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New Doctors in a New Era

Pandemic Offers Unique Education for Medical Residents Starting Their Careers by PAMELA PALONGUE Dr. Akhila Reddy likes practicing family medicine because it provides her with the opportunity to interact with people of all ages and backgrounds, from babies to geriatric patients, with a plethora of medical needs. One thing she couldn’t possibly have foreseen when…
Deep Dive Into the Delta Variant

Lakeland Regional Health’s Dr. Haight Talks About the Latest Threat by TERESA SCHIFFER With new cases of COVID-19 rising throughout Florida, if you have been hesitant to get vaccinated, this could be a good time to commit to that. New cases have spiked in the past month from about 23,000 new cases per week throughout…
Make It OK!

Peace River Center Campaign Aims to Quash Stigma Associated With Mental Illness by TERESA SCHIFFER With one in five people experiencing a mental health issue at some point in their lives, it is vitally important that as a society we remove the stigma associated with mental illness in order to encourage those affected by…

Brain Attack (Stroke or Mini-stroke): Are You at Risk?

Approximately 700,000 strokes occur in the United States annually. Stroke or brain attack is a disease that involves the blood vessels that supply blood to the brain. A stroke occurs when a blood vessel that brings oxygen to the brain gets blocked by a blood clot most commonly. With the oxygen supply to the brain…
Punctal Plugs

Many patients suffer from dry eye, and eye care professionals have many tools at their disposal to help with symptoms. For many patients, over-the-counter lubricating drops such as Blink or Systane can be helpful. It is important to avoid redness relieving drops, as these tend to cause more problems over time. When over-the-counter drops are…
Understanding Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction

Last year, I wrote about heart failure. At that time, I had said that about half the patients admitted with congestive heart failure have normal systolic function. This is true. The most common way to express heart function is by measuring ejection fraction (EF). This is the proportion of the amount of blood in the…