Summer 2015Volume 6, Issue 2

In this issue:1 Greetings from Wendell Oman

1 Grace Notes

2 Advocate Christ Medical Center gets a Gold Plus in stroke care

3 Advocate Christ Medical Center one of nine hospitals in Illinois named to 100 Great Hospitals in America List

3 Hospice Corner

4 Dear giver of care

4 Summer prayer for children

4 Brookfield Zoo makes summer fun easy!

5 Advocate Children’s Hospital’s partners with Brookfield Zoo

Office for Mission &Spiritual Care

The Office for Mission & Spiritual Care provides spiritual care for patients, their families and associates 24 hours a day every day of the year. The office is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. To contact us, call 708.684.5175. Evenings and weekends, ask for the paging operator and request #7729 for the house chaplain or #2299 for the emergency department chaplain.

Bridges to Our Faith CommunitiesConnections

Also in this issue:News from

AdvocateChildren’s Hospital

The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.

Albert Einstein

Grace Notes are readings, poems or quotes from a variety of faith traditions and writers. Each reflection tries to touch on the heart of being human in this world. To receive Grace Notes five or

seven days a week, please click here or contact AHC-gracenotes@advocatehealth.com .

Grace Notes

Excellence mattersOver the past few months, Advocate Christ Medical Center has been honored with two recognitions:

The first is the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award. This award recognizes hospitals that meet specific metrics for delivering evidence-based stroke care to patients in a timely fashion.

The second recognition is our inclusion in Becker’s Hospital Review’s 2015 edition of 100 Great Hospitals in America. This prestigious list highlights the very best hospitals in the country.

Christ Medical Center couldn’t be prouder of its physicians, nurses, administrators and staff.

Both of these recognitions highlight our commitment to excellence in health care. As a community hospital, we know that our patients are our neighbors. We want to provide our neighbors with the best care possible throughout their lifespans. This is also why Christ Medical Center offers a variety of health education programs that help our neighbors not only to maintain good health but to understand and manage health challenges as they arise.

As we continue through this summer season, I wish the best for you and your faith community. May you and your congregants enjoy the fresh air and sunshine, nourishing yourselves and each other with warm fellowship, laughter and joy.

Rev. Wendell OmanVice President, Office for Mission & Spiritual Care

Connections - Advocate Christ Medical Center Office for Mission and Spiritual Care Summer 2015 - Page 2

Advocate Christ Medical Center, which has one of the largest stroke programs in the state of Illinois and is designated a Comprehensive Stroke Center by DNV Healthcare, again has been recognized for excellence in the treatment of stroke patients by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association (AHA/ASA).

The Association has selected the medical center and its Neurosciences Institute for a Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award in recognition of the institution’s ongoing commitment to evidence-based stroke-care guidelines under the AHA/ASA Get With the Guidelines® program, said Melvin Wichter MD, co-director of the Neurosciences Institute and chair of the medical center’s neurology department. Get With the Guidelines provides the most up-to-date, research-based care standards to speed recovery and reduce death and disability among stroke patients.

“With a stroke, time lost is brain lost. The Get With the Guidelines-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award demonstrates Christ Medical Center’s commitment to being one of the leading hospitals in the country for providing aggressive, proven stroke care,” said Franco Campanella DO, medical director of the Christ Medical Center’s stroke program. “We intend to continue our focus on providing care that

has been shown in the scientific literature to treat patients quickly and efficiently with evidence-based protocols.”

Advocate Christ Medical Center has also met specific scientific guidelines as a Comprehensive Stroke Center – the highest level stroke center certification awarded – featuring a comprehensive system for rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients admitted to the emergency department.

“We are pleased to recognize Advocate Christ Medical Center for its commitment and dedication to stroke care,” said Deepak L. Bhatt, MD, MPH, national chair of the Get With the Guidelines steering committee, executive director of interventional cardiovascular programs at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. “Studies have shown that hospitals consistently following Get With the Guidelines quality improvement measures can reduce patients’ length of stays and 30-day readmission rates and reduce disparity gaps in care.”

According to the AHA/ASA, stroke is the fifth leading cause of death and a major contributor to adult disability in the United States. On average, someone suffers a stroke every 40 seconds, and someone dies of a stroke every four minutes. Some 795,000 Americans experience a new or recurrent stroke every year.

“The number of acute ischemic stroke patients who are eligible for treatment is expected to grow during the next decade due to increasing stroke incidence and a large aging population,” Dr. Campanella said.

Advocate Christ Medical Centergets a Gold Plus in stroke care

In addition to the Gold Plus Award, the medical center has made the AHA/ASA’s Target: StrokeSM Honor Roll for following stroke quality measures that reduce the time between a patient’s arrival at the hospital and the onset of treatment using the clot-buster, tPA, the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat ischemic stroke. People who suffer a stroke and receive tPA within three hours of the start of symptoms may recover more quickly and be less likely to suffer severe disabilities.

To earn the award, the Christ Medical Center stroke team had to meet specific, quality achievement measures for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients at a set level for a designated period of time. These measures include aggressive use of medications, such as tPA, antithrombotics, anticoagulation therapy, DVT prophylaxis and cholesterol-reducing drugs, as well as smoking-cessation education – all aimed at reducing death and disability and improving the lives of stroke patients.

Connections - Advocate Christ Medical Center Office for Mission and Spiritual Care Summer 2015 - Page 3

Advocate Christ Medical Center4440 West 95th Street, Oak Lawn, IL 60453 708.684.8000

Staff Chaplains:Refat Abukhdeir, Moslem MinistriesCarla Banks, United Church of ChristMary Anne Cannon, Roman CatholicDenise Duncan, United Church of ChristFr. Casimir Eke, Roman CatholicRichard James, Southern BaptistDavid Safeblade, United Church of ChristTyron Smith, BaptistBetty Vander Laan, Christian Reformed

Clinical Pastoral Education SupervisorsChristy Howard-Steele, Christian, ACPE Supervisory CandidateAngie Keith, Pentecostal ACPE Supervisory CandidateJanet MacLean, United Church of Christ

ACPE Supervisor

Clinical Pastoral Education Chaplain ResidentsAmram Ben Abraham, JewishRebecca McDonald, Roman CatholicLoretta Ransberg, ApostolicKellie Tracz, Presbyterian

Secretarial StaffDenetrice Theard-Sanders, 708.684.4189

Administrative Assistant IIJacquelyn Perkins, Coordinator, Faith Health Partnerships

Administrative StaffCorky DeBoer, Christian Reformed

Manager of Spiritual Services, ACPE SupervisorWendell Oman, Evangelical Free Church of America

Vice-President, Mission & Spiritual Care

To subscribe to Connections, call 708.684.5175 or email Christ-Mission-SpiritualCare@advocatehealth.com with your name and email address. You’ll receive an electronic edition of Connections every three months.

To continue receiving Connections, your email address must be current. Please inform us of any changes of email address or other contact information. Email Christ-Mission-SpiritualCare@advocatehealth.com or call 708.684.5175.

Service of RemembranceJanet Ozinga Chapel

Advocate Children's Hospital-Oak Lawn

Sun., Aug. 9, 4 p.m.

A special memorial service will be held for the hospice and patient families of Advocate Christ Medical Center who have recently lost a loved one. Christ Mission & Spiritual Care and Advocate Hospice join together in leading this service of prayers and readings as a comfort for the families they serve. For more information, contact Penelope Gabriele at 630.829.1753. 

The next service will be Nov. 15.

Hospice CornerAdvocate Christ Medical Center one of

nine hospitals in Illinois named to100 Great Hospitals in America List

Advocate Christ Medical Center has been named among the nation’s “greats,” according to the April 2015 edition of Becker’s Hospital Review, published this week in the 2015 edition of 100 Great Hospitals in America. The prestigious list is a compilation of some of the most prominent, forward-thinking and focused health care facilities in the country.

Hospitals included on the list are home to many medical and scientific breakthroughs, provide best-in-class patient care and are stalwarts of their communities, serving as research hubs or local anchors of wellness.

“We have more than 1,200 physicians and 6,000 associates working together every day to ensure our patients receive the very best in

safe, quality and compassionate care. Their amazing passion for

excellence, their commitment to our ministry of healing are

why our medical center is listed among the nation’s elite hospitals in

terms of health outcomes, patient satisfaction and overall quality and safety,” said Ken Lukhard, president of Christ Medical Center.

To develop the list, Becker's Hospital Review's editorial team conducted research and evaluated reputable hospital ranking sources, such as U.S. News & World Report, Truven Health Analytics, Healthgrades, Magnet designation by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, The Leapfrog Group and several other resources.

Location changed due to construction

Hospitals included on the list are home to many medical and

scientific breakthroughs

Connections - Advocate Christ Medical Center Office for Mission and Spiritual Care Summer 2015 - Page 4

As we enter into this summer season, I invite you to join me in reflecting on ways that we as communities of faith support children and families in living full and abundant lives.

As we journey together with families, there are countless ways in which we can nurture their faith and well-being so that they can live with hope and vitality, even in the face of illness and health challenges.

Just as you nurture the faith and spiritual life of children and

families at worship, I also invite you to join us here at the hospital in supporting the physical

and emotional needs of children and families.

In this newsletter, we share an exciting partnership between Advocate Children’s Hospital and the Chicago Zoological

Society to create opportunities for children with autism and their families. This collaboration lives out the wisdom of St. Irenaeus in equipping and supporting children to be fully alive in God’s wondrous creation.

Whether it is vacation Bible school, picnics, outings to the zoo or a summer picnic, we invite you to explore within your communities of faith new ways to expand the possibilities for children and families to be fully alive this summer.

Peace and blessings,Rev. Stacey Jutila, Vice President Mission & Spiritual Care

Dear giver of care,

The glory of God is

the human person fully alive.

–St. Irenaeus

Summer prayer for children

For the laughter, wisdom and joy children share,

May our ears be open to hear them.

For children who are in need of care and support,

May our hands reach out to them with care and compassion.

For children who enter into this summer season,

Grant them safe places to play and enjoy life with friends and family.

For children who find themselves at the hospital this summer,

May warm and generous caregivers provide them with rays of hope.

For parents whose hearts are full of prayers for healing and recovery for their child,

Hear their prayers and surround their family with courage.

Gather all of our prayers, Oh Lord,And guide us in caring for your children.

Amen

Brookfield Zoomakes summer fun easy!

The Chicago Zoological Society (known to many as Brookfield Zoo) is open 365 days of the year, 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. It is located at First Avenue between Ogden Avenue and 31st Street in Brookfield, Illinois, just 14 miles west of downtown Chicago. 

General zoo admission is free on Tuesdays and Thursdays from October 1 through December 31, 2015. General admission the rest of the year is as follows: Adults $16.95, Seniors 65 and Over $11.95, Children (3 to 11) $11.95

If you have a group of 20 or more guests and will be traveling to Brookfield Zoo via bus, the zoo offers group rates. Tickets must be reserved and paid for at least 7-10 days prior to your visit. Tickets are non-refundable and valid only on the date of your visit.

Brookfield Zoo makes a concerted effort to make its grounds, pathways, buildings, exhibits and programs accessible to all visitors. It strives to provide inclusive recreational programs to all of Brookfield Zoo guests. To request an accessible accommodation, ideally no less than 14 days in advance, please call (708) 688-8338.

Parking is $10 for cars and $15 for buses.

For more information visit czs.org.

Connections - Advocate Christ Medical Center Office for Mission and Spiritual Care Summer 2015 - Page 5

Research shows that animals have a positive impact on social behavior. In support of our pediatric patients (ages 3-8) on the autism spectrum, Advocate Children’s Hospital and the Chicago Zoological Society recently partnered to offer FAMILY FUN SATURDAYS at Brookfield Zoo.

FAMILY FUN SATURDAYS provided an interactive and fun environment for skill building. The ACH Developmental Pediatrics teams, along with Brookfield Zoo staff, developed a curriculum focused on inclusion, animals and experiential learning.

 “Families of children with autism may avoid community activities because they fear how others may react to their child or how their child may react to situations,” said Dr. James Weedon, Developmental Pediatrician. “This

partnership is great because it offers a typical childhood experience in a nurturing environment that focuses on developing social and motor skills.”

The hour-long program met in the award-winning Hamill Family Play Zoo, which was built to foster early childhood

connections with nature and wildlife. Activities varied with each session but included meeting animals, crafts, working in the garden, scavenger hunts and a shift in the pretend zoo animal hospital. The ACH team developed goals for program participants to help guide them through each session.

 “This program is a helpful, real-life expansion of our

patients’ treatment goals,” said Valeria Nanclares-Nogues, Psy.D., coordinator, Autism Program at the Developmental Pediatric Center. “It gives us another way to support our patients with autism and their families.”

In the spirit of inclusion, high school age students with autism from our Transitions Program volunteered to help facilitate activities. Participants were honored with a graduation ceremony at the end of the program.

Advocate Children’s Hospital – Oak Lawn4440 West 95th St., Oak Lawn, IL 60453

Advocate Children’s Hospital – Park Ridge1675 Dempster St., Park Ridge, IL 60068

1.855.312.KIDSStaff Chaplains:

Carol Stephens BCC, United Church of ChristEliza Stoddard Leatherberry BCC, United Church of ChristTracy Nolan, United Church of Christ

Administrative StaffStacey Jutila, BCC Evangelical Lutheran Church of AmericaMartha Huayamave, Executive Assistant

Advocate Children’s Hospital’s partners with Brookfield Zoo

“Families of children with autism may avoid community activities

because they fear how others may react to their child or how their child may

react to situations."

Studies show that animal interactions may ease social anxiety in kids with autism.

Social skills interventions can improve outcomes for children on the spectrum.

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r chi

ld’s

lunc

h so

that

it

can

be re

appl

ied

thro

ugho

ut th

e da

y.

✦A

sk y

our p

aris

h nu

rse

or a

noth

er m

embe

r of

the

cong

rega

tion

who

is

a h

ealth

care

pro

fess

iona

l to

spea

rhea

d a

skin

can

cer a

war

enes

s pr

ogra

m. M

ake

cong

rega

nts

awar

e of

the

impo

rtan

ce o

f pr

otec

ting

thei

r ski

n ag

ains

t UV

rays

and

talk

ing

to th

eir d

octo

r abo

ut th

eir o

wn

risk

of s

kin

canc

er.

✦Ta

lk to

you

ng p

eopl

e in

the

cong

rega

tion

abou

t the

risk

s of

tann

ing

and

tann

ing

beds

. Inf

luen

tial m

embe

rs o

f yo

ur c

ongr

egat

ion’

s yo

uth

grou

p ca

n ex

ert p

ositi

ve p

eer p

ress

ure

and

enco

urag

e he

alth

y ch

oice

s an

d be

havi

ors.

✦Pr

ovid

e su

ppor

t to

indi

vidu

als

who

hav

e be

en d

iagn

osed

with

ski

n ca

ncer

or w

ho a

re c

once

rned

that

a s

pot o

r a c

hang

ing

mol

e m

ay b

e ca

ncer

ous.

✦D

on’t

min

imiz

e a

skin

can

cer d

iagn

osis

and

be

supp

ortiv

e w

hen

an

indi

vidu

al e

xpre

sses

fear

abo

ut th

e po

ssib

ility

of

mel

anom

a. I

f ap

prop

riate

, off

er to

acc

ompa

ny th

e in

divi

dual

to a

doc

tor’s

ap

poin

tmen

t to

have

a s

pot o

r mol

e ch

ecke

d ou

t.

Det

ect a

nd p

reve

nt s

kin

canc

erW

hile

this

is a

gre

at ti

me

of y

ear t

o ge

t out

side

, it’s

impo

rtan

t to

be

min

dful

of

ultr

avio

let (

UV

) rad

iatio

n ris

ks. U

V ra

diat

ion

expo

sure

is

linke

d to

ski

n da

mag

e, in

clud

ing

the

deve

lopm

ent o

f sk

in c

ance

r.

Skin

can

cer i

s th

e m

ost c

omm

on c

ance

r in

the

Uni

ted

Stat

es. T

he m

ost

dead

ly fo

rm is

mel

anom

a, k

illin

g ov

er 9

000

peop

le a

nnua

lly. U

V

radi

atio

n ca

n al

so c

ontr

ibut

e to

ocu

lar m

elan

oma,

a ty

pe o

f ey

e ca

ncer

.

Bas

al a

nd s

quam

ous

cell

carc

inom

as a

re fa

r les

s de

adly

but

stil

l ser

ious

. B

asal

cel

l ski

n ca

ncer

can

resu

lt in

dis

figur

emen

t, an

d ro

ughl

y tw

o pe

rcen

t of

squa

mou

s ce

ll ca

ncer

pat

ient

s di

ed o

f th

e di

seas

e in

201

2.

Pre

vent

ion

and

dete

ctio

n: E

very

one

is a

t ris

k fo

r ski

n ca

ncer

. Fo

rtun

atel

y, th

ere

are

a nu

mbe

r of

step

s pe

ople

can

take

to p

reve

nt

skin

can

cer a

nd e

nsur

e ea

rly d

iagn

osis.

✦T

ake

prec

auti

ons

agai

nst o

vere

xpos

ure

to th

e su

n. U

se a

hig

h SP

F su

nscr

een

whe

n go

ing

out,

and

reap

ply

durin

g th

e da

y. T

he s

un

is a

t its

pea

k be

twee

n 10

a.m

. and

2 p

.m.,

but U

V e

xpos

ure

can

happ

en a

t any

tim

e th

e su

n is

out

and

eve

n on

clo

udy

days

.✦

Avo

id ta

nnin

g be

ds. I

n ad

ditio

n to

incr

easi

ng o

ne’s

risk

of s

kin

canc

er, e

xpos

ure

to U

V ra

diat

ion

can

acce

lera

te s

kin

agin

g.

✦M

ake

sure

that

bot

h pr

escr

ipti

on e

yew

ear

and

sung

lass

es h

ave

a U

V c

oati

ng to

pro

tect

the

eyes

. Man

y ey

egla

ss m

anuf

actu

rers

in

clud

e th

is c

oatin

g at

no

addi

tiona

l cos

t, bu

t it’s

impo

rtan

t to

verif

y th

at g

lass

es o

r pre

scrip

tion

lens

es o

ffer

UV

pro

tect

ion.

✦A

sk a

bout

ski

n ca

ncer

scr

eeni

ngs

duri

ng m

edic

al c

heck

ups.

A

doct

or c

an a

sses

s yo

ur ri

sk o

f de

velo

ping

ski

n ca

ncer

and

may

refe

r yo

u to

a d

erm

atol

ogis

t for

spe

cial

ized

obs

erva

tion

and

care

.✦

Kno

w th

e si

gns

of p

ossi

ble

skin

can

cer.

A n

ew s

pot o

r mar

k on

th

e sk

in s

houl

d be

bro

ught

to th

e at

tent

ion

of a

med

ical

pro

fess

iona

l at

onc

e. K

eep

an e

ye o

n m

oles

. If

a m

ole

star

ts to

ble

ed o

r cha

nge

shap

e, s

eek

med

ical

atte

ntio

n im

med

iate

ly.

Don

’t fo

rget

th

e su

nscr

een

this

su

mm

er!

6-15

Res

ourc

es: A

dvoc

ateh

ealth

.com

• M

en’s

Hea

lth N

etw

ork:

men

shea

lthne

twor

k.or

g •

Cen

ters

fo

r Dis

ease

Con

trol

: cdc

.gov

/men

• M

en’s

Hea

lth M

onth

: men

shea

lthm

onth

.org

Dea

r God

, I’m

than

kful

for t

he m

en in

my l

ife. C

are f

or th

em a

nd gu

ide t

hem

as t

hey g

o th

roug

h th

eir d

ays a

nd gi

ve th

em th

e wisd

om n

eeded

to ca

re fo

r the

msel

ves.

Am

en.

How

fait

h co

mm

unit

ies

can

prom

ote

men

's h

ealth

Man

y m

en a

re d

eepl

y in

volv

ed w

ith th

eir f

aith

com

mun

ities

. Thi

s m

eans

that

con

greg

atio

ns a

nd in

divi

dual

mem

bers

can

do

a lo

t to

prom

ote

men

’s he

alth

. If

you

are

activ

e in

you

r fai

th c

omm

unity

, her

e ar

e so

me

idea

s fo

r int

egra

ting

men

’s he

alth

aw

aren

ess

into

the

life

of

your

con

greg

atio

n:✦

Men

’s gr

oups

can

invi

te h

ealth

care

pro

fess

iona

ls to

ad

dres

s th

e gr

oup

on c

omm

on m

en’s

heal

th is

sues

, in

clud

ing

hear

t dis

ease

, men

tal h

ealth

, acc

iden

ts

and

fitne

ss.

✦Ju

ne is

Men

’s H

ealth

Mon

th. P

lace

info

rmat

iona

l po

ster

s an

d lit

erat

ure

arou

nd th

e ho

use

of w

orsh

ip.

Men

’s gr

oups

can

arr

ange

fiel

d tr

ips

to h

ealth

fairs

th

at o

ffer

scr

eeni

ngs

for m

any

men

’s he

alth

con

ditio

ns.

✦M

ake

use

of y

our c

omm

unity

kitc

hen

to o

ffer

hea

lthy

cook

ing

dem

onst

ratio

ns. M

any

men

enj

oy c

ooki

ng b

ut m

ay n

ot k

now

how

to

prep

are

food

in a

way

that

is d

elic

ious

and

nut

ritio

nally

bal

ance

d.

✦E

ncou

rage

men

to g

et re

al a

bout

thei

r men

tal h

ealth

. Men

som

etim

es

feel

em

barr

asse

d ab

out r

each

ing

out f

or s

uppo

rt. L

earn

abo

ut s

tres

s, de

pres

sion

, anx

iety

and

oth

er m

enta

l hea

lth is

sues

and

dev

elop

po

sitiv

e st

rate

gies

for h

elpi

ng m

en g

et tr

eatm

ent.

✦O

ffer

to p

rovi

de ri

des

to d

octo

r’s o

ffic

es a

nd h

ospi

tals.

✦Ta

lk to

the

wom

en in

you

r con

greg

atio

n ab

out t

he im

port

ance

of

men

’s he

alth

. Wiv

es, m

othe

rs, d

augh

ters

and

frie

nds

can

play

an

impo

rtan

t rol

e in

enc

oura

ging

men

to g

et re

gula

r che

ckup

s an

d m

ake

heal

thy

lifes

tyle

cha

nges

.✦

Enc

oura

ge m

en to

inco

rpor

ate

heal

th c

once

rns

into

thei

r spi

ritua

l pr

actic

es. P

raye

r, m

edita

tion

and

wor

ks o

f ch

arity

can

redu

ce s

tres

s an

d im

prov

e lif

e sa

tisfa

ctio

n.✦

June

is a

lso

a gr

eat m

onth

to c

eleb

rate

the

Wea

r Blu

e ca

mpa

ign.

Thi

s pr

ogra

m, s

pons

ored

by

the

Men

’s H

ealth

Net

wor

k, ra

ises

aw

aren

ess

of m

en’s

heal

th b

y en

cour

agin

g gr

oups

and

com

mun

ities

to w

ear

blue

on

a se

lect

ed d

ay. C

hoos

e a

Wea

r Blu

e da

y an

d en

cour

age

your

co

mm

unity

to g

et to

geth

er in

sup

port

of

men

’s he

alth

.

Foc

us o

n m

en's

hea

lthM

any

men

focu

s on

thei

r job

s an

d fa

mili

es b

ut d

on’t

pay

enou

gh

atte

ntio

n to

sta

ying

hea

lthy.

In fa

ct, a

rece

nt s

tudy

sho

wed

that

men

are

24

% le

ss li

kely

than

wom

en to

hav

e se

en a

doc

tor o

ver t

he p

ast y

ear.

Thi

s m

eans

that

man

y m

en a

re n

ot g

ettin

g th

e pr

even

tativ

e he

alth

car

e th

at c

an m

ake

a hu

ge d

iffer

ence

in th

e le

ngth

and

qua

lity

of th

eir l

ives

.

The

top

caus

es o

f de

ath

for m

en a

re h

eart

dis

ease

, can

cer (

with

pr

osta

te, l

ung

and

colo

rect

al b

eing

the

mos

t com

mon

) an

d ac

cide

nts.

To s

ome

degr

ee, a

ll ar

e fa

vora

bly

impa

cted

by

mak

ing

good

cho

ices

.

June

is M

en's

Hea

lth M

onth

, a ti

me

for

cele

brat

ing

men

and

enc

oura

ging

them

to le

ad

heal

thy

lives

. Her

e ar

e so

me

thin

gs th

at m

en c

an

do to

pro

tect

thei

r hea

lth:

✦R

educ

e st

ress

by

deve

lopi

ng a

str

ong

wor

k-lif

e ba

lanc

e an

d ge

tting

m

enta

l hea

lth s

uppo

rt w

hen

need

ed.

✦M

ake

appo

intm

ents

with

hea

lth c

are

prof

essi

onal

s an

d di

scus

s co

ncer

ns a

nd li

fest

yle

goal

s.✦

Qui

t sm

okin

g, g

et e

noug

h sl

eep

and

mod

erat

e al

coho

l use

.✦

Dev

elop

a h

ealth

y ea

ting

and

exer

cise

pla

n.✦

Stay

up-

to-d

ate

on v

acci

natio

ns.

✦D

evel

op a

rela

tions

hip

with

a p

hysi

cian

. Reg

ular

doc

tor’s

vis

its a

llow

bo

th p

atie

nt a

nd d

octo

r to

mon

itor b

lood

pre

ssur

e, w

eigh

t, bl

ood

suga

r, m

enta

l hea

lth a

nd o

ther

bod

y sy

stem

s. H

avin

g a

cons

iste

nt

reco

rd o

f th

ese

num

bers

and

con

cern

s ca

n he

lp h

ealth

pro

fess

iona

ls

iden

tify

pote

ntia

l pro

blem

s w

hile

they

can

be

mos

t eff

ectiv

ely

trea

ted.

Men

who

hav

en’t

seen

a d

octo

r in

a w

hile

mig

ht th

ink

abou

t boo

king

an

app

oint

men

t in

June

. It’s

a p

erfe

ct ti

me

to g

et s

erio

us a

bout

hea

lth.

Reg

ular

ch

ecku

ps

save

live

s.

June

Is

Men

's H

ealth

M

onth