Head Injuries in Children

Seasoned parents Jesse and Nicole Rodriquez aren’t surprised when their adventurous kids get hurt. When they took their youngest son, 10-year old Samuel, to the doctors to get stitches after an accident, panic set in as the doctors called a medevac to transport him to a highly trained pediatric neurosurgeon, Tanya Minasian, DO, FACS, at… Read more »

Clarifying Hospice vs. Palliative Care

When you think of hospice care, what comes to mind? For many, it is associated with the end of life – a time when a loved one is close to death and receiving special care in their final days or weeks. However, hospice care can also be received long before the final days of life.… Read more »

Diabetes and Your Oral Health

Maintaining your oral health is essential to your overall wellbeing and can help prevent pain and infections in the mouth. However, did you know that people with diabetes are at a higher risk for both early-stage gum disease (gingivitis) and advanced gum disease (periodontitis)?  Diabetes affects the body’s overall ability to process sugar. In type… Read more »

Leaders Changing Medicine

In September, I was honored to attend The Plantrician Project’s Plant-Based Nutrition Healthcare Conference. It was inspiring to be among so many practitioners from around the world stepping beyond conventional medicine to learn about incorporating nutrition and lifestyle into their practices. The goal of the annual event, now in its 10th year, is to educate… Read more »

The Value of a Second Opinion

Your doctor walks into the room with your test results. She looks concerned. The symptoms you’ve been worried about indicate a serious problem and she wants you to start a regimen immediately. You can’t think, your heart is racing and your first instinct is just to follow orders. On the contrary, consider this: your doctor… Read more »

Salivating for Good Health

Saliva plays a huge role for oral health, yet remains one of the most neglected factors considered in overall health. You may ask, how does it affect my overall health?  Saliva is an extracellular fluid carrying essential enzymes that aid in the break down of food particles in the first stages of digestion. It is… Read more »

Keep Breathing

Keep breathing. Sounds so simple, doesn’t it? And yet, so profound. Last summer we were blessed with the opportunity to spend six weeks in our travel trailer visiting family and friends in Washington State. In an RV park near Seattle, I noticed a gentleman sitting on a rock wall every morning as I walked our… Read more »

Coping with Holiday Blues

The holidays are here, and we are all looking forward to a “normal” season after two years of pandemic. Holidays remind us of spending time with family, enjoying good food and being merry. But that isn’t always the case for everyone.  This time of year, nearly 10% of Americans report seasonal affective disorder and many… Read more »

Desert Regional Residency Program

This past June, Desert Regional Medical Center’s (DRMC) Graduate Medical Education (GME) program graduated 19 resident physicians including the first in their seven-year neurological surgery program. The class included eight in emergency medicine, eight in family medicine, three in neurological surgery and one in emergency ultrasound. DRMC’s residency program initially launched in response to the… Read more »

Halitosis: What Causes Bad Breath?

One of the most common oral health concerns for patients is halitosis, also known as bad breath, which can often lead to uncomfortable situations. While common, many who suffer are unaware of the causes and often simple treatments to address the problem.  While many causes are harmless, bad breath can sometimes be a sign of… Read more »

The Simple Things

As our worlds have opened after COVID, and I have regained my health after cancer, I have contemplated what sustained me through these past couple of years. What I concluded is that the simplest of things have been the most important. Somehow noticing the daily gifts present all around me makes me feel most alive… Read more »

Sepsis: A Medical Emergency

Vacation plans were set, and Kate had a UTI (urinary tract infection) starting. Her doctor prescribed an antibiotic, and the family hit the road. Day three of the trip, she developed a fever and felt light-headed with lower-than-normal blood pressure. Since she also has diabetes, her doctor sent her to the emergency room – she… Read more »

How Well is Your Workplace?

This past June, HARC held their annual Workplace Wellness Symposium entitled, “We’re all in this together – Navigating Through Changing Times.” The virtual event featured four experts on the topics of work-life balance, diversity equity and inclusion, stress management at work and much more. This valuable program is beneficial to anyone managing a team and… Read more »

Exercising for Brain Health

In 2017, The Lancet published a study that found nearly 3% of all Alzheimer’s cases may be caused by a lack of exercise. Since then, there is growing research identifying the protective effect of physical activity against aging-associated dementia. Some evidence also suggests exercise can increase the levels of neuroprotective growth factors, boost the generation… Read more »