When it comes to improving sports performance, one size doesn’t fit all. That’s the idea behind a new program to be launched next month by Trinity Health Exercise Physiology.

Called APEX, short for Athletic Performance Extreme, the program is designed to help student athletes ages 12 and over raise their sport performance level by using an individualized approach to sports training.

“The protocols that we prescribe and the programming we use are not only specific to each particular sport, but also to each individual athlete,” said Russell Gust.

After 25 years of delivering sports medicine excellence to athletes in Minot and north central North Dakota, Trinity Sports Medicine is expanding its educational outreach to two Williston schools.

Coordinator Robyn Gust says Trinity has entered into cooperative agreements with Williston State College and Williston High School to provide sports medicine coverage to both schools.

“This expansion provides much needed allied healthcare to athletes at Williston State College and Williston High School,” Gust said. “These schools previously had the benefit of only part-time sports medicine coverage or no coverage.”

Justin J. Boseck, Ph.D., doesn’t like what he sees when it comes to the number of children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). He’s hoping that other people around North Dakota are as concerned as he is.

The Neuropsychology Resident with Trinity Health is inviting healthcare professionals, educators and all others with an interest in FASD to a meeting August 14 to gauge interest in reviving a statewide task force to highlight the impact that FASD has on those affected, their caregivers, and the community.

FASD is an umbrella term that describes a range of effects that can occur in a child whose mother consumed alcohol during pregnancy. The effects have lifelong implications for the child, including attention issues, possible low IQ, learning disabilities, abnormal facial features, and a variety of behavioral problems.

“The prevalence of FASD is about one in 100 compared to one in 88 for Autistic Disorders,” Dr. Boseck indicated.

(MINOT, ND)–Young golfers will have a chance to learn about healthy living as they tee off this summer at Jack Hoeven Wee Links golf course.

Trinity Health is partnering with Wee Links to sponsor Club 25, a program that encourages junior golfers to play a minimum of 25 rounds of golf during the summer at a cost of one dollar per round. After completing 25 games the rest of the season at Wee Links will be free.

Trinity Health Vice President Randy Schwan says the goal is to give kids an incentive to exercise through the game of golf. “Our goal is to keep kids healthy by teaching them about exercise, nutrition and safety.”

(MINOT, ND)–Citing increased regulatory burdens and declining reimbursements – among other factors – Trinity Health today announced it will close Trinity Community Clinic – Parshall and consolidate services with its nearby New Town clinic effective July 1, 2013.

“This is a difficult decision, so much so that we actually delayed it for quite some time,” said Thomas M. Warsocki.

(MINOT, ND)–Not everyone with aching limbs or joints is a candidate for joint replacement surgery. Accordingly, Trinity Orthopedic Associates is getting ready to launch a special clinic devoted to the non-surgical care of people with osteoarthritis and osteoporosis.

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative condition characterized by the wearing away of cartilage inside the joint. Osteoporosis is a disease of the bones that increases the risk of fractures. Dr. E. Dexter Scott says that while Trinity’s orthopedic specialists have always provided non-surgical treatment for these two conditions, the O&O clinic will be unique.

Until now we haven’t had a clinic dedicated to the care and management of osteoarthritis and osteoporosis, two very common conditions that can occur together or separately,” Dr. Scott explained.

(MINOT, ND)–The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) in conjunction with Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota has designated Trinity Hospital a Blue Distinction Center+ (plus) for Knee and Hip Replacement, a newly expanded designation.

Established in 2006, the Blue Distinction program has given patients, medical providers and employers a means to identify hospitals that deliver high quality care in several specialty areas, including knee and hip replacement.  BCBSA recently announced the expansion of Blue Distinction to include new cost-efficiency measures (the plus).

(MINOT, ND)–The days of proudly showing off one’s surgical scars may be coming to an end. For many common surgical procedures there has been a remarkable evolution over the last two decades from open surgeries with a large incision to laparoscopic procedures that use four small incisions or punctures that serve as ports for the laparoscopic instruments.

But now laparoscopic surgery itself has evolved, giving way to a single port method for some procedures ‚Ä’ one that requires just one small incision, and a discreet one at that.

Dr. Lane Lee, a board-certified general and vascular surgeon with Trinity Health, has been performing single incision laparoscopic surgery for the past couple of years. He says it was a natural progression borrowing techniques from basic procedures like tubal ligations and appendectomies, long performed with a single incision, and applying them to more difficult cases like gallbladder surgery and bowel resections. He also completed a laparoscopic fellowship where he was trained in advanced single incision methodology.

“The use of a single incision for more advanced procedures like gallbladders and bowel resections came about because of better lighting, better tools, better instrumentation, and better imaging,” Dr. Lee explained.

(MINOT, ND)-The Joint Commission and American Heart Association/American Stroke Association marked an important milestone, recognizing Trinity Health as the nation’s 1,000^th Certified Primary Stroke Center.

At a Minot news conference, officials from both organizations celebrated the achievement, congratulating Trinity Health and its stroke team for meeting the certification program’s stringent standards and performance guidelines.

This is definitely a milestone for The Joint Commission and American Heart Association to have reached 1,000 Primary Stroke Centers,” said M.J. Hampel.