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Men’s health through the generations

From grandfather to grandson, turning healthy choices into habits IT’S A HEALTH-CONSCIOUS AGE we live in, as study after study shows the short and long-term benefits of eating healthy, exercising, and seeing your doctor regularly. While health and wellness statistics — such as rates of diseases and lifespan — are improving and reflecting the country’s…
Something to spit at: All Children’s researchers to study saliva samples

RESEARCHERS at All Children’s Hospital Johns Hopkins Medicine will begin to study the saliva of young cancer patients to learn if spit might prove more beneficial than blood to use as test samples during treatment.
Answering the call of nursing

Local RNs talk about what it takes to provide excellent patient care SOME JOBS ARE MORE than an occupation; they are a calling. Nursing is one of those professions; it requires special individuals with distinct skills who are able to handle a demanding, and oftentimes stressful, environment. The many hospitals in Central Florida all rely…

Editor’s Dose: Tips for minimizing back-to-school stress

IF YOU ARE LIKE ME, then come early July you were already thinking about preparations for the new school year. Parents and children in the community this year are getting ready extra early because Polk County public schools moved up their calendar by one week — day one of school is August 15.
Making the choice to breastfeed

THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH in Polk County (DOH-Polk) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) recognize August as Breastfeeding Awareness Month. This is a wonderful time of year to promote breastfeeding as a vital health activity and discuss the health benefits breastfeeding provides. Although every woman has their own…
Editor’s Dose: Keeping kids’ bodies and minds active this summer

WHEN I FIRST had the twins, my mom would say, “Have a schedule for them, or they’ll have a schedule for you.” Basically, she was cautioning that I’d better keep those little minds and bodies active, or chaos would inevitably ensue. Being a mother of eight children, I think she was speaking from personal experience.…