- 4/22/2025
Anthony Gargano speaks with Dr. Monika Smith about staying healthy.
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00Hi, I'm here. I'm Anthony Gargano, and I am, I have the privilege, all right, to be joined by Dr. Monica Smith.
00:10You want to talk about doing God's work and who has been doing God's work for nearly 20 years.
00:16She's amazing. The Chief of Emergency Services at Virtua, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Camden.
00:24What you do, Dr. Smith, thank you, first of all.
00:27Thank you, Anthony. Thank you for having me on the show. Thank you.
00:32What you guys do at Virtua is great. And what I love about this series is that you're on top of us, right?
00:41You're on top of our health. Because think about it, especially through the pandemic, we kind of retreated into our homes.
00:48And what was lost, and we needed to do, what was lost was keeping up with our health care, which is so important.
00:55A lot of traditional ailments kind of went by the wayside because we didn't get our regular checkups.
01:02Yeah, that is correct. And, you know, as we are opening back up and people are starting to be a little bit more brave and they're coming out and they're seeing their friends and families, rightfully so.
01:14We all want to do that. We also have to remember that we need to get back into focusing on our health.
01:22And definitely, I can tell you from the last couple of months, people are a little bit sicker coming into the ER.
01:28They're a little bit more complex. Their routine care has been lacking.
01:32So, it's definitely very important for you to get back and see us again.
01:36So, let's do this. Let's come up with a game plan, all right?
01:40And you are the perfect person to come up with our game plan.
01:46Nearly 20 years of experience.
01:49You're the first woman to hold the title of Director of Emergency Services.
01:54I mean, you're amazing, right?
01:56So, let's go, number one, when should we go to the emergency room?
02:02What's our first signals that we have to do this?
02:06Yeah, so definitely, by the way, this is all a teamwork and I love being at Virtua and the people there and the community is amazing and that's what keep us there.
02:14So, I'm definitely excited to help you with any needs, health care needs that you have.
02:20We have an amazing team with me.
02:22But, to answer your question, there are multiple things that you want to come see us in the emergency department.
02:29So, things like chest pain, shortness of breath, any of severe aches and pains, severe abdominal pains, anytime you have a fever, rash, or headache, you want to see us.
02:40Stroke-like symptoms.
02:41So, those are the things that I would encourage you to come to the emergency department for.
02:45So, May is stroke month and some of the warning signs that we should be aware of when it comes to potential, because isn't getting to the hospital the most important thing, expediency is the most important thing when it comes to dealing with a stroke victim, right?
03:04Correct.
03:05So, Anthony, stroke is a fifth leading cause of death in the United States and is a number one disability causing illness in adults.
03:13So, the things that you can remember stroke symptoms by is an acronym that we often use.
03:20It's called FAST.
03:21So, F stands for face.
03:23So, you want to, if you're having any facial droop or facial asymmetry or there's any numbness or tingling in your face.
03:30A stands for arm or extremity.
03:32So, if you're having any types of extremity weakness or numbness or tingling down your arm, if you're having difficulty picking up that cup of coffee in the morning or writing your name, that could be a sign of a stroke.
03:45S is for speech.
03:46So, anytime you have difficulties with speech, finding words, people are not understanding what you're saying, that's S.
03:53And T is for timing.
03:55So, timing is very important in stroke and time is brain.
03:59So, if you're having any of those symptoms that I just mentioned, you want to call 911 and see us immediately.
04:05Is there any preventative you would do for, since May is stroke month, to kind of find out if, God forbid, you have any blockages or screenings or what do you suggest?
04:18Yeah, absolutely.
04:19So, there are a couple of things.
04:20If you have diabetes, if you have high blood pressure, you want to make sure that those are under control.
04:25So, like you've mentioned before, COVID has postponed that routine care.
04:30So, you want to get back to making sure that your blood sugar is controlled, that your high blood pressure is controlled, that you are taking the medications that you should be taking.
04:38Also, arrhythmia.
04:39So, if you have atrial fibrillation, most commonly known as AFib, you want to make sure, you want to talk to your doctor to see if you're a candidate for a blood thinner.
04:49And those things can be preventative for stroke, for sure.
04:53When it comes to, let's take, we have summertime coming, right?
04:57So, I got two kids and, you know, now they're out in more of the country setting.
05:02And stuff like bug bites, stuff like, you know, any kind of accidents that, you know, strange things that can happen.
05:11And I'm, you know, one of these dads that get super nervous.
05:15Like, what are you doing?
05:16Where are you at?
05:17I want to know.
05:18So, what do we need to know when it comes to that, when it comes to emergency services with our children?
05:23Sure.
05:24So, we are, obviously, we are welcome anybody that feels that they need, they have an emergency.
05:29But we do, Virtua has eight urgent care centers around South Jersey area.
05:34So, if you're having things that are a little bit less minor, as you mentioned, rashes.
05:39Poison ivy is going to be one of the rashes that we're going to see more often now.
05:43We're back traveling, hiking, gardening.
05:46So, rashes, flus, colds, sore throats, earaches, any sprains or strains, then you can use the urgent care centers.
05:59So, let's kind of go from, because coming from the sports world, we like to have like a blueprint, right?
06:08So, number one, as we get back to our lives and get back to each other, would be to take care of ourselves, right?
06:16So, you know, get a visit with our primary, understand what kind of shape we're in, have our blood tested, all that sort of thing.
06:24You recommend that to be number one in our preventative nature, right?
06:28Correct.
06:29That should be your number one.
06:30So, you want to prevent those more severe illnesses from ever occurring.
06:35So, Virtua is here for you to be well, get well, and stay well.
06:39So, definitely start with the preventative care first.
06:42And then, Dr. Smith, from there, we have to be vigilant, right?
06:45So, any kinds of, you talked about, you know, certain things that we know aren't right, how we feel, certain things that then don't mess around.
06:58We go right to come to Virtua and make sure that we're, that timing is everything and we're not losing out on anything, right?
07:08Like, the first signs of stuff, we've got to make sure that they're serious and we make sure that we act, right?
07:14Exactly. So, if you're having more severe symptoms, we have seven emergency departments.
07:20We have two satellite emergency departments and then five main emergency departments.
07:24And then we have, like I mentioned before, eight urgent care centers.
07:28So, if you're having those more severe symptoms, emergency room is where you want to be.
07:35If they're a little bit less severe, such as we mentioned before, then urgent care might be the right place for you to be.
07:42What type of, I'm curious, what type does the ER experience at Virtua, what does it look like during COVID times and then what's it look like post-COVID times?
07:54Can you give us a kind of summation of what it's like, especially for someone like you, Dr. Smith?
08:01Yeah. So, almost overnight, we have converted all of our rooms into isolation rooms.
08:06So, we have enclosed every room and put extra filters within those rooms to keep everybody safe.
08:14We do a lot of extra sanitizing and extra cleaning.
08:18The waiting room is spaced six feet apart.
08:21Everybody has a mask.
08:23We try to keep the waiting room pretty much empty, keep people moving through.
08:28So, there's no close contact and patients are definitely safe from getting exposed to COVID.
08:37Are all emergency, all ERs the same?
08:41I mean, when we go, how do we know that we're going to the right one?
08:45Yes.
08:46So, good question, Anthony.
08:48So, you want to get familiar with the emergency departments around you.
08:52And there are a few that are maybe satellite emergency departments that are, any emergency department can stabilize your condition and then get you to the right place where you need to be.
09:03However, there are a few that are designated as primary stroke centers or comprehensive stroke centers.
09:10So, if you're having more, or cardiac centers and Virtuaire Lady of Lourdes is both the comprehensive stroke center and cardiac center.
09:19So, if you're having any cardiac issues or stroke-like symptoms, you want to make it to Our Lady of Lourdes, time is brain, time is muscle.
09:29And the difference between those is that not only do we take care of all kinds of strokes, we also provide state-of-the-art care, innovative care to treat those strokes.
09:43So, we have a hybrid operating room that allows our team to extract those, go after those clots that are causing stroke and actually extract them.
09:53Wow.
09:54Oh, that's amazing.
09:55Yeah.
09:56It's pretty cool.
09:57Is there any other symptoms like we have to be aware of, especially that we know that we have to go?
10:04Sometimes I think people go, well, I can tough it out and make sure.
10:09And then, you know, that wasn't the right decision.
10:13Yeah.
10:14So, in women, you know, women can have different symptoms related to heart disease.
10:20So, they may feel a little bit of nausea.
10:22They may be a little dizzy, may be weak, maybe have a little bit of a backache.
10:26So, they don't have that classic chest pain, substernal chest pain ready into your left arm, classic textbook symptoms.
10:35So, any type of those symptoms, if you're a woman, you should consider a heart being the culprit.
10:46And then, obviously, if you're a man, you may present a little bit more typically.
10:50So, any type you have chest pain, shortness of breath, that indigestion-like feeling, you want to come see us.
10:56And is there any time where you go, you don't need?
11:00Because a lot of people say is, is it a wrong time to go?
11:04Should I not go?
11:06Is there any of that?
11:07No.
11:08As a matter of fact, you should not delay your care.
11:10Time is everything.
11:11So, if you're having those symptoms, you need to see us right away.
11:15Call 911 and come see us.
11:18Dr. Monica Smith, you are amazing, okay?
11:23Thank you for leaving.
11:24You're giving us the playbook.
11:27This is what we need for healthy.
11:29All you guys, the doctors and the great people at Virtua, thank you.
11:34Thank you for keeping us healthy.
11:37And we thank the community for keeping us safe.
Recommended
11:46
|
Up next
18:58
1:39:52
9:09
3:02
9:49
13:15
13:44
17:18
4:32
0:20
15:35