Rochdale Village Health

This article was featured on huffingtonpost.com, for the original article click here

It was a frosty March morning in Washington, D.C., but Andrea Wongsam was burning up.

She opened her car windows and peeled off her clothing, but still could not cool down. Wongsam, who was 35 at the time, was also experiencing what she thought was extreme heart burn, as well as nausea and tightening of her jaw, but she chalked it all up to morning sickness and continued her commute. At the time, she was 13-weeks pregnant.

Hours later, Wongsam was on her back in a bed in the ICU, having been airlifted to the hospital where she received an emergency angioplasty and stent. It hadn’t been morning sickness; it had been a heart attack, and Wongsam lost her baby as a result.

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African Americans face the most severe burden of HIV of all racial/ethnic groups in the United States (US). Despite representing only 14% of the US population in 2009, African Americans accounted for 44% of all new HIV infections in that year. Compared with members of other races and ethnicities, African Americans account for a higher proportion of HIV infections at all stages of disease—from new infections to deaths.

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Children and youth who experience trauma display increases in stress hormones comparable to those displayed in combat veterans. Researchers point to multiple potential outcomes for children exposed to trauma, including attachment, mood regulation, dissociation, self-concept challenges, and behavioral, cognition, and biological changes, all of which can have a negative impact on school attendance, learning, and academic achievement.

With help from families, friends, providers, and other Heroes of Hope, children and youth can be resilient when dealing with trauma. Visit www.samhsa.gov/children to learn more.

Research from multiple studies indicates children and youth exposed to trauma and violence exhibit levels of stress hormones similar to those seen in combat veterans. Child traumatic stress can lead to multiple potential outcomes, negatively affecting children’s academic outcomes.

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Moves “Road Map To Recovery” to Governor’s Desk

Senator Shirley Huntley will present to Governor Andrew M. Cuomo a 465-page detailed report outlining her plan for a cost effective healthcare delivery model for Southeast Queens.

Senator Huntley in coordnation with Community Wellness Centers of America (CWCOA) CEO and president, Dr. Robert Evans, and COO, Richard Wildzunas,formulated this plan for a pilot initiative to begin the revitalization of required healthcare services – addressing disparities of services in the Jamaica Queens community.

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times on Feb. 14th.  To see the original article, click here.

The health care products giant Johnson & Johnson continued to market an artificial hip in Europe and elsewhere overseas after the Food and Drug Administration rejected its sale in the United States based on a review of company safety studies.

The goal of The JJ Way is to eliminate racial and class disparities in perinatal health and improve birth outcomes for all. Key objectives of The JJ Way® are for pregnancies to reach a gestation of 37 weeks or greater and for newborns to have a birth weight of 5 lbs. 8 oz or greater, for women (and their families) to bond well to their babies and to start and succeed at breastfeeding. The JJ Way’s innovative model builds on the strengths of the Midwives Model of Care to reach a population that does not typically seek midwifery services.

To read more about The JJ Way, click here.

Recently the Daily News brought to light that a well received local TV show is on the ropes.  ‘Talk Therapy TV’, despite its rave reviews, is in danger of leaving the cable line up.  Shedding light on mental health issues is often overlooked by most healthcare professionals.  This show provides a critical avenue to educate yourself and your loved ones about mental illnesses.

Click here for the full article on The Daily News, and check talktherapytv.org for information on how to donate.

This article was originally published on Jan. 31st in the New York Times.  To see the original article click here.

Nearly half of women who had lumpectomies for breast cancer had second operations they may not have needed because surgeons have been unable to agree on guidelines for the most common operation for breast cancer, a new study finds. It also hints that some women who might benefit from further surgery may be missing out on it.

This article was originally published in the New York Times on Jan. 28th.  To see the full article by L. Alan Sroufe click here

THREE million children in this country take drugs for problems in focusing. Toward the end of last year, many of their parents were deeply alarmed because there was a shortage of drugs like Ritalin and Adderall that they considered absolutely essential to their children’s functioning.

“I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon’s knife or the chemist’s drug.” – from the Modern Hippocratic Oath

Far too often in these days of cost cutting and bottom line thinking does the above phrase gets overlooked in healthcare. From overcrowded emergency rooms, to hospitals, and even in some general practices the art of actually caring for the patient, rather than just treating them, is becoming an outdated ideal. However, recently CWCOA became aware of an institution that is providing a stellar example of how compassion, courtesy, and customer service are used to treat patients and their families as people rather than numbers.

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