Health Archives - Page 82 of 90

Health and Harmony in the Tribal Workplace: The Power of your Words

By Grace Marks, Indian Country Today Media Network

When it comes to internal customer service, the most common complaint is negativity in the workplace. Negativity can show up as gossip, complaining, blaming, backstabbing or jealousy affecting morale and productivity.

Words carry tremendous energy. They can generate joy or inflict long-lasting and devastating pain.

Gossip is Bullying

Grace Marks

Gossip is a form of bullying. It is an act of intimidation to have power over another and occurs in all age groups and cultures. The Workplace Bullying Institute estimates that 53.5 million Americans report being bullied at work—that is roughly the combined populations of Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah. Workplace bullies are insecure, quick to jealousy, and generally unhappy with themselves. By uniting with others to share secrets about someone’s misfortune, they create a false sense of intimacy and feel better about themselves.

Non-verbal messages are a passive way to bully. Consider the rolling of the eyes, scanning someone up and down, sighing, sneering, or being ignored or whispered about. The best move is to stop gossip before it starts. An innocent, Here’s what I heard about … may destroy a reputation. If you find yourself in a gossip situation, change the subject, keep quiet, walk away from the conversation, say you’re uncomfortable gossiping, or share something positive about the person who is the subject of the gossip.

Complain—Get More of the Same

Constant complaining also has negative side effects. Most of us complain all day every day. The average person complains between 15 and 30 times per day. We complain because it makes us feel better (in the short term) and because others can agree about how we feel and how hard we have it. You may temporarily feel better after going on and on about how you have been wronged, victimized, used, manipulated, or disrespected. Despite the initial relief, complaining is like a virus eating away any sort of happiness, responsibility and purpose in your life. Complaining usually leads to greater unhappiness, negative thinking and relationship problems. Since words have energy, complaining usually gets you more of what you are complaining about.

Steps Towards Change

The first step is to increase your awareness of your behavior and words. If you are a gossiper, recognize the power of your words and find the courage to speak up positively. You can be a role model to others. If you are a complainer, direct your conscious focus on what you are grateful for and think of possible solutions. Sometimes you do have to accept a situation as something you cannot change and recognize the destructiveness in complaining about it. If you find yourself saying negative things out of jealousy, focus on your unique qualities and talents.

Putting an end to negatively and bullying begins with each of us—how we think and speak about ourselves and others. Pay closer attention to negative self-talk and judgments. Cancel or delete them in your mind whenever they surface and replace with something positive. Pat yourself on the back more often rather than being self-critical.

Choose More Healing Words

Use more healing words such as thank you, I appreciate you, I’m sorry, good work, or well done. Offer assurance to those who are anxious or troubled. Remind your family and friends they are loved, respected and valued.

Healing words can bring comfort, inner peace, and enhance overall well-being. They can improve your mood which has a positive effect on all those around you.

Grace Marks, MPH, CPC is a certified life coach, motivational speaker and holistic stress management instructor with Native Empowerment: Solutions for Health and Harmony providing customized training programs for tribal organizations and businesses. Visit www.nativeempowerment.com.

A Book for Those Serious About Defeating Diabetes

Defeating Diabetes
Brenda Davis & Tom Banard | Healthy Living Publications
280 pp | $14.95
ISBN 9781570671395

Levi Rickert, Native News Network

It is no secret to any American Indian or Alaska Native that there is a strong preponderance of the possibility of developing diabetes.

The numbers speak for themselves.

American Indians and Alaska Native are 2.2 times more likely to have diabetes compared to non-Hispanic whites. The death rate due to diabetes among American Indians and Alaska Natives is three times higher compared with the general US population. American Indians and Alaska Natives are three to four times higher at risk for developing cardiovascular disease with diabetes than Natives without diabetes.

Even with the dismal numbers associated with diabetes among American Indians and Alaska Natives, there is hope.

Earlier this year, hundreds of American Indians participated in the Longest Walk 3 – Reversing Diabetes. The Longest Walk was a walk across America, from the West Coast to Washington, DC, that sought to bring attention to the devastating effect diabetes has had within Native communities. The message of the Longest Walk also was American Indians can reverse diabetes.

American Indians are fighters; American Indians are survivors.

Beyond Native communities, we know diabetes is at epidemic rates among society.

A book called “Defeating Diabetes: A No-Nonsense Approach to Type 2 Diabetes and the Diabesity Epidemic” by a registered dietitian Brenda Davis and medical physician Tom Banard is a great tool for American Indians to pick up to read about how to defeat diabetes. Even the book’s title takes a position of strength.

Published in 2003, “Defeating Diabetes” is about making lifestyle changes about diet and exercise. Most would agree that that is a lot easier said, than done. But, the book is a quick read that provides common sense, backed with medical rationale, to alter lifestyles.

“Defeating Diabetes” contains many tables with information on fat counts, sugar content, and some 50 healthy recipes. Some of the numbers of contained in the book will make one think. For instance, one Mister Misty DQ Slush, 32 oz. contains 28 teaspoons of sugar; an ounce of hard candy has five teaspoons of sugar.

Weight control is paramount to one trying to defeat diabetes. The book’s authors provide “Seven Simple Steps to Lifelong Healthy Weight”:

Set realistic goals
Center your diet on whole plant foods
Use beverages to your advantage
Limit fat intake to not more than 25 percent of calories
Build healthy habits
Make physical activity a priority in your life
Take care of your inner being

One chapter, “Kitchen Wizardry: Tricks of the Trade” will help the reader to better understand what to buy at the grocery store, with suggestions on where to shop, how to read food labels and food storage guidelines.

“Defeating Diabetes” is a practical guide on how to defeat diabetes. Do not buy this book for your bookshelf, it must be read and used. American Indians and Alaska Natives should have this book at their fingertips if they are truly serious about maintaining a healthy lifestyle and want to defeat diabetes.

Norovirus hitting younger kids hard

By Sharon Salyer, The Herald

Norovirus, the same viral bug that sickened more than 200 people attending a cheerleading competition at Comcast Arena last year, is now the leading cause of tummy and intestinal illness among children four and under.

The virus, which causes vomiting and diarrhea, is so common and widespread that one in six children age four or younger will be treated in clinics for norovirus, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An estimated one in 14 children in this age group will be treated at an emergency room for the infection.

“The message that norovirus has been increasing, especially among those under age five is disturbing,” said Dr. Gary Goldbaum, health officer for the Snohomish Health District. “Those are the ones that get sick enough to end up in the doctor’s office.”

Although the disease can cause short-term, but very uncomfortable, problems for people of any age, it is of extra concern among the very young, he said. “They don’t tolerate getting dehydrated very well,” he said.

For some of the same reasons, norovirus can be a problem with older adults. Last year, 10 outbreaks of suspected norovirus were reported in facilities that care for the elderly, such as adult family homes and nursing homes, Goldbaum said.

Norovirus is sometimes called cruise ship disease because of outbreaks that move rapidly on such ships, sickening many people.

The virus “hits people really hard and then in a couple days, it gets better,” Goldbaum said.

Each year, noroviruses sickens more than 21 million people in the United Stats and approximately 800 people die, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Patients have been coming to area medical clinics with norovirus symptoms almost continuously for the past several months, said Dr. Yuan-Po Tu, who helps track communicable diseases at The Everett Clinic.

“It’s not an epidemic, but there’s always some level of it going around,” he said.

The virus typically sickens people for two to seven days, he said, often causing only a slight fever of 99 to 100.5 degrees.

Norovirus is extremely contagious. People near a person when they become ill can easily become infected themselves, Goldbaum said.

Those who are sickened by norovirus are contagious from the moment they begin feeling ill to at least three days and as much as two weeks after they recover, according to federal health officials.

The steps to help stop its spread include careful hand washing and not sharing food or drinks with someone who is ill.

The disease was blamed with sickening 229 teens and adults who were attending a cheerleading competition at Comcast Arena in February last year. Thirty-three people sought medical care for severe vomiting and diarrhea.

“Stop TB in my lifetime” awareness in Snohomish County, March 24

Tuberculosis control continues its long history in Snohomish County

SNOHOMISH COUNTY, Wash. – To build local awareness of an ongoing global tragedy, the Snohomish County Board of Health recently adopted a resolution proclaiming March 24 to be “World TB Day” in Snohomish County. The Snohomish Health District is responsible for carrying out the work of preventing and controlling tuberculosis in Snohomish County.

Worldwide, each day 4,000 people die from this curable disease.

The Health District’s TB prevention and control program manages the treatment of about 20-27 active cases of TB every year. They also manage150-200 people annually who have breathed in TB bacteria but are not actively sick, known as latent tuberculosis. Snohomish County has among the highest number of TB cases in the state of Washington, which averages about 200 cases of active TB annually.

In the early part of the 19^th century, TB killed close to 1,000 people in Washington every year, up to 96 percent of the people who had the active disease. Snohomish County had its own well-populated TB hospitalnear Snohomish, named Aldercrest Sanatorium. Over the decades, TB detection and treatment improved and brought the figures down dramatically—but the disease stubbornly remains present in our community.

“Although our work has forced the numbers down over the years, this disease is still alive in Snohomish County,” said Joseph Aharchi, Health District TB program manager. The best news is that TB is preventable and curable. It’s important for Snohomish County health care and social service staff to be aware of the disease potential in their patients and clients.”

In recent years, Aharchi’s staff of 11 have found and treated TB among school students, drug populations, transients, refugees, shopping mall staff, travelers to foreign countries, and government employees. The TB team continues to work on a current outbreak among mentally ill residents. To date, the Health District has screened 140 contacts of the original case, and found 11 positive for latent TB and eight with active disease.

Managing a TB case involves interviewing and perhaps treating the original patient’s close contacts for latent tuberculosis, and aggressively treating the patient with active TB. The standard course of treatment for TB lasts six to nine months.

“TB can affect and infect anyone,” said Aharchi. “We are here to help defeat it.”

Established in 1959, the Snohomish Health District works for a safer and healthier Snohomish County through disease prevention, health promotion, and protection from environmental threats. Find more information about the Health Board and the Health District at http://www.snohd.org. Learn more about TBat theinformation table in the Health District atrium at 3020 Rucker Ave., Everett.

Salmon bisque that’s doable on weeknights

Los Angeles TimesThis restaurant-grade salmon bisque can be made in less than an hour. — Los Angeles Times
This restaurant-grade salmon bisque can be made in less than an hour.

By Noelle Carter, Los Angeles Times

With the depth of flavor in this soup, you’d never guess it came together in under an hour.

Robin’s Restaurant in Cambria, Calif., was happy to share its recipe for rich and creamy salmon bisque, which we’ve adapted below.

Robin’s salmon bisque

¼ cup salted butter
1 cup sliced leeks
1 cup sliced white mushrooms
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2¾ cups (22 ounces) clam juice
2 cups crushed tomatoes
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill, plus fresh sprigs for garnish
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
2 cups cubed fresh salmon (bones removed and cut into 1/2-inch cubes), about 1½ pounds
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups heavy cream

Heat a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat until hot. Add the butter, and, when it is melted, stir in the leeks, mushrooms and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until the leeks are translucent and soft.

Stir in the clam juice, crushed tomatoes, chopped parsley and dill, and season with the salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, then stir in the salmon. Continue to simmer until the salmon is fully cooked, 3 to 5 minutes.

While the soup is cooking, whisk the flour into the heavy cream in a small bowl. Slowly add the cream to the soup when the salmon is cooked. Continue to simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes.

Ladle the soup into bowls, and serve garnished with dill sprigs.

Makes 8 servings. Per serving: 475 calories; 21 grams protein; 10 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams fiber; 40 grams fat; 20 grams saturated fat; 147 mg cholesterol; 4 grams sugar; 535 mg sodium.

Adapted from Robin’s Restaurant in Cambria, Calif.

Passamaquoddy’s BlackBear Communications Launches Campaign To Improve Healthcare Options for Natives

By Eisa Ulen, Indian Country Today Media Network

To create a healthcare ad for the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), Passamaquoddy-owned public relations, marketing and advertising company BlackBear Communications looked through a pile of Polaroid pictures of ordinary, everyday Native Americans. One of the images was of a beautiful girl, Ta’Shon Rain Little Light, who had been misdiagnosed with depression at the tender age of 5. This child’s real condition was cancer, and Ta’Shon’s young life was lost because of the poor healthcare she received at a local clinic. She became the cover image of a stunning BlackBear-produced NCAI campaign to improve healthcare options for Native people, people like Ta’Shon, whose lives are too often cut short because of the socio-economic conditions that limit their access to quality medical care.

Ta’Shon Rain Little Light (Facebook)

According to Elizabeth Neptune, BlackBear’s public health specialist and former councilor of the Passamaquoddy Tribe of Indian Township, Maine, the BlackBear NIH campaigns “will range the spectrum of health initiatives, from anti-obesity efforts to reminders to schedule prostrate exams. On any campaign that BlackBear is selected to participate in, BlackBear will provide a number of different services to ensure cultural sensitivity and message penetration.”

BlackBear is a Tribal owned venture between the Passamaquoddy Tribe of Indian Township and a team of public relations, advertising and marketing professionals, and the firm’s reach through this NIH partnership will extend throughout Indian country.

Neptune says BlackBear will “micro-target” the hundreds of diverse tribes throughout the United States. The firm, Neptune explains, understands that a person might self-identify as Native American and Choctaw, or Alaskan Native and Haida, and BlackBear “hopes to speak with the target audience in their own voice. Just as one wouldn’t tell a Texan to ‘fer git a bout it’ or invite a New Yorker to hoedown, BlackBear does not take a one-size-fits-all approach to communications.”

With health disparities and income inequality plaguing Native people, this great diversity within Indian country demands that the communications firm in place to help save lives understand the full range of Native experiences. “The prevailing image of Native Americans,” Neptune says, “is of destitute reservations in the backlands of America. While roughly half of all Native Americans live in rural reservations, millions of Native Americans live in urban settings.”

Neptune says that Native Americans living in cities struggle with the same issues of drugs, violence, and poverty facing other urban Americans, but “these problems run deeper and with much greater impact in the Native American/Alaskan Native population. When a national politician talks about the horrors of over 10 percent unemployment in the African American [community], imagine the difficulty for a rural tribal council member who faces over 50 percent unemployment amongst their people. Studies have proven that socio-economics play a major part in health and healthcare management.”

The major health disparities impacting Native health, Neptune says, are diabetes and substance abuse. Education through public communication helps identify substance abusers who need help, the best places for them to go to get help, and the training addicts and their family members can get to learn how to help improve health outcomes. Likewise, Neptune says, through public education, ordinary people can identify a pattern of family diabetes, learn how to talk to a nutrition expert, and begin to think about ways to cook healthier meals to have a positive impact on family wellness.

Neptune says her background as a public health specialist gives her a distinctive perspective within the BlackBear Communications team. “My particular experience in direct care and the whole health care system has placed me in the unique position to talk about those challenges faced in Indian country with authority. But the issues that confront Native American communities are many. Communities are learning, talking and tackling the problem with internal and external resources is the only way we will ever see improvement. There are also opportunities if the Native American communities want to fight for them in the realm of public debate. Whether it is a local, state or nationa initiative, Native Americans will only be heard if they speak up. BlackBear, we hope, will be more than a communications firm to reach Indian country. We want it to be a megaphone for Native Americans to address the issues and opportunities important to them.”

Perhaps BlackBear’s new partnership with NIH will help more people who deserve better healthcare information and access—and prevent tragic, avoidable loss of life, life as precious as young Ta’Shon Rain Little Light.

SnoCo teens drinking less; thinking more about suicide

The 2012 Healthy Youth Survey reflects ups and downs among local older kids

Source: Snohomish County Health District

SNOHOMISH COUNTY, Wash. – The state’s recently released 2012 Healthy Youth Survey (HYS) shows that Snohomish County’s youth are having their ups and downs when it comes to healthy choices and experiences. The biennial report issued by the Washington State Department of Health offers health-risk information reported anonymously by students statewide in grades 6, 8, 10, and 12.

Issues of concern among Snohomish County teens include an increase in planning and seriously considering suicide, and worrisome reports of physical abuse by adults. The good news is that the teens who are depressed or considering suicide are more likely to seek help.

Use of cigarettes in the last 30 days was the lowest since 2002 in all grades, dropping to 15% for 12^th graders. Use of hookah tobacco, however, hit 19% in that age group, and more than 25% reported marijuana use.

Alcohol use was lower in Snohomish County than in Washington State across the board among all grades, decreasing 4-5% at each grade level. Most kids still are not getting enough exercise, with about 20-27% reporting that they are physically active for 60 minutes per day.

“When we focus on the kids in our community, we actually are focusing on the adult population of the immediate future,” said Dr. Gary Goldbaum, Health Officer and Director of the Snohomish Health District. “This is important information we use in planning as we attempt to meet the public health needs of the whole community.”

Data from select topics of concern in the 2012 survey are highlighted in new fact sheets on the Health District website at www.snohd.org. Health District staff has just begun analyzing this new data to identify trends and recommendations. The Snohomish Health District used data from the last Healthy Youth Survey in a community health assessment report that will be released in late April.

Find the state’s complete survey and fact sheets online at http://www.askhys.net/.

The 2012 HYS is the thirteenth survey since 1988 to sample Washington’s students about health risk behaviors that contribute to their illness, death, and social problems.

Students in each grade answered about 100 questions in six broad topics: demographics; alcohol, tobacco and other drug use; school climate; quality of life; risk and protective factors; and healthy weight, eating and physical activity.

The survey is a joint effort of the Department of Health, Department of Social and Health Services, Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, Liquor Control Board, the Family Policy Council, and the Department of Commerce. Results are used to plan, implement, and evaluate state youth programs.

Established in 1959, the Snohomish Health District works for a safer and healthier community through disease prevention, health promotion, and protection from environmental threats. Find more information about the Health District at www.snohd.org.

Healthcare blossoms at Seattle’s Pike Place Market

Source: SEIU Healthcare

CoverMe Rally sends message to Olympia to fund Medicaid expansion covering more than 250,000 people, saving the state $225 million and adding 10,000 jobs

SEATTLE – More than tourists flocked to Pike Place Market Thursday. Dozens of everyday Washingtonians rallied outside the Pike Market Medical Clinic calling for full implementation of Medicaid expansion. “Cover Me,” they chanted, as nearly 100 umbrellas printed with “Cover Me” opened in unison creating a display that rivaled the floral bouquets in the Public Market.

“Just because I work in the service industry doesn’t mean I shouldn’t have health insurance,” said Cassie Cotham, 27, of Seattle, a volunteer with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. She delayed seeking medical care because she was uninsured, but two years ago she became so ill she could no longer work. Cotham was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. “Medicaid expansion would allow people like me to seek necessary medical care and not worry about balancing bills with going to the doctor.”

Cotham isn’t alone. More than 261,000 low-income Washington residents would be covered under Medicaid expansion, if the Legislature acts this session. The expansion would use Federal dollars to expand coverage to thousands of people, would save $225 million dollars and add 10,000 jobs statewide.

“Too often we see people desperately ill in the emergency rooms of our hospitals because they’ve postponed seeking treatment due to a lack of insurance coverage,” said Susan Tekola, a nurse with SEIU Healthcare 1199NW. “We support Medicaid expansion because it makes sense to provide quality coverage for all Washington residents allowing them to enjoy more healthy, productive lives.”

People at the rally wrote messages on two umbrellas which will be delivered to Washington House Speaker Frank Chopp and Senate Majority Leader Rodney Tom urging the Legislature to act swiftly.

“We hope our political leaders hear the message that Washington’s bounty should include not just salmon, great coffee and wonderful produce,” said Lynne Treat, of Chehalis. She’s a volunteer with AARP of Washington. She spoke Thursday about the need for people between ages 50 to 64 to have coverage. “All Washingtonians deserve quality health care.”

A recent Elway poll found that two-thirds of state residents support Medicaid expansion. Studies show that people without health insurance have a greater risk of prolonged illnesses, disability and death.

The rally was organized by the Healthy Washington Coalition, which represents a broad range of more than 70 organizations across the state.

Having fun and living healthy

By Kim Kalliber, Tulalip News staff; Photos Jeannie Briones

Tulalip Tribal member Thomas Reeves learns the importance of brushing his teeth properly.

Staff at the Tulalip Early Head Start (EHS) Learning Center proved that learning to live healthy could be fun. On March 13^th a crowd of young children were seen donning firemen hats, eating healthy treats, playing games, and learning the basics of proper healthcare at the EHS Mini Health and Safety Fair.

“Here at Early Head Start, we decided it [fair] would be a good opportunity to provide health and safety information to our parents in the program and other families,” said Katrina Lane, EHS Family Partnership Coordinator.

A variety of booths, filled with educational information and hands-on learning techniques, aimed to increase parents knowledge of healthy eating, including proper food portions and basic nutrition, along with treating head lice and common household products that can be poisonous to children. Tulalip Health Clinic staff stressed the importance of immunizations and well child examines to combat disease and viruses and ensure the overall well-being of children.

Members of the Tulalip Dental Clinic were on hand to teach kids and parents about proper dental care, and Tulalip firefighters talked about safety tips, and handed out bright red firemen hats to the kids.

Parent Heather Spencer talked about why attending the health fair was important, saying, “to learn and to teach my kids a better way of life.”

Based on the success of this event, EHS staff are looking forward to the Health and Safety Fair becoming an annual event.

Tulalip Family Fun Night, Nutrition Month 2013

Family Fun Night in honor of national nutrition month March 28

4:30-6:30 PM Tulalip Administrative Building, Room 162