Health And Fitness

In college I was shocked to find out that some of my peers were using prescription drugs to study harder, longer hours.  That was in 2007. Currently at the Area Substance Abuse Council, our treatment assessment statistics show an increase in prescription drug abuse.  In the past year, we have seen a large increase in clients that state prescription drugs are their primary addiction.

As school approaches some parents may be wondering or perhaps even worrying about what kind of “crowd” their kid will gravitate to and what will there kid be “into?” We as parents work hard to instill values and skills that we hope will help our kids be successful, but have we adequately prepared them? When it comes to substance abuse prevention, there are values and skills that can increase resilience, which can decrease the likelihood that a kid will choose to use drugs, alcohol, tobacco, or vaporizers.

You made it!  You gave them a hug goodbye, wiped away your tears, and told them to be safe and have fun.  After 18 hard years, you have successfully dropped your kid off at college.  While it may seem like you should be able to kick back now (and I am sure you deserve it), did you know that staying active and involved with your child at college can still impact how successful they can be at college?  According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), your college freshman will establish their drinking habits within the first six weeks that they are at college.

When people told Greg Walston his walk made him look like he was 90 years old, he shrugged it off. To him, he just walked like a Walston; his dad had hip problems and two uncles had hip replacement surgery, so hip problems run in his family. But after struggling with pain for several years, reality came calling in the form of an x-ray and a conversation with Dr.

The Cedar Rapids Multiple Myeloma Support Group will meet Saturday, July 25   NOTICE TIME/DATE CHANGE THIS MONTH ONLY   When:  Saturday, July 25, 12:30 pm , lunch served,                    RSVP to contact below   Where:  Hall-Perrine Cancer Center, Community Room   Topic:  New chemotherapy to treat myeloma   Speaker:  Dr.

The Life Serve Blood Center is planning two upcoming Give an hour to save lives at an upcoming blood drives: Keystone Community Blood Drive, Tuesday, July  7, 2015 from 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM at St John Lutheran Church, 201 4th Ave. Virginia Gay Hospital and Vinton Community Blood Drive, Friday, July 10, 2015 from 1:00 PM - 5:30 PM at Virginia Gay Hospital, 502 N 9th Ave.

Melissa Smith, Virginia Gay Hospital’s Director of Public Health and Home Health, urges Benton County residents to be especially cautious of becoming infected with the Shigella bacteria (Shigellosis) recently striking Linn County according to the Linn County public health officials and as reported by KCRG.  “Even before the reported infections in Linn County, our state was reporting triple the number of cases compared to last year,” explains Melissa.

The Red Cross Vinton Community Blood Drive will be held Thursday, June 18, from 1:30 to 6:00 p.m. at the Vinton Skate and Activities Center. For an appointment contact Kristie at 472-4292 or email davcdavis@q.com. Donors may also go to redcrossblood.org to sign up. Walk-ins are always welcome.

The Red Cross Vinton Community Blood Drive will be held Thursday, June 18, from 1:30 to 6:00 p.m. at the Vinton Skate and Activities Center.  For an appointment contact Kristie at 472-4292 or email davcdavis@q.com.  Donors may also go to redcrossblood.org to sign up.  Walk-ins are always welcome.

Ever wondered why your child has difficulty remembering to do more than one thing or can't seem to get organized or just what your adolescent was thinking?  Through the collaborative efforts of the Benton/Iowa Decategorization Project, Building Directions for Families, Inc., V-S Schools and the Benton County Above the Influence Coalition a two day workshop on Brain Development will be held in Vinton on June 17th and Independence on June 18th which may give you some insight into quandaries!  The presenter for this workshop will be Frank Kros from the Upside Down Organization who has presented both nationally and internationally on the topic of applying neuroscience findings (i.