By Naomi Thomas A bus mobilized during the COVID-19 pandemic is bringing behavioral health care to two rural counties. The mobile health unit, run by CarePartners, a local agency, has been traveling through Emanuel and Candler counties in east Georgia to bring services to people in need. Since the virus appeared in the state, the…
By Naomi Thomas Patricia Lingo has seen her work hours at Waffle House cut back sharply during the coronavirus pandemic. But amid that drop in income, her needs have increased. “The coronavirus, well, it practically has taken my job away from me,” says Lingo, 72, a waitress. She says she’s worked “many a year” for…
By Naomi Thomas Social distancing is a vital tool to help seniors avoid COVID-19. But it may be exacerbating a longtime problem for older people: social isolation, which can lead to loneliness. “We’ve already been worried about loneliness as an epidemic before all of this hit, and that’s because older adults, and not just because…
Tresa Haywood, 50, has had a complicated medical history in recent years. She was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease, an autoimmune disorder, in 2000. Two years later came a diagnosis of diabetes, followed by diagnoses of hypoxia – low oxygen in the tissue – irritable bowel syndrome and other conditions in 2004. She was even believed…
Carotenoids are plant pigments. They make tomatoes red and give carrots their distinctive orange hue. You see them when leaves change colors in the fall. But carotenoids are not just decorative. Among the roughly 600 carotenoids in nature, two in particular, lutein and zeaxanthin, have been found to improve the function of the human brain,…
The highways in Macon have long stretches with fast-moving traffic, poor lighting and very few crosswalks. And they have a problem with pedestrian deaths. “I found that Macon was leading the state in pedestrian deaths, and it bothered me,” said Macon-Bibb County Commissioner Elaine Lucas. Lucas helped start the Macon-Bibb County’s Pedestrian Safety Review Board…
A lift chair has made a big difference for Henry Cato, 78, of Franklin, who has neuropathy in his legs. The chair is a kind of recliner, but it includes a mechanism that pushes the chair up from its base and slowly moves the sitting person into a standing position. Henry does not have to struggle to get…
“Big data’’ health care analytics are the focus of a new program at Georgia Tech. Last week, the American College of Radiology’s Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute announced a five-year, $3 million research partnership with the Georgia Institute of Technology to establish the Health Economics and Analytics Lab (HEAL), with the Ivan Allen College…
Springfield Baptist Church in Sparta recently played host to a celebration for three local sisters — Tennie S. Henderson, 103, Lillie S. Lewis, 100, and Julia S. Williams, 98 — who have continued the state’s recent history of very old residents. Two Georgia supercentenarians (people who have lived to or passed the age of 110) made…
Students from the Douglas County College and Career Institute are the winners of the “We’re Not Gonna Take It” video contest. The contest is a chance for Georgia students to make PSA video and audio clips related to the opioid crisis, which will be aired on television and radio stations across the state. A recent…