Are you thinking about quitting smoking? Are you ready to try again?
The Learn To Live program of the Anne Arundel County Department of Health, in partnership with community health care providers, sponsors free quit-smoking classes for adults who live, work or attend school in Anne Arundel County. The classes include counseling and may offer patches, gum or other FDA-approved nicotine-replacement therapy.
Go to MyQuitKit.org for a list of quit-smoking locations and available services, or request a free quit-smoking kit that provides steps for quitting and staying smoke-free: 410-222-7979.
Commit to quit smoking or vaping today.
Learn To Live encourages county residents to reduce their risk of cancer and other serious illnesses by making healthy lifestyle choices.
1 Harry S Truman Pkwy., Annapolis; 410-222-7979; LearnToLiveHealthy.org
Feel Better, Faster
AFC Urgent Care
Feeling under the weather this winter? Everyone is busy — including your doctor. But we’re never too busy to see you.
No appointment is necessary at AFC Urgent Care, and your visit notes are sent over to your primary care doctor the next day.
AFC Urgent Care treats colds and flu, as well as sprains, cuts and most non-emergency medical issues. Lab and X-rays are on-site.
Get in and out quickly and back to feeling yourself so you can enjoy the rest of 2018.
AFC Urgent Care is a full-service urgent care center that provides walk-in medical care for all non-emergency illnesses and injuries. Open every day with extended hours. Bring photo ID and your insurance card.
3059 Solomons Island Rd., Suite F-2, Edgewater; 410-956-3394; www.AFCUrgentCareEdgewater.com
No-Cost Cancer Screening
Calvert County Health Department
Cost need not stand in the way of your getting needed or recommended cancer screenings.
The Calvert County Health Department offers the opportunity for eligible participants to be screened for colon, breast, and cervical cancer. These services are supported by the Maryland Cigarette Restitution Fund and Maryland Department of Health Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Program.
Call the health department and ask to set up an intake meeting. After providing the necessary information — and if you are eligible — a screening appointment will then be scheduled.
The Calvert County Health Department is a government organization providing local public health services, enforcing health laws and regulations.
975 Solomons Island Rd. North, Prince Frederick; 410-535-5400; www.calverthealth.org
Try Acupuncture for Pain Relief and Wellness
Meadow Hill Wellness
If you struggle with migraines — as I did as a teenager — you know how debilitating they can be. Through acupuncture treatments, I became migraine-free. Once acupuncture cured my migraines, I knew I was hooked. Years later, after undergrad, I went back to grad school to become an acupuncturist.
I created Meadow Hill Wellness over a decade ago to share this effective wellness practice with the community. We’ve grown to one of the area’s largest acupuncture practices.
I am now a doctor of acupuncture. Meadow Hill Wellness acupuncturists Lindsey Fox and Molly Harbour Hutto have specialized higher-level training, Fox in fertility enhancement, Hutto in digestive health.
Lots of our patients look so forward to their treatment that they show up early. They leave calm and relaxed, saying our treatments have helped them reach more of their health goals.
–Dr. Sara Poldmae, owner
Meadow Hill Wellness: Our highly trained health professionals help people get well with acupuncture and many other drug- and surgery-free solutions for health, including natural medicines, massage therapy and nutritional counseling. We work closely with physicians and other medical professionals to ensure that you receive high-quality, safe and effective health care. Acupuncture is a covered benefit under many health insurance plans; Meadow Hill Wellness is a network provider with most major insurance carriers.
53 Old Solomons Island Rd., Annapolis; 410-263-0411; www.meadowhillwellness.com
The 30-Minute Prescription
Owensville Primary Care
If New Year’s resolutions leave you feeling a little uneasy or maybe just plain tired, you’re not alone. The post-holiday, mid-winter blahs can make it tough to get excited about change.
This year, instead of making elaborate New Year’s promises, consider trying some low-key changes that will likely help you keep the blahs at bay — and help prevent high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease. Exercising with a goal of 30 minutes a day for five days each week can give you more energy and boost your mood. This, combined with a diet that is rich in vegetables and fruits and low in processed carbohydrates, may just give you the clear head and drive that you’ve needed to tackle some of last year’s resolutions. Like cleaning that basement and garage …
–Tom Sheesley, DO (back left)
Owensville Primary Care offers affordable health care services to a wide variety of patients in southern Anne Arundel County and neighboring counties. We provide internal and family medicine, behavioral health, insurance eligibility/enrollment and care management services in a patient-centered medical home environment.
Owensville Primary Care: 134 Owensville Rd., West River; 410-867-4700; www.owensvillepc.com
Make 2018 Your Year of Health and Fitness Success
Chesapeake Health and Fitness Club
Here are five keys to success in making health and fitness a priority in this new year:
1. Your first step toward success is deciding on your fitness program.
2. Start slowly and increase your workout gradually.
3. Listen to your body and feed it responsibly. Don’t start changing your diet by taking too much away. Instead, add a fruit and protein at 10am and 2pm and cut your food portion a small amount at lunch and dinner. After a couple of weeks it will be easier to get more aggressive with changes in your eating habits.
4. Take workout classes or get a personal trainer. Having a place to be at a certain time is extremely helpful.
5. Be excited and expect success! You’re worth it!
–Linda Strohecker, owner (at left, with personal trainer Krystal Castro)
Chesapeake Health and Fitness Club offers a wide range of private and group classes, all professionally designed and led. Group classes include Pilates, kickboxing, yoga, cardio dance, step, body pump and spin. Private classes offered in weight training, nutrition and cardiovascular endurance.
624 E. Bay Front Rd., Deale; 410-867-7440; www.chesfitclub.com
Re-wire Your Brain to Healthier Habits
Linda Lee Plank-Morgan, hypnotherapist: Envision Hypnosis
How many times has your physician suggested:
• Lose a “few” pounds?
• Quit smoking?
• Reduce your stress?
• Eat less sugar/carbs?
I can help you follow your doctor’s orders by re-wiring your brain to healthier habits, raising your self-esteem by slaying the Saboteur, providing great tools to reduce pain and anxiety, help with cancer treatments, stop fears, lower blood pressure and so much more. I work with physicians to assist patients to achieve better health.
Let me show you how hypnosis can help you win your health battles.
Envision Hypnosis of Southern Maryland is owned by Linda Lee Plank-Morgan, a board-certified healthcare support hypnotist.
596 Wilson Rd., Huntingtown; 410-474-8288; www.envisionhypnosis.com
Healthy Sight, Healthy You
Dunkirk Vision
The doctors and staff of Dunkirk Vision are dedicated to providing thorough and comprehensive eye care to our patients.
We care about you and your eye health, and we will take the time to explain every procedure and every exam. We focus on providing the most up-to-date treatment options through education and state-of-the-art equipment and materials.
We can help you with conditions such as dry eye, complicated prescriptions and myopia (near-sightedness) control for children.
–Rose Susel Lucente, OD
Dunkirk Vision provides vision improvement with glasses, contact lenses and surgical correction; treatment for eye conditions, including cataracts, computer vision syndrome and dry eyes; and eye diseases, from pink eye to diabetic eye disease.
10335 Southern Maryland Blvd., Suite 102, Dunkirk; 443-964-6730; www.dunkirkvision.com
Start with One Easy Stretch
Ridgely Retreat
Try an easy legs-up-the-wall stretch to help ease you into the new year.
By placing your legs against a wall, you activate the parasympathetic nervous system. This pose helps quiet the mind and lowers anxiety and stress.
Try this move to relieve tired leg muscles, low-back tension and insomnia. It is also good for reducing swelling in legs and feet, relaxing the venous system and stretching hamstrings.
Spending a few minutes in this stretch is a great way to ground yourself and bring balance and wellbeing to various systems of the body including respiratory, digestive, elimination, immune and hormonal.
–Andrea Lawrance-Lichtenstein, Principal
Ridgely Retreat offers a variety of yoga classes, workshops, massage, facials, acupuncture, tai chi, Nia technique and more in a relaxing, soulful and peaceful atmosphere.
Priority Care recognized an unmet need for fast, affordable and quality urgent medical care in the community.
Your injury or illness may not fit your doctor’s schedule. We are able to treat you the same day.
That makes a huge difference in the quality of everyday life, as it did for the patient who came in after cutting her finger while preparing food for her July Fourth party. We stitched her up and got her back to the party in time for dinner and fireworks.
We consider it a privilege to treat you and your family and to get to know you. In turn, our business is thriving with patients referred to us by their friends and family.
–Mason Helman, PA-C, Severna Park Clinic Director (second from left)
Priority Care Clinic: Providing urgent and routine care, including school, camp and work physicals, plus radiology, lab services and an on-site pharmacy. We accept most insurance and promise to save you time and money when compared to an emergency room. Now open seven days a week starting at 8am.
550 Ritchie Hwy., Suite K, Severna Park; 443-242-2200; www.prioritycareclinics.com
Solve the Puzzle of Back Pain
Maryland Disc Institute
Patients who never thought they would walk again or be free of pain now have achieved a quality of life they thought was gone forever. I was one of them. That’s why I dedicate my practice to spinal decompression coupled with guidance in more healthful lifestyles.
Spinal decompression is obtained using the DRX 9000, a machine that gently decompresses the spine, creating a negative disc pressure within the pathological discs that allows the herniated material to re-center and relieve the nerve pressure that causes pain. It is so gentle that most patients fall asleep while undergoing treatment.
There is no downtime, as opposed to invasive back surgery, which can require four to eight weeks lost time, lost income and potentially addictive pain killers.
However, as effective spinal decompression can be, it’s not for everyone. That’s why the initial consultation is free. After your examination, I evaluate your prognosis and explain procedures, costs and insurance coverage.
Call for your phone screening to see if you may be a candidate for this highly successful disc treatment with the DRX9000 non-surgical spine decompression system.
–Dr. Kathryn Hodges, Director
Maryland Disc Institute is dedicated to the relief of back pain with the DRX9000 non-surgical spine decompression system, a groundbreaking technology used by surgeons around the country.
43 Old Solomons Island Rd., Suite 201, Annapolis; 410-266-3888; www.mddiscinstitute.com
Your Hair Reflects Your Health
Here’s how to help it do the job
As hairdressers we get asked a lot of questions, none more than how can I make my hair look like this at home?
Having your hair done by a professional is a real treat, but you can get good results on your own. When you look good, you feel good. So I’m glad to share some tips.
Take Your Time
When you’re getting ready for an event, plan your schedule so you can take your time with your hair.
Brush!
Grandmother was right. Brushing is good for your hair. Follow her advice and give it 100 strokes a night. Brushing keeps the natural oils distributed and helps a smooth blow-out stay nice longer.
Condition
After conditioning in the shower, run a wet brush or wide-tooth comb through your hair. A leave-in spray helps moisturize and detangle. Spray from the root to the ends at a distance of an inch or two, then re-towel.
Don’t Style Too Early
A big mistake is trying to blow dry hair when it is too wet. Hair doesn’t start to style until it is almost dry. After you’ve washed and conditioned, do your makeup before styling to give the hair a little time to dry on its own.
Short Hair Has Special Needs
The trick to styling short hair is to keep it wet so that you can style it quickly the way you like. Use a water-misting bottle.
Curly Hair, Too
Do not over-shampoo curly hair. Try shampooing with conditioner, massaging it in just like shampoo, then rinsing well to remove excess oil. Curly hair does not retain dirt and oil like straight fine hair.
–Rick Shane, Principal: Style Lounge
At Style Lounge, hair is what we do. We give great cuts you can work with everyday. Our natural-look color will help you look — and feel — your best, brightening you up, balancing skin tone and easing the effect of graying hair. Consultations are always complimentary.
Yoga finds you when you need it; that is what I have observed in teaching for the last 15 years.
It can be that you are seeking a way into better fitness … to heal after an injury, life change or trauma … or that someone who loves yoga has been driving you crazy to come to a class.
This is what amazes me. Whatever brings you, moving and breathing in a living studio in the hands of a knowledgeable teacher will make you feel better. There is a direct correlation between the space and openness we create in the body to the sense of that in your life.
I see this every day. The shoulders relaxing down and the corners of the mouth turning up. We trust that the ancient roots of the practice have extended all the way here to continue to open hearts and heal bodies.
We have found this is true for children, teens, adults and seniors. We approach each person with an eye to individual circumstance. It is the only way to really be of service.
Ruah is spirit expressed as breath, and that is what we do here: Assist you in finding your spirit and breathing into it.
–Di Goodman
Ruah Studio offers hot and not-hot yoga for beginners to experts, plus specialty yoga and mediation workshops, a boutique offering home and body products and private steam showers.
1410 Forest Dr., Suite 9, Annapolis; 410-216-7838; www.ruahstudio.com
Get Help to End Bedwetting
South River Pediatrics
Bedwetting (enuresis) is a common problem in children. At age five, 15 percent of children are unable to keep dry at night. About 80 percent of these children have primary enuresis. The other 20 percent are children who were previously staying dry at night but have lost control, usually as the result of a stressful event.
A pediatrician can offer an evaluation to look for other symptoms of lower urinary tract issues such as daytime incontinence, urgency, straining, pain or dribbling. These are signs of bladder dysfunction and should lead to an evaluation of the urinary tract.
Our approach to enuresis begins with a thorough evaluation to determine the cause of bedwetting. The treatment goals are then discussed. Active participation by the child helps a lot in the success of the program.
Children who have a normal urinary tract may be dealing with a variety of factors leading to bedwetting, such as:
1. maturational delay
2. genetic predisposition
3. small bladder capacity
4. low levels of ADH, a hormone that tells the kidneys how much water to conserve
5. an overactive detrusor, a bladder muscle
We would be happy to evaluate, discuss and treat your child for this condition.
–Dr. Azam Baig
South River Pediatrics provides medical care for newborns through age 21, with offices in Edgewater, Dunkirk and Kent Island.
224A Mayo Rd., Edgewater; 410-956-6302; www.southriverpediatrics.com
Take a Ride in the Country
Enticement Stables at Obligation Farm
Horse riding is relaxing and therapeutic. You can exercise your whole body while being outdoors in the fresh air in a family-friendly atmosphere. It’s a great stress-reliever. We offer lessons for all ages and abilities.
After you’ve finished your ride, you can buy steroid- and additive-free meat and eggs raised right here in Harwood at Enticement Farm Raised Meats.
–Deana Tice, Proprietor
Enticement Stables and Farm: The Tice family puts two Anne Arundel County farms of 440 combined acres to use with two businesses. Enticement Stables at Obligation Farms provides 350 acres of riding grounds. At Enticement Farm-Raised Meats, animals graze on 90 acres.
4016 Solomons Island Rd., Harwood; 410-798-4980; www.enticementstables.com
Care to Keep You Comfortable In Your Own Home
Response Senior Care
Do you worry that illness or age will force you — or a loved one — to leave home for institutional care?
Response Senior Care can end that worry.
With a combined 50 years of experience in direct care, registered nursing, administration and clinical social work, our reliable staff can make living at home manageable, visiting for an hour or 24 hours a day.
Our direct services range from grooming, bathing and dressing to grocery shopping, errands and meal preparation; from laundry and linen washing to light housekeeping.
Companionship, socialization and activities make life more pleasant. Nursing and psychosocial assessments and respite care benefit the whole family.
Response Senior Care is locally owned and operated. Quality and service are undertaken seriously to support you and ensure your health and safety. Every day, you or your loved one will be treated with respect and care.
Services are individualized for your needs and situation. Call for more information or to schedule a free consultation or assessment.
–Gary Franklin, MSW, LCSW-C, Founder and Owner, center
Response Senior Care LLC: Our mission is to provide the highest level of non-medical, in-home care for seniors and adults (ages 18+). Our goal is to assist an individual’s desire to remain in his or her own home for as long as possible.
1831 Forest Dr., Suite G, Annapolis; 410-571-2744; www.response-seniorcare.com
Drink Tea to Stay Healthy
Willow Oak Flower and Herb Farm
Boost immunity with herbal teas, made from a combination of herbs from our farm as well as organically sourced ingredients. I recommend two teas in particular this time of year. Winters Remedy Tea is good as a preventative to getting sick. If you already fell sickness coming on, try the Immunity Blend, which will help boost the immune system and rid the body of sickness. The tea is effective due to its combination of echhanacia, estragilis and ginger.
Stop by our store to pick up these or other tea blends available in multiple varieties and forms.
–Heather Carr, Farm Manager
Willow Oak Flower and Herb Farm is a small self-sustaining farm that cares about the whole life cycle of our plants, animals and everything in our ecosystem. In business for 38 years, we farm organically to keep the environment safe for future generations. Herbs, plants and teas from our farm have been grown with love and left a very small imprint on the earth.
Preventing a health problem is better than having to overcome one.
At CalvertHealth Primary Care, we are interested in getting you healthy and keeping you healthy. Our providers are specially trained in preventive medicine and know how your family’s health history can affect your health. We can help you make the right health choices to keep you and your family healthy.
Our team of providers can diagnose, treat and manage a wide range of medical conditions for every member of the family, from babies, children, adolescents and adults to the elderly. Their role is to be your advocate in achieving and maintaining good health. Additionally, each provider is on active staff at CalvertHealth Medical Center.
With our extended hours and five locations throughout Calvert County, you will always have access to the CalvertHealth Primary Care network of care. So whether you are in need of preventive health care, management of chronic illness or disease or acute care for flu or injury, let the team at CalvertHealth care for you.
–Meagan Drees, Executive Director: CalvertHealth Medical Group
CalvertHealth Primary Care: Providing full care for the whole family from five convenient locations in Calvert County: Dunkirk,
Twin Beaches, Prince Frederick, Lusby and Solomons; 410-414-APPT (2778); CalvertHealthMedicalGroup.org
We Bring Experienced Pet Care to Your Door
Mobile Pet Vet
A high quality of life is important to everyone. Mobile Pet Vet goes the extra mile, literally, to provide in-home preventative care, alternative healthcare options and medical testing and treatments in a setting that is comfortable and low-stress for pets and pet parents.
We provide the highest quality, concierge-style veterinary care to pets of all ages and stages of health. With a visit by Mobile Pet Vet, geriatric pets can receive care in the comfort of their own bed — without a possibly uncomfortable ride to the clinic and anxiety about a place with unfamiliar sounds and smells. The busy pet parent can also manage their pet’s medical care with less interruption to daily life.
We are here to guide you through all stages of your pet’s life and health.
–Lisa Beagan, DVM
Mobile Pet Vet provides high-quality, compassionate veterinary care in a comfortable, low-stress environment with house calls for vaccination, sick and well visits, lab tests, puppy and kitten care, geriatric care, euthanasia, herbal medicine and acupuncture.
