Call for Vendors, Glenwood Springs

Call for Vendors for Health & Wellness Expo

Glenwood Springs, CO - Vendor and sponsorship applications are currently being accepted for the third annual Health & Wellness Expo in Glenwood Springs.  The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 26, at Ramada Inn & Suites.

The Health & Wellness Expo is being produced locally in hopes of providing information and education about integrative health and preventative wellness solutions that are available throughout the valley.  The event will feature more than 30 educational vendor booths, informative speakers and interactive activities for all ages.

For more information about this event or to obtain a booth vendor application, visit www.healthandwellnessexpogws.com.

Thyroid Dysfuntion Infographic

Good to know for more people than we might otherwise think.
Thank you Health As We Age LLC

MFHC – Eagle location, coming soon.

SOURCE: Mountain Family Health Centers

 

U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Announces New Healthcare Access Point Award for Eagle County, Colorado. 

On November 7, 2013, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced $150 million in awards to support new community health center access points across the country. Eagle County, Colorado, received one of the awards, under the auspices of Mountain Family Health Centers (MFHC). MFHC, working in partnership with Eagle County, Vail Valley Medical Center, the Eagle Care Clinic, and countless key community partners, will receive $650,000 annually to expand access to comprehensive primary health care in Eagle County.

“Our mission is to provide high quality, integrated primary, behavioral, and dental health care in the communities we serve, with special consideration for the medically underserved, regardless of ability to pay,” said MFHC CEO Ross Brooks. “This award will enable Eagle County residents to obtain the high quality, affordable health care we all desire.” 

MFHC has 120 days to implement the new health care access point, which will be located in the current Eagle Care Clinic location at 320 Beard Creek Road, Edwards, CO, 81632. MFHC’s Board of Directors is committed to bringing its organizational strength and comprehensive array of culturally and linguistically-competent services to Eagle County, with a service plan designed to address unique needs, improve health status and decrease target population health disparities. When fully operational, the MFHC Eagle Care team will serve more than 3,500 patients each year.

“The Vail Valley Medical Center team has worked diligently for two decades to create an important health resource in the Eagle Care Clinic and I am very pleased that the work we started will continue to grow under Mountain Family Health Centers,” said Doris Kirchner, President and CEO of Vail Valley Medical Center. “Patients will see added services including dental and mental health care and greater access to financial assistance.” 

“This outstanding award amount is due to the hard work of many partners over many years,” said Eagle County Commissioner Sara Fisher. “We’ve made access to health care a priority and we know our community – and most importantly our community’s health – will benefit from this resource.” 

For additional information, contact MFHC CEO Ross Brooks at 970-928-1609 or rbrooks@mountainfamily.org.

For full Press Release, CLICK HERE.

Early Death Comes From Drinking Distilled Water

SOURCE: REAL farmacy

by Zoltan P. Rona MD MSc

During nearly 19 years of clinical practice I have had the opportunity to observe the health effects of drinking different types of water. Most of you would agree that drinking unfiltered tap water could be hazardous to your health because of things like:

• parasites
• chlorine
• fluoride
• dioxins

Many health fanatics, however, are often surprised to hear me say that drinking distilled water on a regular, daily basis is potentially dangerous.

Paavo Airola wrote about the dangers of distilled water in the 1970′s when it first became a fad with the health food crowd.

Distillation is the process in which water is boiled, evaporated and the vapour condensed. Distilled water is free of dissolved minerals and, because of this, has the special property of being able to actively absorb toxic substances from the body and eliminate them. Studies validate the benefits of drinking distilled water when one is seeking to cleanse or detoxify the system for short periods of time (a few weeks at a time).

Fasting using distilled water can be dangerous because of the rapid loss of electrolytes (sodium, potassium, chloride) and trace minerals like magnesium, deficiencies of which can cause heart beat irregularities and high blood pressure. Cooking foods in distilled water pulls the minerals out of them and lowers their nutrient value.

Distilled water is an active absorber and when it comes into contact with air, it absorbs carbon dioxide, making it acidic. The more distilled water a person drinks, the higher the body acidity becomes.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Distilled water, being essentially mineral-free, is very aggressive, in that it tends to dissolve substances with which it is in contact. Notably, carbon dioxide from the air is rapidly absorbed, making the water acidic and even more aggressive. Many metals are dissolved by distilled water.”

The most toxic commercial beverages that people consume (i.e. cola beverages and other soft drinks) are made from distilled water. Studies have consistently shown that heavy consumers of soft drinks (with or without sugar) spill huge amounts of calcium, magnesium and other trace minerals into the urine.

The more mineral loss, the greater the risk for osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, hypothyroidism, coronary artery disease, high blood pressure and a long list of degenerative diseases generally associated with premature aging.

A growing number of health care practitioners and scientists from around the world have been advocating the theory that aging and disease is the direct result of the accumulation of acid waste products in the body.

There is a great deal of scientific documentation that supports such a theory. A poor diet may be partially to blame for the waste accumulation.

These and other junk foods can cause the body to become more acidic:

• meats
• sugar
• alcohol
• fried foods
• soft drinks
• processed foods
• white flour products
• dairy products

Stress, whether mental or physical can lead to acid deposits in the body.

There is a correlation between the consumption of soft water (distilled water is extremely soft) and the incidence of cardiovascular disease. Cells, tissues and organs do not like to be dipped in acid and will do anything to buffer this acidity including the removal of minerals from the skeleton and the manufacture of bicarbonate in the blood.

The longer one drinks distilled water, the more likely the development of mineral deficiencies and an acid state.

I have done well over 3000 mineral evaluations using a combination of blood, urine and hair tests in my practice. Almost without exception, people who consume distilled water exclusively, eventually develop multiple mineral deficiencies.

Those who supplement their distilled water intake with trace minerals are not as deficient but still not as adequately nourished in minerals as their non-distilled water drinking counterparts even after several years of mineral supplementation.

The ideal water for the human body should be slightly alkaline and this requires the presence of minerals like

• calcium
• magnesium

Distilled water tends to be acidic and can only be recommended as a way of drawing poisons out of the body. Once this is accomplished, the continued drinking of distilled water is a bad idea.

Water filtered through reverse osmosis tends to be neutral and is acceptable for regular use provided minerals are supplemented.

Water filtered through a solid charcoal filter is slightly alkaline. Ozonation of this charcoal filtered water is ideal for daily drinking. Longevity is associated with the regular consumption of hard water (high in minerals). Disease and early death is more likely to be seen with the long term drinking of distilled water.

Avoid it except in special circumstances.

Thyroid 101

Katie WellnessMama

 

[Note from Katie: I've gotten a lot of thyroid questions lately, so I asked a friend of mine, Christa Orecchio, a Clinical and Holistic Nutritionist who blogs at The Whole Journey, to provide some information on her experience working with clients with thyroid problems.]

Enter Christa:

Is it just me or are we hearing more often than not these days of many people who have thyroid disorders? I would say that at least half of my clientele has some kind of under-active thyroid situation that is adversely affecting their energy levels, weight, moods, and digestion.

The thyroid is one of the largest endocrine glands in the body. It’s located in the front of the neck. This gland, when it is not functioning optimally, can create havoc in our lives because it is responsible for making energy. I like to call it both the thermostat and the furnace of the human body.
It works hand-in-hand with our adrenal glands, the gas tank of the body.

This super important gland regulates metabolism, which keeps us at a healthy weight. It also keeps our moods happy and balanced, and helps us sleep deeply, and our digestion flowing. When any one of these things is out of whack, we simply don’t feel like ourselves.

The thyroid gland also controls how quickly the body makes and uses energy, makes protein and controls how sensitive the body is to other hormones – it also plays a critical role in our metabolism and ability to lose/gain weight

Today I want to tell you the signs and symptoms of an underactive thyroid and five key food groups you can consume to support it.

How do you know if your thyroid is underactive?

Unexplained weight gain even with proper diet and exercise
Depression & exhaustion
Cold feet/hands – tingling in hands/arms
Dry and/or pale skin, coarse, thinning hair and brittle nails
Puffy eyes
Memory loss and poor concentration
Constipation
Insomnia
Thinning on the outside of the eyebrows

What to do? CONTINUE LEARNING AT SOURCE

Opinion: A path to pay for integrated health care.

By Edie Sonn

Integrating physical and behavioral care is good health policy — and it’s good for health.
The Institute of Medicine acknowledged that in 1996, when it advocated an integrated approach to primary care that would address physical, mental and emotional, and social functioning. And primary care providers see the importance of this every day.

Patients’ mental and physical health problems are interwoven, especially for the chronically ill. The vast majority of patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes, congestive heart failure, asthma, lung disease and others have co-occurring mental health and/or substance use issues. And there is significant evidence that integrating primary and behavioral health care leads to improved outcomes and reduced costs of care.

Yet few payers, either public or private, pay for integrated care. Why is that, and what can be done to change it?

A new report from the Center for Improving Value in Health Care  explores these questions. Using findings from interviews with key stakeholders, as well as information from successful integrated care programs around the country, the report, ”Paying for Integrated Care and Behavioral Health: Identifying Barriers and Developing Strategies to Overcome Them,” examines the challenges that both providers and payers face and presents recommendations for addressing those.

The report comes at an opportune time. The State of Colorado is developing its State Healthcare Innovation Plan using a pre-testing award under the State Innovation Model (SIM) program initiative from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. That plan centers on integrating primary care and behavioral health within new payment models, and aligning those payment approaches between Medicaid and commercial health plans.

Some findings from the report provide useful insights into the development of the SIM plan, including: CONTINUE READING AT SOURCE

What if your body should NOT be the focus of your health?

TED Talk - Lissa Rankin

Lissa Rankin, MD is an OB/GYN physician, author, keynote speaker, consultant to health care visionaries, professional artist, and founder of the women's health and wellness community OwningPink.com. Discouraged by the broken, patriarchal health care system, she left her medical practice in 2007 only to realize that you can quit your job, but you can't quit your calling. This epiphany launched her on a journey of discovery that led her to become a leader in the field of mind/body medicine, which she blogs about at OwningPink.com and is writing about in her third book Mind Over Medicine: Scientific Proof You Can Heal Yourself (Hay House, 2013). CONTINUE

Hair Loss Can Be a Good Indicator of What's Going On With Your Health

Here's a quick video from Dr. Alan Christianson and actress Gina Lee Nolin about what your hair loss may mean for your health. You can find a lot more helpful information at Dr. C's website, www.integrativehealthcare.com
Thank you Kim: Real (& mostly) Balanced Ideas for Real Living  

Health Care Reform - Article Round Up

From: Kim - Real (& mostly) Balanced Ideas for Real Life

When I first started investigating Health Care Reform a few months ago there wasn't really much information out there.  Now it seems that as we barrel closer to January 1, 2014, it's coming faster and faster.  A few articles crossed my path recently that I thought would be helpful to just pass on to you:

Let the IRS implement Obamacare? Are we nuts?

Are we really prepared to put our health insurance system under the same agency that, as we’ve learned from the targeting scandal, took 1,138 days to approve just one non-exempt group’s tax application?  Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/28/let-the-irs-implement-obamacare-are-we-nuts/#ixzz2Uh088iZl

Health Insurance Reform: Steps to Take Now to Prepare

Open enrollment, both for private health plans and for the new insurance marketplaces established by the law, starts Oct. 1. That’s sooner than you may think, given the complexities of the law, says Meredith Olafson, senior policy advisor in the Small Business Administration’s office of entrepreneurial development. “Every business owner is going to be impacted differently,” Olafson says. “They need to know the facts and information to plan for what’s ahead.”

Here are five important ways to ready yourself for health reform: 

Read more: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/226782#ixzz2Uh27E5PM

Find more on the Affordable Care Act/Health Care Reform/Obamacare HERE.

I am truly non-partisan in this and pretty much all politics.  If you sense a slant or leaning in one direction or another, it's not intentional.  Feel free to share your insights and perspectives by commenting below.

What are you doing to prepare for Obamacare?  Or are you just not worried about it?

 

World Thyroid Day Webinar

From: Kim - Real (& mostly) Balanced Ideas for Real Living

 

World Thyroid Day was observed Saturday, May 25.  Thyroid advocates Dr. Alan Christianson  and actress Gena Lee Nolin offered this webinar  in honor of the day.  As a long-time thyroid patient, currently going through flare-up, this information was helpful, insightful and easy to absorb. If you or someone you know might have thyroid disease, it is well worth your time to watch, listen and learn.  I'll be meeting with my doctor next month with some new ideas and strategies for managing my health.

Welcome to the Webinar

Just one fact I learned from this webinar......  Thyroid disease is more prevalent than heart disease, diabetes and other chronic illnesses.

What is your experience with Thyroid disease or disorder?

Tick Tick Tick - Health Care Reform is Coming

 From "Kim - Real ( & mostly) Balanced Ideas for Real Livng

We have begun a conversation (see post "kim: Beginning to Understand Health Care Reform") about how Health Care Reform will impact us as individuals, business owners, health care professionals and society-at-large.  Another piece of the puzzle is falling into place - Connect for Health Colorado.

This is the website where you will go to compare and contrast available plans and begin to sort out what your health insurance portfolio may look like effective January 1, 2014 when it becomes mandated that you will have health insurance or pay a penalty. You can enroll in a new plan starting in October, according to this website.  You can also attend board meetings and participate in the process.

Connect for Health Colorado - Take a look, share your insights and get educated.

Next week:  Watch for an interview with holistic health practitioner, author/educator and activist Rayna Gangi, who has combed through the Health Care Reform Bill line by line and will share her insights with you.


What are your anticipations for Health Care Reform? Comment Here.

kim: Health Care Reform - Medical Perspective

kim: Health Care Reform - Medical Perspective: In this journey into Health Care Reform, I'd like to present as many perspectives as possible.  This bill presents changes for individuals, insurance companies, employers, wellness providers and medical service providers.

Jim Coombs, CEO Grand River Health

I was pleasantly surprised to run across an interview with Jim Coombs, the CEO of Grand River Health (Rifle, CO) which aired on KMTS-FM (Glenwood Springs, CO.)  on Friday, 3/8/13. The interview was conducted by my colleague at KMTS, News Director Ron Milhorn. 

Mr. Coombs talks about what he refers to as "Health Pay Reform" and the fact that 40% of disease factors are attributed to our behavior, choices WE make.  This is larger than genetic or any other factor.

Link to Jim Coombs interview on KMTS - CLICK HERE

Link to Powerpoint presentation- State of the Community - CLICK HERE


I found the interview informative and with different information than I had expected to be presented.  We have to realize this reform bill affects health care in many different ways and to be informed will help us navigate the new system with as much ease and grace as possible, contributing to lower stress levels and overall wellness.  I hope you find it helpful, as I did.


Thank you to KMTS-FM and Grand River Health for access to and permission to share these resources.

SOURCE: Balanced Ideas For Real Living

kim: Beginning to Understand Health Care Reform

kim: Beginning to Understand Health Care Reform: It has been in the back of my mind for awhile now and with new parts of the plan rolling out in this first quarter of 2013, it is time to understand just what Health Care Reform means for me and for each of us.  This morning I found a very helpful article at CNN.com as a first step to fully understanding the changes, pros and cons.

I'd like to begin a dialogue here so that we all may understand the changes and how best to prepare ourselves for wellness- financial and physical.

So here are the things that stand out for me at this point:

1) Supreme Court called this a tax while passing the bill. Justices state that the US Government cannot require citizens to purchase insurance, however, they can assess a tax on those who do not.  This comes in the form of a penalty, which begins in 2014 and increases in 2015 and again in 2016.  I have calculated that for my husband and I ( and I suspect most people) the penalties are significantly less than what we currently pay for health insurance, so I am not sure it's an adequate incentive to purchase health insurance.

CONTINUE:

Health Information on the Internet: Consider the Source

Would you like to learn techniques for finding credible health information on the Internet? Did you know there are medical databases available through the websites of Valley View Hospital and the Glenwood Springs Library? Would you like to learn what a medical database is and how you can use it to acquire personal health information?

Join Jean Winkler from the Connie Delaney Health Library at Valley View Hospital and Pat Conway, Branch Manager of the Glenwood SpringsBranch Library, for two presentations about health information on the Internet. The librarians are partnering to promote the importance of developing personal health knowledge which is instrumental in making informed health care decisions.

The first session, “Consider the Source,” will be held on March 19 and will demonstrate how to evaluate the credibility of health information found on the Internet. On March 21, the second session, “Getting There from Here,” will include instruction on accessing reliable information through both the public library and hospital library databases. In each session, time will be available for participants to search topics specific to individual needs. Both Conway and Winkler emphasize that the sole purpose of the training is to learn to locate and analyze a wide range of health information. It is not intended to be a substitute for consulting with a health professional.

Plan to attend the sessions Tuesday, March 19 and Thursday, March 21 from 1:00 pm until 2:30 pm at the Glenwood Springs Branch Library at 413 9th Street. Space is limited, so reserve a computer for the training by contacting either Pat Conway at 945-5958 or Jean Winkler at 384-6950. The sessions will be repeated in April.

Location: Glenwood Springs Branch Library, 413 9th Street

Day: Tuesday, March 19, 2013 and Thursday, March 21, 2013
Time: 1:00 pm-2:30 pm

A Resource to Know About - Health Care Reform in Colorado

Pro or Con a visit to Health Care Reform in Colorado can keep you informed. This page is The State of Colorado's information portal for Health Care Reform. Here are a few samples from the FAQ:

When does the new health care reform take effect?

President Obama signed HR 3590, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law on March 23, 2010. The President also signed HR 4872, the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, into law on March 30, 2010. Together, these acts provide staggered time frames within which many of the changes go into effect. Some of the changes took effect immediately, while others will be phased in through 2020.

What does this reform do for Coloradans?

It ends the worst insurance company practices and outlaws discrimination against Americans with pre-existing conditions; It reduces costs for people with insurance and makes coverage more affordable for people without it today; It sets up a new competitive insurance marketplace where small business owners and families get the same buying power and insurance choices that all members of Congress will have to allow them to shop for the insurance plan that works best for them; and It increases the number of Coloradans with health care coverage.

What if we did nothing?

If people like the plan they have, they can keep it. If they like their doctor, nothing in this plan takes that choice away. But they’ll have more consumer protections that give them greater control.

Learn more at Health Care Reform in Colorado.