Alaska Pulse Monthly by Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Alaska

PULSE 2020 Make eye health a priority this year

North Pole facility collects, redistributes glasses ‘One Health’ in rural Alaska Walk with a Doc in Homer Kidney donation strengthens friendship Get up-to-date on vaccines before traveling Sitka’s holistic focus on community health Music as a healing force for teens Fairbanks sleep lab promotes good ZZZZ’s This habit may have saved Healy man’s life

FREE January 2020 Vol. 1, No. 1

Dr. Cary S. Keller M.D., FACSM

Robert Wood PA-C

Nicolle Hendrix PA-C

Our physicians and clinical staff are experts in treating all varieties of general orthopedic problems, including: • Fractures, dislocations, sprains • Arthritis, bursitis, tendonitis • Sports injuries and overuse disorders of the wrists, elbow, shoulders, and knees • Arthroscopic surgery • Reconstructive surgery • Endoscopic carpal tunnel surgery • Hand and upper extremity surgery

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INSIDE

Keep an eye on your vision health ........................4

Health Sense

Dr. Katherine Johnson: What is a cataract? .................... 11 Dr. Harry Yuan: Kids and sleep............................................. 28 Dr. Todd Capistrant: What is OMM? ................................... 33 Dr. Tony Nimeh: Best way to boost testosterone ......... 45

20 eye care facts, tips .......................5 North Pole facility collects, reuses eyeglasses ..............................6

Chef Solus Breakfast Crossword Puzzle

One Health: A new way of thinking about health..................12 ‘One Health, One Future’ conference planned...........................15 Work on Tanana Chiefs Conference Tok clinic under way...........................16 Walk with a Doc in Homer ..............17 Friendship going strong years after kidney donation........................20 Make sure you’re medically prepared before traveling...............23 Sitka’s holistic focus on community wellness..........................29 Harmonica virtuoso Mike Stevens reaches kids through music ..........35

New Year’s Healthy Resolution Maze .........................................................42 Healy man’s blood donation visit may have saved his life ...................43 Get started on the DASH eating plan.................................46 Healthy Banana Split Freezer Bites..........................................47

answer on page 47

Fairbanks’ sleep lab explores the science of sleep ..........................38

Across 5 The small meal after breakfast and before lunch 8 Belgium _______ with strawberries 11 This meal helps you do great in school 12 This fruit juice has vitamin C 14 Put cream cheese or peanut butter on this 15 Ome_ _ _ with mushrooms and cheese

Down 1 French ______ or pancakes 2 This taste great with whole grain cereal 3 This comes from a cow but its not white 4 Home fries or hash ______ 6 Some kids like to eat this without milk. 7 Bananas, strawberries and yogurt mixed together to make a _________ 9 Mickey Mouse shaped _______ with eggs 10 Eat this warm with milk, raisins, and brown sugar. 13 Scrambled, poached and fried _____

Alaska Pulse is a monthly publication of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner LLC. 200 N. Cushman St. , Fairbanks AK 99707 Publisher: Richard E. Harris Advertising: advertising@newsminer.com; 459-7548 Editor: Rod Boyce; editor@newsminer.com, 459-7585

By Kyrie Long Alaska Pulse

Keep an eye on your vision health W

ill your vision be 20/20 in 2020? Even if it won’t be perfect, there are still some things you can do to maintain or achieve good eye

health. Eye doctors across Alaska have some ideas on how you can do that. And they know some cool things about eyes and the whole vision process. Did you know, for example, that images that are formed on the retina are actually upside down? The brain has to interpret an image and flip it to what we think is right-side up, said Dr. Jessica Giesey, president of the Alaska Optometric Association.

“It’s pretty amazing that the brain can do that,” she said. Check out the accompanying list for more interesting eye and vision facts. On the important subject of eye care, Alaskans are in a good place, geographically, that is. Dr. Ben Crawford, an optometrist in private practice, said people may notice small changes in their prescription more easily because of Alaska’s winter darkness. “It’s not that the darkness is causing that change, it’s just making it more apparent,” he said. Dr. Terry Bell, an optometrist with the Eye Clinic of Fairbanks, talked about the importance of an annual exam for those who are having some trouble with eye strain in general. Doctors find that sometimes even when people think they’re seeing well, it doesn’t necessar4

ALASKA PULSE — January 2020

ily mean they don’t need a prescription. Sometimes people think they can see 20/20, but it doesn’t mean there isn’t something the eye doctors can help with. “There’s a lot of people that come in and they get glasses and they’re like, ‘Oh my goodness! I didn’t know you could see individual leaves on the trees,’” Bell said. “If you don’t know that you’re missing it, you don’t know that you’re missing it.” Annual exams may also be important for people who work with computer screens a lot. For those people, specially made glasses can ease eye strain. “The computer lenses we have, there’s several different companies that make them,” said Joy Coon, optical manager at the Eye Clinic of Fairbanks, “and what they are is the top portion of the

lens is that intermediate distance, like for arms length, computer screen, and then in the bottom of the lens is a reading area.” These glasses are considered progressive lenses, used for seeing at multiple distances, but they’ve been specialized for people using computers, with models such as “desk lenses” and “room lenses” so people can see at the computer and up from their desk or across the room respectively. But computer lenses don’t just stop there. They can also have blue light filters. “It’s an anti-glare coating, but it has a filter in there that filters out the blue light rays that cause eye strain,” Coon said. “So, it not only removes glare from the screen but filters out those harmful rays as well.” Contact staff writer Kyrie Long at 459-7510.

20 eye-care tips, tricks and fun facts for 2020 Did you know?

1. Your eye muscles are the fastest muscles in your body. 2.. The world’s most common eye color is brown, but brown eyes are actually blue underneath the brown pigment. 3. The pupil of the human eye expands as much as 45 percent when you look at someone you love. 4. Doctors can see other health problems by examining the eye and can even see your heartbeat in it. 5. We actually see upside down, so our brain has to flip the image on our retinas for us to see right side up. 6. Some people are born with two differently colored eyes.

This condition is called heterochromia.

7. An iris has 256 unique characteristics. To put this in perspective, a fingerprint has only 40 unique characteristics. This is why retina scans are becoming increasingly popular for security. 8. Eye transplants are currently impossible due to the sensitivity of the optic nerve. 9.. Women used to use belladonna to dilate their pupils for beauty. The name belladonna, means “beautiful woman.” There is still a derivative of belladonna that can be used to dilate eyes today. 10.. Our eyes remain the same size from birth, unlike our nose and ears which continue to grow throughout our lives. See EYE CARE TIPs » 7

ALASKA PULSE — January 2020

Those ‘Lion’ eyes North Pole facility recycles, ships glasses around the globe By Kyrie Long and Iris Samuels Alaska Pulse

he Aurora Borealis Lions Eyeglass Recycling and Vision Center is a nondescript, slate-colored building that doesn’t stand out from its backdrop in North Pole. It is a modest size for what sits within — thousands and thousands of eyeglasses for people in need. The main room is an open space covered in pictures of Lions Club members across the globe giving away pairs of glasses. Against the back wall is a salmon-colored eye exam machine, all curving edges, which was used in Fairbanks in the 1950s before it was donated to the North Pole facility. Beside it on a short wall sits a stuffed lion wearing a pair of eyeglasses, a stuffed cub under its paw. With a size that is smaller than most houses, this building isn’t much to look at. But inside sits the statewide receiving center for the Lions Eyeglass Recycling Center, which brings clearer vision to people around the globe. “Two of the principal things that we do in here obviously is eyeglass recy6

ALASKA PULSE — January 2020

This stuffed lion sits on a shelf at the Aurora Borealis Lions Eyeglass Recycling and Vision Center in North Pole. There are lions all over the center. Photo by Kyrie Long

cling, but we also do eye exams,” said Howard Rixie, past council chair for Lions Clubs International Multiple District 49. The center receives 40,000 pairs of glasses per year of all sorts from all over Alaska and from Canada’s Yukon, according to Rixie, but it can only use single-vision glasses. When they’re done sorting them for usable pairs of single-vision glasses, the center is left with about 21,000 to 22,000 pairs. Glasses are sorted upstairs, past a garage full of donations stacked in boxes, bags and other methods of tem-

porary storage. The attic space they’re stored in has bins full of eyeglasses, stacked six high on wire racks, some nearly brushing the roof framing. The national Lions Recycle for Sight Program has existed for decades. Helen Keller asked Lions Club members to become “Knights of the Blind” back in 1925, when she spoke at the Lions Club International Convention. “The Lions in Alaska have been collecting glasses since about the mid’60s,” Rixie said. NORTH POLE » 8

eye care tips

Continued from 5

Tips for good eye care

1.. Have an annual exam, even if you think you see just fine. Doctors across the table recommended this as a way to keep track of the general health of your eyes. 2. The American Optometric Association recommends

exams for children age 6 to 12 months, at age 3 and before first grade. Go online at https://infantsee.org/ to look at nocost eye assessment providers for infants.

3. Older people should be on the lookout for cataracts during their eye appointments. 4. Eating leafy green vegetables, such as kale and spinach, and colorful fruits will help you get Omega-3 fatty acids, which are good for the eyes. Salmon is also a good source of Omega-3, so Alaskans are in a good spot.

5.. Dry eye is common in Alaska. Artificial tears are help-

ful.

6. Blue light rays cause eye strain, so having a blue light filter on lenses helps when working with computer screens. 7. Your blink rate is reduced by half when looking at electronic screens. 8. Use the 20-20-20 rule: If you’re a person who works with computer screens, take a 20-second break every 20 minutes to look at something 20 feet away. 9. Diabetes is one example of a common medical condition that can cause changes in your vision. 10. Sometimes it can be easier to detect changes in vision in winter in Alaska. That’s because people notice changes more easily in the darkness. These lists were compiled with input from Dr. Ben Crawford, Dr. Jessica Giesey, Dr. Terry Bell, and Joy Coon, vision clinic experts in Alaska, and with information from Washington State University.

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A C R r p a

The Aurora Borealis Lions Eyeglass Recycling and Vision Center in North Pole is more than a recycling hub for glasses. It’s also got its own examination room. When they built the room, Howard Rixie said, they had to move the front-facing wall back a few feet for the purpose of eye exams. Photo by Kyrie Long

The vision in North Pole

Up until 2004, the Lions sent the glasses to an eyeglass recycling center out of state. Then, according to Rixie, in 2004 the group collectively decided it could add more value to the program. “So what we did at the time was we partnered with the halfway house out in Ester, and they set up a room for us, and we actually trained the residents there on how to process glasses and all that,” he said. “That lasted for about a year.” The Lions were looking for a permanent home for the operation when they found a property at 2925 Newby Road in North Pole. At the time, it was a personal garage. The open floor of the main room still speaks of a space for multiple cars. 8

ALASKA PULSE — January 2020

“There was a 14-foot garage door there,” Rixie said, gesturing toward the front-facing wall of the building. “There was a 9-foot garage door in the back. Anyways, our board of directors walked in, and the day we inspected it he had a Winnebago there and a couple of Ski-Doos, and a four-wheeler and the kitchen was a fiberglass working room, so it was a man cave.” The Lions bought the building in May 2007. For the first year they owned it, they strung up clothesline and made walls using sheets. A center wall divides the main room from the garage and stairway. It’s also the entrance to the on-site exam room. The room, hospital clean and stocked with all the equipment needed for eye exams, would be at home in any eye

clinic. “Come to find out, we were very thankful for (the sheets), because this center wall was moved two feet,” he said. When they were renovating, the Lions found they needed more distance between where the eye exam chair would sit and the screen that patients would be looking at, so they adjusted that when they laid walls, according to Rixie. One Saturday a month at the center is eye care day. On that day, people in need can visit the center and get a free eye exam. They leave with a prescription and can walk upstairs and hope to find a pair of glasses from among the thousands that have been donated. “Typically, eight out of 10 people that have exams there, we can match them

Above, these glasses at the Aurora Borealis Lions Eyeglass Recycling and Vision Center have been through their first sorting and are waiting to be washed. Right, a collection of donated eyeglasses downstairs in the Lions eyeglass recycling facility. The Lions Club International runs the Recycle for Sight program, through which people can donate their used glasses to be recycled and given to those in need. Photos by Kyrie Long

“Typically, eight out of 10 people that have exams there, we can match them with a pair of glasses and those that don’t, then what we do is we give them a voucher to go downtown to one of the eyeglass stores … and get a pair of glasses for free. ” - Howard Rixie, past council chair for Lions Clubs International Multiple District 49

with a pair of glasses,” Rixie said, “and those that don’t, then what we do is we give them a voucher to go downtown to one of the eyeglass stores … and get a pair of glasses for free. So they’re still getting taken care of here; it’s just not coming out of our inventory.” Lions volunteers go through all of the glasses, sort them, use a machine to find the prescription, and sort them again into bins organized by prescription on the attic space’s wire shelves. The glasses are distributed throughout Alaska and out of state. A cleaning station sits toward the back of the space, near the

stairs, while directly ahead are the rows of glasses sorted and ready to go.

A program with a big reach

Maria McDaniels-Mauk, Wasilla Lions Club president, noted her club collected about 3,000 pairs of eyeglasses in the last year. “We have every year almost for the last four years collected at least 2,500 pairs and sent them to the North Pole facility for recycling,” she said. The Wasilla Lions, like other Lions Club chapters, has donation boxes set

up around the city and at eye clinics. The group has gotten help from Wasilla locals in transporting the glasses to the recycling center in North Pole, more than 300 miles away. “Actually we’ve been taking them to someone who is going to Fairbanks,” McDaniels-Mauk said. For instance, last year the club took the donations to a man who was going to Fairbanks for a function, loaded them into his motor home, and he took them up, she said. In Kodiak, the Lions Club contributes about 400 pairs of glasses each year to the program. About 10 collection boxes are set up in medical clinics, radio stations, on the Coast Guard base and at some other locations. Cleaned and sorted glasses come back to the communities and elsewhere from the North Pole center when Lions members go on their missions. Kodiak optometrist Jerimiah Myers said he fitted glasses for 700 children in 10 days ALASKA PULSE — January 2020

This exam display at the Aurora Borealis Lions Eyeglass Recycling and Vision Center, was donated to the Lions by an Interior eye doctor. It’s one of the original eye exam stations to be used in Fairbanks in the 1950s, according to Howard Rixie. Kyrie Long photo

To find out more about the national Recycle for Sight program: Online: www.lionsclubs.org/en/ resources-for-members/ resource-center/recycle-eyeglasses Phone: 630-571-5466 Email: eyeglasses@lionsclubs.org

ALASKA PULSE — January 2020

when he visited Guatemala two years ago. They use a special eye chart with symbols instead of letters. “It all comes down to the eye chart with the sun, the heart and the star. It’s really easy to use no matter what language is spoken,” Myers said. Two Wasilla Lions members have frequently made trips to Honduras, where they work with an eye doctor who held examinations and helped pass out glasses, according to McDaniels-Mauk. Honduras, Guatemala, Thailand, Alaska and wherever else the glasses need to go, they go. “So I’ve got 18 international missions that I support,” Rixie said, “and those can be as little as 500 pairs of glasses to upwards of 1,500 to 2,000 pairs of glasses. One annual one that we do is with the Air National Guard.”

The Air National Guard does a health mission, according to Rixie, where Guard members will typically take 1,500 pairs of glasses with them to distribute to the people who need them, and leave behind what’s left for the communities to give out as needed. In Alaska, Rixie noted, the Lions distribute about 1,000 pairs of glasses. In all, the Aurora Borealis Lions Eyeglass Recycling and Vision Center handles eyeglass recycling and eye exams, but it also assists with eye surgery, partners with the Alaska Center for the Blind to bring people to northern Alaska to do low vision assessments and interface with local health fairs and do vision screenings. Kyrie Long is a writer with the Fairbanks Daily NewsMiner. Iris Samuels is a writer with the Kodiak Daily Mirror.

HEALTH SENSE

What is a cataract? By Dr. Katherine Johnson

cataract is the clouding of your natural lens. The lens is located behind the pupil and helps to focus light onto the back part of the eye, the retina. As we get older, the lens thickens and will be able to focus less and less. This is the main reason most of us need reading glasses in our 40s or 50s. Eventually, the lens will become hard and yellow, possibly even white, and will change enough that your vision will become blurry and cause glare from bright lights. Glasses cannot the vision loss due to cataracts, because the light is passing through a cloudy lens, like looking through a dirty window. When this occurs, the only way to improve your vision is to have the cataract removed. Unfortunately, this is a natural aging process and no drops or pills will fix it. The good news is that cataract surgery is one of the most successful and lowest risk surgeries we have in modern medicine and with current technology can be almost as accurate as LASIK. The cataract, which is just the cloudy lens, needs to be removed from the eye and replaced with an artificial lens. The artificial lens is acrylic and causes no limitations or problems in the future. Modern cataract surgery is performed by breaking the lens up with an ultrasound and removing it through a tiny incision in the side of the eye. The surgery is usually very fast and typi-

cally done with only local anesthesia and a little relaxing medicine (happy juice). The wound is selfsealing, and the recovery time is often as little as one day. Cataract surgery is performed in a sterile operating room by an ophthalmologist. An ophthalmologist is a doctor specializing in disease and surgery of the eye. There have been some very exciting advances in cataract surgery in recent years, specifically with improvements in the artificial intraocular lens that takes the place of the old cataract lens. This lens will focus the light onto the retina, just like your old lens, but often even better. We can calculate which lens to use and many times can put your glasses prescription inside the new lens. There is an additional option to take extra measurements of the eye during surgery to improve this accuracy and even fix your astigmatism. Recently, new lens technology has allowed us to put trifocal and progressive lenses inside the eye as well to limit your need for reading and computer glasses. These lenses, called multifocal lenses, will give you back as much youthful vision as modern

medicine allows. Imagine not needing glasses for anything anymore! How do you know if you have cataracts? The symptoms of cataracts often develop slowly but include blurry vision, glare from headlights, difficulty seeing in dim lights, shadow images, and trouble reading fine print. Typically, cataracts develop in your 60s or 70s, but some people develop them earlier and others later. If you notice these symptoms, contact an eye doctor, either an optometrist or ophthalmologist, for an evaluation and we can help you decide if you are ready for surgery. The surgery is typically covered by your medical insurance, not vision insurance. The premium multifocal lenses are not covered by insurance and cost extra out of pocket. Cataract surgery is only done once per lifetime, and the lens you choose will last for the rest of your life. Everyone will eventually get a cataract, if we live long enough. The time to take the cataract out is when the symptoms of the cataract bother you enough to have the minor surgery to remove them. Because the surgery is so successful and so low risk, you don’t need to wait until “they are ripe” anymore. Luckily, in Alaska, we have incredible surgeons to help you and offer the very best in modern cataract surgery. Dr. Katherine Johnson, M.D., FACS, is an ophthalmologist at Mountain View Eye Center in Fairbanks.

ALASKA PULSE — January 2020

The One Health concept: Health care professionals, scientists and researchers who’ve embraced the One Health concept depend on community members for information about changes in the environment in their area and how it affects wildlife and other food sources. Courtesy of Local Environmental Observer Network

A new way of thinking One Health is the idea that health of Alaskans is linked to the condition of animals and the environment 12

ALASKA PULSE — January 2020

By Tim Ellis

or years, the western Alaska city of Bethel was overrun by stray dogs – hordes of mutts that had gone feral and overrun the town and surrounding Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. The overpopulation created the usual assortment of nuisances, like strays knocking over garbage cans, raiding dumpsters and snuffling around in sewage. And that, in turn created a serious threat to human health. “Dogs that live outside and have a meat-based diet are very likely to have parasites, and a lot of these parasites are transferable to people,” Brian Berube, an environmental health consultant with Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, told a local radio station reporter.

That, combined with the problem of people being bitten by the strays, created a serious health threat — the spread of rabies and other diseases. In early 2017, nearly a thousand dog bites had been reported over the previous decade, mostly by strays. Most of the victims were children under age 10. “Rabies is rampant over there,” says Arleigh Reynolds, an associate professor of veterinary medicine at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. “Every year, several people get treated for exposure to rabies.” In response to the problem, experts with the Tribal Health Consortium, along with local, state and tribal officials, launched a series of measures that included bringing a full-time veterinarian to Bethel. They ramped up spay and

neuter programs and instituted humane means of reducing the stray dog population. They also launched research projects on diseases and other public health challenges created by canine overpopulation. The multifaceted response was conducted using the principles of a relatively new approach to public health called One Health, says Reynolds, who directs UAF’s Center for One Health Research. “It isn’t a term that everybody knows yet, but I think it’s getting a foothold” among members of the general public, he said.

What is One Health?

The One Health concept recognizes that the health of people is connected to the health of animals and the environment. The concept applies a holistic, multidisciplinary approach to studying, understanding and managing human health threats that arise from environmental, human or animal causes.

Veterinarians came up with the term One Health to explain the causes and solutions to diseases that spread from animals to humans — so-called zoonotic diseases. Reynolds says One Health takes into consideration human, animal and environmental factors in seeking solutions to the root causes of disease, instead of just treating the symptoms. He says an increasingly common environmental factor related to the spread of rabies and parasite-borne diseases in Alaska and elsewhere around the circumpolar north is climate change. The warming climate is more hospitable for disease-causing vectors, like the rabies and parasites that were being spread by Bethel’s feral dogs. And it enables wildlife like deer and elk to range farther north, bringing more and different diseases. Reynolds says 70 percent of the world’s emerging diseases come from animals. And because the circumpolar north is warming more than twice as

Mike Brubaker is director of Community Environment and Health for the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. Courtesy of ANTHC

fast as the rest of the planet, there’s growing concern over tick-borne diseases brought into Alaska by those invasive animal species. Other human health threats from climate change include harmful algal blooms offshore in areas where shellfish ALASKA PULSE — January 2020

Scientists believe warmer sea surface temperatures around Alaska are promoting large toxic algal blooms like this in the Bering Sea, which contaminates shellfish, an important subsistence food source for people who live along coastal areas. Courtesy of Local Environmental Observer Network

are harvested, and outbreaks of foodborne illnesses from spoiled meat in underground caches that no longer stay cool enough to keep the meat frozen. “This is really important when there are concerns about problems with a subsistence food source,” Reynolds said.

An approach for the Arctic

Michael Brubaker, director of community environment and health for the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, says applying the collaborative One Health works especially well in communities of indigenous peoples. “It’s been gaining a lot of traction in the Arctic in particular, because of the people who live so close to the land,” said Brubaker, who’s worked with Reynolds and others to integrate One Health into his work. “It’s an ecosystem approach to health, 14

ALASKA PULSE — January 2020

so it resonates strongly in the Arctic and its indigenous peoples,” he said. Reynolds adds that indigenous peoples are keen observers of the land and its wildlife, and they also possess knowledge that’s passed down from their elders over millennia. He says that knowledge is hugely helpful for public health workers, along with scientists and researchers – and that’s an essential component of the One Health approach. “We feel that a lot of the information we need to work on these problems exists among members of the community,” he said. “We build a relationship with the community, and then ask them what they see, help them build a data source and help them interpret that information so we can figure out a plan to mitigate the problem, or adapt to it.” He says One Health challenges health-care professionals and members

of the scientific community to listen and talk with people. “Traditionally,” Reynolds said, “what we health-care professionals have done when we look at these problems,” like the health threats posed by a feral dog overpopulation, “is typically send scientists and researchers into communities with a predisposed idea of what the problem is. And that’s what they’ll look at — which is often not what the community is actually experiencing. “We feel that a lot of the information we need to work on these problems exists among members of the community,” he said, “but scientists maybe haven’t been taught how to listen to them, and how to talk in plain language the community members can understand.” Tim Ellis is a freelance writer living in Delta Junction. Comments about this story? Email editor@newsminer. com.

‘One Health, One Future’ conference set for March at University of Alaska Fairbanks campus Alaska Pulse

he University of Alaska Fairbanks Center for One Health Research and the U.S. State Department will jointly host an international conference in March that is expected to be the largest circumpolar One Health conference held in the

United States in the coming year. The “One Health, One Future” conference, to be held on the UAF campus March 11-14, will bring together public health officials, scientists and researchers from around the circumpolar north. Officials with the Arctic Council’s Sustainable Development Working Group and other international organizations

also will participate. This event is part of the U.S. contribution to “One Arctic, One Health,” a five-year Arctic Council project that seeks to develop a circumpolar network of One Health experts to can share knowledge, conduct exercises and initiate collaborative investigations of One Health issues.

Adapted from

ALASKA PULSE — January 2020

Courtesy of NVision Architecture

Long-awaited clinic coming to Tok By Kyrie Long Alaska pulse

onstruction on a new health clinic is underway in Tok, with plans for Tanana Chiefs Conference to open the location this summer and expand health care services in the Upper Tanana subregion. TCC, an Alaska Native nonprofit that provides health and social services, does have some services available in Tok. In 2011-12, according to TCC Chief and Chairman Victor Joseph, it opened a subregional clinic in the Upper Tanana area at the request of the organization’s Upper Tanana board. Then, in 2014, it took over behavioral health services in the same area. The nonprofit announced in May this year that it would be opening a new clinic in the area, with construction slated to start this year as well. It hit a bit of a hiccup along the way: 16

ALASKA PULSE — January 2020

The clinic and Fort Greely shared the same contractor, with the military installation taking priority, so the construction ran a bit behind schedule. Nevertheless, TCC kept at it and the last of the beams for the hospital were slated to go up in December. “So we’re doing well,” Joseph said. “Construction is moving along and we’re not expecting any problems. We’re still planning on opening next summer.” There are a few health care options available in Tok at present. “Right now we’re operating out of three locations,” Joseph said. The existing locations include two clinics and a behavioral health services facility. Together they can provide behavioral health and dental services, emergency care and primary care. However, serving larger numbers of people can be difficult with the current clinic locations. Joseph said the new clinic will allow

TCC to meet the needs of people in the area when there is a “multi-person encounter.” For example, if there is a multivehicle accident, it’s hard for the existing clinics to meet the needs of multiple people with injuries. “In our present locations ... when we have that happen, we’re having to use space that wasn’t designed for it,” he said. The new clinic will offer the full array of services out of a single facility. “So we’ll have trauma care rooms, family practice rooms and we’ll also have behavioral health and dental services,” he said. There are also plans for the clinic to have a pharmacy. Joseph said TCC is making sure it can provide “good, solid medical care in a state-of-the art facility, one where they’re going to have a little bit more elbow room.” Contact staff writer Kyrie Long at 459-7510.

Homer-area resident Louise Eskes (left) enjoys a walk with Dr. Paula Godfrey (center), an emergency room doctor at South Peninsula Hospital, and Godfrey’s daughter, Grace. Courtesy of South Peninsula Hospital

Step by step by step Homer’s Walk with a Doc aimed at community wellbeing By McKibben Jackinsky

onita Banks, the health and wellness educator at South Peninsula Hospital in Homer, was searching for ways to improve the wellbeing of southern Kenai Peninsula residents when she heard about the Walk with a Doc program. “Homer doesn’t have a mall. We don’t have an outdoor park. We needed someplace accessible to everyone,” said Banks, a registered nurse. Walk with a Doc was started in 2005 by Dr. David Sabgir, a cardiologist from Columbus, Ohio, who improved his effectiveness in encouraging patients to make behavioral changes when he moved from a clinical setting to the informal atmosphere of a community walk. The approach has since spread

worldwide with more than 500 chapters, including Walk with a Future Doc chapters led by medical students. The idea is to provide a comfortable setting in which participants ask health-related questions of local medical providers. South Peninsula Hospital offers Walk with a Doc twice a month. The events are free to community members of all ages and all abilities. Funding for the program comes from the hospital, with additional support from South Peninsula Hospital Foundation. “The Walk with a Doc program is totally awesome,” said walker Barb Brodowski, who has taken advantage of the program since it began in Homer in 2017. “I can’t thank South Peninsula Hospital and the SPH Foundation for

allowing the program to be held at no cost to participants.” As perfect as the program appeared to be for Homer, Banks recognized a crucial missing piece — a good location. The timing couldn’t have been better. Construction of the South Peninsula Athletic and Recreation Center was nearing completion. The $550,000 project, led by the Homer Soccer Association with Daniel Zatz at the helm, added a 12,000-square-foot fabric building designed by Alaska Dreams of Anchorage to the Homer landscape. It has a steel framework, a shape that sheds snow, and a floor made for sports activities. “It was the perfect indoor place. Safe, out of the elements and fully accessible to everyone,” Banks said. Having solved that problem, Banks ALASKA PULSE — January 2020

Board certified in OB/GYN, Dr. Katie Ostrom (left) and Health and Wellness Educator Bonita Banks (second from left), both of South Peninsula Hospital in Homer, give a short presentation to participants of Walk with a Doc. Courtesy of South Peninsula Hospital.

took her idea to Homer medical providers. She pointed out that in 2015, Vivek H. Murthy, the United States surgeon general, said, “Walking for better health may seem simplistic, but sometimes the most important things we can do are also the easiest and most obvious.” As she envisioned it, Homer’s program would be held at the rec center two times a month, begin with a 10-minute presentation by a doctor or other health care provider, be followed by a 45-minute walk led by the presenter, and offer fruit, water, coffee and blood-pressure checks. Walk with a Doc fit the findings of Homer’s 2016 Community Health Needs Assessment: the community’s age demographic, concerns about obesity, heart disease and cancer as leading causes of death, and provided an avenue for family well-being. It also would strengthen relationships between the general population and the health-care community, Banks pointed out. To get started, a physician was needed as lead doctor and spokesperson. The first to raise his hand was Dr. Rob Downey, a general practitioner whose specialty is functional medicine and is a self-professed “big walker.” Banks and Downey recruited additional doctors, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, midwives, mental health professionals, physical therapists and others, giving walkers the opportunity to meet and 18

ALASKA PULSE — January 2020

ask questions of a wide range of medical professionals. Paula Godfrey, an emergency room doctor at South Peninsula Hospital, brought a touch of reality to her presentation on what days in the ER are like when one of her two daughters surprised walkers by faking a collapse and Godfrey’s other daughter provided immediate assistance. “Different topics draw different people. It’s a really simple opportunity to answer questions that are a conundrum to them,” Downey said. If questions indicate the need for medical follow-up, Downey encourages

seeing a doctor. “This is an opportunity to be helpful,” he said. Of the program’s many benefits, Downey has observed it leaves participants feeling empowered for having had their questions answered and learning about resources available. Banks said the value is widespread. “We have a core group of regulars who try to come to every walk — families, kids with trikes, three generations walking together — and we always have new people,” she said. “When you see people come together every other week and know they’re there for the social

Opposite page, bottom, Dr. Neil Schott (left), a physical therapist at South Peninsula Hospital, teaches walker Willy Dunne (right) exercises to address chronic pain. Right, using a rolling walker, Bonnie Boigvert is able to take advantage of Walk with a Doc, a twice-a-month community walk in Homer. Photos courtesy of South Peninsula Hospital

McKibben Jackinsky is a freelance writer living in Homer.

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connection, it’s so rewarding. And then when you talk to people that showed up and did a quarter mile, and months later did a half mile and now they’re jogging, it’s great.” Homer’s Walk with a Doc begins in October and wraps up in May, coinciding with the finish of a monthlong, communitywide walking challenge. Not limiting her walking to the twice-a-month event, Brodowski also walks at the rec center 2 miles a day, five days a For more information: week with friends. She • Walk with a Doc: walkwithadoc.org/ remains one of Walk with a Doc’s biggest • Walk with a Doc, Homer: sphosp.org/ fans, setting two alarm resources/community-education-events/ clocks to ensure she walk-with-a-doc/ doesn’t miss the Saturday morning event. “Every time I go, I learn another bit of information. It may not be pertinent to me at the moment, but, hey, one never knows,” she said. A Valdez chapter of Walk with a Doc was begun in 2016 by Dr. Angela Alfaro in partnership with the city’s Parks and Recreation Department. The chapter is currently being reorganized, In Fairbanks, a chapter of Walk with a Future Doc is in the pre-planning stages for Foundation Health Partners, according to Kelly Atlee, the foundation’s senior director of communications and public relations. It is being spearheaded by Travis Kinane, a Pacific Northwest University third-year medical student currently placed at the Fairbanks Memorial Hospital and Tanana Valley Clinic. Kinane discovered the program while looking for a way to meet the needs of Fairbanks-area residents who “didn’t have a gym membership and needed some motivation and accountability.” Dates, times and location are yet to be decided, but Atlee anticipates it will be “a fantastic program.”

Recipient Curt Whalen, right, with donor Dan Hauer after the kidney transplant. Donating a kidney to a friend in need was a no-brainer, according to Hauer. Courtesy of Dan Hauer

“I haven’t held off from doing things because of my status at all. But I also don’t need to be jumping out of perfectly good airplanes.”

— Curt Whalen

Making a connection Years after kidney donation, Fairbanks men remain close By Kris Capps Alaska Pulse

urt Whalen and Dan Hauer share a strange and wonderful connection. Back in 2014, both men worked as biomedical technicians at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital and had been friends for more than 10 years. So Dan knew that Curt suffered from polycystic kidney disease, an inherited disorder that occurs when clusters of cysts develop in the kidneys. Over the years, the disease progressively worsened. By 2014, Curt knew he needed to get on the kidney transplant list. He wasn’t surprised. Both his siblings suffered the same condition and both underwent kidney transplants. But he was surprised when Dan, who had become his boss, offered to donate one of his kidneys. “It wasn’t even a thing where I had to ask for it,” Curt said. “He just offered.”

Dan Hauer gave this little Grover figure to his wife in college. She later handed it down to their kids, who gave it back to their dad to watch over and comfort him during the transplant surgery. Courtesy Dan Hauer

“Now he’s gone and I’m still here and he didn’t take his kidney with him,” he

added with a laugh. Dan and his family moved to Kentucky in 2018. The friends still stay in touch and Curt contacts him on the anniversary of the transplant every year. Curt still works at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital. For Dan, offering the kidney was a no-brainer. His wife is a surgical nurse, so she was well aware of the procedure and totally supported the donation. His kids were a little nervous at first, he said, but once they learned more about it, they supported his decision. Both men had a common friend who was on dialysis, and Dan didn’t want Curt to have to go through that. “I knew at some point it would progress to the point he was going to need it and I was happy to offer it,” he said. “So I got tested and it ended up working out.” The result has been that nearly six years later, both men are healthy and ALASKA PULSE — January 2020

Although Dan Hauer moved out of state, the two remain friends. They share another connection: In 2016, Dan ruptured his patella tendon. A year to the day later, Curt ruptured his. Exactly another year later, Dan ruptured his other patella tendon.

Courtesy of Dan Hauer

rarely think about the surgery that changed Curt’s life. “I try to just live life to the fullest and take each day as it’s given to me,” Curt said. However, if that transplant had not happened, he said, “we wouldn’t be having this conversation. It definitely gave me a new lease on life.” It also made him realize he is thankful for everything he already has. “You reach a point in life where things you thought were important things in your youth … in the grand scheme, they don’t amount to much,” he said. 22

ALASKA PULSE — January 2020

So he embraces life every day and looks forward to his quarterly health reports. That motivates him to stay healthy. “I haven’t held off from doing things because of my status at all,” Curt said “But I also don’t need to be jumping out of perfectly good airplanes.” Dan doesn’t think about it much either all these years later. He remains healthy and active, he said. “It was something that had to be done at the moment. And it had to be done for someone I cared about, so I didn’t think twice about doing it,” he said. “But

I don’t think back on it often. It was just something that had to be done.” He said he wishes donating kidneys was more commonplace. “It is major surgery,” he said. “But if you’re healthy and hydrating and taking care of yourself, you’re in the best position to be able to do it. And there are very few reasons to say you won’t do it.” The two friends have another medical connection. In 2016, Dan ruptured his patella tendon. A year later, to the day, Curt ruptured his patella tendon. Curt says it was a year later, again to the day, that Dan then suffered the same injury to his other leg. “I told him, you better mark your calendar,” Dan said. “But he made it through last year without doing his other knee.” The two remain good friends. They text each other once in awhile and Curt always gets in touch on the anniversary of the transplant. “We’re guys. So we stay in touch the way guys stay in touch,” Dan laughed. “Just a quick ‘How’s it going?’” Reach columnist/community editor Kris Capps at 4597546.

David James poses with an owl during a 1996 trip to Georgetown, Malaysia. Be prepared with the proper vaccinations and medications for problems that might crop up while traveling.

By David James

Know before you go Check with a medical professional to update vaccines, medicines

y wife was taking a medical librarianship class in the months before she and I left on a trip to Southeast Asia in the mid-1990s. As she learned of various rare diseases found in the tropics, she came home every night with a new and different story of some hideous affliction we might get exposed to. Then she described in graphic detail the way that illness could slowly and painfully kill us. Having having spent about a year all told traveling parts of Asia and Latin

America before meeting her, and doing so without serious ailment, I calmly responded, “If we die, it will be in a bus crash.” According to Dennis Rogers, a physician assistant at Tanana Valley Clinic in Fairbanks who has done travel consultations for 35 years, I was more or less correct. In a recent email exchange he told me that the “most important advice for travelers is safety. The leading cause of death when traveling is accidental trauma. Slow down, be safe.”

Like many Alaskans, I’ve been known to flee the state during the winter. Which is why, in advance of an impending return visit to India this year, I made a recent appointment with Rogers to be sure I was medically prepared. Getting sound medical advice and making sure you’re up to date on immunizations is important before heading off to parts of the world where illnesses unfamiliar to Americans can lurk. Trauma might be the most common cause of traveler deaths, but diseases like typhoid ALASKA PULSE — January 2020

and malaria can result in prolonged misery, even if you survive. But unlike trauma, there are steps you can take before you leave to avoid many ailments.

Preparing for my trip to India

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Practitioners who specialize in travel medicine can be found in most of Alaska’s larger communities, but even smaller clinics can help with needed immunizations, prescriptions and advice. So when should you consider a consultation? Rogers said, “It’s a good idea for most developing countries. But it’s always worth checking health-related issues for any country you’re traveling to.” This is why your first stop before scheduling an appointment should be the Traveler’s Health page maintained by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (https:// wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel). Here you can find notification of current disease outbreaks across the globe, advice on the best pre-travel medical options, and tools for locating travel clinics and places that offer vaccinations. Best of all, the main page has a drop-down menu where you can click on the country or countries you plan on visiting and get the most up-to-date information. Some of what’s found is self-evident. If you’re going to Iceland, bring a warm jacket and rain gear. If Indonesia is your destination, be sure you’re up on all vaccines and have a medical professional prescribe malaria pills and other needed medicines. I pulled up the page for India to see what was advised. I’ve been fully protected against measles since college and had gotten this year’s flu shot, so those immunizations weren’t needed. Among other routine vaccinations, Rogers recommended I get a second hepatitis A injection (I’d only had one previously), as well as the jab for hepatitis B. While this form of hepatitis can only be acquired through bodily fluid exchanges, Rogers told me there have been rare occasions of travelers being bitten by infected people. Although this seemed unlikely, I decided to get the shot anyway. Rogers also prescribed malaria prophylactics, which the CDC advises, and went over a map of India with me to let me know where the disease is most prevalent. I was surprised to learn that in the tropical south, where I had presumed the risk would be highest, it was in fact far less common than in northern cities on the Gangetic Plain. We discussed ways to avoid getting bit by mosquitoes, the first and most important line of defense against the parasite that the insects have carried to many countries. Malaria is not something to be taken lightly. Years ago a coworker of mine came down with it shortly after returning from the tropics. He was a highly athletic marathon runner and weight lifter, but his body was reduced to a near skeletal state in a very short time. Had he not been in such good condition to begin with, his chances of survival would likely have been much slimmer.

Author David James and a young friend in Nebaj, Guatemala in 1991.

Other concerns for my destination include Japanese encephalitis, typhoid and rabies. Rogers said my likelihood of contracting encephalitis in the places I would be visiting was outweighed by the possible negative reactions to the vaccine. So we skipped that one. Typhoid, on the other hand was something I had never been vaccinated for. In the 1990s, when I spent a lot of time in developing nations, the typhoid vaccine was known to cause so many ill side effects that even specialty travel clinics advised against it unless someone was traveling directly into an outbreak. These days there’s a safe oral vaccine that consists of four pills taken over seven days. So I got a prescription for that along with the malaria medicine. Rabies is more difficult. I’ve always said the one thing in India that truly frightened me during my first visit was dogs. They’re feral and aggressive. Rogers felt that a vaccination was unneces-

sary but did offer detailed instructions on what to do if I am bitten. Food safety was another area of discussion. As a veteran traveler, I’m probably not as cautious as I should be. I like to eat and I often try strange foods. Still, there are certain things you should avoid, which the CDC page also details. Rogers told me that while stomach bugs frequently strike travelers in developing nations, often the cause is not food but failure of the traveler to eat with clean hands. So carrying antiseptic hand wipes isn’t a bad idea. He also prescribed a powerful antibiotic for if I do get sick. In his email, Rogers mentioned that many travelers engage in reckless sexual behavior, a point the CDC raises as well. And while some might think that avoiding sex workers will eliminate the risk, you don’t actually know the full history of that instant crush from Australia who you just met. “So when I talk about safety,” Rogers

said, “it includes putting on your seat belt, helmet and condom!”

Preparing for your own trip

Since he’s been offering travel consultations for so long and is an avid traveler himself, I asked Rogers if he had been surprised by anything he’s encountered as a professional over the years. He told me, “The most alarming thing I deal with is parents who still do not believe in vaccines and do not vaccinate their kids. Then when they come in for a travel consult to the developing world, these young folks have to do these intense catch-up schedules on vaccines. I don’t believe in the tooth fairy, but I do believe in the value and protection vaccines can offer.” This is sound advice even for nontravelers. The recent and unwanted outbreaks of measles in America, a country where the disease was considered eliminated two decades ago, offer a ALASKA PULSE — January 2020

“The most alarming thing I deal with is parents who still do not believe in vaccines and do not vaccinate their kids. Then when they come in for a travel consult to the developing world, these young folks have to do these intense catch-up schedules on vaccines. I don’t believe in the tooth fairy, but I do believe in the value and protection vaccines can offer.”

— Dennis Rogers, physician assistant at Tanana Valley Clinic

solemn reminder of why vaccines are necessary and just how much damage can be done by those who shun them based on medically unfounded claims of their dangers. Monitoring your health after returning from overseas is as important as a pre-travel consultation and exercising safe practices while abroad. Rogers said the things to look out for are “Top of the list: fever, especially if traveling in a malaria endemic area.” I remembered my coworker who developed malaria in the ‘90s. He knew what signs to look for and sought medical help as soon as he David James on Mount Bromo, island of Java, noticed them. Indonesia. Rogers said returning travelers should also seek prompt medical attention if they experience I’ve had my share of stomach ailments, “persistent diarrhea or gastrointestinal bloody injuries and (fortunately benign) symptoms, especially bloody stools.” bug bites. In Indonesia I developed an Then, being the traveler he is, he added extremely high fever one day and was that he’d happily meet with “anyone considering going to a hospital when it with really great photos and experibroke as quickly as it came on. I’ve never ences.” known the cause. I was sent home from my appointOn a trip to Central America I found ment with a small book called “The myself lacking antibiotics for severe Pocket Doctor,” which is packed with stomach issues and wound up makinformation on health risks for travelers ing an unplanned visit to a doctor in and how to identify and find help for Honduras. It probably could have been them and which will go in my bag. It avoided if I’d had my own supply of includes a suggested medical kit to pack pills. So now I carry them when travelalong. The CDC site has a similar list of ing in countries where Montezuma or items, as well as specialty pages listing Shiva might be eyeballing my intestinal what might be needed for every foreign tract. country, even Iceland. But in the end, the advice I gave my I’m not a hypochondriac, but over the wife years ago on what was most likely course of my varied overseas excursions 26

ALASKA PULSE — January 2020

to kill us is borne out by the CDC page for India. The longest section of warnings and recommendations is labeled “Select safe transportation.” The first sentence of this section says, in boldface, “Motor vehicle crashes are the #1 killer of healthy US citizens in foreign countries.” These include pedestrian mishaps, motorcycle wrecks, getting in a vehicle operated by a drunk driver, and, yes, bus crashes. And most importantly, the CDC and Rogers both advise getting medical evacuation insurance. These policies are inexpensive but invaluable if you find yourself needing immediate assistance in a remote location. You might come home sooner than intended on a medical flight, but it will be paid for, and it beats getting flown home in a box. For those considering overseas ventures, Rogers said, “People need to plan weeks to months in advance of their travels for possible medical needs, vaccines, meds for malaria, and individual country recommendations and requirements.” Check the CDC website regardless of how safe the country you will be visiting might be, schedule an appointment with your doctor if vaccinations and/or prescriptions are advised, and go forth armed with knowledge and the proper preventive measures in place. Happy travels. David James is a freelance writer in Fairbanks.

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Children need good sleep too By Dr. Harry Yuan

t is common knowledge that adequate good-quality sleep is important in the development of children. Yet childhood insomnia is the most common sleep complaint from parents. Although certain sleep disorders may cause insomnia, the difficulty in initiating or maintaining sleep may be due to poor sleep habits or suboptimal sleep environment. Getting adequate sleep is vital and translates to better quality of life for children of all ages. Good sleep habits are important. They include bedtimes, wake times, types of activities around bedtimes, sleep schedules, sleep environment, and diet. Good sleep habit is achieved by optimizing behaviors that promote sleep and avoiding those that sabotage it. Training the mind to recognize bedtime is one method of promoting sleep. For example, having the same bedtimes and wake times daily help our bodies synchronize our internal clocks (circadian rhythm) with the environmental clock (time) and prepares us to fall asleep as bedtime approaches. Similarly, having the same bedtime routine nightly also signals our mind that sleep is approaching. Other factors that can influence the ability to fall asleep are the environment 28

ALASKA PULSE — January 2020

and certain daytime activities. Ideally, the room should be quiet and dark. A room temperature on the cooler side (between 65-70 degrees Fahrenheit) with blankets to stay warm is optimal. Avoid using the bedroom for any other activities aside from sleeping. Screen time on any electronic devices within two hours of bedtime exposes the eyes to an excessive amount of light and should be avoided. Exercise during the day can promote better sleep, but it may disrupt the ability to fall asleep if done within four hours of bedtime. Caffeine can exert its waking effect up to six hours after ingestion and should be avoided later in the day. The American Academy of Pediatrics has stated that adequate sleep in children leads to improved behavior, better learning, and higher quality of life. Children with inadequate sleep are at increased risk for obesity, depression and hypertension.

Therefore, the AAP has endorsed the recommendation from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine regarding sleep hours for different age groups. (The listed hours are per 24 hours including naps): • Age 4 months to 12 months: 12 to 16 hours • Age 1 to 2 years: 11 to 14 hours • Age 3 to 5 years: 10 to 13 hours • Age 6 to 12 years: 9 to 12 hours • Age 13 to 18 years: 8 to 10 hours Aside from certain sleep habits and sleep environment, another common cause of insomnia in children is obstructive sleep apnea. Unlike adults, children with obstructive sleep apnea may have difficulty falling asleep and have frequent nighttime awakenings as well as symptoms similar to attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder like difficulty focusing, poor school performance and hyperactivity. In fact, up to 25 percent of children diagnosed with ADHD may actually have undiagnosed poor sleep that is manifesting the ADHD symptoms. It is important to treat obstructive sleep apnea not only to address the presenting symptoms but also to prevent complications that can develop in the future. Dr. Harry Yuan, MPH, FCCP, FAASM, is pediatric medical director at the Alaska Sleep Clinic.

League of American Bicyclists certified instructor Elle Steele of Sacramento (striped shirt on right) gathers cyclists behind the Sitka Public Library to chat while they are participating in a LAB Smart Cycling training held as part of the inaugural Alaska Walk and Bike Conference in June 2019. Courtesy of Charles Bingham

Community wellness Sitka’s ‘culture of health’ a result of its holistic approach By Erin McGroarty Alaska Pulse

small community in Southeast Alaska is putting health first. With only 14 miles of paved roads and a population of just over 8,640 people, its size and remoteness –– only accessible by ferry or air –– hasn’t deterred the community of Sitka from making massive strides in recent years to make public health its No. 1 priority. As you look around the community perched on the coast along the Alaska Panhandle, examples of its work toward a general sense of community wellness is apparent. The small coastal town has recently been furnished with a new

series of herring-shaped bike storage racks –– an homage to the community’s coastal location and culture and the most recent installment in Sitka’s push to become more bike-friendly. A 12-foot by 24-foot mural –– painted by members of the community –– hangs on the side of Blatchley Middle School. The mural sports the message “Choose Respect,” a theme in the community’s larger scale initiative to bring awareness to domestic violence and bullying. The Sitka Health Summit Coalition –– the organization behind these community projects –– began as a collaborative community endeavor in 2006 in an effort to bring community members

together with the larger goal of achieving high levels of community-wide health. Now, Sitka has gained national recognition for its efforts. The coalition has been awarded the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation 2019 Culture of Heath prize along with a $25,000 grant to put toward community wellness projects.

Holistic approach

Doug Osborne is a health educator with the Sitka Alaska Regional Health Consortium. He’s also a member of the Sitka Health Summit Coalition, which applied for the award on behalf of the town. ALASKA PULSE — January 2020

Joan O’Keefe of Southeast Alaska Independent Living Inc. and Lynne Brandon of Sitka Trails Works survey the construction of the Sitka Community Playground during a community build day in June 2018. Building an American Disabilities Act-compliant playground was a Sitka Health Summit community wellness project in 2011 and 2015 Courtesy of Charles Bingham

Osborne described Sitka’s approach to a healthy community as “holistic.” “It’s definitely a broad approach,” he said. “We take a lot of different factors into consideration.” These can range from fitness and nutrition to mental health awareness and emotional education. “Our model is mind, body, social, emotional,” Osborne said. “It includes it all.” The coalition was born with the goal of building bridges across different health sectors in an effort to foster a sense of partnership for better general

community health, Osborne explained. The group consists of nine organizations, including local nonprofits as well as Sitka’s two central health groups –– Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium, the region’s tribal health organization, and Sitka Community Hospital, owned by the city. “It’s different organizations that come together,” Osborne said. “We’re a crosssector collaboration with the central ambition of promoting a healthier community for everyone.” In addition to year-round attention to the overall sense of community health

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in Sitka, the coalition hosts an annual planning day during which community members gather to formulate collaborative health goals for the coming year. These goals can be small and easily accomplished in a year’s time or longform and ongoing like Sitka’s push to increase biking and walking opportunities to members of the community. At first that began with the simple task of ensuring bike lanes on community roads. Now, years later, bike lanes are taken into consideration when roads are maintained, repaved or when construction is done. Walking trails around

Above, coalition members Vera Gibson and Loyd Platson applaud at the RWJF Culture of Health Prize event in New Jersey. Copyright Flynn Larsen. Photo courtesy of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Left, Sitka Local Foods Network board members Amanda Anjum and Nina Vizcarrondo (the Sitka Farmers Market manager) with volunteer Hannah Green during an August 2019 Sitka Farmers Market. 2019 was the 12th season of the Sitka Farmers Markets. Courtesy of Charles Bingham

the island were another point of focus with community members working to expand and maintain an extensive trail system. A smaller –– but equally important –– goal, Osborne noted, was work done last year to install the community’s first and only ADA (American with Disabilities Act) compliant playground. Both of those examples help community members stay active, providing convenience for those wishing to maintain a high level of activity in day-to-day life. Creation of Sitka’s Cloud shelter, a free after-school drop-in center for teens, was a different type of goal. The Cloud opened just 10 months after the coalition –– with the help of the community –– set the idea in motion.

It takes a community

Community members are always included in decision-making and goalsetting. Sometimes, as in the case of coalition member Chandler O’Connell, being an active member of the community can lead to involvement with the coalition as a group member. O’Connell was born and raised in Sitka, so the area is held deep in her heart. She moved away briefly as an adult, joining the coalition about three

From left, Julie Morita, Chandler O’Connell, Vera Gibson, Tina Bachmeier, Holly Marban, Doug Osborne, Loyd Platson, and Sheri Johnson on Nov. 12, 2019, at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Culture of Health Prize Celebration and Learning Event in Princeton, N.J., presenting and accepting Sitka’s 2019 RWJF Culture of Health Prize award. Morita and Johnson are with the RWJF, while the others are part of the Sitka Health Summit Coalition. Copyright 2019 Flynn Larsen.

Photo courtesy of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

years ago following her return to the community. She works for the Sitka Conservation Society as a community catalyst, helping to organize and direct local community initiatives surrounding sustainability. “Our connection over the years has

seen the Sitka Conservation Society lending support for a number of the goals chosen by the community. Because of the connection between the organizations, it seemed like a natural bridge for me,” she said. The Sitka Conservation Society holds ALASKA PULSE — January 2020

Doug Osborne introduces Supporting Our Seniors Workshop in September 2019. One of the two 2018 Sitka Health Summit community wellness projects was to increase senior housing and services in Sitka, and this event was part of that project. Photo courtesy of Charles Bingham.

the mission of protecting the Tongass National Forest, located near Sitka, as well as building a sustainable community. The idea of sustainability is wide-ranging, O’Connell noted, and has woven its way through many of the coalition goals over the years. One of the projects, identified by community members at the coalition’s annual woo.cheen –– meaning “working together” in Sitka’s native Tlingit language –– meeting was the nutritional health of the community’s schoolchildren. This sparked the Fish to Schools program, which, in collaboration with local fishermen, provides one locally wildcaught fish meal a week to the community’s public schools. “This was a great collaboration because it brought fresh fish to local schools so kids in the district can have a fish lunch but also so the kids can learn about fish, fishing and our community 32

ALASKA PULSE — January 2020

at large,” O’Connell said. The Fish to Schools program has been running for eight years now.

Passion for wellness

Food security and sustainable food practices have led to a number of other initiatives over the years including the Sitka Farmers Market and a program called Sitka Kitch, which originally began as a community kitchen where individuals could take food education classes and learn skills connected to nutrition and subsistence. Ideas can come from anyone in the community and have ranged far in scope over the years. As far as the $25,000 in prize money, O’Connell says the coalition is looking to the people it serves for ideas on how to spend the money. “We’re looking for the ideas to come from the community itself,” she said. “So

now until Feb. 14 we will be collecting ideas through an online link and in person suggestion and outreach to different community sectors to collect ideas. For O’Connell, a deeply held passion for health and wellness harkens back to the larger goal of a thriving community. “This includes the economy for sure,” she said. “But also environment and people. All three of those are needed for a health and thriving community for all individuals.” The challenge over the years has been a welcome one, O’Connell said. “I see health pretty broadly,” she said. “It’s the idea of building a culture that is able to think big about social determinants that make us thrive or struggle. It’s collective action and trying new things. Especially in rural Southeast, we face unique challenges and we need to work together.” Contact staff writer Erin McGroarty at 459-7544.

HEALTH SENSE

OMM: What is it? And, more importantly, what can it do for me? By Dr. Todd Capistrant

o you want to see a doctor? You found one but their degree says D.O.? What’s a D.O.? Doctors of osteopathy, or D.O.s, have been around for a long time. Osteopathy was first developed by Dr. A.T. Still in 1892. Dr. Still was a pioneering physician who believed the structure of the body was directly connected to the function of the body and its organ systems. Alteration or disruption of the body’s structure could lead to illness. Therefore, correcting the body’s structural issues could improve the overall function of the body and a person’s health. Today there are more than 137,000 practicing doctors of osteopathy in the United States. By the year 2030, 20% of all physicians in the United States will hold the D.O. degree. In fact, many people in the United States have seen a D.O. and did not realize they were seeing a fully licensed and trained physician with a “different” degree. The training of M.D.s and D.O.s is very similar and quite rigorous. One main difference about doctors of osteopathy is that during their medical school training they learn the basic principles of osteopathic manipulative medicine. What is osteopathic manipulative medicine, or OMM? This designation

represents the part of osteopathic medicine that a D.O. would use to diagnosis and address the altered structure of a patient’s body. Osteopathic manipulative medicine is a specialty in and of itself. Just as all physicians learn about the heart, we have cardiologists who specialize even further in disease of the heart. Similarly, all D.O.s learn about OMM, but there are D.O.s who focus their practice on treating the musculoskeletal system. Some of these doctors have even done additional residency training in what is called osteopathic neuromusculoskeletal medicine, or ONMM. The OMM provider is a specialist in the structure and function of the body as seen through the musculoskeletal system. All aspects of the body from the soft tissue, bones, joints, and fluids are vital to a normal functioning person, and the OMM specialist has many techniques to employ to help correct issues in these tissues of the body. Some

of the techniques used are very subtle, and some are much more direct and at times painful. What issues can be addressed by OMM? Any musculoskeletal complaint, not just pain, can be evaluated by a physician working with OMM. OMM is a model of thinking that provides the D.O. physician with a vast tool kit that can be applied to any age patient, from newborn to the elderly. Some of the common issues seen in an OMM department are back and neck pain, muscle strains or sprains, headaches, or pain in the limbs such as carpal tunnel or plantar fasciitis. Any muscle sprain or strain can be evaluated with OMM. In infants, colic or difficulties feeding or latching can be addressed using OMM techniques and theories. In addition to addressing pain complaints, OMM can be used to address decreased range of motion caused by illness or injury. Many athletes seek the help of OMM for maximizing performance and improving body function. If you are interested in learning more about what osteopathic medicine represents or what OMM can address, you can visit www.osteopathic.org. Dr. Capistrant specializes in osteopathic manipulative medicine and is certified by the American Board of Family Medicine. He is a member of the growing OMM department at the Tanana Valley Clinic in Fairbanks.

ALASKA PULSE — January 2020

Music Man

H a Mike Stevens plays the harmonica on the banks of the Kuskokwim River in Bethel in spring 2019. Courtesy of Healing Through Music and Dance Program.

ALASKA PULSE â&#x20AC;&#x201D; January 2020

Every student gets a harmonica when Mike Stevens comes to town. Students in Nenana try theirs out.

Eric Filardi photo

Helping teens find healing, affirmation through art, music

armonica virtuoso Mike Stevens helps young people express their emotions in a creative and healing way. He does it by handing them each a harmonica. It isn’t long before they are telling their own compelling stories through music. “It’s pretty simple actually,” Stevens said. “It’s human. It’s not staring at a screen or looking into your phone or watching too much TV. It’s connecting with kids and community. “And it makes me feel good.” The internationally known musician, who is originally from southern Ontario, has performed hundreds of times on stage at the famous Grand Ole Opry. But 20 years ago, that star trajectory took a detour after he visited a remote village in northern Labrador and encountered young people sniffing

By Kris Capps Alaska Pulse

gasoline. Since then he has dedicated his life to reaching out to young people, especially in remote communities. He founded the nonprofit ArtsCan Circle and now links creative artists with atrisk youth to build skills and self-esteem through art and music. His focus has been on rural communities in Alaska and Canada. Stevens has been the subject of two feature film documentaries and is the recipient of Canada’s Medal of Honor. His “Healing Music and Dance” program is now sponsored by the Bethel Community Services Foundation. Since 2013, Stevens has regularly toured Alaska’s Western, Interior and North Slope regions. At each community he focuses

on his most important audience — teens and their own music. He encourages artistic expression of feelings and helps them give voice to the otherwise inexpressible. Often it is the beginning of recovering from trauma. The musical storytelling skills he shares promote self-esteem and creative self-expression. Kids learn to listen. And it all starts with putting a harmonica in the hands of a child.

The power of music

Stevens confesses right away that he can’t read a note of music. He has a condition called synesthesia, which allows him to see and hear colors as specific notes. “I hear music in color,” he said. “I just make it up based on how I feel.” ALASKA PULSE — January 2020

Left, harmonica virtuoso Mike Stevens shows students how to use a Looper. Stevens travels with this case filled with harmonicas. Kris Capps photos

Then he starts with a demonstration. Kids shout out an emotion and he plays it on the harmonica: happy, sad, scared, angry, nervous. The audience is delighted at his musical interpretation. Before long they are experimenting with that harmonica themselves. Follow-up visits are important, and Stevens always looks forward to returning to rural communities. “That is the key, really,” he said. He thought back to how the government used to handle situations in remote communities of his home country of Canada. “Whenever a big ‘problem’ came up, the media jumped on it, and the government would have a bunch of people who had never even been in the community dream up some plan to fix it, then spend a whole bunch of money on it. Then the money ran out and nothing changed and nothing got fixed. 36

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His repeat visits are not about instant fixes. They are about building relationships over time. “It does work,” he said. “Against all odds, it really does work.”

An instrument of success

He has been a frequent visitor at Nenana City School, for example. Nenana is a small community about 50 miles south of Fairbanks on the Parks Highway. Many teens attend the school from all over the state and live at the Nenana Student Living Center. “Mike Stevens showed our students how harmonica music can be used to express our inner feelings, and the power of this expression in helping to cope with situations requiring resiliency,” said Eric Filardi, a teacher at Nenana City School. “His captivating and energetic personality is immensely supportive of our kids and invites them to take safe

risks in their comfort of performance.” Stevens is an expert at convincing children and teens that anyone can play the harmonica. He shows them how to do it. What Stevens shares, according to Filardi, is how to be inventive, resourceful and imaginative with that harmonica. Those are skills needed to succeed today and in the future, he said. Stevens also donated a Looper to Filardi’s classroom. The Looper records sounds and allows students to compose their own music, incorporating traditional and beat-boxing techniques. Those students create their own sounds — a wolf howling, whistling of the wind, a beautiful bird call and the crackling of a fire, created by crumpling a piece of paper close to the microphone. When using the Looper, students are learning technology and also acting as a team to create a story and a

Mike Stevens and Nenana students show off their harmonicas.

Kris Capps photo

“He is a shining example of what happens when you are able to awaken the inner artist of young men and women: community transformation.”

— James Menaker, director of the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival

piece of music. It’s not unusual for students to spontaneously start dancing in traditional indigenous style or a blend of break dancing with traditions, while another student sings and others drum physically or electronically. One by one, students are drawn into creating their own music, and one by one their faces fill with smiles at the result. The harmonica master praises them. “That’s how you tell a story,” he tells them. “You don’t need words. You’re telling a story with sound right now.”

‘I’m very lucky’

The harmonica, along with Stevens’ enthusiasm, is a powerful tool of change. “He has the ability to connect with young people who have been marginalized in our society and draw out of them the reality of their thoughts and dreams

and emotions,” said James Menaker, director of the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival. Stevens was a frequent guest artist with the festival. Sometimes it is that small harmonica that breaks through a long built-up wall of resistance. At one village in 2018, teachers suggested he would be wasting his time trying to work with certain teens. Other adult professionals had been unable to “reach” these children. “He showed them how to create their own language using music and express in song what words did not have the power to convey,” Menaker said. “He played and they played and they played together and they began dancing, pulling out traditional dances that they had not performed in years and years. The teachers’ eyes popped open and their jaws hit the floor as they shared that they had never seen anything like this

before. “He is a shining example of what happens when you are able to awaken the inner artist of young men and women: community transformation,” Menaker said. Sometimes Stevens thinks about what life would be like if he hadn’t taken that trip to Labrador and met those kids huffing gas. “I’d probably be living in Nashville,” he said “I’d probably be a lot more famous and have a lot more money. “But ya know what? There’s a lot of ways of measuring wealth, and the only time I would ever reflect that way is if I was feeling sorry for myself for a second. Pretty soon, I slap myself. “I get to play an instrument I love, for a living,” he said. “I’m very lucky.” Reach columnist/community editor Kris Capps at 459-7546.

ALASKA PULSE — January 2020

In search of some shut-eye Lab aims to shed light on nighttime slumber troubles By Kyrie Long Alaska Pulse

ooms in the Fairbanks Memorial Hospital Sleep Disorders Center don’t look like a traditional hospital setup. In one, a bed dominates the floor, with an armchair and sofa off to the right-hand side and an attached bathroom on the left. The tones of the room are warm brown, and a television is mounted on the wall across from the bed. 38

ALASKA PULSE — January 2020

“This is actually the room we use for pediatric patients or someone who has a caregiver that would need to stay with them,” said Andre Keller, director of respiratory care and the sleep lab. “So the caregiver can stay on the couch and stay overnight with the patient.” The lab is a four-bedroom facility set up four years ago to help patients in their quest for a regular restful night of sleep. Some patients prefer to sleep in an armchair, as well. Sometimes a patient

has a heart or respiratory condition, or trouble sleeping in a bed. While Keller noted this arrangement isn’t preferable, it is an option for those who are more comfortable that way. Basically, the staff try to accommodate the patient’s situation, according to Dr. Clay Triplehorn, medical director of the facility. If they need to do something to gather the information, even if they have to make different decisions, that’s what they try to do, he said. “We try to work around the patient to

Left, Andre Keller, director of respiratory care and the sleep lab, and Elizabeth Davis, a day sleep technician, demonstrate how their system works, bringing an older sleep study up on the monitor to explain how they mark different stages of sleep. Above, this head box is where all the wires connected to patients are hooked up. Not every connector is used, but this device helps monitor the body, including heart rate, while patients of the sleep lab rest overnight. Kyrie Long

photos

make it happen, because if we’re trying to make patients follow our rules, people aren’t automatons. People are individuals, they do what they want to do,” said Triplehorn, “and so the more we try to meet peoples’ needs the better off we are.”

Sleep tech

In a separate room with four computer monitors, Keller explains how the sleep lab works. The lab has four beds with four computers. In each bed is an acquisition PC, which gathers data as the patient

sleeps. Everything is hooked up to a head box, which is dotted with tiny wire connectors. The patient is hooked up to various wires that monitor brainwaves, heart rate, respiratory effort, airflow and oxygen levels. The four computers in the rooms are connected to four work stations, where technicians see the data in real time and score it. “Scoring” means they mark sections of the data feed, according to Keller, determining what stage of sleep the patient is in and any “obstructive events,” such as sleep apnea and oxygen desaturation. The room with the work stations has

various CPAP face masks in baskets above the desk space. CPAP is short for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure and the masks push air to the patient to keep airways open. The lab carries around 45 types of masks, and Keller noted that the technology is improving from year to year. Generally people arrive for a polysomnography, more commonly called a sleep study, after they first visit Tanana Valley Clinic. There, Triplehorn said, they clarify what the patient’s priorities are. From there, sometimes, it’s decided that the patient will need to visit the sleep lab. ALASKA PULSE — January 2020

The Fairbanks Memorial Hospital Sleep Disorders Center at 1701 Gillam Way is separate from the main hub of the hospital where patients can go to have sleep studies conducted. One of the four rooms is shown at right. Bottom, Andre Keller explains how the monitoring stations allow lab staff to keep an eye on patients during their studies. Kyrie Long photos

People are usually scheduled to arrive around 8 p.m., according to Keller. The process of getting the wires attached for monitoring takes 30 to 45 minutes, while paperwork is about 10 to 15 minutes. From there patients tend to head to bed from 9-10 p.m. Some patients do stay up a bit later, depending on their usual schedule. “The key thing is that we do need enough data. So we do need patients to fall asleep by about 11, midnight, something like that so we can have enough data to give Dr. Triplehorn a good study,” Keller said.

Why study sleep?

“The challenge is, with sleep, it’s not just the technical stuff, right? It’s not just coming in, getting a sleep study,” Triplehorn said. “It’s me talking to you, me doing a physical exam, we’re hearing your story, and then we use the technical stuff to actually help piece that apart, to try to figure out what’s going on.” People come to the clinic for a variety of reasons: They see sleep apnea patients frequently; they see veterans who have 40

ALASKA PULSE — January 2020

trouble sleeping; sometimes people walk or talk in their sleep; and sometimes it’s as simple as recurring headaches at night. In his experience with sleep disorders, Triplehorn said, it is never one thing and there is never one fix. The best approach, he said, is a really broad approach, looking at mental health issues, heart issues, neurological issues and coming up with a plan to address everything. “In my mind ... in our population up here, that’s the best approach and that works pretty well,” he said. The Fairbanks Memorial Hospital Sleep Disorder Center may be only 4 years old, however, the hospital has been working with patients on sleep-specific issues since the 1990s. If you want to think about sleep, according to Triplehorn, it’s somewhat like looking at why you need to breathe or eat. “If you don’t sleep, your physiology rapidly declines, but not in seconds or minutes like if you stop breathing, or days to weeks like if you stop eating or drinking,” he said. Sleep deprivation can lead to issues like having trouble regulating temperature, blood pressure, emotions and even declining cognition. Long-term sleep deprivation can also increase risk for cognitive disorders like Alzheimer’s and even cancer. That’s why Triplehorn says it’s important to study sleep. “The challenge has been … it’s only been in the last maybe 15 to 20 years where we’ve actually had the technology, where we can actually look at sleep and actually see how it impacts our lives, how it impacts our health and physiology,” he said. “That’s only been in the last two decades.” For human beings, Triplehorn said, a lot of times the impor-

tance of things a lot of times has to do with how you can look at it. So the fact that we weren’t able to look at sleep in any really meaningful way scientifically, people tend to minimize how important sleep is,” he said. Even growing up, Triplehorn said, it was considered no big deal to sleep five or six hours a night. “But we’re actually finding that that’s not true, and that actually sleep is an extremely part of our physiology — both short term and long term.” Contact staff writer Kyrie Long at 459-7510.

North WiNd Behavioral Caroline Atkinson

MA, LPC Licensed Professional Counselor

Cathy Johnson

RN, MSB, ANP Advanced Nurse Practitioner

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MA, LPC Licensed Professional Counselor

1867 airport Way Suite 215 FairBaNkS, alaSka

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North Wind Behavioral Health offers outpatient treatment Services include: individual, for anxiety, depression, PTSD, mood disorders, ADHD couples and family therapies and and other behavioral health challenges. medication management. Hours: Monday–Thursday 9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. • Most Insurances Accepted • www.northwindbehavioral.com

ALASKA PULSE — January 2020

New Year’s Healthy Resolution Maze The explorers are making a New Year resolution is to get healthier. Can you help Katlin find her way to the soccer field?

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ALASKA PULSE — January 2020

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Baxter Mercer, assistant chief at the Tri-Valley Volunteer Fire Department, was honored with a community service award at the No One Left Behind ceremony in 2019. He celebrates with Denali Borough Mayor Clay Walker and his wife, Renee Mercer. Kris Capps photo

Giving blood turns into lifesaving measure for donor By Kris Capps Alaska Pulse

very seven or eight weeks, Baxter Mercer, 67, makes an appointment to drive more than 100 miles to Fairbanks to donate blood at the Alaska Blood Bank. One day, that visit actually saved his life. In 2014, he went in for his usual visit and got turned away because his heartbeat was below 50 beats per minute. “That was weird,” his wife, Renee Mercer, said as she recalled that day. “Usually, it’s over 60 beats per minute.” It was time to visit a doctor.

“They could not get an accurate reading, so they hooked a monitor up to him for two days,” she said. A few days later, just after he responded to an emergency ambulance call with Tri-Valley Volunteer Fire Department in Healy, the doctor called and told Renee her husband needed to come to Fairbanks immediately. The doctor also ordered him not to drive. Too late. He was already on the road, driving an ambulance north to Fairbanks, delivering two accident victims to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital. With that done, he prepared to drive the ambulance back to Healy. He called his

wife to let her know he would soon be heading home. That’s when she told him to go directly to the hospital’s heart center instead. To his own surprise, he ended up having a pacemaker installed that same morning. Suddenly, there was an explanation for symptoms that he earlier attributed to routine fatigue, stress or aging. If not for that regular stop to donate blood, he might not have discovered his urgent need for a pacemaker. The outcome could have been deadly. “I keep harping about modern technology, and now I probably owe my life ALASKA PULSE — January 2020

Blood Bank of Alaska locations

Baxter Mercer has donated more than 5 gallons of blood at the Alaska Blood Bank. His wife, Renee, is proud of him.

Anchorage 1215 Airport Heights 907-222-5600 8920 Old Seward Highway, Suite C 907-222-5630 Juneau 8800 Glacier Highway, No. 236 907-222-5680

Photo courtesy Renee Mercer

Wasilla 1301 Seward Meridian Parkway, Suite H 907-357-5555 Fairbanks 3010 Airport Way 907-456-5645

More info: www.bloodbankofalaska.org/

to modern technology,” he said.

A ‘really valuable person’

Courtney Reynolds, supervisor at the Alaska Blood Bank, was a technician that day when Mercer was not allowed to routinely donate blood. When he returned later and shared the news about his pacemaker, the staff felt honored, she said. They knew that their evaluation that day led to his continued good health. “If we’re able to not only save a life through donating but also by making sure they are healthy, we’re doing a good job,” she said. Baxter Mercer is one of the blood bank’s regular donors and has contributed more than 5 gallons of blood so far. “You can donate six times per year,” Reynolds said. “Every donation is one pint or 500 milliliters. It takes eight donations to make one gallon. So it takes well over five years to donate 5 gallons.” Everyone has their own reason for donating blood, according to Reynolds. “Some had a family member who needed blood and they came in,” she said. “For some, their parents did it, so in high school they started and never 44

ALASKA PULSE — January 2020

stopped.” Mercer said he donated blood a few times back in Laramie, Wyoming, but decided to donate regularly after a local VISTA volunteer arranged a blood drive in Healy many years ago. “I thought ‘Why not?’ “ he said. “It sounds like a good idea. So I went to Fairbanks and found out where I could do it.” The Alaska Blood Bank is located at 3010 Airport Way. “The second time I went, they told me I was a really valuable person,” he recalled. They told him his blood type is O-negative. That made him a universal donor. These donors have the ability to help anyone in need of a blood transfusion. Red blood cells from O-negative donors can be transfused to anyone, regardless of that person’s blood type. “Even newborn babies,” Mercer said. “I happened to fall in that category too, so I thought that was a good idea.” During subsequent family reunions, Mercer discovered that four or five of his cousins were also O-negative. Some of them are also regular blood donors. “My cousin Roy in Tulsa, Oklahoma was up to 23 or 28 gallons,” Mercer said.

“He started as soon as he got out of high school.” Mercer plans to stick to his donation schedule. “As long as they’ll keep taking it, I’ll keep donating,” he said.

So you want to donate blood?

The Alaska Blood Bank regularly hosts blood drives for organizations or businesses. “Every business can run a blood drive that is six weeks long, or a month long, and they can come in and donate at their convenience,” Reynolds said. On rare occasions, the blood bank will put out a call for donors when supplies run critically low. If you decide to donate blood, here’s what you should do to prepare: Eat well leading up to the day of donation and drink lots of fluids. “We want you to be extremely hydrated,” Reynolds said. “We’ll be taking some good minerals out of your system and we want you to have plenty for yourself as well.” Reach columnist/community editor Kris Capps at 459-7546.

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HEALTH SENSE

The best way to boost testosterone By Dr. Tony Nimeh

ith all the buzz out there about how to treat symptoms of infertility and low testosterone, there is a lot to discover. You may be surprised to hear that Clomid may be prescribed to you for treatment of infertility and symptoms of low testosterone. “C’mon Doc, my wife takes Clomid. Where’s the real stuff ”? Let’s get to the chemistry. Clomid, or, generically, clomiphene, is a prescription medication that your wife’s doctor may prescribe to treat her own infertility. Our bodies all have sensors built into them that detect certain changes in our chemistry. A simple example is our body has a thermostat, it detects that we are cold, sends a signal to the brain, which in turn generates another signal for us to shiver, causing our bodies to produce heat. With Clomid, it’s the same concept, just a bit more complex. Clomid acts by making a woman’s body think it has less estrogen in it that it does — estrogen being one of the two female sex hormones that basically make a woman a woman. It’s an important hormone for childbearing. By tricking her body into thinking there is less estrogen in her body than

there really it, Clomid stimulates the body to produce more estrogen. “That’s great, and I’m sure my wife would love it. I’ve got testosterone, how does this

affect me”? Great question. Women are not the only ones with estrogen in their body. Men also have a small production of estrogen. Estrogen can cause these same chemical receptors to act a certain way. It tells our body to produce less LH (luteinizing hormone) and FSH (follicle stimulating hormone), which in turn tells our bodies to produce less testosterone and less sperm. Both testosterone and sperm are generated in the testicles. When a man takes Clomid, this blocks the estrogen from interacting with the chemical receptors in his body, which in turn results in an increase in FSH, LH and subsequently testosterone and sperm. “So Clomid is the best choice for my low testosterone symptoms?”

Glad you asked that. It depends on your individual needs and circumstances. Let’s discuss the benefits of Clomid. First off, it’s been around for years and since the patents have expired on it, cost is minimal. It’s a tablet that is taken orally, so you don’t have to worry about needles or injections. It acts as a stimulant within your body that causes you to produce more of your own testosterone and sperm. While these are all great points, we have to consider that each of our bodies is different and that factors such as age, genetics, past medical issues and care play a part as well. For instance, if you have been in the habit of using an outside source of testosterone replacement in the past, there is a possibility that your body won’t be able to produce its own testosterone as well as it used to anymore, if at all. In our practice, Clomid is our first-line choice for men with low testosterone, specifically those who still wish to have children, since it affects both testosterone and sperm production positively. Clomid is an excellent, minimally invasive route to try, but don’t get discouraged if things don’t work out. There are plenty of other options available out there. Dr. Tony Nimeh is the owner of Fairbanks Urology.

ALASKA PULSE — January 2020

DASH EATING PLAN

HEALTHY EATING, PROVEN RESULTS

Getting Started on DASH

It’s easy to adopt the DASH eating plan. Even small changes made gradually lead to significant benefits. Follow these steps to begin a healthy lifestyle for a lifetime.

kale

Assess where you are now. The DASH eating plan requires no special foods and has no hard-to-follow recipes. One way to begin is by using the free, interactive, online Body Weight Planner (niddk.nih.gov/bwp) to find out how many calories you need per day to maintain or reach your goal weight. Then fill in the What’s on Your Plate? worksheet for a few days and see how your current food habits compare with the DASH plan. This will help you see what changes you need to make.

kidney beans

Discuss medication with your doctor. If you take medication to control high blood pressure or cholesterol, you should not stop using it. Follow the DASH eating plan and talk with your doctor about your medication treatment as part of an overall plan for wellness.

Make DASH a part of your healthy life. The DASH eating plan along with other lifestyle changes can help you control your blood pressure and lower blood cholesterol. Important lifestyle recommendations include: achieve and maintain a healthy weight, get regular physical activity, and, if you drink alcohol, do so in moderation (up to one drink per day for women and up to two drinks per day for men).

blackberries

4 potato salmon

DASH is for everyone in the family. Start with the meal plans in A Week With the DASH Eating Plan if you want to follow the menus similar to those used in the DASH trial— then make up your own using your favorite foods. In fact, your entire family can eat meals using the DASH eating plan because it can be adapted to meet varied nutritional needs, food preferences, and dietary requirements.

Don’t worry. Remember that on some days the foods you eat may add up to more than the recommended servings from one food group and less from another. Or, you may have too much sodium on a particular day. Just try your best to keep the average of several days close to the DASH eating plan and the sodium level recommended for you.

The DASH Eating Plan is a heart healthy approach that has been scientifically proven to lower blood pressure and have other health benefits. To learn more, go to www.nhlbi.nih.gov/DASH.

ALASKA PULSE — January 2020

FUN AND HEALTHY

Healthy Banana Split Freezer Bites These mini healthy banana split bites make a delicious frozen treat for kids.

Ingredients

silicone muffin liners strawberry yogurt vanilla yogurt strawberries banana chocolate bar walnuts shredded coconut

Answer to puzzle on Page 2 Chef Solus Breakfast Crossword Puzzle

Directions

Together: Scoop strawberry yogurt into a silicone muffin liner and in another muffin liner add scoop of vanilla yogurt. Together: Slice bananas and mash strawberries. Kids: Add slices of bananas and mashed strawberries on top of the each yogurt. Kids: Add walnuts then sprinkle coconut. Place in the freezer for about 2 hours. Together: Drizzle melted chocolate

ALASKA PULSE â&#x20AC;&#x201D; January 2020

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CALL FOR AN APPOINTMENT 459-3540

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