Skolnik: COVID Update – June 21, 2022 – Los Alamos County & COVID – What Is Missing?
By RICHARD SKOLNIK
Los Alamos
As I have done before, I would give Los Alamos County significant credit for its work in providing access to adult vaccines and to COVID testing.
However, about 30 months into the pandemic, Los Alamos County is about to sponsor its first open forum on COVID. This follows more than two years in which the County did not implement wastewater monitoring, produce a regular newsletter on COVID, or add technical expertise to its COVID team.
I believe there are four reasons why our County has failed to act on important aspects of COVID in a pro-active, timely, coherent, and Read More
NNMC Student Receives 2022 Nightingale Scholarship
2022 Nightingale Scholarship Recipient Alijah Romero
NNMC News:
ESPAÑOLA — Northern New Mexico College (NNMC) student Alijah Romero is one of 20 recipients of the 2022 Nightingale Scholarship from the New Mexico Center for Nursing Excellence.
The Nightingale Scholarship is awarded to students who exemplify outstanding and caring leadership and professionalism as a beginning practitioner in their first 18 months as a registered nurse. According to a statement on the website, this year’s scholarship recipients exhibit “incredible dedication to their work, their studies and their communities.” Read More
BeWellnm: Operational Changes To Aid Leadership Transition
Heather Korbulic
BEWELLNM News:
ALBUQUERQUE — BeWellnm, the New Mexico Health Insurance Exchange, announces operational updates as the state prepares for a successful 2023 Open Enrollment Period in the fall.
As beWellnm begins its search for a permanent CEO, it has contracted with GetInsured, the nation’s leading provider of health insurance exchange technology and customer service solutions for health and human services agencies, to provide consultative and operational support during the period of transition.
The organization will provide temporary, interim operational leadership Read More
CARA Hosts Wilderness First Aid Training Course For Youth/Young Adults In Foster Care
Summer Food Service For New Mexico Children Resumes
ECECD News:
SANTA FE — The New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department (ECECD) Family Nutrition Bureau announced Friday the return of the Summer Food Service Program at 570 meal site locations across the state.
Administered by ECECD and funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the program provides nutritious meals at no cost to children and youth ages 18 and younger from June through August, filling a gap when school-based meal programs pause during the summer. In New Mexico, 1 in 5 children suffer from food insecurity.
“No child should have to worry about Read More
Los Alamos And White Rock Seniors Centers Are Open, Masks Are Required, Indoor Dining Is Suspended
LARSO News:
The Los Alamos Senior and Retired Organization (LARSO) has announced that the Los Alamos and White Rock senior centers are open and masks are required.
Indoor dining is suspended through June 28. The suspension will be reassessed based on data released at that time. Read More
Leonard: Part Two … Using Emotional Triggers For Personal Growth
Chart Courtesy/Laura Leonard
By LAURA LEONARD
Doctor of Chiropractic
Los Alamos
Last week’s column discussed how the power of our subconscious mind keeps us stuck in patterns of behavior which no longer serve us. This occurs because we only have so much space for working memory and conscious processes.
The rest is stored in files deep in our subconscious library. The key concept here is to remember that most of this database contains negative information from childhood events. These files vary in intensity from person to person but when something in the present triggers a stored file, the body Read More
Dr. Green: Men’s Health Month – Count On Us, Men
By Dr. JUSTIN GREEN
Los Alamos
It probably comes as no surprise that there are notable differences in the health of men compared to women. But when you take a closer look at the statistics outlining this health disparity, it can be quite alarming. For example, the average lifespan for men is about five years less than women, and there’s been a gradual increase in this gap over the years. Men are also twice as likely as women to die of a heart attack and significantly more likely to die of cancer. Not only that, but men are also less likely to undergo treatment for mental health conditions, becoming four Read More
Heinrich Applauds Senate Passage Of Historic Toxic Exposure Legislation For All Eras Of Exposed Veterans
U.S. SENATE News:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee that oversees funding for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), participated Thursday in a bipartisan press conference following the Senate passage of the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act.
The legislation passed the U.S. Senate Thursday by a bipartisan vote of 84 to 14. The bill will return now to the U.S. House of Representatives for a vote. If passed, it will head to the President’s desk to be signed Read More
County To Hold Local COVID Status Briefing June 23
COUNTY News:
Los Alamos County is undergoing a surge of infections of the highly transmissible COVID-19 Omicron variants. As of June 16, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has measured the impact of illness in Los Alamos County as “medium,” although just barely.
County officials announced they will hold a virtual briefing regarding the community’s COVID-19 status, 5:30 p.m. Thursday, June 23, to include representatives from Los Alamos Public Schools and retired epidemiologist William Athas, PhD.
The public may join the briefing using this Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86100315742 Read More
Gov. Lujan Grisham, Attorney General Balderas, NMED Secretary Kenney And Trustee Hart Stebbins Announce $32M Settlement With U.S. In Gold King Mine Litigation
From the Office of the Attorney General:
FARMINGTON — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas, Environment Secretary James Kenney, and Natural Resources Trustee Maggie Hart Stebbins announced today a $32 million final settlement with the United States and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the Gold King Mine litigation.
Under the settlement, the U.S. will make cash payments to New Mexico of $18.1 million for response costs, $10 million for restoration of injured natural resources, and commit to providing an additional $3.5 million to state water Read More
Chart 653: 7-Day Average COVID Diagnoses In Los Alamos
This chart shows the seven-day average number of COVID-19 diagnoses in Los Alamos versus date. On a scale of 0 to 100, the diagnoses index quantifies the current level of diagnoses by using a comparison with daily levels since the start of the pandemic (the higher the index, the more severe the current state of the pandemic is). The current number of diagnoses is higher than 96 percent of preceding days. Source: New Mexico Department of Health. Created by Eli Ben-NaimGruninger: It’s Summer – Get Outside And PLAY
Jacci Gruninger takes her own advice and has some fun! Courtesy photo
By JACCI GRUNINGER, MS, C-IAYT, ERYT500
Los Alamos
Plato, the Greek philosopher said, “You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.”
Freidrich Froebel, father of modern kindergarten said, “Play is the purist, the most spiritual, product of man at this stage, and it is at once the prefiguration and imitation of the total human life–of the inner, secret, natural life in man and in all things. It produces, therefore, joy, freedom, satisfaction, repose within and without, peace with the Read More
Senate Passes Resolution: May Is Stroke Awareness Month
U.S. SENATE News:
WASHINGTON D.C. — The U.S. Senate unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday led by U.S. Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) to recognize May as Stroke Awareness Month.
The resolution encourages continued coordination and cooperation between the federal government, researchers, families, and the public to improve prognoses by increasing access to timely treatments for individuals who suffer strokes.
“As a stroke survivor, I know firsthand how critical it is to raise awareness of strokes and to know the Read More
Skolnik: COVID Update – June 15, 2022 – Still In A Major Surge
By RICHARD SKOLNIK
Los Alamos
Cases
The number of cases has increased over the two weeks ending June 14 by 157 percent. We are at a 7-day average of 25+ cases per day, equal to 129 per 100,000 people.
This rate of new cases is the highest in New Mexico and as high as any time except the peak of the Omicron surge. For reference, the county with the 10th highest rate of new cases in the country has 139 cases per 100,000 per day.
The number of reported cases is almost certainly a major undercount of the true number of cases. In addition, the County’s wastewater testing program has not functioned during the recent Read More
Los Alamos COVID Impact: 177 New Cases For Week Ending June 13, 2022
COVID-19 statistics for the week ending June 13, 2022 impacting Los Alamos County:
-
962 tests
- 177diagnoses (124 in Los Alamos, 53 in White Rock)
- 0 deaths
Source: New Mexico Department of Health. By Eli Ben-Naim.
Governor Lujan Grisham Acts To Lower Health Care Costs For New Mexicans
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham
From the Office of the Governor:
ALBUQUERQUE — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham acted to decrease prescription drug and health care costs for New Mexicans Thursday, June 9, by creating a Prescription Drug Task Force.
Members of the task force will work to reduce the costs of prescriptions for New Mexicans, building on Gov. Lujan Grisham’s record of delivering affordable health care to every corner of the state.
In just three and a half years, Gov. Lujan Grisham took decisive action to increase access to high-quality health care to every New Mexican. Under Gov. Lujan Read More
LAMC Hosts Ceremony For M.A.S.H. 2022 Graduates
After completion of the M.A.S.H. program, Los Alamos Medical Center (LAMC) held a graduation ceremony outdoors Tuesday, June 7, with parents and siblings present. LAMC calls this program a success and continues to educate students on all possible healthcare careers and looks forward to doing this again next year. M.A.S.H. stands for Multiple Avenues for Success in Healthcare. It is a program where LAMC partners with local high schools to invite students to come in and participate in a program where they are exposed to many different aspects of healthcare careers. LAMC has been conducting Read More
Gruninger: Yoga FORE Golfers
Yoga is the perfect complement for golfing. Courtesy photo
By JACCI GRUNINGER MS, C-IAYT, ERYT500
Los Alamos
Even though we spend a lot of our day doing things on one side … using our dominant hand, stepping forward with the same foot, sitting cross-legged with the same leg in front to name a few, golf is a very one-sided practice.
Consider this, you might take over 100 practice swings, lean into 30-40 putts and bend down 40-50 times to pick up a ball; all on one side. That, coupled with walking 4-5 miles can put a lot of strain on the golfer’s body.
Yoga is the perfect complement to regain balance Read More
Leonard: Get Unstuck And Transform Any Aspect Of Your Life … Part 1
By LAURA LEONARD
Doctor of Chiropractic
Los Alamos
Have you ever felt stuck in a certain aspect of your life? The answer to this question is likely a yes for most of us. It is human nature to find ourselves struggling with repetitive patterns that we feel powerless to change.
The key to escaping from the hamster wheel is digging into our subconscious beliefs which lurk below the surface of awareness.
A great image to depict this is of an iceberg floating with only the tip sticking out of the water. What lies above is the conscious mind and what lies below is the subconscious mind. The question is why? It Read More
