Lifestyle - Health & Wellness Articles

Health Briefs, Dec. 18, 2012

Registration open for 5K and health expo Registration is open for the sixth-annual Sweet Heart Run and Health Expo Feb. 9 in Fruita. The city of Fruita and Family Health West will host the 5K run/walk and a 10K run as part of the event. The race begins at 10 a.m. at the Fruita Community Center, 324 N. Coulson St. Registration is $25 for the 5K and $30 for the 10K. Fees increase by $5 for late registration. Call 858-0360 or visit http://www.sweetheartrun.com to register or get more ...

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Pertussis outbreak going easy on Western Slope

Cases of pertussis, or “whooping cough,” have increased dramatically this year in Colorado. But so far, Mesa County isn’t one of the harder-hit areas. As of Nov. 26, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had counted 1,300 cases of pertussis statewide in 2012, up from an average of 158 cases between Jan. 1 and Nov. 26 each year between 2007 and 2011. Colorado started describing its upswing in pertussis diagnoses as epidemic on Aug. 20. Pertussis cases have ...

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Delta hospital gets an ‘A’

Delta County Memorial Hospital has earned the top grade available from national hospital surveying organization The Leapfrog Group. The group awards Hospital Safety Score grades every year based on data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the Leapfrog Hospital Survey that analyzes hospital procedures and patient outcomes. Points are deducted based on the number of ...

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Sign-up for Medicare ends Friday

CLARIFICATION: Only people who want to change their existing Medicare plan need to make changes by this Friday. The deadline for open enrollment in Medicare is coming fast. All people who plan to join Medicare or continue Medicare coverage but want to change their plan need to enroll by the end of the day Friday. Information about plans available to Mesa County residents, which can change year-to-year, is available at Medicare.gov. In general, U.S. citizens or permanent residents who ...

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November is Prematurity Awareness Month

Becky Price knew she wouldn’t have a full-term pregnancy. After three kids and scarring on her uterus, she didn’t think she could have another child and was told she would have a difficult pregnancy. But she never expected her daughter, Isabelle, to arrive 16 weeks early. Isabelle, who everyone calls Bella Grace, weighed 1 pound, 9 ounces when she was born 24 weeks into Price’s pregnancy Dec. 11, 2011, at St. Mary’s Hospital. She was on a ventilator for several ...

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Health Briefs, Nov. 13, 2012

CHS senior earns volunteer award Deanna Wright, a student at Central High School, recently received the 2012 Volunteers are the Foundation of Hospice Award for Teen Service at the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization annual conference. Wright has volunteered with Hospice & Palliative Care of Western Colorado for six years and has spent more than 600 hours volunteering with various hospice programs, including Heirlooms for Hospice, the Beauty Queen Project, Camp Good ...

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Body and Soul Makeovers revealed

Twelve weeks of trips to the gym, dentist, dermatologist, aesthetician, hair salon, life coach, makeup artist, clothing store, photographer and nutrition consultant paid off for the two winners of Le MedSpa’s Body & Soul Makeover contest. Mande Gabelson and Luke Carter were selected for the makeover out of a stack of applicants looking for a change in their lifestyle, confidence and appearance. They worked with a “Dream Team” of experts to help make their ...

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St. Mary’s becomes Primary Stroke Center

St. Mary’s Hospital is now certified as a Primary Stroke Center, a distinction awarded after a thorough auditing process by independent, nonprofit accreditation group The Joint Commission. The advanced certification took effect Oct. 17, making St. Mary’s the only Primary Stroke Center between Provo, Utah, and the Denver metropolitan area. The distinction won’t lead to monetary gain for the hospital, according to Dr. Logan McDaneld, a stroke-trained neurologist at St. ...

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GJ volunteers help African children with dental care

Miquette Gerber literally jumped at the chance to help children in Africa. Gerber was attending a Sunrise Horizon Rotary Club meeting a few months ago when the club asked if anyone would like to volunteer to go on a trip with Medicine Arm-In-Arm to provide pediatric dentistry to South African children, a cause the club has donated to. Gerber had no experience with dentistry but she had been to Africa before and couldn’t wait to go back. She leapt up in her chair and immediately ...

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Obesity Summit planned for Mesa County

The Mesa County Health Department plans to tackle one of its “winnable battles” next month when it hosts an Obesity Summit from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Nov. 2 at the Grand Junction Public Safety building, 555 Ute Ave. The county announced earlier this year it plans to tackle three issues in the next few years: obesity, suicide and unintended pregnancy. The county partnered with community leaders and the Teen Sexual Health and Pregnancy Prevention Coalition to host a summit ...

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Autism organization expanding to GJ

Firefly Autism, a Denver-based service provider for children with autism, plans to extend its services to Grand Junction and the Western Slope by the end of 2012. Executive Director Jason Romero said the 10-year-old nonprofit group decided to make its first venture outside of Denver after receiving a $250,000 grant from the Temple Hoyne Buell Foundation in memory of DeeDee Mayer, a longtime Grand Junction resident with a connection to autism. Romero said the Buell Foundation told him the ...

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Health Briefs, Oct. 9, 2012

Clinical events Thursday at Le MedSpa Le MedSpa, 2530 N. Eighth St., Suite 203, Wellington 4 Building, will host two clinical events from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday at its office. The first event will focus on CoolSculpting, a procedure that freezes fat, and the other event will focus on skin smoothing and tightening procedures Pelleve and Invasix. Participants can meet representatives for each procedure and enjoy refreshments, specials and prizes. To reserve a space for either event, ...

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MDS run brings families together

Participants in the second annual Rollin’ on the River Family Fun 5K Run, Walk and Roll on Oct. 20 along the Riverfront Trail will support nearly 300 local infants and toddlers who benefit from Mesa Developmental Services’ early intervention programs. The programs are free to families because state and federal dollars that help fund early intervention services come with the condition of Mesa Developmental Services providing them at no cost, according to MDS spokeswoman Marilee ...

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GJ man says no ‘magic’ to his weight loss

The red light never went off for Scott Martin. Not when he struggled through back surgeries and muscle strains. Not when he was diagnosed with diabetes and high blood pressure. Not even when he nearly had a heart attack and got two stents put in his arteries at St. Mary’s Hospital. A lack of activity combined with his appetite for cooking Paula Dean- and Emeril Lagasse-inspired treats helped Martin, once an avid outdoorsman, gradually pack on the pounds in his 40s and 50s. The ...

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Health Briefs, Oct. 2, 2012

Day Center recognized by foundation The Colorado Health Foundation’s KaleidosCOpe Project is providing Catholic Outreach’s Day Center with a $5,000 grant. The KaleidosCOpe Project is a statewide story-telling campaign that awards $5,000 grants to agencies currently receiving funding from the Colorado Health Foundation who submit videos describing how they are using funding to benefit people’s lives. The Day Center uses Colorado Health Foundation and other funding to ...

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Health Briefs, Sept. 25, 2012

Delta Memorial among 20 in Colorado recognized for breast feeding efforts Delta Memorial Hospital is among 20 Colorado hospitals honored Sept. 18 by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment for implementing best practices to support breast feeding. Hospitals that earn the Colorado Can Do 5! breast-feeding award have to implement five best practices: the baby stays in the same room as the mother in the hospital, the baby is fed only breast milk in the hospital, the baby ...

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Thai Yoga Massage a unique offering in GJ

Jill Whinnery found her passion for massage 25 years ago when she became a certified massage therapist shortly after graduating high school. Nearly two decades into her massage career, she discovered Thai Yoga Massage, a traditional Thai massage method that involves a therapist applying pressure to points along the body and holding a person in yoga postures. She quickly became hooked and passed two certification classes in Thai Yoga Massage at the White Lotus Foundation in her hometown of ...

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Health Department offering flu shots

Flu vaccines are now available at the Mesa County Health Department. Walk-in influenza vaccinations are available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays; from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays; and from 8 a.m. to noon on Fridays at the Health Department at 510 29 1/2 Road and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the department’s Fruita location, 215 N. Plum St. The vaccine comes in a nasal mist or shot form. The nasal vaccine is recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and ...

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Health Briefs, Sept. 18, 2012

Therapeutic art on display downtown Art created by homeless veterans as part of the “Art in Transition” therapeutic art program will be on diplay from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Downtown Farmers Market. Pieces will be displayed in front of Nepal Restaurant, 356 Main St. “Art in Transition” is made possible through a grant from the Grand Junction Commission on Arts and Culture. Catholic Outreach’s St. Martin Place teamed with local artsits to give former ...

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LiveWell targets weight misconceptions

Many people know their height down to the quarter inch. But when it comes to weight, self and societal perception may mean misclassifications of true health risks. A statewide study showed that Coloradans see obesity as someone else’s problem and are not recognizing if their numbers fall into a healthy weight, overweight or obese category. “They tended to think of obesity in terms of The Biggest Loser,” said John Hopkins, Grand Junction resident and chairman of the ...

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