Pets can improve your Heart Health

Owning a pet can bring on more responsibility, but the benefits for one’s overall health and wellness can be a game changer! Coming home from a busy day at work and getting greeted by a dog wagging its tail is like experiencing unconditional love everyday. When dogs and cats interact with humans the body releases a hormone called oxytocin– also known as the “cuddle hormone.” And the real benefit of owning a pet is that you just might live longer than people who do not own a pet. Drawbacks are that you will also have to clean animal hair off your clothes and your house more regularly. A study published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, suggest that dog ownership was linked to a 21% reduction in the risk of death – over the 12-year study period for people with heart disease. Other studies also support the link of pet ownership to good health. Owning a dog can reduce blood pressure and improves one’s cholesterol levels-which may help improve cardiovascular (heart) health. One reason for this outcome is that owning a pet increases one’s physical activity. Regardless of the weather and other excuses for staying inactive, getting out regularly to walk the dog is simply good for your health. For those suffering from depression, walking the dog is a good way to socialize and meet with other people in your neighborhood.

For those who have never owned or fear owning a pet, there are many breeds of cats and dogs that may fit your lifestyle and personality. Talk with a pet expert, your primary care provider or a veterinarian before you decide on adopting a pet. Do not let the cost of pet ownership be a barrier to adopting a pet. Local organizations like the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), the state and county have low cost vet clinic programs to help. When growing up, my father would take our dog ‘Mageddo’ and cat ‘Fuzzy’ to the fire station every year for their check-up and shots. Animal Health Center clinics provide low cost vet care that can spay/neuter your pet, administer shots (vaccinations) and offer animal check-up wellness packages. That being said, pet food can be expensive too but buying in bulk is a good way to keep costs down. Overall, pets can improve your overall quality of life.

TOVA Community Health

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Primary Specialty Care

302-429-5870 

www.tovacommunityhealth.org

TOVA Support Group is cancelled for January 15th & résume back in February. Stay Warm!

TOVA Community Health
302-429-5870 ext. 120
www.tovacommunityhealth.org

Managing Stress during and after the Holidays

Tis the Season to be Jolly?  The holiday season often brings unwanted emotional stress, grief and depression.  Often the demands of shopping, parties, baking, cleaning and entertaining guests and  family can be overwhelming.  Especially for individuals suffering with a chronic medical condition or an illness.  Minimizing stress that accompanies the holidays can make the season more jolly. Although not an easy task,  set a  realistic budget for shopping.  Then try to stick to it.  Remember, you can never buy another person’s happiness.  Homemade gifts made from the heart can also go a long way.  Have a back-up plan if a dish does not come out as intended.  

                  2020 Resolutions
Remember, spending time with family & friends is most important.  Donate to a charity in memory of a loved one who has made a difference in your life.  Or, volunteer some time at a local non-profit that is making a difference in your community.  Other tips to help manage stress  include: learn to say no, get plenty of rest, and try not to overindulge at gatherings.  January is a good month for scheduling a Wellness Exam with your Primary Care Provider too.  For more tips, go to tovacares.blogspot.com.

TOVA Community Health

Primary Specialty Care

www.tovacommunityhealth.org

302-429-5870

Vaping Lung Injuries are on the Rise

    A mysterious outbreak of lung injuries is sweeping the nation!  The use of  black market marijuana vaping devices offers a glimpse as to what might be making people sick.  As of November, 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports  2,290 cases of e-cigarette or vaping, product use associated lung injury (EVALI) in 49 states.  Of the states reported, there have been 10-49 known lung injury cases in         Delaware.  What’s all the craze?  The vast majority of patients reported  using illicit products containing Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.  Patients with reported lung injuries may have used products mixed with potentially illicit  substances, such as marijuana.  Lung fluid samples of hospitalized patients with a diagnosis of  EVALI identified vitamin E acetate, a sticky chemical additive in the lungs. The vitamin E additive in the THC-containing e-cigarette, or vaping products can cause lung injury when inhaled but not when used on the skin.  These products were claimed to be sold on the black market in  pre-filled vape cartridges largely found in counterfeit brands.  Amid the growing alarm of  lung illnesses and increases in youth-vaping rates, some states are rushing to enact bans and restrictions on flavored and nicotine vaping products. 

    Industry and Trade Groups state that the black market THC products may come from distributors who buy empty cartridges then fill them with THC mixtures disguising them in the package.  Investigations are  continuing nonetheless.  The CDC recommends that people not use THC-containing e-cigarette, or vaping products. Adults who continue to use an e-cigarette, or vaping products, should carefully monitor themselves and see a healthcare provider immediately if they develop respiratory symptoms such as cough, shortness of breath, chest pain.  For more   information, go to www.CDC.gov.

   TOVA Primary Specialty Care

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www.tovacommunityhealth.org

302-429-5870

City of Wilmington Economic Development deserves a Healthy Community too: Neighborhood Medical Home

William Hicks Anderson Community Center longs for economic development
and resources for an redevelopment. The Neighborhood Medical Home aims
to improve the community’s health by improved access to social and vocational
services in the center. My vision is to get this once thriving community, now
blighted and sick, back on its feet. Real estate development is happening all
around the city which includes a $45 million investment in a bike trail on the
Riverfront, a $100 million Governor Printz development project, a $10 million
project to re-locate the Rodney Square transit hub, a $20 million new Baynard
Stadium and a $65 million state bond for real estate developers. As an
alumnae, I even watched in awe as the University of Delaware allocated $180
million to build a biotechnology center. The university, however, was not

interested in investing resources to support access to quality primary specialty

care in a ‘One Stop Shop,’ which was something that I advocated for.

Delaware citizens are sicker than most average states, with higher rates of

chronic disease (obesity, heart disease and diabetes) in part driven by poverty,

food scarcity, homelessness, underemployment and violence. Our state is

consistently ranked among the states that spend the most on health care, yet

have poor outcomes. Independent Primary Care Practices once a mainstay to

help reduce healthcare costs are at risk of closing up as administrative costs

become unbearable. Without changes and investment in primary preventative

care, it is estimated that Delaware’s total health care spending will more than

double from $9.5 billion in 2014 to $21.5 billion in 2025. Transferring $3 million

dollars to this project would pay for the new building construction and would

create three full-time city employee jobs who would have health insurance, a

pension, sick and vacation time and union representation. As the legendary

music icon and activist James Brown sang, Get Up, Get Into It and Get

Involved. We can do this! To find out more information about the Beatty Place

project go to www.tovacommunityhealth.org or call the Mayor’s or the New

Castle County Executive’s office.

Dr. Nina Anderson, Chief Editor

Jay Cooperson, AIA, Cooperson Associates

TOVA Community Health
Primary Specialty Care for the Whole Family
#tovacares

Primary Specialty Care

www.tovacommunityhealth.org

302-429-5870 ext. 120

Get Your Limited Edition of renown artist CJ Smith- Great Gift Idea. Proceeds benefit the TOVA Sickle Cell Fund

   CJ Smith is a contemporary abstract style artist whose style of black art depicts the lives & struggle of African-Americans in an urban society.  Having grown up in Chicago, IL in the 1980’s, CJ Smith’s love for art was an avenue to express himself creatively.  He        attended college and honed his arts skills even though majoring in communications.  He decided to go into the military & served in the US Airforce for  20-years in Korea & in the U.S.  Now retired from the military, he has renewed his love for art as a form of  relaxation, therapy & healing.  

    CJ Smith would like to have his art exhibited in the world’s most important metropolitan museums.  But for now, he is most proud of providing working families with the opportunity to purchase affordable quality black art for their homes.  I want to thank artist CJ Smith for commissioning such a powerful piece of art for TOVA & raising Sickle Cell Awareness.     Limited Edition Prints $75.00 (9"x18")                                                                   

                                                               

                                                       

CJ Smith aka Craig Smith lives in Tampa, Florida.  For more information about his art, he can be reached at Craigj123@aol.com

TOVA Community Health

Primary Specialty Care

302-429-5870 

www.tovacommunityhealth.org/

Gene Therapy towards a Cure for Sickle Cell Anemia

   So much work has been done in Sickle Cell Disease research over the last decade. Most recently, doctors in the U.S. are utilizing an innovative gene-editing technique called CRISPR to cure patients with Sickle Cell Disease. In Sickle Cell Disease (SCD), a single-genetic blood disorder causes the blood cells to form an abnormal, sickle shape. Researchers are using cells taken from a patients’ own bone marrow that have been genetically modified with the CRISPR technique. This editing technique helps individuals to permanently produce a protein called Fetal Hemoglobin (a hemoglobin that does not make the blood sickle). Fetal Hemoglobin, is typically only made by fetuses and babies for a short period following birth. Ideally, this protein will compensate for the defective sickle gene protein that causes SCD, therefore helping patients to live a normal life. This treatment is very new so there are a lot of unknown risks. The clinical trials (studies) that are being conducted are just a first step, with a lot more work to be done in the future. It will likely take years before determining whether Gene Therapy is a universal cure and if the benefits last a lifetime. But CRISPR has enabled scientists to make very precise changes in the DNA of the sickle gene, which may lead to new ways to prevent as well as treat other diseases. Recently, CRISPR Therapeutics has revealed for the first time that the treatment might be promising for Beta Thalassemia, a genetic blood disorder. Beta Thalassemia patients may require regular transfusions to treat their condition. A patient enrolled in a research study has not required a blood transfusion in more than four months! While the research surrounding CRISPR is just beginning, it is still very exciting for persons living with Sickle Cell Disease as well as other chronic genetic disorders. We will certainly keep an eye on these studies as they progress. For more information, go to www.nhlbi.nih.gov.

TOVA Community Health

Primary Specialty Care

302-429-5870 ext 120

www.tovacommunityhealth.org