If you’re like most Americans, healthier eating and general wellness habits like exercise and adequate sleep are things you commit (and recommit!) to periodically or around the New Year. Sometimes it’s difficult to stick with healthy habits, but it’s often hard simply to get started because diet fads and advice are everywhere and often offer conflicting or confusing information.
Are you or someone you know in an emergency? Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-TALK (8255) or 911 right now.
September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month and the counseling and mental health experts at LeBauer HealthCare want everyone in our area to understand the suicide warning signs and ways to help someone who is at risk. Especially this year, in the midst of so much upheaval, uncertainty, and causes for stress, anxiety, and depression, we need to be ready as a community to recognize and respond to the warning signs. If you or someone you love is struggling with depression or suicidal thoughts — you’re not alone, and there is help waiting for you, right now.
When it comes to COVID-19, we know that the elderly are most vulnerable. However, there’s another group that is facing a different type of risk during this pandemic. Parents are coping with more stress than ever. Broken routines, job changes, school closures, and hypervigilance have taken their toll, and it’s time to start talking about this secondary epidemic. Stress affects much more than one’s mood — it wrecks the immune system, causes digestive issues, disrupts sleep, and may produce many other symptoms throughout the body. Experts have even linked chronic stress to cancer.
Of all the hobbies and interests to pursue in the world, reading medical textbooks must rank fairly low. However, even as a six-year-old, Ibtehal “Abby” Jaralla Shamleffer, MD, one of the newest endocrinology experts to join the team at LeBauer HealthCare, spent hours poring over those books. “My father was a surgeon. Some of my uncles were doctors. They were always reading these books, and I was fascinated by them, too. Even at that age, I realized this was a field I would enjoy working in when I grew up,” she says.
Parents in North Carolina are just starting to find out what plans will be for their school district this year and are wondering how they can prepare for it. Whether your school will be implementing virtual learning, in-person learning, or a blend of the two, the health experts at LeBauer HealthCare and Cone Health have some practical guidance for parents as they navigate this new territory.
Parents have a lot on their plates right now as they try to protect their children from coronavirus — from possibly becoming a caregiver and teacher 24/7 to learning about health and safety for their family. Understandably, parents have many questions. “Is it safe to take my child to the doctor for a routine wellness visit and vaccinations?” is one of the most common questions right now.
At this point in the COVID-19 pandemic, many people are wondering how to resume some of their normal activities when states like North Carolina are in the midst of a phased reopening. If you are feeling uncertain about what is safe, you are not alone! The health experts at LeBauer HealthCare have put together these five guidelines to help lower your risk of contracting or spreading coronavirus.
Still trying to decide if it’s safe to vacation this summer? While many states, including North Carolina, have been opening back up, there are still plenty of risks that come with travel, hotels, rentals, and dining out. In addition, North Carolina and some surrounding states are seeing COVID-19 cases continuing to increase.
In-person care is safe and readily available for non-COVID illnesses. You can schedule your sick or well visit online with peace of mind, knowing that LeBauer is taking extraordinary steps to keep you safe while in our offices. Watch the video below to see how our enhanced practices are keeping patients at all LeBauer and Cone Health locations safe.
Learn About Care During COVID-19 with Dr. Stacey Blyth
Listen to Dr. Stacey Blyth, Family Medicine physician with LeBauer Primary Care at MedCenter High Point, discuss care during COVID-19. She explains how virtual visits work, why it’s better to see your own primary care provider when you’re sick, and things you can do to help stay healthy during COVID-19.