Health News
Features
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Pop Quiz: What’s your Medicare IQ?
A Test that Will Help You Get Smarter About Your Coverage For youngsters, autumn means going back to school. For seniors and those who qualify, fall signals that it’s Medicare enrollment and renewal time. The Medicare Fall Open Enrollment Period is specially geared towards choosing Medicare Advantage Plans and Prescription Drug Plans, and it lasts…
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Approaching health care with dignity, concern, and compassion
How the Central Florida Physician’s Alliance Serves Patients Spending more time in the waiting room than with the doctor… not having questions fully answered… finding no help with medical insurance… these are just a few of the patient complaints that plague healthcare, and many of us have likely experienced similarly frustrating interactions at the doctor’s…
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Bringing hunger awareness to the table
The staggering facts on food insecurity among our fellow neighbors September and Hunger Awareness Month is especially important in Polk County, where food scarcity plagues nearly 17.9 percent of the population.
Columns
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Medical Advice: Your flu prevention to-do list
AS YOU GATHER your “to-do” lists and prepare for the holiday season ahead, the Florida Department of Health in Polk County recommends you add one more important step — get a flu shot! The flu shot is the best way to protect our families and communities against the spread of influenza. When you make it…
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Family Health: Flu shots for seniors
HE FLU is nothing to sneeze at. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 200,000 people will be hospitalized this year with the influenza virus, and it has been estimated that 50 to 70 percent of those hospitalized are people age 65 and older.
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Word of Mouth: Your dentist is key to early cancer detection
IT SEEMS LIKE you hear about many different kinds of cancers these days, but one that isn’t being talked about enough is oral cancer. Cancer in the mouth and throat are diagnosed in nearly 50,000 Americans a year, and statistics show that only 57 percent of those diagnosed still will be living in five years.
