Yvette Daidone, MSN, RN-BC, joined the College of Community Health Sciences as director of nursing for University Medical Center, which the College operates. Her responsibilities include serving as chief nursing officer, improving workflow, standardizing processes and procedures and implementing quality improvement activities. Before joining the College, Daidone was a quality management specialist at DCH Health…

Sexual satisfaction can become more difficult to achieve as the risk of sexual dysfunction in various forms increases with age, said Dr. John McDonald, interim chair of gynecology and obstetrics at University Medical Center. He said on average after age 50, the ovaries cease estrogen production, leaving women with a variety of problems, including hot…

An estimated 3% to 6% of U.S. college students are HIV positive, but those numbers could be higher and indicate a need for campuses to provide a range of HIV health care services, Dr. Sinead Younge, Danforth Endowed Professor in the Department of Psychology at Morehouse College, said at a February lecture at the College…

High cholesterol is a significant component of artery-clogging plaque and a major cardiovascular disease risk factor, said Dr. Jared Ellis, associate professor of family medicine at the College of Community Health Sciences at OLLI on Feb. 24. Cholesterol is necessary to keep the body healthy, but too much can cause serious health complications, said Ellis,…

Despite what romantic comedies might say, a skipped heartbeat is not cause for celebration. A rapid or irregular heartbeat can indicate atrial fibrillation, or AFib. It can increase the risk of stroke, heart failure and other complications, said Dr. Brett Bentley, assistant professor of family medicine and sports medicine at the College of Community Health…

Almost 10% of adults in the U.S. have been diagnosed with a sleep disorder, and while there is not concrete scientific evidence of how much sleep humans need it is evident that not getting enough can be detrimental to overall health, said Dr. Brittney Anderson. Anderson, assistant professor of family, internal and rural medicine at…

The active bacteria cultures living in the intestines may not sound appealing, but they have a large impact on daily life and digestive health. Meghan Busky, master’s student of nutrition sciences, spoke at The University of Alabama’s OLLI program on behalf of the College of Community Health Sciences’ Mini Medical School. Busky partnered with her…

Bella Valentini  Reproductive health disparities, such as maternal mortality and morbidity rates, are significantly higher for women of color compared to white women. Dr. Madeline Sutton, medical epidemiologist and board-certified OB/GYN and assistant professor at Morehouse School of Medicine, said that health care providers need to understand historical contexts to better modern medicine and to…

Dr. Gregg Bell, assistant professor of community medicine and population health, was elected vice chair of the National Steering Committee of the Census Bureau’s State Data Center Network. Bell was elected to a second three-year term on the steering committee in January. The University of Alabama Institute for Rural Health Research, where Bell is a…

In partnership with Reach Out and Read, University Medical Center is seeking to increase the availability of books to its pediatric patient population and their families in West Alabama. The goal is to provide a new book to each child between the ages of 6 months to 5 years old during their well-child visits. Bama…