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[JULY 7, 2001]  Gary "Skip" Dobey of Elkhart dons his walking shoes several times a week for a mile-and-a-half trek. But walking wasn’t always part of his daily routine.

Even though the 57-year-old now says walking makes him feel better, he admits health reasons forced him to take up the exercise. Last Thanksgiving, Dobey had heart bypass surgery. After three months of recovery, he took his doctor’s advice and began walking toward a healthier lifestyle.

"It’s not my favorite thing to do," said Dobey. "It’s not one of my favorite pastimes, but you have to do what you have to do. I walk fast to get my heartbeat up. I feel better. You can tell a difference in the way you feel."

Dobey is just one of millions of Americans who have found walking to be their preferred form of exercise. Walking is the most popular exercise in the country today because it’s easy, convenient and can be done anywhere, anytime. It’s a safe, low-impact activity that’s easy on the body and an excellent form of exercise for senior citizens because of the minimal risk to muscles and joints.

Dobey, who enjoys walking outside during warm weather months, said he walked at
the hospital during his recovery and later at the local Wal-Mart store and at home on a treadmill during the cold winter months. He plans to continue his new exercise regime, which includes weight machines and bicycling, this winter.

"Sometimes I don’t want to walk, but after I get going and start doing it, you feel better. It’s hard to discipline yourself that you have to do it," he added.

Medical experts claim walking just 30 minutes a day three times every week can produce great benefits for your body, especially when combined with healthy eating. Walking lowers blood pressure and cholesterol levels, stimulates circulation and
reduces the risk of heart attack, heart disease and stroke. It boosts your immune system, metabolism and endurance, while strengthening your bones, toning muscles, prompting weight loss and helping you sleep better.

In addition to the physical benefits, walking has
important psychological effects. It decreases stress and tension, relieves depression and improves both your mood and your self-image.

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"Men tend to think that they work hard and walk (at work) all week, but that’s not the same kind of exercise," said Dobey, who has been an Eaton Corporation employee for 37 years.

"Sometimes I come home from the plant and I don’t feel like doing it. I think to myself that I put in eight hours and I’m tired. But that’s a different kind of exercise; it’s not the same as continuous exercise to get your heart rate up," he said. 

A study by the American Council on Exercise shows that a brisk walk can even help improve your memory. A new study of older adults found that those who walked about 45 minutes, three times per week for six months performed substantially better on several cognitive tasks than those who did stretching or strengthening exercises. Not only did the walkers perform better on tests that gauged their ability to plan, establish schedules and switch between tasks, they also showed significant improvement in oxygen consumption. Previous studies have also shown a link between lifelong exercise and a lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

Medical experts say that people who can't even walk under normal conditions can walk in a swimming pool using flotation devices to strengthen their muscles.

Walking also is part of the rehabilitation program for many heart attack and stroke sufferers.

Not only is walking great for the body and mind, it’s also the cheapest exercise around. All you need is a pair of comfortable shoes, cushioned socks and you’re ready to go. And you can walk up and down your stairways, around the neighborhood, at one of the local parks, inside at the gym or on a treadmill.

Not only does it ease the mind and tone the body, it’s also one of the easiest forms of exercise a person can do.

(To be continued)

[Penny Zimmerman-Wills]

[JULY 2, 2001]  We will observe National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week July 19-25. One of the most common preventable pediatric health problems in the United States today is lead poisoning. Lead poisoning is simply the presence of too much lead in the body and is caused by exposure to lead that is eaten or breathed in the form of dust.

As we have come to a greater understanding of the effects of lead poisoning, crucial legislation has been passed to decrease the amount of lead in the environment. As a result, few children suffer from the serious physical effects of lead poisoning. However, many children continue to be exposed to low doses of lead that can result in more subtle but still serious health problems. Even at low doses of exposure, a child may suffer from developmental delay, lower IQ, hyperactivity, learning disability or hearing impairment. Since children who have elevated blood lead levels may have no observable symptoms, parents may be unaware of the problem until the damage has been done.

People at any age can get lead poisoning, but children are at the greatest risk. The primary source of lead exposure for children is lead-based paint. It is estimated that lead-based paint is present in 74 percent of all homes built before 1978. Lead dust accumulates in cracks over the life of a house. Where you can see chipping paint, there is always lead dust. Children are most likely to swallow lead dust simply because they are closer to the ground, and they frequently place hands or other objects in their mouths. Certain activities such as opening and closing windows can create an aerosol so that children can inhale the lead dust.

Other sources of lead include imported crayons and miniblinds, improperly glazed pottery, the solder that connects water pipes, and some folk remedies. Certain hobbies such as stained glass, target shooting or furniture refinishing carry a risk for lead exposure. Adults with certain occupations are exposed to lead. These include construction workers and auto repair workers as well as others. Workers can unknowingly carry lead dust home from the workplace and expose their families. Children of people who remodel their own homes are at very high risk for lead exposure. Lead has also been deposited in the soil from leaded gasoline and lead paint. Since lead is not biodegradable, once deposited in the soil it stays there.

The only method to diagnose lead poisoning is by a blood test. In 1995 the Illinois Department of Public Health designated areas of high and low risk for lead poisoning throughout the state. This was done by ZIP code. Those children living in areas determined to be low risk can be assessed by using a set of questions designed to determine the risk of lead poisoning to that particular child. Children who are high-risk as determined by the questionnaire and those who live in a high-risk ZIP code area need a blood test.

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According to Illinois law, all children 6 months through 6 years of age must be assessed for lead poisoning one time before entering day care, preschool or kindergarten. The American Academy of Pediatrics, however, recommends yearly assessment, especially at 1 and 2 years of age, as these children are at the highest risk for central nervous system impairment.

Lead poisoning can be prevented by taking some simple precautions. These include:

• Keeping children away from peeling or chipping paint.

• Washing floors, countertops and windowsills at least weekly with a phosphate-based detergent.

• Feeding children a diet high in iron, calcium and Vitamin C, low in fat, and offering healthy snacks throughout the day.

• Using proper procedure when renovating or remodeling, and keeping children and pregnant women out of the work area until renovations are complete and the area has been cleaned.

• Washing a child’s hands, face and toys often.

• Allowing the cold water to run for several minutes in the morning before using it and using only cold water for drinking, cooking and preparing infant formula.

• Removing shoes when coming indoors so that lead dust is not tracked inside the house.

• Laundering work clothes separately when in an occupation that carries a high risk for lead exposure.

• Never storing food in pottery made outside of the United States.

• Planting grass to reduce a child’s exposure to lead in the soil.

For more information on childhood lead poisoning or for information on how to have your child assessed for lead exposure, call the Logan County Health Department at (217) 735-2317 or ask your health-care provider.

[Logan County Health Department news release]

[JUNE 29, 2001]  Despite decades of research showing men live shorter lives than women and have higher rates of serious diseases, studies show men do not take as much interest in their personal health as women.

[Click here for Part 1]

[Click here for Part 2]

Besides lack of a good diet and enough exercise, many men both locally and nationally
suffer from stress.

"We hear so much about stress. There is a whole population of men that are under increasing amounts of stress. Farmers have unique type of stress that many people aren’t aware of, with the bad economy, the weather and other things they worry about. They have traditionally been stoic," Eldredge said. "Stress-related depression and other illnesses are on the rise locally."

Among other findings, the survey also concluded that:

* Men are more likely than women to be overweight, based on a mathematical tool called the Body Mass Index that measures the relationship between height and weight. The survey found that 62 percent of men and 43 percent of women have a BMI score of 25 or more, which puts them at increased risk for such health problems as heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

* Among men responding to the survey, 12 percent feel a great deal of stress almost every day, compared with 15 percent of women. Men are more likely than women to relieve that stress by drinking alcoholic beverages (22 percent vs. 15 percent).

* Men are much more likely than women to be concerned about developing colon cancer (43 percent vs. 36 percent), despite statistics from the American Cancer Society which indicate that 51,200 women and 44,000 men will develop the disease this year.

[to top of second column in this section]

Growing interest in men’s health

Despite the generally gloomy assessments of men’s health awareness, however, there is clear evidence that men are beginning to take better charge of their health. The success of magazines such as Men’s Health, Prime and other wellness-oriented, healthy-lifestyle publications underscores a growing interest in wellness and healthy lifestyles among men.

Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala and Surgeon General David Satcher have issued a plan called "Healthy People 2010," which provides a nationwide blueprint for a program to build on the advances in medicine and health care treatments to improve the nation’s health over the next decade. Some of its key goals are to reverse the commonly held view that men simply die earlier than women and to close the gender gap in life spans.

Even if men are reluctant to actually go to the doctor, they can get information by just
using their computer. Many Internet sites are devoted to men’s health issues, including
menshealthnetwork.org and menshealth.com. Members of One Health Plan are offered online health risk assessments and a health library at www.onehealthplan.com.

Leading causes of death for men in the United States:

Diseases of heart

Malignant neoplasms

Cerebrovascular diseases

Unintentional injuries

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Pneumonia and influenza

Human immunodeficiency virus

Diabetes mellitus

Suicide

Homicide and legal intervention

(Source: The Centers for Disease Control, 1995)

[Penny Zimmerman-Wills]

[JUNE 28, 2001]  Despite decades of research showing men live shorter lives than women and have higher rates of serious diseases, studies show men do not take as much interest in their personal health as women.

[Click here for Part 1]

"Diet and exercise is a problem for everybody — especially men in the rural areas, who
feel they get enough exercise just working. They do exercise, but it’s not consistent," Eldredge said. "Our whole society has become more sedentary."

The statistics

The general lack of understanding and male acceptance of health care has a high cost, medical researchers say. No matter how smart a man is, no matter what kind of professional status he’s achieved, he can still ignore things he shouldn’t ignore and pay the unnecessary consequences, said a report from The Male Health Institute. The report indicated the consequences can be serious. 

Before age 65, men suffer 2.5 times as many heart attacks as women. By age 65, one in three men suffers from high blood pressure, a primary risk for heart attacks. Yet men are less likely than women to have their blood pressure checked.

One in nine men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, yet few will have the easy and painless digital rectal exam and prostate-specific antigen blood test to detect it, the report said.

Men are at greater risk of stress-related illnesses than women, yet only 20 percent of the people in the typical stress-management program are men.

Every year, more than 50,000 men die of emphysema, one of the most preventable diseases.

It has been estimated that more than three million men are walking around with early Type II diabetes, a disease with major complications, and don’t know it.

[to top of second column in this section]

Men make 130 million fewer visits a year to the family doctor than do women, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And, according to a nationwide survey of Americans’
health attitudes and behaviors, men are not only avoiding important health checks, they are significantly behind women in their awareness of the importance of their behavior.

The survey, conducted for Men’s Health magazine and CNN by Opinion Research
Corporation International, found that one adult man in 10 — roughly seven million — has avoided getting regular health exams for more than a decade. What’s more, the study noted, more than 15 million men have not had a basic health check in five years or more.

Overall, 76 percent of women responding to the phone survey reported they had been to the doctor for a physical exam in the past 12 months, compared with just 60 percent of men.

"Men should make their family physician a partner," Eldredge said.

The study also found that women are more adept than men at understanding and practicing the basic behaviors that lead to better health.

(To be continued)

[Penny Zimmerman-Wills]

[Click here for Part 3]

[JUNE 27, 2001]  Despite decades of research showing men live shorter lives than women and have higher rates of serious diseases, studies show men do not take as much interest in their personal health as women.

Men’s health facts

• One in three men will die from either a heart attack or stroke.

• Exercise can reduce the risk of heart disease by half.

• Sixty percent of men do not take enough exercise to benefit their health.

• Exercise might prevent the development of one in four cases of diabetes mellitus.

• The current life expectancy of American men is an average of 72.5 years.

"I don’t think men think they will get sick," said Dayle Eldredge, director of the community health program at Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital. "It’s all tied up with the feeling they have that they are responsible for other things, like work and family."

Eldredge, who is also coordinator of the Rural Health Partnership program, said there are more men taking advantage of the mobile unit now than ever before, and half of the client base is male. She thinks the convenience of the program draws more clients, especially farmers, who find it easier than scheduling a doctor’s appointment.

Men continue to have a higher death rate in every one of 10 leading causes of death, including heart disease, cancer, stroke and chronic lung disease. The current life expectancy of American men is an average of 72.5 years, while for women it is 78.9.

National health statistics show this gap in life expectancy between men and women has remained steady since the 1950s, and in the case of some illnesses, such as cancer, the gap has actually widened. In 1920, the life-expectancy gap between men and women was only about one year.

[to top of second column in this section]

Even though more men and their families are now aware about the need to get regular health checkups, exercise more and improve their diets, the gender gap between men and women when it comes to personal health and life expectancy continues to be a major national health problem. Health care experts know that regular checkups by a physician can be crucial to early detection and treatment of diseases, such as prostate cancer in men. A study by the American Academy of Family Physicians showed women visited their family physicians more than twice as often as men.

"In general, men know they should go to the doctor, but they don’t always do it. In the
past, not very much attention has been paid to men’s health issues. It’s just as important
for men to get tested for prostate and testicular cancer as it is for women to be tested for
ovarian cancer," Eldredge said.

Medical experts cite several reasons why men do not have the same level of interest in
their health as women. Men simply do not see themselves as vulnerable to serious illness
and are not as comfortable going to the doctor. Because of birth control and pregnancy
issues, as well as increased public awareness of breast cancer issues, women generally are more attuned to the need for regular health checkups and preventive health care.

As a general rule, men between the ages of 18 and 75 should be encouraged to have
periodic blood pressure, height, weight, dental, vision and hearing checks. Men between
35 and 65 years of age should have cholesterol checks every five years, and men between
50 and 75 should have yearly colorectal cancer tests. It's also advisable that men have
yearly influenza vaccinations and tetanus-diphtheria vaccinations every 10 years.

(To be continued)

[Penny Zimmerman-Wills]

[Click here for Part 2]

Honors & Awards

Announcements

[JUNE 30, 2001]   

Senior Sunday — July 1, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Reservations required. Call 732-2161, Ext. 195.

Free blood pressure screenings — July 3, 5, 10, 12, 17, 19, 24, 26 and 31, 9 a.m. to noon, first floor waiting area. No appointment necessary.

Congestive heart failure and diabetes support group — Monday, July 16, 7 p.m., Conference Room A. Call (217) 732-2161, Ext. 443 for more information.

Breast Cancer Awareness — Tuesday, July 17, 7 p.m., Conference Room A. Call (217) 732-2161, Ext. 443 for more information.

[to top of second column in this section]

Pain management service — July 9 and 23, on fourth floor. Physician referral required. Call (217) 732-2161, Ext.403 or 444 for more information.

Laser clinic — Thursday, July 12, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., on fourth floor. Call (217) 732-2161 Ext. 243 for more information.

Always In Our Hearts bereavement support group — Thursday, July 26, 1 to 3 p.m., fifth floor physicians lounge. Call (217) 732-2161, Ext. 405 for more information.

Parkinson’s support group — Monday, July 23, 7 p.m., Conference Room A. Call (217) 732-2161, Ext. 427 for more information.

[ALMH news release]

The Rural Health Partnership has announced the schedule for its mobile health unit. Effective Feb. 1, 2001, the unit will run as follows:

For more information on the mobile health unit schedule and services, contact Dayle Eldredge at (217) 732-2161, Ext. 409.

This family resource list to save and use is provided by the Healthy Communities Partnership (732-2161, Ext. 409) and the Healthy Families Task Force.         

Resources for Logan County families

Agency	Phone number	Address
911	911 (Emergencies) 732-3911 (Office -- non-emergency)	911 Pekin St. Lincoln, IL 62656
Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital	732-2161	315 Eighth St. Lincoln, IL 62656
Aging (Department of)	785-3356	421 E. Capitol, #100 Springfield, IL 62701-1789
American Cancer Society	546-7586 (24 hour)	1305 Wabash, Ste. J Springfield, IL 62704
American Red Cross	732-2134 1-800-412-0100	125 S. Kickapoo Lincoln, IL 62656
Catholic Social Services	732-3771	310 S. Logan Lincoln, IL 62656
Chamber of Commerce	735-2385	303 S. Kickapoo St. Lincoln, IL 62656
Community Action (CIEDC)	732-2159	1800 Fifth St. Lincoln, IL 62656
Community Child Care Connection	525-2805 1-800-676-2805	1004 N. Milton Ave. Springfield, IL 62702-443
Crisis Pregnancy Center	735-4838	513 Pulaski St. Lincoln, IL 62656
DCFS (Department of Children & Family Services)	735-4402 1-800-252-2873 (crisis hotline)	1100 Keokuk St. Lincoln, IL 62656
Heartland Community College GED Program	735-1731	620 Broadway St. Lincoln, IL 62656
Hospice Care of Illinois	1-800-342-4862 (24 hour) 732-2161, Ext. 444	720 N. Bond Springfield, IL 62702
Housing Authority	732-7776 732-6312 (24 hour)	1028 N. College St. Lincoln, IL 62656
Illinois Breast & Cervical Cancer Program	735-2317 1-800-269-4019	LCHD - 109 Third St. Lincoln, IL 62656
Illinois Department of Public Health	782-4977	535 W. Jefferson Springfield, IL 62761
Illinois Employment and Training Center (replaces JTPA office)	735-5441	120 S. McLean St., Suite B Farm Bureau Building Lincoln, IL 62656
Legal Assistance Foundation	(217) 753-3300 1-800-252-8629	730 E. Vine St., Ste. 214 Springfield, IL 62703
Library - Atlanta	(217) 648-2112	100 Race St. Atlanta, IL 61723
Library - Elkhart	(217) 947-2313	121 E. Bohan Elkhart, IL 62634
Library - Lincoln	732-8878	725 Pekin St. Lincoln, IL 62656
Library - Mount Pulaski	792-5919	320 N. Washington Mount Pulaski, IL 62548
Lincoln Area YMCA	735-3915	319 W. Kickapoo St. Lincoln, IL 62656
Lincoln/Logan Food Pantry	732-2204	P.O. Box 773 Lincoln, IL 62656
Lincoln Parents’ Center	735-4192	100 S. Maple Lincoln, IL 62656
Lincoln Park District	732-8770	1400 Primm Rd. Lincoln, IL 62656
Logan County Department of Human Services (Public Aid)	735-2306	1550 Fourth St., P.O. Box 310 Lincoln, IL 62656
Logan County Health Department	735-2317	109 Third St., P.O. Box 508 Lincoln, IL 62656
Logan Mason Mental Health	735-2272 1-888-832-3600 (crisis line)	304 Eighth St. Lincoln, IL 62656
Logan-Mason Rehabilitation Center	735-1413	760 S. Postville Dr. Lincoln, IL 62656
Oasis (Senior Citizens of Logan County)	732-6132	501 Pulaski St. Lincoln, IL 62656
Project READ	735-1731	620 Broadway St. Lincoln, IL 62656
Salvation Army	732-7890	1501 N. Kickapoo Lincoln, IL 62656
Senior Services of Central Illinois	732-6213 1-800-252-8966 (crisis line)	109 Third St. Lincoln, IL 62656
Sojourn Shelter & Service Inc.	732-8988 (217) 726-5200 (24-hour hotline)	1800 Westchester Blvd. Springfield, IL 62704
U. of I. Division of Specialized Care for Children	524-2000 1-800-946-8468	421 S. Grand Ave. West, 2nd Floor Springfield, IL 62704
U. of I. Extension Service	732-8289	122 S. McLean St. Lincoln, IL 62656

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