As most of you know, our Denise has been battling Breast Cancer and has another surgery planned for April 11th. She currently plans to return to the office part time in May and is currently doing telehealth. Denise has been able to enjoy the ocean for a bit and is being thankful for life! We are so excited and hope you are too!
Due to threat of inclement weather, our office will be closed tomorrow, Thursday, February 17th, 2022.
Did you know that people who have close relationships at home, work, or in their community tend to be healthier and live longer? One reason, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), is that we’re more successful at meeting our health goals when we work on them with others. NHLBI launched the #OurHearts movement to inspire us to protect and strengthen our hearts with the support of others.
Here are some facts, how-to tips, and resources to inspire you to join with others, even if you can’t be physically together, to improve your heart health.
Heart disease is a leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States. Most middle-aged and young adults have one or more risk factors for heart disease, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or being a smoker or overweight. Having multiple risk factors increases your risk for heart disease.
Feeling connected with others and having positive, close relationships benefit our overall health, including our blood pressure and weight. Having people in our lives who motivate and care for us helps, as do feelings of closeness and companionship.
Follow these heart-healthy lifestyle tips to protect your heart. It will be easier and more successful if you work on them with others, including by texting or phone calls if needed.
You don’t have to make big changes all at once. Small steps will get you where you want to go.
Invite family, friends, colleagues, or members of your community to join you in your efforts to be more physically active:
How much is enough? Aim for at least 2½ hours of physical activity each week—that’s just 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. In addition, do muscle strengthening exercises 2 days a week. Can’t carve out a lot of time in your day? Don’t chuck your goal, chunk it! Try 10 or 15 minutes a few times a day. NHLBI’s Move More fact sheet has ideas to get and keep you moving.
We tend to eat like our friends and family, so ask others close to you to join in your effort to eat healthier. Together, try NHLBI’s free Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) eating plan. Research shows that, compared to a typical American diet, it lowers high blood pressure and improves cholesterol levels. Find delicious recipes at NHLBI’s Heart-Healthy Eating web page.
To help you quit, ask others for support or join an online support group. Research shows that people are much more likely to quit if their spouse, friend, or sibling does. Social support online can help you quit. All states have quit lines with trained counselors—call 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669). You’ll find many free resources to help you quit, such as apps, a motivational text service, and a chat line at BeTobaccoFree.hhs.gov and Smokefree.gov.
If you need extra motivation to quit, consider those around you: Breathing other people’s smoke, called secondhand smoke, is dangerous. Many adult nonsmokers die of stroke, heart disease, and lung cancer caused by secondhand smoke.
Reducing stress helps your heart health. Set goals with a friend or family member to do a relaxing activity every day, like walking, yoga, or meditation, or participate in an online stress-management program together. Physical activity also helps reduce stress. Talk to a qualified mental health provider or someone else you trust.
Sleeping 7–8 hours a night helps to improve heart health. De-stressing will help you sleep, as does getting a 30-minute daily dose of sunlight. Take a walk instead of a late afternoon nap! Family members and friends: remind each other to turn off the screen and stick to a regular bedtime. Instead of looking at your phone or the TV before bed, relax by listening to music, reading, or taking a bath.
Keeping a log of your blood pressure, weight goals, physical activity, and if you have diabetes, your blood sugars, will help you stay on a heart-healthy track. Ask your friends or family to join you in the effort. Check out NHLBI’s Healthy Blood Pressure for Healthy Hearts: Tracking Your Numbers worksheet.
Visit #OurHearts for inspiration on what others around the country are doing together for their heart health. Then join the #OurHearts movement and let NHLBI know what you’re doing to have a healthy heart. Tag #OurHearts to share how you and your family and friends are being heart healthy.
Bowling Green Medical Group will be closed on the following days in observance of the CHRISTmas Holiday:
We want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! God Bless!
Special Enrollment Period – Coverage and Savings Available
A message from the National Association of Rural Health Clinics (NARHC)
Special Enrollment Period
There is a new Special Enrollment Period for residents of the 36 states that use HealthCare.gov. Through August 15, 2021 individuals can sign up for or change health insurance, no qualifying life event required. 9 out of 10 people who enroll are eligible for savings. In fact, 4 out of 5 can find a plan for $10 or less per month after savings!
Coverage is flexible and begins quickly for enrollees, and application assistance is available in many languages. We encourage you to engage with your patients and community to help ensure that no one who is eligible is left out, left behind, or left on the sidelines of the Marketplace.
Visit HealthCare.gov for more information and utilize these fact sheets, flyers, and social media graphics that can be tailored for your patients and communities!
National Association of Rural Health Clinics
We are so excited to share with you an answer to many prayers! Starting this Wednesday, June 16,2021 we will have a licensed professional counselor at the office!! His name is Tim Bizelli and he is absolutely fantastic. He will see patients on Wednesday’s only from 8 am – 5 pm. To make an appointment please call Tim at 636-678-4328!!! He will be scheduling his own appointments.
Please join us in welcoming Charlene Wipff, PA-C, MMS to our staff. Some of you may have met Charlene already as she did 10 weeks of rotations and extensive training with us this past year. She has a very humble servants’ heart, a passion to serve people and our patients with her gifts and talents.
Charlene Wipff, PA-C spent most of her childhood and young adult life in Oregon, receiving her Bachelor’s degree at Concordia University in Portland, Oregon in 2011. Charlene recently graduated from the Saint Louis University Physician Assistant program with a Masters of Medical Science and is now a certified Physician Assistant. Her passion for rural family medicine shines bright when caring for her patients, working together with her patients in order to get the best care possible. In her free time, Charlene enjoys swimming, hiking, backpacking, camping, baking, sitting around a fire, and reading, finally rounding out her days with her family, her 1 cat and husband of 5 years.
Charlene will begin seeing patients in the clinic on Monday, May 3, 2021. Her scheduled days will be Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.
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