1. Stick to a schedule.  Try going to bed and waking up at the same time every day, even on weekends.  This will help control your body’s internal clock.  Continuing the schedule through the weekend will help you stay on track through the week.
2. Avoid naps.  They may help you through the day, but this could be causing you to not feel sleepy at night.
3. Use lights to manage your circadian rhythms.  These rhythms are your sleep and wake cycles.  Expose yourself to sunlight in the morning to help yourself wake up.  You could try avoiding bright light in the evenings; such as your smart phone, iPad, or tablet.  These screens are bright enough to reduce your melatonin.  Melatonin is a hormone in your body that helps you fall asleep.
4. Exercise is key!  Exercising can help wear your body down so you can be tired at night.
5. Have a relaxing bedtime routine.  Repeating the same relaxing steps before bed can reduce stress, anxiety, or excitement as you’re trying to fall asleep.  If you choose reading, try to read a book instead of something on a screen.
6. Evaluate the room.  Take a look at your bedroom.  Are there a lot of sounds?  Is there a lot of light? Is your mattress comfortable?  Is your pillow too soft?  All of these things could be affecting your sleep.   You might need to purchase darker curtains, a fan, or even ear plugs!

Derived from The National Sleep Foundation.
https://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-tools-tips/healthy-sleep-tips

Through the recommendation of a friend, Pierre made an appointment at HealthNet Northeast Health Center, which opened last August inside the Avondale Meadows Health & Wellness Center on the city’s near eastside. He credits Dr. Jennifer Seele, a physician at HealthNet Northeast Health Center, with helping him get his health back on track.

“My doctor’s visit was a wake-up call,” he said. “I found out I had uncontrolled diabetes. The fatigue and symptoms I was experiencing usually affect people much older than me. I was too young to be going through this.”

In spite of his sedentary job as a driver, Pierre has found ways to exercise more in his free time and to eat more fresh vegetables and fruit while on the road and at home. It’s paid off. In a few short months he’s lost more than 10 pounds, and his A1c has dropped from 13 to 6.

The first of its kind in the country, the Avondale Meadows Health & Wellness Center marks the latest milestone in the 100-acre neighborhood revitalization within the Meadows community. And it represents what leading hospitals across the country are doing to become proactive partners in helping manage population health.

The 70,000 square-feet, LEED-certified facility received financial support of nearly $5 million from Indiana University Health, including a $1 million grant from the Methodist Health Foundation’s Charles Lynn Trust. This center combines cutting-edge urban health care with state-of-the-art fitness and education programs to transform the health of this neighborhood and the broader Indianapolis community. In addition to HealthNet Northeast, the facility includes the 32,000-square-foot Avondale Meadows YMCA, United Northeast Community Development Corporation and the Meadows Community Foundation.

Varon Cantrell, MD

Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself.

A:  Born and raised in Indianapolis on the East Side near the State Fair Grounds.  I have a wife of 12 years, 5 children, 8 brothers and sisters and an amazing immediate/extended family.  I love my faith, my family and my friends.  Then, I love being a servant to others.

Q: Why did you become a doctor?

A:  I believe that I was ordained to do this before I was even born.  This was not a “childhood” dream or something that I had planned.  I believe that it is a calling and I have had many mentors, family and peers who have been supportive along this journey which makes it awesome! 

Q: What do you love most about working at West Health Center?

A:  Without the patients, the clinic does not exists.  So, I love the patient, I love the community but most importantly, I love the West Health Team.  The Team is what makes the clinic go.  They are some of the most dedicated and hard working people I have ever met. 

Q: What is one thing you would like people to know about West Health Center?

A:  We are here to serve you and your families.  We are dedicated to the HealthNet Mission  and we are honored to be your new neighbors.

Background: West Health Center
This current 4,500 square foot center offers adult primary care, pediatrics, OB/GYN, behavioral health, lab and support services in an area that has seen a decrease in providers over the years.

Within the first few months of operation, the center is already vastly exceeding visit projects and plans are under way to add a Women’s Health area by renovating the remaining 1,800 square feet to include 5 additional exam rooms and a procedure room.

If you would like to make a donation to the HealthNet West Health Center Expansion Campaign you can pay by phone by calling (317) 957-2018, online using our safe, secure giving options or by check payable to:
HealthNet, Inc.
Attn: Kay Johnson, Vice President of Marketing, Development and Corporate Communications
3403 E. Raymond St.
Indianapolis, IN 46203

Left to right: HealthNet Chief Operating Officer Rick Diaz; HealthNet West Health Center Manager Martha Wedemeyer, RN; HealthNet West Health Center physician Varon Cantrell, MD; HealthNet President/CEO Jimmy Brown; Speedway Chamber President Angela Coe; Speedway Chamber Board Member Jerry Hotseller

In December 2012, a renovated Blockbuster Store at 6029 West 10^th Street became home to HealthNet’s newest health care facility – HealthNet West Health Center. The 4,500 square foot center offers adult primary care, pediatrics, OB/GYN, behavioral health, lab and support services in an area that has seen a decrease in providers over the years.

Within the first few months of operation, the center is already vastly exceeding visit projects and plans are under way to add a Women’s Health area by renovating the remaining 1,800 square feet to include 5 additional exam rooms and a procedure room.

Thanks to the gift from the Speedway Chamber of Commerce, we are closer to making it happen!

If you would like to join us in expanding much needed services to this community, please click here.

It is extremely important to get tested because symptoms of HIV can take months and even years to appear. Some people can experience ARS (acute retroviral syndrome) which is often described as “the worst flu ever.” The virus can then lie dormant and symptoms of HIV may not appear for up to 10 years or longer in some cases.

HealthNet People’s Health & Dental Center offers FREE, safe and confidential HIV testing. People’s Health offers “walk-in” services (first come, first served) at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday’s and 8:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. on Fridays. Tuesday afternoons and all day Wednesday and Thursday are by appointment. To make an appointment or get more information please call (317) 957-2970 or (317) 957-2200.

To find other HIV Testing sites near you, visit hivtest.cdc.gov/.

Today is the day you can TAKE CONTROL.

HealthNet is celebrating because of a grant we received from the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute. The Child Restraint Distribution Grant program provided us with funding to purchase and distribute infant car seats to expecting mothers enrolled in our Better Indy Babies Program who cannot afford one.

In celebration of National Child Passenger Safety Week, we held two car seat clinics this week at our Eastside Health Center on 8902 East 38th Street and Barrington Health & Dental Center at 3401 East Raymond Street. Our BIBs staff, who are certified child passenger safety technicians, were able to educate and distribute approximately 40 infant car seats between these two centers.

Many of these women that participate in our BIBs program cannot afford to purchase a car seat and often resort to using or borrowing one that is not functional or safe, or none at all. This program will allow these women to have the correct seat needed once the baby is born and they will be educated on its proper installation, reducing the risk of injury or death in the event of an accident.

Did you know??

• Motor vehicle crashes are the #1 cause of death for children 1 to 13 in the United States.
• In 2011, there were 5,191 children age 0-15 involved in collisions in Indiana. Of that number, 38 children involved in motor vehicle collisions were killed.
• Children less than one year old are 12.5 times more likely to be seriously injured if not properly restrained, those ages 1 to 3 are 4.3 times more likely, and those 4 to 7 are 4.4 times more likely to be seriously injured if unrestrained.
• Nationally 3 out of 4 car seats are not used correctly!

That’s why safety events like National Child Passenger Safety Week, September 16-22, and HealthNet’s car seat clinics are so important to help parents and caregivers learn how to choose the right car seat, how to use them properly, and to ensure the seats they are using are installed correctly.

Is YOUR child’s car seat is installed correctly?

Take 15 minutes and find out. Conduct an at-home checkup using this Safe Kids downloadable checklist!

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Want to support a family in need by helping them to receive a car seat?
A $75 donation can go toward the purchase of a car seat for Better Indy Babies/Healthy Families to distribute while giving instruction on the proper use. Click here to donate and help keep all of Indianapolis’ children safe.

Post by Rick Reifenberg, MD

The generally accepted conversion is that one pound of stored fat is equal to about 3,500 calories. 

This could be thought of as an extra 500 calories per day for one week (7 x 500 calories is 3,500 calories) would be one pound of weight gain.  This is a formula that can be used to estimate either gain or loss of weight.

What this means is that a 500 calorie per day deficit could be created by cutting 250 calories from one’s diet along with an additional 250 calories “burned” while doing exercise.  If you could create this 500 calorie per day deficit then you could expect to lose one pound per week.  Let’s get some examples of each:

To cut 250 Calories from your diet each day you could ELIMINATE:

• One and a half regular 12oz sodas (Mountain Dew 170 calories per 12 oz, Pepsi 150 per 12 oz)
• One 20 oz regular soda is about 250 calories
• One medium order of McDonald’s French fries is 380 calories
• 26 Pringle’s potato chips are about 250 calories
• 4 slices of Wonder bread are 262 calories
• Doritos chips snack bag (46 gm 1 1/2oz) is 250 calories
• 3 Oreo cookies are about 240 calories
• 24 Tostitos nacho chips are about 250 calories  

To burn an additional 250 calories though exercise, a 200 lb person could:

• Walk for 35 minutes at a brisk (4 mph) pace
• Walk at a slow (2 mph) pace for about 60 minutes
• Do low impact aerobics (like an exercise video) for 30 minutes
• Swim laps for 30 minutes
• Do yard work (vigorous things like cutting grass with push mower) for 30-40 minutes
• Mop floors/clean and vacuum the house for 45 minutes

The general idea is that by making small changes to the amount of calories we take in and ALSO increasing our daily activity level, we can make gradual and long-lasting changes to our weight. 

Look for ways to eliminate unnecessary calories while at the same time find ways to get more active and burn calories.  Put together, this can be a simple yet effective recipe for success.  Give it a try!

They would organize to bring about something that hadn’t been done before in their neighborhood: the availability of affordable, quality health care for people who needed it, but didn’t have access to it.

To reach their dream, they tirelessly hosted endless fundraiser rummage sales and fish frys.

They even pushed a piano down the street once, just to make a sale!

Artwork by Julia Allen

In 1972, their dream became a reality when they had raised enough money to purchase an old drug store on West Morris Street and convert it into a small, but much needed health center. Several served on the health center’s Board of Directors. Over the years, they have continued their fight to keep health services in their neighborhood. Today Southwest Health & Dental Center remains HealthNet’s busiest health center.

In fact, when the center reached capacity about five years ago, the Southwest Health Center Board made the final pledge to complete the fundraising campaign for an expansion. In 2010, the health center reopened in its new home, a 103-year-old Masonic Lodge beautifully renovated by Halstead Architects and Wurster Construction.

The greatness of the neighborhood group’s dream resided not as much in its originality—other health centers had begun popping up around the country a few years before—as in the ownership these folks took in it.  In doing so, they opened doors for their community – doors to health, hope and a better future for their families.

This community spirit has been the genesis for all of HealthNet’s health centers, and has  remained at the heart of our work ever since. And it is the most salient explanation of how and why HealthNet has become what it is today—the largest Federally Qualified Health Center in Indiana, with more than 584 staff members, serving more than 51,500 patients and clients through many sites across Marion County and beyond.

This year, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) is honoring neighborhood visionaries and important projects in our city as part of their Vision 20/20 anniversary celebration. Guess who was among the first to be highlighted? The Southwest side residents who started Southwest Health & Dental Center some 44 years ago. Check out this video!

As we wrap up a month-long focus on giving a care about hopes and dreams, we salute our founders who had the vision and fortitude to make their dreams a reality for their neighborhoods! And, we thank LISC for being a great community partner in our communities.

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What’s next for Indy neighborhoods? What will it take to make them great? Good question. If you have hopes and dreams for YOUR neighborhood, be a part of the discussion. Check out the public conversation series LISC is hosting this fall.

The event will take place at the Challenge Foundation Academy, 3980 Meadows Drive, Indianapolis.

The future $20 million, 70,000-square-foot facility will sit on the 100-acre Avondale Meadows redevelopment site near 39th Street and Keystone Avenue on Indianapolis’ near east side. Construction should take a year to complete.

The center, expected to open in 2013, will offer expanded hours for primary care visits, personal physicians, multi-age recreational programming for 5,000 underserved residents, social and recreational programming for 1,000 youths and teens, meeting space for community organizations and family programs. Partners to be located in the center include HealthNet, YMCA, United Northeast Development Corporation and the Meadows Community Foundation, Inc.

It’s hard to believe that it was a little over a year and a half ago that HealthNet was invited by IU Health to become a part of this unique collaboration. Thanks to the support of IU Health and the Methodist Health Foundation, this new HealthNet community health center is becoming a reality!

We look forward to working with residents in the coming months to tailor the health center’s services to the specific needs of this community.

Give a care about expanding access to care for kids and families in Indy? If so, stop by this afternoon for a sneak peek!

When I have young children and teenagers in the clinic I do my very best to talk to them and to encourage them regarding their current “roles” in society.  I stress with them that they only have two responsibilities.  The first and most important responsibility is for them follow the commands/directives of the adults (parents, teachers, neighbors etc…) and their second responsibility is to do well in school.  I tell them that if they are able to perfect these two responsibilities, then the chances of them being successful (defined as being a blessing to their community) will increase exponentially.

How does one do that?  Do what your parents have done, but better!

Being a parent is a wonderful calling and it is a blessing.  In my opinion, parenting is the most important job in the world.  As parents, we are able to help shape the next generation of leaders and what we do for our children can/will last a lifetime.  The way we carry ourselves, spend time with our children, encourage our children, love our children and discipline our children in love, goes well beyond the first 18 years of life.  Our children are a reflection of us.  Their behaviors, goals, dreams and aspirations are a result of what has been modeled for them growing up.  While there is no such thing as a perfect home or perfect parent, there are many things that we can do that will give our children a strong foundation to build upon as they prepare to lead the next generation.

flickr photo by jaqjan

When we have our picture taken, what is it that we want that portrait to say?  The same thing can be said regarding our children.  As parents, it is imperative that we do our very best to be successful role models for our children.  This in turn will help them to reflect or portray us.  How do we Give A Care About Kids?  By modeling success – hard work, accountability, responsibility, overcoming failures, never quitting, focusing on the family, stressing the importance of education, and thinking about how to be a blessing to others.

As a pediatrician, I stress these two responsibilities but I understand that this must start with the man/woman in the mirror… Me and You.  We too have a responsibility and that is to paint these beautiful pictures that are the next generation in the form of our children.  They are a reflection of us; a walking and talking image.

What pictures are you painting?