Health
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Mother-Wise, an organization that offers support to new and expecting Lake County moms, is hosting an upcoming volunteer training.
Mother-Wise depends on volunteers to provide the best possible support for Lake County moms.
Registration is now open for Lake County’s next Mother-Wise volunteer training, where regular women become saathi companions by learning the best ways to support to pregnant women and new mothers.
The next saathi training is on Saturday, Oct. 12, from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at The Harbor on Main, 16170 Main St., Suite F, in Lower Lake. Preregistration is required for lunch, which is included.
The training covers the basis for the saathi home visiting program, including the special needs of mothers, effective communication with families, home visiting parameters, active listening skills, and signs and effects of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs), including postpartum depression.
Saathis put the Mother-Wise mission into practice, helping moms through all kinds of challenges while building relationships and support systems powerful enough to change lives.
There is probably a woman near you who could use some help adjusting to motherhood, and there is nothing complicated about saathi support.
Women achieve the role of saathi (“meaning companion” in Sanskrit) by attending a one-day training. Then they are matched with a mom from their area before working out a schedule for home visits and other contacts.
This arrangement sets the stage for the many meaningful ways a saathi can support a mom. While saathis are trained to be vigilant for signs of postpartum depression and other PMADs, their main role is simply being there for the mom they are supporting.
As Mother-Wise grows, so does the need for kind, caring volunteers. Not everyone can commit to being a saathi, but there are several other ways to get involved besides the home visiting program.
Mother-Wise currently needs a home-cooked meal delivery coordinator, play group volunteer (someone to help the Early Childhood Educator with the moms’ older children during M.O.M groups), fundraising help, walk leaders and help with supply closet inventory.
Mother-Wise volunteers often talk about how much satisfaction they get from working with moms and their families.
A short visit, a listening ear, holding the baby, a simple walk – no matter what the activity, the gift of time leaves a lasting impression on mothers and their families.
Mother-Wise sincerely welcomes all volunteers, but new saathis are urgently needed in and around Clearlake, Middletown and Lucerne.
For more information or to enroll in the upcoming training, please send a message to Mother-Wise on Facebook or call Jaclyn at 707-349-1210.
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A large new American Cancer Society study adds to increasing evidence that physical activity reduces the risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women.
Researchers say moderate recreational activity was associated with a 14 percent lower risk and high physical activity with a 25 percent lower risk of breast cancer compared to women who were active at the lowest level.
The study appears early online in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, and Prevention.
A large body of evidence shows that women taking part in regular physical activity have an approximately 25 percent lower risk of breast cancer compared to the most inactive. But still unclear are issues such as whether moderate intensity activity, like walking, imparts a benefit in the absence of vigorous exercise.
Also unclear is whether the association differs based on tumor features, such as hormone receptor status, or by individual factors such as a woman's body mass index (BMI), weight status, and use of postmenopausal hormones.
In addition, while prolonged periods of sitting have been associated with the risk of some cancers, the relation between sitting time and postmenopausal breast cancer risk is not well understood.
To learn more, American Cancer Society researchers led by Alpa Patel, Ph.D. compared exercise and breast cancer status in 73,615 postmenopausal women taking part in in the CPS-II Nutrition Cohort, a prospective study of cancer incidence established by the American Cancer Society in 1992. During the 17-year study, 4,760 women in the study were diagnosed with breast cancer.
About one in ten (9.2 percent) women reported no recreational physical activity at the beginning of the study. Among those who were active, the average expenditure was equivalent to 3.5 hours per week of moderately-paced walking.
Physically active women engaged primarily in moderate intensity activities, like walking, cycling, aerobics, and dancing rather than vigorous-intensity activities like running, swimming, and tennis.
Among all women, 47 percent reported walking as their only recreational activity. Physically active women tended to be leaner, more likely to maintain or lose weight during adulthood, more likely to drink alcohol, and less likely to currently smoke.
They were also more likely to use postmenopausal hormone therapy and to have had a mammogram in the past year.
Among those who reported walking as their only activity, those who walked at least seven hours per week had a 14 percent lower risk of breast cancer compared to those who walked three or fewer hours per week. Consistent with most prior studies, the most active women had 25 percent lower risk of breast cancer than the least active.
The associations did not differ by hormone receptor status, BMI, weight gain, or postmenopausal hormone use. Also, sitting time was not associated with risk.
“Our results clearly support an association between physical activity and postmenopausal breast cancer, with more vigorous activity having a stronger effect,” said Dr. Patel. “Our findings are particularly relevant, as people struggle with conflicting information about how much activity they need to stay healthy. Without any other recreational physical activities, walking on average of at least one hour per day was associated with a modestly lower risk of breast cancer. More strenuous and longer activities lowered the risk even more.”
Current guidelines recommend adults get at least two-and-a-half hours per week of moderate-intensity activity, or 75 minutes per week of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity for overall health. But studies indicate less than half of U.S. adult women are active at these minimum levels.
“Given that more than 60 percent of women report some daily walking, promoting walking as a healthy leisure-time activity could be an effective strategy for increasing physical activity among postmenopausal women,” added Dr. Patel.
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UKIAH, Calif. – On Monday Sept. 30, Ukiah Valley Medical Center held a heartfelt groundbreaking ceremony to officially begin the campus expansion project for the new Emergency Room, Intensive Care Unit, Trauma Center and hospital support building.
Former Savings Bank of Mendocino County Vice President Marty Lombardi made a special appearance from his new home in Grass Valley, to be the Master of Ceremonies at the groundbreaking.
“I consider my position on the Governing Board and the Capital Campaign Committee to be a privilege and I am honored to be here tonight to share it with the community,” Lombardi said.
Lombardi thanked Adventist Health, represented by Terry Newmyer, President of the Northern California Network, comprised of five hospitals in Northern California.
Adventist Health’s commitment to the expansion project is $41 million. Lombardi recognized this sizable commitment to the Ukiah community.
“We are fortunate to have Adventist Health’s support as we move forward in these uncertain economic times,” he said.
Lombardi recognized the community’s commitment to the expansion project. “We are also here to honor those who have contributed to the capital campaign to raise $4 million towards this project. The employees and physicians at UVMC led the way with community leaders also making substantial gifts to bring the campaign total to $3.1 million.”
The event was held on the northeast corner of the medical center property at 275 Hospital Dr. in Ukiah, near the site of the first phase of the expansion – the hospital support building, or HSB.
“The HSB will house various departments including Materials Management and Administration and will allow us to prepare for our community’s new emergency department, intensive care unit and helipad,” said UVMC Chief Executive Officer Gwen Matthews.
Matthews shared testimonies and experiences of five survivors whose lives were forever changed and impacted by the high quality medical care they received in the current emergency department – which opened in 1978 to see 8,000 patients per year, when there were three hospitals in Ukiah.
Now the emergency department sees approximately 25,000 patients per year – a number that is projected to increase in coming years.
Lombardi closed by sharing that a gift of any kind no matter how substantial, would make a lasting impression on community members for generations to come.
To learn more about Ukiah Valley Medical Center’s campus expansion project, you can contact Allyne Brown, director of philanthropy, at 707-463-7623 or by email at
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SACRAMENTO – As the state launches its health benefit exchange on Tuesday, Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. signed a package of bills to continue implementing federal health care reform in California.
“While extreme radicals in Washington shut down our government, here in California we’re taking action to extend decent health care to millions of families,” said Governor Brown.
California has been a leader among states in implementing the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) and establishing its health benefit exchange.
The following legislation, signed by the governor, builds on these efforts:
AB 362 by Assemblymember Philip Y. Ting (D-San Francisco) – Excludes until Jan. 1, 2019, from gross income, any amounts received by an employee from an employer to compensate for additional federal income taxes that are incurred by the employee on employer-provided health-care benefits because, for federal income tax purposes, the same-sex spouse or domestic partner of the employee is not considered the spouse of the employee.
AB 422 by Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian (D-Sherman Oaks) – Requires information on Covered California’s health care coverage and the continued availability of Medi-Cal options to be included on the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) notifications that school districts may provide to students, as specified, effective on Jan. 1, 2014.
AB 1180 by Assemblymember Richard Pan (D-Sacramento) – Updates California law implementing the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and other individual coverage rights related to losing group coverage to conform with the federal ACA. The bill also requires health plans and health insurers to notify specified individuals about the availability of guaranteed issue coverage through Covered California.
SB 28 by Sen. Ed Hernandez (D-West Covina) – Furthers implementation of the state’s expansion of Medi-Cal, authorized and required by the ACA, by giving the Department of Health Care Services greater flexibility in issuing all-county letters until regulations are adopted, and updating the budgeting methodology for Medi-Cal county administrative costs.
SB 138 by Sen. Ed Hernandez (D-West Covina) – Requires health care service plans and health insurers to take specified steps to protect the confidentiality of an insured individual's medical information for purposes of sensitive services or if disclosure will endanger an individual, as specified.
SB 161 by Sen. Ed Hernandez (D-West Covina) – Establishes new regulatory requirements for stop-loss insurance sold to small employers but allows stop-loss insurance issued prior to Sept. 1, 2013, to be renewed or reissued by the same or different insurer under the same terms and conditions, without meeting the new requirements.
SB 249 by Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) – Authorizes the Department of Public Health and qualified entities to share health records involving the diagnosis, care, and treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) related to a beneficiary’s enrollment in federal Ryan White Act (RWA) funded programs to coordinate care and enrollment as beneficiaries transition to new health coverage programs.
SB 332 by Sen. Bill Emmerson (R-Redlands) – Makes Covered California’s contracts and rates of payment to vendors and contractors, and other board and staff work open to public inspection under the California Public Records Act (PRA), except for health plan contracts and their rates, which are made public in three and four years respectively.
SB 353 by Sen. Ted W. Lieu (D-Torrance) – Requires health plans and health insurers that provide essential health benefits to translate specified coverage documents in the same language they use to market or advertise to an individual or small employer, if that language is not already required to be translated under existing law.
SB 800 by Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) – Requires the Department of Health Care Services to provide Covered California with information about parents or caretakers of children enrolled in the Healthy Families program (HFP) or the targeted low-income Medi-Cal program in order to conduct outreach to potentially eligible individuals. Transfers specified employees of the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board (MRMIB) to Covered California and DHCS, as specified.
For full text of the bills, visit: http://leginfo.ca.gov/bilinfo.html .
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