Health & Wellness

STATE COLLEGE — Medical professionals and community members are invited to a hospice symposium at 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 23, at the Mount Nittany Medical Center Auditorium, 1800 E. Park Ave., State College. Sponsored by Centre Crossings Hospice, a service of Centre HomeCare, the event will feature professionals in the industry who will address…

Nursing has come a long way since Florence Nightingale began the first nursing school in 1860. This time-honored profession now transcends traditional bedside care, with nurses serving as the foundation of the entire health care team. Today, nurses lead groundbreaking research, develop sophisticated medical applications and advocate for improved health care policy. But at…

How many of you were shoveling the 15 inches of snow we had in March? How many of you have started planting your garden, or maybe started a renovation project, such as painting? Many of these tasks require a repetitive or twisting movement for a long duration of time. This could lead to overuse…

STATE COLLEGE — Mount Nittany Health hosted its annual Volunteer Recognition Luncheon April 26, honoring the 621 individuals who provide more than 60,000 hours of service in a number of patient-related and ancillary capacities across the system each year. “Families come to us in times of joy, sorrow and the unknown,” Meredith Thompson, director, volunteer…

STATE COLLEGE — There’s no question that exercise is good for health. It can strengthen muscles, bones, heart and lungs. Regularly exercising can also reduce the risk for heart disease, obesity, high blood pressure and a whole litany of other conditions. But, exercise and physical activity may also slow brain aging. “Many people don’t start…

UNIVERSITY PARK — A diet supplemented with soy protein may be an effective adjunct therapy for inflammatory bowel diseases, Penn State researchers reported after completing a study that included mice and cultured human colon cells. The findings are significant because inflammatory bowel diseases — including ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease — are characterized by…

STATE COLLEGE — Juniper Village at Brookline recently implemented the Connect4Life model developed by Juniper Communities. Connect4Life integrates onsite primary care and pharmacy and lab services with social supports and residential care. Juniper’s approach fully integrates with other ancillary services using high-tech/high-touch communications that transfer the resident’s information through an electronic health record. This…

All parents want to help their children grow up as healthy as possible. One of the best ways to do that is by making sure each child receives all the vital immunizations that protect against serious illnesses. Because vaccines have been so successful over the decades in eradicating diseases, most of today’s parents have…

There are two sides of the caregiving coin. On one side is people who find it a blessing to give back and develop a deeper connection to elder loved ones as they become their companions and helpers. On the other side are the people whose own physical and mental health suffers as they sacrifice everything…