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Take it from a nurse who knows!

Four things you should expect during your hospital stay FROM THE TIME you arrive and are admitted, throughout your treatment, and until the time you are discharged, there are some essential things you should expect from your healthcare team during your hospital stay. Your nurse, especially, will have a key role in the process from…
Pop Quiz: Preventing prescription drug abuse in your home

IT’S A STARTLING FACT: Prescription drug abuse is a problem that affects people from all walks of life. Unfortunately, prescription drug abuse oftentimes occurs in the home, with pills and medications being pilfered or stolen from their legally prescribed owners. Sadly, the culprits of medication thefts could be children and other family members, friends, neighbors,…
Putting together the pieces of dementia

| Keeping our brains fit as we age | BRAINS AGE. As people get older, they may start forgetting appointments, or lose track of days and months. For a while, they may put on a good show. “They’ll tell you what they think,” says Dr. Jeffrey Reddout, a neuropsychologist at Winter Haven Hospital’s (WHH) neurorehabilitation…

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.…