by John Hey, M.D.

The Clarion Ledger (September 8, 2020) reported that Gloria Hill, a health provider at one of Mississippi’s largest nursing homes, announced she could no longer take it, and is leaving and moving to California, never to work in a nursing home again.

She describes how horrible it is, watching her patients die alone without their families, and being locked down by this so-called pandemic. Those of us doctors that have been in combat situations will quickly recognize that this is very typical of combat fatigue, or as we would call it today, “burn out,” or post traumatic stress.

This issue must be addressed not only by the medical […]

A standard test for excess sleepiness that we use is called the EPWORTH SLEEPINESS SCALE.

You can fill one out for yourself to assess whether you might need an appointment with a Board Certified Sleep Physician.

How likely in the last two weeks have you been to doze off or fall asleep in the following situations, in contrast to just feeling tired?

(Use the following scale and indicate with a check mark the most appropriate number for the situation. Then, add up your score and see how you are doing.)   […]

Effects of sleep disorders include, but are not limited to;

• Immune system depression
• Mental Depression
• Anxiety
• Difficulty thinking
• Loss of sex drive
• Stroke
• Heart attack
• High blood pressure

Once you have completed an overnight sleep study and you are found to have sleep apnea, you are prescribed a machine that helps alleviate the symptoms of apnea.  The type machine and the settings on the machine are crucial to your health, and you will need to have follow-up visits with the Board Certified sleep doctor.

When diagnosed with sleep apnea, that means that when you go to sleep, your nose and throat passages close off and decrease your air flow. With decreased air flow, there are important points for you to remember.

1. This increases the load on your cardiovascular system.
2. As […]
   

by John Hey, M.D.

In my lifetime, I have seen 15 epidemics come through, two of which tried to kill me!

It seems that every winter, some plague flu disorders come in from China. Usually by hot summertime, though, they disappear.

We need to acknowledge that in this current epidemic, all of our experts have been wrong in what they have predicted. In fact, there is no real scientific evidence that the different lockdown type actions have altered the course of the epidemic at all.

However, there are some peculiar patterns that are suggestive. Certain parts of our country, such as sunny states with beaches along the ocean, seem to have lower infection rates than the rest of […]

Dr John Hey is Board Certified by the American Board of Sleep Medicine.

SLEEP MEDICINE

The field of sleep medicine is the newest specialty and one of the fastest growing. Scientists have discovered that, just as we need food and exercise, we also have to have adequate sleep in order to have good health. There are eighty-five sleep disorders, but there are several which are very common in our population that cause problems.

SLEEP BREATHING DISORDERS

When we go to sleep, our throat and nose passages relax. In certain people these close off and cause the patient not to be able to breathe in the necessary oxygen. Snoring is a mild version of this, but a severe version is known as sleep apnea (not breathing). This can occur numerous times during the […]

by John Hey, M.D.

1. Quit smoking
2. Use humidifier
3. Keep CPAP machine and mask clean
4. Sinus rinse daily before 4 pm
5. Flonase (flucatisone) nasal spray every night  (2 puffs each nostril)
6. Claritin (Loratadine) or Zyrtec (certirizine) as directed. Talk to your pharmacist about current medication regimen for guidance.

by John Hey MD

1. Three regular size meals per day. Food on plate should not touch other food.
2. No second helpings, between-meal snacks, or bedtime snacks.
3. Twelve hours between supper and breakfast (mini-fast). This allows your body to reset its insulin receptors.
4. No sweets, desserts, or sweet drinks (may have diet drinks or use artificial sweeteners). Occasional small helpings of fruit.
5. Over the first two or three week period, ramp up to a ½ hour or 5,000 step daily exercise.

Mild hunger and cravings may occur an hour or so before meals. This is your body telling you that you  are losing weight. Tell your body “I can wait until the next meal to take care of this.” Keep your body hydrated with water.

Initial weight loss should be dramatic […]

So you have finally decided that you should have a sleep evaluation.

Perhaps you have read about the great football player Reggie White, who tragically died from heart failure believed to be caused as a result of his obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

Maybe you are just tired and sleepy all the time, and have difficulty in concentrating.

Maybe you had a close call of falling  asleep while driving. 

Perhaps your sleep mate has moved out of the bedroom because of your window-rattling snoring, or perhaps, even worse, they are afraid to move out for fear you will stop snoring and they won’t be there to prod you awake so you won’t die.

Perhaps your physician is having difficulty controlling your blood pressure, or has expressed concern about your heart or your potential to […]

by John Hey, M.D.

I have had people from as far away as Jackson ask me, what is happening to our hospital in Greenwood?

Word has gotten around: we are going into the hole financially almost every month, doctors are being fired, and the state auditor gave us a “poor” rating on our financial stability.

But no one seems to get to the root of the problem, which is poor administration, and errors made by the hospital board.

Two years ago at its annual meeting, the American College of Healthcare Executives held seminars on the topic of dealing with hospital problems. Greenwood Leflore Hospital was chosen as an example of a medium-sized hospital that is failing and would soon close. The experts there concluded that the cause of this was bad leadership, […]

Dr. John Hey introduced the following resolution at the 2016 Mississippi State Medical Association annual convention in Jackson, Mississippi.

Resolution concerning aero-medical ambulance services

Mississippi State Medical Association

House of Delegates

July 21, 2016

WHEREAS: the emergency services and trauma network infrastructure has been gradually rebuilding since our victory in tort reform removed that most destructive of forces in caring for our patients; and

WHEREAS: Mississippi has been very fortunate to have a superb ambulance service with well-trained EMTs, and emergency departments in most hospitals staffed by highly competent physicians; and

WHEREAS: we are all aware of the “golden hour,” and the necessity to get severely endangered patients to the appropriate area of treatment quickly; and

WHEREAS: many ground ambulance services also own helicopters for air evac, but these companies have had financial difficulties due to […]