Observances

Happy NOLA Tricentennial

Today officially marks New Orleans’ 300th year. The actual founding date is a bit murky but this is the date picked by the city for this anniversary kickoff!

Medical Laboratory Professional’s Week

We are joining the CDC’s Division Laboratory Systems in celebrating Medical Laboratory Professional’s week!

This week (April 22-28) highlights the importance and outstanding work ethic of laboratory professionals who strive for excellence daily. The DLS has created the “League of Laboratory Superheroes” to bring public awareness to the unseen heros Medical Laboratory Professionals and their essential role in the medical field and public safety.

Please visit the CDC’s website to learn more about DLS’s Medical Laboratory Professionals Week and the amazing effort the laboratory professionals put into medical diagnostics, public safety, and medicine.

National Drug & Alcohol Facts Week Event, Friday, January 26, 2018

This Friday, the LSUHSC Alcohol & Drug Abuse Center of Excellence (ADACE) will be hosting a seminar and discussion here on the downtown campus in association with NIDA’s National Drug & Alcohol Facts Week.

Friday, January 26th
12:00PM-12:45PM: Seminar & Discussion in SON/AH Lecture Hall A (Room 228): Alcohol & Drug Abuse: Separating Fact from Myth
12:45PM-1:30PM: Pizza & Information Booth in Atrium (Outside Lecture Hall A)

Fall Back!

Don’t forget we Fall Back tonight. So prepared to be confused about time it is for the next week.

May Health Observances Display

The Isché Library is featuring books about subjects related to upcoming health observances in the Month of May! Information about these health observances as well as the featured books are in the New Books display. The display is located near the 3rd floor elevator. Subjects include Sports Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Dermatology, Environmental Public Health, and Immunology.

These books and many more are available for checkout and/or online access. If you have questions about checking out a book, do not hesitate to ask a library staff member.

May 26 is Heat Safety Awareness Day.

• PHTLS : Prehospital Trauma Life Support, 6th ed., by Norman E. Mcswain, Scott Frame, Jeffrey P. Salomone, Naemt Staff.
• Clinical Procedures in Emergency Medicine, 5th ed., edited by James R. Roberts,  Jerris R. Hedges.

May is National Physical Fitness and Sports Month.

• Clinical Sports Medicine, 3rd ed., by Peter Brukner, Karim Khan.
• Motivating People to be Physically Active, by Bess H.Marcus, LeighAnn H. Forsyth.
• Physique, Fitness, and Performance, 2nd ed., by Thomas Battinelli.
• A Lifelong Guide to Wellness and Prevention, by Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Allied Health Professions.  Also available in E-book format!
• ACSM’s Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription, 8th ed., by American College of Sports Medicine; senior editor, Walter R. Thompson; associate editors, Neil F. Gordon, Linda S. Pescatello.

May is Melanoma/Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention Month ®.

• Melanoma: Prevention, Detection, and Treatment, by Catherine M.Poole with DuPont Guerry IV; drawings by David Low.
• Fitzpatrick’s Color Atlas and Synopsis of Clinical Dermatology, 6th ed., by Thomas Bernard Fitzpatrick. Newer edition available in E-book format!
• Cancers of the Skin: Proceedings of the 8th World Congress, edited by R.Dummer, F.O. Nestle and G. Burg.

May 22 – 28 is Healthy and Safe Swimming Week.

• Water Recreation and Disease : Plausibility of Associated Infections : Acute Effects, Sequelae, and Mortality, by Kathy Pond.
• Guidelines for Safe Recreational Water Environments, Volumes 1 & 2. by the World Health Organization.

May is National Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month.

• Global Surveillance, Prevention, and Control of Chronic Respiratory Diseases : A Comprehensive Approach, edited by Jean Bousquet and Nikolai Khaltaev; core contributors were Alvaro A. Cruz … et al. Also available in E-book format!
• Clinical Manifestations and Assessment of Respiratory Disease, 6th ed., by Terry Des Jardins, George G. Burton ; medical illustrations by Timothy H. Phelps.
• Bronchial Asthma : A Guide for Practical Understanding and Treatment, 5th ed., edited by M. Eric Gershwin, Timothy E. Albertson.
• Allergy, 3rd ed., edited by Stephen T. Holgate, Martin K. Church, Lawrence M. Lichtenstein.
• Atlas of Allergic Diseases, edited by Phillip L. Lieberman, Michael S. Blaiss; with 39 contributors.

CDC Offers Valentine’s Advice

The Centers for Disease Control have issued some Tips for a Healthy Valentine’s. The article includes hints about not overeating, avoiding food-borne illnesses, and other not very romantic reminders.

Celebrate National Dental Hygiene Month in October!

The month of October is packed with a plethora of national awareness campaigns, including the aforementioned Health Literacy Month in our last blog post.  And the marathon of mindfulness continues with National Dental Hygiene Month!

For the seventh straight year, the American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA) and the Wrigley Oral Healthcare Program (WOHP) are proud to bring you National Dental Hygiene Month (NDHM). All month long, we are celebrating the hard work dental hygienists do and helping you Start the Conversation about the importance of good oral health and doing the Daily 4.

Click this link to see how you can get involved!

October is Health Literacy Month

October is a busy month.

We all know October is the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  It’s hard to miss the pink everywhere.  But did you know that October is also Health Literacy Month, Dental Hygiene Month (more on that one later!) and many more?

What is Health Literacy?

Health literacy is the ability to find, understand, and use information on health issues and medical services so that you can make informed decisions about your health.  A patient’s health literacy affects their health outcomes and quality of life greatly.  Only about 12 percent of U.S. adults have the skills to manage their health and prevent disease, according to the National Assessment of Adult Literacy. And without this essential knowledge, it can be hard for many people to learn how to improve their health.

The Institute of Medicine, Food and Drug Administration, US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control, and the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality have all made it a priority to provide health information in a clear, easy to understand manner for patients.

For more information about health literacy and health literacy initiatives, take a look at the following links:

What is Health Literacy?

Health Literacy: A Prescription to End Confusion

What Did the Doctor Say?: Improving Health Literacy to Protect Patient Safety

Plain Writing Act of 2010

PlainLanguage.gov

National Action Plan for Health Literacy

MedlinePlus: How to Write Easy-to-Read

Health literacy and patient safety: Help patients understand (and a shorter version here)

Health Literacy

Happy 70th to the CDC

We’re just over a month late, but July 1 was the anniversary for the founding of the Centers for Disease Control. The Center was founded in 1946 from the Malaria Control in War Areas, a program within the U.S. Public Health Service. Enjoy this timeline of their history.

26th Anniversary of the ADA!

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) celebrated its 26^th anniversary yesterday on July 26! This monumental act began a drastic shift in civil rights for Americans by outlawing any public form of discrimination against individuals with disabilities. Today, the ADA continues to benefit and create more universal accessibility, opportunities, and better healthcare for those with disabilities.

You can find more information about the ADA and how the Center for Disease Control and Prevention furthers the awareness, provide information, and promote universal accommodations for those with disabilities.

May the Fourth be with you

Here’s a little treat for all of you Star Wars fans out there looking for a slightly different way to celebrate May the Fourth with a more health sciences slant.

For psychological analyses of the Dark and Light sides of the Force:

• Teaching Psychopathology in a Galaxy Far, Far Away: The Light Side of the Force by Susan Hatters Freeman and Ryan C.W. Hall

• Psychopathology in a Galaxy Far, Far Away: The Use of Star Wars’ Dark Side in Teaching by Ryan C.W. Hall

• The Fall and Redemption of People and Systems: Potential Lessons from the “Star Wars” Saga by Anthony P.S. Guerrero and Maria Jasmin Jamora

• Using Star Wars’ Supporting Characters to Teach About Psychopathology by Susan Hatters Friedman and Ryan C.W. Hall

Finally, there is the classic article about the potential of a tinea imbricata infection as demonstrated on everyone’s favorite Gungan:

• Tokelau on Naboo by Scott A. Norton

Happy May the Fourth and remember the Force will be with you always.

CDC – Bring Your Brave

We’re almost half way through breast cancer awareness month. Bring Your Brave is a new campaign focusing on young women with breast cancer. While breast cancer usually effects women over the age of 45, it does occur in about 11% of younger women. Breast cancer can be hereditary however that’s not always the case. There are ways you can reduce your risk of getting breast cancer such as limiting your alcohol intake, maintaining a healthy weight and breastfeeding.

Breast cancer symptoms include but are not limited to:

• Lump in the breast or underarm/armpit area
• Thickening or swelling of part of the breast.
• Redness or flaky skin in the nipple area or the breast.
• Nipple discharge other than breast milk, including blood.

It is important to get screened if you notice any symptoms early on, in order to start fighting back sooner than later.

For more information, visit:

http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/breast/young_women/bringyourbrave/index.htm

http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/dcpc/resources/features/breastcancerawareness/

Happy Veterans Day

The Libraries are open regular hours today, but would like to take a moment and thank all of our veterans as well as those currently serving.

If you haven’t seen it elsewhere, meet the oldest known living veteran, 107 year old Richard Overton of Texas who will be honored at the White House today. I don’t know that his recommendations of whiskey in your coffee and cigars would really work for all of us.

It’s AcWriMo 2013!

Inspired by the hugely successful NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), PhD2Published, a blog dedicated to helping academics publish, has announced that November is also AcWriMo (Academic Writing Month).

AcWriMo is a month long academic write-a-thon for academics at all stages of their careers. ?áPhD2Published will support writers with dedicated posts about academic writing and thousands of Tweets to encourage you to keep going throughout the month.

According to their website:

“There are 6 basic rules:

1. Decide on your goal. You might count words, hours put in or projects achieved ÔÇô itÔÇÖs up to you. But try and push yourself a bit. (And if you need help counting our?áPhDometer app?áÔÇô the proceeds from which help fund this month-long writing extravaganza ÔÇô was designed for just that!)

2. Declare it! Basically, just sign up on the?áAcWriMo 2013 Writing Accountability Spreadsheet?áand fill in the sections on what youÔÇÖd like to achieve by the end of the month. Being accountable is key to this working for you. You need to feel a bit of pressure to get the work done. So sign up and add your goals as soon as you can.

3. Draft a strategy. DonÔÇÖt start AcWriMo without doing a bit of planning and preparation. Get some reading done, carve out time slots in your schedule to dedicate to writing, even buy your favorite coffee. Sort out whatever youÔÇÖll need to write, and get it done now, there wonÔÇÖt be time when November comes around.

4. Discuss your progress. OK so being on Twitter and Facebook with us all day isn’t acceptable ÔÇô you’ve got work to do ÔÇô but checking-in at certain times is really important! We want to know how youÔÇÖre getting on? What is working for you and what isn’t? Do you need help? Do you want to share a writing triumph? (YouÔÇÖll find most discussion about AcWriMo on Twitter using the?á#AcWriMo?áhashtag, but if?áFacebook?áis more your thing, go there. Or use your own blog to keep in touch. You can even write little updates you want to share in the?áspreadsheet.)

5. DonÔÇÖt slack off. As participant Bettina said of the first AcWriMo, you must ÔÇÿwrite like thereÔÇÖs no December!ÔÇÖ If you push yourself, youÔÇÖll quickly discover the tips and techniques that work best for YOU and thatÔÇÖll save you even more time in the long-run.

6. Declare your results. ItÔÇÖs great to use the spreadsheet everyday (or as often as you can) to chart how youÔÇÖre getting on, but even if you canÔÇÖt do that, you MUST announce your results at the end of the month. Our writing community benefits not only from sharing in your achievements, but knowing what didn’t work and being reminded that, at the end of the day, weÔÇÖre all human!”

So everyone should go forth and WRITE… That’s what I’ll be doing this month!

CDC Celebrates Mothers

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a feature this week in anticipation of Mother’s Day and National Women’s Health Week.?á This feature, Ways to Help Make Mother’s Day Healthy, offers advice on how Moms can keep themselves healthy for their families.

They also created a feature, Celebrate Moms who Protect Children’s Health, so Mom’s who don’t smoke deserve extra love!