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A Strong Health Team Can Help Detect, Mitigate Birth Defects

by TERESA SCHIFFER Sponsored by Central Florida Health Care January is National Birth Defects Awareness Month, a time for discussions about how different birth defects can affect individuals over the course of their lifespan, and what can be done to minimize the risk of these occurrences. It’s important to understand that the term “birth defect”…
Pop Quiz: Trust Your Gut

How Much Do You Know About Microbiomes and Your Digestive Health? Did you know that some kinds of bacteria are actually beneficial to have in your digestive tract? While it may sound counterintuitive, certain strains of bacteria — like lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria, which make up your gut microbiome — offer a host of benefits for…
Funding the Future of Nursing

AdventHealth to Provide $1.7 Million for Polk State Program story and photos by PAUL CATALA Since 1965, Polk State College has instructed, encouraged, and placed about 21,500 students into successful nursing careers. On average, 430 nurses graduate from the school’s nursing college each year. Now that program will have even more to offer thanks to…

Signs & Symptoms: Understanding the warning signs of a stroke

A stroke requires immediate hospital care, but most Americans don’t recognize the symptoms of this potentially deadly “brain attack.” This widespread lack of awareness often results in preventable long-term disabilities. A survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 13 states and the District of Columbia revealed most people can’t identify the five…
Medical Advice: 7 steps to living healthy with diabetes

I met a man once who said being diagnosed with diabetes saved his life. What a powerful statement that was. He explained that before being told he had diabetes, he didn’t pay attention to health habits that were causing him great harm. When he learned he had diabetes, he attended classes to learn to take…
Publisher’s Note: Florida launches a pain-pill database

With 2,710 deaths resulting in prescription drug overdoses last year, and after a bitter 10-year political debate, a Florida pain-pill database was launched on October 18. The purpose of enacting this new computer system is to help the medical community curtail drug addicts and traffickers from obtaining large quantities of pain pills. Unfortunately, Florida…