Healthy Options

Host/Producer: Rhonda Feiman
Co-Producer: Petra Hall
Technical assistance: Joel Mann & Amy Browne

Healthy Options: For Well-being & Being Well

This month:

– What is aging? Why is having a positive view of aging good for our health?
– How can we stay healthy while aging?
– What are “normal” or usual, stages of aging as we get older?
– What is brain plasticity? How does the brain create new pathways and why is that important?
– How are ageism and age-based stereotypes harmful?
– How would we define elder vs. elderly? What is the difference between being an “elder” and being seen as “elderly”?
– Is frailty inevitable?
– What role does attitude and positivity play in staying well?
– How does diet, exercise, creativity and a sense of purpose assist us in aging well? 
– What is a “life span” vs. a “health span”? How can the two be combined for better outcomes? 
– Why is isolation so detrimental to us? Why is it important to engage with others, and of all ages? Why might helping others be important for our own health?
– Why is learning something new every day important, and why is being in nature good for us?
– Are there risks to taking multiple medications?
– What are the financial and legal aspects of aging well? How do we plan for a successful aging (life) experience?
– Regarding grief: what is natural and expected after losing a loved one or experiencing loss in difficult situations?
– Why is resiliency vital to our well being, no matter our age?

Guest(s): 
Marcy Cottrell Houle, MS., wildlife biologist and author of seven books including “The Gift of Caring- Saving our Parents from the Perils of Modern Healthcare”, co-authored with Dr. Elizabeth Eckstrom.

FMI:
In 2016, Rhonda Feiman interviewed Marcy Cottrell Houle, MS., about “The Gift of Caring: Saving Our Parents from the Perils of Modern Healthcare,” about how the current health care delivery model is ill-equipped to provide comprehensive, person-centered care to seniors, and how many treatable conditions and symptoms are dismissed as “just old age.” The discussion highlights specific tools that we can use to help prevent these mistakes and what we need to know to achieve healthy aging.
archives.weru.org/healthy-options/2016/10/special-edition-of-healthy–options–10616/
www.thegiftofcaring.net

Healthy Options 3/6/24: Advocating for the care needs & rights of elders in nursing homes & assisted living facilities
Elder Advocate Jack Halpern, founder and chairman of MyElder.
archives.weru.org/healthy-options/2024/03/healthy–options-3-6-24-advocating-for-the-care-needs-and-rights-of-elders-in-nursing-homes-assisted-living-facilities/

Healthy Options 12/6/23: Brain Health and Aging Well: Interview with Susan Wehry, M.D., geriatric psychiatrist and director of AgingME
archives.weru.org/healthy-options/2023/12/healthy–options-12-6-23-brain-health–and-aging-well/
www.susanwehrymd.com
agingme.org

About the host:
Rhonda Feiman is a nationally-certified, licensed acupuncturist practicing in Belfast, Maine since 1993. She primarily practices Toyohari Japanese acupuncture, using gentle and powerful non-insertion needle techniques, and also utilizes Chinese acupuncture and herbology. In addition, Rhonda is a practitioner of Qi Gong and an instructor of Tai Chi Chuan in the Yang Family tradition.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Host/Producer: Rhonda Feiman
Co-Producer: Petra Hall
Technical assistance: Joel Mann & Amy Browne

Healthy Options: For Well-being & Being Well

This month:

– Why is prevention the best medicine when it comes to ticks? Why is it important to keep ticks off of us, to begin with?
– What is a tick borne infection?  What is Lyme disease, and other tick-borne illness?
– What are the different kinds of ticks, and the diseases they may carry? Do ticks spread bacteria or viruses?
– What is a co-infection?
– What tick found in Maine, can cause severe to fatal illness in just 15 minutes (!) after a bite?
– What is a tick check? What should you do if you find a tick attached to you? What is the safest way to remove a tick?  Where can we send ticks to be identified/tested?
– What is a “bullseye rash” and how could it show up differently in men & women? Does everyone get a rash when bitten by a tick?
– What type of clothing effectively reduces your chance of getting a tick bite? What is permethrin & how is it used on clothing (NOT your skin)?
– What is picaridin & other repellents which ARE applied to our skin? What works/doesn’t work to repel ticks?

Guest(s): 
Dr. Beatrice Szantyr, Internist and Pediatrician who lectures on Lyme disease and related tick-borne disorders in Maine and nationally, to both professional and community groups. She is an active member of the Maine CDC Vector Borne Disease Work Group, and a member of the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society.  Dr. Szantyr also had served on the 2022 Federal Tick-Borne Disease Working Group, Access to Care and Education Subcommittee.

FMI:
EPA info on effective repellents
www.epa.gov/insect-repellents
www.epa.gov/insect-repellents/find-repellent-right-you

University of Maine Tick Lab
Protect Yourself from ticks & tick-borne diseases:
extension.umaine.edu/ticks/

Tick testing Amherst MA. (tests for more diseases):
www.tickreport.com

Columbia University Lyme and Tick-Borne Diseases Research Center
www.columbia-lyme.org/

Lyme Disease Association
Research, Education, Prevention and Patient Support   
lymediseaseassociation.org/

Lyme disease.org
Powered by patients. Home of Lyme Times and My Lyme Data:
www.lymedisease.org/

Maine Tracking Network: Tickborne Diseases
Improving public health with better information
data.mainepublichealth.gov/tracking/home

TickEncounter  The University of Rhode Island
Tick-borne Disease prevention Education
web.uri.edu/tickencounter/

This article is brief enough for a patient to bring to a doctor’s visit for them to consider:
The Management of Ixodes scapularis Bites in the Upper Midwest
wmjonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/110/2/78.pdf

PARTICULARLY FOR HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS (& FMI for Clients):
LymeCME
Free, Evidence-based, AAFP-Accredited Courses that Physicians Can Trust
www.lymecme.info/

Invisible International
invisible.international/
The Montecalvo Platform for Tick-borne Illness Education is a library of accredited continuing medical education (CME) courses that teach front-line clinicians about diagnosing and treating vector-borne diseases. These courses are free to all users and are accessible to both clinicians and patients online.
******************************************************
Previous HEALTHY OPTIONS PROGRAMS on ticks & Lyme can also be found at:

archives.weru.org/healthy-options/2023/05/healthy-options-5-3-23-lyme-disease-tick-borne-illness-and-how-to-be-tick-conscious-to-protect-ourselves/
archives.weru.org/healthy-options/2022/10/healthy-options-10-5-22-the-ticks-are-still-here-what-you-need-to-know/
archives.weru.org/healthy-options/2022/05/healthy-options-5-4-22-yearly-update-on-ticks-lyme-and-tick-borne-illnesses/
archives.weru.org/healthy-options/2021/05/healthy-options-5-5-21-ticks-those-blood-sucking-parasites/
archives.weru.org/healthy-options/2020/06/healthy-options-6-3-20-ticks-and-tick-borne-illnesses/

About the host:
Rhonda Feiman is a nationally-certified, licensed acupuncturist practicing in Belfast, Maine since 1993. She primarily practices Toyohari Japanese acupuncture, using gentle and powerful non-insertion needle techniques, and also utilizes Chinese acupuncture and herbology. In addition, Rhonda is a practitioner of Qi Gong and an instructor of Tai Chi Chuan in the Yang Family tradition.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Host/Producer: Rhonda Feiman
Co-Producer: Petra Hall
Technical assistance: Joel Mann & Amy Browne

Healthy Options: For Well-being & Being Well

This month:

-What does an elder advocate do?
-What are the steps that are needed to create a plan in the event that you or a family member require medical care in a health care facility such as rehab/or a nursing home?
-What could go wrong when you (or a family member) need advanced care in a facility and are being discharged from a hospital?
-Are you required to go to a nursing home that a hospital discharge planner suggests?
-What are your legal rights when being faced with a hospital discharge that attempts to place you or a loved one in a substandard care facility?
-How can you evaluate the quality of a health care facility? What is a good strategy to help you or a loved one be admitted to a good quality health care nursing home?
-What are some legal documents necessary as part of a long term plan for health care? Why should you discuss this plan with a lawyer?
-What is the difference between standard Medicare plans and supplemental policies (Medigap), and Medicare Advantage plans? Why is it important to understand these differences and why do standard Medicare supplemental plans offer more flexibility and allow for more treatment options?
-What are some creative options to avoid isolation as one ages?
-What should you do for yourself or a loved one to create an  “aging in place” environment?

Guest(s): Elder Advocate Jack Halpern, founder and chairman of MyElder.
myelder.com
myelder.com/blog/
www.instagram.com/bigjackhalpern  (and Facebook)

Previous Healthy Options programs on related subjects:
Healthy Options 12/6/23: Brain Health and Aging Well
Susan Wehry, M.D., geriatric psychiatrist and director of AgingME, on healthy aging, being resilient and engaged as we age, how to handle “dementia worry” (anxiety one might have, about fearing a dementia diagnosis), and how to counter the impacts of severe isolation & loneliness which arose acutely throughout the pandemic, and is still being experienced by many people- including those with dementia.
archives.weru.org/healthy-options/2023/12/healthy-options-12-6-23-brain-health-and-aging-well/

“The Gift of Caring: Saving Our Parents from the Perils of Modern Healthcare,” about how the current health care delivery model is ill-equipped to provide comprehensive, person-centered care to seniors, and how many treatable conditions and symptoms are dismissed as “just old age.” The discussion highlights specific tools that we can use to help prevent these mistakes and what we need to know to achieve healthy aging.
archives.weru.org/healthy-options/2017/08/healthy-options-8217/

About the host:
Rhonda Feiman is a nationally-certified, licensed acupuncturist practicing in Belfast, Maine since 1993. She primarily practices Toyohari Japanese acupuncture, using gentle and powerful non-insertion needle techniques, and also utilizes Chinese acupuncture and herbology. In addition, Rhonda is a practitioner of Qi Gong and an instructor of Tai Chi Chuan in the Yang Family tradition.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Host/Producer: Rhonda Feiman
Co-Producer: Petra Hall
Technical assistance: Joel Mann & Amy Browne

Healthy Options: For Well-being & Being Well

Program Topic:
TEENS TO TRAILS, an organization connecting Maine students to life-changing outdoor experiences.

This month:

What is Teens to Trails and what is their mission?
How does Teens to Trails work with parents, students and schools?
What are the health benefits of being in the outdoors?
How can these outdoor experiences help kids improve their well-being, emotional resilience, and reduce stress & anxiety?
Is there a difference between outdoor education and outdoor recreation?
What are the benefits of outdoor play and how do students respond to their outdoor activities?
What do you see in the kids when they’re part of an outdoor club? How do they interact with their peers?
What do we mean by “unstructured time”, and why is this time so important for all of us?
What impact are personal devices such as phones having on the health of our children- and when they are connecting with the outdoors, what changes may occur?

Guest(s): Alicia Heyburn, Executive Director of Teens to Trails, and Miles Bisher, social studies teacher and outdoor club advisor.

FMI: teenstotrails.org

About the host:
Rhonda Feiman is a nationally-certified, licensed acupuncturist practicing in Belfast, Maine since 1993. She primarily practices Toyohari Japanese acupuncture, using gentle and powerful non-insertion needle techniques, and also utilizes Chinese acupuncture and herbology. In addition, Rhonda is a practitioner of Qi Gong and an instructor of Tai Chi Chuan in the Yang Family tradition.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Host/Producer: Rhonda Feiman
Co-Producer: Petra Hall

Healthy Options: For Well-being & Being Well

This month:

What are some ways we can enhance the health of our nervous systems, and calm our minds?
How can simple breathing techniques enhance our health and well-being?
Why is movement such an important technique to calm our nervous system?
What is Qi Gong? What is WuJi?
What do we mean when we speak of meridians?
What is a body scan? How can we practice this for ourselves and why is this beneficial?

About the host:
Rhonda Feiman is a nationally-certified, licensed acupuncturist practicing in Belfast, Maine since 1993. She primarily practices Toyohari Japanese acupuncture, using gentle and powerful non-insertion needle techniques, and also utilizes Chinese acupuncture and herbology. In addition, Rhonda is a practitioner of Qi Gong and an instructor of Tai Chi Chuan in the Yang Family tradition.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Host/Producer: Rhonda Feiman
Co-Producer: Petra Hall

Healthy Options: For Well-being & Being Well

This month:

Why is this topic & program relevant for people of all ages?
What is Aging Maine?
What is the Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Project?
What is dementia?  What is “dementia worry”?
What do we need to do to maintain brain health– and why is exercise & diet so important?
How can we create new neural paths in our brains?
What is neural plasticity?
What does it mean to have meaning in our lives?
Why are social connections so important?
What are/were the effects of loneliness and isolation, especially during the pandemic- and currently?

Guest/s:

Susan Wehry, M.D., geriatric psychiatrist and director of AgingME
www.susanwehrymd.com
agingme.org

About the host:
Rhonda Feiman is a nationally-certified, licensed acupuncturist practicing in Belfast, Maine since 1993. She primarily practices Toyohari Japanese acupuncture, using gentle and powerful non-insertion needle techniques, and also utilizes Chinese acupuncture and herbology. In addition, Rhonda is a practitioner of Qi Gong and an instructor of Tai Chi Chuan in the Yang Family tradition.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Host/Producer: Rhonda Feiman
Co-Producer: Petra Hall

Healthy Options: For Well-being & Being Well

This month:

1  How does the Trauma Resiliency Model and Community Resiliency Model work to calm the nervous system?
2  How can Trauma Resiliency aid individuals & communities in the recovering process, after mass shootings?
3  What are some new strategies being used globally to treat trauma?
4  What is a simple technique we can try right now to relax our nervous system?
5  How does our nervous system respond to stress?
6  What is second-hand trauma?
7  What are some ways to assist someone who has directly experienced trauma?
8  What is the “resilient zone”? How do we know if we are no longer regulated emotionally?
9  What do we mean by “understanding our physical body at the level of sensation”?
10 What is the amygdala and what part does it play in trauma & PTSD? What are we learning from neuroscience & neuropsychology regarding trauma?
11 How do the steps of the Community Resiliency model work? What does it mean to use the techniques of Tracking, Grounding, Finding a Resource, Gesturing, Getting Help Now, and Stay & Shift, and how can they help us deal with our own responses to stress and trauma?
12  Does the Community Resiliency Model work with children? How can we teach children to self-regulate themselves emotionally?

Guest/s:

Elaine Miller-Karas, LCSW, is a trauma therapist, co-founder and former Executive Director of the Trauma Resource Institute, and key developer of the Community and Trauma Resiliency Models. She is the author of “Building Resiliency to Trauma, the Trauma and Community Resiliency Models”, the host of the weekly podcast, “Resiliency Within”, and a contributor to Psychology Today.

FMI: 
The Trauma Resource Institute (TRI) is a nonprofit organization devoted to cultivating trauma-informed and resiliency-focused individuals and communities throughout the world.
www.traumaresourceinstitute.com

“Resiliency Within” podcast:
www.listennotes.com/podcasts/resiliency-within-elaine-miller-karas-lcsw-dH7ZjesXLAx/

“Resiliency Within” Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/resiliency.within

VoiceAmerica- “Resiliency Within”:
www.voiceamerica.com/show/3997/resiliency-within

Reflections of a Trauma Therapist in the Russo-Ukraine War
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/building-resiliency-trauma/202212/reflections-trauma-therapist-in-the-russo-ukraine-war

NAMI -National Alliance on Mental Illness
www.nami.org/Home

988 Crisis Line
988lifeline.org

Previous Healthy Options programs on the Trauma Resource Institute can be found at:
archives.weru.org/healthy-options/2021/03/healthy-options-3-3-21-building-resiliency-to-trauma/

About the host:
Rhonda Feiman is a nationally-certified, licensed acupuncturist practicing in Belfast, Maine since 1993. She primarily practices Toyohari Japanese acupuncture, using gentle and powerful non-insertion needle techniques, and also utilizes Chinese acupuncture and herbology. In addition, Rhonda is a practitioner of Qi Gong and an instructor of Tai Chi Chuan in the Yang Family tradition.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Host/Producer: Rhonda Feiman
Co-Producer: Petra Hall

Healthy Options: For Well-being & Being Well

This month:

How do we hear?
What can cause hearing loss?
Are there differences in sensitivity in how individuals react to loud sounds?
How can we protect our hearing?
How do you know that you are experiencing hearing loss?
What are some detriments to delaying or not getting hearing aids when they are needed?
How would an audiologist assess your hearing ability? 
How is the hearing of infants & young children assessed, & addressed?
What are the differences between prescription and over-the-counter hearing aids?

Guest/s:

Kate Weiss is an audiologist in Minnesota, & currently an independent consultant, after a 40-year career spent mostly in pediatrics. She worked for many years at Children’s Hospitals & Clinics of Minnesota, and in the Minneapolis Public Schools’ home-based birth-to-three program, Early Childhood Special Education preschool program, and with deaf and hard of hearing students and their families and teachers in elementary, middle, and high schools. For several years, she worked with both children and adults of all ages at St. Paul Rehabilitation Center. She was co-chair of the task force that developed protocols for universal newborn hearing screening, infant hearing assessment, amplification fitting, and parent advocacy for the State of Minnesota’s Early Hearing Detection and Intervention program.

FMI: 
From CONSUMER REPORTS online (& the May/June 2023 magazine article, HOW TO HEAR BETTER NOW).
Check out the other links they also list, on ratings of both prescription and over-the-counter hearing aid brands & retailers.)

1. Your Guide to Hearing Helpers
www.consumerreports.org/health/hearing-aids/your-guide-to-hearing-helpers-a2688068457/

2. A Complete Guide to Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids
www.consumerreports.org/health/hearing-aids/complete-guide-to-over-the-counter-hearing-aids-a3898239010/

3. This Quick Quiz Can Screen You for Hearing Loss (Note: Not a “hearing test” to screen for hearing loss, but a good tool to help people screen for how much hearing issues interfere with their social/daily life, and about the possible need for hearing aids.)
www.consumerreports.org/health/hearing-ear-care/self-hearing-test-for-auditory-wellness-a4832177815/

About the host:
Rhonda Feiman is a nationally-certified, licensed acupuncturist practicing in Belfast, Maine since 1993. She primarily practices Toyohari Japanese acupuncture, using gentle and powerful non-insertion needle techniques, and also utilizes Chinese acupuncture and herbology. In addition, Rhonda is a practitioner of Qi Gong and an instructor of Tai Chi Chuan in the Yang Family tradition.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download