. Badia says.

Most recently, in a December 2019 study published in Musculoskeletal Surgery, investigators state that “surgical release of De Quervain’s tenosynovitis remains the gold standard treatment.”

Dr. Badia agrees. “The surgical procedure is easy to perform and readily done on an outpatient basis. Recovery is quick, with patients having immediate use of their hand, although the return to heavy manual work or sports-related activities, including workouts in the gym, might be delayed two-to-three weeks,” he states.

Of course, the best treatment for De Quervain’s tenosynovitis is prevention, Dr. Badia says. He offers these tips to limit risk for developing the disease:


  • Avoid awkward or unnatural wrist positions and alignments when engaged in work or recreational activities.
  • Take frequent breaks from tasks requiring repetitive movement.
  • Do exercises that enhance strength and mobility of wrist joints and hands.
  • Use other fingers – not just the thumb — for keystrokes when typing or texting.
  • Follow guidelines of good nutrition and get ample sleep. A healthy lifestyle helps keep joints, ligaments and tendons lubricated and provides them with the necessary nutrients to repair and rebuild themselves.

“Above all, for any joint problems or other musculoskeletal disorder, contact an orthopedic specialist,” Dr. Badia emphasizes. “The specialist can make the diagnosis much faster, with superior resolution of the clinical problem, and at much less cost, utilizing less testing and imaging studies, than primary care or hospital ER physicians.”

Alejandro Badia, MD, FACS, internationally renowned hand and upper-limb surgeon and founder of Badia Hand to Shoulder Center and OrthoNOW®, a walk-in orthopedic care clinic. He is a member of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand, American Association for Hand Surgery and the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons and an honorary member of many international professional hand societies. Dr. Badia specializes in treating all problems related to the hand and upper extremities, including trauma, sports injury, joint reconstruction, nerve injuries and arthroscopic surgeries. Go to http://www.OrthoNOWcare.com and http://www.drbadia.com.

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