Medical

Consumer Stories

Local business owner offers patients alternative treatment for chronic pain

Lara Bridges knows what it’s like to live with chronic pain, which is why she devotes her time to helping people find relief from their pain. Bridges, a licensed neuromuscular therapist and owner of the Aiken Center for Neuromuscular Therapy, located at 104 Florence St. Southwest, was diagnosed with a spinal disorder from an injury she received while snow tubing in 2020. Her doctor gave her steroid injections, which didn’t work, and wanted to perform surgery to fix the problem. The only effective treatment she found was neuromuscular therapy. Neuromuscular

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Consumer Stories

Local business owners plan community health fair

Today is your last day to sign up to be a vendor at a health fair created by two local business owners. Kimberly Beasley, the owner of Curvitude Boutique, which sells women’s athletic wear, and Jamilah Dukes, owner of The S.O.U.L Market, which offers a variety of wellness services, including yoga classes, have planned the first-ever Columbia County Health, Wellness, & Fitness Expo. The free event will be held on Saturday, March 25, from 12 noon to 6 p.m. at the Liberty Park Community Center located at 1040 Newmantown Road

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Consumer Stories

Local hospital makes list for best bariatric surgery

Need to lose weight? Need to exercise more? Those may sound like New Year’s resolutions, but the fact is many of us fall into that category and most are in the southeast, including Georgia and South Carolina. More than 42 percent of adults in the United States are currently obese, while nearly three-quarters are overweight, according to the CDC. Some who are obese turn to bariatric surgery which involves making changes to your digestive system to help you lose weight when diet and exercise haven’t worked. The good news is

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Consumer Stories

Local school helps curb nursing shortage with new program

South Carolina is among five states projected to have the biggest nursing shortage in the U.S. by 2030 and will need more than 10,000 new nurses to fill the gap. As ABD has reported, Aiken Regional is offering $25,000 sign-on bonuses for qualified nurses. Now, Aiken Tech School of Nursing will take a step to address the demand for nurses in the CSRA by offering evening classes. The new program creates another path for licensed practical nurses (LPN) to become registered nurses (RN). Aiken Tech’s nursing school has seen success

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Consumer Stories

CSRA businesses scramble for employee healthcare coverage as Humana exits Group Medical Plans

Major insurer Humana is leaving group commercial healthcare and major medical plans to focus on government-funded programs, and ancillary benefits such as ambulance transportation, blood, drugs, and medical supplies. This impacts employers and their employees under plans which are fully insured, self-funded, and those with Federal Employees Health Benefits medical plans. “Employers need to prepare for changing their insurance provider, for some disruption, and potential rate changes,” advised Tom Mastny, CEO of The Pennant Group. For Michael Harrison, owner of Flow Pro Plumbing in Augusta, Humana’s announcement last week was

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Consumer Stories

Medical helicopter has new home at Augusta Regional Airport

Augusta University Health’s AirCare helicopter’s recently completed hangar was dedicated on Feb.23 at Augusta Regional Airport. Dr. Phillip Coule, Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Augusta University Health System, said they knew AirCare was needed, especially to help serve the rural parts of Georgia. However, he didn’t anticipate how much of an impact the helicopter would have, or how far it would range. Numbers show AirCare, operated by Metro Aviation in partnership with AU Health, has logged 700 transports in its first eighteen months. The majority have been within

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Consumer Stories

Evans doctor to open medical spa

Dr. Neeraja Chandrasekaran wants to help her clients improve their self-confidence by making them look and feel younger. Early next month, Chandrasekaran, a local family medicine physician, plans to launch Luna Medical Spa, which will be located inside Le’ Salon Day Spa at 807-B Oakhurst Drive in Evans. She will begin accepting clients next week. The business will offer a variety of noninvasive cosmetic services, including Botox injections, laser hair removal, and HydraFacial treatments, as well as IV hydration therapies with vitamins. “It’s where medicine meets the cosmetic world,” she

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Consumer Stories

Local real estate broker raises funds for heart disease research

When Nancy Powell’s mother had open-heart surgery at age 50, she wasn’t expected to live much longer, but thanks to advances in heart disease research, she’s feeling much better at 75. That’s why Powell, a local real estate broker and owner of Powell & Associates Inc., is actively raising funds for the American Heart Association. She will serve as the auction chair for this year’s Heart Ball, which will be held on Friday, Feb. 10 from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. at the Augusta Marriott in downtown Augusta. The event

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Medical

Free presentations help navigate Medicare

Trying to sort through the avalanche of commercials, direct mail, and social media advertisements for Medicare can be more complicated than driving through Atlanta rush hour traffic. That’s why Russell Turner founded Navigating My Medicare. “I hear it every single day from callers who say they need help navigating the system for doctors, medications, and to find the right plan based on their health and financial needs,” Turner explained. Many of those calls come from business owners. Turner says the best plan for a 65+ business owner will depend on

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Consumer Stories

Local Hospital offers hefty nurse sign-on bonuses

As ABD has previously reported, there is a nursing shortage in the CSRA and across the country which was amplified by the pandemic. Also in today’s economic update, Simon Medcalfe reports that Augusta has seen a drop in employment levels for health services which remain below pre-pandemic levels. Across the river, Aiken Regional Medical Centers is being proactive in reversing that trend by offering a sign-on bonus of up to $25,000 for qualified nurses. They have scheduled job fairs throughout 2023 focusing on positions in nursing and support services. The

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