Posted: 9:06 AM Gulf Coast Medical Center officials announced two big developments today regarding cardio-vascular care. The hospital is expanding it's cardiology services and has become the area's first accredited chest pain center.
Updated: 9:36 PM Prostate cancer is the most treatable form of cancer, if caught early. But it's also one that's tough to detect because there often aren't any symptoms. For men who don't catch it early there are some national trials taking place in Bay County using some new cutting edge treatment.
Updated: 9:34 PM A study released Monday finds 1 in every 13 U.S. children has some type of food allergy. Researchers randomly interviewed more than 40,000 children. Local schools and daycares are already taking precautionary measures to manage food allergies among students.
Updated: 4:02 PM June is men's health month.. And one threat to men's health is prostate cancer. It's also the most treatable. A local man got his cancer diagnosis just before a big Florida State / Miami game. He thought about putting treatments on hold for a while, but his doctor told him he didn't need to.
Updated: 9:21 PM Right now one in every seven Americans is diagnosed with diabetes. That number is on the rise with children and teenagers now outpacing adults in diagnosis.
Updated: 7:46 AM Research that came out last week predicts one in four Americans will have type two diabetes by the year 2050. One of the main reasons for the spike is the obesity epidemic. A local hospital is helping patients better understand their disease.
Updated: 8:55 AM Could you spot the signs of a stroke?
Updated: 8:31 AM Panama City -- There are a couple of ways to open blocked arteries. One is time-tested surgery, the other is carotid stenting. It's a procedure that opens clogged arteries to treat or even prevent stroke.
Updated: 4:19 PM The healthcare industry has been honoring one of its most important groups this week, during national nurses week. When you're sick, there's a good chance you spend more time with nurses than with doctors. We caught up with a Bay Medical Center nurse who just won a prestigious award for a job well done.
Updated: 8:59 AM Panama City -- A local hospital is offering a program to help smokers quit, for good.
Posted: 7:41 AM It's estimated 15 million women in the u.s. suffer from urinary incontinence. By the age of 55 nearly half of the the nation's women have a pelvic floor disorder.
Updated: 8:26 AM Panama City -- May is skin cancer awareness month. With 3.5 million cases diagnosed annually, skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. Fortunately, it's also one of the most preventable.
Updated: 9:31 AM Panama City -- Most of us are familiar with heart disease, but you may not know much about Peripheral Vascular Disease. It has the same risk factors and can prove to be life altering.
Updated: 8:59 AM Panama City -- Local doctors now have a new option to treat critically ill heart patients: It's the world's smallest heart pump.
Updated: 10:44 AM Statistics show one in three women suffer from urinary incontinence...but it's not just a problem for women. Incontinence is very common and distressing. But it's a problem you don't have to live with. There are treatments available that can help you get back to a normal life. Those treatments include everything from exercises to minimally invasive procedures.
Updated: 11:26 AM Panama City -- By-pass surgery has come a long way. A few years ago, Bay Medical heart surgeons added one more option for patients: It's called beating-heart surgery. During most by-pass surgeries doctors stop the heart. A heart and lung machine is used to temporarily divert the blood. Beating heart surgery is a way to perform the same type of surgery without stopping the heart.
Updated: 9:20 PM The Florida Senate budget proposes cutting Medicaid reimbursement rates to safety net hospitals by 10 percent and eliminating all hospital services under the Medically Needy program and the Medicaid for the Aged and Disabled program. Bay Medical faces cuts in the millions.
Posted: 8:12 AM Colon cancer is often referred to as the silent killer...in the early stages there aren't any symptoms. That's why screening for colon cancer is so important. It may not be the most popular procedure, but as one local woman found out, getting a colonoscopy could mean the difference between life and death.
Posted: 9:13 AM Governor Rick Scott Monday announced the appointment Dr. Merle P. Stringer of Panama City to the Board of Medicine.
Posted: 8:27 AM Panama City - The Bay County Health Department Children's Dental Clinic has a new home on east 15th Street. Official say the clinic is in high demand and could help up to 18,000 children in Bay County. Health department officials started working on the vacant dental clinic on East 15th Street back in November of 2010.
Posted: 9:27 AM Imagine being able to lose weight from all your trouble spots: Belly, hips, thighs and arms, all without feeling hungry.
Updated: 9:06 PM A survey released just three months ago shows half of women 40 and older do not get recommended yearly mammograms. That holds true even when they have insurance. One local nurse admits she fits into that category.
Updated: 3:44 PM Panama City -- Acid reflux can cause a lot more than heartburn. If left untreated, it can lead to esophageal cancer. But there's good news for local patients. A local hospital is offering a new surgery that not only cures acid reflux, but lets patients get back to eating and sleeping normally.
Posted: 8:52 AM Panama City - The Centers for Disease Control has released the latest statistics for teenage births, and numbers for Florida are down 19%. They're down as well in Bay County.
Updated: 4:09 PM Panama City-- Several women in Panama City may know a little bit more about the importance of staying healthy after attending Gulf Coast Medical Center's first annual day of dance.
If you're a smoothie lover, take note. Eight spots in your kitchen -- including your blender -- may be alive with foodborne pathogens potent enough to sicken you and your family, a new study finds.
It will be weeks, at least, before Celeste Corcoran is anywhere near ready to think about artificial limbs. The 47-year-old Lowell, Mass.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie revealed that he's had gastric-band weight-loss surgery, which experts say has the least amount of short-term risk but also yields the least amount of weight loss.
A new line of caffeinated chewing gum is causing jitters among health advocates and prompting federal officials to take a new look at the proliferation of jolt-infused foods, including those marketed to children and teens.
Stress, the slowing of metabolism of middle age, and hormone changes after having a baby are three main reasons why many people see the numbers on the scale going up. Dr. Mehmet Oz shares tips on how to shed those final 10 pounds.
Forget the old high school clichés about athletes not doing as well academically as less sporty kids -- a new study shows that children who exercise more do better in math, reading tests.
The procrastinators, the super-busy, and the easily bored in pursuit of a manageable fitness routine may find what they seek in the 10-minute workout.
Exercise not only improves mood, it may help people maintain reduced anxiety in the face of stressful or emotional events, a new study says.
