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National Epidemic: Get the Facts on Childhood Obesity September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month. While Florida ranks 35th in the nation for childhood obesity, the problem is widespread across the country. Knowing the ins and outs of the disease is the first step to ending it. Take our quiz on childhood obesity to learn…
Reaping What They Sowed

5 of BayCare Residency Program’s Inaugural Class Staying in Area to Provide Care by TERESA SCHIFFER Three years ago, six enthusiastic medical school graduates entered a new residency program at BayCare Medical Group’s Family Health Center in Winter Haven, under the leadership of Dr. Nathan Falk. On June 17 of this year, after serving Central…
Center for Behavioral Health Expands to Offer More Options for Care

by TERESA SCHIFFER When President John F. Kennedy passed the Community Mental Health Act of 1963, a new world was opened up to scores of individuals who would never have received the care they needed to thrive in society. Locally, Winter Haven Hospital’s Center for Behavioral Health opened its doors in 1967 as one of…

The “Ripe” Time for Cataract Surgery

Whenever I tell a patient that he or she has cataracts they immediately ask if they need to have surgery. We start thinking about cataract surgery whenever the patient’s quality of life is affected. Common complaints include, “I can’t read road signs,” or “I can’t read the writing on TV,” or “I can’t read small…
A Cautionary Tale for Frequent Biting, Grinding, or Clenching

Biting and chewing your food. It’s something we do every day and without thinking. That’s why when most people have biting issues— where they bite the inside tissue of their mouth— they usually don’t think beyond the few minutes of pain and discomfort it causes. However, frequent biting (as well as grinding and clenching) can…
Oral Cancer Awareness Month

The month of April is considered National Oral Cancer Awareness Month. The American Cancer Society’s most recent estimates for oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancers in the United States for 2019 show that about 53,000 people will be diagnosed with oral cavity or oropharyngeal cancer and an estimated 10,860 will die of these cancers. Lip and…