When 37-year-old April Troxel found a lump in her breast in January 2021, her first thought was disbelief — and her second thought was, “how are we going to pay for this?” Like so many Americans, April’s insurance didn’t cover any diagnostic imaging, including mammograms for breast cancer screenings. She spent a few months trying to track down funding assistance …

Busting Deadly Myths About the Flu Shot Flu season is upon us, which means it’s time to get your flu shot. The flu can have a devastating effect on people of all ages, especially those with a compromised immune system. In fact, in 2020, about 38 million people in the United States had the flu, and more than 22,000 people …

We all face stress — it’s a normal and natural part of life. However, when stress becomes chronic, it can affect your physical and mental health. There are different types of stress: Regular stress: family, work and daily responsibilities. Negative stress: dramatic life changes, illness, death, divorce, loss of job. Traumatic stress: major accident, life disruption, natural disaster. After an …

Although it’s been more than a year since the COVID-19 pandemic reached the United States, yet there are still many unanswered questions about the virus. One of those questions is whether there’s a link between vitamin D and COVID-19. Some experts claim that having low vitamin D levels could put you at risk for more severe symptoms from COVID-19. But …

If you have severe hearing loss and your hearing aids aren’t helping the way they once did, you may benefit from a cochlear implant. Cochlear implants do not cure hearing loss, but they provide an opportunity for the severely hard of hearing or deaf to identify the sensation of sound by directly stimulating the hearing nerve. Nathan Wiebracht, MD, of …

Most of the headlines around COVID-19 have focused on respiratory side effects and symptoms — coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath. But new evidence shows that the virus’ effects may go beyond the lungs. It may also have an impact on brain and mental function. “There’s still so much that we don’t know about COVID-19, but we’re seeing some patients …

For Northern Kentucky resident Scott Bonta, May 28 will forever mark a new anniversary in his life: it’s the day he returned home after battling COVID-19 for more than two months in the hospital.   Surrounded by cheering St. Elizabeth Healthcare nurses, doctors, therapists and aides, Scott slowly stood up from his wheelchair and carefully walked into his family’s embrace. They …

First-time parents Patti and Aaron Talbert were excited to enroll in a St. Elizabeth Healthcare childbirth class to prepare for their son’s arrival. Then the COVID-19 pandemic began, and their getting-ready-for-baby plans came to a halt. St. Elizabeth Healthcare quickly decided to move childbirth classes online to allow parents-to-be to take classes in the safety and comfort of their own …

Water enhancers have been around for decades. You probably had them in your cupboard as a child—Kool-Aid and Tang. But water enhancers got a facelift in 2012 when the beverage aisle started filling up with squeeze bottles of concentrated liquid flavor, all to get Americans to drink more water. Rachel Wagner, a dietitian with St. Elizabeth Physicians Weight Management Center, …

Knee injuries are common among athletes of all ages, and an ACL injury is one of the most dreaded. The Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) is located between the knee bones. This small but powerful ligament keeps the knee stable during rotational movements and holds the shinbone and thigh bone from sliding out of place. Learning to train and strengthen properly …