Dukes County Health Council: Working for your health
In 1968, a piece appeared in the Reader's Digest introducing the phrase "Getting old ain't for sissies," bringing humor to an aging population’s aching joints and hardening arteries. Later, comedian Betty White refined it...
Dukes County Health Council: Working for your health
In 1787, Benjamin Franklin wrote the French intellectual Jean-Baptiste Leroy about his hopes for the longevity of the newly drafted Constitution of the United States, and noted, “But in this world nothing can be...
Dukes County Health Council: Working for your health
It may surprise you that Martha’s Vineyard is considered a “level two rural community,” an important distinction shared with only 20 percent of the nation. How can our bustling community be considered “rural” when...
Dukes County Health Council: Working for your health
In recent years, the topic of mindfulness has become prominent in both our conversations and aspirations as a path to improve the quality of our lives. Many of us make conscious efforts to practice...
Dukes County Health Council: Working for your health
It’s human nature to spend more time examining our failures than celebrating our victories; to complain about the inconvenient steps needed to get a COVID booster, for example, rather than the fact we received...
Dukes County Health Council: Working for your health
Few would argue that 2022 had its challenges, the healthcare field not excluded. The pandemic left us with supply shortages, apparent not only on merchants’ shelves but in our healthcare sector. Many of us...
Dukes County Health Council: Working for your health
Imagine a world where infections don’t heal, where illnesses do not rapidly turn around with a prescription, where all you can do is hope and pray that effective treatment can be found and that...
Dukes County Health Council: Working for your health
In September’s column we highlighted the importance of evidence-based programs (EBPs) and why they are relevant to our Island community. EBPs are generally health-related, offered to the public, and based on rigorously tested trials...
Dukes County Health Council: Working for your health
Imagine going to your doctor for a routine visit, and being advised to exercise more regularly to preserve your mobility and to improve your balance. Lately you’ve felt less steady on your feet, and...
Working for your health
Why are data so important to our community’s health? Who’s collecting them, and why?
What college student, this writer among them, hasn’t winced at the thought of spending an entire semester collecting, analyzing, and interpreting...
Working for your health
Did you know that our community, Dukes County, ranks as the 128th healthiest county in the U.S.? Did you know that Nantucket in the same survey ranks 41? U.S. News and World Report just...
Working for your health
Health is a basic human need. Textbooks define it as a state of emotional and physical well-being. When we are healthy, we can experience life to the fullest, becoming more satisfied and productive members...