LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lake County Library will host a program on “Medicare Changes and Choices” on Saturday, Oct. 13, at 2 p.m. at the Lakeport branch of Lake County Library located at 1425 N. High St.
The Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program, or HICAP, will present this program. A question and answer period will follow the presentation.
HICAP provides free and unbiased information about Medicare benefits to Medicare beneficiaries in the six North Bay counties.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – It’s “flu” season and the Lake County Public Health Division has announced its community influenza vaccination clinic schedule.
Lake County Public Health is offering seasonal flu vaccines for $2.
Scheduled clinics for the seasonal flu vaccines are as follows while supplies last.
OCTOBER
Lakeport
Saturday, Oct. 13, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Heroes of Health and Safety Fair, Lake County Fairgrounds, 401 Martin St. Flu shots are free at this event.
Clearlake
Wednesday, Oct. 17, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Senior Community Center, 3245 Bowers Road.
NOVEMBER
Lakeport
Tuesdays from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the Public Health Division, 922 Bevins Court in Lakeport. Appointments are required. Please call 707-263-1090 or 800-794-9291 to schedule.
Flu vaccinations are also available in a variety of locations such as your primary care provider and local pharmacies.
Getting vaccinated is a great way to avoid getting the flu. Anyone 6 months of age or older is encouraged to get a flu vaccine.
Being careful to use good hygiene is another way to protect yourself and those around you. If you cough or sneeze, cover your nose and mouth with a tissue or the crook of your arm instead of your hands.
A virus can easily be passed from your hands to the things you touch. Wash your hands often and use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer when soap and water aren’t available. Try not to touch your face with your hands. A virus can enter your system through the membranes of your eyes, nose and mouth.
Protect yourself by avoiding close contact with anyone who is sick.
Choosing a healthful lifestyle can also help to keep you well. Getting enough sleep, eating nutritious foods, drinking plenty of water and staying physically active can help to maintain a healthy immune system. Together, we can help to decrease the spread of influenza in our community.
The symptoms of the flu include a temperature of over 100 degrees F combined with a cough, sore throat, body aches, headache and a lack of energy. If you are ill, stay home to keep from infecting others.
For more information contact the Lake County Public Health Division at 1-800-794-9291 or 707-263-1090.
California has a lower adult obesity rate than many other states, according to new national data reported in the 15th annual State of Obesity: Better Policies for a Healthier America report released today by Trust for America’s Health, or TFAH, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, or RWJF.
The report shows that 25.1 percent of adults living in California have obesity, ranking the state 48th amongst the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Findings include:
– Adult obesity rates vary considerably from state to state, with a high of 38.1 percent in West Virginia and a low of 22.6 percent in Colorado. No state had a statistically significant improvement in its obesity rate over the past year. – Adult obesity rates are at or above 35 percent in seven states; for the first time in Iowa and Oklahoma, and at least the second time in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and West Virginia. – Six states – Iowa, Massachusetts, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and South Carolina – saw their adult obesity rates increase significantly between 2016 and 2017. – Adult obesity rates are between 30 and 35 percent in 22 states and 19 states have adult obesity rates between 25 and 30 percent. – Over the past five years (2012 – 2017), 31 states had statistically significant increases in their obesity rate and no state had a statistically significant decrease in its obesity rate. – There continue to be striking racial and ethnic disparities in obesity rates. In 31 states, the adult obesity rate among Blacks is at or above 35 percent. Latino adults have obesity at a rate at or above 35 percent in eight states. White adults have obesity rates at or above 35 percent in one state. Nationally, the adult obesity rates for Latinos, Blacks and Whites are 47.0 percent, 46.8 percent and 37.9 percent respectively.
“Obesity is a complex and often intractable problem and America’s obesity epidemic continues to have serious health and cost consequences for individuals, their families and our nation,” said John Auerbach, president and CEO of Trust for America’s Health. “The good news is that there is growing evidence that certain prevention programs can reverse these trends. But we won’t see meaningful declines in state and national obesity rates until they are implemented throughout the nation and receive sustained support.”
Obesity is a problem in virtually every city and town, and every income and social sector. But its impact is most serious in communities where conditions make access to healthy foods and regular physical activity more difficult, such as lower income and rural areas, including many communities of color.
The national costs of obesity are enormous. Obesity drives an estimated $149 billion annually in directly related healthcare spending, and an additional $66 billion annually in lowered economic productivity. Also, one in three young adults is ineligible for military service, owing to being overweight, posing a national security vulnerability.
Evidence-based programs, policies and practices to reverse the obesity trend are known but need widespread implementation.
“Obesity is a major challenge in nearly every state and our role as public health leaders is to ensure we’re doing everything we can to address it,” said John Wiesman, president of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) and secretary of health at the Washington State Department of Health. “Our goal at the state level is to work across sectors to advocate for and implement evidence-based policies that encourage active healthy living and support healthy and safe communities that provide access to healthy foods, physical activity, and clinical preventive services.”
Recommendations
The report offers 40 recommendations for federal, state and local policymakers; the restaurant and food industries; and the healthcare system, including:
– Support and expand policies and programs aimed at addressing obesity at the federal, state and community levels, including programs in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity, and community health programs like the Racial and Ethnic Approaches for Community Health program (REACH), and programs that focus on school health in CDC’s Division of Population Health.
– Maintain and strengthen essential nutrition supports for low-income children, families and individuals through programs – like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and expand programs and pilots to make healthy food more available and affordable through the program.
– Maintain nutrition standards for school meals that were in effect prior to USDA’s interim final rule from November 2017, as well as current nutrition standards for school snacks. States should ensure that all students receive at least 60 minutes of physical education or activity during each school day.
– Medicare should encourage eligible beneficiaries to enroll in obesity counseling as a covered benefit, and, evaluate its use and effectiveness. Health plans, medical schools, continuing medical education, and public health departments should raise awareness about the need and availability of these services.
– Food and beverage companies should eliminate children’s exposure to advertising and marketing of unhealthy products.
– Hospitals should no longer sell or serve sugary drinks on their campuses; they should also improve the nutritional quality of meals and promote breastfeeding.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Adventist Health Clear Lake is offering a six-week Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program designed to help improve the quality of life for people with chronic lung disease including COPD, asthma and pulmonary fibrosis.
The six-week program teaches patients about their disease, and gives them the skills to manage it in their day-to-day activities.
Patients learn breathing techniques, how to cope with anxiety and shortness of breath, safe ways to exercise, and education about medications specific to their lung conditions.
Enrollees who successfully complete the Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program are encouraged to return to a maintenance class to exercise and receive continued support from the respiratory staff and fellow pulmonary rehabilitation graduates.
“I have seen people enter the program struggling to breathe with every movement, and 6 weeks later, they leave the class more knowledgeable about their condition, more relaxed, less anxious and having less shortness of breath” states Debra Baker, Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program coordinator.
The program starts with an initial assessment and pulmonary function test. From this assessment, an individual program is designed for each patient based on their needs and goals.
The program includes exercise training, education about proper breathing techniques, and lung management skills to help patients improve their quality of life.
The success of the program is evidenced by graduates who get through their daily tasks without experiencing severe shortness of breath and by less frequent visits to the emergency department for breathing complications.
“I feel less short of breath, can go swimming now, and can take two-hour breaks off of my oxygen!” said recent Pulmonary Rehabilitation graduate Theresa Holaway after completion of the program.
“This has been a great program for our Lake County community and for patients that have come from outside the county to attend. My staff is attentive and caring and will go above and beyond for all our patients” says Kevin Cole, director of Cardiopulmonary Department at Adventist Health Clear Lake Medical Center.
Adventist Health Clear Lake’s Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program is approved by Medicare and most private insurance companies.
Learn more about how pulmonary rehabilitation can help improve the quality of life for people with chronic lung disease by calling the team at 707-995-5624.
The Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program is located at the Hilltop Professional Building, 15322 Lakeshore Blvd., Suite 204, in Clearlake.