Inhealth 2/2/2016

Coloring Away Stress

12

| Green Local Businesses

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| Meet Temple Grandin

Health

42

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SPOKANE • EASTERN WASHINGTON • NORTH IDAHO also at inlander.com/inhealth 1227 W. Summit Parkway, Spokane, Wash. 99201 PHONE: 509-325-0634

EDITOR Anne McGregor

annem@inlander.com

MANAGING EDITOR Jacob H. Fries ART DIRECTOR Chris Bovey

Our office is in-network with these insurances: AETNA | CIGNA | DELTA DENTAL | PREMERA | AND OTHERS!

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CONTRIBUTORS Chelsea Bannach, Kristen Black, Carla Brannan, Jennifer Fletcher, Linda Hagen Miller, Jacob Jones, Young Kwak, LoVina Louie, Dan Nailen, Taryn Phaneuf, Mike Salsbury, Carrie Scozzaro, Ryan Sullivan, Jake Thomas, John R. White, Daniel Walters, Rosalie Winard

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GENERAL MANAGER Jeremy McGregor

InHealth is published every other month and is available free at more than 500 locations throughout the Inland Northwest. One copy free per reader.

Subscriptions are available and cost $2.50 per issue.

Call x213. Reaching Us: Editorial: x261; Circulation: x226; Advertising: x215. COPYRIGHT All contents copyrighted © Inland Publications, Inc. 2016. InHealth is locally owned and has been published every other month since 2004.

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Health 5

FROM THE EDITOR

collaboration innovation collaboration drives innovative health care

At INHS collaboration drives everything we do.

Through innovative health care technology, health education and patient care, more than 1,000 INHS employees are creating tomorrow’s health care today.

St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Institute Engage Northwest MedStar Northwest TeleHealth Community Wellness COHE Community of Eastern Washington Health Training

We improve patient outcomes.

We lead health care innovation.

We create healthier communities.

Do you have a story idea? Share it with Editor Anne McGregor at annem@inlander.com.

Small Can Be Big

A

mericans like to think big, but that may sometimes get in the way of recognizing the positive effects of taking smaller bites. In our cover story “Starting from Scratch,” a nutrition educator encourages families not to get too caught up in revolutionizing their entire diets when working on eating healthy. Instead, just try to do some small thing each day — she recommends maybe adding a glass of milk to a meal. Nothing earth-shaking, no real trauma to your way of life.

Similarly, while you may not be ready to go off the grid and have a negligible human footprint, why not use your purchasing power to help a local business that’s trying to make a difference, like those featured in our “A Healthy Bottom Line” story? Maybe you can’t go green all day every day, but what about starting with once a month?

Before long, little changes just may add up to significant results.

Unfortunately, that also can apply to acquiring negative habits, such as getting a little too breezy about regularly consuming alcohol. I’ll be interested to hear your take on Linda Hagen Miller’s thought-provoking story, “Rethinking Drinking.” As always, you can reach me at annem@inlander.com.

To your health!

Inland Northwest Health Services (INHS) is a non-profit corporation in Spokane, Washington providing collaboration in health care services on behalf of the community and its member organization Providence Health Care.

6 Health FEBRUARY-MARCH, 2016

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CONNECT WITH US

CHECK-IN SUPERFOOD

Riding the Cress ATTRIBUTES Just when you thought you couldn’t stomach another forkful of kale, along comes watercress, riding a wave of popularity after being shunned as a “poor man’s food’ for a hundred years. Watercress is a member of the notoriously nutritious cruciferous band of veggies — broccoli, arugula and Brussels sprouts are cousins.

SUPER POWERS Watercress delivers 25 percent or more of your daily requirements of vitamins K, C, and A, as well as compounds that have been shown to slow progression of cancer, lower blood pressure and help maintain healthy bones, for less than 5 calories per cup.

WEAKNESSES Although every little bit helps, you’ll need to eat more than a garnish-size serving for significant nutrition. Watercress is high in nitrates and may interact with medications used for cardiovascular disease. Also, suddenly eating more vitamin K may interact with bloodthinning medications.

HOW TO USE IT Historically, it wasn’t uncommon to eat a handful of watercress, the way you might eat an apple today.

For more flair, toss one cup of packed leaves into your favorite potato leek soup about five minutes before the veggies are done. Finish cooking, then purée soup. Garnish with a dollop of cream or plain yogurt and a few fresh leaves.

— ANNE McGREGOR

LIFE COACHING

The Gift of Thanks

W

Carla Brannan is a certified professional life coach in Spokane.

STAY CONNECTED

Email InHealth Editor Anne McGregor at annem@inlander.com. The conversation continues on the Inlander Facebook page, and stay in touch with us at Inlander.com/InHealth.

e’re halfway through winter in a year that’s still young. On a scale from one to 10, how’s it going? It’s not uncommon for folks who live in colder climates with shorter days to experience more sadness this time of year.

While we wait for spring to arrive, let’s bump up our happiness by paying attention to what is good in our lives and perhaps even keeping track of it.

Research shows that individuals with a “gratitude practice” have an increase in happiness and overall well-being.

Gratitude can be experienced in many ways.

You may consider your past by retrieving positive memories from childhood or past blessings. You might want to start in the here and now, by not taking current good fortune for granted. Or you may want to focus on the future by having a hopeful, optimistic attitude.

In addition to helping you feel good in the moment, practicing gratitude also has a side effect of improving health. Grateful people just take better care of themselves, trying to engage in regular exercise, eating a healthy diet, and having regular physical exams, according to research.

Here are a few ideas to make your gratitude practice simple to begin: Start fresh each day by noting what you’re grateful for over breakfast and your favorite morning beverage.

Find someone to be your gratitude partner, and email, text or call each other to share what you were grateful for that day.

Keep a gratitude journal. You can use pen and paper, type it into your computer or download an app.

Give it a whirl! You just might be grateful that you did.

— CARLA BRANNAN

FEBRUARY-MARCH, 2016

Health 9

CHECK-IN PILL BOX

Accidental Overdose Aid I am taking care of my mother who has cancer and needs a lot of medication to control her pain. We are very careful about following directions, but I am worried that she could inadvertently get too much medication. Is there an antidote to treat this if it occurs?

John R. White chairs WSU-Spokane’s Department of Pharmacotherapy.

Y

es there is. Common names for opiates include morphine, oxycodone (Oxycontin), hydrocodone (Vicodin), and codeine.

Of course, the first line of defense is making sure that your mother gets her pain medication as prescribed, and that all of her medication directions and amounts are frequently reviewed by her physician and pharmacist.

A second line of defense to consider against an opiate overdose is Narcan nasal spray. This is a new FDA-approved formulation of a medication that reverses the effects of opiate pain medications. For example, if a person stops breathing because they have taken too much pain medication, a bystander or caregiver can administer the spray, and in most cases the individual will be revived.

This new formula developed by Lightlake Therapeutics is intended to be used by anyone, including non-healthcare providers. Instructions are included with the prescription and should be reviewed in advance by the person who would be likely to administer the medication in an emergency. The complete kit costs about $70. It may be useful in cases like yours, and may also be used in situations in which heroin overdose is suspected.

In most cases, you need a prescription to obtain this, but some pharmacies have special arrangements set up with prescribers that allow the pharmacist to prescribe the kit. In the future, hopefully this medication will be available to anyone without a prescription.

Drug overdose, often with prescription pain medication, is now the leading cause of accidental death in the United States.

— JOHN R. WHITE

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Wishing Star recipient Ryan’s wish to go to BlizzCon (inset) was the one thing he held onto when he felt like giving up during cancer treatment, say his parents Jennifer and Phil.

CHARITY CORNER

Wishes Fulfilled

F

or some of the kids, those who are beyond exhausted from the constant struggles and endless string of appointments to manage a severe acute or terminal illness, the will to carry on often seems out of reach. But then something changes. After the regional nonprofit Wishing Star Foundation steps in and offers to fulfill any wish a child can imagine, a spark inside ignites. This unexpected introduction of something positive gives them renewed hope.

“The distraction of their illness is on the back burner,” says Stephanie Neumann, the foundation’s development director. “They [now] have something to be excited about and to think about.

It generates momentum toward recovery.”

This phenomenon has been observed in many of the 3- to 21-year-old clients served by Wishing Star, which has been granting wishes to young people across the Inland Northwest since 1983.

To fund these life-changing moments for its clients, the foundation is hosting the 10th Annual Taste Spokane gala later, a landmark event with many new features in store for this year, according to Neumann. The culinary-focused event at Northern Quest hosts hors d’oeuvre-sized samplings from numerous regional restaurants, along with drinks from area wineries and breweries. There’s also live music by local band Ticking Time Bomb, and a live auction emceed by Mark Peterson of KXLY-TV. Last year’s event brought in more than $37,500, which supported the fulfillment of six wishes. On average, each wish costs about $5,000.

In 2015, Wishing Star was able to grant 12

wishes, including one to 15-year-old Spokane resident Ryan, who wished to attend the massive gaming convention BlizzCon. After having his wish put on hold for a year due to the return of his cancer, which he’s been in treatment for since 2013, Ryan finally got to go to BlizzCon this past November, Neumann says. Ryan is holding on to his dream to someday work for the company behind BlizzCon, Blizzard Entertainment, which publishes the popular video games World of Warcraft, StarCraft and Hearthstone. Before that dream can be fulfilled, Ryan is hoping in the coming months to get the news he’s cancer-free.

— CHEY SCOTT 10th Annual Taste Spokane • Fri, Feb. 26, from 6-10 pm • $60/general; $100/VIP • Northern Quest Resort & Casino • 100 N. Hayford Rd., Airway Heights • wishingstar.org • 744-3411

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Health 11

CHECK-IN

Tiffany Patterson (right) is making coloring cool again at her monthly Social Sketch events. YOUNG KWAK PHOTO HEALTHY MIND

Local Color

T

he joyful pages of Tiffany Patterson’s annual coloring book, this year called Animal Groups [And Their Collective Nouns], fit right in with the with the trend of de-stressing through art. How can you remain consumed with worry if you’re busy coloring a happy band of coyotes? Or a fez of armadillos? Patterson’s signature pastel-hued, whimsical creations are also seen across the region on billboards, posters, buses, murals and even the occasional Inlander cover. If you’re inclined to doodle using Patterson’s uniquely adorable artwork with the artist in person, she also organizes monthly Spokane Social Sketch events that are open to all. Working artists attend, but so do those toiling in a variety of other professions, who find the sessions a way to relieve stress and escape expectations of their regular work.

— CHEY SCOTT Order Animal Groups online from the Etsy shop CurseWordsAndBirds or purchase at Boo Radley’s, 232 N. Howard • Social Sketch at Boots Bakery & Lounge • 24 W. Main • 2-5 pm last Sunday of every month; free

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Michlitchs_020116IH_8thPg_WT.pdf

CAMERA READY

BRAIN EXERCISE

2

Sudoku

RATINGS: Gentle (left), Diabolical (right) To complete Sudoku, fill the board by entering numbers 1 to 9 such that each row, column and 3x3 box contains every number uniquely.

5

6

4 6 5 9 8 4 6 1 7 8

Answers to all puzzles on page 40

PUZZLES BY JEFF WIDDERICH & ANDREW STUART www.syndicatedpuzzles.com

7

4 3 9 4 1 2 5 8 9

5 8 9 2

3

9 4 7 5

9

5

Codewords

Each letter has been replaced by with a number. Using the starter clues, work out the words that must go in each cell on the codeword grid. Some well-known phrases and names may also be found. For a three-letter clue, turn to page 29.

16 21 8 18 9

13

R

6

5

11

3

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6

6

11

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9 1

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N N

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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

2 7

6 8

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1

2 3 8

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7 6 2

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Str8ts

RATING: Moderate Like Sudoku, no single number can repeat in any row or column. But rows and columns are divided by black squares into compartments.

These need to be filled in with numbers that complete a ‘straight’ — a set of numbers with no gaps but can be in any order. Clues in black cells remove that number as an option in that row and column, and are not part of any straight. Glance at the solution above to see how ‘straights’ are formed.

8 3

2 8 3

7 3

5

7

6

4 2 5 4 7 9 8

9 1

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a healthy bottom line Three Spokane businesses balance profit and environmental goals STORIES BY DAN NAILEN

Manito Tap House PAGE 16

Roast House Coffee PAGE 18

Mountain Gear PAGE 20

he survival of every business depends on making sure revenue outpaces expenses, so it’s natural to cut costs anywhere possible, whether it’s something big like using cheap foreign production facilities or something simpler like ordering supplies online.

Some businesses, though, also build an ethos of sustainability and community into every decision they make.

It might cost them more money on the front end, but the long-term benefits to the environment and its future residents are important enough to warrant the expense. They want their businesses to do well, but they also want to do some good.

Erica Johnson, an associate professor of economics at Gonzaga University specializing in environmental and health economics, says that while bigger businesses have led the way in being more environmentally friendly, more and more small businesses are incorporating being green and sustainable into their business plans. Businesses of all sizes are finding good reasons to go green.

“There are three main reasons why CEOs say they pursue sustainability,” Johnson says. “A big one is reputation.

They are able to say, ‘Hey, look, we’re doing all these great things for the environment.’ … Another is cost savings.

If there’s something they can do that’s more efficient, then obviously they want to do that. And sometimes it can be more efficient to be green. The new one that’s kind of up-andcoming is that more CEOs are saying they’re doing it because it aligns with their mission, because it’s the right thing to do fundamentally.” Here’s a look at three Inland Northwest businesses that put sustainability front and center in their business plans.

FEBRUARY-MARCH, 2016

Health 15

NEWS

Patrick McPherson owns Manito Tap House, the first Four-Star Green Restaurant in the Western states.

HEALTHY PLANET

Tapping into energy efficiency

V

isitors to the Manito Tap House on Spokane’s South Hill go for the incredible beer selection and top-notch food, but if they pay attention to their surroundings, they might realize they’re also supporting one of the most environmentally conscious restaurants in the country.

The interior walls of the place are lined with reclaimed old barn wood. The lights are LED or fluorescent. The bathroom counters are made from recycled paper.

And a careful scan of the menu shows din-

16 Health FEBRUARY-MARCH, 2016

ers they’re at a Four-Star Certified Green Restaurant, the only such-certified eatery in the state, and one of the few four-star spots in the country.

For owner Patrick McPherson, the decision to make the Tap House as energyefficient and Earth-friendly as possible when he opened in 2011 coincided with steps he was taking in his own life, and some research he did about the restaurant business.

“I was certainly greening my own personal life at the time,” McPherson says.

“I’m no saint, but I continue to get better and better at it. But I was also doing the restaurant, and finding out that restaurants are some of the biggest users of utilities.

They’re just energy whores. They take so much energy, and there’s so much waste.”

McPherson looked around at several conservation programs before finding the Green Restaurant Association, a nonprofit that helps businesses go green by setting goals for their certification, educating them on options and introducing them to environmental consultants.

There were things already on McPher-

KRISTEN BLACK PHOTO

son’s list before he got into the GRA’s certification process; he knew he wanted to have low-flow faucets and urinals and LED lighting. He had limited dumpster space, so he was already conscious of eliminating as much waste and recycling as much as possible. He learned that buying appliances like EnergyStar fryers and refrigerators, a thicker-walled walk-in cooler, and an automated power system that ramps up and down based on various sensors’ readings could help him reach a four-star level, so he went for it.

All told, McPherson figures the effort added about $30,000 to his start-up cost, money well spent considering the longterm energy savings and potential for other restaurants to hear about Manito Tap House and follow its lead to greening their own spots. So far, though, few have been in touch to ask about the four-star certification.

“It’s just a slow process, becoming more aware and realizing the insane amount of energy it takes [to run a restaurant],” McPherson says. “The human population, it’s baffling how much we consume.” n

509-252-9300 fax Contact Contact 509-228-1000 509-228-1000 800-866-9809 toll free South Spokane 800-866-9809 tollfaxfree 509-252-9300 601 S Sherman St 509-252-9300 fax Spokane, WA 99202

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NEWS

Deborah Di Bernardo, owner of Roast House Coffee, only uses organic, fair trade, shade-grown coffee.

A The

HEALTHY PLANET

personal becomes powerful 18 Health FEBRUARY-MARCH, 2016

good cup of coffee can be more than just a morning wake-up habit or afternoon caffeine jolt. It can be the source of community, as people gather at their favorite java joint. And in some hands, it offers opportunities to educate people about the planet’s health and how we affect it with every decision we make.

Even the decision of what coffee we drink.

Consider Roast House Coffee’s Deborah Di Bernardo, a coffee evangelist of sorts. After years in the food industry, she started Roast House intent on creating a company that did business the same way she lived in her personal life — or-

KRISTEN BLACK PHOTO

ganically, sustainably, and supporting local businesses along the way. The result is a Spokane-based roaster doing coffee that is 100 percent organic, shade-grown and Fair Trade-certified.

A previous gig at Thomas Hammer Coffee Roasters led Di Bernardo to dive into all aspects of the industry, and what she found reading and attending conventions was disheartening, particularly how damaging industrial coffee farming can be to the earth, and to the people working the land.

“I started learning where the coffee’s coming from, how little the farmers are

making, how it’s affecting the environment,” Di Bernardo says, standing in the midst of her roastery where everything from the office furniture to pallets to the roasters are reused and recycled. “When I opened this, I was committed to sustainably grown, more direct-relationship coffee.

Coffee where we knew the farmers, where we’ve been there, we could taste it. Or my importer has boots on the ground all the time.”

Di Bernardo’s desire to create an earth-friendly company comes at a cost.

Less than 1 percent of the world’s coffee is grown in its natural shaded environment rather than on sun-soaked coffee farms, so it costs more to import those rare beans.

She figures she pays twice as much for her labels in order to use a local printer, rather than simply ordering them online. Her coffee bags are all compostable, and that costs, too.

For Di Bernardo, though, any increased cost is worth what she’s able to add to both the local economy and the world beyond.

It’s summed up in a story she tells about one of her importers approaching her about buying beans from the Congo, a country she’d never heard of producing coffee.

“They said, ‘Yeah, that’s because of 20

years of genocide, there’s only women and children survivors, and they haven’t been able to export it, and they’re starving,’” Di Bernardo recounts. “‘And there’s a nonprofit stepping in, and they’re not just feeding them, but they’re creating a safe zone. And

“

in the Inland Northwest, that can have big effects far beyond our own backyards.

Often that conversation starts online, where she’s a devoted social-media marketer of Roast House’s coffee and philosophy, or with her showing up at a community

I’m a soft touch, but come on! Children are starving!

if you buy this coffee, you’ll be directly supporting them.’ I’m a soft touch, but come on! Children are starving!”

She bought a 140-pound bag, and realizing that the Congolese coffee wasn’t quite as robust as most locals like, she worked with local chef Adam Hegsted and created a blend pleasing to local tastes; now it’s served at the Wandering Table, the Yards and some other area restaurants.

That kind of collaboration on the local level, and its ability to make global change, is what keeps Di Bernardo going through the travails of small-business ownership, as well as a recent breast-cancer battle. She is someone who loves talking about how we can all make changes in our lives, together,

”

event, fresh coffee in hand, offering samples of her brew. She figures she gives out about 10,000 free cups of coffee each year.

“This fosters a conversation,” she says.

“When somebody is sipping on something, they’re calmer, they’re more receptive to a gentle conversation” about the loss of coffee-growing forests, the importance of buying local and how we can all fight climate change with the choices we make.

“I’m never going to change a large percentage of the population’s opinion or affect their ideals,” Di Bernardo says. “But hopefully talking to thousands and thousands I talk to, and they talk to thousands and thousands, and hopefully they’re all movers and shakers.” n

FEBRUARY-MARCH, 2016

Health 19

NEWS

Paul Fish wanted his company HQ to reflect his devotion to the environment.

Green W from the ground up HEALTHY PLANET

20 Health FEBRUARY-MARCH, 2016

hen Paul Fish started Mountain Gear more than 25 years ago, building a business out of his idea for a better backpack, there wasn’t nearly the amount of information about climate change that we have in 2016. The avid recreationalist knew that the world’s beautiful places needed protection, but it took a bit longer to realize part of that protection began right in Spokane at his store.

“As business evolved, I came to realize that I needed to take a holistic view,” Fish says. “You can’t be an environmentalist just by protecting the world’s wild spots. You have to look at your carbon footprint. That

MIKE SALSBURY PHOTO

seems obvious now, but it maybe wasn’t so obvious a few years back.”

If there was one thing that triggered Fish’s own environmentalism besides his love of the outdoors, he figures it was a 1978 college lecture, when he heard an astrophysicist saying if Earth’s natural resources ran out, it wouldn’t be a problem because we’d have the technology to move the Earth’s inhabitants to another planet. Skeptical, Fish started living more environmentally responsibly in his own life, and eventually took his practices to his business. While many are good at talking the talk of environmental stewardship, Fish

walks it every day at Mountain Gear.

He encourages employees to use alternative forms of transportation through subsidized bus passes, on-site showers, an indoor bike room and shop, and incentives for carpooling. They also enjoy a community garden, where employees not only practice sustainable farming, but also enjoy the goods baked on site by the company’s own baker. Fish also stocks a number of products made from organic, recycled and renewable materials and using Fair Trade practices in the store’s Sustainable Pick program, making it easy for customers to choose an ecologically sound new piece of equipment while also showing the companies whose products fill Mountain Gear’s shelves that such products can and do sell.

The most obvious sign of Fish’s commitment came when he built the new Mountain Gear headquarters and distribution center, a 112,000-square-foot structure that is LEED gold-certified. The certification wasn’t the goal at first; Fish simply wanted to build the most-sustainable, energy-efficient building he could. But talking with engineers in the design process, he learned that much of what he wanted

would lend itself to LEED certification.

“What I learned from that is that it’s important to use a standard,” Fish says.

“You can’t just say, ‘Hey, I’m going to do what I think is environmental,’ because we all believe we’re environmentalists, and we all believe we’re doing the minimum impact we possibly can … It was not our goal to have a LEED leaf on the wall. It

While Fish is an outspoken advocate of green building, serving as a mentor for the Green Building Education Program and leading tours of his facility for visitor groups large and small, he’s disappointed that few of the businesses that have checked out Mountain Gear’s facility have followed in his footsteps. The more businesses that get on board, the better the

was our goal to build a LEED building that made economic sense for a normal business. We proved that sensible LEED doesn’t have to be expensive.”

Fish figures that the building cost a little more, about seven cents per square foot, but the results speak for themselves: “We use 38 percent less energy than the code at the time required, for lighting and heating,” Fish says. “And 60 percent less water than was previously used. So it’s considerable savings. The cost of building your building is small compared to the cost of ownership over time.”

long-term health of the great outdoors he loves so much.

Even without many followers as of yet, he’s happy with the effect that greening his company has on his employees, and ultimately, his customers.

“The best benefit of this is not the little we save on energy and water,” Fish says. “It’s the increase of productivity of the people I work with. When people see that a business is putting its money where its mouth is, I think they believe in their workplace and they work harder. It certainly shows here.” n

“

We use 38 percent less energy than the code...

”

FEBRUARY-MARCH, 2016

Health 21

2015 STATS

956

2015 STATS

2015 STATS

homeless men were provided beds

433 families avoided homelessness through Rapid Re-housing

700

families provided household goods through the Furniture Bank

2015 STATS

7 1 4 , 3 1 1 meals served ity of Char e s u o H e h t t a

ared through pounds of food sh Food For All

3,899 seniors served

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women and children housed at St. Margaret’s Shelter

2015 STATS

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14,674

4,892 families served by CAPA & Prepares

NEWS

ALCOHOL

Rethinking Drinking Wine’s appeal to modern women is undeniable, but that elegant glass also contains a downside

BY LINDA HAGEN MILLER

I

t starts simply enough. She comes home from work exhausted, literally running on empty. No time to relax — the kids need help with homework, everybody’s hungry. She opens a bottle of wine and sips it while fixing dinner. Has another glass when they all sit down to eat.

Another after the kids have gone to bed. By 10 o’clock, the bottle’s almost empty. Might as well finish it up.

Variations on this scenario play out across America among women of all ages and ethnic backgrounds, independent of marital status, economic standing, political affiliation or family makeup. Each woman’s circumstances are unique, but the scenario has one constant: wine.

According to a Gallup poll, the number of women drinking on a daily basis has steadily increased in the past decades. In 2002, 47 percent of white women reported being regular drinkers, up from 37 percent in 1992. Regular alcohol consumption rose from 21 to 30 percent for black women and

24 Health FEBRUARY-MARCH, 2016

24 to 32 percent for Hispanic women.

Accident, arrest and hospitalization rates mirror this trend. According to Gallup, between 1998 and 2007, the number of women arrested for drunk driving rose 30 percent (while male arrests dropped more than 7 percent), and the number of dangerously intoxicated young women showing up in hospital emergency rooms rose 52 percent between 1999 and 2008.

These studies do not specify what type of alcohol was consumed, but a 2013 Gallup Consumption Habits poll stated that 52 percent of women prefer wine over beer or hard liquor. The Wine Institute, an industry trade group, reports that women are the primary buyers and drinkers of the industry’s 800 million gallons of wine sold in the United States annually.

“Wine has a glamorous element about it,” says Huston Stolz, a chemical dependency counselor with a masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Stolz is executive director of Colonial Clinic, an outpa-

tient drug and alcohol treatment facility that has served patients in the Spokane area for more than 30 years.

“Many people think of wine as sexy and glamorous, and view drinking an expensive bottle of wine at dinner as proof of being sophisticated,” Stolz says. “People have private wine cellars in their homes.

They take winery touring and tasting vacations. Wine is included on train rides, river trips, at fundraising events, and whole regions of the country have much-publicized, touristy wine districts. Even presentation of wine in fine stemware and the matching of certain foods with the appropriate wine are excessively discussed.”

Indeed, the cult of wine is everywhere.

Boutiques devote entire sections to wine paraphernalia, from coasters to glass holders that attach to the side of the bathtub.

Amazon.com has more than 20 pages of wine gadgets, and Pinterest, the immensely popular lifestyle sharing site, has thousands of examples of wine bottle and wine cork crafts.

Prime time television glamorizes and normalizes wine drinking on a nightly basis. The Good Wife comes home from a tough day defending herself or her client and pours herself a generous glass of wine.

Scandal’s hard-charging Olivia Pope goes home and sinks into her pure white couch with a glass of red wine that’s larger than her hand. Several cast members of various Real Housewives series have introduced their own wine brands.

Social media is saturated with wine culture and has become a gathering spot for women who drink, especially moms.

The Facebook site “Moms Who Need Wine” boasts of nearly 650,000 followers and “OMG, I So Need a Glass of Wine or I’m Gonna Sell My Kids” claims 131,000 followers. To be fair, both sites include a plethora of parenting tips that have nothing to do with wine.

“When we see posts on Facebook or on parenting blogs that support drinking behavior, we can find all the justification we need to drink. How could this be a problem if all these women, these mothers, are living this way?” says Nicole Sprankle, who has been in recovery for 10 years and is the local facilitator of SMART Recovery, a nonprofit, science-based addiction recovery support group.

“Social media reinforces women who are in that grey area — before addiction but beyond social or occasional drinking,” Sprankle adds. “Sadly, many of the women I work with through SMART report that ...continued on page 26

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Health 25

NEWS

STAYING SOBER Is it possible you’re drinking too much? Ask yourself: 4 Can you go a night without alcohol?

4 Does socializing revolve around drinking?

4 Are you foggy in the morning?

4 Does your family think you drink too much?

Dependency counselor Huston Stolz challenges the idea that wine is glamorous.

YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

“RETHINKING DRINKING,” CONTINUED... they don’t know how they let their drinking escalate, but admit they drink every night and will make a special trip to the store to buy wine if they are out.”

It’s easier than ever for anyone of legal age to purchase wine. From the drugstore to the grocery store, liquor is readily available and wine is cheaper than ever before.

H

ow did we get here? Social mores around women drinking are more relaxed now than they were generations ago, and alcohol consumption can start in high school, escalate in college and continue into adulthood.

“I don’t remember being pressured in high school, but in college, drinking was just something people did,” says Ashley (who does not want her last name used), a 25-year-old professional woman and graduate of the University of Idaho. “There was pressure, yes, but just maybe teasing, especially on Greek row. You could choose not to drink, but people offer — or beg — you to drink with them. I never personally experienced bullying, but I could see it

26 Health FEBRUARY-MARCH, 2016

happening.”

College women say they often “pregame” or “pre-funk” before going to a party or a sporting event, wanting to have a buzz on before the evening starts.

“Everyone did pre-gaming in college at bars or at home. Even now, my girlfriends and I have a glass of wine or a shot before we go out,” Ashley adds.

Binge drinking sounds like it would entail hideous amounts of liquor, but in fact, just four drinks in two hours is considered a binge, an amount common with coeds who sometimes feel they need to match the drinking of their male counterparts. What they don’t realize is that women metabolize alcohol much differently than men. Female bodies have more fat, which retains alcohol, and less water, which dilutes it, and males have more of the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase, which breaks down alcohol before it enters the bloodstream.

“I think most women know they can’t drink as much as men can, but they still do.” Ashley says. She cautions women to be aware of how much alcohol they are con-

If you decide you have alcohol issues, the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. People then often seek help, either through individual or group counseling or a treatment program.

The behemoth of nonprofit treatment programs is Alcoholics Anonymous, created in 1935 by a surgeon and a stockbroker, both struggling to stay sober. Today the worldwide organization has millions of members and daily group support meetings.

The foundation of AA’s Twelve Step Program is for the alcoholic to admit that he or she is powerless over their addiction, that the addition — not individual choice — drives their behavior. In the second step, the alcoholic must surrender to a higher power (which may or may not be God) in order to overcome their shortcomings. Meetings are encouraged but are not mandatory, and many people credit their sobriety to the support and understanding of other recovering alcoholics.

Although AA works well for millions of people, it’s not always a good fit for women who have felt subjugated by men (a higher power) all their lives, who lack self-confidence, have been victims of sexual abuse or struggled with eating disorders. Instead of relinquishing their recovery to a higher power, those women need to feel in control of their lives and develop the belief that they personally possess the power to get and stay sober.

Alternatives to AA have sprung up in the last decade; one of the best known is SMART Recovery. SMART focuses on selfempowerment, personal choice, a balanced lifestyle, a holistic approach to recovery and science-based tools such as cognitive behavior therapy and Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, which examines irrational beliefs that lead to poor choices and addiction.

Group meetings are part of the treatment but are not mandatory. Online services allow for anonymous participation via a screen name on the website. SMART does not require members to relinquish control of their recovery to a higher power.

— LINDA HAGEN MILLER

suming, and to always be with people they trust. “Not all men are gentlemen and a lot will take advantage of a wasted woman, so be aware and don’t put yourself in an unsafe position.”

Binge drinking isn’t relegated strictly to college kids. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 10 percent of women between 45 and 64 say they binge-drink and 3 percent of those over 65 also admit to binge drinking. Still, the vast majority of adult women believe they drink responsibly and have the situation under control.

“I typically have one or two glasses of wine in the evening with dinner and afterwards, sometimes a bit more,” says Barbara, a local 54-year-old professional woman. “Most of my friends are social drinkers, but I don’t know too many who drink every day.” She continues, “Women are taking charge of their own choices, and one of those is the right to enjoy an adult beverage without attaching any stigma to it … I don’t feel that my drinking is a problem. I drink when I feel like it, I never get drunk, and as an adult without small children to care for on a daily basis, I have

the right to choose wine whenever I feel like it.”

For many women, wine is an indulgence they believe they can take or leave.

“I can readily consume a bottle a night over four to five hours,” says Lee, a career woman in her 60s. “I tend to use wine as a punctuation mark to events of the day — coming home from work, completing piano practice, cooking dinner, watching a favorite TV series.

“However, there are times when I don’t drink at all, and my wine consumption varies depending on whether or not I need to lose weight, am spending time with my Mormon family in Utah or training for a difficult sports event, in which case I don’t drink at all,” she says. “I always take January off to shed weight gained between Halloween and New Year’s. It is a fitting way to start a new year.”

Study after study tells us that moderate wine consumption (one glass of wine per day for women) is good for our health; one glass of wine per day for women may decrease risk for heart disease, ischemic stroke and diabetes. The negative effects of alcohol on the human body are also well

known and include liver disease, memory loss, brain shrinkage and cancer of the mouth, esophagus, pharynx, larynx, liver and breast. “I would not say that one glass a day is harmful, but I would not agree to it being beneficial either,” says Stolz. “Alcohol has no nutritional benefit to the human body. Some people who report drinking a

“I think most women know they can’t drink as much as men can, but they still do.” glass or two of wine per day are drinking much more. People who develop alcoholism often drink much like others in public, but drink much differently when alone.”

Stolz adds that Baby Boomers are especially susceptible to developing a drinking problem. “They have more time and more money, so drinking can easily become part of their everyday private life, as well as their social life. Keeping it in check after retiring is often seemingly no longer necessary.” n

TONY BENNETT In Concert

June 4, 2016 •

Spokane Convention Center

Reservations & Information 509-624-1200 • www.spokanesymphony.org This concert is sponsored by Frank Knott FEBRUARY-MARCH, 2016

Health 27

NEWS

Northside Alternative Wellness Center manager Katie Beaman stocks a line of CBD capsules called Wizard’s Garden.

KRISTEN BLACK PHOTO

CANNABIS

Pot’s Other Chemical Anecdotal evidence points to potential health benefits of a relatively unknown marijuana compound

BY JAKE THOMAS

T

ake a trip to a recreational marijuana store or spend some time reading reviews of pot, and you’ll find there’s a strain for everything from being more social to relieving anxiety to sparking creativity. Marijuana enthusiasts will tell you that’s because there are 85 different cannabinoids that interact with receptors in the central nervous system in different ways.

The best known and understood is THC, which produces marijuana’s psychoactive effects. But in recent years, CBD, a cannabinoid that lacks the psychoactive effects of its famous relative, is gaining new

28 Health FEBRUARY-MARCH, 2016

attention in both the medical and recreational markets for its relaxing effects and health benefits.

For years, CBD products, including topicals, capsules, patches and strains rich in the cannabinoid, were available only on the medical market. As the recreational market has grown and is poised to merge with the medical market as a result of last year’s legislative overhaul of the state’s pot laws, more CBD products are available to consumers who don’t have a medical card.

“I tell most people, you want to think of it as a super supplement for your body,” says Katie Beaman, manager at Northside

Alternative Wellness Center, a Spokanebased medical marijuana dispensary. “The same way someone would take vitamin C, CBD is something we would recommend anyone take as supplement.”

Jerry Whiting — founder of LeBlanc CNE, a Seattle-based company that specializes in high-CBD strains of marijuana — says that CBD can be used for ailments that are “not worthy of a doctor’s visit and a prescription, but could use a little help” such as regulating metabolism or digestion. He also recommends taking it regularly with some THC to get its full benefits.

But researchers, such as Raul Gonzalez, a psychologist at Florida International University, says that while there is anecdotal information from patients and preliminary research on CBD’s effects on animals, large-scale, replicable studies proving the medical benefits of CBD for humans just aren’t there.

“The marketing has gotten way ahead of the research when it comes to pot,” he says.

Possible benefits of CBD were first discovered by Brazilian and Israeli researchers in a 1980 study finding that the chemical shows promise in treating patients suffering from epileptic seizures. In the U.S., marijuana is classified as a Schedule I drug, meaning the federal government recognizes it as having a potential for abuse and no proven medical benefits. This classification has produced red tape that has made studying marijuana, including CBD, more difficult.

Carrie Cuttler, clinical assistant professor of psychology at Washington State University, is getting around the difficulties in researching pot by conducting a survey asking participants about their use of marijuana to treat physical ailments

and its CBD content. She plans to publish other medications, he notes. the results in an academic journal that she Although the Food and Drug hopes will inform further studies, but the Administration sent letters last year to gap in research remains. makers of CBD oil instructing them to “Dispensaries will suggest strains for stop making medical claims about their this, for that, but there’s not scientific data,” products, which the letter referred to as she says. an “unapproved new drug,” mainstream Some states have concluded that there interest in using the cannabinoid as is enough evidence of the cannabinoid’s medicine is growing. In 2014, Harvard medical benefits to begin allowing CBD psychiatrist Lester Grinspoon sent a letter oil to be used on patients suffering from to the NFL encouraging it to support severe epilepsy. Even states like Alabama, research using CBD to treat head trauma Utah and Florida, which otherwise don’t of football players. In 2014, Dr. Sanjay sanction medical marijuana, allow for Gupta, in a CNN special on marijuana, the use of CBD oil. There touted the medical benefits are stories of families that of CBD. And Dr. Nora have travelled to places D. Volkow, director of the from the puzzle on page 13 like Colorado seeking a National Institute on Drug 5 = Y; 11 = L; 12 = E “miracle” treatment for their Abuse, told a U.S. Senate epileptic children after no other medication panel that although there was a need for seemed to work. more research, CBD did show promise.

Dr. Jahan Marcu, chief scientist for “There is significant preliminary reof the pro-medical marijuana group search supporting the potential therapeutic Americans for Safe Access, says that despite value of CBD, and while it is not yet sufthe lack of clinical trials, he feels there ficient to support drug approval, it highis strong evidence that CBD can act a lights the need for rigorous clinical research neuroprotectant, reducing pain and muscle in this area,” she said. “There are barriers spasms associated with neurodegenerative that should be addressed to facilitate more diseases. CBD could affect the chemistry of research in this area.” n

CODEWORDS: HINT

FEBRUARY-MARCH, 2016

Health 29

No one fights cancer alone.

As a community, we are working together to fight cancer. Thanks to your generosity in 2015, we launched an endowment to annually send children battling cancer to summer camp. We helped cancer patients pay for critical medication, provided gas cards to help low-income patients drive to daily radiation treatments, donated hotel stays to families seeking cancer treatment and funded groundbreaking cancer research. All right here in the Inland Northwest.

We look forward to an even greater impact in 2016 and invite you to join us in this local fight – so no one fights cancer alone.

30 Health FEBRUARY-MARCH, 2016

LIVING Tony and Napua learn breadmaking from volunteer Abtesam Khan at Pullman’s Lincoln Middle School. JACOB JONES PHOTO

COOKING CONNECTIONS

g n i t r Sta from h c t a r Sc Nutrition education comes easy when it happens in the kitchen

BY TARYN PHANEUF

W

hen Joe Astorino teaches kids about the role of fiber, he takes a square of carpet and coats it with a mixture of muddy goop.

These are your intestines, he says, folding the carpet into a tube with the goop on the inside.

Astorino is the garden manager at Pullman’s Community Action Center.

Partnerships with the YMCA and Pullman Public Schools give him ample opportunity

to use games and illustrations to teach food concepts.

In society at large, it’s a confusing topic.

“Food is, like, the biggest challenge,” he says, “but also the easiest thing.”

In light of the frequency of diet-related illnesses in the U.S., Astorino would like to see more kids feel comfortable with food at a young age. That’s why he started a Culinary Club at Lincoln Middle School in Pullman to add cooking skills to his

nutrient lessons. He hopes to see students gain confidence in preparing food, enthusiasm for how it tastes and knowledge about what’s in it and what it does for their bodies.

Holding the carpet tube, Astorino explains that goop builds up until fiber comes along and scrapes the sides of the digestive system, cleaning everything out. He pours water down the carpet to illustrate what ...continued on next page happens.

FEBRUARY-MARCH, 2016

Health 31

LIVING “STARTING FROM SCRATCH,” CONTINUED... “[The kids] usually get that,” he says.

“They’re more likely to have a positive attitude, versus a cloudy understanding or seeing it just as health food.”

UNAFRAID OF FAILURE

New dietary guidelines and efforts to reauthorize the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act (the federal legislation responsible for changing school lunch menus) are recent examples of the desire to change America’s eating habits. Experts call for less added sugar, more produce, more plant protein and leaner meat.

The dietary guidelines are practical, Spokane-based registered dietitian Karen McWilliams says. But they buck against the cultural norm to eat out or on-the-go several times a week. Eating healthy often requires cooking at home, which takes time, money, energy and skills that many people lack.

Historically, people got busy, McWilliams explains. “We went to school and to work and we have food on the go, so we don’t need to cook.”

Sue Guyett, a full-time volunteer who started the Community Action Center garden program three years ago, says she faced those issues with her family. She and her husband both worked. They had a tight budget but she valued healthy food, so she taught her sons at a young age to help in the kitchen.

“Doing it as a family, we were able to eat healthier,” Guyett says. “This isn’t just a low-income issue. It’s a society issue. Twoincome families are common.”

To make home cooking work, people have to let go of their fear of failure and approach it the way they do a personal budget: with a plan.

McWilliams suggests that rather than seeing food as something to just grab at a restaurant or a store, having a plan — one that starts small — will help make over a person or family’s diet.

Go for food that’s minimally processed, she says. That doesn’t have to exclude affordable options, such as canned and frozen produce, which may be more practical for small households. She says people make the mistake of believing that changes have to be extreme.

“I have people add a healthy food, and I didn’t take anything away. Maybe they add a glass of milk or a piece of wholegrain toast,” she says. “If we can start making plans — and they taste good — then we might build some confidence.”

32 Health FEBRUARY-MARCH, 2016

Natalee greases a bread pan with help from Culinary Club founder Joe Astorino. JACOB JONES PHOTO

A GREAT PAIRING

National school meal standards work, according to a University of Washington study conducted at middle and high schools in a Washington state district.

When presented with the option of more whole grains, fruits and vegetables, students choose to eat more nutritious food.

“In that district, standards effectively changed the quality of foods selected by children,” concludes the study published in JAMA Pediatrics in January.

In starting a culinary club, Astorino wants to build on that momentum.

By all accounts, he has good reason to believe that kids will jump at the chance to learn to cook.

“I had children put a little cinnamon on sliced oranges, and they think they cooked,” McWilliams says. “I teach parents that when a 3-year-old puts the spoons on the table — any simple participation — then there’s ownership in the meal, and it tastes better.”

Sheba Nalle, the Pullman School District nutrition director, sees similar reactions from children who help pick vegetables in school gardens. “When we’ve harvested spinach or lettuce from our greenhouses … they hoard their own little stash,” Nalle says. “They can’t wait to rinse it, take it home and show their parents. They’re surprised how much they like it.”

The Culinary Club meets twice a month at the middle school. First, they’ll

learn a new skill and try a recipe. They’ll focus on concepts that can be transferred to other recipes and other settings. At the first meeting in January, club members learned to make cinnamon raisin bread, including grinding their own flour.

At the second meeting, they’ll make enough of the recipe to share with the school.

“We want to contribute some of what we make,” Nalle says.

That way, more than just Culinary Club members can taste something new.

Anything they make will fit standards set for schools by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Nalle says.

McWilliams says that a club like this could change the way a family eats at home.

“The best education is hands-on. I would imagine these culinary clubs are doing that. They’re taking the recipes home — they’re doing those with mom or dad. It’s the best teaching tool there is,” she says. “I love that schools get it.”

If it goes well, Guyett and Astorino would like to see more schools with clubs like this. Ultimately, they think that cooking lessons can change the way people think about food — about what they put in their mouths, and why.

“Food is a way of life,” Astorino says.

“The relationship and meaning of it changes as you learn to cook differently.” n

AT HOME AT THE RANGE fresh food accounts for half of Second Harvest’s inventory each year, says community relations manager Julie Humphreys. But as food bank staff watched patrons turn down fresh options because of a lack of culinary know-how, they knew they had to do more than distribute food if they wanted it to change people’s lives.

Second Harvest built a kitchen to offer classes, focusing on people who shop at food pantries. In December, the food bank unveiled a mobile kitchen that will bring cooking demonstrations and nutrition classes into underserved communities.

The classes emphasize meals that can be made quickly, using ingredients distributed African Peanut Stew is on the menu for students at by Second Harvest.

They teach basic Second Harvest’s new teaching kitchen. KRISTEN BLACK PHOTO culinary skills, nutrition and food safety, helping people gain confidence and enjoy he Second Harvest warehouse in Spocooking. They’re introduced to new foods, so kane contains stacks of large crates filled that instead of seeing a squash or a lentil and with potatoes. Thanks to fertile farms not knowing how to eat it, perhaps they’ll see in the area, the food bank never runs out of ingredients that can be combined to make a spuds — or apples, chickpeas or lentils. wholesome meal in just 20 minutes.

“Those are beautiful Yukons out there,” At the end of the class in January, Doak’s says Jandyl Doak, kitchen education coordinastudents said they planned to return in a tor at the food bank. week to make something new. They gathered During a cooking class in January, Doak around the table, sharing a meal of soup and made two kinds of soup using Palouse staples salad.

— peas and chickpeas. After the demonstra“And I made some banana bread,” Doak tion, the small crowd of adults dispersed says, “because we have about 20 pallets of to cooking stations to replicate one of the bananas here right now.” recipes.

— TARYN PHANEUF In what should be considered a triumph,

T

The Inland Northwest’s best cuisine will be on display during 2016’s Inlander Restaurant Week, February 26 through March 6. For 10 festive days, more than 100 restaurants offer three-course menus at either $19 or $29. After enjoying a meal, diners have a chance to give back to this year’s non-profit partner, Second Harvest, by submitting a review on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram to @IRW Rave Reviews. For each post, a donation will be made to Second Harvest. For more information and to browse menus, go to InlanderRestaurantWeekcom.

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THE OLD BROADVIEW DAIRY FEBRUARY-MARCH, 2016

Health 33

LIVING The Coeur d’Alene Tribe offered kids a chance to learn about Indian culture and food through digging water potatoes last fall. LOVINA LOUIE PHOTO

, t s a P g n i g d i Br e r u t u F d n a t n e s e Pr

COOKING CONNECTIONS

The Coeur d’Alene Tribe’s innovative qhest program embraces tradition to promote sustained health

BY CARRIE SCOZZARO

S

ometimes stepping back is the best way to advance. For the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, that means pre-contact, when they called themselves Schitsu’umsh: “the discovered people.” It’s a time when eating involved gathering camas and hunting or fishing for salmon, a time when exercise was ingrained in day-to-day life, from dancing to traveling by foot or paddling a canoe.

It means qhest life, which translates to a “good, healthy, traditional way of life” in the Coeur d’Alene’s Salish-family language of snchitsu’umshtsn. And it’s how the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, in partnership with the Benewah Medical and Wellness Center, is encouraging people to fight chronic disease.

34 Health FEBRUARY-MARCH, 2016

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Native Americans face disproportionately higher health risks — 20 percent greater for heart disease, 14 percent greater for stroke — than all other ethnicities in the United States. A significant factor in developing heart disease is diabetes, which is at least two times as common among American Indian and Alaska Native populations, according to Indian Health Services.

“There are serious health problems in the community,” says Ken Hoyt, Traditional Foods Coordinator working to develop and implement qhest life initiatives. Hoyt, who is Tlingit, notes two reasons for poor health. “It comes down to either individual

choices and habits, or larger structures and systems,” both of which qhest life seeks to address.

The CDC, for example, advocates convenient access to healthy, affordable foods through larger retail stores, farmers markets and community or home gardens, yet on the 345,000 acres that comprise the Coeur d’Alene Reservation, there are only convenience stores and a lone grocery store. The tribe farms 6,000 acres in wheat, barley, legumes, and canola; much of the remaining 150,000 farmable acres are privately farmed.

The qhest life campaign offers a culturally based, three-pronged approach to improving wellness: eat, do and honor. Eat

fewer processed foods and more lean proteins and produce by working to introduce more homegrown goods and incorporating native foods, such as water potatoes. Do more active things like walking, running, swimming or structured workouts. Honor heritage through preserving language, respecting elders, valuing education and engaging in traditional activities like storytelling, the arts and ceremonies.

“In all of these programs,” says LoVina Louie, of the Coeur d’Alene, Okanogan, Colville Lakes and Nez Perce tribes, “our goal is to infuse our culture into everything we do.”

Louie, whose past leadership roles include developing the innovative Rock’n the Rez program, coordinates the hnqhesnet project, the umbrella program for qhest efforts. Hnqhesnet, from the Salish language for “it is our well-being,” started as a Benewah Medical and Wellness Center program four years ago.

BMWC is a tribally owned and operated community health center, which opened to the public in 1990 as a unique partnership between the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and the City of Plummer. It serves more than ...continued on next page

WHAT IS MOON FOOD?

I

n winter, when nights seem endless and the chill can cut to the bone, it’s hearty fare that fills our bellies best. Summertime, when honey is abundant, is a time to celebrate life in all its sweetness. That’s seasonal eating: adapting to nature’s regional provisions. It’s also key to understanding how and why the body craves different foods throughout the year.

“It is our belief that in today’s modern world where ‘convenience’ is the name of the game,” says Inland Northwest Food Network’s Teri McKenzie, “we have become disconnected from our food and the understanding of its significance in supporting our personal health, the earth and our local economy, to name a few.“ Many people no longer know how to cook, says McKenzie. That, combined with few opportunities to learn, especially using basic, locally sourced ingredients, prompted the Inland Northwest Food Network to develop “The Seasonal Kitchen: Cooking with the Bounty of the Region.”

Inspired by writer Jessica Prentice’s Full

Moon Feast: Food and Our Hunger for Connection, each monthly class features one seasonal food or technique.

February’s class, inspired by the Hunger Moon, will feature root vegetable dishes; May’s Milk Moon leads naturally to a class on using cheese, and September’s Corn Moon class will feature breads and traditional grains.

“Our hope,” says McKenzie, “is that the series will provide participants with the practical skills that cooking requires, but also will inspire them to reflect on their food choices, how and where it is produced, and why any of that matters.”

— CARRIE SCOZZARO Classes meet 6:30 -8:30 pm on the third Thursday at Post Fall’s Jacklin Arts and Culture Center. Pre-registration required; go to inwfoodnetwork.org.

Our Community’s #1 Choice in Hospice Care “I have always been so impressed with the team at Hospice of Spokane. Clinically they are excellent; they provide great care for patients. But it’s that extra element, their deep compassion for the patients and for their mission that really makes a difference.”

– Dr. Joni Nichols, community oncologist

Serving patients and families since 1977 Comfort. Dignity. Peace of Mind.

509.456.0438 hospiceofspokane.org FEBRUARY-MARCH, 2016

Health 35

LIVING “BRIDGING PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE,” CONT...

6,000 patients annually, mostly in Benewah County, but also in Kootenai and portions of Spokane, Latah and Whitman counties.

Roughly 400 BMWC patients are diabetic, with plenty more at risk.

In addition to diabetes screening and treatment, BMWC has tapped the CDC’s significant resources. In 2011, it earned a Small Communities Community Transformations grant of $415,987, followed up by a $671,000 grant in 2014 from the Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health programs. The grants allowed formation of the hnqhesnet team.

In addition to Louie and Hoyt, hnqhesnet brought on nutritionist and registered dietitian Brenna VanDalsen and demonstration gardener Becky Walrod, who worked with the One Sky One Earth food coalition at Lakeside Elementary school’s Success Center garden.

Physical activity is being encouraged through an innovative program called PowWow Sweat. Shedaezha Hodge, an enrolled Navajo, is the team’s Physical Activities Coordinator and the face and voice behind PowWow Sweat, which has the goals of increasing physical activity and powwow

Quanah Matheson, Cultural Resources director for Coeur d’Alene Casino, sidles up to the dock on Canoe Blessing Day. JENNIFER FLETCHER PHOTO

readiness through traditional dance. Classes are offered at the Wellness Center, and PowWow Sweat also offers instructional videos featuring dancers of all ages and body types, occasionally in their regalia, which was important to the hnqhesnet team.

“Let’s have real people out there,” says Louie of the videos, which were produced

by Los Angeles-based StyleHorse Collective. Their video, “We Shall Remain,” filmed on the Reservation in 2014, won best music video at the 39th Annual American Indian Film Festival and copies are being provided to the Tribe’s 1,600 registered

adult members.

Future projects include fostering more locally grown food through additional greenhouses, including one at the Coeur d’Alene Tribal School, and the creation of a Native American cookbook. Plans also call for installing crosswalks along the busy highway that literally divides the Reservation’s inhabitants, and planting camas along that same highway. Hoyt is especially excited about a possible communications app.

“We reconnect people with each other,” he says. “And then reconnect them with the land.” n

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36 Health FEBRUARY-MARCH, 2016

T

Babywearing educator Jessica Hrehor and her daughter, Kalin, and son, James.

KRISTEN BLACK PHOTO

PARENTING

Babywearing Benefits Using a baby carrier leaves your hands free and makes for happier, healthier babies

BY CHELSEA BANNACH

F

or Grace Kimball, babywearing is a powerful parenting tool.

Kimball, of Coeur d’Alene, has a 2-year-old daughter, Kimber, who has special needs, and a 6-month-old son, Callahan. Her husband is out of town for work much of the time, and babywearing — the practice of holding a baby against one’s body using a sling or other carrier — allows her to keep up with the demands of caring for two small children. She wears her children every day, comforting them while still accomplishing housework or running errands.

“It’s a very positive thing that you can do for your child, and it deserves more awareness,” Kimball says.

Babywearing, a centuries-old practice, is the norm in many cultures around the world; while U.S. parents often use devices such as strollers and bucket car seats instead, babywearing appears to be on the rise here, and research shows it it can provide numerous benefits.

A group of pediatric providers are

working on forming a section on babywearing for the American Academy of Pediatrics to craft guidelines on babywearing. Meanwhile, babywearing support groups are cropping up around the U.S. — including the Inland Northwest — bringing babywearers together and helping caregivers navigate the world of wearing.

Kimball’s daughter was recently diagnosed with autism, and wearing provides comfort when she gets overwhelmed, Kimball says. Wearing her son allows him to nap and nurse on the go, leaving her hands free to tend to her daughter.

“He goes in the carrier and he has all his needs met, his mommy right there, and he’s just along for the ride,” she says. “It really, really saves me while going from appointment to appointment.”

She says that babywearing helps her family continue to enjoy an active lifestyle: “I don’t want having kids to stop people from doing anything. If anything, it has encouraged my husband and I to get outdoors more.”

he benefits of babywearing go beyond convenience. Medical professionals agree that loving touch and interaction with a caregiver helps infants thrive, and babywearing is one way to promote physical, social and emotional development.

“Hugs, kisses, spending time talking with them, looking at them, all types of touch and closeness can help promote bonding and development,” says author and parenting expert Tanya Altmann, MD, FAAP (Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics). “Babywearing is definitely an easy way to help facilitate closeness with your baby.”

Evidence shows babywearing is associated with reduced crying and colic — welcome news for parents. One study found babywearing mothers were more responsive to their babies’ vocalizations and that those babies formed secure attachments.

“There are a lot of advantages that come with babywearing,” Altmann says, adding that it’s also important for babies to get some floor time. “I think it’s something every parent should try.”

Touch can help a newborn regulate physiologically. Benefits of babywearing begin with skin-to-skin contact immediately after birth for normal, stable babies, says neonatologist Raylene M. Phillips, MD, FAAP. Babies born prematurely who end up in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit have increased needs for skin-to-skin contact for physiologic stability, improved temperature control, increased breastfeeding initiation and duration, and more mature sleep cycles, which directly support optimal brain development and improved parental-infant bonding.

Babywearing “is not well known and it’s not well publicized, so that’s why we want to bring attention to it,” Phillips says.

When a mother holds her baby close, oxytocin levels are increased, aiding in bonding. That closeness also prompts the release of prolactin, the hormone needed for lactation “so that you actually end up producing more milk,” says Polly Gannon, an international board-certified lactation consultant. Babies who are worn also may also spit up less, easing acid reflux, because they are in an upright position.

Alex Hamling, MD, FAAP, says the section on babywearing would develop guidelines for pediatricians and other practitioners, promote research, disseminate best practices and shared knowledge, and create patient-friendly handouts on babywearing. The group of pediatric providers have submitted a proposal for the creation ...continued on next page FEBRUARY-MARCH, 2016

Health 37

LIVING “BABYWEARING BENEFITS,” CONTINUED... of the section that they hope will be voted on within the next six months.

Hamling says there are lower rates of developmental hip dysplasia in countries where babywearing is more common, and one mission of the planned AAP section on babywearing will be to facilitate more research in that area. It also promotes neural development due to the wearer’s movements and reduces positional plagiocephaly, or “flat head syndrome,” he says.

Hamling, who wears his own 18-monthold daughter, says he is passionate about babywearing “both personally and professionally.”

“It’s been a really great way for me to connect with my daughter at a young age,” he says. “I think it’s just a great way parents can recognize cues quicker in their child.”

Babywearing can be done as long as mutually enjoyed — even into toddlerhood and beyond.

T

here are many styles of carrier parents can choose from, including ring slings, soft-structure or buckle carriers, woven wraps, stretchy wraps,

pouch slings, mei teis and more. Prices can vary drastically, with new carriers starting as low as about $30.

Two groups, Babywearing International of the Inland Northwest and Spokane Babywearing, have meetups to help parents find a carrier that’s right for them and get a safe and comfortable fit. BWI of the Inland Northwest has a lending library for parents to check out different types of carriers.

“The best thing to do is go to a meeting if you can, because you can touch and feel and see all the different types of carriers that are available, and really get a good idea of what is going to work best for you,” says Jessica Hrehor, a local babywearing educator. “It depends on what you need, what you want and your personal preferences.”

Hrehor, who has demonstrated a proficiency with many types of carriers to earn her title, says that babies have a strong need to be close to their caregivers. Babywearing is one way to for babies to bond with moms, dads, grandparents or anyone else involved in a child’s care.

“The best way to foster independence is to meet their needs for attachment from early on,” she says. n

BABYWEARING TIPS TIGHT: The carrier should be tight enough to hold the baby snugly to your body. Slumping can hinder the baby’s ability to breathe and cause back pain for the wearer.

IN VIEW AT ALL TIMES: The baby’s face should always be in view.

CLOSE ENOUGH TO KISS: The baby’s head should be close enough to your chin that you can easily kiss her head.

KEEP CHIN OFF THE CHEST: Ensure that there is always space between your baby’s chin and chest, so breathing is not restricted.

SUPPORTED BACK: A well-fitted carrier should support the baby’s neck and back. Ideally, the baby should be held with his or her knees higher than their bottom in a “M” position, with the carrier supporting them knee to knee; the knee-to-knee support isn’t necessary for older babies and toddlers.

— CHELSEA BANNACH Visit BWI of the Inland Northwest or Spokane Babywearing on Facebook to connect with local babywearing resources.

DID YOU KNOW? APRIL 17TH

Riverfront Park Register NOW and help us save lives! www.komeneasternwashington.org 38 Health FEBRUARY-MARCH, 2016

Susan G. Komen Eastern WA Affiliate has awarded over $3 million in local community health grants over the last thirteen years!

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LIVING

Find out who takes home the coveted Oscar statues at this year’s Red Ribbon Gala.

CHARITY CORNER

Stars Come Out For SAN

A

lthough the world AIDS crisis and the unprecedented fear of the disease that hit in the 1980s seems far behind us, a staggering 1.2 million people in the U.S. are estimated to be living with an HIV infection — including those unaware of their condition — according to the latest reports from the Centers for Disease Control.

As advances in medical treatment of the disease have increased the longevity of people diagnosed with AIDS/HIV, it’s easy for many of us to think it’s no longer a major threat to our health. But while the number of people living with the diagnosis has

increased — thanks to life-saving drugs — there are still far too many new infections each year, the CDC reports, even though the number of annual new cases remains stable. Those are numbers they would rather see dropping.

In Spokane and across Eastern Washington, HIV/AIDS patients are supported by the Spokane AIDS Network (SAN), a nonprofit that advocates for and supports the health care and well-being of the local population living with the disease. SAN provides case management, housing assistance, a food pantry and all-important programs that support AIDS prevention.

To maintain these crucial services, SAN is once again hosting its annual Red Ribbon Gala

YOUR VISION

BROUGHT TO LIFE!

during the evening of the 88th Academy Awards.

The semiformal event, now in its 18th year, brings the red carpet to downtown Spokane for an elegant evening offering a plated dinner, a live auction, and of course the live telecast of the awards ceremony. Though it’s an evening centered around the stars of the silver screen, the deserving stars of the night are the generous community members who’ve turned out to support the efforts of the Spokane AIDS Network.

— CHEY SCOTT Spokane AIDS Network 18th Red Ribbon Gala • Sun, Feb. 28; doors open at 4:30 pm • Overbluff Cellars • 304 W. Pacific • oscarnightgala.org

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Health 39

LIVING FEBRUARY - APRIL HEALTH EVENTS BLOOD DONATION Give blood at the Inland Northwest Blood Center, which requires up to 200 donors each day to ensure the blood bank is adequately stocked. Donors can schedule an appointment online at inbcsaves.org (4230151)

tism. Fri, Feb. 13, at 6 pm. $65/person or $650/table of 10.

Center Place Event Center, 2426 N. Discovery Pl., Spokane Valley. theisaacfoundation.org DADDY 101 A class for new fathers, offered Feb. 16 and March 15, from 5-7 pm. Deaconess Health Education Center 910 W. Fifth Ave., Spokane More details and registration online. Free (509-473-BABY)

INBODY 570 TESTS The InBody testing machine at INHS can provide an accurate picture of your weight, lean body mass, body fat, BMI, total body water, basic metabolic weight and body composition history. Tests are offered to the public on Feb. 3 and 16 and March 3, 15, and 31. $20/ test. Tests take place at INHS Community Wellness Center, 501 N. Riverpoint Blvd., Suite 245. Register online at courseregistration.inhs.org

LUNCH & LEARN A session on heart disease, blood pressure and nutrition, and how what you eat can affect your blood pressure and increase risks for heart disease. Also find out the best foods to eat if you have been diagnosed with either condition. Feb. 18, at noon. Free. Online course; register at courseregistration.inhs.org

LIVING WELL WITH DIABETES This ongoing community program offered by INHS takes place through interactive, group-based workshops that cover how to deal with symptoms, helpful exercises, proper use of medication and how to work effectively with healthcare providers. Six-week sessions at various community centers are set to begin on Feb. 4, Feb. 20, March 4 and March 12. Free to participate.

See all upcoming program locations and times at courseregistration.inhs.org

KIDS AT HEART The annual luncheon, hosted by the Providence Health Care Foundation, raises funds to support the Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital’s mission in a fun format, and recognizes local advocates of the hospital. Tue, Feb. 23, at 11:30 am. Spokane Convention Center, 334 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. kidsatheartcharitylunch.org (474-2819) JUST PLAY Come to the library for a community playdate, with favorite toys and activities from the Play & Learn Storytimes to enjoy. For children ages 0-5. Feb. 23 and March 29, 10:30 am-12:30 pm. free. Cheney Library, 610 First St. (509-893-8280)

MUSIC, MUSIC, MUSIC The 10th annual benefit concert for the Spokane Valley Partners Food Bank, featuring a variety of performances from “Phantom of the Opera,” “The Sound of Music,” and more. Fri., Feb. 5, 6:45-10 pm, $5-$10, St. Joseph’s Parish 4521 N. Arden Rd., Otis Orchards (926-7133)

TASTE SPOKANE 2015 Wishing Star Foundation’s 10th annual benefit event, showcasing local food, beer, wine and desserts, with live music, a live auction and more. Proceeds support the organization’s mission to fulfill wishes for terminally ill children. Fri, Feb. 26, at 7 pm. $60-$100.

Northern Quest Resort & Casino, 100 N. Hayford Rd., Airway Heights. tastespokane.com

UNION GOSPEL MISSION VOLUNTEER ORIENTATION Learn about volunteer opportunities and services offered through the ministry at monthly orientation events. Upcoming sessions: Feb. 9 and 23, March 8 and 22, and April 12, from 6-8 pm. Locations vary based on date, and include the UGM men’s shelter and Anna Ogden Hall women’s and children’s shelter in Spokane, and the Center for Women & Children in Coeur d’Alene. See uniongospelmission.org/ events for complete details; pre-registration requested.

CINDERELLA TEA The 12th annual Cinderella tea and fashion show benefits the local nonprofit hospitality house which serves local families who are traveling to the area for cancer treatment. Sat., Feb. 27, 10:30 am, $35, Spokane Convention Center 334 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. (939-9627)

INFANT/CHILD CPR CLASS A class to teach steps that could be lifesaving, including CPR and how to save a choking child. Also covers basic first aid for children, when to call 911 and basic newborn care. $30/two attendees. Offered Feb. 13 and March 12, from 1-4 pm at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center, 101 W. Eighth, and on Feb. 17 and March 16, from 5:30-8:30 pm at Providence Medical Park, 16528 E. Desmet Ct. washington.providence.org (474-2400)

PEDIATRIC FIRST AID/CPR CLASS A course for all caretakers of young children under the age of 5, covering how to properly give CPR, basic first aid and basic newborn care. $55/person. Offered Feb. 27 and March 26, from 1-5 pm.

Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center, main floor Avista Classroom, 101 W. Eighth. washington.providence.org/ events (474-2400)

A TASTE OF HOPE The ISAAC Foundation’s 9th annual benefit event features samplings of wines, beers, spirits, chocolates and specialty foods, while raising money to fund therapy grants for local children diagnosed with au-

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40 Health FEBRUARY-MARCH, 2016

BABYSITTING BASICS A course for youths ages 10 to 15 that covers how to care for infants, toddlers and older children. Learn CPR and first aid, personal safety, business

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basics and how to effectively manage discipline issues. Upcoming sessions offered Feb. 27, April 2, May 7 and June 24. $40. Held at St. Luke’s Rehab Institute, 711 S. Cowley.

Register online at courseregistration.inhs.org GO RED FOR WOMEN The American Heart Association’s annual awareness campaign brings attention to heart disease, the leading cause of death in women. Event includes an auction, health screenings, an expo, auction, fashion show and keynote presentation. Wed, March 9, at 10 am.

Spokane Convention Center, 334 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. on.fb.me/22VFX6e BLOOMSDAY TRAINING CLINICS Get in running shape in time for the 40th running of the Lilac Bloomsday Run with hosted community training clinics, offering graduated conditioning and supported training courses. Saturdays at 8:30 am, March 12-April 23. Meets at SFCC Gym, 3410 W. Fort George Wright Dr. bloomsdayrun.org (474-3081) RESPECTING CHOICES This advanced care planning session explores how to have conversations with loved ones and caretakers about goals, values and beliefs for future health-care needs. March 14, from 6-8 pm. Free. INHS Community Wellness Center, 501 N. Riverpoint Blvd., Suite 245.

Register online at courseregistration.inhs.org LUNCH & LEARN “Savor the Flavor of Eating Right” is the theme of this online webinar, and of March’s designation as National Nutrition Month. This session covers how to develop a mindful eating pattern that includes nutritional and flavorful foods. March 17 at noon. Free. Online course; register at courseregistration.inhs.org.

SPOKANE BIKE SWAP & EXPO Community members can sell their used bikes and gear, shop for used bikes and from booths hosted by local vendors. Donate a bike and get free admission. Sat, April 9, from 9 am-5 pm. $5/admission.

Spokane County Fair & Expo Center, 404 N. Havana.

NEGATIVE SPLIT HALF MARATHON The annual, locally organized race is back, offering half marathon, 5K and 10K distances. A portion of proceeds benefit the Spokane HOPE School’s programs and services. Sun, April 10, at 9 am. $30-$85. Route starts/ends at Kendall Yards. nsplit.com CHOCOLATE & CHAMPAGNE GALA Lutheran Community Services Northwest’s annual gala features tastings of champagne, chocolate and a gourmet dinner, with silent and live auctions. The evening also highlights the local nonprofit’s work with victims of child abuse, with proceeds benefiting the Sexual Assault and Family Trauma Response Center. Sat, April 16, at 6 pm. Davenport Hotel, 10 S. Post. lcsnw.org/spokane (343-5078)

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RACE FOR THE CURE Susan G. Komen of Eastern Washington hosts the 8th annual regional walk/run to raise awareness and funds to support research, prevention and treatment of breast cancer. Includes a 1-mile survivors walk and 3K walk/run through Spokane. April 17. $15-$35/person.

Riverfront Park, downtown Spokane. komeneasternwashington.org SPOKANE WOMEN’S SHOW The 11th annual event offers a weekend full of health and lifestyle information, entertainment, education and more. April 22-24: Fri, 4-9 pm; Sat, 10 am-6 pm; Sun, 10 am-3 pm. Spokane Convention Center, 334 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. spokanewomensshow.com FINISH STRONG FITNESS GAMES A men’s and women’s fitness competition, offering competitive divisions for novice, advanced and elite athletes. Open to individuals and teams. April 22-24. $5-$100, prices vary based on event and division. Spokane Convention Center, 334 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. nsplit.com/fitness-games MARMOT MARCH The 11th annual kids’ run preceding Bloomsday is a 1-mile, noncompetitive walk/run/jog for kids in third grade or under. An adult must accompany a child through the course, and strollers are welcome. Sat, April 30, at 9 am. Riverfront Park, route TBA. $10/child.

Register at bloomsdayrun.org/marmot-march. n The calendar is a free service, on a space-available basis.

Mark submissions “InHealth Calendar” and include the time, date, address, cost and a contact phone number. Mail: 1227 W. Summit Pkwy, Spokane, WA 99201; or E-mail: calendar@inlander.com.

The 40th Bloomsday is May 1; training clinics start March 12. Check bloomsdayrun.org for details. RYAN SULLIVAN PHOTO

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Health 41

LIVING

Temple Grandin: “One of the problems we have with ‘autism’ is it’s so variable.”

ROASLIE WINARD PHOTO

PEOPLE

Temple and the Schoolhouse Temple Grandin shares her insights into autism, exceptional kids and understanding animals

BY DANIEL WALTERS

A

t times, words frustrate author and activist Temple Grandin. They’re so general, so imprecise, so vague.

Take the word “autism” for example.

“One of the problems we have with ‘autism’ is it’s so variable,” she tells InHealth.

“You’re going from Einstein and half the people in Silicon Valley to a child that remains nonverbal with very, very severe handicaps.”

After all, Grandin herself lands somewhere on that scale. She exhibited all the signs of severe autism as a young child and

42 Health FEBRUARY-MARCH, 2016

had not started talking at 2 years of age.

Doctors recommended that she be placed in an institution. Her mother refused, and through intensive individualized teaching and speech therapy, Grandin learned to talk, and along the way, figured out how to harness her profound gifts — a unique ability to understand autism and animal behavior — that landed her on Time’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2010.

Grandin says she is a visual thinker.

She understands the world as a series of

images or even short movies rather than through language. At first, she didn’t realize that wasn’t how everyone else perceived the world, something she writes about in her memoir Thinking in Pictures, which was adapted into Temple Grandin, an Emmy Award-winning HBO movie. She explores autism in several other books, including Different … Not Less, The Way I See It, and her latest, The Loving Push.

This February, Grandin arrives in Spokane to deliver three lectures. On Friday, Feb. 19, she’ll be the featured speaker at a daylong forum for educators entitled “The World Needs All Kinds of Minds” at Whitworth University’s Cowles Auditorium. The event will explore ways that teachers can be most effective as they work with “twice-exceptional” or “2e” students, those who are cognitively advanced, but whose talents may be overlooked due to a disability such as ADHD or autism spectrum disorder. Later that day, Grandin will present “Helping Different Kinds of Minds to be Successful” at 7 pm at North Central High School. On Saturday, Feb. 20, she’ll be back at Whitworth’s Weyerhaeuser Hall at 10:30 am for an entirely different topic, “Understanding Animal Behavior,” that draws on her insights into how animals think, act, and feel.

In discussing all of these topics, Grandin is cautious about painting anything with too broad a brush.

“People will say, ‘How do we solve autistic behavior in a classroom?” Grandin says. “I have to have a lot more information than that.” She says it is fundamentally ineffective to try to apply one set of educational practices to entire populations of kids: “Education is very bad about getting into fads and overgeneralizing on what they should do in every classroom.”

Instead, she says, “There needs to be a lot more emphasis in education on building on a child’s strengths. There’s too much emphasis on deficits.” For example, those with mild autism often excel in technical and scientific fields. She notes that things we use every day — iPhones and personal computers — weren’t invented by “the social yakety-yaks who want to socialize all day,” but by the engineers and designers who just happen to think differently.

For exceptional students to thrive in the education system, Grandin says, focusing on their strengths may help solve behavior issues. If a fourth-grade student is brilliant at math, don’t limit him to doing fourthgrade math when he may be ready for high school math. “If they’re doing the baby math, they get bored,” she says.

“I’ve seen a lot of kids in the gifted and

talented schools that have a lot of autism traits,” Grandin says. There, they get the challenge they need, and begin to thrive.

On the other hand, she chafes at the notion that “exceptional” kids must be treated with extra delicacy, like “poor little Tommy has autism, we need to order his hamburger.” Grandin feels strongly that Tommy needs to be taught how to order his own hamburger. He’s got to be taught to shake hands, say “please” and “thank you,” and learn all the other social niceties that don’t often come naturally for autistic kids, things she she says her mother worked hard to instill in her.

Grandin also credits her upbringing to helping her find her passion. “Students get interested in careers they get exposed to. I was exposed to cattle when I was 15,” she says. “That’s how I got interested in them.”

Later, she was instrumental in improving how livestock were treated in slaughterhouses, developing ways to avoid unnecessary stress and pain.

Problems — and solutions — that seemed obvious to her had for years eluded others in the industry.

“Some people have a knack with animals. They just have a knack,” she says. “They intuitively know how to get along with animals.”

To understand animal behavior, says Grandin, a professor of Livestock Behavior and Welfare at Colorado State University, you’ve got to understand how the animals process their experiences. “Their memories are sensory-based and not word-based,” she says. “Pictures, sounds, smells. When the dog checks out the local tree, he’s checking his ‘pee-mail.’ He’s checking, friend or foe… If you’re a dog, it’s like, ‘My best friend was just there at the tree yesterday.’

“I know some that are mildly autistic, but are super good with animals,” Grandin says. “It’s sensory-based thinking. They can visualize what the animal is doing.”

Credit their unique minds. n To attend lectures, register online at whitworth.edu/communityevent; admission $20. To attend “The World Needs All Kinds of Minds” forum, register at whitworth.edu/giftedinstituteregistration; admission $125.

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Health 43

Together we’re doing great things.

We’re putting the finishing touches on an entirely redesigned and expanded Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU) at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center. A facility that ensures patients with complex heart conditions won’t have to travel to another city for world-class care.

And it’s all possible because of generous gifts to Providence Health Care Foundation.

In 2015, the foundation awarded $5.8 million in grants to our hospitals in Spokane and Stevens counties. We support everything from building

A building tradition – The signed, steel "Topping Beam" of the expanded CICU facility prior to being lifted and fit into place.

upgrades to art supplies. Ultrasound machines to family support groups.

Learn how your donations are making a difference to our patients and their families at phc.org/giving

Thank you.

kids at heart charity lunch | 2.23.16

11:30am | spokane convention center save a seat at kidsatheartcharitylunch.org or 509.474.2819

Proceeds Benefit Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital