A chance trip to Holland (before the warm weather) allowed one reader the opportunity to catch Holland’s famous lighthouse, Big Red, surrounded by snow and ice. The broken concrete in front is what remains of the Holland State Park pathway which was damaged in a November 2019 storm.
Do you have a photo you would like to considered for photo of the week? Then email it to Managing Editor Joanne Bailey-Boorsma at joanne@wktv.org.
The burning discomfort behind your breastbone that moves up toward your neck and throat. The bitter or sour taste of acid in the back of your throat.
Heartburn.
It’s caused when acid from the stomach flows backward, or refluxes, up into the esophagus, irritating the throat, vocal cords and entrance to the lungs.
For most, it’s a minor annoyance. But for some, it’s a sign of gastroesophageal reflux disease, a condition that could lead to even more serious health problems.
How can you tell?
Here’s a simple self-test developed by a panel of experts from the American College of Gastroenterology:
1. Do you frequently have one or more of the following:
2. Do you often experience these problems after meals?
3. Do you experience heartburn or acid indigestion two or more times per week?
4. Do you find that antacids only provide temporary relief from your symptoms?
5. Are you taking prescription medications to treat heartburn, but still having symptoms?
If you said yes to two or more of the above, you may have GERD. To know for sure, see your doctor or a gastroenterologist. In most cases, an endoscopy should be performed to evaluate the severity of GERD and identify the possible cause.
Up to 20 percent of Americans suffer from typical symptoms of GERD, noted Praveen Sateesh, MD, a gastroenterologist with Spectrum Health Medical Group. These symptoms include:
While heartburn is the classic symptom, an estimated 65 percent of people with GERD experience atypical symptoms.
“These lesser-known symptoms are important to note because patients and their doctors may not associate them with reflux disease,” Dr. Sateesh said. “They therefore don’t pursue appropriate treatments.”
Atypical symptoms of GERD include:
Over time, Dr. Sateesh said, inflammation caused by GERD wears away the lining of your esophagus and can cause some serious complications:
To learn more about acid reflux and heartburn, including treatment tips, watch Dr. Sateesh on Fox 17 Morning Mix.
Reprinted with permission from Spectrum Health Beat.
By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org
As a YMCA community collaboration director Aly Rickman often talks to residents along Division Avenue about the importance of living healthier and having an active lifestyle by purchasing more fruits and vegetables and walking their community.
“Many times the residents say it’s too difficult because of the traffic and safety issues along Division,” Rickman said.
It was for that reason that Rickman along with several Division Avenue residents and business owners attended a series of Silver Line Transit Oriented Development Study open houses Thursday and Friday (Feb. 27 and 28) that took place at several Division Avenue business such as Wei Wei Palace, New Beginnings, Brann’s Steakhouse, and Supermercado Mexico.
“I think it is very important to get the community together to talk about what their vision is for Division,” sad Javier Olvera, President and Co-Owner of Olvera Enterprises, which owns Supermercado Mexico. For Olvera, he said he would love to see more green space with trees and plants along Division Avenue to help make the area a more welcoming place.
Getting input from the people who live and work along Division Avenue is an important element to the study, said Bill Kirk, a business affairs specialist for The Rapid. When the Silver Line was launched in 2014, it was looked at as a catalyst for potential economic ground development leading into the downtown area. The line runs along Division Avenue from 60th Street in Cutlerville to the Medical Mile/Grand Rapids Community College loop.
“The economic investment did not come,” Kirk said, adding that the Silver Line concept, which was the first Bus Rapid Transit system in the state of Michigan, was taken from other cities, such a Cleveland, which had seen economic growth along its Bus Rapid Transit system.
A Federal Transportation Administration grant of about $900,000 along with $25,000 contributions each from the cities of Grand Rapids, Kentwood, and Wyoming, all of which have parts of Division Avenue within their boundaries, are being used to fund a study to find ways to improve affordable housing options, businesses opportunities, and neighborhood conditions in the corridor without losing much of the diversity that is part of Division Avenue, Kirk said.
The study is utilizing two major components: data on land usage and codes and input from residents and business leaders on what they would like to see along the Division Avenue corridor. The Feb. 27 and 28 meetings were the start of the community conversations, Kirk said.
Those who came to the open house had the opportunity to take a South Division Corridor Identity Survey to help determine how residents view the corridor. They also could make a Design Workshop Survey which asked a series of questions on what people would like to see along the corridor.
“It made sense to start looking along the corridor because each of the three cities, Grand Rapids, Wyoming and Kentwood, were in various stages of reviewing their master plans,” said City of Wyoming City Planner Nicole Hofert. “The City of Kentwood is wrapping up theirs, the City of Grand Rapids has its Southtown plan and us, the City of Wyoming, is working on our master plan.”
Hofert said the City of Wyoming has not addressed the Division corridor in its master plan because of the Silver Line study and that the city will most likely adopt what comes from that study. Grand Rapids also has not included it in its Southtown Corridor Improvement District plan.
To give the community an idea of what some of those improvements could be, the Oklahoma City-based private urban consultants company Team Better Block will be staging a couple of “pop ups” or temporary use of space.
“This could be a pop up shop, a pop up bike trail, a painted bike lane,” said Daniel Sperle, the Division Avenue project manager for Team Better Block. “It will be a test of what the community would like to see and how it would look within the environment.”
Kirk said the team hopes to wrap up the study by the end of the year. For now, the goal is to get as much input from area residents to help complete the study, he said.
Those interested in taking the survey for the Silver Line Transit Oriented Development Study or keep updated on the progress of the study can visit the website silverlinetod.org.
By Vista Springs Assisted Living
After retirement, you may find that you have a lot of extra time on your hands that you don’t know exactly what to do with. While having different hobbies and finding social activities can help fill the time, another thing to consider could be volunteering some of your time within your local community.
Senior volunteers are especially great for charitable programs and other organizations because your free time is more flexible than that of many other volunteers. Being able to make a difference no matter what your age is has benefits both for you and for your community. Here are some reasons why you should get involved and some different areas you can volunteer in.
There are many societal and moral benefits to volunteering your time which we are all well aware of. However, there are other benefits of volunteer work that can have a more direct impact on your life and your health.
By being engaged through activities like volunteering, you can lower your risks of memory health issues like dementia. Staying active and keeping your mind busy in healthy ways can significantly decrease your chances of getting memory diseases like dementia or Alzhiemers as you continue to age.
Senior depression and isolation is a very serious condition that can lead to a degradation of both your mental health and your general physical state. Meeting new people and remaining active in your community can help you avoid feelings of loneliness and isolation that often arise after retirement.
It can be hard to stay physically active as a senior, but volunteering is a great way to get in some more activity and movement than you might normally get in a day. From walking as you clean up litter, to helping cook food at a soup kitchen, to playing games with kids, there are plenty of opportunities for healthy activities while volunteering.
One of the simplest ways to help out in your community as a senior volunteer is helping feed the hungry through food banks, soup kitchens, food drives, and organizations like Meals on Wheels. These kinds of volunteer opportunities have a major impact on those in need.
Senior volunteers are able to understand other seniors better than younger volunteers, so there are plenty of opportunities to help seniors with dementia and memory care, socialization, and caregiving through programs like Seniors Helping Seniors.
You don’t need to have been a teacher to be able to help kids and younger people learn. Most people looking for tutoring just need someone who is willing to go at their pace and clearly explain, which senior volunteers can provide. Local schools and after-school care programs are often looking for volunteers to help with tutoring.
Teaching isn’t the only way you can help younger generations. There are many programs where you can work with youths like Foster Grandparents. Foster Grandparents provides role models and mentors for children across America who need help with reading, who have been abused or neglected, or who have disabilities, among other things.
Volunteering with animal shelters or local animal rights groups can bring your love for animals into your retirement years. Shelters are always looking for people to help take care of animals and make sure all these lovable creatures get the attention they deserve.
You can use the skills you gained in your previous career in your volunteering efforts. There are plenty of people who would benefit from your expertise in areas like:
Another big area that is in need of senior volunteers is the environment. Cleaning up litter from parks and streets in your community can make a difference not only on the environment, but in the appearance of your local community, as you are able to see the direct impact of your volunteer work.
While these are some of the most popular volunteering opportunities for seniors, there are plenty of other causes that need the help of senior volunteers. Finding a cause that is important to you helps you maintain your dedication, as the motivation behind your volunteer work strongly resonates with you.
Doing some research into your favorite causes and letting that inform which organizations or programs you reach out to can help ensure that your volunteer work is going to the people you are most proud to volunteer with. Your assistance is invaluable to many different groups, and both you and your community will benefit from your volunteer work, no matter where you focus your efforts.
Reprinted with permission from Vista Springs Assisted Living.
Nearly nine in 10 American adults lose sleep to binge watch TV, a new survey finds.
The more than 2,000 U.S. adults who took part in the American Academy of Sleep Medicine poll in September ranked sleep as their second-highest priority, with family being first.
But despite considering sleep important, 88% said they’d stayed up late to watch multiple episodes of a TV show or streaming series.
The rate was highest (95%) among 18- to 44-year-olds. Many also delay bedtime to play video games, read and watch sports, the survey revealed.
“It’s encouraging that Americans rank sleep as one of their highest priorities, but choosing to binge on entertainment at night instead of sleeping has serious ramifications,” AASM president Dr. Kelly Carden said in an academy news release.
Younger adults (aged 18 to 34) were more likely than those 35 and older to have stayed up late to play video games (72% versus 38%), and men were more likely to do so than women (59% versus 42%).
Two-thirds of respondents said they’d lost sleep to read. Women were more likely to do so than men (71% versus 61%), the survey found.
Nearly 60% of adults lost sleep to watch sports, including 75% of men and 45% of women. Adults between 25 and 54 years of age were more likely than those in other age groups to have stayed up late for overtime or extra innings (54% versus 51%).
That lost shut-eye can have serious consequences, Carden said.
“Sleep is essential to health, well-being and safety—and chronic insufficient sleep can lead to an increased risk of health problems, mood disorders and motor vehicle accidents,” she pointed out.
Losing sleep due to streaming, reading or playing video games can also lead to negative feelings. For example, 24% of respondents admitted feeling frustrated after delaying their bedtimes.
Feeling bad was most common for those in Generation Z (born in 1997 or later), who said that staying up late caused frustration (32%), worry (23%) and guilt (19%).
Such feelings can make it harder to drift off, especially if a person tries to make up for the lost sleep, according to the AASM.
The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points and a confidence level of 95%.
Reprinted with permission from Spectrum Health Beat.
By Christie Bender
Grand Rapids Public Museum
The Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) announced today that a new display will open on Saturday, Feb. 29 highlighting its newly acquired collection of toys that move. This display, located just outside the popular TOYS! special exhibition, features the magic of motion in toys.
From the ancient Chinese and Greek automatons to the clockwork marvels of the Renaissance, inventors have always searched for ways to make their creations change and move. In modern times, many German and Japanese companies specialized in making a huge variety of affordable wind-up toys. In the twentieth century, the American firm Fisher-Price became well known for its high quality wooden, and eventually plastic, pull toys, many of which are seen in this new display.
The toys featured in this collection are new to the GRPM’s permanent Collection that contains over 250,000 artifacts and specimens.They come from collector Beth Schwartz, who began toy collecting in the early 1990s when she was traveling the country as an actress/singer working in touring Broadway shows. She loved searching out new pieces for her collection, especially Fisher-Price pull toys and antique wind-ups.
“We are so grateful to the family of Beth Schwartz for donating her amazing toy collection to the Museum. Although Beth passed away in 2011, her collection will continue to delight and inspire children of all ages who visit,” said Alex Forist, the GRPM’s Chief Curator.
‘Toys that Move’ is on display on the second floor of the Grand Rapids Public Museum, and will be part of the general admission experience. The exhibit is presented in both English and Spanish.
Local Spins announced earlier this week that WLAV 996.9 FM will be bringing the popular Blues not he Mall series back to downtown Grand Rapids. The series, which will be on June 17, July 15, and Aug. 12, will feature two national headliners and a local opening act at Rosa Parks Circle. For more, visit the Local Spins website by clicking here.
This past weekend, the Urban Institute for Contemporary Art opened a new Black-History month related exhibit “A Beautiful Struggle: Black Feminist Futurism.”
The exhibit, supported by a $40,000 National Endowment for the Arts grant, is an interdisciplinary contemporary art exhibition that explores the integration of Black feminist and Afrofuturist ideas.
According the UICA website, Afrofuturisum is a creative and cultural genre that examines perspectives of the African diaspora based in a communal reimagining of theist — as well as envisioned futures — while considering themes of identity, escapism, magical realism, and technology. Black feminism focuses on the perspective of those who are both Black and female.
According to UICA, the relevancy of exploring visual representations of Afrofuturism from a Black feminist perspective rests in the understanding of the necessity to lay aside the historically exclusive nature of both Black nationalism and feminism; instead, promoting the intersectionality of Black womanhood.
The exhibit will be up through June 14. UICA is located at 2 W Fulton St. , downtown Grand Raids. For more information, visit the UICA website.
This weekend, the Grand Rapids Civic Theatre will open “Matilda, the Musical,” the tale of an extraordinary girl who uses her intellect and fantastical ability to change the course of her own destiny. The show, which is recommended for ages 8 and up due to some mature material and mild language, runs Feb. 28 to March 22. For more, visit the Grand Rapids Civic Theatre’s website.
Join Charlie Bucket, Augustus Gloop, Veruca Salt, and Violet Beauregarde as they get the chance of a lifetime to visit the famous chocolatier Willy Wonka and tour his chocolate factory in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” March 10- 15. Presented by Broadway Grand Rapids, perhaps the most famous Dahl story will be featured on the DeVos Performance Hall and includes many of the movie’s favorite tunes such as “The Candy Man” and “Pure imagination.” For more information, visit the Broadway Grand Rapids website.
Every new experience is unusual. The rest of life is just sleep and committee meetings.
Author John Twelve Hawks
By WKTV Staff
joanne@wktv.org
On Feb. 20, the Wyoming Department of Public Safety recognized several of its officers for the work they did in 2019. The 2019 Officer of the Year is Officer Marcus Donker and 2019 Civilian of the Year is Forensic Science Unit Technician Todd Masula. Congratulations to all the officers in both the police and fire departments. For a complete list of who was honored, click here.
City of Kentwood’s AMVETS Post 23, named after 2nd Lt. Lawrence Sybesma, is hosting a party to mark its 70th anniversary. The event is set to take place at 4 p.m. at the Post, located at 98 52nd St. SE. A meal will follow prepared by the Blue Star Mothers and is $7 per plate. To learn more about the post or who 2nd Lt. Lawrence Sybsema was, click here.
The City of Kentwood announced this week that it would seek a millage of 0.9 mills on the August ballot. The millage would be for a period of 10 years, which would then be reduced to a perpetual millage of 0.65 mills. The tiered millage would be dedicated solely to construct, operate, maintain and acquire parks, trails and recreation improvements and programs. For more about the millage and how it would be used, click here.
If you want to send mail to the those operating the boats on Lake Michigan then the zip code you’ll need is 48222. That is the zip code to the J.W. Westcott II, the only floating post office in the United States. Operating out of Detroit for more than 125 years, the J.W. Westcott delivers mail to the freighters that cross the Great Lakes. It service was so important that after sinking in 2001, it was salvage, refurnished and operates today. The J.W. Westcott, so named after the man who founded the company, has a contract with the postal service through 2021.
By American Heart Association, HealthDay
People who watch less TV and are physically active live more years free of heart disease, according to a new study.
Past research has shown people who are highly physically active tend to live more years free of cardiovascular disease.
But researchers of a study published recently in the Journal of the American Heart Association wanted to look specifically at how TV viewing habits fit into the equation.
Using data from 13,534 people ages 45 to 64, investigators studied three factors—how much TV people generally watched, how often they were physically active in their leisure time and how long they lived without having a stroke, heart failure or coronary heart disease.
After an average of 27 years, people who were highly active and watched little or no TV lived about two and a half years longer free of stroke, heart failure and coronary heart disease than those who often watched TV and weren’t active.
TV watching impacted health regardless of physical activity, the study found.
Those who seldom watched or never watched TV lived about a year longer free of each type of cardiovascular disease than those who often watched TV.
“This study suggests that engaging in any physical activity and viewing less TV could help you live more years free of (cardiovascular) disease,” said Carmen Cuthbertson, the study’s lead author.
“Because there’s such a large cardiovascular disease burden in the U.S., we wanted to focus on how to extend the years you live in health,” said Cuthbertson, a postdoctoral fellow in the epidemiology department at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The study was limited, she said, by the fact that participants were asked only about “leisure time” activity and not about household chores or physical activity during work or commuting.
She said she’d like future studies to incorporate wearable devices to track physical activity and sedentary time.
Bethany Barone Gibbs, a professor of health and physical activity at the University of Pittsburgh who was not involved in the study, applauded the research for focusing not on death, but on how people can live longer lives free of cardiovascular diseases.
While the results don’t prove frequent TV watching causes heart disease, she said, its findings help clarify how physical inactivity affects health.
“Studies have shown that people who sit for hours at a time develop various vascular dysfunctions—blood begins pooling in the legs and circulation gets worse, especially in the extremities, which we think causes vascular damage that can lead to the long-term development of heart disease,” said Gibbs, vice chair of the American Heart Association’s Physical Activity Committee.
“TV watching is just one domain of sedentary behavior, but it’s also a really modifiable behavior,” she said.
The study began in the late 1980s before smartphones and the internet impacted how long people sit in front of screens, Gibbs said. She called for new in-depth research into how cardiovascular health is affected by overall sitting time as well as binge-watching TV.
“Now, we can sit back and not even have to lift a finger to watch the next show on Netflix,” she said. “I think television-watching is becoming an even more important target when it comes to behavior change and reducing our risk of cardiovascular disease.”
Reprinted with permission from Spectrum Health Beat.
How Not to Die Alone
By Richard Roper
“How Not to Die Alone” by Richard Roper is a darkly comic story of Andrew whose job is to explore the homes of people discovered to have died alone. He is looking for their family and other things of value in their tragically empty lives, an emptiness echoed in his own life. Andrew must decide whether he can face his past and expose the truth of his life to himself and the other people in it, all while maintaining a witty British stiff upper lip.
– Penni at Cascade
A Dream About Lightning Bugs
By Ben Folds
This month I read “A Dream About Lightning Bugs” by Ben Folds. It’s a great read for creative types as it explores the art-making process that any art maker can appreciate and learn from. It’s fun, insightful, and interesting, especially for people who loves Ben Folds music.
– Jenny at Kentwood
High Fidelity
By Nick Hornby
My pick for this month is “High Fidelity” by Nick Hornby. My one line: “Dive into record shop owner Rob’s brain as he comes to understand why it’s ‘what you’re like’ and not ‘what you like’ that matters in life. (And no, I don’t always plug headphones into the books I’m reading.)
– David at the KDL Service Center
Because
By Mo Willems
I read the book “Because” by Mo Willems and Amber Ren. It’s such a sweet, simple story about how following your passion can inspire and change the course of someone else’s entire life.
– Ashten at Wyoming
You Are the Light
By Arron Becker
This board book is gorgeous. You’ll find a yellow sun with a halo of bright die-cut circles of all different colors. The author has a reflecting on all the things that are light, including ourselves.
– Ashten at Wyoming
For more KDL Staff Picks, visit the Kent District Library’s website, kdl.org, and click on the “Recommendations” tab on the left side.
By Emily Armstrong
Area Agency on Aging of Western Michigan
Nutrition is just one of those things…we KNOW how important it is to our overall health, but it is often one of the first priorities we let slide. Sometimes it is so much easier to grab a fast or convenient option than to take the time to prepare a well-balanced meal. According to the National Resource Center for Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Aging, 1 in 4 older Americans have poor nutrition. This occurs partially because as you age, your body’s needs change. Your metabolism tends to slow down, meaning you don’t need to consume as many calories, and your body requires more of certain nutrients than it did before; such as potassium, calcium, vitamin D, vitamin B12, minerals, and dietary fiber, all things we can get from foods. Eating well reduces the risk of developing chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease. This means it is more important than ever to choose foods that give you the best nutritional value, here are just a few things you can do to implement healthy eating habits:
By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org
It seems like it only takes a keystroke for a television forensic scientist to determine who left that fingerprint on the wall, but Wyoming Department of Public Safety Forensic Science Unit Technician Todd Masula knows better than that.
He has spent countless hours hours putting in latent prints, manually scanning each useable print and carefully marking as many small details with each print as he can find. The more details Masula’s can isolate, the greater the chance of making an identification.
“The computer does not find the match for Todd, but instead gives him a list of candidates that most closely match the latent he entered,” said Wyoming Department of Public Safety Lt. Tim Pols. “This means Todd may have to look at 20 or more candidates for each latent print he enters into the system.”
The number of prints Masula looked at last year alone were in the thousands. In 2019, of the 600 latent prints Masula entered into the new Automated Fingerprint System, 348 were identified to an individual. According to Pols, in the previous three years combined, 550 latent prints were entered, resulting in 281 identifications.
“It is hours of difficult, tedious, and often unnoticed work,” Pols said. “The latent work is in addition to the science work, photography, training and property management still required of Masula.”
It is this reason that the Wyoming Department of Pubic Safety group of civilian employees named Masula as the 2019 Civilian of the Year for the department.
Masula was recognized along with about 60 other Department officers, firefighters, and civilians during the annual Wyoming Department of Public Safety Employees Recognition Ceremony, which was held Feb. 20 at the Wyoming Senior Center. Pols, from police, and Lt. Chris Velzen, from fire, were the master of ceremonies.
Coming in during off hours to help prevent a suicide, returning a teenager safely to her home, noticing a suspicious car that leads to a drug arrest, or even spending countless hours logging latent prints are all part of the job for many of the officers, firefighters, and civilians who work for the department, said Chief Kim Koster.
“None of these officers seek out the accolades for doing any of this,” Koster said, adding this is a time for the department to recognize just what the team at the Wyoming Department of Public Safety does.
Once such officer is Officer Marcus Donker, who was recognized at the beginning of the hour-and-half event with the first two Individual Commendations for his work that lead to the recover of stolen vehicles. He also was recognized at the end of the program as the 2019 Officer of the Year.
“Since joining the Wyoming team, he has quietly earned a reputation as an outstanding police professional with a keen ability to catch criminals and a heart for serving his community,” Pols said during the ceremony.
Donker has been in law enforcement for 14 years coming from the Constantine Police Department three years ago to serve on the Wyoming Department of Public Safety. He has received praise and accolades across the board from his peers, Pols said.
A total of 12 awards were given out to about 60 officers, firefighters, and civilians. Those awards and recipients were:
Citation of Valor
Officer Phil Swiercz
Certificate of Merit
Sgt. Cory Walendzik
Officer Erich Staman
Officer Lee Atkinson
Achievement Medal
Officer Daniel Patterson
“Unit” Commendation
B Nights Shift
Sgt. Robert Meredith
Officer Aaron Gray
Officer Daniel Patterson
Officer Aaron Brooks
Officer Erich Staman
Officer Michael Nachtegall
Officer Chad Wells
Officer Andrew Koeller
Life Saving Award
EO Tom Marsman
EO Steven Boetsma
Inspector Brad Dornbos
Firefighter Daniel Royce
Firefighter Brandon Travis
Lt. Brad Deppe
Firefighters Matt Frazee
EO Lacey Koens
LT. Christopher Velzen
EO Brian Ilbrink
Firefighter Zachary Jones
Firefighter Daniel Rettig
Firefighter Jason Richardson
Firefighter Todd Yonkers
EO Daniel Deppe
Firefighter Jesse May
Firefighter Michele Kelly
Firefighter Matthew Young
Firefighter Jason Hanlon
Officer Ben Hecksel
Individual Commendation
Sgt. Ross Eagan
Officer Marcus Donker
Officer Daniel Patterson
Officer Daniel Sanderson
Officer Chad Wells
Officers Aaron Freeman
Officer Blair Shellenbarger
Officer Antonio Hutchins
Officer Lee Atkinson
Officer Joshua Yancho
Officer Christian Bomer
Officer Jacob Bylsma
Officer Brandon Knowling
Officer Ben Hecksel
Field Training Officer
Officer Daniel Patterson
Officer Joshua Yancho
Office Antonio Hutchins
Officer Dwayne Holmberg
Firefighter Anthony Bennett
Firefighter Jason Hanlon
Firefighter Jesse May
Firefighter Mike Updyke
Chief’s Award of Professional Excellence
Officer Jennifer Eby
Outstanding Police Administrative Service Award
Celia Rhodes
Citizen Commendation
Robert Prelewitz
Larisa McMartin
If you’re a caregiver for a family member, you need to look after your own mental health to provide the best care for others, an expert says.
Caregivers are at increased risk for depression and anxiety.
Clinically significant symptoms of depression occur in 40%-70% of caregivers, and major depression occurs in 25%-50% of these caregivers, according to the Family Caregiver Alliance.
“Taking time to care for yourself is not selfish. In order to have the strength to care for a loved one, it is extremely important that caregivers take care of their own physical and mental health,” said Dr. Vassilios Latoussakis, a psychiatrist at Gracie Square Hospital, a psychiatric facility in New York City.
Latoussakis offered the following advice.
Pay attention to your stress levels, he said in a hospital news release. If you find yourself crying, losing your temper or having fantasies of rescue or flight, seek help.
Stress can affect your physical health, causing problems such as headaches, sleep issues, heart troubles, high blood pressure, and elevated fat and sugar levels.
If you’re feeling the effects of stress, make an appointment with your primary care provider, Latoussakis advised.
There are a number of ways to reduce stress, including regular physical activity, relaxation techniques such as breathing, yoga or mindfulness, making time to see friends and doing activities you enjoy.
It’s important to have a support network of people with whom you can talk, confide and gripe.
Another good idea is to join a support group of caregivers where you can share concerns, practical issues and problems, Latoussakis said.
More than 34 million Americans have provided unpaid care to an adult aged 50 or older in the past year, according to the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP.
Reprinted with permission from Spectrum Health Beat.
By Vista Springs Assisted Living
When it comes to the costs associated with senior living options like an assisted living community, there are a lot of questions that family members ask themselves when finding a home for a loved one. Things may be on your mind like what are the costs associated with increased care needs, how much is the monthly room and board, and if luxuries are an additional charge.
Finding senior loved ones the best senior living community depends on knowing the answers to all of these questions and more. When thinking about ways to help finance assisted living, another common question is if Medicare, or senior health insurance available to everyone over 65, will help pay for the costs of assisted living.
So what is assisted living? How is it different from other types of residential senior living communities, like a nursing home or a senior retirement community? The biggest difference between assisted living and other senior living options is that assisted living, as the name suggests, assists seniors who need help with activities of daily living, or ADLs, while still offering them plenty of independence.
Nursing homes, which are also an example of a senior living community that offers care services for seniors, have very limited independence due to the high level of care that residents typically need. On the other hand, senior retirement communities are for retirees who do not yet need any help with ADLs.
Assisted living is a perfect medium between the two. Assisted living offers residents plenty of independence in their lives and the ability to make their own decisions, while still providing care services and ADLs assistance for things like:
To make a long answer short, Medicare does not cover assisted living costs. Medicare, for the most part, does not pay for any type of long-term residential care, including nursing homes and assisted living communities, so if one of these is the best option for your loved one, you will need to find a different way to pay than through their Medicare plan.
Medicare will sometimes pay for a short-term stay in a skilled nursing facility or for some home health care options, but senior living communities like assisted living are not included in Medicare plans. This can pose a problem for many elders, especially as the senior population often needs some sort of residential care community as they continue to age.
While Medicare doesn’t help pay for assisted living, there are some other payment options that can give your loved one assistance in covering the costs of a senior living community.
Most long-term care insurance policies will cover the expenses associated with senior living, including assisted living costs. While the popularity of the traditional version of these plans has decreased over time, there are new “hybrid” plans that might be a good investment for your loved one.
Some life insurance policies will cover assisted living costs, but it varies from plan to plan. While most of us might think that life insurance is only paid out after a death, they can offer payouts to seniors still living if they meet the plan’s qualifications.
Often times there are VA benefits that will help pay for assisted living or other residential care options if your loved one served the country. Check with your loved one’s local VA chapter for more information.
If your loved one doesn’t have any savings, or had a low income while they were working, they might qualify for Medicaid, a government program made to help cover the costs of healthcare for those in dire financial circumstances. Medicaid coverage is determined state by state, so it may or may not help depending on where your loved one lives.
If your loved one has saved enough money throughout their life, they may be able to afford assisted living costs from their savings. Planning ahead is key for this payment method, and things like waiting lists, community “shopping”, and retirement income plans are important for your loved one.
Reprinted with permission from Vista Springs Assisted Living.
By Samantha Kauffman, Spectrum Health Beat
I recently heard about two patients who ended up in the hospital with gallstones just a short while after they gave birth to their babies.
They both ended up having their gallbladders removed.
Women who experience gallstones after their child is born will typically experience this within two to four months after delivery.
More than 25 million people suffer from gallstones, but women encounter this at a much greater rate than men—and that’s before pregnancy is factored in.
You are indeed more prone to gallstones when you’re pregnant.
Why? The extra estrogen in your body. Among its various effects, estrogen increases cholesterol.
Progesterone can also lead to gallstones. This hormone relaxes tissue, including within the gallbladder.
About the size of a pear, the gallbladder is located below the liver.
Though you can live without it, the gallbladder does have its use.
The liver makes bile, which is stored in the gallbladder. When we eat food—especially high-fat food—bile is released from the gallbladder and sent to the intestines to aid in digestion.
In some cases, the bile crystalizes and forms gallstones. These can be as small as sand or as large as a golf ball.
Gallstones are usually composed of calcium bilirubinate, cholesterol and calcium carbonate.
It’s critical to understand that gallstones can cause a problem when they block ducts. They won’t allow the bile to leave, which can cause inflammation, or cholecystitis.
People may have gallstones and not even know it. Symptoms only tend to arise when the stones block or obstruct the body’s natural processes.
Symptoms include:
In the past we’ve looked at a condition called cholestasis of pregnancy, which entails symptoms similar to those experienced by gallstones.
Testing for gallstones can involve an ultrasound, which helps doctors visualize what is happening. A blood test can also reveal signs of infection.
Doctors can use CT and MRI imaging to further uncover problems.
Antibiotics may be used if there are signs of infection, but doctors may turn to surgery to remove the gallstones or the gallbladder.
There are some steps you can take to help reduce the chances of developing gallstones.
First and foremost: Eat healthy and keep your weight under control. Yes, if you’re pregnant you will be gaining weight—you are growing a human being inside you. But excess weight isn’t helpful.
Other useful tips:
Reprinted with permission from Spectrum Health Beat.
This week’s photo is of partially frozen Lake Michigan taken at Holland State Park during a Sunday sunset. The photo was taken on Feb. 24 one of Michigan’s warmer days.
Do you have a photo that you would like considered for Photo of the Week? Then send it to Managing Editor Joanne Bailey-Boorsma at joanne@wktv.org.
In Valleywood Middle School teacher Jane Van Hof’s seventh grade English class — a portrait of diversity in itself– students are studying the stories of people forced to flee their native lands. For the project, dubbed “A Refugee Story,” they are delving into research on refugees and learning about those in their community. What did they learn? Click here to find out.
Here’s a story gathering some STEAM: A group of Godfrey-Lee teachers have come up with games that are more than just play, but may create builders, engineers and life-long physical fitness buffs just by introducing unique ways to keep fit and create while doing it. To learn how they are accomplishing this, click here.
For more stories on area schools, visit the School News Network website schoolnewsnetwork.org.
By Diana Bitner, MD, Spectrum Health Beat
Heart disease can seem so distant, so unreal, and something you don’t have to worry about.
Unfortunately, it is very real, especially for women.
There’s no time like the present to start assessing your own goals on how you want to age and how you can enjoy better heart health. Where do you stand on meeting your goals? If having a heart attack is not something you want to experience, you need to act now.
Having a health goal is important and also the key to staying healthy as you age.
Making health changes such as exercising daily, changing eating habits, and practicing stress-reduction techniques can be challenging, especially if you don’t start with a clear goal.
When my patients say, “I can’t believe you are asking me if I want a heart attack; of course I don’t want a heart attack,” I show them how their actions speak louder than their words. By choosing not to exercise, eating high-sugar foods and allowing stress to rule their lives, they are actually choosing a heart attack.
The good news is that it’s never too late to get healthy, but the sooner the better.
A patient I’ll call Adrienne is living proof that heart disease can affect just about anyone.
At age 39, she suffered a heart attack—way too young—or so she thought. Adrienne was going through a very stressful time in her life and was having shortness of breath occasionally.
Adrienne thought being winded had to do with the stress she was experiencing or maybe because she was tired and had not been eating well. She would simply rest until she felt better and forget about the feeling until it would happen again. Adrienne never even considered she might be having a heart attack.
However, one day the feeling came back and persisted for a long time. When she received some especially bad news, her breathing became very labored, and she knew something wasn’t quite right. She mentioned her symptoms to her husband, and he insisted they go to the ER immediately. Just minutes after arriving at the ER, Adrienne had a full-blown heart attack.
Fortunately for Adrienne, the ER staff took her symptoms seriously. She is alive today thanks to the prompt and expert care she received that day.
Not everyone is as lucky as Adrienne.
Many women don’t get help quickly enough or they are not taken seriously when they go for help. But the facts don’t lie: More women than men die from their first heart attack and more women than men have fatal heart attacks.
As Adrienne went through cardiac catheterization, open heart surgery and cardiac rehab, she learned she had risk factors for a very long time, but never realized it. As a result, she never received the preventive treatment needed to prevent a heart attack, and she wasn’t aware of the early symptoms.
Adrienne’s shortness of breath and fatigue had been going on for more than a month, but she never knew the severity of her condition.
Adrienne began to learn more about her health and important risk factors of heart attacks. These include family history, cholesterol levels, blood sugar levels, high blood pressure, obesity, smoking, diet, high stress, inactivity, inflammation (which can be caused by diet and the presence of heart disease), and age.
In addition, activity and increased stress level can affect your risk of having a heart attack. Adrienne had risk factors she never knew she had.
Unfortunately, Adrienne’s story isn’t unique.
Too many women either don’t know the warning signs of a heart attack or ignore them because they don’t want to bother anyone.
It’s important that we know the signs and symptoms of a heart attack, especially because they are different in women than men.
Men tend to experience a heaviness, like an elephant, on their chest. They also notice a true pain in their chest that radiates to the left arm and up the neck.
Women tend to have more subtle signs. The most common symptoms for women are progressive shortness of breath on exertion or with great stress, unexplained fatigue, nausea, subtle chest heaviness, neck pain, or arm pain.
I have had patients who dismissed some of their symptoms as jaw pain from TMJ or simply sleeping funny. I have even seen patients who presented with new onset hot flashes years after menopause. After sending them to a cardiologist, they find out they have angina and they ended up with heart surgery instead of hormones.
Risk scores also help physicians predict your chances of having a heart attack in the next year, and even in the next 10 years. My favorite scoring system is the Reynold’s Score, and it can be done at home by going online to reynoldsriskscore.org.
You will need to know your family history, total cholesterol level, HDL cholesterol level, systolic blood pressure (number on top), and C-Reacting Protein (CRP) level. You will also be asked if you smoke, which is a significant cause of heart attacks.
Other tests used to assess risk include an ultrasound of the artery in your neck to determine your risk of stroke, and a CT scan of the chest to look for calcium in the artery walls.
When you have symptoms, it is important to have two tests performed: an EKG to see if your heart is suffering low oxygen from blockages, and a stress test with an ultrasound of the heart (ECHO). If you are experiencing symptoms such as chest heaviness or shortness of breath, you will want to go to the ER or call 911.
In our clinic, we use risk scores, including the Reynolds Score, to score for Metabolic syndrome. This syndrome is a strong predictor of experiencing a heart attack or stroke.
If a woman comes to us for hormone therapy and also has Metabolic syndrome or is at high risk for a heart attack, we will not prescribe hormone replacement therapy as it would put her at greater risk for a heart attack. However, if she is at low risk and does not have Metabolic syndrome, hormone replacement therapy can actually lower her risk of having a heart attack or stroke.
In the not-so-distant past, it was common for women to go to the ER with chest pain and shortness of breath, only to be told it was heartburn or an anxiety attack. It was even thought that women couldn’t have heart disease.
Fortunately, health care experts now take this issue seriously, and we are very aware that heart disease affects both men and women.
We wish that every woman knew her risk factors and made healthy choices to avoid suffering a heart attack. Too many women (and their families) suffer an unnecessary loss. Take control before it happens to you.
Reprinted with permission from Spectrum Health Beat.
By Simone Welthers
Tulip Time
Tulip Time 2020 will be the premier of the Dutch Dance Exhibit as part of the new Visual Arts Series hosted by the Holland Area Arts Council.
At this exhibit, visitors can explore a collection of some of the most exceptional and intricately designed Dutch Dance costumes in this beautiful and educational exhibit. Travel through the Provinces, to appreciate the history behind the costumes, the artistry and how the selection of materials serves to maintain authenticity, and the detailed process of their creation. Learn about Tulip Time’s Dutch Dance program, the Dutch Dance music and the dance itself. The exhibit also celebrates the 50thyear of Alumni Dutch Dance.
A fun feature has been added to the exhibit giving everyone a chance to participate. We will display a constant stream of some of the best Dutch Dance photos and we would love to include yours!
We have partnered with the Holland Sentinel to collect all of your fun photos – past and present. And, all entries have a chance to win a great prize. So start digging through all your favorite Dutch Dance memories and click this link to submit your photos: https://hollandsentinel.gatehousecontests.com/Dutch-Dance-Photo-Contest/. The contest ends March 1 at 12:00 am EST.
If you have any other fun Dutch Dance memorabilia or stories you are willing to share, send them to dutchdance@tuliptime.com or stop by the Tulip Time office at 42 W. 8th Street.
About the Visual Arts Series
Tulip Time is expressed through many art forms and now you can experience them in one location. Join us at the Holland Area Arts Council for the Visual Arts Series of exhibits presented by Alpen Rose Restaurant & Catering. The Series includes:
– Klompen Garden Public Art Project Jurors’ Pick
One ticket ($10/person) gains access to all four of these exceptional exhibits!
Even mild anemia—low levels of hemoglobin in the blood—may raise a person’s odds for Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia, a new study finds.
The same Dutch research also found a correlation between heightened dementia risk and high blood levels of hemoglobin.
“With around 10% of people over age 65 having anemia in the Americas and Europe and up to 45% in African and southeast Asian countries, these results could have important implications for the burden of dementia,” noted study lead author M. Arfan Ikram, of Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Hemoglobin is the protein in red blood cells that transports oxygen.
The new study included more than 12,000 people averaging 65 years of age. None of the participants had dementia at the beginning of the research.
Hemoglobin levels were measured at the start of the study and 6% of the participants were found to have anemia.
The participants’ health was then tracked for an average of 12 years. During that time, 1,520 developed dementia, including 1,194 who were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, according to the report published online recently in Neurology.
The study was not designed to prove cause and effect.
However, the research showed that people with anemia were 41% more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease and 34% more likely to develop any type of dementia than those without anemia, the team reported.
In another finding, people with high levels of hemoglobin were also more likely to develop dementia.
Those with the highest levels were 20% more likely to develop dementia than those with levels in the middle.
Those with the lowest hemoglobin levels were 29% more likely to develop dementia than those with levels in the middle, the research found.
In a journal news release, Ikram added that the findings could be significant, given that “the prevalence of dementia is expected to increase threefold over the next decades, with the largest increases predicted in the countries where the anemia rate is the highest.”
The question of how hemoglobin levels affect dementia risk is still unclear, however.
“More research is needed to determine whether hemoglobin levels play a direct role in this increased risk or whether these associations can be explained by underlying issues or other vascular or metabolic changes,” Ikram explained.
Dr. Satjit Bhusri is a cardiologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. Looking over the findings, he stressed that hemoglobin’s role as an oxygen transporter to the brain might be key.
“Any quick or slow loss of oxygen will lead to a cognitive decline and manifest as dementia,” he noted. Conversely, Bhusri said, “elevated hemoglobin is a reaction to some underlying disease. That disease is forcing the body to produce more hemoglobin. This can result in an increase in thickness of blood and poor flow to the brain.”
Another expert believes the findings should serve as a reminder to doctors to pay attention to even mild anemia when it occurs.
“I think that physicians should not write off mild anemia in any age group, because it clearly is associated with brain dysfunction over time,” said Dr. Guy Mintz. He directs cardiovascular health at Northwell Health’s Sandra Atlas Bass Heart Hospital in Manhasset, N.Y.
Mintz also noted that many of the participants in the study were still in their 60s and 70s, so “we are not looking at an elderly, frail group of patients.”
As for people with elevated levels of hemoglobin, he believes that in many instances this happened in response to the smoking habit.
So, the link between hemoglobin levels and dementia “can be another motivational tool to get these patients to stop smoking,” Mintz said.
Reprinted with permission from Spectrum Health Beat.
Your dog might be your heart’s best friend, if a new study is any indication.
Researchers found that compared with people who had no pets, dog owners tended to have fewer risk factors for heart disease: They got more exercise and had healthier diets and lower blood sugar levels.
Even compared with other pet owners, they were doing better with diet and exercise.
The study of nearly 1,800 Czech adults is not the first to suggest our canine friends can do our hearts good. In fact, in 2013 the American Heart Association issued a scientific statement saying that dog ownership is likely linked to a lower risk of heart disease.
That was largely based on evidence that people with dogs are more physically active. The new findings suggest the benefit might extend to diet and blood sugar levels.
It’s easy to see how having a dog could get people moving, according to senior researcher Dr. Francisco Lopez-Jimenez.
And it’s possible that dog owners’ lower blood sugar levels were related to their exercise habits, said Lopez-Jimenez, a cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
It’s less obvious, though, why dog ownership would encourage a healthier diet. One possibility is that the two are not directly related, he said.
On the other hand, past research has shown that dogs do more than demand walks and get us moving: They offer companionship and emotional support, according to Lopez-Jimenez.
“They can decrease your feelings of loneliness and give you a sense of purpose,” he said. “You have someone to look after.”
And that, he speculated, might encourage people to take better care of themselves.
Dr. Glenn Levine, a volunteer medical expert with the AHA, was lead author of its statement on pets and heart health. He said that, overall, there is “reasonably good data” that adopting a dog can increase people’s physical activity levels.
“That’s the strongest and most direct (cardiovascular) benefit,” said Levine, who is also a professor at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.
He agreed, though, that pets might support heart health in less-direct ways, too.
“There may be other benefits as well—including reduced stress, greater companionship and happiness, and other factors that could lead people to take better care of themselves,” he said.
For the study, the researchers used data from a health survey of 1,769 Czech adults, aged 25 to 64.
Overall, more than two-thirds of dog owners (67%) met the “ideal” AHA recommendations for exercise. That means 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise, or 75 minutes of vigorous activity, each week—along with muscle strengthening exercises a couple of days per week.
In contrast, only 48% of people without pets met that ideal, as did 55% of other pet owners, the findings showed.
When it came to diet, few people met the AHA ideal, which includes plenty of fruits, vegetables, beans, fiber-rich grains, fish and lean meat.
But dog owners were doing better than others: Fewer than 7% scored in the “poor” range for diet, versus 16% of people without pets and 13% of other pet owners.
Dog owners did, however, fall short in one heart-health measure: Their smoking rates were highest.
It’s not clear why, according to Lopez-Jimenez—and it might not hold true in other countries, such as the United States. In general, smoking is more common in Eastern Europe.
The bottom line, according to Levine, is that people might enjoy health benefits from having a canine companion. But the AHA does not advocate adopting a dog for that purpose.
“The primary purpose of adopting or rescuing a dog should be to give the dog a loving and caring home,” Levine said. “The health benefits that may come from this are a bonus.”
The findings were published recently in Mayo Clinic Proceedings: Innovations, Quality & Outcomes.
Reprinted with permission from Spectrum Health Beat.
The cold weather has you homebound? Well, you can still travel and have some fun with these KDL staff picks. Just watch out for the ghosts and dragons!
The Curse of Oak Island
The Story of the World’s Longest Treasure Hunt
By Randall Sullivan
I want to be believe there’s treasure buried on Oak Island in Nova Scotia, Canada, and this nonfiction book only further tantalizes the possibility! Sullivan does a great job of distilling the 200-year mystery, beginning with the discovery of the storied Money Pit and catching us up to the most recent search efforts by the Lagina brothers from Michigan. (NOTE: “The Curse of Oak Island” show is on the History Channel?
– Vivi at the KDL Service Center
The Need
By Helen Phillips
This story is sort of a blend of horror, thriller, and musing on the mundane joy of caring for small children. As a parent of a toddler and a baby, I read it at the perfect time because her language and descriptions of parenting ring so true. But even if you aren’t a parent, the tension around the plot is also very compelling and makes it a fascinating, creepy ride.
– Anna at East Grand Rapids
Delicious in Dungeon
By Ryoko Kui
I recently read a good Graphic Novel called “Delicious in Dungeon. It’s a great teen series with a new twist on exploring when the adventurers lose all of their gear and have to eat the monsters that they slay and make them into meals like “Dragon Ham” and “Roasted Basilisk”. Sounds good right?
– Tabby at Wyoming
Giraffes Can’t Dance
By Giles Andreae
Moby and friends on the bookmobile have been enjoying Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andrede and Guy Parker-Rees. It’s filled with charm and affirmation.
– Kevin Kammaraand on the Bookmobile
For more KDL Staff Picks, go the Kent District Library website, kdl.org, and click the “Recommendations” tab” on the left side of the page.
By Diana Bitner, MD, Spectrum Health Beat
Menopause is often referred to as a “perfect storm” where all the odd changes and symptoms women experience collide.
This collision creates insulin resistance resulting in increased belly fat.
At the Spectrum Health Medical Group Midlife and Menopause Clinic, we have an entire team to help women with menopause symptoms, including weight gain.
One of our team members, Irene Franowicz, is a registered dietician who practices what she preaches. She encourages healthy eating and cooking and she teaches others how to prepare healthy foods in her weight management program, Eating the Mediterranean Way with Low Glycemic Carbohydrates.
Even better, Irene demonstrates techniques to counteract the effects of aging and menopause.
Right before and during menopause, one of the most common complaints women experience is weight gain. Many of my patients say, “I am doing the same things with my diet and activity level, but I keep gaining weight.”
One of my patients—we’ll call her Sarah—has experiencing this. At age 49, Sarah struggled to stop gaining weight. She knew she already had a bit of a weight problem, and at age 45 she noticed it was becoming more difficult to lose weight.
Busy juggling family and work, Sarah would often eat on the run as she and her family headed out the door to soccer games, school events and other functions. She exercised when she could, but it wasn’t enough. To make matters worse, when Sarah was 48 years old, she broke her foot and couldn’t move around for five weeks.
Unfortunately, she gained 15 pounds during that time.
Sarah knew her risk of gaining even more weight was high, because she had two strikes against her: she had diabetes when she was pregnant and diabetes ran in her family.
When her periods became very sporadic and she started having hot flashes, she came to see us in the Midlife and Menopause Clinic. From this visit, Sarah learned she was in perimenopause and smack dab in the middle of a perfect storm.
Sarah came to the right place for answers.
We helped her understand that her low estrogen was making her metabolism worse by making her more insulin-resistant. As a result, her body was storing every calorie it could.
No wonder she continued to gain weight. She was trying very hard to make some positive changes, including getting more sleep, drinking more water and exercising more regularly. Sarah still needed more help with her diet, so we sent her to Irene’s class at Spectrum Health.
Irene centers her teaching on the Mediterranean diet because it is low glycemic, meaning it’s low in simple sugar.
Irene’s real passion is working with women in perimenopause and menopause and teaching them how to eat in a way to overcome weight gain. Her low glycemic meal plans are carbohydrate-controlled and high in antioxidants. She created the Mediterranean diet program to help the thousands of women who come to her and say, “I can’t seem to lose weight any more, even though I am eating the same.”
In her classes, Irene offers ideas for meal plans, plus recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Each week, the participants sample delicious recipes and leave with a list for grocery shopping.
Irene has seen great success in women who have adopted her Mediterranean diet program and she enjoys teaching how dietary modifications can reverse the metabolism. It’s simple—even with small weight loss, sugar levels drop.
After seeing me and then talking to Irene, Sarah was thrilled to learn we’re all teaching the same concepts.
She started preparing meals in advance and making healthy, tasty snacks for her entire family. Before too long, Sarah had lost 9 pounds and her sugar level dropped while her energy level went up—she was overjoyed.
Instead of feeling like her life was on the downslide, Sarah now envisioned a much brighter future for herself. She even considered joining Irene’s strength training and yoga classes, something she never thought she could do.
Using a team approach to health care, Irene and I often refer patients to each other. When Irene sees women struggling with hormone issues, she refers them to us in the Midlife and Menopause Clinic and we also send patients to Irene’s classes. We share our skills to provide a wide net of support to as many women as possible.
Reprinted with permission from Spectrum Health Beat.
It’s 6:10 a.m. and AJ is at a bus stop. She will have to catch another bus to get to her school before the first hour bell. AJ and her siblings are among the nearly 2,500 students that qualify as homeless in Kent County schools. A scary thing to face as AJ tells what her average school day is like. Click here for the story.
Teacher Jenna Jobin has turned Thursdays into a touch of “caa, caa, cooking fun” with a dash of learning. To discover Jobin’s recipe, click here.
North Godwin Elementary fourth-grade teacher Beth Richardson and her students have learned that open discussion about expectations on behavior has helped lead to a healthier classroom environment. Learn more about building a better classroom environment by clicking here.
First, they took a ride on an imaginary boat before entering “customs” to come to the United States. This was all part of a lesson on immigration in the 1900s that a group of Oriole Park students participated in. Travel with them by clicking here.
For more stories on area schools, visit the School News Network at schoolnewsnetwork.org.
By Tony Schnotala, LMSW for Cherry Health
Have you ever felt like you are running out of energy for life? I’m not talking about being tired after a long day, needing space after arguing with someone, getting stressed about bills, or worrying about what your boss thinks of you. I’m referring to a form of fatigue that creeps in slowly over time, somehow never fading and always getting stronger. It’s a phenomenon called burnout, a term seldom used in modern medicine, but a powerful word that reflects this problem.
Burnout is the process of dealing with chronic stress, anxiety, and mental or physical energy used that results in a person never seems to be able to ‘recharge’ and feel rested and relaxed. It’s like a single parent never having a break from caring for a newborn, whose free time is used to think about laundry, dinner, rent, and a mind full of other problems. As you can guess, a person who is constantly ‘on the go’ will eventually run out of energy. Unlike normal fatigue, burnout doesn’t allow us a chance to rest and recover. Instead, we push ourselves harder and longer until we can no longer do much of anything. Our mind and body ‘crash and burn,’ so to speak, and we may find ourselves hating our life and seeing few options.
Fortunately, burnout can be recognized as it starts to develop, and we can learn how to deal with it. Here are a few things you can ask yourself to determine if burnout is happening to you:
Preventing and recovering from burnout are similar. Here are some options to address burnout:
A final note: Anyone can experience burnout, and it takes awareness, humility, and strength to recognize our limits so we can recover from burnout. If we ignore our self and our needs, our body will force us to stop, and we may wish we were had taken actions to prevent the damage.
Reprinted with permission from Cherry Health.
This week’s photo is of the 2nd annual juried winner of the 2020 Public Art Project: Klompen Garden. The piece is entitled “To Grandpa with Love,” by Jerry and Karyn Klukos, Fennville. Their design was inspired by Karyn’s grandfather, a longtime resident of the area and avid roller-skater. His love for Tulip Time and his longtime hobby were joined in the creation of his one-of-a-kind klompen-rolschaatsen! For many years, he skated through the streets dressed in full Dutch Costume. (Pictured below.) The Klukos’ submission is a replica of his skates, with the addition of the hand-painted De Zwaan windmills on the front of each shoe.
To Grandpa With Love,” will be on display at the Holland Area Arts Council from May 2 – 10. The 19 remaining klompen will be displayed at Window on the Waterfront and compete for the Viewers’ Choice Awards. The annual Tulip Time Festival is May 2 – 10. Visit tuliptime.com for more information.
By Erin Albanese
School News Network
Nursing student Mustafa Ajanovic assisted his best friend, Bayle Delalic, through a prenatal visit, weighing in, checking vital signs, and listening for the baby’s heart tones.
He and other students in the Licensed Practical Nursing program went through the steps of a doctor’s appointment with Delalic, who is due May 21, and several other pregnant women who volunteered.
While the session was informative for expectant moms, Ajanovic said it was extremely valuable for his own experience. It’s one of many simulation activities he’s taking part in while training to be a nurse.
“I like the sim labs they provide here because they throw you into a situation and make you critically think and try to organize your time and priorities,” said Ajanovic.
Shelly Richter, nursing programs director at GRCC, credits interactive experiences — part of a new curriculum — as one reason for a jump in scores on license exams in both the Practical Nursing and Associate Degree programs. In 2019, all nursing students passed those exams — 104 associate degree nurses and 42 LPN students. It was also the largest number of students taking the exams ever in one year.
“Simulation, active learning and more engaged activities have seemed to really have an impact,” she said.
While the practice prenatal clinic involved real people, many simulation sessions use manikins that respond and talk. “We have six bed labs and an amazing simulation lab with high-fidelity manikins, so they blink and talk. We can start IVs on them, we have a (manikin) mother that can deliver a baby and an actual baby we can do Apgar scores on,” Richter said, referring to the initial assessment of a newborn’s health.
Milestones in Nursing
It’s an apropos time to reach that level of success. GRCC is celebrating seven decades of training nurses this year, with its Practical Nursing certificate program turning 70 and it associate degree program turning 50. The anniversaries coincide with the World Health Organization’s designation of 2020 as the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife, in honor of the 200th birthday of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing.
According to the WHO, the world needs 9 million more nurses and midwives if it is to achieve universal health coverage by 2030.
With classrooms located on the fourth floor of Cook Hall, GRCC’s nursing program is situated perfectly amid downtown Grand Rapids’ hub of hospitals and medical institutions, where new nurses are working in many settings and with all ages and populations.
“We continue to see a big demand for nurses. Our grads get hired 100 percent,” Richter said. “There are definitely jobs available.”
Professor of Nursing Sherry Knoppers said much of the demand for nurses is due to the aging baby boomer generation. “With a huge segment of the population reaching the age range when they need more health care, we need more nurses across the spectrum,” she said.
GRCC’s associate’s program trains three cohorts of 36 to 40 students a year, for a total of about 110 per year who are fully licensed registered nurses.
“They can apply for any RN position. Our students work in the major hospitals around here, long-term care, sub acute, community health, with inmates, with refugee populations. They work in positions including staff nurses, directors of nursing,” Richter said.
LPNs Still in Demand
While there is a waiting list for the associate’s program, Richter said students shouldn’t feel deterred. They can take prerequisite classes while waiting, and high school students upon completion of their junior year can even apply for the program to get on the waiting list, which is approximately 2 ½ years.
Practical nursing offers two cohorts of 30 to 32 students in a yearlong program, graduating 56 to 60 each year. Licensed practical nurses typically work in long-term care, physician’s offices, clinics and community centers. There is no waiting list for the LPN program.
“There is a misconception in the community that LPNs are not used anymore,” Richter said. “That is also wrong. We have so many facilities constantly calling. There’s a huge demand for practical nursing.”
The cost for the Associate Degree program is significantly less at GRCC than at four-year universities: $19,300 for residents and $38,600 for residents. The cost of the LPN program is $11,000 for residents and $22,000 for non-residents.
Nursing pays about $28 an hour for RNs and around $20 for LPNs. Many hospitals and institutions offer tuition reimbursement for students who go on to pursue their bachelor’s degree.
Hands-on and in the Moment
One of the biggest changes in nursing training in recent years has been simulation experiences, she said.
“One of our goals was to put 25 percent simulation in each course, as a minimum. That way students have the opportunity to practice hands-on in a safe setting. Students love it. They are intimidated at first, but then they realize this is a great opportunity to learn.”
During the prenatal lab, nursing student Turkesha Hankins worked with patients by taking blood pressure and adjusting beds. She’s pursuing her LPN because she already works in health care and will make $5.50 more per hour with her license.
“It’s just knowledge,” she said. “We learn a lot. Pediatrics is something very new to me because I’ve never worked in this field before, so I’m soaking in everything I can.”
Diversity of Nurses Needed
Another big change in the profession, Richter said, is the diversity of students. “This used to be a women’s profession. We are always trying to recruit males. It’s really fun. All people bring something different to the table.”
Also, the age of nursing students spans just out of high school to retirees from other careers.
“One of the best things about working here at GRCC is having a diverse group of people that we work with, diverse in race, age, socioeconomic status, background,” Richter said. “It doesn’t matter if you haven’t worked in health care.”
The programs do not use selective admissions in enrollment. That makes the 100 percent pass rate even more impressive, Richter said. Requirements are explained here.
“As a philosophy, this is an open door college,” Richter said. “As long as they have the foundation, we want to carry them through the program.”
For more information about area schools, visit the School News Network website, schoolnewsnetwork.org.
By Diana Bitner, MD, Spectrum Health Beat
The doctors at Spectrum Health Medical Group and in our OB/Gyn practice are always encouraging our patients to be physically active.
The benefits of living an active lifestyle include keeping your cholesterol, blood sugar and weight under control; preventing cancer, type 2 diabetes and heart attacks; and improving your sleep.
Even better, regular physical activity also reduces falls, joint pain and depression. It helps you feel better about yourself.
Fitness is something that can be measured and improved, and it starts with having a goal.
When I talk to my patients about fitness and goals, I am always reminded of a patient I’ll call Cathy.
While rushing from one room to another in my office one day, I came around a corner too quickly. I almost ran into a woman I didn’t know, so I excused myself.
She stopped me and said, “You don’t recognize me, do you?” I confessed that I wasn’t sure who she was, and she said, “Then you probably don’t remember what you said to me last year, either?” Again, I admitted that I did not. She continued, “You asked me how I wanted to be in the next year when I turned 50, and I had to really think about it. I decided I wanted to turn 50 and feel ‘hot’. So, I decided I would do what it would take, and I just ran my first half marathon. Now I feel ‘hot’!”
We stood there in the hallway for a few minutes and talked about her transformation, and hers was such a great story of how a single goal could change an entire lifestyle.
Cathy’s story began about a year before our chance encounter in the hallway of my office. She had come in for her annual exam, and she was discouraged about her weight and overall fitness level. She left my office that day approximately 25 pounds over a healthy weight, had belly fat she didn’t like, and wore clothes two sizes larger than she wanted.
Like many women, Cathy had a very busy work life, and she barely had time for anything besides work and family. It seemed that after a long work day, her evenings were filled with preparing dinner, packing lunches and helping her kids with homework.
Cathy would try to take a walk on the weekends, but she didn’t have time to exercise regularly, and she got winded just walking up a flight of stairs. She didn’t do any strength training, wasn’t flexible and often complained of leg cramps.
And the list of bad habits went on, including:
Cathy knew that she wanted to look “hot,” but she also knew she had a lot of planning and work to do if she was going to become the person she envisioned in her mind.
During her annual visit, I mentioned the Presidential Fitness Test (adultfitnesstest.org) as a way to find a general measure of how she compared to other women her same age. She looked it up, saw what she was up against, and created a goal to help her on her journey to better health.
Cathy’s goal: She wanted to be fit. More specifically, she wanted to be able to run at least three miles, be physically stronger and more flexible. She knew she would not only feel better about her appearance but also be stronger as she faced her next 50 years of life. Her goal kept her motivated when it would have been much easier to give up.
Of course, there were barriers that Cathy knew she would need to overcome—time, motivation, energy and knowledge. During her visit, we talked about starting small so she wouldn’t get discouraged and give up.
She took my advice and started taking walks whenever she had even a little free time—at lunch, after work (before making dinner), and after dinner. Cathy began doing sit-ups and push-ups in the morning before her shower, and stretching every night before bed.
As the weeks and months went on and she had increased energy, Cathy added more to her routine. Her walks turned into a walk/run combination, eventually running more than walking. She started with just 15-20 minutes of exercise at one time but gradually increased the time as she became stronger.
One thing that really helped Cathy stay positive was to measure her exercise by time instead of distance or speed. This proved to be very beneficial to Cathy and helped her keep working toward her goal.
It also helped that Cathy’s husband and kids supported her efforts to become more physically fit. Her husband would take walks with her at night after dinner, and her son rode bikes with her on the weekends. She even found herself wanting to go for a walk instead of grabbing coffee with a girlfriend.
Cathy’s hard work and persistence began to pay off. At that point, she had dropped one pant size, her belly fat started to decrease, and she no longer had leg cramps. More importantly, Cathy’s blood pressure improved, her cholesterol decreased, and her blood sugar made it to the normal range.
As Cathy’s activity level increased, her numbers continued to go down. She was encouraged to keep on her journey, and by the time I saw her, she had run a half marathon, gone down three pant sizes, and lost 35 pounds.
She said she’d never felt better in her life. Although it took almost a year, Cathy met her goal and turned 50 feeling “hot.”
Reprinted with permission from Spectrum Health Beat.
By Vista Springs Assisted Living
Taking on the responsibility of caring for an aging or ill loved that can no longer take care of themselves one is one that many family members take on without question. They are happy to take care of the person that, in many cases, cared for them and they will do so with complete devotion. But, even the most devoted caregiver can struggle to find a healthy balance between their own life and the duties of care giving. This is where respite care comes in. Respite care is temporary, professional care of a dependent person that provides relief for their usual caregivers.
A Commonwealth Fund study reported that 60 percent of the family caregivers surveyed, ages 19-64, reported “fair or poor” health and one or more chronic conditions or disabilities, compared with only 33 percent of non-caregivers. There are 16 million caregivers, and 9 million of those have health problems of their own.
Taking time off to care for themselves is something caregivers should consider a necessity, not a luxury. And when it’s time to take that break, they can turn to respite care services. While they may be reluctant to take a break, here are some reasons to take advantage of the respite care services offered by local assisted living centers.
When a loved one needs constant care, it’s tempting for a caregiver to shut out the world and focus on giving them the care and attention they need. But becoming socially isolated from friends can affect more than their social life. Too much social isolation can lead to feelings of loneliness, despair and eventually depression. This is often a worry in regards to the elderly if they can’t travel or get out on their own, but it is something that can affect caregivers as well. While our loved ones can be great company, it’s important to see out other interactions and nurture friendship to avoid loneliness and depression.
We already mentioned that a large number of caregivers report significant health problems. But, it should be noted that many of those health problems could be avoided if the caregiver to the time and energy to take care of themselves and not just their loved one. Taking the time to exercise, visit healthcare providers, or just get out into the fresh air can have positive effects on our health. Caregivers suffering from illness, chronic pain or other ailments cannot provide the best care possible to their loved ones.
Sometimes, being tired can be worse than being sick. Especially being over tired. And, not getting enough sleep can make our bodies more prone to illness. Nights spent listening to see if your loved one will get out of bed or fall in the night can affect sleep even if it feels like they are getting enough. It may be hard to fall into a deep sleep if you are constantly worried or on guard. Even one night away can reset your clock and leave you feeling awake and alert.
Exhaustion and illness can not only affect our bodies but our minds. If you are in charge of distributing medication or tracking the diet of your loved one, you need to be as focused and alert as possible. Letting your mind wander or become clouded can be a dangerous mistake. But if you aren’t getting enough sleep or are feeling overwhelmed, it can happen easily.
Stepping away from the trials of caregiving even for a day or two can offer a whole new outlook on life. If caregivers feel overwhelmed, exhausted or ill it can be difficult to remember why they chose to be a caregiver in the first place. By stepping away or taking a vacation, they can renew their bodies but also refresh their minds and gain a new, positive outlook on the perks and rewards of caring for their loved one.
The opportunity to refresh and renew is good for both the caregiver and the patient and should be taken advantage of. A day away here and there and vacations can help make sure that caregivers are at their peak physical and mental health. Taking advantage of respite care opportunities is a great way to take the time caregivers need to take care of themselves.
Reprinted with permission from Vista Springs Assisted Living.
By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org
Dorothy Simon-Tibbe easily admits that she was always better at giving gifts than receiving.
So it should have come as no surprise to the media crew at Faith Hospice Trillium Woods covering the special Valentine’s Day deliveries to patients that the first thing the former Wyoming resident and historian would do with her box of chocolates is open it and offer a piece to everyone.
“I appreciate being remembered,” Dorothy said. And as she passed around the candy, she added “You know I have been very blessed in that I have already received a lot of candy for Valentine’s Day.”
A small table near the doorway to Dorothy’s room has Lindt chocolates and other goodies along with Valentine’s Day notes. Across from where Dorothy sits is a large Valentine’s Day card that hints at her generosity: “No one has a bigger heart than you.”
“The reactions are all different,” said Cheryl Brink. volunteer coordinator for Faith Hospice Trillium Woods, about the annual Valentine’s Day delivery of candy to patients. “There are lots of smiles. Who doesn’t love chocolate?”
The Valentine’s Day surprise started about four years ago as an anonymous donor wanted to remember a family member and thank Faith Hospice for the care it provided. The person donated the boxes of chocolates and volunteers distributed the candy to Faith Hospice patients at the Trillium Woods, in their individual homes, and other nursing facilities where Faith Hospice oversees care.
The special Valentine’s Day surprise was so well received that every year since an anonymous donor has purchased the chocolates to be distributed to the Faith Hospice patients, which total more than 300.
“It’s just so joyful,” said Elaine Martin who once lived in the Wyoming area but now resides in Shelbyville with her husband. “There is surprise and joy. Some question where the candy came from and why. They usually smile back and sometimes invite you to sit with them for awhile. It’s a happy moment of their day.”
Upon receiving the candy, Dorothy immediately invited Elaine to sit with her and chat.
“You are probably going to say that Dorothy talked and talked and talked,” she said with a laugh, but being a former Wyoming historian and a “Wyominite” for most of her life (Dorothy originally came from the Traverse City area) had had a lot of stories to share.
She talked about her time as writer for the Southkent Advocate which lead to her getting involved with her beloved City of Wyoming. She showed off the two City of Wyoming history books she helped write “Wilderness to Wyoming” and “A City of Wyoming: A History,” along with a book she wrote for her family “Hoe Your Own Row.” She had stories of being on the city’s Planning Commission and other city committees and that “I knew every mayor and city council member…at least who was in my age bracket.”
“I have had such an incredible life,” Dorothy said. “As I look at the end of life, I am not bother by it at all. I married two wonderful husbands, had five wonderful children by birth, three foster children, 19 grandchildren, 47 great grandchildren and one great-great grandchild.”
As Elaine gets ready to leave, she gives Dorothy hug, thanks her for sharing and tells Dorothy that she will definitely have to pick up one of Dorothy’s books as she is curious about the area she once lived in.
“It’s more than just the candy,” Elaine said as she readies the candy cart for the next deliveries. “It is someone is thinking about me.”
A good mood is infectious among teens, but depression is not, a new study suggests.
Researchers looked at more than 2,000 American high school students to see how they influenced each others’ moods. They found that a positive mood seems to spread through groups of teens, but having depressed friends doesn’t increase a teen’s risk of depression.
In fact, having plenty of friends in a good mood can halve the chances that a teen will develop depression over six to 12 months. Having a lot of happy friends can also double the likelihood of recovering from depression over the same time period, the researchers found.
However, the study could only show an association between happy friends and a lower risk of depression or a faster recovery from depression. It cannot prove a cause-and-effect relationship between these factors.
“We know social factors, for example living alone or having experienced abuse in childhood, influences whether someone becomes depressed. We also know that social support is important for recovery from depression, for example having people to talk to,” study author Thomas House, a senior lecturer in applied mathematics at the University of Manchester in the U.K., said in a university news release.
“Our study is slightly different as it looks at the effect of being friends with people on whether you are likely to develop or recover from being depressed,” he added.
These findings suggest that promoting friendships, through such activities as social clubs, might help guard against depression, House noted.
“This was a big effect that we have seen here. It could be that having a stronger social network is an effective way to treat depression. More work needs to be done but it may that we could significantly reduce the burden of depression through cheap, low-risk social interventions,” House concluded.
Reprinted with permission from Spectrum Health Beat.
People in north Michigan are not different at all from people in southern Alabama. Trust me, someone who’s spent a lot of time in both places. They’re all hardworking, simple people.
Musician Kid Rock
By WKTV Staff
joanne@wktv.org
The 28th Street Metro Cruise organizers announced this week that Woodland Mall will be a second main event spot for the 2020 28th Street Metro Cruise. The new location, which will be open only on Aug. 22, will feature a wide array of collector, sports, and antique cars along with other activities. Of course the main event will remain at Rogers Plaza and will include many of the activities that are popular at the 28th Street Metro Cruise. For more information, click here.
Stating Jan. 1, Metro Health – University of Michigan Health, Mercy Health and Michigan Medicine launched the new initiative the Cancer Network of West Michigan. The initiative is designed to integrate cancer care services in West Michigan with the goal of bringing broader access to advanced, state-of-the-art, comprehensive diagnosis treatment and support across leading health care institutions. How will this impact patient care? Click here to find out.
If you did not get a chance to see “Hamilton!” or just did not get enough, the Grand Rapids Symphony has some great news: Leslie Odom, Jr. who originated the role of Aaron Burr in the musical will be performing with the Grand Rapids Symphony in its 2020-21 season. This and the symphony’s Classical Series lineup was announced this week. Don’t miss your shot by clicking here to learn more.
Mackinac State Historic Parks mark its 125th anniversary this year with lots of celebrating planned throughout the year. Mackinac Island was actually the second national state park, designated in 1875. The park was turned over to the State of Michigan in 1895 at the request of then Governor John T. Rich with a condition: that the area remain a state park or the land would revert back to the United States. For more information on the 125th Anniversary activities, visit mackinacparks.com/mackinac125.
By WKTV Staff
joanne@wktv.org
The 28th Street Metro Cruise® organizers announced the expansion of the popular summertime event to include a second main event site at Kentwood’s Woodland Mall.
Rogers Plaza has been the sole “official” site of Metro Cruise® for the past 10 years. Attracting nearly 100,000 people in two days, the main site has grown significantly during the past few years. It now features more than 25 food vendors, 400 collector cars, kid’s entertainment area, Community Awards ceremony, Miss Metro Cruise® competition finale, five top area bands, and the popular Dynamometer car testing area where cars rev to 160 mph.
The new second main event site which will be located in the large southwest parking lot of the Woodland Mall, 3195 28thSt. SE, will be open Aug. 22 from 11 a.m to 8 p.m. The Woodland Mall location will feature a wide array of collector, sports, and antique cars. It will also have multiple food vendors including popular local food trucks, entertainment for kid’s, and three local bands. A new feature unique to this site will be the Safe City elements – which will include an impaired driving course, jaws of life demonstration, and a distracted driving simulator.
Overall, Metro Cruise® draws nearly 250,000 people city-wide to dozens of events along 28thSt. With the expansion on the east side, those numbers are expected to be exceeded this year.
“We are very excited to increase the reach and footprint of Metro Cruise®”, said Bob O’Callaghan, President and CEO of the Wyoming-Kentwood Area Chamber of Commerce. “Our group has been researching this expansion for the past couple years, and the time is now right. This move allows us to have an official presence on the east side of 28th Street, while easing the very high attendance at the Rogers Plaza location.”
The partnership with the immediately recognizable location of the Woodland Mall was a major factor in this new partnership. “Our top choice for a site was the Woodland Mall,” O’Callagha said. “They are a major player along 28th Street.”
The Rogers Plaza site will remain the largest site of Metro Cruise®, with all elements returning for this year’s event, including a free shuttle service courtesy of the Rapid partnership. The famous Collector Car Row, the lineup of 200-plus show cars along 28th Street, will be featured each day. The Main Event at Rogers Plaza (972 28thStreet SW) will be Friday, Aug. 21 from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., and Saturday, Aug. 22 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
The next big event for the Metro Cruise will be the annual Dust-Off which will take place May 4 from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. at the Wyoming Moose Lodge, 2630 Burlingame Ave. SW.
For more information and schedule of events visit www.28thstreetmetrocruise.com. Follow the Metro Cruise on Facebook (f/metrocruise) and Instagram (@metrocruise). The 28th Street Metro Cruise® is owned and managed by the Wyoming-Kentwood Area Chamber of Commerce.
If you’re satisfied with your life, you probably have emotional well-being.
Emotional well-being can be mastered just like any other skill, according to Richard Davidson, founder of the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
How? By developing four key traits, said Davidson, a neuroscientist.
The first is resilience. Research at the Center for Healthy Minds found that, over time, regular mindfulness meditation can help you learn how to bounce back from adversity.
Mindfulness meditation teaches you to become aware of your thoughts and emotions, center yourself and decide how you would like to proceed with the rest of your day. Find out more at mindful.org.
Having a positive outlook is the second key trait—both finding the positive in others and being positive in the way you approach life.
Another type of meditation called compassion meditation is said to bring measurable changes after two weeks of 30-minute-a-day sessions. The goal is to switch from being judgmental to being caring.
Next is improving your attention level. A Harvard study found most people spend nearly half of their waking hours not paying attention to what they’re doing.
Letting the mind wander typically makes people unhappy, the researchers concluded. Practice focusing on the here and now, one task or activity at a time.
Finally, become more generous of spirit. This means feeling happy for others when they do well rather than being envious or bitter, emotions that only hurt you.
Generous behavior activates circuits in the brain that promote well-being while enhancing the lives of those around you.
Yes, it takes time and effort to change your thinking and the way you see the world, but the benefits are infinite. And the more you practice, the more natural it will feel.
Reprinted with permission from Spectrum Health Beat.
By WKTV Staff
joanne@wktv.org
Leslie Odom Jr., the actor who originated the role of Aaron Burr in the Grammy Award-winning musical “Hamilton!” is just one of the highlights of the Grand Rapids Symphony upcoming 2020-21 season with the Classical Season being unveiled this week.
The Classical Season features a mix of popular music, world-class soloists, new music, new concert series and special events beginning in September 2020.
Highlights under Music Director Marcelo Lehninger includes performances of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, the most famous four notes in all of music, and Mozart’s Requiem, part of the climactic scenes of the 1984 film “Amadeus.” Popular music includes Mussorgsky’s “Night on Bald Mountain,” the spooky music from Disney’s “Fantasia,” and Richard Strauss’ “Also Sprach Zarathustra,” the opening music used in Stanley Kuberick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey.”
Important soloists include superstar violinist (and fashionista) Sarah Chang, legendary Brazilian pianist Nelson Freire, and flamboyant organist Cameron Carpenter, the “Bad Boy of the Organ,” who designed and travels with his own custom instrument.
Concert goers will experience a Sitar Concerto performed by a student of the great Indian sitarist Ravi Shankar, and the first major solo work for saxophone and orchestra that DeVos Hall has seen in 38 years.
A new series, “The Pianists,” will bring two artists who once were Gilmore Young Artists of the Gilmore Keyboard Festival in Kalamazoo and who now have flourishing careers.
New music includes the debut of “Immortal Beloved” by Grand Rapids’ own Alexander Miller, inspired by Beethoven’s written testament bidding farewell to the love of his life. The GRS also will premiere a new Double Concerto for Vibraphone and Marimba, one of five pieces of music that will feature soloists drawn from the ranks of the Grand Rapids Symphony’s accomplished musicians.
Season tickets went on sale Feb. 12. Season ticket holders will have the first chance to purchase tickets for the special event featuring Odom. Single tickets will be available at a later date. The 2020-21 Pops Series will be announced in March. The 2020 D&W Fresh Market Picnic Pops Series was announced in January.
