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Open Enrollment

It’s Time to Evaluate Your Options and Choose the Insurance Plan That’s Best for You by TERESA SCIHFFER It’s open enrollment season for Medicare and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) plans. If having health insurance that covers your actual medical needs, as well as your preferred doctors and necessary medications, is important to you, then…
Pop Quiz: If You Don’t Snooze, You Lose! How Much Do You Really Know About Sleep Apnea?

A full night’s sleep is supposed to be restful and recharging, but for millions of Americans, that’s not the case. Many wake up in the morning tired and unrested, and most don’t know that sleep apnea is to blame. Sleep apnea is a condition that disrupts sleep, keeping sufferers from getting that restful, restorative sleep…
Young Warriors

Twins Don’t Let Type 1 Diabetes Stifle Their Dreams by TIM CRAIG photos by CELESTE JO WALLS When 8-year-old Amelia Walls was hospitalized in 2016, Cecilia, her older sister by a whole 10 minutes, was worried. When Cecilia found out that her identical twin sister was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, she went from worried…

Editor’s Dose: Four things to help you reduce anxiety

BETWEEN WORK AND FAMILY, I think you’ll agree when I say it’s easy to feel the stress. When to-do lists are growing faster than you can cross off the items, and the midnight oil is being burned so much there is almost no oil left, it’s easy to let the pressure and anxiety get to…
Medical Advice: The keys to unlocking a healthy mouth

FEBRUARY IS NATIONAL DENTAL HEALTH MONTH and a great time to remind individuals about the importance of good dental health and hygiene. It’s easy to take our teeth for granted; however, good oral hygiene contributes to our overall health, including speech and nutrition. Dental care remains a top health concern in Polk County.
Publisher’s Note: The busy person’s baby steps along the path to better heart health

WE’VE ALL HEARD about the seven things you can do to keep healthy and prevent heart disease. (If you haven’t already, then don’t worry, because you’re about to.) They are listed as follows: Eat a heart-healthy diet, be active every day, avoid tobacco use, keep a healthy weight, keep your blood pressure healthy, keep your…