DCH to Offer Rheumatology Outpatient Clinic
June 19, 2019
Beginning July 15th, DCH is excited to welcome a new Outpatient Clinic to our services. Elizabeth Allen will offer Rheumatology services and deliver exceptional care, close to home. Elizabeth “Libby” Allen is an APRN and Family Nurse Practitioner in Browning, Missouri. She graduated with honors in 2016.
A rheumatologist is an internist who received further training in the diagnosis (detection) and treatment of musculoskeletal disease and systemic autoimmune conditions commonly referred to as rheumatic diseases. These diseases can affect the joints, muscles and bones causing pain, swelling, stiffness and deformity. Elizabeth will work directly with rheumatology experts to evaluate, diagnosis and treat conditions that affect the bones, muscles, joints and skin.
Common types of inflammatory arthritis include:
Rheumatoid Arthritis – Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system – which normally protects its health by attacking foreign substances like bacteria and viruses – mistakenly attacks the joints. Learn more at arthritis.org.
Psoriatic Arthritis – Experts estimate that approximately 30 percent of people with psoriasis (a skin condition characterized by itchy, scaly rashes and crumbling nails) also develop a form of inflammatory arthritis called psoriatic arthritis. Symptoms could include join pain and stiffness, skin rashes, nail changes, fatigue, eye problems and swelling and tenderness in fingers and feet. Learn more at arthritis.org.
Ankylosing Spondylitis – Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is an inflammatory arthritis that causes pain in the joints and ligaments. The most common symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis is chronic pain and stiffness in the lower back, buttocks and hips that usually develops slowly over several weeks or months. Learn more at arthritis.org.
Systemic Lupus – Lupus is a chronic, autoimmune disease that affects various parts of the body, including joints, kidneys and other organs, skin, blood and even the brain. Learn more at arthritis.org.
Other types of inflammatory arthritis include: Scleroderma, Inflammatory Myopathies, Mixed Connective Tissue Diseases
In the DCH Outpatient Clinic, Elizabeth is proud to treat:
- Arthritis
- Arthritis of the Thumb Base
- Arthritis of the Wrist & Hand
- Bursitis
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
- De Quervain’s Disease
- Dermatomyositis
- Dupuytren’s Disease
- Elbow Problems
- Fibromyalgia
- Gout
- Inclusion Body Myositis
- Lupus
- Osteoarthritis
- Osteomalacia
- Osteoporosis
- Polymyalgia Rheumatica
- Polymyositis
- Pseudogout
- Psoriatic Arthritis
- Raynaud’s Phenomenon
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Sarcoidosis
- Scleroderma
- Sjogren’s Syndrome
- Spondylitis
- Tendonitis
- Trochanteric Bursitis
If you receive a referral for treatment or diagnosis for a rheumatic condition from your primary care physician, ask them to refer to your Decatur County Hospital so you can receive exceptional care, close to home. Call our Outpatient Clinic at 641-446-2285 to get your appointment set up. For more information about stay tuned to www.www.decaturcountyhospital.org and our Facebook page @DecaturCountyHospitalIowa for more information as it becomes available.
