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Understanding
Bladder Problems
Myth: Incontinence
(bladder leaking) is a consequence of
normal aging.
Fact: The risk for developing
incontinence rises with age but it is
not a normal consequence of aging. If
your bladder is leaking it is a sign
of a physical condition that may respond
to treatment.
Myth: After
having babies, women leak some
urine with a cough, sneeze, or
when exercising.
Fact: Not all women
who have had babies experience this
problem. Not only do women have this
problem, but men can also experience
incontinence.
Myth: There
isn't much that can be done about
bladder leakage except to wear
a pad or diaper.
Fact: Many nonsurgical
and surgical remedies exist to treat
incontinence. Depending on the incontinence
cause, it can often be cured. All
types of incontinence can be improved
with the proper individual diagnosis
and treatment.
There are more than 10 million men, women, and children
of all ages in this country who experience loss of
bladder control. Because it is embarrassing, people
often suffer in silence, limiting physical/social
activities and companionship. For some, living with
an incontinence problem takes over their lives.
Approximately 15 to 30 percent of older people living at home
and at least one-half of all nursing home residents experience
urinary incontinence. The psychological, social, and financial
burden of urinary incontinence is enormous. |
| Services |
The
Continence Center is dedicated to the diagnosis and
management of urinary incontinence. We are here to
assist you.
Types
of Incontinence:
Stress
Incontinence: The leakage of urine during exercise,
coughing, sneezing, laughing, lifting heavy objects,
or other physical movements that put pressure
on the bladder.
Urge Incontinence: The inability to hold urine long enough
to reach a toilet. Frequency (going to the toilet every hour)
and fear of urine loss can accompany this type of incontinence.
Overflow Incontinence: The leakage of small amounts of urine
from the bladder because it is always full. There may or may
not be periods of dryness.
Functional Incontinence: Occurs in people who have normal urine
control but may have difficulty reaching a toilet in time because
of arthritis or other crippling disorders.
Treatment and
Management:
If you are experiencing any of the above problems,
investigation and treatment of the underlying cause
can result in a return to normal activities and independence.
Approximately 90% of incontinence patients show improvement
from nonsurgical means such as medication, re-education,
and/or behavioral changes.
What does an
Incontinence Investigation include?
An investigation includes a complete review of urological history,
urination habits and patterns, that include:
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A
history of the problem
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A
review of all medications
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A
focused physical examination
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Special
studies that reproduce urine storage and
emptying from the bladder
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Special
studies of the pelvic floor muscles
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Urine
and blood studies
Who
is involved in the Incontinence Evaluation?
The assessment is conducted by an Advanced Practice Registered
Nurse with a special interest in incontinence diagnosis and management.
The HealthCare Midwest Continence Center is supervised
by a team of urologists who have received advanced training
in the diagnosis and treatment of conditions affecting
the urinary system.
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| Providers |
Donna S. Pennington,
MSN, FNP, BC
Lita Martin, MSN, FNP-C
These
providers are using our electronic medical record.
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| Insurance: |
Our
office participates with a variety of insurance
carriers. Since these arrangements change from
time to time, we will review our participation
status at the time of your registration appointment.
If you have a question about pre-authorization,
please contact your insurance carrier prior to
your appointment.
You
must bring your insurance card(s) to each appointment to
help us provide the most efficient and trouble-free
processing of your claim. If you are not insured,
we request payment at the time of service.
If
your insurance changes, please be sure to notify
us as soon as possible. Having accurate information
enables us to contact you promptly and submit claims
accurately.
HealthCare
Midwest has many physicians and service locations.
For your convenience you will receive one statement
for all HealthCare Midwest services. Any payment
made after the time of service will be applied
to your oldest balance.
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| Emergencies: |
If
you have an emergency that requires immediate attention,
call 911, or proceed directly to the hospital emergency
room.
If you call our office for emergency problems after regular business hours or on holidays, you will be transferred to the on-call provider.
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HealthCare MyWay is a confidential and secure web-based system for you to communicate with our offices.
HealthCare MyWay makes it easy and convenient to submit non-emergency communications in just a few minutes and at your convenience!
Once you are an established patient with our office and registered with Healthcare MyWay, you can quickly and easily request/cancel office appointments, request a lab or test result, request medication refills, request a referral, or notify us of a change of address or insurance.
Once you ask your provider to communicate with you using HealthCare My Way, your provider, a provider-designated user or authorized member of a provider group may review your health record and adjust it and respond to your messages. If you have granted your provider access to your HealthCare My Way record, you should not assume that your provider is actively reviewing changes and you should actively communicate changes that concern you and your provider.
Click the link above to register as a user and learn how you can connect with our office and communicate with your provider when and where it is most convenient for you!
| You may also call our office at:
269-488-2191
Monday through Friday:
8:30am - 12pm and 1pm - 5pm
601 John Street, Suite M283 (Map)
Kalamazoo, MI 49007
Fax: 269-488-8313
Insurance/Billing: 269-343-8800
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