Setting off your own fireworks or being near someone who is lighting fireworks is extremely dangerous. You can become a victim of severe burns, loss of limbs or worse, as a result of firework malfunctions or carelessness. Your safest choice to enjoy fireworks this long weekend would be to watch fireworks set off by professionals.
Here is a list of locations and events in Ohio that are providing awesome firework shows for your enjoyment:
In honor of National HIV Testing Day, Monday June 27th, OACHC encourages you to spread awareness on the importance of getting tested for HIV. HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is the virus that causes AIDS.
How Can You Know if You Are HIV Positive?
The only way to know if you have HIV is to get tested. Many people with HIV don’t have any symptoms. In the United States, 1 in 8 people living with HIV don’t know they have it.
Even if you don’t feel sick, getting early treatment for HIV is important. Early treatment can help you live a longer, healthier life. Treatment can also make it less likely that you will pass HIV on to other people.
Am I at risk for HIV?
HIV is spread through some of the body’s fluids, like blood, semen, vaginal fluids, and breast milk. HIV is passed from one person to another by:
Having sex (vaginal, anal, or oral) without a condom or dental dam with a person who has HIV
Sharing needles with someone who has HIV
Breastfeeding, pregnancy, or childbirth if the mother has HIV
Getting a transfusion of blood that’s infected with HIV (very rare in the United States)
The enhanced integration of oral health and primary care is a goal for many health agencies, associations and policy makers. The Ohio Association of Community Health Centers (OACHC) is striving to meet this goal through a partnership with the Ohio Dental Association (ODA), and with funding assistance from the Ohio Dental Association Foundation, to incorporate blood pressure screening across all FQHC dental centers. This exciting initiative is slated to begin July 1, 2016.
As a partner in patient-centered care, screening patients during an oral health visit for hypertension is an important service that is both innovative and efficient. In the OACHC-ODA initiative, while preparing a patient to be seen by the dentist, a dental assistant will take a patient’s blood pressure right in the dental chair. Seamlessly, the assistant will offer health education and can even make a warm referral to a health center physician as necessary.
Like most health center initiatives, the blood pressure screening dental project boasts a quality improvement facet. Health center dental practices will collect data including the numbers of health centers participating, patients screened and how many referrals are made for further screening and treatment. The QI results will be shared to showcase the promotion of overall health during dental visits.
Prior to the collaboration, one of the barriers to screening for hypertension was a lack of blood pressure monitoring devices in each dental operatory. The financial support of this initiative provides funding for the monitors, educational handouts and comprehensive training that will be provided to each of the 33 dental centers across Ohio.
This collaboration illustrates the commitment of Ohio’s Community Health Centers to provide comprehensive care, amplifying the dentist’s role as a health professional who sees the importance of addressing patients’ total health during their oral health visit.
Please contact OACHC’s Oral Health Program Manager, Susan Lawson for more information.
Injuries are a leading cause of disability for people of all ages — and they are the leading cause of death for Americans ages 1 to 44. The good news is everyone can get involved to help prevent injuries.
This June, we encourage you to learn more about important safety issues like prescription painkiller abuse, transportation safety, and slips, trips, and falls.
Prescription painkiller abuse: Prescription painkiller overdoses are a growing problem in the United States, especially among women. About 18 women die every day from a prescription painkiller overdose — more than 4 times as many as back in 1999.
Transportation safety: Doing other activities while driving — like texting or eating — distracts you and increases your chance of crashing. Almost 1 in 5 crashes (17%) that injured someone involved distracted driving.
Slips, trips, and falls: One in 3 older adults falls each year. Many falls lead to broken bones and other health problems.
