June is Men’s Health Month...

Recognizing Men’s Health Month provides a good opportunity to connect with your referral network. Start by providing the physicians in your service area with brochures on topics relevant to men’s health. Be sure to include information on heart disease which is the number one cause of death for men in the United States.  According to the American Heart Association, 1 in 3 men suffer some form of cardiovascular condition. Thankfully the risk for developing heart disease can be modified with a healthy diet and lifestyle. As young adults, men should know their cholesterol levels, keep physically fit, and have regular check-ups to maintain good cardiovascular health.

Unlike heart disease, cancer can strike the healthiest of men. The top three cancers that occur in men:

Prostate cancer is the number one cancer risk for men aside from skin cancer. Most cases of prostate cancer occur in men over the age of sixty-five. The American Cancer Society recommends that when men reach the age of fifty they should begin the discussion with their doctor about prostate cancer screening. Prostate cancer is very treatable with a 5-year relative survival rate of 99%. Risk factors that may require screening prior to age fifty: having a family history of prostate cancer, being African American, being obese, and being exposed to Agent Orange.

Lung cancer kills more men every year than any other type of cancer. The majority of lung cancers are caused by cigarette smoking or exposure to second-hand smoke. Unfortunately, symptoms of lung cancer don’t typically occur until the disease is at an advanced stage. The prognosis depends on whether or not the cancer has spread beyond the lungs. The five-year relative survival rate on non-spreading cancers is 50%.

Colorectal cancer is another major cancer concern for men. Cancer screening for most men should begin at age 50 and repeated every 5 – 10 years. Men at higher risk like those with Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, or a family history of colon cancer should be tested sooner. There are several methods of screening, though colonoscopies are frequently prescribed as they enable the doctor to check the entire colon for polyps or cancer. Finding and removing pre-malignant polyps can often prevent colon cancer. The 5-year survival rate for localized stage I colon cancer is about 90%. 

How you can get involved in promoting men’s health:

• Plan a Wear Blue Day to promote awareness for Men’s Health Month. Hand out T-shirts to your employees, and referral groups. 
• Organize a flag football or a softball game between your company and referral groups. Invite local media to attend to spread awareness.
• Sponsor a mini health fair. Provide health screenings and ask local restaurants to supply healthy snacks.
• Have your nurses give a presentation on Men’s Health and provide handouts on heart health, hypertension, prostate cancer, etc. 
• Set up an information table on Men’s Health at a local gym, sporting goods or home improvement store. The Saturday before Father’s Day would be a great time to plan this.

Visit our Webstore for Informational Materials on Men’s Health and other Conditions.

Build up your outreach efforts this Minority Health Month

Although we should strive for health equality all year long, April is Minority Health Month and it’s a time when we should pay special attention to our efforts at promoting access to health care resources for all ethnic and racial groups.

Not only will it improve the health of these groups, which studies show have more difficulty accessing health care, but these special efforts can improve your patient census as more members of minority groups connect with you, the agency that took the time to reach out to them.

• Start by visiting the website of the Office of Minority Health. Take the time to learn about health equity and minority outreach. Commit to reaching a broader section of your community. You can find great tool kits on the issue here and here.
• Reach out and partner with groups that serve your community’s minority markets. These include community health centers, charitable organizations, chambers of commerce, church groups, and groups that work with migrant populations. Offer to help educate the groups they serve about various health issues that impact them.
• Build your agency’s library of Spanish-language educational materials. Start by visiting the National Network of Libraries of Medicine for a varied selection of health topics in Spanish. You can also find Spanish materials personalized to your agency, including brochures, health logs and helpful zone flyers. Arrange to have some of your materials displayed at health clinics that serve large Hispanic populations.
• Get involved in Kidney Sundays, an effort of the National Kidney Disease Education Program. Kidney Sundays aims to educate the attendees of primarily African American churches about kidney disease. After all, although African Americans make up only about 13 percent of the population, about 32 percent of U.S. cases of kidney failure are in African Americans. Download a free Kidney Sundays toolkit and then contact local African American churches to discuss ways you can help educate their congregations about the disease. Distribute agency flyers on kidney disease to those you encounter at your Kidney Sundays event.
• Contact minority patients you have served and their families. Ask them to provide testimonials about the care they received from your agency. Use these testimonials in your marketing materials and future promotions to highlight your agency’s inclusiveness.
• Recognize the health disparities in heart disease and then take action. A toolkit to begin a heart health program can be found at the website of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Don’t forget to stock up on your agency’s heart disease-related brochures to aid in your outreach efforts.

Plan for June: Health and Safety

National Safety Month takes place each June and it’s a great opportunity to reach out to your community and educate on home safety and how your agency can help. The National Safety Council-supported observance is an effort to educate people and influence their behaviors in relation to the top causes of preventable death and injury. Here are some things you can do to participate.

• Host a free educational class at your area senior centers on the importance and basics of fall prevention. Find a ready-made class at www.tagwebstore.com/healthmatters-education-series.php.
• Show your referral sources this month that you are committed to ensuring patient safety. Integrate patient education guides for fall prevention into your services for those at an elevated risk for a fall. The guides also are an eye-catching tool you can use to show referral sources how seriously you take this issue. Find them at www.tagwebstore.com/patient-education-guides.php.
• Stock physician waiting rooms – especially those of orthopedic specialists – with flyers about home safety. Be sure to include information about your agency’s fall risk assessments. Find the flyers at www.tagwebstore.com/health-care-flyers.php.
• Health and safety go hand in hand. Give patients a powerful tool to track their health records, including medications, immunizations, blood sugar and more. Health Logs will go everywhere they go and will keep your agency top of mind. Distribute them to your both your clients and prospective clients. Find them at www.tagwebstore.com/healthlog.php.

June is Men’s Health Month and National Men’s Health Week is June 10-16. Stand up for the men in your community and remind them that when they improve their health, they improve not only their lives, but the lives of everyone they care about. Focus efforts this month on educating about health issues that particularly affect men. Consider this: According to the Centers for Disease Control, women are 100% more likely to visit the doctor for annual exams and preventive services than men.

• Take part in community health fairs this month and hand out flyers about topics such as prostate cancer, high blood pressure, medication management and pain management. Find them www.tagwebstore.com/health-care-flyers.php.
• About 67 million American adults (one-third of the population!) have high blood pressure, a condition that contributes to heart attack, stroke and heart failure. Distribute blood pressure logs to the offices of general practitioners and internists to give to their patients with elevated blood pressure. The logs provide a consistent way to get attention for your agency while helping potential patients manage their condition. Find them at www.tagwebstore.com/bloodpressurelog.php.
• Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, killing 307,225 men in 2009 – one in every four deaths! Volunteer to teach a free class on heart health at a local Lions Club, Kiwanis Club or VFW.  Find a ready-made class at www.tagwebstore.com/healthmatters-education-series.php.
• It’s time to think about doing something big. Plan an event to educate your community’s men (and women) about an important Medicare benefit they may not realize they have: The Annual Wellness Visit, which includes a review of medical history and risk factors and a personalized prevention plan. Provide snacks, informative booths and access to a clinician to perform the annual exams. Find a kit to help you plan and execute the ev