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Pattie Johnson, LVIM’s 2018 Volunteer of the Year

When a patient makes an appointment at the Lakeland Volunteers in Medicine clinic in Lakeland, there’s a good chance that someone along the way, they will be in contact with Pattie Johnson. And if that’s the case, they are in good hands. Johnson, who has volunteered for the organization for 15 years, was named LVIM’s…
Keeping Seniors Safe: New Senior Protection Team Looks to Stop Elder Crime & Abuse

By MATT NORMAN Most seniors today live active, vibrant lives. Still, there are many factors that make them vulnerable to all sorts of abuse, neglect, and especially scams and fraud. Due to its moderate winters and frequent sunny days, Florida is a popular retirement or winter location for over five million seniors from all over…
Breath of Life: Local Nurses Provide Community with Valuable CPR Training

by TERESA SCHIFFER It is estimated that more than 359,000 cardiac arrests take place outside of a hospital setting in the U.S. each year, and only 32 percent of victims receive CPR from a bystander. Unfortunately, 70 percent of Americans either don’t know CPR or their certification has significantly lapsed. Thankfully, Citizen CPR is working…

Medical Advice: 7 steps to living healthy with diabetes

I met a man once who said being diagnosed with diabetes saved his life. What a powerful statement that was. He explained that before being told he had diabetes, he didn’t pay attention to health habits that were causing him great harm. When he learned he had diabetes, he attended classes to learn to take…
Publisher’s Note: Florida launches a pain-pill database

With 2,710 deaths resulting in prescription drug overdoses last year, and after a bitter 10-year political debate, a Florida pain-pill database was launched on October 18. The purpose of enacting this new computer system is to help the medical community curtail drug addicts and traffickers from obtaining large quantities of pain pills. Unfortunately, Florida…
Signs & Symptoms

Seeing the Forest for the Trees with Prognostic Factor Testing Prognostic factor testing is critical for directing proper therapy in individuals diagnosed with breast cancer. We have known for quite some time that there are several different types of breast cancer. Some tumors grow slow. Some tumors grow fast. Some tumors rapidly spread to…