Do you know this number??? Put it in the phone now. Why you ask? Well, if you don’t know it you should, it is the Poison Control Number available to everyone and is staffed by Pharmacists and RNs trained in toxicology. No mattter what your age, you never know when that accident will occur and fumbling to get information is seconds away when you dial this free number. I will never forget the first pediatric patient I cared for that accidentally ingested Draino. Yes, Draino! She was three and her under the…

Instead of focusing on wellness and maximizing functioning, seniors sometimes focus on illness and loss of functioning. One of our Center’s main goals is to focus on what is feeling well, and using that to help people function as highly as possible. We strive to help seniors and their caregivers feel positive about their level of functioning, skills and talents.

In our program for people with memory impairment, it is very important to help them strengthen their skills and “exercise” their memory as much as possible.    Over the years, we’ve observed that the…

What comes to your mind when yout think of the typical college basketball player? As college hoops tournaments are starting to fill the airwaves, I wanted to share an inspiring video clip I had come across a few years ago featuring an atypical student athlete.

In a 2008 New York Times article featuring 73 year old Ken Mink, Jere Longman writes:

If the 6-foot Mink was good enough to play, he was good enough to be guarded, Woods told the Lambuth players. Then he turned to the freshman Kendrick Coleman and said: “If…

(Photo by Laurel Fan)

I attended The Coffee & Tea Festival in Manhattan a couple of weeks ago. A friend was showcasing her specialty Japanese green tea, so she invited a group of us to visit her booth as well as sample other teas from around the world.

I balked at the sight of tea in my youth. I didn’t like what I experienced to be a bitter taste. Tea was nothing more than a remedy my mom would make for me if I had a sore throat. She improved the taste by…

Photo by Simon Howden / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Many of our patients have chronic illnesses that they have to deal with, and although scary at times, usually they find a way to manage. But what about a complication from an illness that came upon you suddenly? I had one such gentleman recently. He suffered a brain aneurysm last year that had been a complication from high blood pressure, and since that time he has undergone two surgeries. Fortunately, the aneurysm was treated in time and it did not cause as much damage as was…

Just as Paula shared her family’s situation with us in her post Jan. 27, I wanted to share some news. My father-in-law, Bob, was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer seven months ago. Now, this is pretty devastating news, not just because of the diagnosis, but because he has had cancer four, count ‘em, four previous times, and survived. After bouts three and four we pronounced him too tough to die.

Bob and Dorothy, thankfully, have a terrific support system, and have been active in their local American Cancer Society chapter and…