Health

By Jud Fisher— MUNCIE, Ind.-In the midst of growing concerns about healthcare worker shortages, Muncie is cementing its identity as a leader in training physicians, nurses, sonographers, and allied health professionals. Since 2017, healthcare organizations and educational institutions in the city have been working together to build a stronger pipeline of medical professionals. “Medicine has changed dramatically in the past 100 years, but the way we educate physicians—and to some degree, other healthcare workers—hasn’t always kept pace with these changes,”…

By Tim Harms, American Heart Association— INDIANAPOLIS– With snow predicted to fall across large portions of Indiana this week, the American Heart Association encourages Hoosiers to protect their hearts while shoveling snow and to seek immediate treatment if they experience any signs or symptoms of a heart attack. “Shoveling snow can be a very vigorous activity, and you’re basically doing it in a freezer,’” says Dr. William Gill, a cardiologist who is immediate past-president of the American Heart Association board…

By Tim Harms— The American Heart Association encourages everyone to create healthy habits that give them the best chance at a longer, healthier life. INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.— Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, deaths from heart disease and stroke have risen significantly and more people are reporting lower physical and emotional wellness. This February, the American Heart Association, the leading voluntary health organization devoted to a world of longer, healthier lives, is helping you reclaim your rhythm and take back control…

By Courtney Schmoll— MUNCIE, Ind.—Across the country, almost 10 percent of all 911 calls involve children. But within each local emergency department or emergency medical services agency, that can amount to seeing just a handful of children a month—meeting providers are not always well-versed in the specialized care that ill and injured kids require. A federally funded program, Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) Innovation and Improvement Center is working to change that through quality improvement methodology and a systems-level…

By April Toler— INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.—Mental health issues among Americans have continued to soar throughout the pandemic, and youth are no exception. In fact, the U.S. surgeon general recently issued an advisory highlighting the urgent need to address the nation’s youth mental health crisis. The funding will support IU Schoof Medicine experts who help pediatricians catch and address mental health concerns early and improve access to treatment. Thanks to $2.7 million in recent grants, the Indiana University School of Medicine’s Indiana…

By Tim Harms, American Heart Association— Risk factors, treatments, COVID complications among top heart, stroke science INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — While COVID-19 vaccines and variants continued to capture health headlines, a number of significant scientific research breakthroughs offered promising news in the fight against heart disease, stroke and cardiovascular risk factors. The American Heart Association, the largest non-governmental funder of heart and stroke related research in the United States, has been compiling an annual list of major advances in heart disease…

By K. Aleisha Fetters— MUNCIE, Ind.—Grief is a hard journey. But it’s one that Muncie church members are increasingly walking together. They are doing so through the aptly named GriefShare, a grief recovery support program that is helping people in the US, Canada, and more than 10 other countries find meaning and rebuild their lives following the loss of friends, family members, and loved ones. “GriefShare provided me a lifeline during my time of loss,” says Cheyrl McCoy, a former participant….

By Tim Harms, American Heart Association— INDIANAPOLIS—Thousands of Hoosiers with high blood pressure may now have easier access to monitoring devices that will allow them to check their own blood pressure, which could help them better control their blood pressure and lower their risk of heart disease, thanks to a change in state policy that was recommended by the American Heart Association. On Dec. 2, the Indiana Office of Medicaid Policy and Planning (OMPP) approved a policy request to expand coverage…

By Courtney Schmoll— MUNCIE, Ind.— The National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC), a quality program administered by the American College of Surgeons (ACS) has granted accredited status to the IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital Cancer Center in Muncie, Indiana. To achieve voluntary NAPBC accreditation, a breast center demonstrates compliance with the NAPBC standards that address a center’s leadership, clinical services, research, community outreach, professional education, and quality improvement for patients.  Breast centers seeking NAPBC accreditation undergo a site visit…