| PRODUCTS & SERVICES |
GSAHEC's Tobacco Training and Cessation program offers quit smoking support at various times/locations in Charlotte, DeSoto, Manatee and Sarasota counties. Businesses in these areas may arrange for special on-location employee groups. Services now available in Spanish. To learn more call: (941)552-1283 or (866)534-7909 | |
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| IN THE NEWS |
Attention Cancer Stakeholders:
Gulfcoast South AHEC is partnering with the Screen for Life, Colorectal Cancer Control program housed at Manatee County Health Department to facilitate the creation of the Southwest Cancer Control Collaborative (SWCCC). GSAHEC will provide continuing education credits for a seminar entitled Preventative Health Measures that Decrease the Incidence of Cancer to be held Tuesday, June 15, 2010, from 9:00 am - 11:00 am at the Lakewood Ranch Medical Center. The presenter is Kathy Allen, M.A., R.D., L.D., C.S.O., Manager of the Department of Nutrition, Moffitt Cancer Center. Contact GSAHEC to reserve your spot!
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Gulfcoast South AHEC offers funding to community-based youth serving organizations to develop and implement
Health Careers Summer Camps in Charlotte, DeSoto, Manatee, and Sarasota counties. An essential component of our youth programs involves the recruitment of students from underserved, rural, and inner-city communities and underrepresented populations into primary care health fields, including medicine, nursing, and other health professions. The following organizations have been awarded funding for this year: Educational Consultants Consortium, Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida, Girls Incorporated of Sarasota County, Jewish Family & Children's Service of Sarasota-Manatee, Laurel Civic Association, Macedonia Human Services Cultural Training Center, Sarasota Family YMCA, and Truvine Missionary Baptist Church.
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Take me out to the Ballpark...
about this fundraiser being held on September 3, 2010 for our community partner, Charlotte County Healthy Start Coalition.
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SAVE THE DATE
Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel
Orlando, FL
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Gulfcoast South AHEC Youth Programs is now on Facebook!
GSAHEC realizes that the Internet has become a useful tool to help educate and communicate with students, teachers, parents, community partners, and the online world. In an effort to broaden our outreach and track the educational path of current and former students who have participated in our AHEC programs, we have created a Facebook fan page. If you are familiar with Facebook and are already a user, please follow the link to become a fan/friend of Gulfcoast South AHEC Youth Programs.
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Congratulations to the Martha B. King Middle School members of Health Occupation Students of America (HOSA) on your awesome success at the HOSA State Leadership Conference competitions!
View the list of winners.
Photo (L to R): Melody Rosario, Emily Harris, Victoria Tang, Emilie Jones, Damaris Arias, Maria Cedano |
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Everything You Wanted to Know about Restful Sleep but Were Too Tired to Ask
By Charlene Chirillo
Sleep, is as essential as breathing. Most people think that it is simply "down time" when our brain shuts off, but there are actually a number of tasks that are carried out during sleep that play an important role in your overall health. Here is a list of healthy sleep tips that will help you get quality sleep and the benefits that it supplies.
1. Maintain a regular bed and wake time schedule, including weekends.
We have all heard of our "circadian rhythm" in the brain and how it regulates our sleep-wake cycle. A regular waking time in the morning strengthens this circadian function and can help with sleep onset at night. The key is consistency. This is why it is not a good idea to succumb to the temptation to sleep in on the weekends.
2. Practice proper bedtime hygiene.
Okay, this does not mean taking a bath before bed! This means not watching the latest episode of CSI or, for that matter, the local news before retiring for the night. A relaxing, routine activity right before bedtime, conducted away from bright lights, helps separate your sleep time from activities that can cause excitement, stress or anxiety. These activities can make it more difficult to fall asleep, get sound and deep sleep or remain asleep. Design your sleep environment to establish the conditions you need for sleep - cool, quiet, dark, comfortable and free of interruptions. Consider using blackout curtains, eye shades, ear plugs, "white noise," humidifiers, fans and other devices.
3. Use your bedroom only for sleep.
For this one, you are on your own!
4. Eating before bedtime...a no-no for several reasons.
Eating or drinking too much may make you less comfortable when settling down for bed. It is best to avoid a heavy meal too close to bedtime. Also, spicy foods may cause heartburn, which leads to
difficulty falling asleep and discomfort during the night. Try to restrict fluids close to bedtime to prevent nighttime awakenings to go to the bathroom. However, some people find milk or herbal, non-caffeinated teas to be soothing and a helpful part of a bedtime routine. Also avoid caffeine (e.g. coffee, tea, soft drinks, chocolate) close to bedtime. It can keep you awake. And nicotine (e.g. cigarettes, tobacco products) used close to bedtime can lead to poor sleep.
5. Avoid alcohol before bedtime.
While many people think of alcohol as a sedative, it actually disrupts sleep and causes nighttime awakenings. Consuming alcohol leads to a night of less restful sleep.
If you have persistent sleep problems, talk to your health care provider. There are specialists that can conduct a sleep study that will give you a diagnosis and subsequent treatment options.
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ICHS 2010
By Emily M. Hite
Interdisciplinary Community Health Scholars (ICHS) are health professions students interested in working with rural and medically underserved populations. They use the training and skill sets of their disciplines to create unique, comprehensive solutions to health disparities impacting local communities. This year's ICHS projects will focus on tobacco's impact on our local communities.
The scholars will be divided into two teams and will work on separate projects. The first project will focus on Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) in our community and the second project will focus on hookah use among college-age students. We have hired the following eight students to work on these projects over the summer: Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine
Pharmacy students: Ezinne Anumudu, Melinda Buchanan, Shinelle Pierre and Brian Welch
Medical Student: Stefanie Johnson New College of Florida Pre-Medical graduate:
Catherine Buchanan-McGrath
University of Tampa Nursing student: Cathryne Dutka
State College of Florida Nursing Student: James Martin If you are interested in learning more about the ICHS program, please contact Emily Hite at 941-361-6602.
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Gulfcoast South AHEC Honors Community Partners
By Ansley Mora
 Gulfcoast South AHEC held a recognition ceremony last month to honor the outstanding contributions of the following community and academic partners: Sarasota County Health Department, Penny Kurtz with the DeSoto County Health Department, State College of Florida, and Dr. Lee Ratliff with Charlotte High School. The Sarasota County Health Department (SCHD) was recognized for their exceptional efforts to institutionalize the AHEC Tobacco Training and Cessation (A.T.T.A.C.) program in all three of their clinic locations. As a result of these efforts, GSAHEC's Tobacco Prevention Specialist trained SCHD health care providers/clinicians on the Public Health Services Clinical Practice Guidelines which supports the treatment of tobacco dependence. The entire health department staff has made this an everyday part of practice and are to be commended for their diligence and passion. SCHD also offers quit smoking programs for their patients in partnership with GSAHEC/A.T.T.A.C. and both assist patients in obtaining FDA approved medications for use in quitting smoking. SCHD is also a tobacco free campus which is a CDC Best Practice Policy for addressing tobacco use. Accepting the "Excellence Award" on behalf of the SCHD was Marielle Kantzler, LMHC, Tobacco Prevention Specialist.
DeSoto County Health Department (DCHD) in Arcadia, a division of the Florida Department of Health, does an excellent job precepting health profession students affiliated with GSAHEC. University of South Florida students in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program Read more |
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