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Closing the Care Gap

AdventHealth University’s Midwifery Degree Program Aims to Fill Growing Need for Prenatal, Postpartum Care by RYAN MILEJCZAK Pregnancy is an incredible time, but for many women, it can also present a variety of challenges. And one of the biggest supporters of pregnant women who face those challenges are the health professionals who provide care through…
Good Nutrition Isn’t Hard When You Have a Team Supporting You

by RYAN MILEJCZAK Sponsored by Central Florida Health Care As the adage goes, you are what you eat. In other words, eating a healthy, balanced diet that provides adequate nutrition is essential for good health. “Nutrition has a lot of impacts on your overall health, both mental and physical,” explains Ronald Lund, a registered dietician…
Pop Quiz! Do You Know What Is — and Isn’t — a Service Animal?

Writer Thom Jones said, “Dogs have a way of finding the people who need them,” so it’s no surprise that dogs can also be trained to help people with disabilities. Service dogs helping the blind have been around for hundreds of years, but did you know there are also service dogs that help owners with…

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.…