Community People, Quality Health Care
Leading the way in rural medical excellence
NOTE FROM THE CEO
This month I have some good news and some not so good news.
Let’s start with the good news first. We have two new providers joining our network; Karen Morrow, FNP is a nurse practitioner, who specializes in family and pediatric medicine. She joins us from Crescent City where she has an established practice.
Greg Tjossem, MD is a Family Practice doctor joining us from Iowa. Both will start in January and provide much needed capacity in Brookings.
monthly health tips
How many hours of sleep did you get last night? Our alarm clocks jolt us awake before the sun is up in the mornings, and parents and children alike often do not find themselves drifting off to sleep until late into the night. Many high school students and their parents stumble out the door each morning with only 5 or 6 hours of sleep to get them through the day. They are bleary-eyed and only partially coherent. But that’s what coffee is for, right? Wrong.
Health Tips |
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By Anna Johnson, BSN |
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Each
month Anna Johnson provides good, sound common sense medical information and tips.
We are pleased to share this valuable resource with you and hope that you'll
take a few moments to read these articles and apply them to your lives as we do
ours....
February 2012
How many hours of sleep did you get last night? Our alarm clocks jolt us awake
before the sun is up in the mornings, and parents and children alike often do
not find themselves drifting off to sleep until late into the night. Many high
school students and their parents stumble out the door each morning with only 5
or 6 hours of sleep to get them through the day. They are bleary-eyed and only
partially coherent. But that’s what coffee is for, right? Wrong.
December 2011
It’s that time of the year already. Christmas trees are up, decorations and
lights are everywhere, and another holiday party invitation arrives in the mail.
It’s only the middle of the month and I’ve already been to two parties. Along
with the Christmas music and holiday cheer, however, comes the fudge, sugar
cookies, eggnog lattes, and candy canes. Everywhere I turn these days, something
sweet seems to be beckoning. And while it’s easy for me to say, “Well, just this
once …” I’ve found myself saying that almost every day this week!
November 2011
It’s already November, and that means that Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New
Year’s are just around the corner. It’s one of my favorite times of year. As the
days grow shorter and temperatures drop, however, it also means that cold and
flu season is just around the corner. Sore throats, earaches, and other
not-so-fun illnesses often peak during the wet and rainy months. This often
means a trip to the doctor and, very often, a request for prescription
antibiotics.
October 2011
If you’ve somehow missed the quirky status updates on Facebook, or all the pink
ribbons around town, you might have forgotten why October is so special for over
2.4 million American women: National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. And those
2.4 million women? Breast cancer survivors.
While we have made great progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of
breast cancer over the past several decades, it is still the #2 cause of cancer
death in women in the U.S (lung cancer being #1). Roughly 200,000 new cases of
breast cancer will be diagnosed this year; nearly 40,000 women will die this
year from the disease. (While it is uncommon, men can also get breast cancer and
make up about 1% of those diagnosed with the disease.)
June 2011
The month of June brings with it the official beginning of summer, Father’s
Day (mark your calendars – it’s the 19th this year!), as well as Men’s Health
Month! The purpose of celebrating Men’s Health Month is to “heighten the
awareness of preventable health problems and encourage early detection and
treatment of diseases” that affect our fathers, husbands, sons, and brothers.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men (and women) in the United
States. Heart disease can lead to heart attack, stroke, and heart failure – as
well as many other serious medical conditions.
March 2011
According to the America Heart Association (AHA), stroke is the third leading
cause of death and the number one leading cause of adult disability in the
United States. Recognizing the warning signs of stroke can help reduce the
effects of stroke – and possibly save the stroke victim’s life. Stroke victims
have 3 hours from the onset of stroke symptoms to be treated with a life-saving
medication called tPA. This FDA approved medication is used to break-up clots in
certain types of strokes and can greatly reduce long-term disability of stroke
victims.
February 2011
Deciding to drive to the Emergency Department (ED) yourself, instead of
calling an ambulance, really can mean the difference between life or death. The
American College of Emergency Physicians lists the following as signs of a
medical emergency: difficulty breathing, chest or abdominal pain or pressure,
fainting, sudden dizziness, weakness or change in vision, change in mental
status, sudden and severe pain anywhere in the body, bleeding that won’t stop,
severe or persistent vomiting, coughing up or vomiting blood, and suicidal or
homicidal feelings.
Anna Johnson graduated with her BSN from Johns Hopkins University
and her Masters in English Education from Northern Arizona University.
She works for the Curry Health Network.
