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The INDEPENDENT, May 21, 2009
To Your Health!
By Judy Hargis, P.A., and Audeen Wagner
In this column I would like to reflect on healthcare, past and
present, and to pay tribute to a person who represented all that
has been lost in our current system.
Healthcare used to mean personal care. A provider knew
his/her patients, their histories, their challenges and provided care
to generations of families. They had relationships with their pa-
tients. A far cry from clinics today where you may see a different
provider each time you have an appointment. A world where the
clinic buzz words are now busy, production, bottom line, liability,
coding and where patients are referred to as “customers.” It is true
that we have great technology and medical knowledge has grown
tremendously. At the same time, continuity and access to care are
becoming a luxury, 47 million people are without healthcare and that number is growing.
This brings to mind Laura Nichols, a Physician Assistant who had tremendous impact on the com-
munity of Vernonia. She came to Vernonia in 1994. She was the only healthcare provider available
during a time when the clinic was holding on by a thread. Carolyn Keasey recollects how frustrating
it was to not know from week to week if there would be a practitioner to serve patients in the com-
munity. Carolyn remembers how Laura saved the clinic. When the flood of ‘96 came and the clinic
was damaged, Laura worked tirelessly with the local community board to help forge an agreement
with Providence to rebuild the clinic. She felt strongly that the community deserved a quality clinic
so there would be access to care for everyone, and she was determined to make it happen.
She loved Vernonia. She was completely committed to the
community and the clinic. She made herself available 24/7. She
took phone calls, made house calls, and made herself accessible
even when she was on vacation. Jeanette Doherty recalls how
Laura would stay at the clinic late at night helping a patient
through a difficult time. Sue Blair remembers her as no different
as a neighbor, always there for anyone who needed her help.
When I accepted a position at the clinic, I came to Vernonia to
spend the day with Laura. She wanted to show me around. What
stands out about that day is that it included a road trip to Scap-
poose, where she picked up a prescription for a patient and paid
for it out of her own pocket. When we arrived home, a patient had
left a plate of food on the front porch of her home. It was their way
of saying “thank you.” She was always available to help anyone
in need. She was an amazing person with a rare commitment to
the well-being of others. If it were possible, she would still be prac-
ticing today. Even though she lives in Rockaway beach now, a big
Laura Nichols, P.A.
piece of her heart will always remain in Vernonia.
I recently read an article about a physician who made a decision to leave a busy practice and find
a way to go back to practicing medicine the way she had envisioned when she went to medical
school. She discovered that it was possible to set up a small clinic, care for her patients the way she
had intended and still make a reasonable living. She wrote an article titled “Is Busy Good?” She felt
we should stop pretending that it is and get back to practicing medicine with the focus on our pa-
tients not the bottom line.
I have recently discovered a few other healthcare providers taking this same path. I hope this
movement continues. What
healthcare needs are more
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Do you know how to help
prevent osteoporosis?
Osteoporosis – a disease
that causes bones to become
fragile and break – is a real
threat for more than 44 million
Americans, or 55 percent of
those over the age of 50, ac-
cording to the National Osteo-
porosis Foundation. While the
disease typically affects older
Americans, it can strike at any
age.
May is national osteoporosis
awareness and prevention
month. In recognition of this
timely awareness month, Kent
State University College of
Nursing professors Dr. Peggy
Doheny and Dr. Carol Sedlak –
who have conducted extensive
osteoporosis research – share
risk factors, symptoms and tips
to help reduce the risk of osteo-
porosis and low bone mass.
While everyone is at risk for
osteoporosis, certain individu-
als and lifestyles are more sus-
ceptible to the disease than
others. These risk factors in-
clude:
• Being female
• Having a family history of
osteoporosis
• Being Caucasian
• Experiencing estrogen de-
ficiency as a result of meno-
pause
• Smoking
• Maintaining an inactive life
style
• Having a low calcium diet
• Having specific medical
conditions such as anorexia
nervosa, hyperthyroidism or in-
flammatory bowel disease.
While women experience
osteoporosis more often, two
million men have it and 12 mil-
lion are at risk. “In fact, men 50
years of age and older have a
higher risk of a fracture from
osteoporosis than developing
prostate cancer,” said Dr. Do-
heny.
“If someone is at risk for os-
teoporosis, they should talk
with their healthcare profes-
sional about getting a bone
density test,” Doheny added.
“While Medicare will cover a
bone density test scan at age
65 for women and 70 for men,
this is often too late. In our re-
cent research, we found 58
percent of postmenopausal
women ages 50-65 who partic-
ipated in the study had experi-
enced significant bone loss and
about 50 percent of men 50
years old and younger had ex-
perienced compromised bone
density.”
Osteoporosis is often re-
ferred to as a silent disease be-
cause 75 percent of people
with the disease are not aware
they have it. In fact, symptoms
are not present until you break
or fracture a bone. “People do
not realize a bone fracture or
break is actually a bone at-
tack,” said Dr. Doheny.
Prevention for osteoporosis
starts at a young age by taking
enough calcium and vitamin D
to build strong bones. About
the age of 20, the average
woman has acquired approxi-
mately 98 percent of her skele-
tal mass.
“This is precisely why it is
important to bank the bone
when you are young,” says Dr.
Doheny. “You cannot increase
your bone density once you
lose it; however, you can main-
tain the bone density you have
when you get older by taking
calcium and vitamin D and get-
ting about 30 minutes of exer-
cise a day.”
Osteoporosis is preventable.
Ways to prevent osteoporosis
include:
• Increase dietary calcium
(1200mg over the age 50) and
vitamin D3 (1,000 IU)
• Exercise, including weight
bearing activity (30 minutes 5
times/week), resistive exercis-
es (2-3 times/week), balance
exercises (daily)
• Do not smoke
• Request a bone density
test from your healthcare pro-
fessional.
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