Healthy Lifestyle Hub brings hope to Auburn Gresham

December 3, 2022 Vera

CHICAGO (CBS) — After years of disinvestment, there are new and important resources coming to the Auburn Gresham neighborhood.

They are all housed in one new Healthy Lifestyle Hub at 839 W. 79th St., just west of Halsted Street. We have been following the development of the building for many months, and on Friday, CBS 2’s Irika Sargent was there for the grand opening.

You may remember in July, Sargent and CBS 2’s Joe Donlon were at the same building for a special half-hour report about the response to mass shootings on the city’s South and West sides. We chose the Healthy Lifestyle Hub as the backdrop for that newscast as a sign of hope for the real change that can be made at the community level – when investments are made in our neighborhoods.

The building at 839 W. 79th St. was built in 1925. The former furniture store had been sitting vacant for the last 25 years. It is right next to Leo High School on 7901 S. Sangamon St., and students had to walk past the shuttered building on the way to school.

The Greater Auburn Gresham Development Corporation set its sights on developing a project that would serve the whole community – a building that would house medical and dental services, a pharmacy, a café, a bank, and so much more.

On Friday, they celebrated that dream coming to life. During the grand opening celebration from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., residents walked through an open house to learn about all the resources coming to the Auburn Gresham neighborhood. More than 600 guests were expected in all.

Inside the Healthy Lifestyle Hub, bringing new resources to Auburn Gresham

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Carlos Nelson, chief executive officer of the Greater Auburn Gresham Development Corporation, was the one who first had the idea for the Healthy Lifestyle Hub.

“We’ve been working on this since literally 2016 as a vision to bring back to life this vacant 60,000 square-foot building that’s just sat ominously right near 79th and Halsted – the busiest bus line in the entire city of Chicago,” Nelson said.

The Chicago Bears were a major benefactor, donating more than $600,000 for the project.

“When the Chicago Bears heard about our work doing the Racial Equity Rapid Response task force; doing COVID response work in Auburn Gresham, they wanted to get involved with what we were doing,” Nelson said.

Treating Long Covid Is Rife With Guesswork

December 3, 2022 Vera

Medical equipment is still strewn around the house of Rick Lucas, 62, nearly two years after he came home from the hospital. He picks up a spirometer, a device that measures lung capacity, and takes a deep breath — though not as deep as he’d like.

Still, Lucas has come a long way for someone who spent more than three months on a ventilator because of covid-19.

“I’m almost normal now,” he said. “I was thrilled when I could walk to the mailbox. Now we’re walking all over town.”

Dozens of major medical centers have established specialized covid clinics around the country. A crowdsourced project counted more than 400. But there’s no standard protocol for treating long covid. And experts are casting a wide net for treatments, with few ready for formal clinical trials.

It’s not clear just how many people have suffered from symptoms of long covid. Estimates vary widely from study to study — often because the definition of long covid itself varies. But the more conservative estimates still count millions of people with this condition. For some, the lingering symptoms are worse than the initial bout of covid. Others, like Lucas, were on death’s door and experienced a roller-coaster recovery, much worse than expected, even after a long hospitalization.

Symptoms vary widely. Lucas had brain fog, fatigue, and depression. He’d start getting his energy back, then go try light yardwork and end up in the hospital with pneumonia.

It wasn’t clear which ailments stemmed from being on a ventilator so long and which signaled the mysterious condition called long covid.

“I was wanting to go to work four months after I got home,” Rick said over the laughter of his wife and primary caregiver, Cinde.

“I said, ‘You know what, just get up and go. You can’t drive. You can’t walk. But go in for an interview. Let’s see how that works,’” Cinde recalled.

A woman stands at a kitchen island where the counter is filled with dozens of medication bottles. — Cinde Lucas, whose husband has suffered from long covid, lists the many supplements and prescription medications he tried while looking for something to combat brain fog, depression, and fatigue. (Blake Farmer / WPLN News)

Rick did start working earlier this year, taking short-term assignments in his old field as a nursing home administrator. But he’s still on partial disability.

Why has Rick mostly recovered while so many haven’t shaken the symptoms, even years later?

“There is absolutely nothing anywhere that’s clear about

2022 Holiday gift guides – Gifts for health and fitness fanatics!

December 3, 2022 Vera

We use affiliate links. If you buy something through the links on this page, we may earn a commission at no cost to you. Learn more.

ARTICLE – I’m sure you have at least one person on your gift buying list that is serious about their health and fitness. These gift ideas are for them!

LesMills SMARTBAR weight set

The SMARTBAR weight set from LesMills is an exciting new take on fitness equipment that makes it easier than ever to make your workouts faster and more efficient. This high-quality home gym equipment is designed to make it much easier to switch out weight plates with almost zero effort. Forget about hard-to-manage clips, the SMARTBAR plates snap into the gator ends securely and can then be released just as easily without any separate parts to drop or lose. The gator ends also rotate while you’re lifting to make your workouts smoother and with less strain on your wrists. This set comes with 3 pairs of cast iron core plates (2.2, 5.5, and 11lb) that can even be used as hand weights for a full-body workout because they have built-in grips in the center and edges. The square shape of the plates also means that they won’t roll away when they are clipped to the barbell. I think this set is awesome and have been using it regularly for my own workouts. It’s an extremely well-made set and I love how easy it is to switch out the plates.
Price: $479.99
Where to buy: Lesmills and Amazon

Walk-i-Task treadmill desk

WALK-i-TASK is the perfect gift to help those who are looking to incinerate calories by moving their body while working from home. WALK-i-TASK is a height-adjustable desk that easily attaches to your home treadmill. This treadmill desk attachment provides a convenient way to eliminate sedentary lifestyles and get steps in while on boring Zoom calls, streaming TV shows, or even reading.

If your loved one values their health and wellness, WALK-i-TASK is the perfect solution. Key product features include:

Height Adjustable For Optimal Comfort
Attaches & Detaches To Transition From Walking to Running
Fits Most Treadmill Brands & Models (including NordicTrack, Sole etc)
Strong & Durable Workspace (top and bottom platform)
No Assembly Required

Read: Customer reviews
Original Price: ~~$239.99~~
Discounted Price: $189.99 ( Save $50 when you use the code: GADGETEER50 )
Where To Buy: walkitask.com

Health care organizations urge COVID & flu vaccination and treatment

December 1, 2022 Vera

Statement from: American Academy of Family Physicians, American Association of Nurse Practitioners, American Academy of Physician Associates, American College of Emergency Physicians, American College of Physicians, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American Geriatrics Society, American Medical Association, American Osteopathic Association, Council of Medical Specialty Societies, Infectious Diseases Society of America, and AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine

WASHINGTON November 21, 2022 – Given the anticipated increase in COVID-19 and influenza cases this fall and winter, America’s health care professional organizations are coming together to remind the public of the importance of vaccinations and early treatment. A strong recommendation from a trusted clinician is one of the most effective strategies to increase vaccine uptake. We encourage our members to use every interaction with patients as an opportunity to make strong vaccine recommendations, educate and answer questions about prevention and treatment options, encourage vaccination, and where feasible provide vaccination.

We strongly recommend that everyone who is eligible, especially those at higher risk, urgently receive their updated COVID-19 booster (or COVID-19 primary series if not yet vaccinated) and influenza vaccine. We expect that the updated COVID-19 vaccine will help reduce severe illness, hospitalizations and death for our most vulnerable patients, including older adults, those who are pregnant and recently pregnant, and those from historically minoritized communities. We urgently ask all clinicians to be vigilant and prioritize vaccination in the coming months. To maximize uptake of vaccines after counseling, our organizations will continue to advocate for access to vaccines and evidence-based treatments for everyone.

Given the higher morbidity and mortality among older people, those who are pregnant and recently pregnant, and immunocompromised people, we strongly recommend that health care professionals increase their timely use of effective treatments. While newer variants may not respond to some existing treatments, health care professionals must be ready and able to prescribe life-saving oral antiviral treatments for COVID-19 and influenza, to those at highest risk. It is critical that everyone, especially those at risk for serious illness, understand the importance of testing and early communication with their clinicians to seek treatment as soon as they test positive.

We commit to continue working with federal partners to provide usable and consistent information and emerging evidence-based tools that we can rapidly push to our members. The time to act is now, and the nation’s organizations of health care professionals are ready and willing to do all

‘We Can Make Great Things Happen’

November 30, 2022 Vera

AUBURN GRESHAM — Carlos Nelson used to drive past the “lifeless” building at 839 W. 79th St. almost every day for years.

Home to a drab public aid office in the 1970s, city officials bricked over the 18-by-18-foot windows on the ground floor and boarded up the second and third floor windows when the office closed. The nearly 100-year-old terra cotta building sat vacant for decades — but Nelson saw potential for revival.

After seven years of work, Nelson looked on Friday as Auburn Gresham’s four-story Healthy Lifestyle Hub welcomed dozens of neighbors with a Hollywood red carpet, live music and healthy food.

Community leaders and local officials cut the ribbon in October but Friday’s extravaganza was for neighbors to roam the halls for the first time, said Nelson, executive director at the Greater Auburn Gresham Development Corporation.

A “dark and dismal” sight in Auburn Gresham is now a beacon of light offering medical care, nutritious food, community space and other services steps away from neighbors’ homes, Nelson said.

“I used to see this building and the boarded-up windows, and it hurt to think of what others thought about our people,” Nelson said. “When I visualized the Healthy Hub, I wanted to be able to bring life into this building. We wanted to light up 79th Street, literally and figuratively. Today is a day of excitement.”

The UIC Neighborhood Center features a mural commissioned by artist Dorian Sylvain featuring the “faces” of Auburn Gresham.

‘You’ll See The Light Emanating From This Building’

The Healthy Lifestyle Hub will replenish a neighborhood long denied necessities and amenities, Nelson said. The 79th and Halsted intersection alone has lost a Save A Lot grocery store, a CVS pharmacy and a Bank of America branch.

A UI Health Clinic and Urgent Care Center on the second floor can provide medical, dental and mental health services to more than 30,000 patients per year, Nelson said. Nearly 500 patients have come in even without any advertising for the clinic, Nelson said.

The third floor is home to Heartland Alliance and the UIC Neighborhood Center, with tutoring services and small business workshops provided by the university.

Bank of America will soon open on the first floor, years after closing the nearby location. A high-tech kitchen and training center on the same floor, sponsored by a $600,000 donation from the Chicago Bears, will give

Exercise Might Ease Side Effects of Breast Cancer Treatment | Health & Fitness

November 30, 2022 Vera

FRIDAY, Nov. 25, 2022 (HealthDay News) — An exercise program, even if it’s not as intense as national guidelines suggest, could help breast cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy reduce fatigue and have a better quality of life, new research suggests.

Researchers from Edith Cowan University in Australia included 89 women in this study — 43 participated in the exercise portion; the control group did not.

Exercisers did a 12-week home-based program. It included weekly resistance training sessions and 30 to 40 minutes of aerobic exercise.

Researchers found that patients who exercised recovered from cancer-related fatigue more quickly during and after radiation therapy compared to the control group. Exercisers also saw a significant increase in health-related quality of life, which could include measures of emotional, physical and social well-being.

“The amount of exercise was aimed to increase progressively, with the ultimate target of participants meeting the national guideline for recommended exercise levels,” said study leader Georgios Mavropalias, a postdoctoral research fellow in the School of Medical and Health Sciences.

“However, the exercise programs were relative to the participants’ fitness capacity, and we found even much smaller dosages of exercise than those recommended in the [Australian] national guidelines can have significant effects on cancer-related fatigue and health-related quality of living during and after radiotherapy,” Mavropalias said in a university news release.

The Australian national guidelines for cancer patients call for 30 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic exercise five days a week or 20 minutes of vigorous aerobic exercise three days a week. This is in addition to strength training exercises two to three days a week.

About 1 in 8 women and 1 in 833 men are diagnosed with breast cancer during their lifetimes, according to Living Beyond Breast Cancer, a Pennsylvania-based nonprofit organization.

The study showed a home-based exercise program during radiation therapy is safe, feasible and effective, said study supervisor professor Rob Newton, a professor of exercise medicine.

“A home-based protocol might be preferable for patients, as it is low-cost, does not require travel or in-person supervision and can be performed at a time and location of the patient’s choosing,” he said in the release. “These benefits may provide substantial comfort to patients.”

Study participants who started an exercise program tended to stick with it. They reported significant improvements in mild, moderate and vigorous physical activity up to a year after the program ended.

“The exercise program in