Currently serving as the medical director of OSF St. Joseph Medical Center, Dr. Lamont Tyler is a clinical physician focusing on acute care and urgent care. A medical graduate of Midwestern University in Illinois, Dr. Lamont Tyler holds membership in professional organizations such as the Illinois Academy of Family Physicians (IAFP). An organization dedicated to education, advocacy, and promoting the wellbeing of Illinois residents, the IAFP supports family physicians and the communities they serve. Every December, the IAFP helps lead a statewide effort to encourage people to get a flu vaccine. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that up to 49,000 people per year die from flu-related factors in the United States. The illness is highly contagious, which is why medical professionals strongly recommend getting vaccinated to prepare for the winter flu season. Along with getting a flu shot, people can take help prevent spreading the flu by washing their hands with soap and water frequently and avoiding contact with people who are sick.
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Dr. Lamont Tyler is an experienced family and urgent care physician holding a DO from the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine. He oversees the specialty physician services as a medical director for the OSF Medical Group's Eastern Region in Bloomington and Pontiac, Illinois. Plantar fasciitis is a fairly common condition affecting the ligament structure that supports the arch of the foot, called the plantar fascia. It is marked by pain in the heel and bottom of the foot caused by small tears in the plantar fascia, which typically result from repeated stress placed on the ligament. While pain from plantar fasciitis is often very noticeable during exercise, most people notice discomfort right after waking up. The condition is most common in people who pronate, or turn their feet inward while walking, and is also associated with being overweight. Sometimes, individuals develop plantar fasciitis by consistently failing to stretch before exercising, which leads to tightness in the calf muscles and tendons in the leg and foot. The condition also frequently affects individuals whose jobs require a lot of walking or standing on hard surfaces, especially when they wear shoes without sufficient arch support. For this reason, women who often wear high-heeled shoes may be at a heightened risk for developing plantar fasciitis. Physicians can confirm a diagnosis of plantar fasciitis with a simple X-ray. Fortunately, patients can manage the condition with simple strategies and lifestyle changes, such as managing their weight and wearing properly fitting shoes with sufficient arch support. Doctors often also prescribe steroids or anti-inflammatory medications to address the issue. Regular stretching and exercise aimed at increasing the flexibility of the calf and foot can also be effective, as can the use of a Strassburg sock, which is worn while sleeping to gradually increase the plantar fascia’s range of motion. A graduate of the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine, Dr. Lamont Tyler serves as medical director at OSF St. Joseph Medical Center in Bloomington, Illinois. Dr. Lamont Tyler has dedicated over three decades to the practice of osteopathic and family medicine and draws on this experience to treat patients in the hospital’s urgent and acute care practices. OSF St. Joseph Medical Center recently received recognition as one of the top 50 locations for cardiovascular care in the United States, appearing on Truven Health Analytics’ list of the 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals. This marked the 17th edition of Truven’s annual ranking, which is the result of an extensive study assessing hospitals’ performance in several key areas. These include rates of patient mortality, readmission, and surgical complications, as well as average surgery cost and length of stay. To demonstrate the level of excellence embodied by its top-ranking hospitals, Truven outlined how the health care sector would differ if all cardiovascular providers matched the quality of its top-50 cardiovascular centers. According to its estimates, this would result in 3,500 more complication-free surgeries and 8,000 more saved lives. Additionally, hospitals would achieve over $1.3 billion in savings. Speaking on behalf of OSF St. Joseph, cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. G. Bradley Smith commended the combined efforts of the hospital’s surgeons, cardiologists, hospitalists, and other staff members. He praised the department’s teamwork, stating, “This truly demonstrates the outstanding quality of care that can be achieved through an integrated team approach to each patient.” With nearly 30 years of clinical experience, Illinois-based urgent care and family physician Dr. Lamont Tyler functions as the medical director of specialty physician services at OSF St. Joseph Medical Center in Bloomington. As a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), Dr. Lamont Tyler remains apprised of some of the latest developments in health care. As one of the largest medical associations in the nation, the AAFP strives to keep more than 120,900 members up to date on the latest developments in the medical community, including those related to new e-cigarette products. Following an unprecedented threefold increase in teen use of e-cigarettes, even as tobacco use continues to drop, the AAFP community at large remains concerned about the lack of FDA approval for such devices and research regarding their long-term health effects. However, a recent report presented at the 2015 American Thoracic Society International Conference suggests that e-cigarette use, or “vaping,” is not a successful long-term solution to smoking abstinence. Rather, the study indicates that many who use e-cigarettes also smoke conventional cigarettes, with no detectable reduction in smoking during three- and six-month follow-ups. The results of the study, authored by Riyad al-Lehebi, MBBS, of the University of Toronto, are based on currently available research of four studies and 22 published articles. A separate poll of 5,679 Americans by Reuters/Ipsos found that approximately 10% use e-cigarettes regularly and, despite the paucity of research, 80% consider e-cigarettes an effective way to quit smoking. Within the same sample, three out of four e-cigarette users continued to smoke traditional tobacco products. Dr. Lamont Tyler, medical director for OSF St. Joseph Medical Center PromptCare, shares his expertise with the community as host of the weekly show DocTalk on Cities 92.9 FM in Bloomington, Illinois. Dr. Lamont Tyler has also participated in a number of speaker programs, including Schand Morahan's hypertension initiative. Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is dangerous in its subtlety. It is the most common root cause of many serious or fatal conditions, including heart disease and stroke, and is extremely dangerous to patients with diabetes, yet it typically appears entirely asymptomatically. In fact, experts estimate that close to 33 percent of patients with hypertension do not know that they have the condition. Those that are aware of their high blood pressure typically receive the diagnosis after visiting the doctor for an unrelated condition. Patients who have long-term severe high blood pressure, however, do experience certain side effects. They may feel fatigued, confused, or experience other neurological disturbances. They may present with severe headaches or other alarming symptoms such as difficulty breathing or chest pain. These patients often seek medical attention for a perceived cardiac episode or other severe medical event, though these symptoms actually alert medical professionals to the fact that the patient's sustained high blood pressure has caused damage to other body systems. Dr. Lamont Tyler, an authority on urgent and acute care, shares his medical expertise with the public on the radio show "Doc Talk.” On the weekly program, Dr. Lamont Tyler discusses a variety of topics, such as the flu vaccine and why getting it is a good health decision. The flu, or influenza, is a common but serious health problem that people are most likely to contract during the months from October to May. People who are otherwise healthy can get very sick from the flu, and for those whose immune systems are compromised, the flu can be life-threatening. Each year, thousands of people die from the flu, and around 90 percent of flu-related deaths occur in people over 65 years of age. Therefore, getting vaccinated for the flu is very important, especially among older people. When a person is vaccinated for the flu, they are exposed to an inactive form of the flu virus. This causes the individual to develop antibodies, which provide protection from the flu. It takes about two weeks after vaccination for the antibodies to fully develop. Therefore, it’s best to receive flu vaccine early in the flu season, rather than after an outbreak begins, for better protection. Dr. Lamont Tyler currently serves as the medical director of specialty physician services at OSF St. Joseph Medical Center. Alongside his career, Dr. Lamont Tyler supports the American Diabetes Association, which offers information about topics such as testing for diabetes. If a patient has high blood glucose levels, he or she has a risk of developing diabetes. A doctor can diagnose prediabetes by measuring blood sugar, but a second test provides greater accuracy in diagnosis. Three common types of tests used for diagnosis are the A1C, FPG, and OFTT: The A1C test can measure the patient's average blood glucose from the past two to three months. With this test, a normal blood sugar range lies under 5.7 percent, a prediabetic level is between 5.7 and 6.4 percent, and a diabetic level is at 6.5 percent or higher. The Fasting Plasma Glucose (FPG) test requires the patient to fast (not eat or drink anything except water) for a minimum of 8 hours prior to taking the test. Normal results from this test include anything under 100 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl), while a prediabetic result falls between 100 and 125 mg/dl and a diabetic result is over 125 mg/dl. The Oral Glucose Test (OFTT) measures a patient's blood sugar over two hours. The OFTT determines the blood glucose level at the beginning of the session and then two hours after the patient drinks something sweet. The OFTT aims to determine how the body processes glucose. A normal result is less than 140 mg/dl at the end of the two hours, while a prediabetic result falls between 140 and 199 mg/dl and a diabetic result is 200 mg/dl or more. A supporter of the American Red Cross and the American Diabetes Association, Dr. Lamont Tyler has served as medical director with OSF St. Joseph Medical Center's PromptCare clinics for over 10 years. Also a member of the American Academy of Urgent Care Medicine, Dr. Lamont Tyler understands the importance of physician leadership in high-stress situations. Physician leadership is vital for both the patient’s health and the well being of the physician’s staff. More than delegating tasks, effective leadership creates fellowship among the staff and harmony in the whole office environment. - Set the standard. The best leaders lead by example. Take on an extra task when asking staff to do the same, and follow through. Staff members are more likely to commit to a project if they see management in a similar situation. - Acknowledge the team. Rather than assuming he or she is an expert on all subjects and aspects of the office, the physician should draw on the knowledge of all staff members, as they work in the systems every day. - Communicate. Clarity and consistency allow the physician to be understood and give staff members a set of achievable goals. At the same time, listen to the staff to address problems and foster a sense of cooperation. As medical director and family medicine physician at OSF Saint Joseph Medical Center PromptCare in Bloomington, Illinois, Dr. Lamont Tyler sees patients with a range of chronic and acute conditions. One acute illness Dr. Lamont Tyler and his colleagues treat is strep throat, which Dr. Tyler has spoken about on his weekly radio show Doc Talk.
Strep throat is most commonly seen in children aged 5 to 15, but adults can also contract the illness, which is spread by touching the droplets emitted when an infected person coughs or sneezes. This infection exhibits many of the same symptoms as other throat infections, including severe throat pain and difficulty swallowing. Strep throat also typically causes a fever of 101 degrees F or higher, swollen tonsils, and small red spots on the hard or soft palate. Skin rashes and vomiting may also occur. The infection is caused by the group A strep bacteria, which means that it can be treated effectively with antibiotics. Diagnosing and treating strep throat properly is vital, as the condition can sometimes lead to complications such as rheumatic fever, which can damage the heart valves. Diagnosing strep throat involves swabbing the back of the throat and testing the sample in a laboratory. Once antibiotic therapy is begun, the patient should feel better within a couple of days, but patients should always finish the entire course of antibiotics to prevent a recurrence of the infection. |
AuthorAs Medical Director of OSF St. Joseph Medical Center’s PromptCare, Dr. Lamont Tyler takes pride in the diverse array of services offered to all individuals on a walk-in basis. Archives
August 2017
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