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CHECK THE FORECAST OCTOBER 16, 2020
AIKEN-AUGUSTA’S MOST SALUBRIOUS NEWSPAPER • FOUNDED IN 2006
Here’s the scenario: it’s almost time for your daily walk. You do this like clockwork every day at the same time. On this particular day it has been raining buckets for hours, and as your start time approaches, the downpour has eased off only a little. You check the forecast and the rain should stop in about a couple of hours, three or four at the most. You are going to walk, and at your regular time. There is no changing that. But here’s the question: are you going to take an umbrella or wear rain gear of some kind? Here and there nearby it isn’t raining as hard as it was earlier, and it’s pouring now, but it’s going to stop in a few hours. So what will you do? Our research says that 99 percent of all Examiner readers will take an umbrella, wear rain gear, or both. What does this have to do with anything? For most of this year so far, the entire world has been grappling with an unprecedented storm known as COVID-19. It has been pouring since at least
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March and April, but lately it seems like the storm is starting to weaken in some places. According to some of the more optimistic forecasts, it could be brought under control soon — but right now it’s still figuratively pouring. A similar question comes up again in this situation: are you going to wear protective gear? That is, are you going to continue to regularly wash your hands? Will you still wear a mask in public places as health experts recommend? Are you still going to keep your distance from others and avoid all unnecessary exposure to large groups of people? Affirmative answers are important because, unfortunately, the virus isn’t really weakening. Just a week ago (Oct. 9) a record for new cases worldwide in a single day (350,766) was set, breaking by almost 12,000 cases the previous record, and that record was only a few days old. Weather and the coronavirus share an important feature: they are unaware of city limits, county borders, state lines, and even international borders. A line on a map offers virtually zero protection, but there is a tendency we
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AUGUSTAMEDICALEXAMiNER
THE FIRST 40 YEARS ARE ALWAYS THE HARDEST
OCTOBER 16, 2020
The
Money Doctor DON’T FIGHT THE FED
PARENTHOOD by David W. Proefrock, PhD
Your 12 year-old son has a problem getting home when he is supposed to. He’s never extremely late, but always seems to be 15 to 20 minutes late. You have no evidence that he is getting into trouble when he’s away from home, he’s just never on time. What do you do? A. Don’t do anything except remind him that he is late. Children play and it’s easy for them to lose track of the time. There’s no reason to be overly strict. B. Make sure he has a watch. Tell him the exact time you want him home and if he is even 1 minute late, restrict him for a week. C. Have a talk with him about why it is important to be on time. Include that fact that you worry about him when he’s late and that he should take pride in meeting expectations. D. Tell him that being late is a problem that must be addressed. Make sure he has a watch. Then cut his play time by ten minutes for every five minutes he is late. If you answered: A. If he were only late occasionally, this response would be fine. When it happens all the time, however, it should be addressed directly. B. This response is too harsh. A week is a long time to a 12 year-old and it’s possible that what he learns from harsh punishment may not be what you want him to learn. C. It is always good to talk and explain to your child. However, when the problem is this consistent, more is needed. D. This would be best in this situation. There’s enough of a consequence that it’s meaningful, but it’s not too harsh. He will have a better chance to learn with a shorter punishment. Long punishments or being grounded for a lengthy period of time defeat the purpose of the consequence. You want your children to learn something important. Long punishments mean fewer opportunities to learn. + Dr. Proefrock is a retired clinical and forensic child psychologist.
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The function of the Federal Reserve (“The Fed”) and how their actions are affecting financial markets. We all know the election season has emotions running high. Everyone is hyper focused on the election, however there is another part of the government that has tremendous and probably more influence on financial markets. The Federal Reserve gets a lot of press and has certain responsibilities and duties that affect the financial markets. The purpose and responsibilities of the Fed include four general mandates: 1. Influence money and credit conditions to pursue full employment and stable prices. 2. Regulate and supervise banks and financial institutions. 3. Maintain stability of financial systems and minimize systematic risk. 4. Provide financial services to the US Government and financial institutions. The Fed is basically the bank of the United States. Why are we talking about the Fed? Well, interest rates have dropped to historically low levels and the Fed has influence on long-term rates, and certainly affects short-term rates. The Fed influences markets by doing three things: set short-term interest rates, affect long-term interest rates, and disseminate pertinent information. 1. The Fed is able to set short-term rates. These short-term rates are the rates that banks are charged to lend and borrow money from each other. 2. The Fed can affect long-term rates. This is done by buying long-term bonds. The supply and demand of selling long-term bonds affects rates. Lately, the Fed has been all buying. This is known as expanding or shrinking their balance sheet. 3. The Fed disseminates pertinent information. The Fed publishes The Beige Book just
prior to its eight annual meetings. The Beige Book has information gathered internally and externally on items such as gross domestic product, inflation, cost of goods, and other important stats. Numbers one and two include changes to interest rates, and these certainly affect the financial markets. This is done by making bonds alternately more or less attractive. If interest rates are lowered, then bonds, particularly compared to equities or stocks, become less attractive since a better yield can be derived through income producing stocks and equities. That is what has happened recently: since interest rates are at historic lows, there has been a tail wind for the equity or stock markets due to the low interest rates that can be earned on fixed income. Lower interest rates have made real estate a more attractive and affordable investment. Conversely, there are certainly times when interest rates are high. That would represent a headwind for stocks or equities, because the safety or relative assurance of interest on bonds is certainly a beneficial thing. The Fed has tremendous influence. The influence of the Fed on the global economy cannot be understated. They are the US bank, but in many regards, they are the world bank as well. The US dollar and economy are still the gold standard of the world economy. This is evidenced by the careful and nuanced communications from the Fed. The good news is that the Fed has done a good job of communicating their plan to support financial markets over the coming 36 months, which is a positive thing for our financial markets. This election season take a break from all the negativity and spend some time learning how the Fed is working hard to support our economy. + by Clayton Quamme, a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) with AP Wealth Management, LLC (www.apwealth.com). AP Wealth is a financial planning and investment advisory firm with offices in Augusta, GA.
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AUGUSTAMEDICALEXAMiNER
OCTOBER 16, 2020
FORECAST… from page 1
have as humans to dismiss an outbreak that isn’t in our own backyard with, “Oh that’s in Georgia (for instance), and I’m in South Carolina,” or vice versa. “That’s in Europe. They’re thousands of miles away from us.” Since the breeze blows across those invisible lines on maps, no one living in an area with low COVID cases should feel somehow immune from the possibility that their numbers might suddenly surge. Speaking of Europe, their version of the CDC, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has established a coronavirus alarm threshold which is triggered at 20 cases per 100,000 people on a 7-day average. For anything above that, the agency says, the risk of infection with COVID-19 is high. So how is Europe doing right now? In its weekly report issued on Oct. 9 the ECDC said there were are some bright spots. Four to be exact: Germany (18.4 cases per 100,000), Finland (15.5), Cyprus (14.6) and Norway (13.9). They are the only EU countries below the “safe” case threshold. Elsewhere in Europe the picture isn’t good at all: the Czech Republic (167.6 cases per 100,000); the Netherlands (140.3); France (120.3). Before you say (or even think), “but that’s way over in Europe,” remember that this pandemic started a lot farther away from us than Europe, yet in one way or another it still plunked down on all of our CSRA doorsteps. Locally, Georgia has reported almost 8,500 new cases in the 7 days ending on
Does hand sanitizer “expire”?
And quit smoking while you’re at it!
Oct. 12, a 20 percent jump compared to the previous week; the number for South Carolina during that same period is a little more than 5,800, representing a 7-day increase of 35 percent. Nationwide, the CDC reports 344,500 new cases in the past week. Do those numbers sound like it’s time to put the umbrella away? Not at all. True, life seems to be getting a little more “normal.” People are reemerging from isolation more and more. Traffic jams are back. The Medical Examiner is even printing again. But it’s still pouring outside. We still need protection from the storm. We’re all tired of the restrictions, but ignoring them will only prolong the misery. Stay the course. Stay safe. Stay alive. +
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If yours does, you may not be using it as much as you should. But maybe you bought the 5-gallon jug, so it’s a fair question. Another reason for this question was the scarcity of hand sanitizer products earlier this year. They were next to impossible to find in stores, which led many families to dig around in the pantry and in the back of shelves to find any bottles of hand sanitizer they already had on hand from prepandemic times. How old were these bottles? Would they still be effective, as their labels boasted, in killing 99.9% of germs? First, not every bottle of hand sanitizer has a “Use By” date to begin with, which makes any determination of its age or date of manufacture uncertain. What makes an effective hand sanitizer effective is alcohol, with 60 percent by volume being the bare minimum, although some have concentrations well into the 90s. As soon as a bottle is opened, and every time it is opened thereafter, some of the alcohol evaporates. That makes the product less and less effective over time. Even if the level drops below 60 percent alcohol, the solution is still doing some good. It is still reducing the number of germs, but not accomplishing the massive kill of full-strength hand sanitizer. When there is a global pandemic going on, full-strength is definitely the best option. Keep in mind, the 99.9 percent death toll (no, germ lives don’t matter) may still be offered by hand sanitizer that is past its “Use By” date if it has never been opened. Its strength may not be 100 percent of what it was the day it left the factory, but it’s unlikely that a sealed bottle has lost enough alcohol to significantly reduce its effectiveness. But something to keep in mind even more is that hand sanitizer should not be the primary weapon anyone uses to minimize their COVID risk or reduce germs for any reason. There is something more effective than alcohol-based hand sanitizer — even with alcohol content of 95 percent. When the assignment is killing a broad spectrum of germs, hand washing for at least 20 seconds with good old plain old soap and water is the most effective strategy there is. And neither soap nor water has an expiration date. +
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OCTOBER 16, 2020
AUGUSTAMEDICALEXAMiNER
#125 IN A SERIES
Who is this? ON THE ROAD TO BETTER HEALTH A PATIENT’S PERSPECTIVE Editor’s note: Augusta writer Marcia Ribble, Ph.D., is a retired English and creative writing professor who offers her unique perspective as a patient. Contact her at marciaribble@hotmail.com
P
robably very few medical historians would call this doctor one of those groundbreaking physicians who are remembered as “the father of” something. And yet Barry’s life (1789-1865) is still remembered and studied. It’s not that this doctor, James Barry, practiced without notable achievements. After obtaining a medical degree from the University of Edinburgh Medical School in 1812, Barry served in the medical corps of the British Army, eventually rising to the rank of Inspector General (equivalent to Brigadier General) in charge of military hospitals, the second highest medical office in the British Army. Barry served in many locations throughout the British Empire and is credited with improving treatment and conditions for wounded soldiers as well as poor and underprivileged populations wherever she was posted. Barry held views on subjects like nutrition and sanitation that were more 21st century than 19th century. During a posting in Cape Town, South Africa, Barry performed the first known Caesarean section in Africa by a European in which both mother and child survived. As mentioned above, Barry held very progressive views on the treatment of disadvantaged people, whether their misfortunes came from battle wounds or from the effects of poverty and discrimination, and was not known for tact or diplomacy. If Barry saw a problem at some posting anywhere in the vast British Empire, someone was going to get a verbal thrashing. One of the most notable skirmishes occurred between Barry and none other than Florence Nightingale. Visiting the Crimean War theatre during hostilities, there was a chance encounter between the two, Barry on horseback, Nightingale scurrying across what she called Hospital Square. Apparently the day was scorching, and Barry kept Nightingale standing in the sun in front of dozens of others during what Nightingale later described as a “scolding.” She wrote that Barry behaved like a brute, and was “the most hardened creature I ever met.” Maybe Barry’s harsh demeanor was overcompensating for something. In July 1859 at age 70, Barry was forced into retired by the army due to ill health and old age. After a quiet six-year retirement in London, Barry died from dysentery on July 25, 1865. That’s when things got interesting. When Barry’s body was laid out in preparation for burial, it was discovered that he was actually a she. James Barry, as it turns out, was born Margaret Ann Bulkley, a ruse undertaken with the full knowledge of her family and sponsors to permit entrance to medical school. We told you she was not “the father of” anything in medicine, didn’t we? The history books say Elizabeth Garrett Anderson was the first woman in Britain to become a physician and surgeon, but that didn’t happen until 1865. That’s the very year Barry died after having been a doctor for more than 50 years. +
by Marcia Ribble What are your thoughts on the upcoming election? Most folks are responding with relatively normal levels of dismay, excitement, hope, or other emotions. Some folks, however, no matter what the outcome, may have a more extreme response of anger or depression, violent or even suicidal thoughts. And some have a mixture of those extreme responses. An example of an extreme response occurred recently in Michigan when a number of men in state militias decided that they were going to kidnap the Governor, Gretchen Whitmer, try her for treason, convict and kill her. They also had made plans to attack the State House and Senate and violently start a war against the state. Most citizens, regardless of party affiliation, find such behavior to be far outside the boundaries of reasonable responses no matter what they may think of her policies. They may be upset by her or angry about what she has done, but they do not resort to violence. They try to limit her power and its effects on their lives by litigation or electoral efforts. Those men are in jail now, awaiting trial and the likelihood of very long prison sentences. That outcome is deserved, but they are not the only ones who will pay for their acts of aggression. If they are married, their wives and children will lose so much of their lives, too. Even with many women working, men still often contribute a lot to the family economy. Will the family lose their home as a result? Will the children experience bullying that assumes they will do the kinds of things their fathers have done? What about their parents and their friends? How will they be affected by the trials, the newspaper articles and television reports? Thankfully, Whitmer and her family are safe, but will some other person or group
decide to finish what those men started? What if the next time violent individuals are not caught in time? We all are affected when the normal boundaries of human behavior are violated. The other side of the same coin occurs when the anger and fear and pain are directed internally, and people decide that their only option is suicide. The person who chooses suicide often believes they are the only one who will be affected, but everyone in their lives will also be harmed. Today we have suicide hotlines where help can be obtained, and suicide prevented. Strategies for dealing with unbearable pain also exist. Many support groups are willing to help, providing many resources for people who want to kill themselves. We have few such mechanisms, though, for people contemplating violent responses to society’s ills. No one is there at the end of a hotline to talk them into a more positive frame of mind. Rather than helping them find better coping tools, society presents them with few viable options to save themselves, their families and friends, and all the rest of us from the tragedies they unleash. If we look only at the CSRA, at all the murders that occur, at all the families and communities which are devastated, it is clear that interventions are necessary. Mechanisms need to be put into place to help our citizens learn to control and express negative feelings in positive ways. Too many people are given tacit permission to behave violently by a society which has decided that nothing can be done until after a murder is committed, that our only recourse is to put the bad guys in prison after their deeds. The police have been working to reduce the number of guns, but that’s not enough when our citizens are dying. The health of our communities is at stake. +
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AUGUSTAMEDICALEXAMiNER
ADVENTURES IN
Middle Age BY J.B. COLLUM
ventures in middle age. It was me, Dad, and my buddy Chuck on the camping trip. Chuck brought his popup camper and we parked it down by the creek on our property, deep down in the woods. With Dad’s snoring reputation (he sounds like a roaring bear in a cave) com-
just asked you “Are we there yet?” five minutes ago. He is going to ask again no matter what you say or do. The cold and an urgent bladder finally got so bad that I got up to do something about it. I voided my bladder and looked for a blanket in my backpack but did not find one. I realized that I had left it at home and again, being essentially lazy, I opted to improvise rather than walk to the house and back. I found a hoody and a large bath towel in my pack and decided those would have to do. Those two, along with utter exhaustion, finally allowed me to fall asleep despite the strange noises coming from the surrounding nature and Chuck’s pop-up. However, when I finally awoke in the morning, I learned about how a middle-aged body feels when it is left out too long in the cold. I felt as stiff as my leather baseball glove did after I left it outside in a rainstorm on a cold winter night. Except that, unlike me, I am sure my baseball glove felt no pain. Yes, my father and I and our friends are getting older and the infirmities are adding up, yet as his Alzheimer’s makes him forget even more, and my aches and pains increase with each passing day, we can still find joy in life in our quest to enjoy experiences old and new, and to ever increase in showing love toward one another and in finding the humor in even the saddest aspects of our existence. Like persistent bladders in the middle of the night. +
THE
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When there is a family member with Alzheimer’s in your life, especially living in your home, you may think that there is little to no joy to be had. And sometimes it does feel like that, but I tend to look for things to laugh about and this helps tremendously. When you yourself are aging and feeling the infirmities that are included for free with your membership to the middle-aged club — while also trying to help care for someone with dementia — it is even more difficult. My father is several years in since his diagnosis and we have noticed the pernicious progression, yet we find ways to cope and even to laugh. In fact, there are some advantages that I have mentioned in past columns, or at least I meant to. (I don’t have Alzheimer’s, but my memory certainly isn’t what it used to be.) One of the ways it has proven to be enjoyable is seeing the joy in my father’s eyes every time we get to tell him some good news, even though we already told him about it the day before, or maybe even fifteen minutes ago. Sometimes he remembers it, but usually he doesn’t. My brother and I have been telling him about a trip to Clarks Hill we have booked for him in a cabin at the end of October, and every time we tell him about it again “for the first time” he gets excited and asks the very same questions. I plan on taking a lot of videos so that I can let him relive the trip afterward when he forgets. Who knows, maybe after a few hundred viewings they can burn a persistent path in his synapses. That reminds me of a prior camping trip with dad not too long after his diagnosis and early in in my own ad-
{
You could have heard the snoring 100 yards away.
bined with Chuck’s legendary snoring, combined with passing gas as I mentioned in a previous column, I opted to stay outside the camper in a hammock tent. It seemed a lot safer. It has mosquito screens built in and was quite comfortable — until it got cold, that is. Chuck had a heater in his camper, but I was stuck out in the cold. I had blankets but they proved inadequate to the task. However, being lazy and having experienced the difficulty in getting out of the hammock on a previous trip to the closest tree to empty my bladder, I lay there shivering for quite a while. It wouldn’t have been quite so bad if I could have fallen asleep, but even being some distance away from the camper, I could hear Dad and Chuck snoring in perfect disharmony. The other thing that made it difficult to sleep is the fact that at my age, once my bladder gets a couple of drops in it, it starts pestering me to go to the bathroom. I argue with it and say something like, “the last time you said you needed to go, you couldn’t even muster a semi-respectable trickle. You’re just going to have to wait!” However, it is always futile. My bladder is like a kid on a long drive that
J.B. Collum is a local novelist, humorist and columnist who wants to be Mark Twain when he grows up. He may be reached at johnbcollum@gmail.com
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OCTOBER 16, 2020
OCTOBER IS NATIONAL BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH
That makes it the perfect time to note that cancer hasn’t stopped for COVID-19. While many of us rightfully delayed mammograms due to immediate COVID-related concerns, medical imaging centers have resumed offering mammograms and are taking all possible steps to keep patients safe. For those who have put off scheduling your annual mammogram, now is the time to check with your doctor, ask what risk-reduction procedures they have in place, and reschedule your appointment. It’s smart to know your risk factors and play it safe – but now that means getting your mammogram and other preventive health screenings that may save your life. Dr. Michelle Lee and Dr. Karen Panzitta, Associate Professors of Radiology in the Breast Health Center at Augusta University Michelle Lee, MD Associate Professor of Radiology Section Chief, Breast Imaging Medical College of Georgia (706)721-3234
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WE’LL TAKE CARE OF THE DOOR
WHAT’S BEHIND THE DOOR IS UP TO YOU
by Kim Beavers, MS, RDN, CDCES Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, Chef Coach, Author
Peach State Pesto
This southern style pesto is great on pizza, pasta, or sandwiches! Use 2 teaspoons on your veggie or turkey sandwich for a delicious condiment.
Ingredients • 1 cup uncooked raw chopped collard leaves with stems removed • 1 cup fresh basil packed • 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil • 1/4 cup pecans • 2 garlic cloves • 1/2 teaspoon salt • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
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Directions In a food processor, slowly add collard greens and basil while the blade is turning. Add olive oil in a steady stream, then add the nuts and garlic. Process until desired consistency is reached, keeping the pesto slightly thick. Add salt and pepper to taste.
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Yield: 6 Servings (Serving size: 2 tablespoons) Nutrition Breakdown: Calories 200, Fat 22g (3g saturated fat), Sodium 100mg, Carbohydrate 1g, Protein 1g.
Diabetes Plate Plan: 4 Fats.
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RELATIONSHIPS OR RECOVERY? by Ken Wilson Steppingstones to Recovery
Yes, you read the title correctly! The word is OR, not IN. I’m writing this column to those of you who are in early recovery, whether or not you are the addict/alcoholic or maybe you’re a newly divorced spouse whose marriage has ended due to the ravages of addiction. At such a time, emotions are bouncing all over the place. A variety of feelings – the fear of being alone, rejection, hate, anger, insecurity, ad infinitum – rule the roost at this time. The feelings seem to be especially acute when recovery from addiction is added to the mix. The closest family of feelings I can think of that’s most closely akin to the dissolution of a relationship involving addiction is the case of recovery from an affair: feelings of betrayal, lost trust, doubt, hope, powerlessness, ad infinitum. Recovery from an affair and addiction, then, have practically identical emotions and recovery challenges. I have a letter in my file, for instance, from an Affected spouse to her Afflicted spouse that reads something like this: “I am SO angry with you for having a girlfriend that you kept secret from me for years. When I found out, it explained why we are so poor – you gave her our hardearned money that we needed
for home expenses. You spent hours and hours of time with her, on weekends especially, sometimes not even coming home for days. You wouldn’t answer your phone when you were with her. Then when I found out about her you promised you’d never see her again but you did…again and again. I didn’t know whether to divorce you or love you in spite of her. I was aghast when you moved her into our home because her name is Cocaine.” You can only imagine how long it takes a spouse like this to recover from the betrayal of addiction! And often there is no recovery of the relationship and it goes the way of marriages in this millennium which is a 50% divorce rate (interestingly, the same statistics for Christians as for non-Christians these days). What now? Over the past 33+ years in the rehab business, I’ve seen a common thread weaved over and over. The alcoholic or addict whose marriage has ended due to the behavior triggered by his/her condition goes to rehab and… you guessed it…falls in love with someone in rehab! I mean, it’s understandable, right? “My wife just didn’t understand me. She kicked me to the curb despite our vows. She won’t let me see the kids without supervision. She won’t forgive. But you! You understand! The same thing happened to
THIS IS YOUR BRAIN A monthly series by an Augusta drug treatment professional
you! We should get together! We’ll be perfect for each other! We’ll accept and understand each other!” And this begins a wild ride on the merry-go-round of love — or at least what feels like love. There’s no feeling quite like the feeling of someone who absolutely “gets” you! Whether in treatment or meeting at self-help groups early in recovery, egos and defense barriers and boundaries drop rapidly with sharing similar mutual stories, identifying with another wounded soul, and determining to have a new start with the “right” one now. just realized I can’t cover the solution in this month’s column…if you find yourself in these lines, can you wait another month before making a major decision in your life? It could determine which side of the divorce/stay married 50/50 you fall on! +
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AUGUSTAMEDICALEXAMiNER
DON’T LICK THE BEATERS Useful food facts from dietetic interns with the Augusta University MS-Dietetic Internship Program
BOOST YOUR IMMUNE RESPONSE WITH NUTRITION by Verónica T. Colón Pardo B.Sc., Graduate Student Intern, Augusta University
COVID-19 has made itself known worldwide, affecting all parts of daily life and bringing about new challenges never before faced by our generation. In the U.S. alone, the virus has continued to leave its impression as cases reported are greater than 7.5 million. For this reason, as we take the necessary steps to reopen the country and live alongside the virus, we must focus on protecting our health and the ones of those around us. By using personal protective equipment (PPE), we help to create a physical barrier against infection. Yet without a healthy immune system, the chances of becoming infected and potentially suffering from other COVID-19-related issues grow immensely. A lifestyle that includes eating healthy foods and exercising regularly are necessary for a strong immune system. Consuming nutritious foods helps immune cells, lowering the risk of infection and sickness. The foods we eat determine what nutrients will work together to keep our body systems in tip-top shape. Here are 5 foods that you can add to your daily meals that will help to do just that:
Kiwi Citrus fruits like the kiwifruit are known to have high amounts of vitamin C, which is a powerful antioxidant
that helps to protect our cells against infection. Just one medium-sized kiwi contains 79% of the Daily Value for vitamin C, making it an ideal (and delicious) immune system booster. Try adding this superfood into fruit salads and smoothies for an extra kick in nutrition.
Spinach This leafy green is full of antioxidant vitamins A, C and E, that are all necessary for immune support. Spinach is also high in iron, which plays a big role in the growth and development of immune cells. Spinach is considered to be one the most versatile foods. You can add it to pizzas, soups, stirfry recipes, smoothies, and the list goes on.
Shellfish Shellfish are great sources of an important immune system booster called zinc. Zinc is needed for the buildup of immune cells. Oysters in particular have the highest amounts of zinc among all shellfish: 6 medium oysters provide 291% of the Daily Value! Crabs, lobsters, and mussels are also rich in zinc and can be enjoyed in many different dishes like lobster bisque and stuffed crabs.
Sunflower seeds Sunflower seeds are packed with vitamins and minerals like phosphorous, magnesium, vitamins B-6 and E, and especially selenium. Eating just one ounce of sunflower seeds provides 41% of the Daily Value for selenium. This mineral is useful in the fight against viral and bacterial infections and is identified as a strong antioxidant. Sprinkle sunflower seeds on your salads, yogurts, cereals or just have them as a light snack. You’ll be sure to gain some of their immune-boosting powers.
Red bell peppers Without a doubt, red bell peppers are one of the best sources of vitamin C. Half a cup of this sweet pepper is enough to give you 106% of the Daily Value. That’s about 3 times more vitamin C than a medium-sized orange. Additionally, they are full of beta carotene which has antioxidative properties. Throw them in your sandwiches, soups, salads... the possibilities are endless. By eating a combination of different fruits and vegetables every day, as well as whole grains, healthy fats, and lean meats, you supply yourself with the right tools to fight against infections and keep your body strong. Along with immune system support, healthy eating has many health benefits ranging from weight loss to helping prevent or lessen the impact of conditions like diabetes and heart disease! Remember, being mindful of your food choices will help support your health as we move forward with COVID-19. So don’t forget! During your next grocery run, choose more of these delicious, nutritious immune-boosting foods! +
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COURSE
More Americans have died on US roads since 2000 than in World Wars I & II combined
W
Well, I guess now we know one of the reasons why. Hardly anybody will even pour a glass of water in the safety of their own kitchen without giving it their undivided attention — even though what’s the worst that could happen? — but we will regularly allow ourselves to be distracted while driving. According to figures released earlier this year by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, distracted drivers were a factor in 8 percent of all fatal crashes, accounting for more than 2,800 deaths and 400,000 injuries in the most recent year compiled (2018). Those are staggering numbers when you consider that most if not all of those of those deaths and injuries were completely avoidable. 2,800 people would be alive today if they had simply put two hands on the wheel and two eyes on the road. It just isn’t that difficult. And it can be accomplished in 5-second increments. On average, sending or reading a text message takes a driver’s attention off the road for roughly 5 seconds. At 55 mph that means traveling the entire length of a football field without looking at the road. No wonder texting while driving increases the risk of an accident by 23 times. According to a 2018 report by the National Safety Council, 1,600,000 accidents are caused by texting while driving each year, a number that represents approximately 25% of all car crashes in the U.S. What is the solution to this ongoing tragedy? Laws aren’t the answer. It is illegal to so much as touch a cell phone while driving in Georgia (with limited exceptions, such as calling 9-1-1), yet a quick look around in traffic any day of the week will tell you that law is routinely ignored. The answer is much more personal than that. It lies with every individual driver — you and me — deciding we are not going to drive while distracted. Period. We’ll never know for sure, but one of the lives we save might be our own. +
{
e will gladly admit, the question about milk is an odd one, but we’re still asking it. Would you start to pour milk into a glass on your kitchen counter and then look away while you’re still pouring, say for 5 seconds? Not a milk drinker? No problem. Same question for coffee: would you start to pour a cup and then look away for 5 seconds while you continue to pour? One-one thousand, two-one thousand, three-one thousand, four-one thousand, five-one thousand. In the unlikely event you answered yes, the next question is, do you think you’ll need a mop to clean things up, or will paper towels be enough? In all likelihood, however, most of us realize it would be pretty foolish to pour a glass or cup of anything without watching what we’re doing for 5 whole seconds. It’s amazing to think that many people will look away for that long and longer while their vehicle hurtles down an interstate highway or travels through a residential neighborhood. What are they doing? Fiddling with the radio. Eating a cheeseburger. Texting. Reaching into the glove compartment. Looking at the kids in the back seat. Making a phone call. Entering a destination in their GPS. Adjusting their heater or AC settings. It’s not easy to think of many potentially dangerous activities people address as casually as they do driving. People don’t cut down trees while eating a sandwich. They don’t re shingle roofs or operate bulldozers while talking on the phone. They don’t look up things on Google or rummage for a favorite CD while fighting a three-alarm fire. But they will do all those things and more while driving, which, lest you’ve forgotten the subhead of this very article, has killed more Americans just since the year 2000 than World Wars I and II combined.
{
Would you pour a glass of milk without looking?
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9 WAYS TO TEACH CHILDREN RESPECT by guest columnist Warren Umansky, Ph.D. Behavioral Health Specialist • Augusta, Georgia
1. Start as early as possible. But it is never too late. 2. Model respect for them by your actions and words. 3. Talk to your children face to face. Put away the tablets and cell phones. 4. Never accept disrespect in actions or words from your children. Never allow your children to argue with you. Talk to them right then about your expectations for their behavior. 5. Take your children to places where there are rules for good behavior: church, temple, synagogue or mosque; library; theater; restaurant; store. Tell them in advance what behavior is expected. Don’t use electronics to control their behavior. Children who grow up with regular exposure to these settings with expectations made clear to them will not have problems when you are not around. 6. Expect that your children will be respectful to family members, other adults, their siblings, and other children. Let them know when they are doing right and provide rapid guidance when they are not doing right. 7. Spanking or yelling at your children is not a respectful or effective way to teach good behavior. 8. Dress your children up for some occasions and to go to certain places. If your children are disrespetful or show poor behavior at school, start dressing them up for school (pants, shirt, and tie, for example). 9. Sit down to a meal as a family at least three times a week (without TV or electronics on). Teach and model good manners beginning early in life. But again, it is never too late. +
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AUGUSTAMEDICALEXAMiNER
The blog spot From the Bookshelf — posted by Russell Johnson, MD, on October 10, 2020
DO YOU REALLY WANT TO THANK A HEALTHCARE WORKER? “I can’t wait until we have a COVID vaccine and can get back to normal life,” the patient lamented. “Well, there are several vaccine trials starting in Los Angeles this month if you want to volunteer,” I offered. The patient’s face contorted as if I had sworn in church. “Oh, I never get vaccines, ever. Not even the flu shot, and I’m a schoolteacher!” I sighed, “If there was ever a year to get your flu shot, this is the one.” Every year around this time, a not-so-novel viral infection brings patients in droves to clinics and hospitals. Between November and January of last year, I saw hundreds of adults and children with nasal swab-confirmed influenza virus: sometimes as many as 20 patients a day. Their illnesses ranged from mild—sniffles and a cough—to severe: admitted to the hospital and critically ill. Admittedly, I did see people with influenza who had received their flu shot; last year, the flu shot was only an estimated 39 percent effective at preventing influenza, according to the CDC. But that was not the majority. And the vaccinated patients tended to have milder courses than those who had not received the influenza vaccine, consistent with CDC data. My clinic was at capacity throughout the entire flu season last year, so we developed an informal system to keep up with the volume. If a patient had upper respiratory symptoms or a fever, the nurse would obtain a flu swab before I even saw them. I could triage a positive case home or to the hospital-based on their vital signs and a quick exam. Despite our highly efficient system, I could not possibly have seen more patients each day, and by late December, I was running on fumes. So was our clinic staff. A vacation refreshed me for the next month of influenza season, which led directly into the COVID-19 pandemic. Like many health care workers, I have not taken a significant break since. We have all felt the added weight of caring for patients during a pandemic. While we don’t know if current social distancing practices or the circulation of COVID-19 itself will decrease the burden of influenza this respiratory season, one truth remains certain: we cannot afford to have a dual surge of COVID-19 and influenza cases. Health care workers like myself already feel stretched thin as we head into this flu season: a dual surge would push us to the brink, not to mention our patients and communities. We all need to do our part to prevent this from happening. Beyond following social distancing and masking recommendations until we have a more permanent solution, that means getting a flu shot. No vaccine is perfect, and each year’s flu shot is a best guess, but it does work on a population level to decrease influenza morbidity and mortality. Decreasing the burden of influenza infections this year translates to preventing critical surges of patients, saving lives, conserving health care resources, and protecting health care workers who are risking their own health every day. While we appreciate the generous discounts offered to health care workers, PPE donations, and the nightly celebrations of our work during the first wave of the pandemic, we need more than that from the public. So, give a genuine thanks to health care workers this year. Don’t just clap. Go out and get your flu shot. +
If ever there was a year, this is it.
Russell Johnson is an internal medicine-pediatrics physician.
I heard this book being discussed on a radio program a few weeks ago and I was instantly intrigued and knew I wanted to read it. The subject of PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder) has been on the short list of topics for Medical Examiner cover stories for quite awhile. It’s a fascinating topic on its own merits, but we in Augusta live in what is, by some measures, a military town. Statistically, we have the likelihood of facing PTSD issues much more than people in many other cities. However, as this book reminds its readers, psychological trauma is not exclusive to the military. It is experienced by crime victims, members of families splintered by domestic violence, and victims of rape, molestation and abuse, to mention just a few. PTSD is a curious affliction: why does a person continue to relive a terrifying event years, even decades, after it happens? Why, long after the danger has passed and the person is safe and sound and has been for hours, days, weeks or years, do they continue in the grasp of the original terror? In short, how can distant memories —
even some we thought were forgotten long ago — become more important than the reality of today? One of the keys to unlocking that secret, van der Kolk says — and which is alluded to in his book’s title — is that the machinery of the entire body is involved. Experiences that cause emotional trauma are not just emotional or mental, even if there are no physical scars. In other words, “post-traumatic stress isn’t ‘all in one’s head,’ as some people suppose.” The entire body’s response to the original trauma comes into play, not just the mind’s. Having said that, the book’s glimpses into the power of the mind to create alternate realities, even from something as generic as an inkblot, are
dramatic, illustrating the mind’s ability to superimpose one scene on top of another. That can just as easily happen at the dinner table as in a psychiatrist’s office. This is an extremely important topic in today’s world, and for us, living in a center of both medicine and the military, one that many more of us should become conversant in. As van der Kolk says, for every soldier who serves in a war zone abroad there are ten children right here at home who are living through their own war of neglect or abuse. They could be our relatives or neighbors. van der Kolk does his part for us: he seems to take pains to avoid the complex medical terminology of his profession, and when he does use a technical word or phrase he explains it clearly and simply. This case-history-filled book knows the score in a game that affects countless lives. + The Body Keeps the Score: Mind and Body in the Healing of Trauma, by Bessel van der Kolk, MD, 464 pages, published in Sept. 2014 by Viking. NOTE: This review appeared previously in the Examiner.
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The Examiners +
by Dan Pearson
We have never watched so much television as We should shop for a we have since this cheaper streaming service. pandemic started.
I know the most expensive streaming service right now, but not the cheapest.
Any ideas?
What’s the most expensive?
PUZZLE
ACROSS 1. Nashville music org. 4. Band 9. Event for 1-D 14. Member of Congress (abbrev) 15. The ear’s exterior (Anat.) 16. Therefore 17. Godless 19. Pass into law 20. Eye part 21. Very small quantity 22. Mr. Solo 23. Son of James Brown? 25. Covering with ceramic squares 28. Carpet installer’s need 32. Impair 33. Double-______ 36. Published defamation 37. Stunned admiration 38. I-20 division 39. Bundles 40. Thrust with a knife 41. Illustrative craft 42. He passed Aaron 43. 4th moon of Jupiter 44. Mamie’s partner 45. Savior 47. Pay as due 49. Think 53. Red or Black follower 54. Not as much 57. Great English architect 58. Prepares for publication 60. Ford, for instance 62. Metal fastener 63. Pertaining to a region of perpetual snow 64. Easter prefix 65. Prophets 66. Don, one-time MCG exec 67. The slightest bit; even one
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Click on “MYSTERY WORD” • DEADLINE TO ENTER: NOON, NOV. 2, 2020
We’ll announce the winner in our next issue!
E X A M I N E R
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by Daniel R. Pearson © 2020 All rights reserved.
S U D O K U
DIRECTIONS: Every line, vertical and horizontal, and all nine 9-square boxes must each contain the numbers 1 though 9. Solution on page 14.
by Daniel R. Pearson © 2020 All rights reserved.
DOWN 1. Former Augusta D.A. 2. Beginning for a former local publication 3. Plant pest 4. Ground Position Indicator abbreviation (Aviation) 5. Going up 6. “She’s ______ his ways.” 7. Intensive care ending 8. Nocturnal South American rodent 9. Summerville nickname 10. Kidney adjective 11. Lifeless 12. Yellow Jackets’ conf. 13. Permit 18. Ancient Jewish sect 24. Eccentric 25. Lower digits 26. Governor in Mogul India 27. Diving bird 29. Antelope 30. Mañana has one
Simply unscramble the letters, then begin exploring our ads. When you find the correctly spelled word hidden in one of our ads — enter at AugustaRx.com
31. Corpulent 33. Orwell’s real last name 34. Charles, former Richmond school superintendent 35. It can be the start of care 39. An Afrikaner 40. Astute 42. October health focus 43. Turner of note 46. Book of texts for Mass 48. Hamper 50. James Brown follower 51. Mortise partner 52. _______-level 54. Nurses under RNs 55. Eubanks of The Family Fold 56. Mr. Ballesteros 58. Trauma pt. destinations 59. Tool and ____ 61. The Land of Lincoln (abbrev.)
Solution p. 14
QUOTATIONPUZZLE T O O E S C G E M E R G T E H V B E R O O R A
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— French playwright Moliere
DIRECTIONS: Recreate a timeless nugget of wisdom by using the letters in each vertical column to fill the boxes above them. Once any letter is used, cross it out in the lower half of the puzzle. Letters may be used only once. Black squares indicate spaces between words, and words may extend onto a second line. Solution on page 14. by Daniel R. Pearson © 2020 All rights reserved
Use the letters provided at bottom to create words to solve the puzzle above. All the listed letters following #1 are the first letters of the various words; the letters following #2 are the second letters of each word, and so on. Try solving words with letter clues or numbers with minimal choices listed. A sample is shown. Solution on page 14.
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F B 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 A N 1 2 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
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1.SWWONNFALIPT 2.UUHSRNIAIROO 3.RREECKLOON 4.FVELTNRY 5.EEEBAI 6.AARRV 7.SLREO 8.RL 9.S
SAMPLE:
1. ILB 2. SLO 3. VI 4. NE 5. D =
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by Daniel R. Pearson © 2020 All rights reserved
WORDS NUMBER
1
THE MYSTERY WORD The Mystery Word for this issue: WOBLE
College. © 2020 Daniel Pearson All rights reserved.
EXAMINER CROSSWORD
OCTOBER 16, 2020
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AUGUSTAMEDICALEXAMiNER
THEBESTMEDICINE ha... ha...
A
Moe: What starts with “O” and ends with “nions,” and makes people cry? Joe: That’s easy. Onions. Moe: No, Einstein. Opinions.
Moe: What do you call a French person wearing sandals? Joe: I give. What? Moe: Phillipe Phillope.
Advice Doctor ©
Moe: What did the scout leader say after he fixed the horn on his car? Joe: I thought the Boy Scouts filed for bankruptcy. Moe: Just answer the question! Joe: Ok, I’ll take a guess. “Beep repaired.”
guy with a Ph.D. in Medieval Art History walks into a bar and yells, “Who called Moe: My parents named me after my older for the cab?” brother. Joe: Really? It was announed that Chuck Norris caught Moe: They sure did. But before my younger COVID-19 today. brother, of course. COVID-19 will be quarantined for two weeks. Moe: That joke you told during our Zoom A guy goes to the store to get a lightbulb and asks the clerk, “Do you have any two watt bulbs?” “For what?” the clerk replies. “I guess that’ll do,” the man says. “I’ll take two.” “Two what?” Confused, the man says, “I thought you didn’t have any.” “Any what? “At this point, sure,” says the guy.
The
meeting was totally lame. Joe: You think so? Moe: It wasn’t remotely funny. Moe: Well, Halloween should be really interesting this year. Joe: You mean because of social distancing and everything? Moe: No, because everyone refuses to wear masks. Moe: I know one thing, my doctor is really into Halloween. Joe: What makes you say that, all the decorations at her office? Moe: No, because she said my hemogoblin count needed to be higher. +
Why subscribe to theMEDICALEXAMINER? What do you mean?
Staring at my phone all day has had no Effect on ME!
Because try as they might, no one can stare at their phone all day.
Dear Advice Doctor, I love my wife, but she has a habit that drives me up the wall. She has a very contentious relationship with her mother, yet for some unknown reason they talk on the phone every day. Correction: they argue every day. Then the same thing happens after every call: she’s mad at the world, but she vents her spleen by yelling at me. I’m 100% innocent, but I’m the most convenient target. How can we break this cycle? The Cycle is Vicious Dear The Cycle, You definitely raise an interesting point, one that I think many people ponder from time to time. After all, I would say that nearly everyone has heard of the spleen, but how many people know what its function is, or even where it’s located in the body? My guess: very, very few. So let’s see if we can rectify that situation. The spleen has three main roles. #1: it cleanses blood. It contains cells called phagocytes which devour viruses, bacteria and other microorganisms. The phagocytes or macrophages also devour old red blood cells and red blood cells that are misshapen. The components of those cells are stored and recycled by the spleen. That’s pretty amazing all by itself, isn’t it? #2: your spleen is one of the places where B-cells and T-cells are produced. These lymphocytes produce antigens that attack infecting organisms as key elements of the immune system. #3: the spleen stores one-third of the platelets in our body. Platelets are responsible for clotting blood and thereby controlling bleeding. The spleen is adjacent to the stomach on the upper left side of the body and is its location near the surface makes it vulnerable to injury. A ruptured spleen can cause serious life-threatening internal bleeding and is a life-threatening emergency. An injured spleen may rupture immediately after an injury, or in some cases, days or weeks after an injury. As vital as its various roles are, it is possible to live without a spleen, although someone who has had their spleen removed (a splenectomy) is vulnerable to infections. I hope this answers your question. Thanks for writing! + Do you have a question for The Advice Doctor about health, life, love, personal relationships, career, raising children, or any other important topic? Send it to News@AugustaRx.com. Replies will be provided only in the Examiner.
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BEFORE READING AFTER READING
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THE MYSTERY SOLVED The Mystery Word in our last issue was: THORACIC
...cleverly hidden in the photograph in the p. 16 ad for SOOS BENEFITS GROUP
THE WINNER: DAWN SPRAGUE! Want to find your name here next time? If it is, we’ll send you some cool swag from our goodie bag. The new Mystery Word is on page 12. Start looking!
OCTOBER 16, 2020
AUGUSTAMEDICALEXAMiNER THE PUZZLE SOLVED C R A I G
M E T R O
B L A I R
L A R K E
E D R I S E
A G P P H E I I S D S O E D I N D N E T B E R N D E S E A I T S V E T E R S
R I S I N G
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U N I T
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T H E H T I T O O L I B E L L E S D S T E E M E I D E S S R E S I I V A L N E L L
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I N A N I M A S T H E R E A W R D E N A
A L C E C T N A W A B
G R E B E
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SEE PAGE 12
The Celebrated TheSUDOKUsolution MYSTERY WORD CONTEST 1 2 9 8 3 7 4 6 5
...wherein we hide (with fiendish cleverness) a simple word. All you have to do is unscramble the word (found on page 12), then find it concealed within one of our ads. Click in to the contest link at www.AugustaRx.com and enter. If we pick you in our random drawing of correct entries, you’ll score our goodie package! SEVEN SIMPLE RULES: 1. Unscramble and find the designated word hidden within one of the ads in this issue. 2. Visit the Reader Contests page at www.AugustaRx.com. 3. Tell us what you found and where you found it. 4. If you’re right and you’re the one we pick at random, you win. (Winners within the past six months are ineligible.) 5. Prizes awarded to winners may vary from issue to issue. Limited sizes are available for shirt prize. 6. A photo ID may be required to claim some prizes. 7. Other entrants may win a lesser prize at the sole discretion of the publisher. 8. Deadline to enter is shown on page 12.
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Love to stare at your phone? Visit issuu.com/ medicalexaminer and stare away.
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6 2 3 5 8 1 4 9
2 9 1 3 5 6 7 8
8 1 9 4 7 5 3 2
7 3 2 8 6 4 9 1
QuotatioN QUOTATION PUZZLE SOLUTION “The greater the obstacle the more glory in overcoming it.” — Moliere, 1622 — 1673
WORDS BY NUMBER
Pro football is like nuclear warfare. There are no winners, only survivors. — Author unknown
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Dr. Eric Sherrell, DACM, LAC Augusta Acupuncture Clinic 4141 Columbia Road 706-888-0707 www.AcuClinicGA.com
ALLERGY Tesneem K. Chaudhary, MD Allergy & Asthma Center 3685 Wheeler Road, Suite 101 Augusta 30909 706-868-8555
CHIROPRACTIC Evans Chiropractic Health Center Dr. William M. Rice 108 SRP Drive, Suite A 706-860-4001 www.evanschiro.net
COUNSELING Resolution Counseling Professionals 3633 Wheeler Rd, Suite 365 Augusta 30909 706-432-6866 www.visitrcp.com
DENTISTRY
Jason H. Lee, DMD 116 Davis Road Augusta 30907 706-860-4048
IN-HOME CARE
Floss ‘em or lose ‘em!
Steven L. Wilson, DMD Family Dentistry 4059 Columbia Road Martinez 30907 706-863-9445
DERMATOLOGY
Everyday Elder Care LLC Certified Home Health/Caregiver 706-231-7001 everydayeldercare.com Zena Home Care Personal Care|Skilled Nursing|Companion 706-426-5967 www.zenahomecare.com
LONG TERM CARE
Georgia Dermatology & WOODY MERRY www.woodymerry.com Skin Cancer Center 2283 Wrightsboro Rd. (at Johns Road) Long-Term Care Planning I CAN HELP! Augusta 30904 (706) 733-3190 • 733-5525 (fax) 706-733-3373 SKIN CANCER CENTER www.GaDerm.com
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Sleep Institute of Augusta Bashir Chaudhary, MD 3685 Wheeler Rd, Suite 101 Augusta 30909 706-868-8555
TRANSPORTATION AMBULANCE • STRETCHER • WHEELCHAIR
706-863-9800
VEIN CARE Vein Specialists of Augusta G. Lionel Zumbro, Jr., MD, FACS, RVT, RPVI 501 Blackburn Dr, Martinez 30907 706-854-8340 www.VeinsAugusta.com
Karen L. Carter, MD Medical Center West Pharmacy 1303 D’Antignac St, Suite 2100 465 North Belair Road Augusta 30901 Evans 30809 706-396-0600 Your Practice 706-854-2424 www.augustadevelopmentalspecialists.com www.medicalcenterwestpharmacy.com And up to four additional lines of your choosing and, if desired, your logo. Parks Pharmacy Keep your contact information in this 437 Georgia Ave. ARKS convenient place seen by thousands of HARMACY N. Augusta 29841 patients every month. Steppingstones to Recovery 803-279-7450 Call (706) 860-5455 for all the details! 2610 Commons Blvd. www.parkspharmacy.com Augusta 30909 706-733-1935
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OCTOBER 16, 2020
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Pictured above (from left to right), John Cook, MD; Lauren Ploch, MD; Jason Arnold, MD; Caroline Wells, PA-C; Chris Thompson, PA-C
2110 Woodside Executive Court Aiken, South Carolina • 803-644-8900
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