Making New Year’s resolutions is a time-honored practice.  We’ve all done it.  We promise ourselves to get fit, lose weight, stop procrastinating, or do whatever we think will make us more attractive, healthier, or successful.  Too often, we lose steam within weeks and then the guilt sets in.  There’s even a day to celebrate it – Quitters’ Day is the second Friday of January!  The anxiety and depression that come with abandoning our resolutions can be real and even debilitating. Here are some tips from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) for developing resolutions that you can keep, and feel good about:

• Pick a Goal that Motivates You: You are more likely to stick to your goal if it motivates you or if it is influenced by others, such as a spouse, a workout partner, or a medical professional. If your goal is to exercise more, but you know going to a gym is not a motivation for you, then pick another exercise you can do outside of the gym.
• Break Down Your Big Goals into Smaller, More Manageable Goals: By doing this you’ll be much less likely to feel overwhelmed. If your ultimate goal is to run a 5K race, but you have not yet run a lap around the track, start with walking a shorter distance and gradually begin to jog once you feel you’re ready. It may just be a few yards or a lap around the track. Sometimes just signing up for that race is just the motivation you need to get started.
• Focus on Progress, Not Perfection and Stay Positive: Emphasize the journey and strive for progress rather than aiming for perfection. And reward yourself for the progress you made. For instance, if your goal is to lose 10 pounds, but you only lost five pounds, acknowledge the five pounds you lost were five more than before you started trying to lose weight. The way we talk to ourselves can foster a positive and realistic outlook and contribute to a healthier approach to both mental health and success in meeting our New Year’s resolutions.
• Lean on Others for Support and Motivation: Achieving goals can be easier when done with others. Consider joining groups or communities with similar goals to connect with people who can provide encouragement and accountability.
• Set a New Date: You do not need to commit to a resolution on January 1. Feel free to delay implementing your New Year’s resolutions until the time is right. You can make them at any time you want. Under stress now? Why not resolve to make that change beginning in March or by another preferred date.
• Don’t Compare Yourself to Others: Don’t get too caught up in the New Year’s resolutions of others. Set goals with only you in mind.
• Practice Self-Compassion: Be easy on yourself. Acknowledge that setbacks will happen and that’s okay. Just pick back up where you left off.
• Know When to Ask for Help: You are not alone. SAMHSA has behavioral health resources to help. Visit SAMHSA.gov, Find Help.

Make your New Year’s resolutions about self-care, not extra pressure.  And have a happy, healthy 2024!

Dr. Alex Kocsik entered Crozer Health’s Family Medicine Residency Program in the fall of 2022 as an intern.  We interviewed her last year in the first of a three-part series following her progress through the program.  We caught up with her again in December for a conversation about her second year.  She shared that she is hitting her stride as she’s gained experience.  “The transition from intern to resident was a lot smoother than the transition from medical school to intern year!   I think the biggest change that I’ve found in how I’m practicing medicine and how I feel is just more confidence.  Through trial and error, through seeing hundreds of patients, you just start to feel more confident in yourself and how you counsel patients and talk with them and you start to see more patients as we increase our patient loads from first year to 2nd year.  It’s been wonderful that I’ve got to spend so much more time here at ChesPenn, which is where I want to be.”

We raised $1,325 on Giving Tuesday to help us provide Baby Bundles for every newborn seen at ChesPenn in the coming year!

Thank you to everyone whohas supported our goal!

Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, typically begins to manifest in October or November and often lifts in March or April.  While a clear-cut cause has not been determined, studies show that people with SAD have decreased levels of serotonin in their blood.

Research also suggests that sunlight affects levels of molecules that help maintain normal serotonin levels. Shorter daylight hours may prevent these molecules from functioning properly, contributing to decreased serotonin levels in the winter.  According to the National Institutes of Mental Health, vitamin D deficiency, which is more likely to occur during the winter months, may also contribute.  Some studies also show that too much melatonin can contribute to SAD.

Millions of people experience some level of “winter blues,” from a mild sense of sadness or sluggishness, to severe depression, self-isolation, fatigue, weight gain and other symptoms.  More women than men experience SAD.  Diagnosis is made based on the patient’s self-report of symptoms and the timing of their onset.

Treatment of SAD can include:

•    Light therapy
•    Psychotherapy
•    Antidepressant medication
•   Vitamin D

If it feels like you may be experiencing SAD, start by talking to your healthcare provider.  Depending on the severity of your symptoms, here are some ways to combat SAD:

• First, talk to your healthcare provider, especially if you’ve experienced SAD in previous years.
• Spend more time outdoors.
• Increase physical activity.
• Use a lightbox or dawn simulator.
• Keep a consistent schedule.
• Keep, or start, a journal or find some other creative outlet.
• Some studies suggest aromatherapy can be helpful.
• If your symptoms don’t improve or become worse, consider psychotherapy and/or antidepressants. And if you experience a crisis, don’t hesitate to call 988.

The short days of winter don’t have to make us blue.  If we embrace the season and take reasonable steps to take care of ourselves it can be a season filled with wonder and beauty.

As a little girl, DaNesha Mack was fascinated by germs and knew she wanted to work in healthcare.  She thought she might want to be a doctor.  In college she was able to explore different aspects of health and medicine and found her niche in public health.  She started to study health equity and took courses in health and social justice.

After school, DaNesha worked in New York until her mother was diagnosed with cancer.  She moved to the Philadelphia area to support her mom and saw an opening at ChesPenn for a Patient Health Educator in our new Complex Care Program. The program was similar to work she had done in New York.  She came to our Center for Family Health at Coatesville for an interview and tour with Sheila Church, Director of Patient and Community Services, and loved what she saw.  In March 2019, DaNesha joined Dr. Tina Ahmadinejad and other staff in developing the new program, which focuses on patients with multiple chronic illnesses who are high utilizers of hospital emergency services.

Penn Medicine Chester County Hospital is offering a COVID-19 update at the Equity Health Center and online on Monday, December 11, 2023 from 12:00 – 1:00 PM.

For more information click here.

Would you like to guide your neighbors towards programs and resources, such as affordable connectivity programs for internet service and devices, and teach basic technological concepts that will help them access the resources they need to support their health on the internet?

ChesPenn is partnering with the National Health Corps, Americorps, and the Health Federation to offer a position as a digital navigator at our Upper Darby health center.

Becoming a member of the National Health Corps comes with the following benefits:

$15/hr Living Stipend
$6,895 Education Award
Healthcare Coverage
Public Health Trainings
Loan Forbearance
Childcare Reimbursement

If you’d like to build a career in healthcare while serving your community check it out!

ChesPenn staff celebrated Halloween with their most creative costumes!

One thing we learned during the COVID 19 pandemic was the value of telehealth.  Patients could see their physician from home, avoiding the danger of infection – and also eliminating the transportation barrier that many of our patients struggle with.  We also quickly came face to face with its limitations. For example, we couldn’t measure blood pressure, which made management of patients’ hypertension difficult.

The exciting news is that recent innovations have made it possible for patients to track their own blood pressure with wi-fi enabled blood pressure cuffs. 

In May 2021, ChesPenn launched our self-monitoring blood pressure management program with funding from a grant provided by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and assistance from the Health Federation of Philadelphia. Patients receive instructions in taking their blood pressure and are asked to record measurements twice in the morning and twice in the evening. Patient Engagement Specialist Amyah Blakely reviews results daily that feed into a portal and then reports them to each patient’s provider through the EMR. 

In May 2021, ChesPenn launched our self-monitoring blood pressure management program with funding from a grant provided by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and assistance from the Health Federation of Philadelphia. Patients receive instructions in taking their blood pressure and are asked to record measurements twice in the morning and twice in the evening. Patient Engagement Specialist Amyah Blakely reviews results daily and reports them to each patient’s provider.  When providers see elevated results, they can adjust the patient’s medication until the blood pressure returns to a healthy level.  This means patients don’t have to wait months for their next visit to have their provider check their blood pressure and make any changes needed.  To date, we have distributed blood pressure cuffs to over 250 patients and our goal is to expand the program to every patient whose blood pressure is not well controlled.

Patients have embraced their new ability to monitor their blood pressure.  The cuffs include an app that patients can download to their phones so that they can also keep track of both blood pressure and heart rate.  We’ve found that this tool helps increase patients’ engagement in their health management.

This initiative provides a powerful new tool for our participation in the Million Hearts® Collaboration.  Million Hearts® is a national collaboration co-led by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
Current priorities for the program include optimizing care with blood pressure control. 

ChesPenn Chief Medical Officer Dr. Letitia O’Kicki commented on the program that, “The Million Hearts® project has been a very important program advancing health equity and contributing to the health of the communities we serve.  Through team-based care and evidence-based guidelines, blood pressure is closely monitored and medication added or adjusted, if needed. The focus has been to better control blood pressure in our patients, preventing strokes and heart attacks.  Self-monitoring blood pressure machines have allowed patients to be very engaged in their health care. Our team-based approach includes the clinical care team: providers, nurses, medical assistants, health educator, behavioral health consultant, pharmacist, and the quality improvement team, along with the patient engagement specialist.”

During our 50^th anniversary year, we’ve focused on celebrating 50 years of caring for the communities we serve while looking to the future, exploring innovative strategies to meet our patients’ evolving needs.  This new program is a wonderful glimpse into the possibilities for community health care in the coming years.