Chapala Med, Purpose-Driven Medicine for Purpose-Driven Lives
Purpose-Driven Medicine for Purpose-Driven Lives
August 2017 Health Newsletter
Greetings dear readers. Thank you for taking the time to read this month’s Chapala Med newsletter. Some of you may have noticed that I did not send out a newsletter for the month of July and I was out of the office for a good part of the month of July. And some who follow me on social media may have heard the news regarding my beloved mother’s passing back home in Chicago, which is the reason for my absence. I’d like to thank all who posted to my social media pages or who may have emailed me messages of warm positive thoughts and support. Furthermore upon my recent return, I was equally overwhelmed by all the warm hugs and kind words I received during this difficult time. I am humbled by the support from my friends and patients and will be eternally grateful for the love and support you have all shown me. I’ll never forget those whom even through their thoughts and prayers, accompanied me during such a difficult time. On behalf of my family and myself, thank you.
The purpose of my monthly newsletter is twofold. First and foremost, I’d like to provide health-related information that I believe would benefit the members of the of the community that I serve and the patients whom I provide care for. This being the age of the internet and social media, I try to use them wisely to gather such information as well as from online medical journals I subscribe to. The second purpose of my newsletter is to inform my patients of the changes that happen at Chapala Med as our team and our practice continues to grow and evolve to meet the needs of our patients and the community we serve.
In the past years since moving here, I have come to believe in the law of attraction and have been extremely grateful for the people whom God and the Universe have put in my path as well as the tools for self improvement and guidance when it comes to my growth as a person, physician and the leader of the staff and healthcare providers whom are part of Chapala Med.
One of the books I’d like to once again recommend to all who read this newsletter, especially after the recent passing of my mother is BEING MORTAL: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande M.D. He is currently my favorite author and I’ve read all of his books. After reading this book I further recommend that you have an honest dialogue with your family, close friends and loved ones whom may have to make some difficult decisions when it comes to your or a loved one’s end of life wishes. I firmly believe that it would save many a lot of heartache and drama at such a difficult time. Please do yourself a favor and your loved ones a favor and read this book as soon as you can. I have posted a photo of the cover below.
What knowledge I have gained from reading Dr. Gawande’s books has helped mold the mindset that I have when I wake up everyday and choose to continue practice medicine. Practicing medicine in Mexico has really liberated me to practice medicine with many of the principles that Atul Gawande puts forth in his books. Below is a picture of the cover of his book.
I am pleased to once again announce that our Chapala Med team continues to grow to provide you better service and to allow the other healthcare providers and myself to focus on patient care. I am extremely proud to say that we have had a great deal of compliments with the two new members at our front desk, Alisia Castillo and Favio Ochoa, our nurse. They truly have surpassed our expectations at providing exceptional customer service to Chapala Med’s patients.
I am also very proud to announce that Paulo Gonzalez our Neuro Rehabilitationist will assume the position of Director of Rehabilitation. His credentials include a Master’s Degree in Neurosciences and Behavioral Biology at the University of Murcia, Spain, specializing in patients with neurological disorders. He has also completed post-graduate studies in the treatment of adults with hemiplegia and dysphagia. Dr. González is also certified in aquatic therapy. He is also a professor of Rehabilitation in Guadalajara at the UVM. His training and experience make him the perfect candidate to oversee and lead the team of therapists who treat patients at Chapala Med. The patients whom have already come under his care have been extremely pleased with the results they have come to achieve under his care and guidance. They have also noted the vast difference between the therapy that a typical Physical Therapist provides and the therapy he and his team provide.
In closing I’d like to remind all of the readers that by this time next year, medical care in the Lakeside area will change dramatically. When I am authorized to give more details in the coming weeks I believe the news will be very welcome by both the expat and Mexican communities. In my opinion the most important thing about this news is that in the end, it will dramatically improve our ability to save lives at Lakeside. Stay tuned.
If there is any information that you would like for me to research or include in this newsletter, then please let me know via email at . Thank you and Godspeed.
At Chapala Med we strive to maintain our patient’s quality of life and independence. One way we do this is by recommending that our patients receive vaccines that are appropriate for their age and medical history. In addition to highly recommending the Shingles (Zostavax) and the
Pneumonia(Pneumovax) vaccines we are now recommending our patients at Lakeside get the Typhoid and Dengue vaccines which are now available at our office as well.
The summer months which bring the much needed rain to Lake Chapala also bring with it an increase in the cases of Typhoid infections. Last year we also saw a substantial rise in the number of DENGUE cases that spanned from July well into November. Many have know or heard of someone who may have contracted Dengue and have come to know just how painful and incapacitating Dengue can be. So, we strongly urge you consider getting these vaccines while still available.
Below is a link to the current CDC 2017 Vaccination schedule.
HealthDay News – An estimated 2 of 3 people in the United States have not completed an advance directive, according to a review published in Health Affairs.
Kuldeep N Yadav, from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and colleagues conducted a systematic review of studies published in 2011 to 2016 to examine the proportion of US adults with a completed living will, health care power of attorney, or both. Data were included for 795,909 people in 150 studies.
The researchers found that 36.7% of those in the studies had completed an advance directive, including 29.3% with living wills. Similar proportions were seen across the years studied. The proportion with advanced directives was similar for patients with chronic illness and healthy adults (38.2% and 32.7%, respectively).
“The findings provide benchmarks for gauging future policies and practices designed to motivate completion of advance directives, particularly among those people most likely to benefit from having these documents on record,” the authors wrote.
A study presented at SLEEP 2017 and published in the journal Sleep showed that individuals with mild-to-moderate obstructive sleep apnea had a threefold increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes and a fourfold higher risk of having hypertension. Researchers evaluated 1,741 adults from the Penn State Adult Cohort and found that young and middle-aged adults were at the greatest risk of developing both conditions.
HealthDay News — Physical exercise improves cognitive function in people over 50 years of age, according to a review published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
Chapala Med would like to welcome and congratulate Paulo Gonzales as our Rehabilitation director. He is a neuro-rehabilitator and has a team of physical therapists whom are part of his team. Paulo is the first neuro-rehabilitationist to work in the Lakeside area and is the most prominent one in Guadalajara and a university professor in his field.
Neuro rehab is a doctor-supervised program designed for people with diseases, trauma, or disorders of the nervous system. Strokes, brain and spinal trauma as well a some CNS infections can be treated.
We are proud of his accomplishments and are sure that he will be a valuable member of our team and will help many in the future. In the short months he’s been providing care to our at Chapala Med, he’s gained quite a reputation and made great strides with the patients he has provided guided therapy to. Please welcome him to Chapala Med and to the Lakeside area.
