UConn Health Pulse

Keeping Women Moving

You don't have to be an elite athlete to take advantage of a new care model that offers access to full range of expertise: the Women's Center for Motion and Performance at UConn Health is for women of all ages, ability levels, and medical needs. Dr. Katherine Coyner, director, and Dr. Allison Schafer, medical director, explain how patients will benefit from this collective of specialties designed to optimize the coordination of care and get or keep women active and healthy.

(April 2024, Dr. Katherine Coyner, Dr. Allison Schafer, Chris DeFrancesco)

Women's Center for Motion and Performance at UConn Health (starting 4/23/24)
https://health.uconn.edu/womens-center-for-motion-and-performance/ 

Women's Center for Motion and Performance nurse navigator:
860-679-6330

UConn Health Orthopedics and Sports Medicine
https://health.uconn.edu/orthopedics-sports-medicine/ 

Dr. Allison Schafer
https://health.uconn.edu/find-a-provider/physician/Schafer-Allison 

Dr. Katherine Coyner
https://health.uconn.edu/find-a-provider/physician/Coyner-Katherine 

Dr. Coyner's Inspiring Women in Engineering and Medicine (IWEM) program
https://www.drcoyner.com/iwem.html

UConn Health Half Marathon, June 1, 2024
https://www.hartfordmarathon.com/uconn-health-half-marathon-10k-5k/

UConn Institute for Sports Medicine
https://sports.institute.uconn.edu/ 

UConn Health Simsbury
https://health.uconn.edu/plan-your-visit/locations-and-directions/simsbury 

UConn Health Southington
https://health.uconn.edu/plan-your-visit/locations-and-directions/southington 

Making MS More 'VISIBL'

A great challenge in multiple sclerosis care is recognizing it soon enough to start intervention and change the disease trajectory. Social determinants of health, including cultural barriers, can make this especially difficult. Dr. Jaime Imitola, chief of UConn Health’s Division of Multiple Sclerosis and Translational Neuroimmunology, led a group that came up with a new, bilingual resource to help patients, medical students, and providers recognize the signs and avoid delays in care.

(Dr. Jaime Imitola, Carolyn Pennington, Chris DeFrancesco, March 2024)

Note: A Spanish version of this episode is in production. It will be released separately to subscribers' feeds and be available on Podbean and at https://health.uconn.edu/archives/uconn-health-podcast.

"Making Early Signs of Multiple Sclerosis 'VISIBLE'" (UConn Today)
https://today.uconn.edu/2024/03/making-early-signs-of-multiple-sclerosis-visibl/

"VISIBL-MS: A bilingual educational framework to increase awareness of early multiple sclerosis" (Multiple Sclerosis Journal)
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/13524585241228739

VISIBL-MS tool (open access)
http://www.imitolab.org/visiblms.html

Imitola Lab
http://www.imitolab.org/

UConn Health’s Multiple Sclerosis Center
https://health.uconn.edu/multiple-sclerosis/

Addressing Barriers to Rx Access

UConn Health is now part of the Dispensary of Hope Network, which means it can connect qualifying patients with no-cost prescriptions for certain medications that the pharmaceutical companies make available. Emmett Sullivan and Dr. Hetal Patel from the UConn Health Pharmacy explain the program, which is only the third of its kind in Connecticut and joins about 250 other pharmacies throughout the U.S.

(Dr. Hetal Patel, Emmett Sullivan, Carolyn Pennington, Chris DeFrancesco, December 2023)

UConn Health Specialty Pharmacy
https://health.uconn.edu/specialty-pharmacy

Dispensary of Hope:
https://www.dispensaryofhope.org/

Season’s Eatings: Tips From an RD

Temptation surrounds us during the holiday season. How do we navigate those holiday parties, potlucks and happy hours so we can be reasonably healthy and still be festive? Linda York, registered dietitian at UConn Health, has some tips on how to "brave the buffet" and still share in the merriment.

(Linda York, Chris DeFrancesco, November 2023)

 

Meet the ’Trauma Avengers’

A nationwide child and adolescent behavioral health project that originated at UConn Health takes a creative, modern approach to helping young people cope with mental health challenges. At the same time, it creates educational resources for therapists throughout the country. A component of this includes the "Trauma Avengers" sharing their "Digital Diaries." Clinical psychologists Julian Ford and Rocio Chang, co-directors of the Center for the Treatment of Developmental Trauma Disorders, join Carolyn and Chris to explain.

(Dr. Rocio Chang, Dr. Julian Ford, Carolyn Pennington, Chris DeFrancesco, August 2023)

Julian Ford, professor of psychiatry, UConn Health 
https://facultydirectory.uchc.edu/profile?profileId=Ford-Julian

Rocio Chang, assistant professor of psychiatry, UConn Health
https://facultydirectory.uchc.edu/profile?profileId=Chang-Roc%C3%ADo

Center for Treatment of Developmental Trauma Disorders
https://developmental-trauma.org/

Trauma Avengers (Digital Diaries: Rx)
https://traumaavengers.com/

Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at UConn Health
https://health.uconn.edu/psychiatry/areas-of-care/child-and-adolescent/

860-523-3745

Start School Sleep Schedule Soon!

When is the best time to start moving up bed time? Hint: it's not the night before the first day of school! Dr. Jennifer Kanaan from UConn Health's Sleep Disorders Center works with adults, adolescents, and children. She joins the podcast to explain what's happening in our bodies when we sleep and why it's so beneficial to our performance, particularly in school. Listen to her advice and start the school year off right!

(Dr. Jennifer Kanaan, Carolyn Pennington, Chris DeFrancesco, July 2023)

Dr. Jennifer Kanaan
https://health.uconn.edu/find-a-provider/physician/Kanaan-Jennifer

UConn Health Sleep Disorders Center
https://health.uconn.edu/pulmonary/sleep-disorders-center/
860-679-4090

 

Managing Movement Disorders Like Parkinson’s

Identifying Parkinson's disease early and starting a treatment plan can go a long way in delaying the onset of disability or loss of function. Once that diagnosis is made, supportive care and planning become crucial parts of managing the disease. Dr. Bernardo Rodrigues, director of UConn Health's Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Center, explains.

(May 2023, Dr. Bernardo Rodrigues, Chris DeFrancesco)

Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Center at UConn Health
https://health.uconn.edu/parkinsons/

Call for appointment: 860-679-4888

Dr. Bernardo Rodrigues
https://facultydirectory.uchc.edu/profile?profileId=Rodrigues-Bernardo

Parkinson's disease patient support group at UConn Health
https://health.uconn.edu/parkinsons/patient-resources/

Parkinson's disease caregiver support group at UConn Health
parkinsons@uchc.edu, 860-679-3224

Education as a Diabetes Management Tool

Two UConn Health endocrinologists, Drs. Pooja Luthra and Parvathy Madhavan, and the coordinator of UConn Health's Diabetes Self-Management Education Program, nurse practitioner Luriza Glynn, discuss the importance of recognizing early signs of diabetes and managing it once diagnosed with the benefit of education.

(Luriza Glynn, Dr. Parvathy Madhavan, Dr. Pooja Luthra, Chris DeFrancesco, April 2023)

Diabetes care at UConn Health:
https://health.uconn.edu/diabetes/

UConn Health Diabetes Self-Management Education Program:
https://health.uconn.edu/diabetes/diabetes-self-management-education-program/

Prediabetes risk test:
https://diabetes.org/diabetes/risk-test

UConn Health endocrinology:
https://health.uconn.edu/endocrinology/
860-679-3245

Alternatives to Opioids in Pain Management

When it comes to pain management, particularly back and neck pain, narcotics are not the only option. We ask two UConn Health physiatrists — Dr. Joseph Walker and Dr. Durgadas Sakalkale — about the approaches they take in the UConn Musculoskeletal Institute.

(March 2023, Dr. Joseph Walker, Dr. Durgadas Sakalkale, Chris DeFrancesco)

UConn Health Orthopedics and Sports Medicine
https://health.uconn.edu/orthopedics-sports-medicine/
860-676-6600

UConn Health Comprehensive Spine Center
https://health.uconn.edu/spine/
860-679-6662

Dental Care for Kids

Dr. Katherine Fleming from the UConn School of Dental Medicine's Division of Pediatric Dentistry and Dr. Michaela Matos, a UConn pediatric dental resident, join for Children's Oral Health Month. They explain what is (and isn't) a dental emergency, discuss the importance of establishing a dental home for your child, and offer tips for parents to cultivate health habits.

(Dr. Katherine Fleming, Dr. Michaela Matos, Courtney Chandler, Chris DeFrancesco, February 2023)

UConn Health Pediatric Dentistry Clinic
https://health.uconn.edu/dental/patient-services/pediatric-dentistry/
65 Kane St., West Hartford
860-523-3770

UConn Pediatric Dental Residency Program
https://dentalmedicine.uconn.edu/divisions/pediatric-dentistry/

Dr. Matos also would like to acknowledge her co-residents:

• Dr. Shailly Shah
• Dr. Marissa Ruggiero
• Dr. Dan Nyguen