Exercise, Your Prescription For Health

Men, your workout could be benefiting you in more ways than you think. Although you may have started your fitness routine with a goal of building muscle or losing weight, it’s important to maintain that routine for a longer, healthier life. “Exercise has a multitude of benefits that impact you both physically and mentally,” said Marcus Osborne, Director of Catawba Valley Medical ...

Heart to Heart: Talking to Your Doctor

It is the almost common knowledge that men avoid the doctor as if their life depended on it, when really their life could be dependent on their doctor. Men die on average 6 years before women. By having a stronger relationship with your primary health doctor, you have a much better chance of staying around just as long as the woman in your life. According to the American Heart Association, the ...

No Child Should Have to Face a Parent's Cancer. At Camp Kesem, No Child Faces it Alone.

Laney Clark was just 8 when she learned her mother, Erin, just 36 was battling advanced stage breast cancer. In the beginning, Laney found it very hard to be away from her mom. A self-confessed worrier, Erin’s breast cancer made Laney so anxious that she took it upon herself to create backup plans for rides home at ballet class – fearing her Mom might not come back to pick her up. That ...

Find Out More About CVMC Cancer Support Programs For Young People Whose Loved One Has Cancer

Catawba Valley Medical Center (CVMC) offers a free support program for children ages 5 to 12 whose parent or grandparent has cancer. The meetings, held from 6:30 to 8pm on the last Tuesday of every month are offered in the Hospital Classroom on the lower level of Catawba Valley Medical Center. A light meal is provided as participants learn from clinical social worker Liz Daniels about the PALS ...

Find Out More About CVMC Cancer Support Programs For Young People Whose Loved One Has Cancer

Catawba Valley Medical Center (CVMC) offers a free support program for children ages 5 to 12 whose parent or grandparent has cancer. The meetings, held from 6:30 to 8pm on the last Tuesday of every month are offered in the Hospital Classroom on the lower level of Catawba Valley Medical Center. A light meal is provided as participants learn from clinical social worker Liz Daniels about the PALS ...

Is Allergy Testing Right For You?

In the United States, 1 in 5 people suffer from allergies and/or asthma. 40% of children suffer from allergies. Allergies can be seasonal, for example, for one month only when certain plants or trees bloom, or they can be year round, where a patient can have symptoms and suffer all year. Some obvious and not so obvious symptoms of allergies include: sneezing runny or itchy nose scratchy throat ...

Eyes on The Road: Distracted Driving Risks & Tips

Teenagers and their cellphones seem to be inseparable at times, but knowing when to put the phone down can save a lot of lives. According to the CDC, accidental injuries are the number one cause of death for teenagers with 73% of those being motor vehicle accidents. Teenage drivers are the biggest proportion of drivers that are distracted, and distracted driving increases the risk of an accident ...

6 Tips for Stress Management

From home projects and work deadlines to family activities and responsibilities, a full to-do list can leave anyone feeling stressed out — yes men, that means you too. It’s true that we need a certain level of short-term stress in our lives as a motivator to accomplish tasks, solve problems and to help challenge ourselves to produce change. However, long-term stress that is left ...

Regular Check-ups Promote Healthier Aging

Getting regular medical care is an important part of healthy aging. Depending on your age and gender, the tests and services performed at an annual checkup will vary, but routine exams by your primary care physician is recommended even if you are healthy. According to Dr. Michael Burton of Catawba Valley Family Medicine – Medical Arts, these visits include a number of tests and observations ...

SWAT Team Fitness - Sweating Weight Away Together

Millions of Americans struggle every day with their weight. But obesity presents a special concern and CVMC offers a resoundingly successful surgical weight loss program for those ready to lose weight for good. However, taking the serious leap to have surgery is a fantastic start, but in two to three years, if a physically active lifestyle has not been adopted, it isn’t uncommon for the ...

MY STORY: Betty Fore Shares About Brother's Gift of Life

April is Organ Donation Awareness Month and CVMC Radiation Therapist, Betty Fore knows first hand the meaning of the “gift of life.” Her brother, Pastor Bill Bigham of Boger City Baptist Church, has been doing great since receiving the gift of a kidney by transplant surgery at NC Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem on New Year’s Eve in 2013. His donor, Stephanie Stanley isn’t ...

CVMC Seeks Community Input to Help Improve Patient Experience

HICKORY, NC – March 4, 2016 – Catawba Valley Medical Center (CVMC) has created the framework for a new Patient and Family Advisory Council and is seeking participation from patients and families representing the community it serves. “We are looking for a broad cross-section of participants willing to offer candid and constructive feedback to help us identify and prioritize our ...

How Nurse Amber Hice Championed Better Care for Heart Failure Patients at CVMC

Catawba Valley Medical Center (CVMC) nurse Amber Hice already had a string of acronyms behind her own name when she decided to jump on an opportunity and help the hospital navigate the process of getting heart failure accredited by the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care (SCPC). Much more than alphabet soup, SCPC is an accrediting body that signifies a hospital’s strict commitment to ...

At 97, Frankie Cooke Credits Benefits of Exercise

Giving props to working out, Frankie Cooke of Newton, NC says, “I turned 97 years old on January 6, 2016. If it were not for exercising, I would not still be here. In 1994 I had a light heart attack and four bypasses. I started rehab at Catawba Valley Medical Center’s Outpatient Rehabilitation Center before Fitness Plus opened and I have been exercising at Fitness Plus three days per ...

Start Walking for Better Health

Sticking to New Year’s resolutions can be tough, especially if it involves a commitment towards a healthier lifestyle. What better way to start that commitment than on your feet making strides alongside a doctor to help your heart and improve your general health to live longer at CVMC’s monthly Walk With A Doc event? Walk With a Doc is a national non-profit organization whose mission ...

From a Wheelchair to Walking - Cora Moore Finds New Heart Procedure Helpful

A petite 68 year-old beauty, Cora Moore enjoyed good health all her life until late 2014 when she began experiencing shortness of breath and a frightening, painful tightness in her chest. This prompted Tom, her loving husband of more than 50 years, to call an ambulance which took her to CVMC. The couple have since learned the value of having a regional hospital accredited with full Heart Failure ...

Athletic Trainers Protect Student Athletes

When people think of athletic trainers, they usually associate them with professional or college teams, but having an athletic trainer at the high school level is just as important. Lack of funding is the main reason schools do not have access to athletic trainers. To help solve this issue, CVMC provides athletic trainers to a number of areas high schools and middle schools (at no cost to the ...

Zika Virus Protection Tips for Pregnant/Childbearing Women

“The best prevention against Zika is protection against mosquito bites and avoiding travel in countries on the CDC list,” says Michelle Lusk, CVMC Assistant Vice President. Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued travel guidance for pregnant women and women trying to become pregnant, warning them to avoid visiting places where the Zika virus is currently ...

Catawba Valley Family Medicine - Viewmont Relocates and Expands Number of Providers

HICKORY, NC – February 3, 2016 — Catawba Valley Medical Group (CVMG) has expanded its family medicine practice located in the Viewmont section of Hickory. Now located at 1205 North Center Street, NE Hickory, nurse practitioners Alene Blair and Michelle “Mimi” Starnes join Shane Summers, MD and Maureene Andrews, PA-C to the staff. The new Catawba Valley Family Medicine ...

FREE Car Seat Checks - Offered Monthly at Catawba County Public Health

HICKORY, NC – Jan 27, 2016 – Catawba Valley Medical Center, the lead agency for Safe Kids Catawba County, announces a new location starting Tuesday for the monthly free car seat checks it offers to the public. Previously held at Valley Hills Mall, these passenger seat safety inspections will be offered on the first Tuesday of every month from 1:30 to 3:30pm in the parking lot of ...

Planning Birth Your Way

Sometimes called a birth plan, this two-way communication tool is intended to confirm a family’s preference on how to handle details surrounding labor and delivery. CVMC Childbirth Educator Ella Thompson says, “Because every baby’s birth is different, I don’t really like to call it a birth plan. That tends to set the expectant parents up for a scenario that often turns out ...

Four Health Numbers You Should Know

Men, no matter what your age, keeping track of certain health numbers is one of the most important things you can do to stay healthy. “Your blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and body mass index numbers are key indicators of your risk for serious illness,” says Dr. Keith McManus of Catawba Valley Family Medicine – Maiden. “By knowing these numbers, you can make ...

Senior's Guide to Hearing Aids

Seniors, you are not alone, over one million North Carolina residents have hearing loss and may obtain benefit from the use of hearing aids. The NC Department of Health and Human Services: Division of Services for the Deaf and the Hard of Hearing gives consumers these helpful guidelines to follow when considering hearing aids. First, have your hearing checked by an audiologist, hearing aid ...

Helpful Tools for Caregivers

A majority of us will be caregivers at some point in our lives. According to AARP, an estimated 34.2 million Americans provided unpaid care to an adult age 50 or older in 2015. It may start as something as small as helping manage finances or housework, but as our loved ones age debilitating disease, chronic health conditions or simple frailty can soon follow. It’s that person who steps up to ...

Facing Cancer as a Couple - Mike & Catherine Peake's Story

When Catherine Peake was told that she had breast cancer, the magnitude of the diagnosis not only hit her hard, but it also left her husband Mike swirling in a tide of unfamiliar emotions. As principal of South Caldwell High School, Mike manages the daily responsibility of 1,600 students. But this situation presented a slew of unexpected and initially overwhelming issues. At the time, these ...