By Robyn Towt
Breast Cancer Survivor in San Antonio My name is Robyn Towt. I am a three-time cancer survivor, most recently diagnosed with breast cancer in 2017 at the age of 44. I had stage one IDC that was found during my routine mammogram and ultrasound. I did not have any treatment, only a bilateral mastectomy and reconstruction with Mentor silicone breast implants. The implants caused an array of debilitating health issues, something that none of my doctors told me could happen. I had symptoms ranging from chronic migraines, rashes and extreme fatigue to debilitating insomnia, burning pain, heart palpitations, hair loss, difficulty breathing, difficulty swallowing and muscle pain. I had the implants removed after just four months and all of my symptoms completely ...
Project Firstline, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) infection control training and education collaborative for healthcare workers, is now offering resources in Spanish. Project Firstline materials are designed so that healthcare workers — regardless of their prior training or education — can confidently understand and apply the infection control principles and protocols necessary to protect themselves and their facility, family, and community from the threats of infectious diseases, such as COVID-19. The following are some of the new Spanish-language materials. Project Firstline Facilitator Toolkit in Spanish. The facilitator toolkit is designed to work with the learning styles and busy schedules of a healthcare worker’s team. Whether ...
The number of COVID-19 cases from the Omicron variant continues to rise. Consistent with current understanding of the disease trajectory, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is releasing updated guidance for isolation and quarantine for healthcare workers, decreasing their isolation time after infection with COVID-19. Additionally, CDC is releasing an update to guidance for contingency and crisis management in the setting of significant healthcare worker shortages. These updates provide healthcare facilities with strategies to limit the effects of staff shortages caused by COVID-19 on patient care and note that: Healthcare workers with COVID-19 who are asymptomatic can return to work after 7 days with a negative test, and that isolation time ...
Want to play memory and thinking tests and help millions of families with dementia? The Brain Health Registry can help you do that. Researchers at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) developed a registry for adults interested in conducting brain tests that can help the future creation of treatments for Alzheimer’s, dementia, Parkinson’s, and other brain disorders. Now, they’re partnering with the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases at UT Health San Antonio to expand brain health research in the Texas region of the United States, through a partnership called STOP-AD. Learn about the STOP-AD Brain Health Registry, how Alzheimer’s is affecting Latinos, and how clinical trials can help us tackle Alzheimer’s and other ...
Viruses are a type of germ that can infect a host body and cause illness, like a cold or COVID-19. A virus uses living things, like animals and people, to make copies of themselves. Then they keep spreading from one living thing to another. Viruses can lead to numerous illnesses, including: bronchitis, the flu, the common cold, and COVID-19. Fortunately, if you know a little bit about viruses, then it’s easier to understand why the things we do for infection control work to stop them from spreading and making people sick. CDC’s Project Firstline, an initiative to inform and train healthcare workers about infection prevention and control, helps us explore the three main parts of viruses:
1. The Genes of Viruses
Genes are the first main part of a ...
Latino students take out more student loans to pay for their education than their White peers, adding to a racial/ethnic wage gap and harming upward mobility. In fact, even 12 years after graduation, Latino students still maintained over 83% of their loan debt, compared to only 65% for White borrowers, according to a recent report from the nonprofit Student Borrower Protection Center. “Borrowers in majority-Black and majority-Latinx neighborhoods shoulder greater debt burdens and struggle disproportionately when repaying their loans,” according to the Borrower report. “The more racially segregated a neighborhood grows, the larger the student loan disparities become, with borrowers in the most segregated areas being up to five times more likely to fall behind on their loans ...
Free school meals have been a staple for kids from low-income households for decades, especially Latino kids. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, unions and advocacy organizations successfully fought to bring universal free school meals to students learning from home, with federal support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Then after several extensions, USDA funded school meals through June 30, 2022. But what happens after that? Let’s explore the current state of free school meals, the impact they have on Latino kids, and what the future holds. UPDATE 2/4/22: The Biden administration announced the USDA will change its school nutrition standards for the 2022-2023 school year, reinstating health goals that were rolled back throughout the Trump administration on ...
COVID-19 worsened the many health disparities already facing people of color. The pandemic revealed long-standing gaps in infection control knowledge and understanding among the frontline healthcare workforce. This is why CDC launched Project Firstline, a training and education collaborative designed to ensure all healthcare workers, no matter their role or educational background, have the infection control knowledge and understanding they need and deserve to protect themselves, their patients, and their coworkers. Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio is now working with the National Hispanic Medical Association to bring Project Firstline content to frontline healthcare workers to protect themselves, their facilities, and their patients (from Latino and all communities) from ...
As COVID-19 cases from the recent Omicron variant surge across the country, health professionals are also detecting a rise in “Flurona,” which is a combination of the common flu and coronavirus. What really is Flurona and how can you avoid it? Let’s explore the facts.
What is Flurona?
Technically, Flurona isn’t a new disease. It occurs when someone contracts both COVID-19 and the flu simultaneously or one after the other. “Health experts have been warning about the possibility of a ‘twindemic,’ a scenario in which spikes in cases of COVID-19 and a simultaneous rough flu season overwhelm the country’s hospital systems, since early on in the pandemic,” according to Fortune Magazine.
Why is Flurona Happening Now?
Flurona has been happening throughout the ...
