As the shortages of mental health services and professionals continue to be addressed, if you or a loved one is struggling with a concerning mental health need, the first course of action is to seek help.
For a number of years, Pennsylvania has faced a shortage of psychiatrists and other mental health professionals. At a time when the COVID crisis, election turbulence, and racial tensions, have exacerbated mental health issues, it’s certainly a cause for concern.
Technology, telehealth visits and recovering from all of COVID-19’s effects will drive healthcare in this new year as providers continue to focus on patients.
Crises have a way of revealing problems that had been too easy to ignore. COVID-19 has revealed problems with access to behavioral health services, said Kendra Aucker, president and CEO of Evangelical Community Hospital, in Lewisburg,
If COVID has caused added stress for the average family this year, it has had exponential effects on the medical community. Valley hospitals say they are proud of how they have weathered this unprecedented storm, and reflect on some lessons learned and new innovations that they will carry wi…
Convenient food options have historically been the unhealthiest options, from fast food drive-thrus and TV dinners to the often sodium- and butter-saturated meals at a sit-down restaurant. When COVID-19 struck, food ordering, pickup and delivery got even more convenient, with increased usage…
Pandemic or not, people still carry mobile phones wherever they go, and one of the things they can view on those phones is advice on maintaining good health — in a safe, socially distanced way.
When Bill Pepperman, 62, was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and after Cindy Pepperman, 60, suffered a heart attack two years ago and was diagnosed as pre-diabetic, the Linden couple realized they needed help to transition to a healthier lifestyle. Geisinger’s Diabetes Prevention Program did…
Because of online and telephonic education, Bill and Cindy Pepperman, of Linden, have been able to learn ways of managing diabetes even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic — something not all people with diabetes are able to do. Geisinger’s own research shows many people are unaware of the…
On already weary hearts and minds, a new wave of COVID restrictions issued just in time for the holidays could be a tipping point. Doctors and mental health professionals suggest committing to principles and practices that can help deal with the prolonged day-to-day stress in mentally healthy ways.
Dr. Daria Keyser grew up in the rural town of Wellsboro, where her dad was what she calls a “small-time family doctor”. One of four children, she was the only one to express interest in medicine. She spent many of her early years watching her father work, which included delivering babies.
In a bit of irony, the coronavirus pandemic actually resulted in less traffic in Evangelical Community Hospital’s Emergency Department. Anxious about catching the virus, people chose urgent care facilities for minor cuts and sprains, saving the ED for truly emergent care—exactly what it’s for.
Phlebotomists and clerical workers helped in the Emergency Department. Maintenance workers and IT specialists concentrated on setting up testing sites. Nurses asked to be sent wherever needed. When the COVID-19 pandemic spread through the Susquehanna Valley, area hospital staffers worked tog…
As empty as our streets were during the earlier days of the pandemic shutdowns, Detra Dodge, LPN, found Geisinger’s corridors to be the same way.
When two local women faced breast cancer and reconstruction surgery, one dug in deep with determination, the other laughed off the inconvenience, but both hoped their experiences can help others.
This year, Muncy resident Tiffany Delp turned 40 — the age when medical professionals say a woman should start having yearly mammograms. During a routine physical appointment, Delp’s nurse practitioner brought it up, and Delp scheduled one.
Noreen “Reenie” Malaney has always been conscientious about taking care of her body. That included doing regular breast self-examinations, one of which revealed a suspicious lump last winter. A subsequent mammogram set off a series of testing that included another mammogram, an ultrasound, a…
Nine years ago, Selinsgrove resident Gail Rohland was serving in Egypt with a missions organization, when she put out her hand for a taxi and it began to shake uncontrollably. She and her husband Ray had been serving in the country for 24 years and had haled plenty of taxis. So it wasn’t bec…
Though only nine years old, Kaylyn Heimbach, of Winfield, knows why hand washing is so important.
When Ann Dzwonchyk, Wellness Educator with Evangelical Community Health and Wellness, demonstrates hand hygiene to young kids, she asks how many sides their hands have.
Working with Meals on Wheels volunteers in Lewisburg brings a certain, intangible satisfaction to Cindy Walker.
Local nursing home administrators are well aware of the COVID-19 outbreaks at nursing homes across the country and are taking precautions to keep the virus at bay.
SELINSGROVE — A mask can be inconvenient. It can be itchy, hot and — for some — even make it hard to breathe. For people with weak immune systems or underlying medical conditions, a mask is one of the things standing in the way of a trip to the emergency room.
Months deep into the global pandemic that has shaken almost every aspect of American life, medical personnel at Geisinger Medical Center and Evangelical Community Hospital have been pulling together to give the best possible care to COVID-19 patients — and to each other.
Going forward in fighting the pandemic, Geisinger plans to use funding from the state’s Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to continue partnering with skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) in the northeast and northcentral regions of Pennsylvania, especially focusing on f…
COVID-19 created needs in skilled nursing facilities, or SNFs, that included education, training and the sharing of personal protective equipment. Dr. Greg Burke, Medical Director of the Skilled Nursing Facilities Program at Geisinger, pointed out another, more human and heart wrenching need…
John Mulka was diagnosed with kidney cancer in 2008. He later learned that the cancer had metastasized to his lungs and brain. The 76-year-old Bloomsburg resident said doctors told him it was treatable, but not curable. His continued care includes a yearly CAT scan and MRI.
When the weather warmed up this spring, Dr. Amy Howell Harte, Community Medicine of Geisinger, headed to the Montour Preserve for a multi-generational walk with her kids and her mother.
Milton resident Craig Wheeland hit a mental and emotional breaking point after four weeks of being stuck in his house, and particularly when the COVID-19 restrictions kept him from worshiping at church and spending time with his family on Easter.
The pandemic experience creates new stressors in daily life that many people are not prepared to cope with. Here are some helpful tips from health care professionals.
Summer is here, which means it’s a great time to increase our activity levels and truly enjoy all that the warm weather has to offer. Whether you are heading out for a walk, hike, or other activity, it’s important to consider a gradual approach when transitioning from the winter couch potato…
Geisinger plans to open its a health center for patients 65 and older this fall in Shamokin Dam. It will be the first clinic in the Valley. The system has already or is about to open similar facilities in Luzerne and Lackawanna counties.
Warm weather and sunshine are here, and soon enough many of us will be spending more time grilling, picnicking, or attending outdoor gatherings. These warm-weather events also present opportunities for foodborne bacteria to thrive. As food heats up in summer temperatures, bacteria multiply r…
The $72 million building addition under construction at Evangelical Community Hospital in Lewisburg is 80 percent complete and, barring any setbacks, could be operational by early October, according to a hospital administrator.
DANVILLE — Geisinger Medical Center is trying to create a more positive experience for children needing emergency treatment.
When Steven Barrows, MD, Family Medicine at UPMC, decided to do some home landscaping, he hopped in his pickup and drove to a local Lowe’s for a load of stone. Workers there shook their heads and told him he’d have to make two trips; the weight of the stone was more than his truck could bear.
Beginning in February, Middleburg resident Renee Swineford sought dental care for the placement of two crowns. In mid-March, as the technician was putting in the second one, it broke.
In many cases, booking a regular checkup or teeth cleaning in a normal world would have to be done months in advance. Local dentists say those routine appointments will likely be further delayed due to the shutdowns and continued safety protocol. And that means people need to be even more de…
Stay-at-home orders during this pandemic have led to many long hours sitting in front of a computer at an unfamiliar desk or your kitchen table as you work from home or homeschool your kids. Then, you retreat to the couch to hide from the news only to binge-watch an entire Netflix series wit…
Moving forward amid hopes that the initial pandemic is tapering off, hospitals are opening to wider services while keeping a close watch on the unpredictable virus. In the coming days, patients and other people planning to enter hospital facilities can expect precautions that could include:
As the Valley moves from the red phase to the yellow phase in Gov. Tom Wolf’s color-coded reopening plan, local hospitals have prepared to widen their services as safely as possible.
Although it may not feel like summer, warmer weather and hot sunny days are right around the corner. May 4 is also known as Melanoma Monday, and kicks off Skin Cancer Awareness Month, the perfect time for a reminder of the long-term effects of unprotected sun exposure and skin cancer.
Those bottles of expired prescription drugs sitting on the shelves of residential medicine cabinets were supposed to be disposed of at the Drug Enforcement Administration’s 2020 Spring Take Back Day on April 25. Coronavirus restrictions caused the DEA to postpone that event, but local medica…
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted many aspects of our lives, including the way we receive health care. People in communities across the nation are forgoing medically necessary care leading to unnecessary suffering and worsening health conditions. It’s normal to feel anxious about returning…
For the past 10 years, the YMCA has been a major part of life for one Valley family. Nicole Spontarelli said her children — Preston, 14, and Olivia, 13, — have participated in football and field hockey clinics, respectively. Olivia recently began attending group fitness classes with her moth…
For those who suffer from seasonal allergies, you know that this time of year can be a challenge. Flowers, trees, and grasses are in bloom and growing which means pollen and other allergens are in the air. In the U.S., an estimated 18 million adults have hay fever or allergic rhinitis, cause…
Moving around and speaking to others may seem like simple tasks, but if you live with Parkinson’s disease, you don’t take either of those things for granted. According to the Parkinson’s Foundation, nearly one million people in the U.S. are living with the disease, and approximately 60,000 A…
Spring is the season of renewal and growth. This year, it will also be the season we remember being stuck at home while we social distanced ourselves so we could stay healthy and virus free. We can use the extra time we have from not running between activities and commitments to improve ours…
While we impatiently allow social distancing restrictions to help flatten the curve of the number of coronavirus patients flooding our healthcare systems, researchers are racing to find a vaccine that will destroy COVID-19 just as effectively as other vaccines have done for polio, diphtheria…
We are all still home from the “stay home, stay safe” order due to the coronavirus.
