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Local Medical Academies Preparing Students for Health Careers

by CHERYL ROGERS Eighteen public schools in Polk County train students for future careers in healthcare through medical or health science programs. Here’s a look at how some of them have fared. Katya Viegas and Janet Hernandez are heading to medical school. Jesus Jimenez, or J.J., is glad he found an incentive to finish high…
Pop Quiz: Facts and Stats about Immunizations

by ERIKA ALDRICH August is National Immunization Awareness Month, and it’s a good time to explore the topic of immunizations around the globe. The efforts to immunize people against debilitating and life-threatening diseases is a global initiative that we are all a part of. Test your knowledge of facts and statistics about immunizations by taking…
Tips to Prepare for the New School Year

by Mary Toothman It’s that time of year again: School supply aisles will be flooded with parents and children, clutching lists of what is required. First-day-of-school outfits will be carefully selected by many students. Late-morning sleep-ins will be replaced by early wake-up calls. Back to school means many things to parents and students — some…

Ask a Nurse: A closer look at Vitamin D deficiencies

As many of us swallow down one, two, three, or even four vitamins and supplements every morning, do you ever stop and think, “Do I really need to take all these vitamins?” Well, more research is being conducted for this very reason. In this column, I’d like to focus on vitamin D. Do you know…
Editor’s Dose: An important update on the Affordable Care Act

Like an afternoon soap opera we love to hate, we just can’t seem to stop watching the drama unfold in relation to the Affordable Care Act. Whether you’re in favor or opposed to the ACA (commonly known as ObamaCare), I think we can all agree that it’s important to stay informed and remember that whether…
Publisher’s Note: The method behind the magazine

Last edition, we featured an extensive article on how our region is working towards tackling the issue of obesity in our neighborhoods. On the surface, it might have seemed like we were celebrating the long upheld New Year’s Resolution to shed a few pounds, but there’s really much more to it than that. You see,…