You are doing all the right things: washing your hands frequently, wearing a mask when out in public, getting the requisite sunlight needed to reduce stress and maintain your health. And the reward you’re getting for all your diligence? Dry skin,…
Category: Conditions
Why that wound won’t heal
Despite the advances in modern health care, chronic wounds remain highly problematic. For the critically ill and those with mobility issues, missing just one routine repositioning could send them down a protracted path of intensive wound care therapie…
Getting young adults on board with public health measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19
The recent increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in North America, particularly among young people ages 20-29, is a cause for concern. The reason for this increase seems to be related to poor compliance with public health recommendations. The past f…
Do COVID restrictions in the office negatively affect patients?
Many health care facilities are enacting policies during this time of COVID-19 that restrict the number of people attending appointments in person. Family care providers are asked to wait outside or drop off the patient for their appointment and come b…
Patients vs. customers during COVID
Somewhere in Wuhan, China, a bat was eaten — and the world as we knew it was over. (Note to self: Never have your bat below medium, and avoid bat tartare like the plague.) Kids stayed home. So did their parents. They started talking to each other, inst…
This is what a good death could be
Recently, a neighbor and friend of mine died. After her cancer was diagnosed as incurable, she was referred to hospice care, and family members traveled long distances to spend quality time with her during her last month of life. Her neighbors in our c…
Beyond the medical lessons learned from COVID
COVID- 19 is a disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which is approximately 120 nm in diameter. To put it in non-scientific terms, its physical size may be diminutive, but its impact has been devastating on the entire human race. Who knew that this t…
COVID transmission should not be a touchy subject
Our understanding of COVID-19 is still evolving, but after observing millions of cases worldwide over the last nine months, we can speak to transmission patterns with a modicum of confidence. SARS-CoV-2 is spread primarily through the air. Contact wi…
A COVID-19 vaccine is not the magic solution to ending this pandemic
COVID-19 caused the nation to shut down and wreaked havoc on everyone’s daily lives. International travel has been halted, restaurants and businesses have been closed, and large gatherings and celebrations have been forced to be postponed or canceled. …
We need leaders who can channel the intrinsic motivation Americans have to help those around them
In the hospital, hand washing is critical. Studies have repeatedly shown that handwashing reduces hospital-acquired-infections with impressive magnitude. But how do you motivate hospital workers to wash their hands? In a study, professors Adam Grant an…
