Health News

Features

Manual or Electric Toothbrushes?

Looking at the Pros and Cons of Your Main Oral Hygiene Tool by MARY TOOTHMAN They started out as twigs with frayed ends — ancient civilizations rubbed chew sticks against their teeth to clean them as far back as 3000 BC. But by 1938, the toothbrush as we know it was invented. And the handy…
A Tribute to Our Local Nurses

Celebrating National Nurses Week by Highlighting the Great Work of our Area Nurses Bartow Regional Medical Center Elaine Bernard was named Bartow Regional Medical Center’s 2018 Nurse of Excellence. She is flanked by Misty Holland, Director of Patient Services at BRMC, and Carol Koeppel-Olson, the Chief Nursing Officer for the Polk Region. Elaine said she…
The Connection Between Gum Disease and Alzheimer’s Disease

By Teresa Schiffer Alzheimer’s disease is a devastating illness that many people suffer from as they age. Experts estimate that more than 5.5 million people in the U.S. suffer from Alzheimer’s. A recent research publication from Science Advances suggests that there may be a connection between gum disease and Alzheimer’s. There is a particular bacterium…

Publisher’s Note: Affordable Care Act update

As 2013 comes to a close, we can expect major changes to our nation’s healthcare system next year under The Affordable Care Act (ACA). But amidst the inevitable confusion, many still are unable to make concrete decisions regarding their healthcare. With President Barack Obama admitting the law needs changes, we’re left to play the waiting…
PCMA Letter: A Letter of Encouragement

This edition of Central Florida Health News magazine is full of valued insight on how to stay healthy this holiday season— and beyond. You’ll find key observations on home safety during the holiday crunch, managing stress with healthy foods, the fact and fiction about antibiotics, and a killer disease: Pancreatic cancer. As a radiation oncologist,…
Pancreatic Cancer update

National Research and Local Alliance Efforts Keep Hope from Being Blown Away John Rodda was sitting to dinner with his wife, Becky, when she noticed his eyes were bright yellow. Although he’d had a horrible stomachache a couple of weeks earlier, they didn’t realize it was anything serious. Unknown to them, the Lakeland-based commercial contractor had…