Tick Information
Ticks are bugs that feed on the blood of people and animals. When they bite you, they can make you sick. Two kinds of ticks found in Massachusetts can carry diseases: deer ticks and dog ticks.
Tick and Mosquito PreventionHow can I protect my family, my pets, and myself from tick and mosquito bites?
The
Staying Cool in a Hotter World
As global temperatures continue to climb, heat exhaustion is no longer just a hazard for athletes and outdoor laborers; it’s becoming a public health concern for all. Understanding the connection between rising temperatures, the body’s cooling limits, and proper fluid intake is the key to avoiding these harmful effects.
What Is Heat Exhaustion & Heat Stroke?Heat
What Is Osteoporosis and How Does It Impact Older Adults?
Bones are made up of living tissue that’s constantly changing. During our lifetime, our body relies on the minerals calcium and phosphate to keep our bones strong and healthy. As we age, however, our bodies tend to reabsorb these minerals instead of keeping them in our bones.
When more old bone is reabsorbed and not enough
Recognize Falls Prevention Awareness Week By Learning How To Prevent Falls
Falls are the leading cause of hospital-related injury for adults over 65 years old in Massachusetts. While common, falls are not a normal part of aging and are frequently preventable. Using evidence-based strategies can help to make fall risk prevention a priority and decrease the odds of a potentially life-altering fall.
Falls Prevention Awareness week is
Gratitude, Growth, and Good Health
Changes in federal and state funding have required LifePath to adjust to urgent pressures by reducing program offerings. Unfortunately, LifePath’s Healthy Living Program, which has provided support and education for those in our community living with chronic conditions for over 15 years, has been discontinued. As the former Healthy Living Program Director, I want to
Keep Moving: How Regular Walking Can Help Prevent Falls
Staying active is important at any age, but it’s especially important as we get older. One of the best and easiest ways to stay active is walking. Walking regularly isn’t just good for your heart and muscles; it can also help prevent falls. Falls are a serious risk, especially for older adults. But with some
The Secret Joy of Aging: The Art of Retirement
As we have seen in national examples recently, it can be really difficult for those of us aging to decide when it is time to stop working. Some of us lose our sense of purpose and can get depressed and neglect our health. Others see retirement as a time to finally focus on ourselves, a
The Better Breathers Support Group at Baystate Franklin Medical Center
Are you suffering from lung disease, or know someone who is? Baystate Franklin now hosts a monthly Better Breathers Meeting in person.
The American Lung Association’s Better Breathers Club programs have connected people living with lung disease to educate, support, and help each other in communities around the country for over 50 years.
Better Breathers Club members
Education Isn’t Enough
The Healthy Living Department at LifePath serves people who are trying to make changes to improve their chronic condition. We must try to manage weight, avoid foods that make our conditions worse, figure out how to exercise, how to advocate for medical care, etc. Making these changes can be harder for some of us than
The Power of Peers
If the Healthy Living workshops at LifePath run by any core principle, it is, “We are all in this together.” Healthy Living workshop leaders, men and women with chronic conditions themselves, volunteer many hours facilitating workshops to support community members living with challenging health conditions.
Even though many come with professional backgrounds in nursing, health education,
Three Years of Work Culminate in Launch of Age & Dementia Friendly Action Plan
An Age & Dementia Friendly Action Plan is a comprehensive strategy developed by a community to ensure that its infrastructure, services, and policies are designed and implemented in a way that supports and accommodates the needs of people of all ages, particularly older adults. These action plans are specifically focused on creating environments that are
Communication and Living with Chronic Conditions
Living with chronic conditions affects our entire lives; we might need accommodations at work, or when we travel or shop, or gather with our friends. We need good communication to manage all this and help others to understand how they can help and support us. We need good communication to understand how our condition affects