Health News

Features

The Hope of Hospice

Care When a Cure Is Not an Option by BRENDA EGGERT BRADER photos courtesy of VITAS Healthcare While many people are familiar with the term hospice, most don’t fully understand the broad range of care it includes. End-of-life decisions can be wrought with emotion and trepidation, and while hospice is there to tend to the…
Acknowledging Disparities in Health Care Is a Crucial First Step

Sponsored by Central Florida Health Care by TERESA SCHIFFER April is National Minority Health Month, a time to recognize the disparities in health care received too often by minority populations in the U.S. and to work together toward solutions for these issues. Established in 1915 by Dr. Booker T. Washington, Minority Health Month reminds…
Word to the Wise

Lakeland Octogenarian Shares How Structure, Fitness Have Factored Into His Golden Years story by TERESA SCHIFFER photos by MICHAEL WILSON Who doesn’t want to live a long, healthy, and happy life? There’s no one formula that fits every lifestyle, so Central Florida Health News asked Lakeland octogenarian athlete Gordon “Cork” Wilson to spill the beans…

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.…