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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…
Staying Active During the Golden Years

How Exercise Can Help Senior Citizens Both Physically and Mentally by DAPHNE RENELUS There are numerous activities a person can do to improve their physical health. Exercising, especially when older, can improve a person’s physical health by keeping the heart healthy, causing the removal of toxins from the body through sweating, and increasing a person’s…
Pop Quiz: Pain in the Back – Causes and Relief Methods of Back Pain

by ERIKA ALDRICH Anyone suffering from back pain knows that it can be one of the most persistent and debilitating pains. Chronic back pain can be life-altering, with many sufferers desperate for a solution to their daily pain. Occasional back pain is very common, and a cause and treatment should be found to lessen reoccurrence…

Delicious food and the diabetic’s diet

It’s in the Bag Diabetes is a group of diseases characterized by high glucose levels caused by insufficient production of insulin. That’s a fairly simple definition for a disease that is not simple to treat. In general, and that’s all we can deal with in a short article, a balanced diet is a good starting…
Body, Mind & Spirit: Giving thanks by giving back

What it Means to be a Foster Family Foster parents provide a safe, nurturing home for children to heal. While there are currently about 150 licensed foster homes in Circuit 10, which covers Polk, Highlands, and Hardee Counties, more are needed. According to Teri Saunders, CEO of Heartland for Children here in Polk County, “That…
Editor’s Dose: More than just comfort food

Reading this article on food “made with love” for the sick really brought back some memories. As a young teenager, my mother had to undergo open heart surgery twice within four years. She has a blood disorder that causes her body to produce too many of the clot-forming platelets. Adding to that complications of…