Mv igh 128 oct16final

in good October 2016 • Issue 128

Do you feng shui?

Page 9

MVhealthnews.com

Keeping cancer at bay

free

Mohawk Valley’s Healthcare Newspaper

Diet, lifestyle key variables See Page 5

U.S. adults ‘going green’ more than ever before

Meet Your Doctor

Page 3

Cyber bullies Friends more likely to be the culprits while on social media Page 11 ­

Watch for signs of SUICIDE See Page 20

Whole Grain Bulgur

‘Bulgur — wheat that’s been parboiled, dried and cracked into nibbly bits — is one of my favorite whole grains.’

See SmartBites inside

Ryan Dockery of Oneida Healthcare Page 4

Infection fighter

What men don’t care about when it comes to having sex

Heather Barnard of the MVHS is a modern-day Florence Nightingale.

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October 2016 •

IN GOOD HEALTH – Mohawk Valley’s Healthcare Newspaper

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Page 1

CALENDAR of

Present Tense Psychiatry

HEALTH EVENTS

Dr. Brady, DNP, NPP-BC Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner

315-853-2125

ACCEPTING NEW PATIENTS Individuals • Couples • Families • Children ages 5+

Medication Management, Psychotherapy/Counseling

Treatment of all psychiatric disorders such as Anxiety, Depression, ADHD, Bipolar, Sleep disorders & Behavioral issues 2 Fountain Street, Suite 105, Clinton, NY 13323 (315) 853-2125 phone/fax www.PresentTensePsychiatry.com

Got a health-related activity or event that you would like publicized? Call Lou Sorendo at 315-749-7070 or email lou@cnymail.com.

Mondays

Tuesdays

Support group for OCD sufferers

Insight House offers family support group

The Central New York Obsessive Compulsive Foundation, Inc., a registered nonprofit agency, has offered OCD sufferers in the region a weekly support group since 1997.

Brian’s OCD Support Group meets from 6:30-8 p.m. every Monday except holidays in the Sister Regina Conference Room, first floor, St. Elizabeth Medical Center, 2209 Genesee St., Utica.

Meetings are professionally assisted the third Monday of each month.

For more information, call founder Susan Connell at 315-768-7031, email her at info@cnyocf.org, visit www.cnyocf.org or check out Cen NY OCD Support Group on Facebook.

A speakers’ bureau is available at no cost.

Insight House Chemical Dependency Services, Inc. is offering a family support group meeting from 6:15-7:30 p.m. Tuesdays at Insight House, 500 Whitesboro St., Utica.

The group is free and open to anyone who is concerned about a loved one’s relationship with alcohol, opiates/heroin, or other substances.

For more information about the group, call 724-5168, ext. 265, from 8:30-4 p.m. weekdays.

All calls are strictly confidential.

Women’s support group to get together

What if you could choose?

5 Days or 45 Days

A women’s support/therapy group is meeting weekly from 5:30-7 p.m. on Mondays.

Groups will be held in a confidential location in New Hartford and group size will be limited to protect anonymity.

Topics of discussion may include family issues, stress, anger, relationships, grief, and more.

Clinical therapist Cynthia Davis, who has over 20 years of experience, will lead the group.

To pre-register, contact Davis at 315-736-1231, 315-794-2454 or email cindycsw@yahoo.com.

Wednesdays/Thursdays

Overeaters Anonymous plans meetings Overeaters Anonymous meets from 5:30-6:30 p.m. every Wednesday in Room 101 (first floor) at Rome Memorial Hospital, 1500 James St., Rome.

It also meets from 7-8 p.m. every Thursday at Oneida Baptist Church, 242 Main St., Oneida. Participants are asked to use the rear door.

There are no dues, fees, weighins or diets.

For more information, call OA at 315-468-1588 or visit oa.org.

Sept. 26

RMH offers free PSA screening Prostate cancer can often be detected early in men with a blood test that measures the amount of prostate-specific antigen in the blood.

Continued on Page 14

“Folts and Claxton Manor are the trusting hand you are looking for with your loved ones.”

Whether you are looking for:

Short term in-patient or outpatient physical or occupational therapy Adult Day Services Respite Care Hospice Care Long-Term Care or Adult Care Living at Claxton for those who only need a small amount of assistance.

We are the people you can TRUST. hoacny.com

Page 2

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Contact: Barbara McGregor Admissions/Marketing Director 104 N.Washington Street, Herkimer NY 13350 at 315-866-6964 ext. 317

IN GOOD HEALTH – Mohawk Valley’s Healthcare Newspaper • September 2016

Popularity of pot proliferates Daily use nearly doubled between 2002 and 2014, study finds

By Malissa Allen

M

ore states are giving doctors the green light to prescribe marijuana as a means of treatment for patients suffering from severe or chronic pain.

Of course, this results in a strong argument from those who still consider marijuana harmful.

Those who use it for relief from chronic pain swear by the end results. Marijuana might be prescribed for those with cancer, nerve damage, migraines and glaucoma.

However, pain is not the sole reason physicians are considering prescribing the drug. Other medical diagnoses that could account for a rise of the marijuana treatment plan include sclerosis, muscle spasms, an alternative to chemotherapy, combating weight loss due to symptoms of the AIDS virus, seizures, autism, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder or persistent nausea.

If a person is fortunate enough to live in a state that allows treatment using the plant such as in New York, the patient will be given a card that allows him or her to be on the “legal” list that allows one to buy marijuana from an authorized merchant known as a dispensary.

No fear of prosecution

The United States Congress identified marijuana as a controlled schedule 1 substance in 1970. It was banned on the grounds that it played no positive role in medicine.

Then on Oct. 19, 2009, the U.S. Justice Department ruled that those who use medical marijuana and who are licensed to dispense the plant could not be prosecuted as long as they comply with a state’s individual laws.

As of today, cannabis remains illegal throughout the U.S. and is not approved for prescription as medicine, although 25 states as well as the District of Columbia approve and regulate its medical use.

However, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has still not given its final approval.

The pros

A majority of U.S. citizens approve legalizing the use of marijuana as a medical treatment plan.

Its reported benefits include: • Relief of symptoms such as

Oneida, Herkimer in good

The cons

For every apparent benefit for legalizing marijuana, there are opponents waiting to be heard. For example, naysayers believe not enough evidence has been provided for the relief of pain.

• Frequent marijuana use could have a lasting effect on the user’s short- and long-term memory or impair or damage one’s cognitive abilities.

• Inhaling smoke from marijuana will cause damage to the user’s lungs or cause cancer.

• Marijuana causes addiction and drug abuse.

• Marijuana has caused a high number of automobile accidents and workplace accidents that have led to serious injury and even death.

anxiety and stress, and improves cognitive skills, social skills and speech.

Autism can often be a huge source of self-doubt and stress not only in the child, but the parents of children on the autism spectrum.

With the staggering statistics of 1 in every 68 children now on the spectrum, the medical industry seems to have dropped the ball on these children and adults. With no known cure for autism, parents are desperate for anything that could turn their child’s life around and some believe medical marijuana could provide welcome treatment to improve an autistic child’s life.

Daily use jumps significantly

As perceptions of marijuana change, more American adults are using pot, and they’re using it more often, a new study finds.

In 2014, 13 percent of adults surveyed said they’d used marijuana in the previous year, up from roughly 10 percent in 2002.

Nearly daily use — five days or more a week — rose from less than 2 percent to almost 4 percent of adults

Community Information Seminar:

Bariatric Surgery

Treating autism

October 12 • 6 p.m.

Medical marijuana is used to assist those suffering with autism with symptoms such as sensory issues, meltdowns, seizures, malnutrition,

and

Health MV’s Healthcare Newspaper

vomiting and constant nausea in cancer patients • Marijuana improves restless leg syndrome and spasticity.

• Marijuana has helped those who suffer joint and back pain.

• Marijuana provides relief in individuals who have paralysis or multiple sclerosis.

• Marijuana counters loss of appetite due to eating disorders, cancers and AIDS/HIV. • Smoking the plant without adding tobacco has not been proven to cause lung disease or cancer.

Madison

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by Local News, Inc. 20,000 copies distributed. To request home delivery ($15 per year), call 315-749-7070.

during the same time period.

“This increase has corresponded with the legal and social acceptance of marijuana, and so it is not such a surprise,” said lead study author, Wilson Compton, deputy director of the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse.

However, noting that marijuana’s potency has increased, Compton’s team said education about the harmful effects of pot is essential.

“We need to think about how to do appropriate prevention messaging to make sure people aren’t putting themselves at risk for becoming dependent and other problems associated with the drug,” he said.

These effects could include “difficulty with their work performance and with their ability to think clearly and function,” Compton said.

In the report — published Aug. 31 in The Lancet Psychiatry — researchers surveyed nearly 600,000 adults from 2002-2014.

Presented by

January Hill, MD Utica Business Park 125 Business Park Drive, Suite 150, Utica, NY The offices of William A. Graber, MD, PC

To register call 315-235-2540 or toll free 877-269-0355

In Good Health is published 12 times a year by Local News, Inc. © 2016 by Local News, Inc. All rights reserved. Mailing Address: 4 Riverside Drive, Suite 251, Utica, NY 13502 • Phone: 315-749-7070 Email: lou@cnymail.com

Editor & Publisher: Wagner Dotto Associate Editor: Lou Sorendo Contributing Writers: Patricia Malin, Barbara Pierce, Kristen Raab, Deb Dittner Advertising: Donna Kimbrell Layout & Design: Eric J. Stevens Office Manager: Michelle Kingsley No material may be reproduced in whole or in part from this publication without the express written permission of the publisher. The information in this publication is intended to complement — not to take the place of — the recommendations of your health provider.

October 2016 •

IN GOOD HEALTH – Mohawk Valley’s Healthcare Newspaper

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Page 3

Meet

Your Doctor

By Chris Motola

Ryan N. Dockery

Oneida Healthcare radiologist explains why 3-D mammography is becoming the standard in breast cancer diagnostics

After-Hours Work Email No Friend of the Family

E

xpecting employees to be “on” all the time — monitoring and answering work-related email, even after work hours — adds to their emotional exhaustion and upsets work-family balance, a new study found.

Even when workers don’t spend time on email, being pinged during non-work hours is stressful, the researchers discovered. It’s the anticipation that’s draining.

“They still feel less ability to detach from work, more emotional exhaustion and low perceptions of work-family balance,” said study author Liuba Belkin. She’s an associate professor of management at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa. Unwinding from work is especially hard for people who prefer to keep job and family life separate, the study revealed.

Ironically, Belkin insists that she’s not one of those people.

“I love what I’m doing, so for me the expectation [to act on work-related email after hours] doesn’t really bother me as much,” she said.

Still, experts say everyone needs time off, untethered from their inbox, to replenish their physical and mental resources.

Belkin and study co-authors, William Becker of Virginia Tech and Samantha Conroy of Colorado State University, believe their study may be one of the first to identify email expectations as a job stressor.

Constant electronic connectivity has changed the workplace for better and for worse, the researchers said. Yes, it aids job flexibility.

But studies show it also poses a threat to employees’ health and well-being because they can’t physically or emotionally unplug from the job. And it can throw work-family balance out of kilter by blurring boundaries between business time and personal time.

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Q: Give us an overview of your practice and the types of patients you see.

A: I work at Oneida Healthcare and see patients from around Madison and Oneida region. I'm part of a radiology group. We basically run the radiology department at Oneida.

I'm officially trained as an interventional radiologist, but I perform pretty much all aspects of radiology.

So that's the imaging side, as well as procedures. I might have to put in a drainage catheter, or [do] a biopsy if I find an area of concern.

Q: Breast cancer screening is probably the type of screening most wellknown to the public, but apparently those screenings had been missing a pretty substantial percentage of cancers. What does 3-D imaging allow you to see that 2-D doesn't other than, of course, the third dimension?

A: Your traditional mammography is done by taking two pictures of the breasts, so you get two different views and you're looking for cancer within those two views. The breast tissue is super-imposed on itself, so it can be a bit of an issue when you're dealing with a patient with very dense breast tissue. If it happens to overlap on both images, it can hide cancer.

you've been able to move through the breast tissue at different angles.

It's not a subtle difference, in my opinion. It's enormous.

Q: Is a patient likely to have an idea whether or not she has dense breast tissue?

A: We usually calculate it based on imaging, so there's not really a way to do it through a physical exam. If the patient has had imaging before, she might know. Even if you don't have dense breast tissue, 3-D imaging can be helpful. It still makes it easier to see cancer. A lot of hospitals are moving toward using it for all patients, not just patients with dense breast tissue.

Q: So it's not quite the standard of care yet?

A: It's moving toward that.

Q: How does 3-D imaging address the problem?

A: 3-D imaging will take multiple images and process them through a computer, allowing me to scroll through the breast much like a CTU scanner, so I can see around corners and behind things. So I'll be able to see breast cancer that's hiding behind dense breast tissue. You can't do that with a 2-D image. It gives me a lot more ability to see what I need to see and distinguish normal breast tissue from abnormal breast tissue.

Q: Roughly how much more effective would you say it is?

A: I think it absolutely makes evaluating and diagnosing breast cancer easier.

This is especially true for dense breasts. When I have a case that's only 2-D, it's harder to have faith in what you're looking at.

You feel more comfortable giving a report when

IN GOOD HEALTH – Mohawk Valley’s Healthcare Newspaper • October 2016

Not every place has the equipment.

It's relatively new. A lot of it has to do with the computers being a lot better. It's like how CT came out and got progressively better. It can take awhile to figure out the best approach and have computers that can process it well. They also had to figure out a way to do it with low radiation and still get good images. So there have been a lot of technological advances recently that have helped get it to this point. But this is a fairly recent development.

Q: Does it have any applications for treatment as well?

A: It's mainly a diagnostic tool.

You can use it for screening. By that I mean you could skip the 2-D mammogram and just get a 3-D mammogram. In the past, you'd get a 2-D mammogram and, if there was anything questionable about it, you'd get called back for additional testing.

So this decreases the amount of callbacks you have to and decreases the need to do as many biopsies, since it's easier to tell when something you find has benign features. It also reduces patient anxiety since we don't have to leave them hanging on the idea that we've found something, but aren't sure what it is. sis?

Q: Is there a risk of over-diagno-

A: Over-diagnosis is actually a problem with 2-D mammography.

You might see a density on the image, but not know what it is, so then you might call for a biopsy. With 3-D imaging, you have a better chance of seeing what it actually is and skipping an unnecessary biopsy. So it actually decreases over-diagnosis.

Lifelines Name: Ryan N. Dockery, M.D. Position: Head of radiology at Oneida Healthcare Hometown: Memphis, Tenn.

Education: Columbia University Medical School College of Physician and Surgeons (MD); Mt. Sinai-St. Luke’s-Roosevelt, fellowship in interventional radiology; Tulane University, residency; Malmonides Medical Center, preliminary training, internal medicine; Affiliations: Oneida Healthcare; Lewis County General; Warsaw County Community Health; Canton-Potsdam, Massena Memorial Organizations: American College of Radiology Family: Single Hobbies: Photography, design

Cancer The Balanced Body

By Deb Dittner

Combating Cancer

Essential foods can lessen chances of developing deadly disease

M

odern medicine has developed and promotes conventional cancer treatments, but at whose expense?

Allopathic medicine has suggested targeting and destroying cancer cells through chemotherapy and radiation therapy, including surgical intervention. This creates mayhem on the entire body, causing the destruction of healthy cells, altering the immune system, and sabotaging the body’s total purpose in daily living.

In cancer, imbalance has taken over.

Lifestyle plans of action in the prevention of such Dittner imbalance need to be implemented first and foremost. Such strategies will separate the cancer cells over targeting all the cells in the body.

All the while, the world reportedly contains a multitude of healing foods that fight cancer without causing any harm to the body.

Cancer-healing foods such as turmeric, ginger, and olive oil to name a few is just the beginning. More than likely you have in your kitchen more anti-cancer foods.

The body reportedly needs to be in an alkaline state to keep cancer away. Most Americans though eat a highly acidic diet full of processed, sugar-laden, Franken-foods.

“Don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food,” says best-selling author Michael Pollan. Oh, so true!

above 7 as being alkaline.

Lifestyle choices consisting of alkaline foods, over time, may help to lower the risks for cancer and other chronic diseases. The majority of Americans eats a diet that is extremely acidic and needs to make a significant effort to create such balance.

Acidity the culprit

Consider adding lemons into your daily diet as lemons have a multitude of cancer-fighting ingredients such as Vitamin C and antioxidant phytochemicals called limonoides.

Studies have indicated that lemon extracts immediately kill cancer cells and suppress the scattering of cancerous tumors. This simple fruit fights cancer just as chemotherapy and radiation but without any of the horrible and toxic side effects.

A body in a perfectly alkalized state will not allow cancer to grow. The body functions in an optimal manner when fed an alkaline diet.

In looking to maintain an ideal pH level in the body, we refer to the pH scale from 0-14 with anything

Caffeine and alcohol are very acidic to the body and a part of most everyone’s diet. Now throw in stress to the mix and you have an overwhelming amount of acidity. Eliminating caffeine and alcohol will indeed help, but stress in today’s society has run rampant, making it nearly impossible to avoid.

Balancing lifestyle strategies through yoga, exercise, meditation, breathing techniques, and so much more will improve the stress factor to help create the alkaline environment.

Baking soda is another alkaline ingredient included in most kitchens.

Baking soda bestows healing benefits, reducing and balancing the acidity on your body. Baking soda was commonly used in great-grandmother’s day when an upset stomach occurred as it balanced the acidity in the gut.

Let’s put lemon and baking soda together. These two items will detoxify the body, creating balance and moving toward greater alkalinity. A simple elixir of one-cup pure, filtered water with the juice of one half freshly squeezed lemon, and one-half teaspoon baking soda daily

is an excellent way to start the day and decrease the fear of cancer-related illness.

Turmeric also plays a great role in cancer prevention.

Turmeric has antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antitumor characteristics and is considered an alternative approach in preventing cancer. Turmeric can be added to basically anything. On fruit, it provides a different kind of sweet.

On quinoa or rice, it can provide a touch of heat. Another elixir of one cup pure, filtered water with the juice of one half of a freshly squeezed lemon plus ¼ - ½ tsp. turmeric, ½ tsp. raw honey, and ¼ tsp. cinnamon powder can be a healthy addition to your day, creating a more alkaline body.

My book, “Body Balance Empowering Performance,” has many references to the importance of an alkaline diet, listings of alkaline and anti-inflammatory foods, stress reduction, and more.

It can be purchased through Northshire Bookstore in Saratoga Springs and Manchester, Vt., or on Amazon.

The information provided is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. The information is not intended to replace a one-onone relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice.

• Deborah Dittner is a nurse practitioner and health consultant for amateur and professional athletes. If you’re an amateur or professional athlete looking to increase your energy, boost your performance and shorten recovery time, check out www.debdittner.com to learn how.

Cancer on Course to Become No. 1 Killer of Americans

C

ancer is on track to become the leading cause of death in the United States, closing in on heart disease as America’s No. 1 killer, a new government study shows.

Heart disease has consistently been the leading cause of death for decades, and remained so in 2014, according to a report from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But the gap between heart disease and the second-leading cause of death, cancer, has been narrowing since 1968, the researchers said.

Cancer actually surpassed heart disease as the leading cause of death for 22 states in 2014, the study found.

Back in 2000, Alaska and Minnesota were the only two states where cancer killed more people than heart disease.

In addition, cancer is now the leading cause of death for a number of minority groups, including Hispanics, Asians and Pacific Islanders, the report showed.

“It’s been edging this way for a while,” said co-author Robert Anderson, chief of the mortality statistics branch at the NCHS. “We’ve taken for granted that heart disease is the

leading cause of death, but now because of prevention efforts and advances in treatment, we’re making substantial progress with heart disease, to the point where now it’s roughly on par with cancer.”

Annual heart disease deaths have decreased nationwide from a peak of just over 771,000 in 1985 to nearly 597,000 in 2011. In the meantime, cancer deaths have nearly tripled from just under 211,000 in 1950 to almost 577,000 in 2011, the report stated.

Physician Mariell Jessup is a spokeswoman for the American Heart Association. She pointed out that new medicines have made it eas-

October 2016 •

ier for people to control their blood pressure and cholesterol, treatment advances like angioplasty and heart bypass surgery saves the lives of many heart patients, and more people have quit smoking and started eating healthier diets.

“One could argue that we’re doing a better job of keeping people with heart disease alive,” said Jessup, who is a professor at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. “It’s not that people aren’t experiencing heart disease, but they’re not dying from it.”

The report was published online in the CDC’s NCHS Data Brief.

IN GOOD HEALTH – Mohawk Valley’s Healthcare Newspaper

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Page 5

Cancer What’s the deal with HPV?

Why parents, adults should care

By Barbara Pierce

N

early all kids are at risk of getting a type of cancer that could be prevented if they get vaccinated against it.

If you could stop your kid from getting cancer, surely you would rush right out to do that, right?

Some states even have a law that all kids must be vaccinated against human papillomavirus. New York state isn’t one, though its legislators have tried to get a law passed.

Less than half of parents are getting their kids this vaccination that could prevent cancer.

And that’s a big deal.

“Definitely get your 11- and 12-year-olds vaccinated against HPV,” urged nurses at Planned Parenthoods in Utica and Rome.

The HPV vaccine is important because it protects against cancers caused by the HPV. It is sexually transmitted, passed on through genital contact. It is also passed on by skin-to-skin contact.

HPV infections are very common, so common that most sexually active men and women get them at some point in their lives, says the Planned Parenthood website. But most people who get it don’t know it because most HPV infections have no harmful effect at all. Many go away on their own, without causing any health problems.

There are many types of HPV. Some types may cause genital warts.

Some types of HPV may cause

cell changes that can lead to cervical cancer or other genital and throat cancers.

And that’s why we should vaccinate our kids.

“The HPV vaccine is recommended for boys and girls, 11-12 years old,” says the New York State Department of Health website. “The preteen years are the best time to vaccinate because the vaccine is most effective if it’s given long before first sexual contact and first exposure to the virus.”

“HPV vaccine also produces a more robust immune response during the preteen years. Finally, older teens are less likely to get heath check-ups than preteens.

If your teen hasn’t gotten the vaccine yet, talk to their doctor about getting it as soon as possible,” recommends the DOH. “Anyone who is sexually active, up to the age of 26, should get vaccinated,” confirmed the nurse at Planned Parenthood in Rome.

The vaccine is given in three shots over six months. If your child has had some of the shots but not all, complete the series so they will have full protection, recommends the DOH. Some parents are concerned about the safety of the vaccine. “The HPV vaccine has been administered since 2006 in the U.S., even longer in other countries. Studies have shown that it is very safe. More than 57 million people have been given the vaccine and there have been no

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serious safety concerns,” according to the Centers for Disease Control.

All private insurance plans regulated by New York state are required to cover the cost of all recommended vaccines, including HPV, for children.

A federal program called the Vaccines for Children Program can help pay for your child’s vaccines if you don’t have insurance.

Planned Parenthood provides the vaccine for persons over 18.

For adults

Ninety percent: That’s the percentage of us who have probably been infected with the HPV virus at sometime during our life.

Anyone who has ever had genital contact with another person may have HPV. Both men and women may get it — and pass it on — without knowing it. Since there might not be any signs, a person may have HPV, even if it has been years since he or she had sex.

“At least 70 percent of people who have had three or more lifetime sex partners have been infected. It likely rises to 90 percent in people who have more partners than that,” says Hunter Handsfield online.

Handsfield was director of the STD Control Program in Washington.

You are more likely to get HPV if you had sex at an early age, had many sex partners, or a sex partner who has had many partners.

“HPV happens to most of us,” he said. “But most HPV infections

remain asymptomatic. Of those who get infected, only a small proportion goes on to develop HPV disease, warts or an abnormal pap smear.

Most HPV infections appear to be temporary and are cleared up by the body’s immune system.

Why be concerned? It’s because some kinds of HPV can cause cancer of the cervix, vagina, vulva, anus or throat.

“All women are at risk for cervical cancer,” said Phyllis Ellis, director of the Oneida County Health Department, in a press release online. “Cervical cancer is almost always caused by persistent HPV infection.”

“It’s important for women to know their risk for cervical cancer and talk with their health care provider about how it can be prevented,” the release said. “It is especially important for women who have not had a Pap test within the past five years to get screened. Six out of 10 cervical cancers occur in women who have never received a Pap test or have not had one in the past five years.”

Planned Parenthood provides Pap and HPV tests.

Also, for uninsured women aged 50 and older, the New York State Cancer Services Program has free cervical cancer screening. To get screened, contact the Oneida County Health Department at 315-266-6121.

Planned Parenthood in Utica can be reached at 315-724-6146 and in Rome at 315-337-8584.

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Prostate Exam

Urologists: Digital rectal exam deemed ‘clinical relic’

T

he dreaded finger exam to check for prostate cancer used to be a mainstay of check-ups for older men. With its value now in question, some doctors share the risks and benefits with their patients and let them decide. So, should they or shouldn’t they?

“The evidence suggests that in most cases, it is time to abandon the digital rectal exam (DRE),” said Ryan Terlecki, a Wake Forest Baptist urologist who recently published an article on the topic in Current Medical Research and Opinion.

“Our findings will likely be welcomed by patients and doctors alike.”

Terlecki said the DRE, referred to by some urologists as a “clinical relic,” subjects a large number of men to invasive, potentially uncomfortable examinations for relatively minimal gain. In addition, it may deter some men from undergoing any test for prostate cancer.

The issue Terlecki’s team explored was whether the DRE is needed when another more accurate test that measures prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in the blood is available.

PSA is a protein that is often elevated in men with prostate cancer.

“Many practitioners continue to perform DRE in attempts to identify men with aggressive prostate cancer who could die from the disease,” said Terlecki. “In the era of PSA testing, we wanted to explore whether it’s time to abandon the digital exam.”

To reach their conclusion, Terlecki’s research team reviewed both medical literature and the results of a nationwide screening trial in which 38,340 men received annual DRE exams and PSA tests for three years.

They were then followed for up to 13 years.

Of interest to Terlecki’s team were the 5,064 men who had a normal PSA test but an “abnormal” DRE. Only 2 percent of these men had what is known as clinically relevant prostate cancer, which means it may need to be monitored or treated.

“The DRE does capture an additional small population of men with significant prostate cancer, but it also unnecessarily subjects a large number of men to the test,” he said.

Until 2012, men over 50 (age 40 for African-Americans) were urged to have both DRE and PSA tests annually. That was before the United States Preventive Services Task Forces recommended against routine PSA testing because it could lead to over-treatment of slow-growing, non-harmful tumors. The panel did not address DRE, which was the primary method of detecting prostate cancer prior to the blood test.

As a result of the task force’s recommendation, there has been confusion and controversy about whether men should be screened for prostate cancer. Some organizations recommend against any screening and others recommend PSA screening, but only if men are counseled about the potential benefits and risks.

In previous studies, PSA had been shown to outperform DRE in detecting significant disease. The current analysis confirmed that PSA is superior to DRE as an independent screen for prostate cancer. PSA testing detected 680 cases of significant cancer, compared to 317 cases for DRE. “When PSA testing is used, the DRE rarely assists in diagnosing significant disease,” said Terlecki. “In cases where PSA testing is used, the DRE should be abandoned in common clinical practice.”

October 2016 •

IN GOOD HEALTH – Mohawk Valley’s Healthcare Newspaper

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Page 7

Mental Health Secret to Relationship Success The best — and easiest — relationship advice you’ll ever hear

a lasting feeling of fullness.

Hein can be reached at 315-717-2202 for more information.

By Barbara Pierce

A

n easy way to keep your relationship purring along happily: “Avoid difficult conversations with your significant other when you’re hungry,” advises Crystal Hein, registered dietitian and owner of Crystal Clear Nutrition, Herkimer.

“Wait to have the conversation until after you’ve both eaten a meal or balanced snack,” she recommends.

Hunger — not anger — causes many couples to have arguments, say many experts who agree with Hein.

When they are hungry, couples are less able to tolerate each other, especially at the end of a long day.

“My husband is even-tempered Hein and a great partner — until his blood sugar gets low,” says a writer to Dear Abby. “Then he turns from Dr. Jekyll into Mr. Hyde.

My easy-going husband turns hypercritical every evening before dinner.”

When we’re hungry, we’re more likely to lose our temper. And when we’re hungry, we lose the ability to exercise self-control.

Hein explains that it’s all about glucose. The main energy for our

Snooze you win

brain comes from glucose, which comes from food.

“When we eat, carbohydrates are digested and broken down into glucose. Glucose enters the bloodstream to be delivered to all parts of our body to be used as energy,”

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she said. “After you eat, your blood glucose levels rise. Then they begin to gradually decline.”

Even though the brain is only 2 percent of our body weight, it consumes about 20 percent of our calories. It is a very demanding organ when it comes to energy.

If our blood glucose falls too low, our brain does not have the fuel it needs and we may become irritable. Self-control takes energy. If we don’t have enough energy, we lose self-control. We lash out at whoever is nearby.

Recent research at Ohio State University found the lower the blood sugar levels of the subjects fell, the more frustrated and aggressive they became. Even couples that reported they had a good relationship were more likely to express anger if they were hungry. “Low blood sugar can make spouses’ spats worse,” concluded the researchers.

“Don’t have an argument on an empty stomach,” they recommended. “Eat a sugary snack first — cake, sweets, chocolate — anything to raise your sugar levels.”

However, Hein disagrees with that advice to eat something sugary.

“Eating candy or drinking a sugary beverage before your discussion may not be the best plan. These foods contain simple carbohydrates and will get digested and absorbed quickly. So the resultant increased glucose level will be short lived,” she warned.

“Instead, try a balanced snack, something that contains a complex carbohydrate, such as high-fiber food, with some protein. Examples are whole-grain crackers with peanut butter, low-fat yogurt topped with fruit or granola with yogurt. These snacks with protein and fiber will take longer to digest and will provide

IN GOOD HEALTH – Mohawk Valley’s Healthcare Newspaper • October 2016

Another way to keep your relationship happy is to get sufficient sleep.

Husbands and wives who get a good night’s sleep are more satisfied with their marriage, researchers found.

The study looked at the importance of sleep on self-regulation — the ability to move focus away from undesirable experiences. It can influence how satisfied couples are with their partner.

Self-regulation requires energy, which can be replenished when our bodies sleep.

Even partial sleep deprivation can have a negative effect on processes that require self-regulation.

When we’re sleep-deficient, we may have problems getting along with others. We may feel angry and impul-

sive.

Residents in an 11-county region that includes Oneida, Herkimer and Otsego counties get an average of 6.6 hours of sleep a night, according to a report by Excellus BlueCross/ BlueShield.

That’s not enough for most people, say experts. Most of us need between seven to eight hours a night.

Tips to improve your sleep

— Stick to a sleep schedule. Go to bed and get up at the same time each day.

— Exercise is great, but not too late in the day. Lay off any exercise two to three hours before bedtime.

Wind down in the few hours before bed.

— Avoid caffeine and nicotine after noon. Coffee, coke, some teas, even chocolate and some pain relievers, contain caffeine. The effects of caffeine can take as long as eight hours to wear off.

— Your sleeping environment affects your sleep. Clear your bedroom of any potential distractions, such as noises, bright lights, TV, cell phone, or computer.

— Having a comfortable mattress and pillow helps.

— You’ll sleep better if the temperature is cool.

— Feng shui expert Betty Ann Petkovsek of Silver Mist Connections in Little Falls suggests that your bedroom feng shui can be interrupting your sleep.

Feng shui is a Chinese philosophical system of harmonizing everyone with the surrounding environment.

• Editor’s note: See more on this an ancient tradition of living in harmony with your surroundings in related story, Page 9.

Feng Shui

Mental Health

Attaining good physical, mental health through art of arranging space

By Barbara Pierce

Y

our life isn’t going the way you want it to go?

Perhaps your relationships aren’t going well, or your job? Maybe you can’t sleep through the night or you feel depressed or anxious?

Could feng shui be the answer?

Feng shui is “looking at your surroundings and noticing how your environment may be influencing you,” said feng shui expert Betty Ann Petkovsek, owner of Silver Mist Connections in Little Falls. “It’s an ancient Chinese tradition.”

“For example, you walk into a store, or a room, and it feels heavy and uncomfortable,” she continued. “That means Petkovsek there’s negative energy there. You walk into another store, or another room, and it feels comfortable. You feel at ease, as you are sensing the positive energy.”

So just how much stock should we put into feng shui?

If you think arranging your rooms according to this age-old Chinese system is too out there for you, think again. There are plenty of elements in this practice that are completely down-to-earth and don’t cost a cent, as well as many benefits.

Why should we care about this concept of energy and how to guide it so it flows freely through our home?

“It definitely does affect how you

feel overall,” said Petkovsek. “For example, how well are you sleeping?

If you’re not sleeping well, it could be as simple as re-arranging your bed to face the door.”

Feng shui is a complex body of knowledge about how to balance the energies of any given space to assure health and good fortune for people inhabiting it. Feng means wind and shui means water, explained Petkovsek. In Chinese culture, wind and water are associated with good health, thus good feng shui came to mean good fortune, while bad feng shui means bad luck, or misfortune.

Applying feng shui to your environment can improve your relationships, increase your prosperity, enhance your career growth, your creativity, and your overall wellbeing, said Petkovsek. The principle is to increase the positive energy with a smooth gentle flow.

Time to de-clutter

“The No. 1 tip to have good feng shui in your home: de-clutter!” emphasized Petkovsek. “Simplify.

Clutter causes chaos in our life.”

“Your health can even be affected,” she said. “If I were having difficulties in any area of my life — relationships, career, financial — I would clean out the clutter.”

“Putting your house in order affects all other aspects of your life — Your life will change. Your whole world will brighten,” claims Marie Kondo in her bestseller: “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.” Clutter is bad for your physical and mental health. Having all that “stuff” around spikes your stress hormones, makes you feel overwhelmed and frustrated. It makes it tough for you to focus and makes it difficult for you to get things done.

Professional organizers who are called to cluttered homes and offices say their clients use the same words over and over to describe their reaction to the mess: their energy is drained, they can’t find things, and it’s beginning to interfere with crucial parts of their life.

“Make discarding a special effort,” advises Kondo. “Discard intensely and completely. Don’t do it little by little. Choose what you want to keep, not what you want to discard.

“Keep only those things that speak to your heart; those things that spark joy. Discard everything else.”

Petkovsek emphasizes we should increase positive energy through a smooth gentle flow. De-cluttering is critically important to get this flow of positive energy. Other suggestions: — Many of us live in homes

where we drive into the garage and go in through the back door. While this is convenient, from a feng shui perspective, this may limit good energy and opportunities in your life because the entry door represents how positive energy enters your home and life. What’s the easy fix?

Start using the front door at least once week.

— Let go of any objects in your main door area that are not really needed there, such as recycle bins in full view, piled up mail, boots, chipped pots, etc. Create a fresh pathway for strong vibrant energy to flow into your home and into your life.

— To make your bedroom a serene sanctuary, have an abundance of fresh, clean air, let natural light in, get rid of the clutter, and no computer, cell phone, TV or exercise equipment.

— Your living room should be arranged to invite people in and be conducive to conversation.

It’s important to surround yourself with beauty and items with meaning.

Petkovsek offers six-hour workshops on basic tips of feng shui, as well as providing personal consultations.

For more information, call Petkovsek, at 315-717-3164 or visit silvermistconnections.com.

Road rage runs rampant on America’s thoroughfares

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ext time you're ready to make a rude gesture when another driver cuts you off in traffic, take a deep breath.

America's highways are already more than mean enough, according to a new study from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

Nearly eight of 10 drivers demonstrated significant anger, aggression or road rage in the past

year, the study found. They admitted to tailgating, confronting other motorists and even hitting other cars on purpose.

"Inconsiderate driving, bad traffic and the daily stresses of life can transform minor frustrations into dangerous road rage," Jurek Grabowski, the foundation's director of research, said in a AAA news release.

Anger or road rage provokes a number of risky behaviors. The study found about half of drivers, or roughly 100 million people, have tailgated or yelled at another motorist.

About 45 percent honk their horn when they are mad; 33 percent make rude gestures; 24 percent block another car from changing lanes; 12 percent cut off other cars; and 4 percent have gotten out of their car to

October 2016 •

confront someone.

The researchers also found that 3 percent — nearly 6 million people — have bumped or rammed another car on purpose due to road rage.

Most motorists believe aggressive driving has gotten worse in recent years and threatens their personal safety. Road rage is more common among men between the ages of 19 and 39.

IN GOOD HEALTH – Mohawk Valley’s Healthcare Newspaper

•

Page 9

thankU CROUSE

Ricci was born 15 weeks early.

Today he sports size 12 cleats.

NICU

Intensive caring for newborns and their families. It’s what makes Crouse Health the region’s premier—and highest level—Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Baker Regional NICU Share your little fighter’s story or make a contribution at crouse.org/littlefighters

Healthcare in a Minute

By George W. Chapman

Hillary vs Donald

The Kaiser Foundation conducted a poll last month to determine which candidate people believed would do a better job when it comes to healthcare. There were questions regarding women’s healthcare, the future of Medicare and Medicaid, the ACA, access, affordability, the cost of drugs, opioid abuse, Zika virus and AIDS. Clinton led Trump on basically every issue by double digits except the future of Medicare, which was almost even between the candidates.

Two-thirds of the respondents felt the top health priorities for both candidates should be the future of Medicare, access and affordability. When it comes to the Affordable Care Act, the poll was split 40 percent favorable and 42 percent unfavorable.

Hospital-owned physician practices

About a quarter of medical practices are now owned by hospitals, according to a report by nonprofit advocacy group Avalere Health.

Hospitals acquired 31,000 practices between 2012 and 2015, which is a 50 percent increase in activity over prior years.

More than 140,000 physicians (40 percent of all physicians) were employed as of last year. This trend is greatest in the Midwest where almost 50 percent of physicians are employed. Advocates for private practices believe increasing regulations, costs and payment “reform” favor large systems of care and that smaller, independent practices will go the way of mom and pop stores.

Uninsured

Through the first quarter of this

year, about 27 million people or 8.6 percent of us are without health insurance. This is an historic low, down from 16 percent uninsured in 2010.

Experts contend that the uninsured rate will go down very slowly from here on unless there is universal coverage.

Single payer system?

Public funding (tax dollars) is by far the dominant payer in healthcare.

According to a study by the UCLA Center for Public Policy, public funds now account for 71 percent of the healthcare expenses in California. In addition to Medicare and Medicaid, tax dollars subsidize employer-sponsored insurance, insurance for public employees, and ACA tax credits for the indigent.

(Premiums paid by employers and their workers are tax exempt so the authors of the study argue that these “forgone taxes” could be diverted to a single payer.) Of the total $3 trillion (figure $10,000 per person) in national spending, 65 percent is funded by taxpayers. The authors argue that since we are close to a single payer (government) why not consider one and how much the taxpayer money would save through far less red tape and tremendous purchasing power.

Low-value services

These are medical services and diagnostic tests that, for the cost, have little benefit or use. Research published in JAMA Internal Medicine found that about 8 percent of us have received a low-value service.

Among the most expensive low-value services are: spinal injections for lower back pain and imaging for headaches and lower back pain.

While spending on unnecessary or over-used services has declined overall, it is still relatively high in employer-sponsored plans. Patients in consumer-directed plans were less likely to use low value services.

Largest HIPAA fine

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act protects your health information and privacy.

Chicago-based Advocate Healthcare Network will pay the largest fine, $5.55 million, ever levied against a single entity.

Four desktop computers containing information on almost 4 million people were stolen. The information included health, credit card, demographic and insurance information.

The investigation by OCR (Office for Civil Rights) revealed widespread HIPAA noncompliance at Advocate.

Aetna challenged

A letter to the Aetna CEO, signed by several US senators, challenges Aetna’s reason for withdrawing from the exchanges. Aetna seemed committed to continuing to participate in the exchanges up until the point where the Department of Justice started to push back on Aetna’s proposed merger with Humana.

All of a sudden Aetna started to claim the exchanges were too risky.

The senators accuse Aetna of basically threatening to pull out of the exchanges if their proposed merger with Humana is denied. Through the first half of this year, Aetna grew total revenues by 5 percent to reach $14 billion. Ironically, most of the increase in revenue was attributed to higher premium yields and membership growth — in its government business.

Quality hospitals save money, improve outcomes

Medicare saves money when procedures are performed at higher quality hospitals. Medicare followed the overall costs resulting from five types of major surgery performed on 100,000 members.

Outcome considered 30-day post-surgery mortality rates and patient experiences. The bottom line was Medicare saved an average $2,700 per patient when the surgery was performed at a high quality hospital. Most of the savings were attributed to less post-acute care like rehab and home health care.

Drink more water

Water is now the No. 2 beverage of choice behind soft drinks. Water is critical for maintaining healthy body fluid levels which help with digestion, nutrient absorption, circulation, saliva production and body temperature.

Water lowers calorie intake when substituted for soft drinks. It energizes muscles. We should drink two glasses before exercise as well as during and after. Water keeps your skin looking good. It helps your kidneys function efficiently. Finally, water keeps you “regular.”

George W. Chapman is a health care consultant who works with hospitals and medical groups.

He operates GW Chapman Consulting based in Syracuse.

Email him at gwc@ gwchapmanconsulting.com.

FDA bans e-cigarette sales to minors

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he sale of e-cigarettes to minors has been banned starting Aug. 8, as part of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s long-awaited plan to extend the agency’s regulatory powers across all tobacco products.

The new rules halt the sale of e-cigarettes and any other tobacco product to anyone younger than 18.

The regulations also require photo IDs to buy e-cigarettes, and ban Page 10

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retailers from handing out free samples or selling them in all-ages vending machines.

The rules also cover other alternative forms of tobacco like cigars, hookah tobacco and pipe tobacco.

Electronic cigarettes are battery-operated devices designed to create an aerosol that delivers nicotine, flavor and other chemicals when inhaled by the user. Manufacturers have marketed

the products as a way to help smokers quit cigarettes. But opponents contend that the nicotine-laden e-cigarettes actually encourage people — especially vulnerable teens — to pick up the smoking habit.

“This final rule is a foundational step that enables the FDA to regulate products young people were using at alarming rates, like e-cigarettes, cigars and hookah tobacco, which had gone

IN GOOD HEALTH – Mohawk Valley’s Healthcare Newspaper • October 2016

largely unregulated,” Mitch Zeller, director of the FDA Center for Tobacco Products, said during a media briefing when the oversight was announced in May. The FDA action earned universal praise from medical associations, which have been concerned that e-cigarettes serve as a gateway drug to draw teenagers into a lifetime of smoking addiction.

The Social Ask Security Office

From the Social Security District Office

A

KIDS Corner Cyberbullies more apt to be friends than strangers Competition for status, hurt feelings over breakups provoke wave of aggression via texts, Facebook

C

yberbullying among teens is highly likely to involve current or former friends and dating partners, a new study finds.

Researchers analyzed data from a 2011 survey of nearly 800 students in grades 8 through 12 at a public school in a New York City suburb.

About 17 percent had been involved with cyberbullying in the previous week, the study found.

Nearly 6 percent of those students were victims; about 9 percent were aggressors; and about 2 percent were both. Cyberbullying usually occurred through Facebook or texting, the study authors said.

Girls were twice as likely as boys to be victimized. The risk of cyberbullying was seven times higher among current or former friends and dating partners than among those who had never been friends or dated, according to the study.

“A common concern regarding cyberbullying is that strangers can attack someone, but here we see evidence that there are significant risks associated with close connections,” lead author Diane Felmlee said in an American Sociological Association news release.

Felmlee, a professor of sociology

at Pennsylvania State University, called “the large magnitude of the effects of close relationships on the likelihood of cyberbullying” surprising.

“We believe that competition for status and esteem represents one reason behind peer cyberbullying.

Friends, or former friends, are particularly likely to find themselves in situations in which they are vying for the same school, club, and/or sport positions and social connections,” she explained.

“In terms of dating partners, young people often have resentful and hurt feelings as a result of a breakup, and they may take out these feelings on a former partner via cyber aggression. They might also believe they can win back a previous boyfriend or girlfriend, or prevent that person from breaking up with them or dating someone else, by embarrassing or harassing him or her,” Felmlee suggested.

The report was published in the September issue of the journal Social Psychology Quarterly.

The findings were also presented Saturday during the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association in Seattle.

Providing disability benefits for 60 years

ug. 1 marked the 60th anniversary of the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program, signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956.

Originally, the program was limited to individuals who were 50 years of age or older. It also had a six-month waiting period, and there were no benefits payable to spouses or children. The disability program has undergone many changes to become the program it is today. Now, people who receive Social Security disability benefits can also receive Medicare coverage after 24 months, and their dependents may be eligible to receive benefits on their earnings records.

There are also work incentives in place to help people with disabilities go back to work.

As of June 2016, there are more than 10 million disabled workers and dependents receiving a portion of the more than $11 billion that is sent each month in Social Security

Q&A Q: Do Members of Congress have to pay into Social Security?

A: Yes, they do. Members of Congress, the president and vice president, federal judges and most political appointees, have paid taxes into the Social Security program since January 1984. They pay into the system just like everyone else, no matter how long they have been in office.

Q: I heard there is a Social Security video available in American Sign Language. Where can I find it?

A: Yes, it’s true. The video is called “Social Security, SSI and Medicare: What You Need to Know About These Vital Programs.” The video is available in American Sign Language and it presents important information about our programs. You can watch the video now at www.socialsecurity.gov/multimedia/video/ asl. The video is a part of our larger collection of on-demand videos and webinars available at www.socialsecurity.gov/webinars and at www.

YouTube.com.

Q: I am 57 years old and I currently receive Social Security disability benefits. Can I still get my regular Social Security retirement benefits when I reach full retirement age?

A: If you are still receiving Social Security disability benefits when you reach your full retirement age, we will automatically switch you from

October 2016 •

disability payments. It can happen to anyone: studies show that a 20-yearold worker has a one in four chance of becoming disabled before reaching their full retirement age.

To meet the challenges of providing benefits to so many, the agency has evolved, using technology to operate more efficiently.

Access to online applications for disability benefits, reconsiderations, and hearings have given applicants more service options when applying for benefits. Our health IT initiative allows Social Security to access electronic medical records, including those from the U.S. Department of Defense, which reduces administrative costs, streamlines operations, and speeds up service to veterans.

Social Security is committed to securing today and tomorrow for our millions of disabled workers. For more information about the disability program, please visit ww w.socialsecurity.gov/disabilityssi.

disability benefits to retirement benefits at that point. The money amount will remain the same.

Q: How can I get proof of my benefits to apply for a loan?

A: If you need proof you get Social Security benefits, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and/or Medicare, you can request a benefit verification letter online through your personal “my Social Security” account at www.socialsecurity.gov/ myaccount. This letter is sometimes called a “budget letter,” a “benefits letter,” a “proof of income letter,” or a “proof of award letter.” You even can select the information you want included in your online benefit verification letter.

Q: I served in the military, and I’ll receive a military pension when I retire. Will that affect my Social Security benefits?

A: You can get both Social Security retirement benefits and military retirement at the same time. Generally, we don’t reduce your Social Security benefits because of your military benefits. When you’re ready to apply for Social Security retirement benefits, go to www.socialsecurity.gov/ applyonline. This is the fastest and easiest way to apply. For your convenience, you can always save your progress during your application and complete it later.

IN GOOD HEALTH – Mohawk Valley’s Healthcare Newspaper

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Page 11

NOT TAKING YOUR PRESCRIPTIONS AS DIRECTED?

YOU’RE TAKING

A CHANCE.

If you have a chronic condition like high blood pressure, diabetes or high cholesterol, taking your prescriptions as directed is essential to healthy living. So remember:

If you’re not taking your prescriptions as directed, you’re taking a chance.

To learn more, visit ExcellusBCBS.com/TakeAsDirected. #TakeAsDirected

SmartBites The skinny on healthy eating

Whole Grain Bulgur Bursts with Goodness

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rue confession: For much of my life, I never gave a hoot about whole grains. Happily raised on white bread, white rice, white crackers, and white Twinkies, I ambled along this unhealthy path for decades until I had a wake-up call: children.

Yes, it took motherhood to open my eyes to the importance of eating whole versus refined grains.

Why are whole grains important — so important that the USDA recommends that all Americans make half or more of their grains whole grains? In a word, whole grains, which have not been stripped of their

Page 12

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nutrient-dense-antioxidant-rich bran and germ, are much more nutritious than their refined cousins.

Multiple studies, in fact, have shown that eating whole grains instead of refined grains lowers the risk of many chronic diseases, such as heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, some cancers and obesity. Some studies have even demonstrated that eating whole grains over refined grains contributes to weight loss.

Bulgur — wheat that’s been parboiled, dried and cracked into nibbly bits — is one of my favorite whole grains. I’m fond of this particular grain, a Middle Eastern staple, because it’s a knockout source of some vital nutrients and it’s super easy to prepare. One cooked cup contains 8 grams of fiber, over half of our daily needs for manganese, about 6 grams of protein and a bounty of other vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients and essential fatty acids.

On the fiber front, bulgur contains mostly insoluble fiber — the rough stuff that keeps us regular and can also improve bowel-related health problems, like constipation and hemorrhoids. Much

like soluble fiber, which bulgur also has, insoluble fiber can play a role in controlling weight by staving off hunger pangs.

Bulgur’s protein is complete, with all nine essential amino acids, which means you don’t need to combine bulgur with another protein source to reap this nutrient’s benefits.

Protein is a powerhouse building block for muscles, cartilage, skin and blood, and also plays a critical role in immune-system health.

This versatile whole grain is also a super source of manganese, a trace mineral that plays an important role in many body processes, from collagen production to calcium absorption to blood-sugar regulation.

A final reason to make bulgur your body’s BFF? It’s low in fat, sodium, cholesterol and calories (only 150 per cooked cup).

Helpful tips

Store uncooked bulgur in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.

It will keep at room temperature or in the refrigerator for five to six months. Frozen, it keeps indefinitely.

Cooked bulgur lasts between three to five days in the refrigerator. If buying bulgur from the bulk section, make sure the bins are covered and there is no evidence of moisture present.

Bulgur Chili with Black Beans Adapted from Mark Bittman; four to six servings 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil ½ onion, chopped 2 bell peppers, any color, chopped 1 jalapeno pepper, diced (optional)

IN GOOD HEALTH – Mohawk Valley’s Healthcare Newspaper • October 2016

2 to 3 garlic cloves, minced 2 tablespoons tomato paste 1 (14.5 ounce) can petite diced tomatoes (don’t drain) 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed 3 cups broth or water (more if needed) 1 tablespoon chili powder ½ teaspoon cumin salt and pepper to taste 3/4 cup bulgur Optional toppings: sliced scallion, chopped cilantro, grated cheese Heat oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, peppers and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft, about five minutes. Stir in the tomato paste until it is evenly distributed and then add the tomatoes, beans, broth, chili powder, cumin, and a good sprinkling of salt and pepper.

Bring to a boil and then turn down the heat so the mixture simmers; cook, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes. Stir in the bulgur and cook for 10 minutes more, then turn off the heat and let it sit for about 15 minutes. If mixture seems too thick, add some water and reheat for a few minutes. Garnish with topping of choice.

Anne Palumbo is a lifestyle columnist, food guru, and seasoned cook, who has perfected the art of preparing nutritious, calorie-conscious dishes. She is hungry for your questions and comments about SmartBites, so be in touch with Anne at avpalumbo@aol.com.

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By Barbara Pierce

The Naked Truth

What guys do and don’t care about in bed

By Barbara Pierce

“

We’re having sex. We could get stabbed and not notice for hours.

We’re not going to notice your hairy legs,” says Frank Kobala on Cosmopolitan.com.

I like what he says. I think he’s right. We women worry too much about all the little details like stubble on our legs, we’re too fat, we don’t have our lipstick on, our hair isn’t right. But he really doesn’t care. Not the least little bit.

“None of that matters,” says Clint Carter on WomenshealthPierce mag.com. “We have a hot woman in our arms and our brain is stewing in a bath of feel-good hormones. Few moments in life can compare.”

So I did some research, to see if other guys agreed — mostly online research. Though, being a seasoned woman, I can speak from personal experience.

Here’s what I learned, quoting from several men who shared their thoughts online: “We need a lot of different factors to come together to have a truly perfect sexual experience.

Most of the time these things have very little to do with how you look or how your body feels,” said Jason Motto on Thoughtcatalogue.com, an apparently bright and quite smooth guy. “It’s more about the setting and who you are.”

“If you want to have sex with us, 99.9 percent of the time we want to have sex with you, too,” he continued.

Yes, I’ve found that guys get really turned on by a woman who is turned on to them; maybe that’s even one of the biggest turn-ons.

“Penis worship in any form — whether verbal or physical — is like Viagra to us,” he says. “We want you to worship our penis. Primor-

dially, our penises are our manhood and if you can’t even pretend you’re excited by it, then we aren’t going to be that much into the sex.”

To orgasm or not to orgasm …

“We do care if you orgasm because we’re insecure babies. It’s safe to say most guys care about making a woman orgasm because we earnestly feel like a man if we can get you to climax. Your pleasure is more about our ego than, well, your pleasure.

It’s a power trip.” I do like this guy Motta!

“I care about whether or not you orgasm because that’s when I know I can finally — triumphantly — go to sleep!” says an honest Peter Martin.

And regarding the size of your boobs: “I guarantee you’re more worried about small boobs that I am.

Think of it this way: You find a starving man on the street, and all you have is a carrot. You think he’s going to hold out for steak?” says Peter Martin. What a great sense of humor.

About hairy legs and stubble: They all agree it’s no big deal. “Skipping out on shaving for a few days isn’t going to be a deal-breaker. We don’t notice it as overtly as you think we do. We definitely don’t notice it as overtly as you do,” says Kobala.

“But if the hedges are completely

blocking the view of the house, I ask for a gentle warning,” adds Martin.

Reaching for the lube is a good thing by men. Some women think this is a shortcoming. But lube makes sex better and most guys realize this.

And he likes when you use it on him as a bit of foreplay.

The sounds your body make during intercourse is another thing guys don’t care about. Weird sex

noises are totally normal and the only way they’re horrible is when you stop to say something about it, like: “Oh, man. That was gross.”

“No, it wasn’t,” says Kobala.

“What’s gross is having sex one moment and then not having sex the next just because apparently you never shoved your hand in a tube of Gak growing up. This is what happens when you shove something into something tight and wet. Air escapes violently.”

“If something doesn’t feel right, or you need us to speed up or slow down, say something,” adds Kobala.

“No guy is going to complain about a little constructive criticism. Just don’t bark orders. There’s a difference between moaning, ‘Slower, slower’ and saying, ‘To the left, you idiot.’

As women, we really do have all the power. So quit worrying. Relax and use it.

• Barbara Pierce is a retired licensed clinical social worker with many years’ experience in helping people. If you would like to purchase a copy of her book “If I’m so Fantastic, Why am I Still Single?” or if you have any concerns you would like her to address, contact her at BarbaraPierce06@yahoo.com.

SDMG doc to address heart health

V

ikram Bisen will present “Heart Health: What You Need to Know,” a public education program, at 6 p.m. Oct. 12 at Slocum-Dickson Medical Group’s New Hartford location in education room B. The event is free and open to the public.

Registration is recommended and can be completed by calling 315-7981885.

Bisen completed his intervenBisen tional cardiovascu-

October 2016 •

lar disease fellowship at Bridgeport Hospital, Yale New Haven Health System in Bridgeport, Conn.

He completed his general cardiovascular disease fellowship and internal medicine residency at the SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse.

Bisen also earned his medical degree from the SUNY Upstate Medical University where he was a member of the Gold Humanism Honor Society.

Bisen is board-certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Society of Echocardiography.

IN GOOD HEALTH – Mohawk Valley’s Healthcare Newspaper

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Page 13

CALENDAR

HEALTH EVENTS

Got a health-related activity or event that you would like publicized? Call Lou Sorendo at 315-749-7070 or email lou@cnymail.com.

Continued from Page 2 Rome Memorial Hospital is offering free PSA screening for men 50 and older in Rome, Camden and Boonville.

Appointments are not required.

Blood samples will be collected.

— Rome: weekdays, Sept. 26-30, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Mohawk Valley Radiation Medicine, 107 E. Chestnut St., Suite #103, in Rome — Boonville: weekdays, Sept.

26-30, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Boonville Family Care, 13407 state Route 12, Boonville — Camden: weekdays, Sept.

26-30, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Camden Family Care, 5 Masonic Ave., Camden “Prostate cancer can be cured if it is caught early enough,” said board-certified radiation oncologist Linda Schicker. “The PSA test is a sensitive screening tool that can help detect prostate cancer before the tumor is large enough to be felt.”

For additional information about the screening, call 338-0897.

Sept. 28

Harm reduction forum on agenda If you or someone you know uses drugs or alcohol but is concerned about health, there are ways to maximize safety and minimize risk.

The public is encouraged to attend a harm reduction forum to be held at 5 p.m. Sept. 28 outside the McPike Addiction Treatment Center, 1213 Court St., Utica.

Representatives from organizations in the Oneida County Heroin and Opiate Task Force will discuss such topics as harm reduction, needle exchange, and medication-assisted treatment.

The one-hour event will include a question-and-answer segment.

There is no cost to attend.

In the event of inclement weather, the forum will be held at the Oneida County Child Advocacy Center auditorium, 930 York St., Utica.

This forum is a free public service of ACR Health and the Center for Family Life and Recovery.

Smoking cessation classes scheduled The Oneida County Health Department, in collaboration with the Mohawk Valley Health System, is offering a free three-week series of Freshstart smoking cessation classes.

Freshstart is an evidence-based program created by the American Cancer Society. The classes will be held from 5-6:30 p.m. on Sept. 28, Oct. 5 and Oct. 12 in the second floor conference room at the St. Luke’s Page 14

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Campus, 1656 Champlin Ave., Utica.

The Freshstart approach is geared toward helping participants increase their motivation to quit, learn effective approaches for quitting and guide them in making a successful quit attempt.

The program is open to all Oneida County residents 18 years and older.

For more information or to register, contact Deb Waterman at the Oneida County Health Department at 315-225-7967 or dwaterman@mvcc. edu.

Sept. 29

Educational series focuses on breast cancer Each year in the United States, more than 200,000 women get breast cancer and more than 40,000 women die from the disease. Men can also get breast cancer.

Little Falls Hospital’s Lunch & Learn Education Series will be providing the latest information on breast awareness, including cancer risk factors, early detection and screening, diagnosis and treatment.

Sarita Fernandez, lead mammography technician, will be providing the educational session on breast cancer at noon Sept. 29 in conference room A at LFH. Seats are limited. Those interested in attended can RSVP to the Community Relation Department at 315-823-5326.

Sept. 29

Mental health symposium on agenda Rome Memorial Hospital’s Senior Behavioral Health Unit’s 13th annual mental health symposium, “Trauma, Addiction, Depression and Recovery,” will take place from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 29 in the Cyprus Room at the Turning Stone Resort Casino, Verona.

Registration is open to all area healthcare providers, mental health professionals and the general public.

The conference will provide valuable information to help understand trauma, defense mechanisms, personality disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder.

The conference’s keynote speaker, Marti MacGibbon, is a world-renowned speaker, author and mental health advocate who will provide first-hand insight about overcoming personal trauma, substance abuse and PTSD. The cost of the conference is $125 per person. Facilities or organizations sending three or more persons are eligible for a group rate of $110 per person. The fee includes the sem-

inar, course materials, continental breakfast and lunch, a certificate of attendance and continuing education unit credits for nursing and licensed social workers. Fees are non-refundable.

Contact Greg Jones at 338-7171 or gjones@romehospital.org to make advance payment and register.

Registration can also be made the day of the event.

Checks, made payable to Rome Memorial Hospital, may be mailed to Greg Jones, Rome Memorial Hospital Senior Behavioral Health Unit, 1500 N. James St., Rome, MacGibbon N.Y., 13440.

Sept. 30

Chronic disease selfmanagement classes set Herkimer County HealthNet is offering a chronic disease self-management class designed to help both people living with a chronic disease and also individuals caring for someone with a chronic disease.

Chronic disease conditions include diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, chronic lung disease, asthma, fibromyalgia, and other long-term health conditions. This class will help participants learn to better manage their chronic conditions and improve their quality of life.

The program will begin on Sept.

30 and continue to meet from 9-11:30 a.m. Fridays for six weeks at the Mohawk Reformed Church, 20 S. Otsego St, Mohawk.

Those interested in attending can contact Herkimer County HealthNet at 315-867-1552 or eenea@herkimercounty.org.

Oct. 2

Walk celebrates Down syndrome awareness The annual Buddy Walk is a one-mile Down syndrome awareness event that will be held Oct. 2 at Hanna Park in Utica.

Registration is at 10 a.m. and the walk begins at 11 a.m.

The one-mile walk begins and ends at Hanna Park in Utica and will include activities, entertainment and refreshments. Down syndrome literature will be available and merchandise will be for sale.

Donations and pledges are accepted but are not required to walk.

For more information, call 7246907 ext. 2279, log onto upstatecp. org under “Events” or visit facebook. com/upstatecp.

The Buddy Walk is presented by the Mohawk Valley Down Syndrome Support and Awareness Group and Upstate Cerebral Palsy.

The support group is for parents with a son or daughter who is addicted to drugs and/or alcohol.

The next meeting is Oct. 6.

According to recent research cited by the National Institute for Drug Abuse, opioid and heroin overdose deaths now exceed annual deaths from car crashes.

PAL is incorporated as a non-profit organization and is run by a volunteer board of parents. For more information on the organization, visit www.palgroup.org or call PAL at 480-300-4712.

Oct. 7

MVHS to host blood drive in Utica The Mohawk Valley Health System will host a blood drive from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 7 in the Sister Johanna Conference Room at the St. Elizabeth Campus, 2209 Genesee St., Utica.

More than 38,000 blood donations are needed each day in the United States, but only 38 percent of the population is eligible to donate.

Just one donor can help save or sustain up to three lives.

For more information or to make an appointment, call 315-801-8294 or email blipkin@mvhealthsystem.org.

Registration can also be done online at www.redcrossblood.org.

Oct. 10

Support forum for patients, cancer survivors The Mohawk Valley Health System’s Cancer Center’s monthly support forum for patients and cancer survivors will be held at 6 p.m.

Oct. 10.

The cancer support forum meets at 6 p.m. the second Monday of every month in the Cancer Center’s fireplace lounge on the main floor of Faxton Campus, 1676 Sunset Ave., Utica.

The forum, led by the Cancer Center’s social worker, offers support to anyone who has received a cancer diagnosis.

Light refreshments will be served. For more information or to RSVP, call 315-624-5241.

Support group to meet at RMH The brain aneurysm, AVM (arteriovenous malformation) and stroke support group meets from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on the second Monday of every month at Rome Memorial Hospital’s second-floor classroom.

The next session will be held on Oct. 10.

RMH is located at 1500 N. James St., Rome.

For more information, call Deb Dunn at 315-533-6467 or email RomeNY@JoeNiekroFoundation.org.

Oct. 6

Parents bond to battle addiction A support group — Parents of Addicted Loved Ones — will meet from 7-8:30 p.m. on the first and third Thursdays of every month at the Canajoharie Fire House, 75 Erie Boulevard, Canajoharie.

IN GOOD HEALTH – Mohawk Valley’s Healthcare Newspaper • October 2016

Story idea?

Call 749-7070 today!

Infection Fighter

Heather Bernard leads MVHS charge to combat infectious diseases patients and those who had bypass surgery.”

From 1998-2000, she worked with cardiac patients at SEMC, before returning to CMH and joining its intensive care unit.

She received her associate’s degree in nursing from Mohawk Valley Community College in 1995 and got her bachelor’s degree from SUNY Institute of Technology in 2001.

By Patricia J. Malin

B

efore, during and since the recent Summer Olympics in Rio de Janiero, the American public heard alarming reports about the Zika virus.

The infection, spread by a certain species of mosquito, mostly affects pregnant women and can cause birth defects. Similarly, in the summer of 2014, the Ebola virus was big news and caused concern for international travelers. Worldwide, there is perennial worry about the severity and various strains of the flu virus that rears its head every fall and winter.

Viruses cause the diseases that occasionally lead to deadly infections.

The Association of Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology sponsors an International Infection Prevention Week every October.

Its goal is to raise awareness and the role of infection prevention among patients, visitors and healthcare professionals.

For nurse practitioner Heather Bernard of the Mohawk Valley Health System, who is president of APIC’s New York Chapter 118, infection control is an everyday concern.

A registered nurse for 21 years and specialist in infection control and prevention for 14 years, she is director of infection prevention at MVHS and based at St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Utica.

She recently obtained her Doctor of Nursing Practice with a focus on infection prevention and environmental safety from Loyola University in Chicago, Ill. She is one of five people in the U.S. to receive a doctorate in this specialty.

As a preventionist, she studies how hospitals can prevent infections from occurring in-house and spreading to staff and patients alike.

“I love this job,” she said. “I’m passionate about it.”

Follows in Florence Nightingale’s footsteps

Infection control is not a new concept. It dates back more than 150 years. It first gained prominence in the 1850s through the tireless efforts of Florence Nightingale during the Crimean War to improve sanitary conditions in the community and to inaugurate the training of nurses.

In the U.S., the concept of reducing death from wounds and infections didn’t gain attention until the Civil War. Nightingale became known for keeping statistics that provided proof of the hazards of infection and became an advocate for strict controls on cleanliness in hospital settings.

“She was the first to collect data on populations,” said Bernard.

In the 21st century, with the availability of encyclopedic information and mass media reporting on new pandemics, infection control and prevention is still a never-ending battle. International travel spreads infections like the flu, Ebola and Zika with lightning speed.

The spread of the Zika virus is a greater concern for nurses working in public or community health, Bernard

The mentor role

Heather Bernard, left, director of infection prevention for the Mohawk Valley Health System, chats with a member of her staff, infection preventionist Tara Millson, in her office at St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Utica. noted, but hospitals still have to be alert for other forms of infections.

“Preventionists look at central line bloodstream diseases, preventing infectious diseases inside the hospital,” she said. “Hospitals do a lot of things that put people at risk, such as using catheters. Just having the device in place can lead to urinary tract infections. There are also ventilator-associated pneumonia and surgical site infections.”

Hospital-acquired infections are less obvious, but can be more dangerous since patients tend to be in a weakened state and many of these infections are resistant to antibiotic treatment.

The CDC compiles reports on hospital-acquired infection rates in all 50 states.

In 2011, a CDC survey estimated 722,000 hospital-acquired infections in U.S. acute care hospitals and 75,000 infected patients died during their hospitalizations.

Pneumonia, clostridium difficile (C-diff), methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and urinary tract infections can stem from unsanitary conditions in the operating room or patients’ rooms, a lack of personal hygiene among the staff or improper procedures during and after surgery.

“Hospital-associated infections are a burden on the hospital and on patients,” Bernard observed.

She said government tracking of such cases “helps our cause. It’s a good thing. You can get administrators to make changes, to get us more resources.”

Ready for action

Bernard, 41, supervises seven nurses who specialize in infection prevention. “We’re staffed well,” she said.

Despite her title as director of the department, she said she is rarely just sitting in her office.

“I’m not an administrator. I’m out on the floors. We go to each of the outpatient and in-patient units and talk with the nurses and ancillary staff every day,” she said. “Even though I don’t provide direct patient care, we look at whether the nurses have adequate supplies and protective equipment, and that they need to take precautions.

“We ensure that the environment is clean and sanitary; that they’re maintaining hand-washing hygiene and continuing infection prevention processes,” she added.

Bernard’s lifelong interest in nursing started with her mother.

“My mother — Dr. Susan Stone — was a nurse, then she became a certified nurse midwife,” she said.

“And now she is president of Frontier Nursing University in Hyden, Ky.” Bernard, an Ilion native, began her career in 1993 at the maternity department at St. Luke’s Hospital in Utica. In 1996, she began working at Community Memorial Hospital in Hamilton.

“Two years after becoming a nurse, I got into critical care. I liked the excitement and details of working with critically ill patients, taking care of open-heart and cardiac

Around 2003, while at CMH, she first became aware of the role of infection control specialists.

She eventually became responsible for infection prevention practices for 400 employees at the 45-bed acute care hospital, plus a 30-bed long-term care facility, and six outreach medical clinics. She instituted 100 percent surveillance of infection outbreaks at the hospital.

In 2008, she was named nurse manager of the vascular access team at Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare and director of infection prevention in 2009. Within a year, she said the hospital reduced critical care central line-associated bloodstream infection rates by 80 percent.

In 2009, she joined APIC. It began a campaign to change the persona of an infection control nurse from that of a police officer to a consultative role.

Now, instead of admonishing staff to just wash their hands, “we ask how can we help you change your procedures to prevent infection,” she said.

Bernard became nationally certified in infection control in 2010.

In 2015, FSLH became affiliated with SEMC under the MVHS network.

She is responsible for risk assessment and continuous monitoring of infection rates with in-patients at three campuses, extending to the Mohawk Valley Heart Institute at SEMC, the St. Luke’s Home and all of the MVHS’s outpatient units in Oneida and Herkimer counties.

In 2012, she enrolled in long-distance learning at Loyola University — the only college in the U.S. that offers a doctorate in infection prevention. Since graduating last spring, she started a project to advance the practice of infection prevention throughout MVHS. “What we do better now is work on multi-disciplinary teams, collect more research, use evidence and pull results together. We’re always looking to improve the process,” she said.

MVHS nurses can be certified in infection control at three different levels — novice, proficient and expert. “The staff has to meet competency levels, which was not an option previously,” she said.

Six nurses in her department have obtained certification.

Have a story idea for In Good Health newspaper? Call 749-7070

October 2016 •

IN GOOD HEALTH – Mohawk Valley’s Healthcare Newspaper

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Page 15

H ealth News Receives infection prevention certification A Mohawk Valley Health System employee, Mary Kathryn Friot, recently received her certification in infection prevention from the Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology.

Certification represents the commitment of an infection preventionist and an institution to the continued improvement of infection prevention and control functions as well as their contribution to health care and patient safety.

Six of the eight Friot infection preventionists at MVHS have now earned this certification, five in the past six months.

Friot began working for St. Elizabeth Medical Center in June 2012. She began working in infection prevention in November 2013.

She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology with a minor in sociology from Ithaca College in 2004, a Master of Public Health in health services, management and policy from the University of South Carolina in 2007, and an Associate of Applied Science nursing degree from St. Elizabeth College of Nursing in 2012.

MVHS names IRU nurse manager Diane Potter has been named nurse manager of the Mohawk Valley Health System inpatient rehabilitation unit at the Center for Rehabilitation and Continuing Care Services on the St. Luke’s Campus in Utica.

In this position, Potter is responsible for nursing operations including clinical and administrative responsibilities for the IRU. Potter earned a Master of Science Potter in nursing education and a Bachelor of Science in nursing from SUNY Institute of Technology in Utica and an Associate in Applied Science degree in nursing from SUNY Morrisville.

Potter has a background in orthopedics and has held clinical and administrative nursing positions including infection prevention practitioner, quality liaison and nurse manager at other healthcare organizations.

She is a member of the New York Organization of Nurse Executives and Leaders, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology and the Infection Control Association of the Mohawk Valley.

Page 16

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large and vice president of the Wilkes Public Health Dental Clinic/Wilkes Dental Consortium in North Wilkesboro, N.C. Salgado studied interdisciplinary sciences, pre-dental at the University of South Florida in Tampa, Fla., and earned her Doctor of Dental Medicine from the University of Puerto Rico, in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

She completed a general practice residency at Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare in Utica.

Salgado is a member of the American Dental Association, the American Orthodontic Society, the Academy of General Dentistry, the North Carolina Dental Society and the National Network for Oral Access. She is fluent in English and Spanish.

MVHS names 3C nurse manager

Medicine Shoppe has antidote for domestic violence The Medicine Shoppe in Ilion recently donated $1,000 to the Domestic Violence Program of Herkimer County. Above, Steve and Colleen Pardi of the Medicine Shoppe present the donation to Jackie Ward, program director for the Domestic Violence Program of Herkimer County. The Medicine Shoppe’s recent 2015 Medicine Shoppe International’s Clinical Innovation Award included a $1,000 grant to be donated to a local charity of its choice. The domestic violence program provides residential and non-residential services to victims. All services are free and confidential. Help is available by calling the 24-hour hotline at 315-866-0458.

Gently used toys are also being collected at the Medicine Shoppe, 10 Central Ave., Ilion, for the domestic violence program. For more information, contact Julie Zaykoski, operations manager, at 315-894-7283 or 1579@medicineshoppe.com.

Neurologist joins Utica medical staffs Ramesh Cherukuri, a neurologist with SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, has joined the medical staffs at Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare and St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Utica.

Cherukuri specializes in the management of cerebrovascular emergencies, neuromuscular diseases and disorders such as seizure, headache, neurodegenerative, neuro-ophthalmological and movement disorCherukuri ders, as well as central and peripheral nervous system infections and pediatric neurological conditions.

Cherukuri earned his Bachelor of Science degree in biology at Siena College in Albany and his Doctor of Medicine summa cum laude at the American University of Antigua, College of Medicine in St. John’s, Antigua.

He completed his neurology residency and internal medicine internship and is in fellowship training

in clinical neurophysiology at SUNY Upstate Medical University.

The Neurocritical Care Society has certified Cherukuri as an emergency neurological life support provider and he is board-eligible in neurology.

MVHS Dental Services appoints assistant director Evelyn Salgado-Parrilla has been named assistant director of dental services for the Mohawk Valley Health System.

In this role, Salgado is responsible for assisting the dental residency program director in administration and precepting and will also provide direct patient care at the Dental Health Center.

Salgado-Parrilla Since January 2011, Salgado has held the position of chief dental officer-director for CommWell Health in Dunn, N.C. Prior to that, she served as president-dentist of a general dentistry private practice in Wilkesboro, N.C., and a dentist, member at

IN GOOD HEALTH – Mohawk Valley’s Healthcare Newspaper • October 2016

Ajla Sinanovic has been named nurse manager for Unit 3C at the St. Elizabeth Campus of the Mohawk Valley Health System.

In this position, Sinanovic is responsible for nursing operations including clinical and administrative responsibilities for 3C, an inpatient medical unit.

Sinanovic Sinanovic earned an Associate in Applied Science degree from St. Elizabeth College of Nursing and a Bachelor of Science in nursing from the SUNY Polytechnic Institute, both in Utica.

She has been employed at the St. Elizabeth Campus as a staff nurse on 3C since 2010. She also worked as a nurse tech prior to earning her nursing degree.

AmeriCU providing Medicare insurance plans AmeriCU Services, LLC was recently appointed as an independent authorized agency with Excellus BlueCross BlueShield and can offer its Medicare Advantage and Medicare Supplement plans.

Excellus BlueCross BlueShield is one of the largest nonprofit health plans in New York state and offers several Medicare plans to meet members’ Medicare needs.

AmeriCU will be hosting educational seminars, sales seminars and open office times with regional business partner adviser Paul Holgate in specific financial centers.

These events are available for both members and non-members of the AmeriCU. For more information about the schedule or to register for one of these events, call 1-800-3529699.

AmeriCU Services, LLC is an AmeriCU Credit Union-owned independent insurance agency.

Continued on Page 17

H ealth News Continued from Page 16

icine residency at Darnall Army Community Hospital in Ft. Hood, Texas. He completed an obstetrics and gynecology internship at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii and earned his medical degree from Boston University School of Medicine. He served the country as a major in the United States military from 1996-2011.

Grant supports workforce development The Bank of America Charitable Foundation recently awarded Snacks at the Tracks, a business of Upstate Cerebral Palsy located in Union Station in Utica, a $7,500 grant to provide workforce training and development to prepare workers for careers and employment opportunities.

“This funding for vocational training will be a tremendous asset to Snacks at the Tracks, the profits of which ultimately benefit programs and services at Upstate Cerebral Palsy,” said Carleen Stewart, vice president of strategic development at UCP. “This will allow us to thoroughly train and equip staff with the knowledge and skills needed to work at the café.”

Snacks at the Tracks is open at Union Station from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays and features local goods from The Root Farm as well as an assortment of breakfast, lunch and snack options.

For more information on Snacks at the Tracks, contact Stewart at 315507-2081 ext. 230 or carleen.stewart@ upstatecp.org.

Charitable fund supports Insight House Insight House has received a $5,900 grant from the M&T Bank/ Partner’s Trust Bank Charitable Fund, a donor-advised fund of The Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties, Inc., to support drug and alcohol prevention efforts at the Westmoreland School District.

This funding will be used to offer the agency’s Helping Youth through Prevention Education program, a skill-based curriculum aimed at increasing awareness and decision-making ability with regards to substance experimentation and use.

Celebrating its 45th year of service to the community, Insight House provides professional, confidential, drug and alcohol treatment services to individuals and their families striving to achieve and maintain a sober lifestyle.

The Insight House prevention services group provides community outreach throughout the year, including programs that are directed to parents, teachers, concerned adults and area youth.

Counselors join Insight House

Studer

Shelly Studer, Lauren Lojba and Melanie Singletary have joined Insight House Chemical Dependency Services, Inc. in Utica as chemical dependency counselors.

Their duties will include pro-

LPN named employee of quarter at SDMG

Create a human pink ribbon to promote breast cancer awareness Community members and breast cancer survivors are invited to help promote breast cancer awareness month by creating a human pink ribbon. Participants are asked to wear bright pink and come together at 11 a.m. Oct. 7 at Murnane Baseball Field, across from the Faxton Campus in Utica. A brief ceremony will be held to honor breast cancer survivors and then attendees will create a human pink ribbon. An aerial picture will be taken to promote breast cancer awareness month throughout October in the Mohawk Valley. Refreshments will be served. Register for the event by Sept.

26 by visiting www.faxtonstlukes.com/pinkribbon or call 315-624-HOPE (4673).

This event is sponsored by the Mohawk Valley Health System Cancer Center, Oneida County Health Department Cancer Services Program under the leadership of County Executive Anthony J. Picente, Jr., Utica Mayor Robert Palmieri, the American Cancer Society and Daughter For Hire, LLC. viding group, individual and family clinical services.

Studer, of Oriskany Falls, has an Associate of Applied Science degree as a chemical dependency practitioner from Mohawk Valley Community College, a Bachelor of Arts degree in social work from Keuka College, and a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Southern California.

Lojba was previously a prevenLojba tion counselor at Insight House, and has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from SUNY Polytechnic Institute.

She resides in Herkimer.

Singletary lives in Whitesboro and has an AAS degree in human services and an AAS as a chemical dependency practitioner from MVCC. Additionally, Melissa LaPlanSingletary te has joined the agency as a licensed practical nurse, and will be responsible for performing patient medical assessments and routine nursing care.

LaPlante graduated from the Madison-Oneida BOCES licensed practical nursing program and lives in Utica.

Family practitioner to join SDMG Felix Oduwa will be joining Slocum-Dickson Medical Group in New Hartford on Oct. 1 in the specialty of family practice.

Oduwa specializes in the total health care of adults and children of all ages, providing continuing comprehensive health maintenance for the whole family.

He serves as the patient’s advoOduwa cate in all health-related matters and will make referrals to specialists when appropriate.

Oduwa is trained to diagnose and treat a broad spectrum of illnesses. His services range from well-baby care, comprehensive physical exams, immunizations, pelvic exams and pap smears to minor skin procedures, intrauterine device insertion/ removal and more.

Oduwa is board certified by the American Board of Family Medicine and has over 20 years of experience as a physician.

He completed his family med-

October 2016 •

Leslie Mondi has been named employee of the third quarter at Slocum-Dickson Medical Group PLLC in New Hartford.

Mondi began her career with SDMG in September of 2000 as a license practical nurse in the pediatric department.

“Leslie is a reliable and dedicated employee.

She is known for her professional, courteous and Mondi friendly demeanor with patients and staff alike,” an SDMG spokesperson said.

She earned her LPN degree from Mohawk Valley Community College and has over 39 years of experience as a nurse.

Community Wellness Partners debuts Community Wellness Partners is a new affiliation of LutheranCare® and Presbyterian Homes & Services.

Combining nearly 150 years of service to the community, Community Wellness Partners will remain a faith-based non-profit.

“Individually, our organizations offer a wide spectrum of essential services to the community,” said Community Wellness Partners President/CEO Michael Sweeney. “The name Community Wellness Partners reflects our vision to be a center for successful aging, and our commitment to empower all individuals to reach their full potential and support overall quality of life.”

LutheranCare® and Presbyterian Homes & Services will retain their individual communities, while significant efficiencies will be achieved in the area of common information systems and service contracts.

This will allow more resources to be invested in new and enhanced programs that will directly benefit residents and others served by Community Wellness Partners.

Former LutheranCare® President-CEO Andrew Peterson retired on July 1. Sweeney, formerly the Presbyterian Homes & Services CEO, will serve as president/CEO of the new affiliation.

A combined board of directors, eight of whom are from each of the two affiliates, will govern the organization.

For more information, visit www.

CommunityWellnessPartners.org.

IN GOOD HEALTH – Mohawk Valley’s Healthcare Newspaper

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Page 17

Grant to Sitrin creates first long-term care program for ALS, Huntington’s disease patients in Upstate NY Assemblyman Anthony Brindisi (D-Utica) presents a ceremonial check to Sitrin Health Care Center President and CEO Christa Serafin. The check represents a $500,000 state legislative grant awarded the center for its new NeruCare unit, which is creating 40 new jobs. The unit will be the first long-term care program for patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Huntington’s disease in Upstate New York.

The funding is being utilized to offset $1.7 million in renovation costs Sitrin incurred while it transformed its underutilized, former skilled nursing unit into the 32-bed NeuroCare program to treat patients with ALS and HD.

Health News In Brief Tickets for the 20th annual $100,000 Miracle Home Makeover to benefit the local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital at Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare are available for purchase at a variety of locations. A total of 4,300 will be sold at $100 each and must be purchased with cash. One person will win a $100,000 Miracle Home Makeover or $100,000 in cash, and all ticket holders will be entered to win one of 10 bonus prize packages. Above, Pam Way of First Source Federal Credit Union, and Joel Wetmore, former Utica College men’s hockey player, are shown promoting the event. The drawing for the Miracle Home Makeover will be held at 6 p.m. Oct. 12 at St. Luke’s Campus of the Mohawk Valley Health System in New Hartford. Projects such as the $100,000 Miracle Home Makeover allow FSLH to make a difference in the lives of many children and families by providing critical, life-saving care and child-friendly pediatric medical equipment, as well as vital programs and services for children and families throughout the Mohawk Valley. Tickets are available at the Boonville Medical Office, Chanatry’s Supermarket, Countryside Stove & Chimney, Erie Materials, First Source Federal Credit Union branches, FSLH, Greenscapes Garden Center, GPO Federal Credit Union Branches, Jay-K Lumber Corp. and Town of Webb Health Center. For a list of ticket locations, visit www.faxtonstlukes. com/mhm or call 315-624-5600.

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‘Desserts At Dusk’ a tasty fundraiser

F

riends of the Presbyterian Homes, a volunteer organization of Presbyterian Homes & Services, is holding its 13th annual “Desserts at Dusk” fundraiser from 6-8 p.m. Oct. 13 at Harts Hill Inn on Clinton Street in Whitesboro.

All proceeds from the event benefit the Presbyterian Home for Central New York.

Desserts at Dusk features a large selection of all-you-can-eat desserts.

Area bakeries and restaurants, as well as Presbyterian Homes’ staff members and volunteers, donate the desserts.

IN GOOD HEALTH – Mohawk Valley’s Healthcare Newspaper • October 2016

Tickets are $25 per person and available for purchase at the Presbyterian Home for Central New York, through the PHCNY Facebook page, or at the door the night of the event.

For tickets and more information, contact Bridget Reilly, director of volunteer services, at 315-272-2266.

Presbyterian Homes & Services’ family of services includes the Presbyterian Home for Central New York, Presbyterian Residential Community, Presbyterian Homes Foundation, The Meadows at Middle Settlement, and Preswick Glen independent senior living community.

Health in good

By Jim Miller

Meal service delivery options for seniors Dear Savvy Senior, What types of healthy meal delivery options can you recommend for seniors who live at home, but don’t cook and don’t get out much. Since mom passed away, my dad’s diet is terrible and I worry about his health.

Long-distance daughter Dear Long-distance,

There are various healthy meal service delivery options available to non-cooking seniors who live at home, but what’s available to your dad will depend on his location and budget. Here are several to check into.

Senior meal programs

A good place to start is to find out if there’s a senior home delivery meal program in your dad’s area.

Meals on Wheels is the largest program that most people are familiar with, but many communities offer senior meal delivery programs sponsored by other organizations that go by different names.

To find services available in your dad’s area, visit MealsOnWheelsAmerica.org, which offers a comprehensive directory on its website, or call the area aging agency near your dad. Contact the Eldercare Locator at 800-677-1116 to get the number.

Most home-delivered meal programs across the U.S. deliver hot meals daily or several times a week, usually around the lunch hour, to seniors over age 60 who have problems preparing meals for themselves, as well as those with disabilities. Weekend meals, usually frozen, may also be available, along with special diets (diabetic, low-sodium, kosher, etc.).

Most of these programs typically charge a small fee (usually between $2 and $6) or request a donation, while some may be free to low-income seniors.

Online meal delivery

Another option that’s a bit more expensive is to purchase your dad’s meals online and have them delivered to his home. There are a number of companies that offer this type of service like Magic Kitchen (magickitchen.com), Home Bistro (homebistro.com), Personal Chef To Go (personalcheftogo.com), Good

Measure Meals (goodmeasuremeals. com), and many others.

These companies offer a wide variety of tasty meal choices, and will usually post the nutrition information for their meals right on their website. Most companies will also cater to a host of dietary and medical needs, such as low-sodium and low-carb meals, diabetic meals, gluten-free, dairy-free and vegetarian options.

Most of the food arrives frozen, but a few companies ship food fresh.

Prices generally start at around $10 to $13 per meal, plus shipping, however most companies provide discounts or free shipping when you order meals in bulk.

Grocery stores and restaurants

Depending on where your dad lives, he may also be able to get home delivered meals from local grocery stores or restaurants. Some grocery stores offer a selection of pre-cooked meals and foods, including roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, and fresh soups and salads.

Contact the grocery stores in your dad’s area to inquire about this option. Or check with some of his favorite restaurants to see if they offer home delivery.

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Personal chefs

Another option for non-cooking seniors with a bigger budget is to hire a personal chef from time to time. A personal chef can provide your dad with a do-it-all service that will help plan his meals, do the grocery shopping and prepare him several weeks worth (or more) of tasty meals in his home, which he can freeze and eat whenever he wants.

Or, they can prepare it in their own kitchen and deliver it. Chef’s fees range between $200 and $300 plus groceries. He may be able to save money by sharing meals with you or another family member, or a friend or neighbor.

To find a personal chef in your dad’s area, check the listings at the American Personal & Private Chef Association (personalchef.com) or the United States Personal Chef Association (hireachef.com).

Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit www.savvysenior. org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.

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In Good Health

October 2016 •

4 Riverside Dr., Suite 251, Utica, NY 13502

IN GOOD HEALTH – Mohawk Valley’s Healthcare Newspaper

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Page 19

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Pamper yourself before the holidays and enjoy a fun night out with friends, featuring delicious food, refreshments, music, health information, beauty tips, shopping and art.

TICKETS $20 • Reservation only; tickets are limited.

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Dance with Death Suicide doesn’t discriminate; anyone at risk.

factors include substance abuse, prior attempts at suicide, a family history of suicide, a family history of substance abuse or depression, family violence, or having guns in the home.

Do not discount a person’s statements regarding suicide as “attention getting” and not to be taken seriously. Many people who make attention-getting statements do kill themselves.

Often we hesitate to ask a family member or friend about suicidal thoughts, but it is critically important to do so. Don’t be afraid to ask whether the person has thought about killing himself and whether he has a plan in mind. These questions will not push them toward suicide; they will be relieved to talk about it with someone who will listen.

By Barbara Pierce

“

I’ve had moments of despair when I felt surviving for one more day would be pure agony. I imagined myself ending it all, leaping off the bridge,” said Richard Brown on Salon.com. “Those who have never felt those moments of hopelessness can’t understand what they are like. There’s no way to understand unless you’ve been there.”

“Suicide doesn’t discriminate.

Anyone is at risk,” said Judith H. Reilly, services director at the Center for Family Life and Recovery, Inc., Utica.

The CFLR is the lead agency for the Oneida County Suicide Prevention Coalition. The mission of the coalition is to prevent suicide by coordinating services and making them more accessible, and to provide intervention and support for those affected by suicide.

“Suicide affects people of all ages,” Reilly said. It’s the 10th leading cause of death overall in the United States.”

“What’s especially alarming is that suicide is the second-leading cause of death for those aged 15-34,” Reilly added.

Suicide is a grim tragedy with strong emotional consequences for survivors and families’ victims.

Recently, suicides by girls and young women have climbed distressingly high. Men have a suicide rate nearly four times higher than that of women.

Locally, the numbers of those who commit suicide have decreased.

In 2015, Oneida County had 24 deaths by suicide, as compared with 32 in 2014 and 36 in 2013. The decrease is because of education and access to treatment, explained Reilly.

“Every life is valuable,” she said. “I won’t be happy until I see no deaths from suicide.”

Warning signs

“A descent into utter despair,” is how Brown describes his thoughts of leaping off the bridge.

Feelings of helplessness, hopelessness, being overwhelmed, trapped, and unable to cope appear to be common for those who have fleeting or persistent thoughts of suicide. Most suffer from depression.

Page 20

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What to do

Warning signs are when someone talks about feeling hopeless, feeling trapped, or having unbearable emotional pain, Reilly said. A person thinking about suicide may say something about being a burden to others.

Other warning signs, says Reilly, are joking about dying, searching online for ways to commit suicide, increased use of use of alcohol or drugs, sleeping too much or too little, appetite changes, wide mood swings and reckless behaviors.

Other signs include withdrawal,

or suddenly appearing happier, giving away prized possessions, setting one’s affairs in order, and loss of interest in things one cares about.

Most people who attempt to kill themselves make a plan to do so. Nearly two thirds tell someone that they want to die or are thinking about suicide. That provides not only a warning sign but also the opportunity to help them.

Who is at risk?

Persons with depression are at high risk, said Reilly. Other risk

IN GOOD HEALTH – Mohawk Valley’s Healthcare Newspaper • October 2016

In an emergency, do not hesitate to call 911 if you have thoughts of killing yourself or if you hear someone express those thoughts.

Or, contact the Mobile Crisis Assessment Team at 315-732-6228.

Trained mental health counselors will answer your call 24/7.

Reilly encourages people to call this 24-hour hotline for immediate help.

Or, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-784-2433 or 800-273-8255.

Listen to anyone who is talking about suicide, or who is saying things that indicate he or she may be having thoughts of not wanting to live, said Reilly. Affirm the problems they express; don’t discount or minimize what they are saying.

Establish a plan to keep the person safe. Never leave them alone.

Make sure they do not have access to guns or medication. Get them to agree to get help.

The Suicide Prevention Coalition meets at 8:30 a.m. every third Tuesday at CFLR in Utica. Everyone is invited, said Reilly.

The CFLR has a three-hour training on how to respond to suicide thoughts, called “Safe TALK.” This is an excellent tool for people who want to become alert to the dangers of suicide. Also offered is a two-day training for professionals.

To contact CFLR, call 315-2744871.