Serita’s Black Rose comes to local stages in two styles — a big, brassy full band fronted by Serita Crowley and an acoustic duo when her beautiful voice really fills the sound-space. Both are perfect in their place, but there is no denying Crowley’s beautiful, soulful voice was made to be heard clearly.
WKTV caught up with Serita’s Black Rose, the stripped down version with only Crowley accompanied by Jon Hayes on guitar, on Feb. 20 of this year as part of our coverage of the City of Kentwood Winter Concert Series. And she did not disappoint.
If you’re feeling a little cooped-up by the COVID-19 restrictions — and who isn’t? — and longing for a community concert featuring local talent, catch Serita’s Black Rose’s concert on demand here as part of WKTV’s “From Your Couch” concert series.
Crowley proudly calls herself a “Funkateer”, and her big band does bring a “raucous mix of funk, rock, neo-soul and Americana,” she states on her website. But “as an acoustic duo, they play much of the timeless ‘feel good music’ from the 60’s and 70’s.”
We couldn’t agree more, as evidenced by the set WKTV has available.
Maybe it was just the crowd at Kentwood’s library, but she leaned heavily on her classic soft rock catalogue — Cat Stevens “Wild World”, for example — which does fit her “duo acoustic” voice perfectly.
Serita Crowley (WKTV)
But when she breaks out her harmonica and a little growl — on songs like the classic “Johnny b Goode” and The Doobie Brothers’ “Long Train Running (Without Love)” — things really get moving. And near the end of the set, she really shines on a great cover of one of my all-time favorites, the Steve Winwood (with Blind Faith) classic “Can’t Find My Way Home” … Oh, ya. It’s worth the wait.
For a great interview with Crowley and taste of her big band sound, check out a 2018 YouTube video created by Tracy Evans and Founders Brewery as part of a series called Founders Presents.
If your looking for more great “From Your Couch” concerts, WKTV has a bunch of recent concerts covered by WKTV Community Media and available on-demand at WKTVlive.org.
The State of Michigan, like most governmental agencies, puts out press releases to media sources on a wide-range of issues almost daily. Some are important for the public to know; some are just routine governmental business. Some make the news and some do not.
We at WKTV have decided that in these times of COVID-19, of often-filtered news, we’d let the state departments say what they want to say to the pubic a little more directly. Following are links to State of Michigan releases from Tuesday, March 31 — with a little emphasis given by our staff on what we found interesting.
More than 2,000 Michigan companies hiring now
There is a lot of businesses shutting down temporary and laying off workers. But, according to the state, Michigan companies need to fill thousands of critical, immediate vacancies to support work during the COVID-19 pandemic, including those in logistics, healthcare, manufacturing and agribusiness industries.
“Michiganders are tough and hardworking, especially in times of crisis,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in the release. “Tens of thousands of open jobs are available right now with more than 2,000 Michigan companies and organizations hiring to continue providing critical services.”
State denies craft store in-store operations are essential
What is essential business and what is not in these times of COVID-19 restrictions? You would probably get some argument from crafters, but Michigan’s Attorney General says craft stores are not an essential business, which allows them to be open and people to visit.
Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office on Monday sent a letter to JoAnn Fabrics indicating the business’s storefront operations should be temporarily suspended while Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s order remains in place for non-essential businesses to close.
“I can appreciate the desire of businesses that want to remain open and provide their customers with the same products and services they have come to expect from these retailers, but there must be common sense protections in place during this global health emergency,” Nessel said in the release.
In this series, WKTV aims to provide factual information about COVID-19 – which stands for coronavirus disease 19 – by providing information and links to authoritative experts. Click on the blue, underlined words to get to a specific article.
Pets and COVID-19 (Photo by WKTV)
Should you get your pet tested for COVID-19?
As new surfaced that two dogs and a cat have tested positive for COVID-19, many have started to ask the question of if they can get the coronavirus from their pets and if pets should/can be tested? According to the AAAS/Science article, experts, including those at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have stated that dogs and cats pose little risk to people and that there is not enough evidence that pets can spread COVID-19.
What should you do to protect your pets? According to another AAAS/Science article, include your pets in your family’s preparedness planning. If you get sick and are quarantined, make sure you have extra pet food on hand and make sure whoever will take care of the pet are aware of any feeding, walking and medications. Also keep in mind social distancing for your animal and do not pet another animal and make sure to wash your hands.
Masks or no masks? (Wikipedia Commons)
Are masks helpful in stopping the spread of COVID-19?
There has been a recent debate about whether masks would help to slowdown the spread of COVID-19. According to an AAAS/Science article, the research to wearing a mask is spotty. AAAS/Science talked to University of Michigan Epidemiologist Arnold Monto, who said that it is believed that COVID-19 is spread through larger droplets and that standard surgical face masks will have a modest effect on transmission.
Even those in favor of masks have stated on a number of news programs and science sites that due to the shortages of masks for hospital workers, they are reluctant right now to promote masking the masses. Experts do agree that social distancing and staying at home as much as possible is the best way to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Looking at human DNA (Pixaby Free)
How much do genes play a factor in COVID-19?
Sciences are currently studying whether your genes may determine how sick you get from COVID-19. According to an AAAS/Science article, sciencists are working to compare the DNA of people who have serious cases of COVID-19 but no underlying disease like diabetes, heart, or lung disease with those who have mild symptons or no disease. Researchers say it is hard to predict what may come out of these gene hunts but in the past the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases did discover a relatively common mutation in another human cell surface protein, CCR5, that makes some people highly resistant to HIV.
WKTV Community Media is all about the communities of Wyoming and Kentwood, as well as our community volunteers who live all over West Michigan — community people who bring life to our building and to our work. So in these days of social distancing we at WKTV wanted to keep us a little more connected.
So, we asked people to “Tell us how are spending your time?” How has your life and work changed due to the COVID-19 restrictions? What has stayed the same in your life. What advice would you give to the other WKTV community members, and the public at large?
Bill Rinderknecht, volunteer cameraman and content contributor
“Thanks for asking about us in the midst of these life altering circumstances. Like all extroverts —and now many introverts — I’m a little stir crazy because of the stay-at-home restrictions during this COVID-19 season. However, spending time with my wife, Charlotte, has been wonderful.
Bill Rinderknecht. (WKTV)
“Also, we work from home at C Grace Productions (cgraceproductions.com) so not a lot has changed in our ‘day-job’ routine. Thankfully we have captured a lot of video, which needs to be edited so we can start providing content to WKTV. On the other hand, editing requires a lot of time sitting in front of the workstation, which requires a lot of mental gymnastics, concentration, etc. I’d frankly rather be in the field (with horses) and let someone else do the editing.
“One blessing we had was filming the Michigan Horse Expo March 6-8 in Lansing with (WKTV volunteer) Riley Zoet, just before social distancing was directed. It was a great learning and networking experience for us, and Riley proved his worth as a videographer! Speaking of teammates, I miss the regular interaction with other volunteers at sports events, concerts, and other WKTV filming opportunities.”
And his words of wisdom:
“To my teammates, fellow volunteers, now is a great time to go virtual with projects you may have initiated. If you started editing at WKTV but have no such software at home, you can download free, robust editing software called DaVinci Resolve (https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/). Black Magic also has a $300+ version, but the free version doesn’t lack much. I already have an Adobe account and am not inclined to learn a new GUI, but testimonials I have heard speak very highly of even the free version capabilities.”
Thank you Bill (and Charlotte), for all you do.
Interested in learning more about WKTV Community Media, maybe getting involved with our volunteer community? Visit https://wktv.org.
There are several things you can do to knock out reflux before it becomes a problem. Among them is avoiding spicy foods. (Courtesy Spectrum Health Beat)
Unlike many other medical conditions, gastroesophageal reflux disease is almost completely preventable.
Most of us have suffered with the occasional bout of heartburn (also called acid indigestion). It’s that burning chest pain that begins behind the breastbone and moves up to the neck and throat. It happens when acids in the stomach back up into the esophagus and burn the lining.
“If you’re having heartburn or acid reflux more than twice a week for a few weeks, however, it could be GERD,” said Praveen Sateesh, MD, a gastroenterologist with Spectrum Health Medical Group. “GERD is a more serious and longer-lasting condition.
Over time, GERD can permanently damage the esophageal lining and lead to even more serious conditions such as Barrett’s esophagus or esophageal cancer.
“There are a number of different lifestyle modifications you can try to help calm the burn, or hopefully avoid it altogether,” Dr. Sateesh said. “But it’s not a ‘one size fits all’ approach. What works for one person may not work for someone else. Keep trying, and find what works for you.”
1. Lose weight
Obesity is the leading cause of GERD. Lose weight if you’re overweight and don’t gain weight if you’re not.
2. Avoid foods known to cause reflux
Place these foods on your ‘do not eat’ list (or at least, ‘eat in moderation’, if you’re willing to take your chances):
Fatty foods
Spicy foods
Acidic foods, like tomatoes and citrus
Mint
Chocolate
Onions
Coffee or any caffeinated beverage
Carbonated beverages
3. Eat smaller meals
Large meals fill the stomach and put pressure on the area where the stomach and esophagus join together. This pressure makes reflux more likely. Smaller, more frequent meals are better.
4. Don’t lie down after eating
Gravity normally helps keep stomach acid where it belongs: down in your stomach. So wait at least three hours before you lie down after a meal and be sure to eat early to give your stomach time to empty before bedtime.
5. Elevate the head of your bed
Stomach acid, like water, does not roll uphill. Raising the head of your bed six to eight inches can help gravity keep gastric acid down in your stomach. Or, you can use a wedge-shaped support to elevate your head and upper chest. Don’t use extra pillows, as they only raise your head and will not help with GERD.
6. Review your medications
There are a number of medications that can affect your digestive system and increase your risk of GERD. These include:
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
Calcium channel blockers (often used to treat high blood pressure)
Certain asthma medications, including albuterol
Anticholinergics (used to treat conditions such as seasonal allergies and glaucoma)
Bisphosphonates (used to boost bone density)
Sedatives and painkillers
Some antibiotics
Potassium
Iron tablets
If you’re taking any of these medications, talk to your doctor about switching to another drug that does not have the same effect on the upper digestive tract. Don’t, however, stop taking a prescribed medication without first consulting your doctor.
7. Stop smoking
Some studies have found that nicotine can relax the muscles that keep the esophagus closed off from the stomach and can also interfere with your saliva’s ability to clear acid out of the esophagus.
8. Cut back on alcohol
As with smoking, alcohol can cause these same muscles to relax. Alcohol can also cause the esophageal muscles to spasm.
9. Wear loose-fitting clothes
Don’t wear tight clothing or belts that can constrict your stomach. Yes, this is permission to wear yoga and sweat pants!
10. Take an antacid
Antacids neutralize stomach acid before it backs up into the esophagus.
“If, after trying the above tips, you’re still experiencing GERD, see your doctor or a gastroenterologist for further evaluation,” Dr.Sateesh said. “There are several effective medications you can take to ease the symptoms of GERD.”
With week two of the stay-at home order now under way, Kent District Library and WKTV thought we would remind people of the number of free online resources available through the KDL website, kdl.org.
Since I am frequent user of the CloudLibrary, eBooks and audiobooks, and have used Freegal, music, I decided to offer up my own reviews of the different sites. Most offer eBooks and audiobooks with some offering other items as well.
A couple of selections from the CloudLibrary. (WKTV)
CloudLibrary: I started listening to audiobooks, first on tape, in my car to help with long drives. Listening to a good story certainly melted the miles away. I also discovered that listening to audiobooks on my iPhone helped motivate me to walk and I suddenly found walking a couple of miles was pretty easy when you were following Stephanie Plum on one of her wild adventures in the Janet Evanovich detective series or Percy Jackson in Rick Riordan’s popular teen mythological-based series, “Percy Jackson and the Olympians”.
To be honest, I downloaded CloudLibrary awhile ago and have never looked back. It is easy to search and I have followed the recommendations to discover some new authors such as Deborah Coonts (who is mentioned in last week’s KDL Staff Picks). Follow the prompts to create an account and remember to have your library card available as you will need to type in your number. The nice thing about CloudLibrary is it is available on about anything, Android, iPhone, Chrome, Mac, Windows, Nook, and Kindle.
Home page of Hoopla. (WKTV)
Hoopla: Hoopla offers more than just audiobooks and eBooks but comic books, movies and television programs. In the movies, there is no huge recent blockbusters, but still a lot of goodies such as “Ella Enchanted,” “Frida,” and “Elmo’s Potty Time” for those parents who have decided the stay-at home directive is an excellent time to work on this skill. For music, I was able to find quite a lot including the cast recording of “Hamilton the Musical” and Taylor Swift’s newest release, “Lover.”
Download was simple. I went to the App store and searched for Hoopla. I followed the prompts, putting in my email address, creating a password, selecting Kent District Library as my library and then putting in my library card. Boom, I was in. Hoopla is also available through Google Play and Kindle Fire.
RBdigital: RBdigital would be perfect for those who enjoy flipping through magazines. Along with eBook and audiobooks, the site offers more than 100 magazine selections that include popular titles such as “O, The Oprah Magazine,” “The New Yorker,” and “Vanity Fair.” Looking to start a hobby? The list includes the “Woodworker’s Journal” and the “Yoga Journal.”
To create an account, you have to start at the KDL website and go to the “eBooks and Download” tab on the left side of the page. From there, scroll down to RBdigital to follow the prompts to create an account. Once you have created your account through KDL, you can download the app to your phone and open your account. RBdigitial is available through the App Store, Google Play, and Kindle Fire.
Freegal Music is definitely for music lovers. (WKTV)
FreegalMusic: For the music lover, this is the site for them. Actually, I have not open my Freegal Music app in awhile, so I was surprised to discover it now offers a selection of audiobooks. I would be more likely to go to CloudLibrary for audiobooks, but if you are a person who only wants one app and music is more your thing, then Freegal probably would be the better option.
Freegal does not carry every song by every artist. You can search and often you can find older songs by the most popular artists. You also can save up to five songs a week into the “My Music” section. Again, I have not used Freegal in awhile, but when I did and was saving songs, I did lose all of them when the app updated. I do not know if this glitch has been have out or it could be songs may fade off after a certain period of time. Still it is a nice source for music.
Download is just like the others. Look for the app in the App Store, Google Play or Kindle Fire, and follow the prompts to create a login.
The “Wash You Hands” song is on TumbleBooks.
TumbleBooks (Tumble Book Library): This is strictly children’s books with some graphic novels for younger students. They are good about going by topic and one of the first sections is “Health, Hygiene and Everything in Between,” which includes the “Wash Your Hands” song. Parents and children could easily have fun searching the site for stories and songs.
To get into the site, you have to go through KDL. Click on the “eBooks and Download” tab on the left side of the page. Scroll to the bottom for TumbleBooks and click on the link, which will redirect you to the page. You must have your KDL card to enter.
Again, remember to always have your KDL library card available. If you do not have a KDL library card, some of the online sources, such as Hoopla, can help you get one.
While all Wyoming and Kentwood area school district leaders are in a “wait and see” mode this week awaiting an expected order from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to cancel the remainder of the 2019-20 school year, at Godfrey-Lee Public Schools district business continues.
At a remotely attended Godfrey-Lee Board of Education meeting Monday, March 30, a brief update by Superintendent Kevin Polston on the status of the school year was followed by the approval by the board of the rebranding of the high school sports teams to become the Lee Legends.
On March 27, Governor Whitmer said in a radio interview that it was “very unlikely” students would be allowed to return to school this school year. But Polston, on Monday, March 30, said to WKTV that his school district is waiting on final word — and guidance from the state — on the details of school cancelling the remainder of the 2019-20 school year.
“By all accounts it looks like the remainder of the school year will be canceled,” Polston said to WKTV on Tuesday, March 31. “This is heart breaking news for our students, staff, and families. Our core values include community and relationships, both are predicated on interactions between individuals. Our team has been preparing for this possibility and when we receive official guidance from the Governor, we will have a plan ready for our students to continue learning during the school shutdown.”
A possible design for the Lee Legends football helmets. (Supplied)
At the Monday night meeting, however, district business continued as the board approved the months-long rebranding of the school district and its sports teams and extracurricular programs such as band. The name change from The Rebels to The Legends was known, but the images be used in a wide-range of ways was finalized. At the meeting the board was shown several possible versions of the the images.
“The Legends name will inspire the district and unify our community behind the aspirational goal to #BeLegendary,” Polston said in a March 31 supplied statement. “Students were at the heart of the decision making process, and the spirit of their artwork serves as the inspiration for the mascot design.”
Dragon and Crest in Spanish (possible design). (Supplied)
All athletic uniforms, district signage, murals, and the district’s digital footprint will represent the Godfrey-Lee Legends name beginning in August of this year 2020, according to the statement. The district also included the Spanish version of Legends, “Leyendas”, in the presentation for the potential to be used with apparel to “represent the rich Latinx cultural influence” of the district.
“We are thankful for our donors for supporting the district so that general fund dollars targeted for the classroom aren’t spent on this project,” Polston said. “In particular, we wish to thank the Grand Rapids Community Foundation, Frey Foundation, and the Native American Heritage Fund for their generous support. We look forward to full implementation in the fall with the start of the new school year, and the start of a new era in Godfrey-Lee.”
That new era will likely be the beginning of the 2020-21 school year.
On March 23, after the governor announced the “Stay Home, Stay Safe, Stay Alive” order which called for everyone in non-essential businesses and organizations to stay home through April 13. Schools such as Godfrey-Lee Public Schools promptly temporarily closed. But that temporary closure was extended and schools are awaiting expected direction to stay closed for the remainder of the current school year.
“We are working diligently to come up with a plan to meet the needs of our kids,” Gov. Whitmer said in a public statement late last week. “Anyone who is watching what is happening globally with this pandemic knows it’s probably very unlikely they’re going to get back in school before the end of this year.”
The governor said the state is working on a plan for the cancelation of the remainder of the school year.
“It’s not something you develop overnight because we’ve got an inequitable system across the state of Michigan,” Gov. Whitmer said.
Whitmer’s orders apply to all public, private and boarding school buildings in Michigan.
Local school districts, however, are staying active and engaged with their students and their communities. Godfrey-Lee schools, for example, are encouraging remote learning and making food service for students available Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, with meals expected to be served throughout the duration of the closure, according to an earlier statement from the school district.
At this point, according the earlier statement, a waiver has been granted by the federal government to cancel state assessments for the 2019-20 school year. But final resolution of the issues of graduation and end-of-year events such as proms are unknown.
All district personnel with the exception of food service and limited maintenance and grounds staff are working remotely for the duration of the closure.
With the March 30 meeting, the Godfrey-Lee Board of Education began hosting Board Meetings remotely but live-streamed and accessible to the community.
The State of Michigan has changed the rules for unemployment benefits to not only increase and expand benefits forWKTVworkers now unemployed by COVID-19’s economic impact but to expand benefits to self-employed and low-wage workers.
According to a March 30 statement from the state government, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, acting as provided by the new federal CARES Act, signed an agreement between Michigan and the U.S. Dept. of Labor to implement Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and Compensation programs that grant benefits to workers who do not already qualify for state unemployment benefits.
According to the statement, workers include self-employed, 1099-independent contractors, gig, and low-wage workers who can no longer work because of the pandemic. The agreement also increases weekly benefits for all unemployed workers by $600 a week for up to four months and extends benefit payments from 26 to 39 weeks.
“This increase and expansion of unemployment benefits will provide a measure of security for Michigan working families who lost their income due to the pandemic,” Gov. Whitmer said in supplied material. “We are committed to ensuring emergency financial relief for unemployed residents who continue to stay home and stay safe.”
Michigan Sen. Gary Peters also issued a statement on March 30 detailing the expanded benefits, saying that the federal act put into effect by the the governor will “ensure workers – including those who are self-employed and work in the gig economy – have the resources to get through this crisis.”
According to Sen. Peter’s office, “the program will be particularly helpful for those workers who are self-employed or without sufficient work history to qualify for regular unemployment insurance. … (and) it will eliminate the typical weeklong waiting period between applying for and receiving unemployment assistance.”
In addition to individuals whose employers closed due to COVID-19’s economic impact, workers who qualify for assistance under the program include:
Individuals who have the virus, need to self-quarantine to protect themselves and cannot reach their place of employment, or are caring for someone with the disease.
Individuals who must care for a child because of a school closure.
Individuals who are working reduced hours due to the virus.
Rules and suggestions for applying
The following summary of the new rules and information is drawn from both state and federal supplied material:
Under the CARES Act, weekly benefits for all unemployed workers will be increased by a set amount of $600 a week for up to four months.
The additional benefit amount applies to workers already in the unemployment system and eligible employees about to apply. These workers do not need to reapply and those about to apply do not need to take additional steps and should file as usual. If a worker’s application has previously been denied by the UIA in the past three weeks there is no need for them to reapply at this time. They will be notified by the agency with any additional action that may need to be taken.
Workers should apply online at Michigan.gov/UIA and utilize a new filing schedule based on their last name. Workers are encouraged to go online during off-peak times between 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. The day or time of day in which a claim is filed will not impact whether a worker receives benefits or their benefit amount. Additionally, claims will be back-dated to reflect the date in which a claimant was laid-off or let go from their job due to COVID-19. The eligibility window to apply has also been increased from 14 to 28 days from the date of their work stoppage.
The state asks workers to file on-line or via the phone — at 866-500-0017 — on set days.
For on-line filing, last names beginning with letters A-L are asked to file claims on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays. Last names beginning with letters M-Z are asked to file claims on Sundays, Tuesdays, or Thursdays. Saturdays will be available for anyone to accommodate those who could not file during their allotted window.
For state call center filing, last names beginning with letters A-L are asked to call on Mondays and Wednesdays between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Last names beginning with letters M-Z are asked to call on Tuesdays and Thursdays also 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Fridays (8 a.m.– 5 p.m.) will be available for anyone to accommodate those who could not file during their allotted window.
Benefits and administrative costs associated with this program are federally funded through the federal unemployment insurance trust fund. The program is administered by state unemployment offices.
“You’d be shocked at how many patients come in thinking they’re too young for knee or hip replacement surgery,” said C. Christopher Sherry, DO, an orthopedic surgeon and joint replacement specialist with Spectrum Health Medical Group.
Some patients get this notion from their doctors. Others pick up the idea from friends who remember the conventional wisdom of 30 years ago—that you need to be older than 50 to qualify for joint replacement.
That’s simply not the case anymore, according to Dr. Sherry. It’s one of six common myths about joint replacements that he’d like to see dispelled.
Myth No. 1: If you’re under 50, you’re too young to have a joint replaced.
Fact: Doctors today don’t use a specific age to determine whether a patient is a good candidate for hip or knee replacement surgery. Instead, the decision depends on the levels of disability and pain the patient is experiencing.
“In the 1970s and ’80s, the parts used for joint replacements had limited life spans,” Dr. Sherry said. “Now that technology is advancing, we have better longevity of replacement parts, so we’re much more comfortable putting them in younger patients.”
Patients with severe arthritis, for example, shouldn’t have to suffer through years of debilitating pain just because they’re young, Dr. Sherry said. “Making them wait isn’t in their best interest.”
This first myth is closely related to a second.
Myth No. 2: Replacement joints wear out in 10 years or less.
Fact: Thanks to improvements in materials and surgical techniques, today’s knee and hip replacements can last up to twice as long as comparable replacements did in decades past.
“The components we’re using have improved significantly,” said Dr. Sherry. “We’re seeing an 85 percent success rate at up to 20 years—and as technology improves, we’re hoping to pass that 20-year mark.”
People are often relieved to hear this because they want to stay active as they age.
“Patients’ expectations are changing,” Dr. Sherry said. “They want to be able to do whatever they want to do.”
Myth No. 3: If you have a joint replaced, you’ll be saying goodbye to sports.
Fact: Rather than drastically limiting patients’ activities, joint replacements make it easier for people to be active in low-impact sports.
“The goal of surgery is to get patients back to their normal activities, like playing golf and tennis,” Dr. Sherry said. “Our goal is a painless joint with good functionality.”
It’s the high-impact sports like basketball and long-distance running that patients should avoid, he said, because these activities decrease the life of replacement joints.
Myth No. 4: Joint replacement surgery means a long hospital stay.
Fact: Twenty years ago, it was normal to spend up to 10 days in the hospital after joint replacement surgery, but today the average is two to three days.
“With improvements in technology and patient care, hospital stays are significantly shorter than in the old days,” Dr. Sherry said.
Most of Dr. Sherry’s patients at the Center for Joint Replacement at Spectrum Health Blodgett Hospital stay less than two days after hip or knee replacements, with a large percentage going home the day after surgery. Some patients return home the same day as surgery.
“We’re getting patients up and walking sooner—even on the day of surgery,” he said. “And we’re getting them home sooner, which is a better environment for recovery.”
Myth No. 5: You should wait as long as possible before having a joint replaced.
Fact: Waiting too long can make things worse.
“If your pain is so great that it’s hindering your ability to walk, then you’re not keeping your muscles and your extremities strong, and you could be hindering the recovery process,” Dr. Sherry said. “Waiting until the last possible moment isn’t good for you.”
Rather than waiting for their mobility and quality of life to decline, Dr. Sherry encourages patients to have their knee or hip replacement sooner. This will likely improve their outcomes.
Myth No. 6: Joint replacement surgery is highly invasive.
Fact: “Some patients think that we remove the entire knee in a knee replacement … but we’re actually taking a minimal amount of bone” before inserting the new parts, Dr. Sherry said. In knee replacement surgery, these parts consist of a metal cap for the femur, a metal base plate on the tibia and a piece of plastic in between, acting as cartilage.
Surgeons today are also using less-invasive techniques and smaller incisions to perform replacements.
So, although joint replacement is major surgery, the scope is limited, Dr. Sherry said. “It’s much less invasive than many patients think.”
COVID-19 has quickly disrupted every part of our lives, including how we practice our faith. This can be especially challenging for healthcare settings as they uphold a statewide ban on visitors.
The highly contagious nature of COVID-19 requires unprecedented precautions. Metro Health –University of Michigan Health is working to preserve spiritual practices while also honoring an obligation to the lives in our care and the safety of our community.
The matters of clergy access and end-of-life sacraments have been carefully deliberated byMetro Health’s COVID-19 Incident Command team. Metro Health has allowed and continues to allow priests access to administer Viaticum for the dying.
“Metro Health has a long tradition of working with faith leaders,” said Steve Polega, Chief Nursing Officer, Metro Health – University of Michigan Health. “In addition to our hospital chaplain, Metro Health maintains relationships with congregations across the region,” saidPolega. “These connections are more valuable than ever in the era of COVID-19, especially as we approach a sacred time of year for people of Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths.”
Metro Health continues to look for more solutions that preserve those human and spiritual connections we all treasure.
As we all shelter in place one of the things that will matter most to all of us is the quality of our indoor air. This is especially challenging for children with asthma and other at-risk populations with respiratory concerns. With COVID-19 in the area, this is of particular concern.
If you are like the vast majority homes in West Michigan and have a forced air furnace, one simple thing you can do to dramatically improve the air quality in your home is to regularly replace your furnace filter.
The most common type of furnace filter is the disposable pleated kind. These come in a range of standard sizes and ratings. Pleated filters are constructed out of paper and polyester and do a good job at filtering most household particles and allergens.
Furnace filters are sized by thickness (depth), height and length. To find out what size filter your furnace uses, remove and check the old filter, the size should be written on the frame of the filter. You can also refer to your furnace manual.
What’s a MERV and why should you care?
Furnace filters are rated using a MERV (minimum efficiency reporting value) rating. MERV ratings range from 1 to 16. Higher MERV ratings capture smaller particles.
The Healthy Homes Coalition recommends a minimum of a MERV-8 filter to filter out allergens, pollens, irritants and bacteria for better lung health. A MERV-8 filter, however, will not filter out the coronavirus (more on this below).
How often should you change your furnace filter?
Once you know what size filter you require and what MERV rating you can use, and have chosen what filter type to purchase, it’s time to replace the old filter. On many furnaces, you can see the furnace filter between the air intake and furnace itself. Some furnaces may have a compartment door over the filter. Simply slide the old filter out and properly dispose of it. Often it will be dusty, so try to place it in a bag as quickly and gently as possible. Your filter should be replaced every 90 days at a minimum.
NOTE: To ensure your furnace doesn’t kick in while you’re changing your filter it’s recommended you turn your furnace off while swapping out the filter.
That’s it. Now you are ready to enjoy cleaner, healthier air at home!
Air quality and COVID-19
Many people are concerned about the airborne spread of the coronavirus. While this is a possibility, it should be noted that airborne transmission is usually though large droplet transfer, which the Center for Disease Control (CDC) puts at about six feet.
Smaller particles are possible, and if those droplets get into the air intake of your heating system, a MERV-13 filter may be your best defense. However, there has not yet been conclusive research about the effectiveness of furnace filters in filtering out the coronavirus. Furthermore, your furnace may not operate correctly with a highly efficient MERV-13 filer, so please check your manual.
It should be noted that there are many other ways in which the coronavirus is spread, including surface transfer and coming into contact with infected persons. With that in mind, running to the store to purchase a high-efficiency filter may put you at greater risk than using your existing filter. Instead, put a furnace filter on your shopping list for the next time you have to go to the store, and pick up more than one so you have replacements on hand.
Our reason for sharing this information on furnace filters is not to suggest that they will keep you safe from the coronavirus. What a clean, MERV-8 furnace filter will do is improve your overall indoor air quality to remove allergens, pollens, irritants and bacteria to help to keep asthma better managed. It will also improve general air quality for all.
WKTV Community Media is all about the communities of Wyoming and Kentwood, as well as our community volunteers who live all over West Michigan — community people who bring life to our building and to our work. So in these days of social distancing we at WKTV wanted to keep us a little more connected.
So, we asked people to “Tell us how are spending your time?” How has your life and work changed due to the COVID-19 restrictions? What has stayed the same in your life. What advice would you give to the other WKTV community members, and the public at large?
Mike Moll, high school sports director and announcer
“I am still working each day as we are considered to be an essential business … the hours are being cut way back though as there simply are not enough other businesses that remain open for us to service. As a result, it will be interesting over the next several weeks to see how we are affected.
WKTV’s Mike Moll.
“This is certainly a different time for all of us, not just in our lifetimes, but in the generations around us as well. Even as much as I enjoy watching, calling, and participating in sports, I think it’s a time where we have the opportunity to ‘re-focus’ and really look at what is ‘important’ in our lives, but more-so, what SHOULD be ‘important’ in our lives.
“I find it more than coincidental this all happened around the time of year where sports are at their highest in our world. Between college basketball and March Madness, but also basketball, hockey, and baseball being in the small window where all major professional sports seasons overlap for a period of time and became more of a daily routine in many lives. We turn on the television to watch or to get the results of the games, or listen on the radio for the same.
“I think this is giving us a chance to look elsewhere for the where, and the what, is the purpose of our lives and how we can show others around us as well.”
And his words of wisdom:
“We (he and wife Pat, also a longtime WKTV volunteer) have much more recognizance of what and who is around us, as well as how and what we do on a daily basis. As we see and read more of the daily struggles of so many, we lift our family, friends, communities, country, and world up in prayer knowing that they are all being held by much bigger and stronger hands than ours could ever be. May we feel that touch of those hands each day of our lives in some way, but then may we share that feeling somehow with someone else.
“Here is the hope that you all stay healthy and may we all change our focus point to be a little higher than what is in visibly in front of us each day. I know I’m trying!”
Thank you Mike — and Pat, for all you do.
Interested in learning more about WKTV Community Media, maybe getting involved with volunteer community? Visit https://wktv.org.
The prospect of moving out of a comfortable and familiar environment typically isn’t appealing to anyone, no matter their age. But, for aging adults, and the adults taking care of them, it’s often a prospect that must be considered. Before even considering a move, aging adults and their family member will want to make sure it’s necessary. Here are some signs that may indicate it’s time to start considering an assisted living facility.
Frequent falls
Is your parent or loved one falling a lot lately? Even if it’s just small stumbles over the edge of a carpet or a bump against the corner of a coffee table, frequent tumbles can be a sign of a bigger problem. Or, they could be the eventual cause of a larger problem.
According to the CDC, “Each year, millions of older people—those 65 and older—fall. In fact, more than one out of four older people falls each year, but less than half tell their doctor. Falling once doubles your chances of falling again.”
Even if your parent doesn’t tell you they’ve been falling or stumbling, you can keep your eyes open for signs such as unexplained bruises or limp. It’s also important to consider what would happen if they were to fall. How often do they have people over? If they were unable to get up or get to a phone, how long would it take to discover them? Both the falling and the repercussions of the falling are things to consider.
Memory lapses
Observe their behavior when you’re around. Are there small things they seem to be often forgetting, like names or what day it is or the last time they went to the grocery store? While these little things may seem inconsequential, you should consider what else they may forget when you’re not there. Maybe they’ve forgotten to turn the oven off or to lock their doors at night? It’s possible they could forget to put the car in park before getting out or even forget to take their medications. If the small things start adding up, it may be time to consider help, before the big things cause larger issues.
Minimal social life
Even if their social life isn’t what it used to be, how often do they leave the house or have people over? They may not be going to the movies once a week or out every weekend, but do they at least have activities they care about or people they look forward to seeing? Being cooped up at home or not leaving the house may be a sign of depression or might indicate they can no longer travel on their own. Either way, social activities are essential to a healthy lifestyle, and if they can’t attend them on their own, it may be time to move to a facility that can help.
Changes in appearance
Next time you visit your loved one, take a long look at them. What do you notice? When you give them a hug, do they feel thinner? Weight loss could be a sign they aren’t cooking enough or getting the proper nutrition. Alternatively, weight gain could be a sign of turning to easy but unhealthy food options, or that a condition like diabetes is not being treated.
Besides their physical appearance, how do their clothes look? Are the clothes clean and well-kept? Does your love one appear well-groomed and clean? Or, are they still in their night clothes in the afternoon or wearing clothes that seem dirty?
These are all signs that your loved one may not be able to complete everyday tasks such as laundry or showering.
Poor food supply
Check the fridge and cupboards of your loved one, what do you find? Are the shelves bare? Or, is the fridge full but with expired or stale items? Are there multiples of one item but not enough of another? If the weather turned bad and they couldn’t get to the store, would there be enough food to last a few days?
A grimy house
If your loved one can’t keep up with everyday house cleaning, it can create an unsanitary situation, and you’ll start to see signs even if they are good at hiding it. There may be visible signs such as cobwebs and mold in corners, but make sure you check the areas they think you won’t see like their bedroom and bathroom. These are areas they may neglect if they don’t have the energy to clean the whole house.
Frequent medical care
If your loved one is heading to the ER or hospital for one reason or another, chronic illness, frequent falls, respiratory problems or more, they may need more advanced medical care than they can get at home. Ambulance rides can be costly and so can a long stay at a hospital. Making the switch to an assisted living center, while it may be more up front, can provide your loved one access to the care they need without frequent, emergency trips.
One or two of these signs on their own may not indicate it’s time to move your family member out of their home. Maybe they just need some extra house cleaning help or a meal service to relieve the stress of cooking every day. If they want to continue living independently, and they aren’t in immediate danger, some services can help them do that.
But, a combination of these signs can result in a low quality of life and may mean it’s time to start thinking about a move.
A cheap, century-old drug in most Americans’ medicine cabinets—aspirin—may come to the rescue for people suffering from migraines, a new study finds.
While there are effective prescription medications, many migraine patients in the United States don’t have access to them due to limited access to doctors or good insurance, or high insurance co-pays, said researchers at Florida Atlantic University, in Boca Raton.
Aspirin might often be a viable option for these patients, said the research team, who reviewed 13 studies of migraine treatment involving more than 4,200 patients.
The investigators also looked at data on the prevention of recurrent migraine in tens of thousands of patients.
The results suggest that giving a high dose of aspirin—900 to 1,300 milligrams—when migraine symptoms set in is an effective and safe treatment for acute migraine.
There’s also evidence that daily aspirin doses of 81 to 325 milligrams may be an effective and safe treatment for prevention of recurrent migraine, the team said. The standard “low-dose” aspirin pill, taken by millions of Americans to help lower heart risks, contains 81 milligrams.
The bottom line: “Our review supports the use of high-dose aspirin to treat acute migraine as well as low-dose daily aspirin to prevent recurrent attacks,” senior author Dr. Charles Hennekens, professor and senior academic advisor at the university’s College of Medicine, said in a school news release.
According to review first author Bianca Biglione, a second-year medical student, “Migraine headaches are among the most common and potentially debilitating disorders encountered by primary health care providers.”
Biglione added that, “in fact, about one in 10 primary care patients present with headache and three out of four are migraines. Aspirin is readily available without a prescription, is inexpensive and, based on our review, was shown to be effective in many migraine patients when compared with alternative more expensive therapies.”
About 36 million Americans suffer from migraines, the researchers noted.
Dr. Noah Rosen directs Northwell Health’s Headache Center in Great Neck, N.Y. Reading over the new findings he noted that “aspirin has been in continual use for headaches since its introduction during the industrial revolution of the late 19th century. Clearly, the part that it contributes to pain relief is quite significant and should be considered for primary treatment in an appropriate population.”
But the benefits of taking the drug regularly to prevent headaches need to be balanced against potential risks, especially the risk of bleeding, Rosen said.
“The cost benefit (of aspirin) is a huge component and out-of-pocket expense is quite low,” Rosen said. “But the risk of bleeding with daily use needs to be considered.”
The findings were published online in the American Journal of Medicine.
In Focus today is Treetops Collective, a Grand Rapids based group which helps New American women become part of our west Michigan community — to quote from their website, to help refugee women “sink their roots down and flourish with their families for generations to come.”
Peninah Mucyo
With us is Tarah Carnahan, Treetops Collective Business Development Director & Co-Founder, and well as Peninah Mucyo, social enterprise program participant with Treetops Collective.
The local non-profit’s past and present and future — including why they use the name “Treetops Collective” — is both informative and important; Ms. Mucyo’s personal story is nothing short of inspiring.
WKTV Managing Editor Ken Norris hosts.
WKTV Journal In Focus airs on cable television in the Wyoming and Kentwood areas on Comcast WKTV Channel 26 and on AT&T Channel 99 Government channel (see our Weekly On-air Schedule for dates and times). All individual interviews included in episodes of WKTV Journal In Focus are also available on YouTube at WKTVvideos.
WKTV Community Media is all about the communities of Wyoming and Kentwood, as well as our community volunteers who live all over West Michigan — community people who bring life to our building and to our work. So in these days of social distancing we at WKTV wanted to keep us a little more connected.
So, we asked people to “Tell us how are spending your time?” How has your life and work changed due to the COVID-19 restrictions? What has stayed the same in your life. What advice would you give to the other WKTV community members, and the public at large?
Becci Schumaker, cameraperson extraordinaire
“I, we, are doing well, I am stuck at home regardless of the stay-at home-rule. Just one week out from my foot surgery. Already going bonkers,” Becci said to WKTV in an email. “But I am making phone calls to people, encouraging them when needed. Also on Facebook, so I’m in contact through Facebook. Will be doing a short video for my second grade Sunday school class and posting it to our church Facebook page.”
And her words of encouragement:
“Stay safe everyone. Miss y’all.”
Thank you Becci, for all you do.
Interested in learning more about WKTV Community Media, maybe getting involved with volunteer community? Visit https://wktv.org.
The Host of Feels Like You Belong Alan Headbloom and interculturalist Christian Höferle will present the topic “The Culture Talk: Finding Belonging of Separation” at 2 p.m. today, live on The Culture Mastery Facebook Page.
In these challenging times of working from home or in physical distance from coworkers and customers, it an be even harder to develop a sense of belonging.
Today, Höferle and Headbloom will talk about what it means to belong during lockdowns, shutdowns, and isolation, as well as the stresses of being far form one’s cultural “home.”
If you’re feeling a little cooped-up — and who isn’t? — and longing for a community concert featuring local talent, we have good news and good news.
First, WKTV has been told that the people behind Cutlerville’s Sounds of Summer July concert series are already looking past the current COVID-19 restrictions and planning for 2020 summer series.
The Brena Band. (Supplied)
And if you can’t wait that long for a community concert, WKTV has a bunch of recent concerts in Wyoming and Kentwood covered by WKTV Community Media and available on-demand at WKTVlive.org. For example, check out the great August 2019 City of Kentwood Summer Concert Series concert by Brena. Don’t know the band? Check here for a 2019 WKTV story.
Patty Williams and crew. (Supplied)
“It’s a go,” Patty Williams, of P. Williams Productions, said to WKTV on March 26. Sounds of Summer series “music will fill the park … A variety of bands from country, rock, jazz, and Bluegrass, will be setting the stage to entertain the community.”
Williams, who is a longtime WKTV Community Media volunteer, said the concert series, at Cutlerville’s Cutler Park, has gotten the go-ahead to schedule concerts every Thursday night in July, starting July 2, with concerts starting at 7 p.m.
This popular concert series by P. Williams Productions, and LW Studios, has been entertaining the local community for more than five years at Cutler Park, located at 6701 Cutler Park Drive, just off 68th St., near Division Avenue.
To keep up on news of Sounds of Summer, visit their Facebook page @soundsofsummerculterville, or call P. Williams Productions at 616-818-9874.
Although colonoscopy screens for cancer, it can also uncover a common condition called diverticulosis.
This is when one or more pockets develop in the colon wall, often in the large bowel. These pockets occur over time, possibly from not getting enough fiber in your diet or eating too much red meat.
They’re so common that about 50% of people have them by age 50, according to the American Gastroenterological Association.
Problems can occur if a pocket gets infected, swollen and inflamed, which happens to about 5% of people with diverticulosis.
This condition is called diverticulitis.
“Attacks” of it can come with pain in the lower left abdomen, fever, chills and changes in stool. You may also experience nausea and vomiting.
Treatment for diverticulitis often centers on a short-term low-fiber diet to quiet the digestive tract and possibly antibiotics to get rid of the infection.
Some people get repeated attacks.
There’s also the possibility of developing a serious abscess in a pocket and needing surgery to remove the affected section of intestine if the damage is severe.
But you can take steps to lower the risk for repeated attacks and complications.
After—and only after—the infection clears, slowly reintroduce fiber to your diet by eating more whole grains, legumes (including beans and lentils), vegetables, berries, fruits with edible skins, nuts and even popcorn.
The goal is 25 grams of fiber a day for women, 38 for men. Replace at least some red meat with poultry and fish. Vigorous cardiovascular exercise also offers some protection.
Also, ask your doctor about any medications that might raise your risk of a flare. These could include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, like aspirin or ibuprofen. Acetaminophen may be safer for you.
These same steps may help prevent diverticulosis or stop it from progressing to diverticulitis.
The Kent County Recycling Center in Grand Rapids will close to all inbound loads of recyclables at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, March 27, to limit exposures to COVID-19 to Kent County staff and workers, the Kent County Department of Public Works announced March 26.
“The recycling center employs 40 people who handle the recyclables throughout the sorting process,” the announcement stated. “Due to the proximity of workstations on the processing line, maintaining six feet of separation between workers isn’t possible to maintain operations and minimize worker exposure to the COVID-19 virus. As other manufacturing processors shut down their facilities, Kent County’s ability to transport recyclables to processors and end-users has constricted.”
Beginning 5 p.m. on Friday, March 27, the recycling center will temporarily close to all inbound loads and to all recycling activities. The residential recycling drop-off station at North Kent Recycling & Waste Center will also temporarily close, also beginning at 5 p.m. on March 27. All recyclables normally delivered to these facilities must either be held until the recycling center reopens or placed in a bag for disposal in the trash.
“Kent County’s South Kent Landfill, Waste-to-Energy Facility and North Kent Transfer Station remain open to provide critical solid waste disposal services that sustain and protect public health in our community, as determined by the Department of Homeland Security and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency,” according to the county announcement. “Residents are reminded to bag all trash before placing it at the curb for pickup by a waste hauler to reduce the risk of exposure to waste workers from items like used tissues and other personal hygiene products.”
The Kent County Department of Public Works provides municipal solid waste disposal services to ensure the effective removal, storage and disposal of residential and commercial solid waste. Additionally, Public Works operates the Kent County Waste-to-Energy Facility, an electrical generation facility. More information about service changes at Kent County Department of Public Works facilities is available at reimaginetrash.org.
Grand Rapids Public Museum donated masks and other personal protective equipment to Spectrum Health this week. (Supplied)
Sharing the Supplies
The Grand Rapids Public Museum was one of the first to donate its extra personal protective equipment and throughout the week there have been numerous reports of people sewing face masks and donating PPE supplies. Both Metro Health and Spectrum Health have set up donation areas. For a list of those areas and items being collected, click here.
The Mastodon skeleton at the Grand Rapids Public Museum. (GRPM)
State Fossil: Mastodon Skeletons
Bet you didn’t know that Michigan has a state fossil. One of the most complete mastodon skeletons is showcased at the Grand Rapids Public Museum. Below, Grand Rapids Public Museum Science Curator Dr. Cory Redman discusses the preservation of the Moorland Mastodon found in Ravanna, Mich. For more mastodon-related items, visit the grpmcollections.org.
So where do we go from here? Good nutritional intake. That’s right—a healthy diet can help keep you energized all day.
By eating just one or two high-energy foods every two to four hours, you can sustain your energy levels for a much longer period.
Here are the Top 10 foods to fuel long-lasting energy:
1. Old fashioned or steel-cut oats
Oats are a good source of complex carbohydrates, soluble fiber and protein. Eating oatmeal may also improve your cholesterol. Avoid flavored oatmeal packets because they have added sugar or sugar substitutes. Instead, flavor your oatmeal yourself with fruit, berries, cinnamon and nuts.
2. Brown rice
Rice is inexpensive, and it’s versatile in its culinary uses. Whole grains such as brown rice will provide complex carbohydrates for energy while also providing healthy fats, vitamins, minerals, fiber and protein.
3. Potatoes
Potatoes provide complex carbohydrates and are good sources of fiber (keep the skin on) and potassium. Sweet potatoes and yellow-, red- or purple-skinned potatoes are the best choices.
Beans are good sources of complex carbohydrates, protein, vitamins and minerals. They are one of nature’s perfect foods.
5. Plain Greek yogurt
Greek yogurt provides a lot of protein and simple carbohydrates in the form of lactose. Choose a plain, low-fat or fat-free Greek yogurt to avoid sugar substitutes, and add healthy carbohydrates and fats yourself—fruits, berries and nuts.
6. Fresh fruit
Fresh fruits have simple carbohydrates for quick energy, as well as fiber and antioxidants that decrease the glycemic index. Choose fruits as snacks throughout the day, and be sure to eat at least two servings daily.
7. Berries
Berries get their own category because of their unique blend of low caloric, high fiber and high antioxidant content. Try to eat berries every day.
8. Nuts
Nuts provide healthy, unrefined fats, and they’re a good source of protein and fiber. They make easy snacks and have a long shelf life. Nuts are high in calories, so a handful once a day is enough.
9. Leafy greens
A low energy level can sometimes correspond to a lack of important nutrients such as omega-3, iron, B vitamins, zinc and magnesium. Leafy greens are good sources of these nutrients, as well as a source of antioxidants. Have a salad every day, or alternatively, put these greens in your smoothie.
10. Water
Dehydration contributes to poor energy levels. Try to drink at least 64 ounces of water daily. That’s about 2 liters. If you’re a large man or you exercise regularly, you may need to drink 3 to 4 liters of water each day.
WKTV Community Media is all about the communities of Wyoming and Kentwood, as well as our community volunteers who live all over West Michigan — community people who bring life to our building and to our work. So in these days of social distancing we at WKTV wanted to keep us a little more connected.
So, we asked people to “Tell us how are spending your time?” How has your life and work changed due to the COVID-19 restrictions? What has stayed the same in your life. What advice would you give to the other WKTV community members, and the public at large?
Paul Kabelman, long-time high school sports announcer
“Being retired, not much has changed other than lack of flexibility of going somewhere and not having church on Sunday,” Paul said in an email. “Obviously one change is being more cautious about what you touch and constantly washing your hands, as well as avoiding getting close to someone.”
And his words of wisdom:
“My advise would be to continue to lift our country and its populace in prayer, especially those affected by the virus and those service personnel that are trying to help see us through this time.”
Thank you Paul, for all you do.
Interested in learning more about WKTV Community Media, maybe getting involved with volunteer community? Visit https://wktv.org.
They were just swimming along, enjoying the comforts of their home when suddenly a large black hose was dunked in and began sucking water out and vacuuming the rocks.
But the two 10-month-old Lake Sturgeon need not panic, it was only a Grand Rapids Public Museum staff person cleaning their tank.
The Lake Sturgeon are the stars of a new reality show featured on the Grand Rapids Public Museum’s website, grpm.org/live-stream. Due to the governor’s stay-at home order, visitors can not see the Lake Sturgeon in-person, so the museum officials decided to feature the fish in a live stream.
“The Museum is committed to continuing to deliver content digitally to the community during our closure,” said Kate Kocineski, the Museum’s Vice-President of Marketing and Public Relations. “We want to continue to entertain, educate and spark curiosity within our virtual visitors while many are safely in their homes during this time.”
The Public Museum is not the only venue to take to social media with virtual tours, the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, the Grand Rapids Art Museum, and the John Ball Zoo all have had videos featuring staff discussing specific items or exhibits at each of its facilities.
Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park Classroom Activities and Education Technology Coordinator Carlie Fournier talks about the transformation from a chrysalis to butterfly. (Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park Facebook page)
Frederick Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park
The Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park is offering daily virtual visits at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Meijer Gardens Public Relations Manager John VanderHaagen said with the governor’s executive stay-at home order, it has limited staff availability, but the virtual tours will continue.
“We will still be bringing content to our followers, but we’re going to have to change our tactics,” VanderHaagen said. In fact, today, Senior Horticulture Manager Wendy Overbeck was going to describe the different types of butterflies in the “Fred and Dorothy Fichter Butterflies Are Blooming” exhibition on the Meijer Gardens’ Facebook page. Also on the Meijer Gardens’ Facebook page, there is a live feed of the chrysalis area where visitors can watch the butterflies emerge as well as past videos that include staff reading children’s books and discussing other interesting facts about butterflies.
From the John Ball Zoo Facebook Page.
John Ball Zoo
The John Ball Zoo staff also has taken to Facebook to feature visits with the animals and an insightful interview with the Zoo’s veterinarian Dr. Ryan Colburn answering questions about how the coronavirus is impacting the animals.
GRAM Director and CEO Dana Friis-Hansen
Grand Rapids Art Museum
On the GRAM’s Facebook page, both GRAM Director and CEO Dana Friis-Hansen and Chief Curator Ron Platt have videos discussing current exhibits at the Art Museum.
GRAM Communications Manager Elizabeth Payne said the museum offerings do extend beyond Facebook to a number of digital resources at its website artmuseumgr.org.
“We’re offering everything from artist interviews to digital publications and resources for kids,” Payne said. “We’ll also be adding to this in the days to come as we produce more content.”
Like the GRAM, many institutions have been providing digital or online resources long before the coronavirus came along. The Public Museum’s Collection of more than 250,000 artifacts and specimens can be explored at grpmcollections.org and residents can create their own login for the website and begin to curate their own collections and digital exhibits.
“Our goal is to encourage the community to keep their minds active by exploring the GRPM’s vast Collections database,” said GRAM Chief Curator Alex Forist. “There’s something new to discover with each click whether you’re interested in furniture made in Grand Rapid, fashion from the turn of the century or rocks and mineral from right here in Michigan.”
Also the Public Museum does provided Virtual Discovery Kits to help keep students engaged. Currently there is an Egypt: Be Curious Virtual Discovery Kit, where students may explore the GRPM’s digital Collections for Egyptian afterlife. Visit grpm.org/HomeMuseum for more information.
A National Movement
Again, virtual content is nothing new. Just like the GRAM and the Public Museum, larger institutions have been providing virtual content for years. There probably is more now as many U.S. states and other countries are dealing with stay-at home orders. A Google search offers a variety of options including an extensive list of national virtual tours at npr.org.
The Lake Sturgeon at the Grand Rapids Public Museum. (Picture from GRPM’s live stream.)
Keep Checking Back
There is always new content and the various institutions are working on other virtual opportunities as well. And the online offerings are not just about providing activities to keep children, families and anyone busy, but it is also about making connections.
“It is important to us to continue to connecting with the community and fostering a sense of curiosity and joyful learning during this time,” said GRPM Director of Education Erin Karen.
Also, virtual tours and live streaming are available anytime day or night…well except for the Lake Sturgeon. The lights go out at night, because, after all, stars do need their beauty sleep.
There are numerous drugs to treat digestive woes caused by heartburn or stomach ulcers. But solving one health problem may be causing another.
New research from Austria found that people who use drugs that suppress stomach acid were almost twice as likely to need drugs to control allergy symptoms.
And people over 60 who used these drugs were more than five times as likely to also need an allergy medication, the study reported.
“Many people have gastric (stomach) complaints and many people take anti-acid medicine. The longer the treatment with these medicines, the higher the risk of allergies,” said study senior author Dr. Erika Jensen-Jarolim, a clinical immunologist at the Medical University of Vienna.
How might these two conditions be connected?
Jensen-Jarolim said that, normally, the acidic environment in the stomach helps break down food-derived proteins that can cause allergies.
But if you take acid-suppressing drugs, the food you eat isn’t broken down into small enough pieces.
Intact allergens are sent to the intestine, where they can cause an allergic reaction and inflammation.
The implications from this study could be far-reaching.
According to the American College of Gastroenterology, more than 60 million Americans have had heartburn at least once in the past month.
Heartburn—gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD—occurs when stomach acid backs up into the esophagus (the tube connecting your throat and stomach), the American College of Gastroenterology said.
Symptoms include a feeling of burning behind the breastbone that can move up to the neck. Some people notice the bitter taste of bile in the back of the throat.
To treat this discomfort and pain, people often take acid-reducing medications. These include popular drugs called proton pump inhibitors, or PPIs.
Medications in this class include prescription and over-the-counter drugs like Prilosec (omeprazole), Prevacid (lansoprazole) and Nexium (esomeprazole).
Another class of medications is called H2 blockers. This class includes Tagamet HB (cimetidine), Pepcid (famotidine) and Zantac (ranitidine). There is also a medication called Carafate (sucralfate) that’s an aluminum compound.
All of these medications were linked to an increased use of allergy medications.
But there was a higher prevalence of allergy medication use after a sucralfate prescription, according to the study.
The study included prescription information from 97% of people in Austria. The data covered four years, from 2009 to 2013.
The researchers noted that as few as six doses of anti-acid medication each year were linked to an increased need for allergy medication. The risk of needing allergy medication rose with more frequent use of acid-reducing drugs.
Women and older people taking acid-reducing drugs were more likely to need allergy drugs.
Jensen-Jarolim said she hopes doctors will heed the study findings and prescribe acid-suppressing medications with care. She also hopes that consumers buying over-the-counter anti-acids will remember that these are medications and any medication can have side effects.
For those concerned about allergies, but who may still need acid-reducing drugs, she recommended taking these medications for the shortest time possible.
Dr. Elie Abemayor, chair of the division of gastroenterology at Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco, N.Y., reviewed the findings, and said it’s always important to weigh the benefits of a drug against the risk.
And while the findings were “concerning,” Abemayor said it’s important to recognize that this study is observational and cannot prove a cause-and-effect relationship.
“I would still take these drugs if I needed them. I don’t think this study will change the way they’re prescribed,” he said.
But he added that if you don’t really need the drugs for a long time, it’s a good idea only to take them as needed.
The findings were published recently in the journal Nature Communications.
Metro Health – University of Michigan Health last week announced progressive programs that will help ease the burden of child care and financial restraints for valued staff during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Metro Health Hospital and Metro Health Hospital Foundation have partnered with the YMCA of Greater Grand Rapids to provide free and reliable backup child care services for the children of all employees, employed medical providers and contracted staff. Metro Health will be providing these backup child care services on its campus at the SpartanNash YMCA location, and the care will be provided by qualified child care workers.
“We are proud to partner with Metro Health and do our small part to help the medicalcommunity during this challenging and unprecedented time,” said Scott Lewis, President and CEO, YMCA of Greater Grand Rapids. “We believe collaborative efforts like these make us all stronger as we lean in together in support of our community.”
The YMCA has agreed to allow Metro Health to lease space in the building and equipment for this limited purpose of providing emergency backup child care. Extreme measures have been taken to prepare and sanitize the classrooms and staff started utilizing the service on March 16.
Additionally, the Metro Health Hospital Foundation has announced a $1 million needs-based assistance fund for employees who encounter COVID-19-related hardships. Examples of a need include bill payment assistance, support for vehicle repairs to ensure transportation to work or offsetting the costs of care for family members who fall ill or need assistance.
“I want to thank and commend the Metro Health Hospital Foundation for helping to establish this program in such a short time,” said Peter Hahn, President and CEO, Metro Health –University of Michigan Health. “We understand COVID-19 has disrupted many lives and this is why we believe it is essential to support our colleagues through resources such as this needs-based fund and free child care.”
Metro Health employees are also being encouraged to donate back unused paid time off hours to support colleagues who may exhaust their hours due to illness or to care for family. Metro Health will continue efforts in the coming weeks in order to keep the Metro Health team healthy, financially stable and ready to serve the community.
Visit www.metrohealth.net for the most up to date information from the CDC and resources to protect yourself and prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Editor’s Note: Make sure to check out KDL’s online resources that include eBooks, movies and more.
Adult
The Need By Helen Philips
“This story is sort of a blend of horror, thriller, and musing on the mundane joy of caring for small children. As a parent of a toddler and a baby, I read it at the perfect time because her language and descriptions of parenting ring so true. But even if you aren’t a parent, the tension around the plot is also very compelling and makes it a fascinating, creepy ride.”
– Anna at East Grand Rapids
Wanna Get Lucky? By Deborah Coonts
“If you’re a fan of Janet Evanovich you may enjoy this series by Deborah Coonts. Lucky O’Toole is head of Customer Relations in a casino and gets in plenty of situations.”
– Loretta at Wyoming
Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? Big Questions from Tiny Mortals About Death By Caitlin Doughty
“One of my favorite nonfiction author. Answering questions asked by kids. (adult may not ask but equally wondering about them I’m sure …)”
– Yuko at the KDL Service Center
Children’s
Polly Diamond and the Magic Book By Alice Kuipers
“Polly loves writing and learning new words, and when she discovers a magic notebook where anything she writes inside instantly comes true, she’s thrilled to use all her favorite words to make some magical things happen. However, Polly’s about to learn that with great magical power comes great responsibility! Charming illustrations and large text make this an awesome new beginning chapter book series.”
It may not exactly be business as usual for the Kent County Board of Commissioners during the COVID-19 emergency, but the work of conducting the public’s business, in public, continues — and the community is invited to attend and offer comment while maintaining their social distance.
“Pursuant to Governor (Gretchen) Whitmer’s Executive Order 2020-15, the Kent County Board of Commissioners in order to protect the public health will conduct its (March 26) meeting via electronic communications,” according to a statement from the county administration. “Any member of the public wishing to listen to the proceedings or provide public comment” can do so.
While the March agenda is fairly short, it does — rather appropriately, given the current social restrictions — offer action on Kent County outdoor recreation issues and future projects, including Dwight Lydell Park and Thornapple River Trail Landing. For a complete agenda, visit here.
“It is critically important, especially during this public health crisis, that government maintains its ability to conduct essential business in an open, accessible, and transparent manner while protecting the health and safety of all residents,” Kent County Board of Commissioners Chair Mandy Bolter said to WKTV. “With the use of technology, residents will be able to participate remotely in our meeting to nearly the same extent as if they were present.”
The means to provide the public comment include an internet connection and phone access with pass code, as follows:
With the governor’s stay-at-home order, the City of Wyoming buildings and offices have closed as of March 23. Only essential staff are reporting to their work sites, according to the city’s website, wyomingmi.gov.
Essential services include police, fire, emergency medical, water, sewer, and public works. The city has implemented aggressive cleaning regimes and eliminated overlapping schedules as protective measures for first responders.
These include: FOIA Requests, Accident Reports, Firearm Permit Applications, and SOR Registration
Much of the city’s remaining staff will continue to work from home if they are able. The city provides a number of online resources and services. Staff will continue to monitor responses to contact forms, emails, and phone calls.
Those unable to find the information they are looking for may use the city’s contact form or call 616-530-7226.
Limited Public Meetings
The City of Wyoming will be limiting public meetings to only take what actions are necessary. Most of the city’s scheduled public meetings have been canceled. Check the city’s website for a specific meeting.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued an executive order allowing public meetings to take place digitally. We encourage everyone to submit written public comments instead of attending meetings to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Bot the City Council and Planning Commission meetings are streamed live on Facebook and WKTV local channels. Members of the public are encouraged to view City Council meetings from home. For the City Council meetings, residents may submit public comments in writing through the City Clerk’s Office webform. For the Planning Commission meetings, residents may submit public comment in writing to planning_info@wyomingmi.gov.
For both meetings, members of the public who are in attendance should follow social distancing and sit away from others. The City Council and the Planning Commission will limit public comments to one and a half (1.5) minutes per person.
62-A District Court and Kent County
Last week, the 62-A District Court announced there would be no in-person, public access to the facility. Residents are encouraged to pay tickets and check records online. Filings may be mailed to the 62-A District Court, 2650 DeHoop Ave. SW, Wyoming MI 49509.
Many of the Kent County buildings have closed to the public including the County Clerk’s Office and the Treasurer’s Office.
For up-to-date information about the City of Wyoming visit wyomingmi.gov. The city also has a page on its website dedicated to coronavirus information www.wyoming.gov/covid.
The Grand Rapids Public Museum donated gloves, face shields, Tyvek suits and personal respiratory mask to Spectrum Health. (Supplied)
By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma joanne@wktv.org
Hearing of the need its “neighbor” was having, the Grand Rapids Public Museum decided to lend a helping hand by donating its extra gloves, face shields, Tyvek suits and personal respiratory masks to Spectrum Health.
The personal protective equipment were supplies that the museum had for everyday work and emergencies. The Grand Rapids Public Museum closed more than a week ago when the governor announced restrictions on gatherings of people.
“The Grand Rapids Public Museum saw a need within our community for personal protective equipment supplies for our healthcare workers on the front lines of this pandemic,” said Kate Kocienski, the Museum’s VP of Marketing. “We keep supplies on hand for everyday work with our Collections and for emergencies. Earlier this week our team gathered those supplies and donated them to Spectrum Health.
“We are proud to be able to help in the community where needed so we can continue to flatten the curve.”
In fact, the outpouring of community inquires and offers of support has both Metro Health – University of Metro Health and Spectrum Health accepting donations of personal protective equipment. Each facility has set up donation sites.
It should be noted that traveling to drop-off sites to donate medical supplies does not violate Michigan’s statewide stay-at-home order, which allows for an exception to the order for providing necessities to “individuals who need assistance as a result of this emergency.”
Metro Health – University of Michigan Health
Metro Health – University of Michigan Health is accepting donations from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. Items are to be brought to Metro Health’s System Services and Learning Center, 1980 Metro Court, Wyoming. People should enter using the door on the south side of the building, facing M-6.
Disposal gloves are in demand at local hospitals. The Grand Rapids Public Museum donated these gloves to Spectrum Health. (Supplied)
Items being accepted include:
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
N95 Masks
Isolation masks – children and adult
Face shields
Safety glasses
Goggles
Isolation gowns
Gloves – all sizes
Bouffant caps
Non-Personal Protective Equipment
Bleach wipes
Cards for caregivers
Spectrum Health
Starting today at noon, Spectrum Health will be accepting PPE supplies at 14 different locations such as:
Spectrum Health South Pavilion, 80 68th St. SE, Culterville
Spectrum Health Medical Group Family Medicine, 3152 Port Sheldon St., Suite C, Hudsonville
Spectrum Health Integrated Care Campus – East Beltline, 2750 E. Beltilne Ave. NE, Grand Rapids
Spectrum Health Medical Group Lake Drive, 4100 Lake Dr. SE, Grand Rapids
Spectrum Health Integrated Care Campus – Holland, 588 E. Lakewood Blvd., Holland
Spectrum Health Integrated Care Campus – Rockford, 8501 Meadow Creek Dr., Rockford
There are also locations in Ludington, Muskegon, Ionia, Hastings, Greenville, Grand Haven, Fremont, and Big Rapids. For the complete list, click here. Most locations are open from 7 a.m. – 5 p.m.Monday – Friday except for Spectrum Health Medical Group Lake Drive, which is open from 9 a.m. – 9 p.m. Monday – Friday.
According to hospital officials, Spectrum Health continues to maintain a supply of masks and other personal protection equipment for its patients and health care providers. Officials said they are working to stretch its supply and is turning to the community because officials do anticipate the need will continue to grow.
The following items are accepted at the donation sites:
N95 Masks
Isolation masks (adult/child)
Masks with face shield/visor
Handmade or sewn reusable masks
Face shields
Googles/safety glasses
Bouffant caps
Extended extra protection gloves – all sizes
Isolation gowns
Bleach wipesSwabs (flexible min-tip
Pocket-sized sanitizer
Thermometers (digital, disposable, temporal)
To reduce the risk of exposure for all, Spectrum officials are asking donors to place donations in the bins provided at each location while maintaining a distance of at least six feet from others.
Spectrum Health is not currently accepting donations of 3D printed items, other medical equipment, medications or blankets.
If the donation is large and requires special arrangements or if you have a question, email Spectrum Health’s supply chain team at covid19supplies@spectrumhealth.org. Spectrum Health is also accepting monetary donations to its COVID-19 Response Fund.
On this episode of WKTV Journal In Focus, we sit down with the director and a student of Kent ISD’s Adult Education Program, which helps adult students get their high school equivalency, gain skills in the English language, and connects them with various career and technical education programs.
Note: This WKTV video was recorded before the current COVID-19 social and business restrictions. Please visit here for more information on the present status of Kent ISD programs; visit here for specific information on the Adult Education Program.
The various ISD programs, according to its website, offer adult students, “Pathways to Success to help them build a brighter future.”
With us is Oogie LaMar, Kent ISD Director of Adult Education, as well as Kylan Tette, a student enrolled in the the Adult Education General Education Development, or GED, Program.
WKTV Journal In Focus airs on cable television in the Wyoming and Kentwood areas on Comcast WKTV Channel 26 and on AT&T Channel 99 Government channel (see our Weekly On-air Schedule for dates and times). All individual interviews included in episodes of WKTV Journal In Focus are also available on YouTube at WKTVvideos.
In a years-long study, those who napped once or twice a week cut their risk of heart attack, stroke and heart failure nearly in half. (Courtesy Spectrum Health Beat)
Could grabbing a nap once or twice a week help you live longer?
A new study reports the occasional nap appears to cut in half people’s risk of heart attack, strokes and heart disease, compared with folks who never nap.
But more frequent napping provided no benefit, researchers found.
“In fact, we found that frequent nappers had initially a higher risk for incident cardiovascular disease,” said lead author Nadine Hausler, a postdoctoral researcher at University Hospital of Lausanne in Switzerland. “However, when we took sociodemographic, lifestyle and cardiovascular risk factors into account, this increased risk disappeared.”
The findings left experts scratching their heads.
“I don’t think it’s anything definitive, in terms of whether napping is actually helpful or not helpful,” said Marie-Pierre St-Onge, director of the sleep program at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City.
She noted that the health benefits of napping are a source of intense debate among researchers, with many arguing that naps are a sign of lousy nighttime sleep and, therefore, not a good thing.
“This throws a little bit of a curveball, because they found one to two naps per week might be beneficial,” St-Onge said.
For this study, researchers looked at napping patterns of nearly 3,500 randomly selected people in Switzerland and then tracked their heart health for more than five years.
About three in five said they don’t nap.
One in five said they nap once or twice a week—the same number who reported napping three or more days a week.
Frequent nappers tended to be older men with excess weight and a tobacco habit. Though they reported sleeping longer at night than those who don’t nap, they also reported more daytime sleepiness and were more likely to have sleep apnea, a condition that wakes a person repeatedly in the night when their breathing stops.
During the five-year follow-up, participants had 155 fatal and non-fatal heart events, the findings showed. These could include heart attacks, strokes and heart disease caused by clogged arteries that required surgical reopening.
Napping once or twice a week cut a person’s risk of heart attack, stroke and heart failure by 48%, compared with people who don’t nap at all, the researchers found.
Frequent naps initially appeared to increase a person’s heart risk by 67%, but that disappeared after accounting for other risk factors, the study authors noted.
Dr. Martha Gulati, a cardiologist who is editor-in-chief of CardioSmart.org, the American College of Cardiology’s patient website, said it makes sense that frequent napping could be a red flag for health problems.
“I worry that somebody that naps every day isn’t getting good sleep,” she said. “Somebody who takes six or seven naps a week, I ask, are you not sleeping well at night? Is that how you’re catching up with your sleep?”
Gulati added, “But I am still going to enjoy my Sunday naps and now say I am working on lowering my risk for heart disease when my husband asks.”
Researcher Hausler couldn’t say exactly why a couple of naps each week might do a body good.
“The mechanisms are not straightforward,” she said. “We assume that occasional napping might be a result of a physiological compensation allowing to decrease the stress due to insufficient nocturnal sleep and, thus, could have a beneficial effect on cardiovascular disease events.”
Though she said the results should first be confirmed by other studies, Hausler added: “We can say that an occasional nap can potentially decrease cardiovascular disease risk for healthy adults.”
The study was published online recently in the journal Heart.
As the novel coronavirus continues to spread throughout the United States and the rest of the world, financial implications on employees and businesses are profound.
Impacts are being felt across the economy, and the nonprofit sector is not immune. Researchers at Grand Valley’s Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy have analyzed IRS 990 form data and have identified trends in the nonprofit sector that nonprofits can expect to contend with as the pandemic evolves.
The research was led by Jeff Williams, director of the Johnson Center’s Community Data and Research Lab, and is based on an analysis of the financial vulnerabilities of nonprofit organizations.
Williams said models can help nonprofit leaders make educated decisions about their organizations, especially as it pertains to project management, disaster response and using solid data.
The Community Data and Research Lab identified three trends that leaders can use to inform decision making.
1. Before things get significantly better or worse, leaders can expect to see things ‘get weird.’
Williams said in times of crisis when we are looking for certainty the most — even if it’s bad news — is when events are most likely to be unexpected in terms of magnitude, order and topic.
“Adopting a mental posture of flexibility is key,” Williams said. “Being open about the impending storm in communications with service beneficiaries, clients and staff is essential for maintaining staff morale, too.”
2. Nonprofits are facing three distinct financial threats at the moment, each of which will impact different nonprofits in different ways.
As entire segments of the economy falter and the stock market tumbles, different types of nonprofits will see decreases in revenue in three very different ways: decreasing revenue from annual campaigns and gifts, dropping demand for services and/or changes to contracts, and decreasing value in investments and stock market fluctuations. Most nonprofits, for example, receive very little investment income, so stock market fluctuations will not be their primary concern.
Williams said a clear understanding of the different types of revenue declines is important because nonprofits are businesses that pay salaries and rent, and purchase supplies and equipment just like any other. However in the big picture, nonprofits serve a broader public mission. Williams said nonprofits should remember to secure their operations first, much like the instructions given to passengers on airliners about oxygen masks: Always secure your own mask before assisting others.
“While businesses are closing and people are at risk of losing employment, there is likely to be an increase of demand for safety net agency services, many of which will be met by nonprofit organizations and their staff,” Williams said. “But if a nonprofit cannot meet its business obligations, it will not be in a long-term position to assist its community in a time of need.”
The full report from the Community Data and Research Lab explores in depth the different financial problems nonprofits of different sizes and categories may face due to COVID-19. The report is available at JohnsonCenter.org.
3. The process of restoring normalcy isn’t a linear process. Multiple stages of recovery often exist, involving different sectors of the nonprofit world at different times.
Williams said while some disasters are a singular event, like a tornado or tsunami, others happen more slowly and recovery often takes many stages. When society works to recover from the pandemic, the nonprofit sector will see those stages take shape.
Right now, nonprofits are focused on immediate needs, like health care and direct emergency assistance, especially food. However, over time, as the situation stabilizes, the nonprofit sector will need to shift to education, housing and human services.
Once the virus is well contained, job training, workforce development and other economic and productivity concerns will come back to the forefront.
Finally, when people feel confident making longer-term plans to return to normal life, nonprofit operations will also return to a more normal activity level.
Upcoming research
Over the next several weeks, the Johnson Center will use additional IRS data to explore other financial aspects of the nonprofit sector, including cash on hand, changes in revenue sources, and what past economic shocks tell us about nonprofit organization creation and failure rates.
Grocery stories, pharmacies, gas stations these are will remain open during the statewide stay-at-home order that goes into effect at 12:01 a.m. March 24. The order is scheduled to last three weeks until April 13.
During her address to the state, Governor Gretchen Whitmer made it clear that essentials services and business would remain open.
For many, people understand that essential services would be those in the medical and health field or business that sustain or protects life. In fact, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has issued a list of critical businesses and operations that are considered important to keep the country running. For the complete list, click here.
On CIST list and considered are some of essential services and businesses. Note, the order is to reduce the number of people out, so remember to limit trips as much as possible to these places:
Grocery stores: As the governor put it, no panic buying, the grocery stores will remain open along with farmers markets, farm and produce stands, supermarkets, and convenience stores. Also any business crucial to the supply chain of these business are included. You do not want to go into the store? Well there is always Shipt or most stores such as Meijer and Family Fare offer online order and pick-up service.
Stores that sell medicine: See above, but basically any store that sells medicines, such as a pharmacy, will remain open.
Restaurants: The Schezwan chicken and that favorite pizza joint can still provide you food for take-out or delivery only. Whitmer is encouraging people to take advantage of delivery services such as UberEats which is currently offering free delivery if you order from a local restaurant.
Charitable and social services: Religious and nonprofit organizations like food banks, shelters, social services and other necessities for economically disadvantaged individuals who need assistance as a result of the emergency, people living with disabilities. So yes, the current effort to feed all the students who rely on school lunches will continue. Visit School News Network for a list of schools and schedules.
Gas stations are open. (Wikipedia)
Gas stations and businesses needed for transportation: Gas stations, auto supply, auto repair, farm equipment, construction equipment, boat repair, bicycle shops, and related facilities. Also taxis, buses, trains, planes and Uber and Lyft also are operating.
Financial and insurance institutions: Banks, currency exchanges consumer lenders, consumer installment lenders, sales finance lenders, credit unions, appraisers, title companies, financial markets, trading and futures exchanges, payday lenders, affiliates of financial institutions, entities that issue bonds, institutions selling financial products and related institutions; insurance companies, underwriters, agents, brokers, and related insurance claims and agency services. So yes, your cash is available to you.
Pet stores: Also you will be able to feed your pet, so you need not to run out for that 200-pound bag of dog food or cat food.
Hardware stores and critical trades: If the furnace goes out, you will still be able to get it fixed. Also electrical and plumbing services will be available along with exterminators, cleaning and janitorial staff, security staff and others in the construction trades.
Laundry services: There is no excuse not to stay clean as laundromats, dry cleaners, industrial laundry service and laundry service providers will all be open.
Childcare workers: Those providing childcare services for those who are critical infrastructure workers, such as health care providers, are considered essential.
If you are not sure if you work in an essential service or business, your employer will notify you. According to the order, employers must notify people either in writing or verbally by Mar. 31 at 11:59 p.m. All employers much review staff to determine if each employee is considered necessary for the business to continue. This means some employees who work for essential services or businesses may be asked to stay-at home.
For a review of Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s order, click here. For other updates on the statewide coronavirus efforts, visit www.michigan.gov/coronavirus.
This holistic treatment could help with a common condition often experienced by those undergoing radiation therapy for cancer. (Courtesy Spectrum Health Beat)
Dry mouth can be a troubling side effect of radiation therapy, but acupuncture may ease its symptoms, a new study suggests.
Of 339 patients getting radiation for head and neck cancer in the United States and China, those who had acupuncture had fewer symptoms of dry mouth, or xerostomia, than those who didn’t have acupuncture.
Patients who had fake acupuncture, a placebo, had about the same relief as the no-acupuncture group, the researchers found.
The placebo treatment involved a real needle at a spot not indicated for xerostomia, real needles at sham spots and placebo needles at sham points, the study authors explained.
A year after treatment, 35% of acupuncture patients had dry mouth, compared to 48% of those given fake acupuncture and 55% of those who didn’t get acupuncture, the findings showed.
For the study, participants were randomly assigned to real, fake or no acupuncture. Treatments were given three times a week on the same day as radiation.
“Dry mouth is a serious concern for head and neck cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy. The condition can affect up to 80% of patients by the end of radiation treatment,” said lead investigator Lorenzo Cohen, director of integrative medicine at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
“The symptoms severely impact quality of life and oral health, and current treatments have limited benefits,” he added in a university news release.
Further analysis showed a significant difference between patients in China and the United States in response to fake acupuncture. Chinese patients had little to no placebo response, while Americans had a large placebo response, showing both forms of acupuncture worked, the researchers said.
More studies are needed to figure out these differences. It might be that the environment in which acupuncture is given, cultural influences or the relationship between patient and doctor are at play.
Also, more study is needed to confirm these findings and understand how acupuncture relieves dry mouth.
In the meantime, Cohen said it can be used to relieve xerostomia symptoms.
“I think with this study we can add acupuncture to the list for the prevention and treatment of xerostomia, and the guidelines for the use of acupuncture in the oncology setting should be revised to include this important chronic condition,” Cohen said.
The report was recently published online in JAMA Network Open.
