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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…

Health Hero: Kia Troutman

Heading Polk County’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Campaign a Personal Crusade for Kia Troutman Kia Troutman knows cancer. She knows how it killed her grandparents and a co-worker. She knows what her 61-year-old cousin in Mississippi, recently diagnosed with breast cancer, is going through. She knows how it touches the lives of African-Americans and…
5 Ways to Help with Smarter Nutrition

Polk County nutritionist at Central Florida Health Care shares how he helps patients make smarter food choices. Okay, it’s time to be honest. When you put food on your plate, does half of your meal consist of fruits and vegetables? If you answered “no” to this question, you’re not alone. In fact, more than 90…
Oral Hygiene and Your Mental Health

The connection between mental health and overall health is under-researched in the medical community, and this is true of the connection between mental health and oral health as well. Healthcare researchers agree there is a connection between oral health and mental health, but the exact connection isn’t a simple one. How Poor Oral Hygiene Affects…