Health-care providers and researchers with the University of Louisville are available to discuss any of the following health topics this week. Click on the headline or scroll down for more information:
- 18th ANNUAL CANCER SURVIVOR CELEBRATION GOES RED MAY 3
- PUT THE FUN BACK IN YOUTH SPORTS
- LET THERE BE LIGHT
- DON’T FORGET THE SUNGLASSES TO PROTECT YOUR VISION FROM SUN DAMAGE
- UofL PSYCHIATRISTS PROVIDE TELEMEDICINE SUPPORT TO RURAL AREA
18th ANNUAL CANCER SURVIVOR CELEBRATION GOES RED MAY 3
Every year, on the Thursday prior to the Run for the Roses, the UofL James Graham Brown Cancer Center hosts the Cancer Survivor Celebration. This year, the event celebrates all things red. Guests are invited to wear red and walk the red carpet to win prizes. Music will be provided by University of Louisville School of Music performers, and other special guests from the UofL Cardinals will be on hand. UofL Cardinal reporter on ESPN radio and UofL alumnus Howie Lindsey will serve as emcee, UofL leaders in cancer care and research will share remarks, and some amazing survivors of cancer will tell their stories of hope and triumph.
The cancer survivors will be joined by Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, UofL Hospital President Ken Marshall, and Jason Chesney, M.D., director of the James Graham Brown Cancer Center.
The Cancer Survivor Celebration, sponsored by the UofL James Graham Brown Cancer Center, Texas Roadhouse and the Kentucky Cancer Program, begins at 3 p.m. on Thursday, May 3, at Kosair Charities Clinical and Translational Research Building, 505 S. Hancock St.
PUT THE FUN BACK IN YOUTH SPORTS
Being active in sports is great for kids, and children want to participate and have fun. At times, however, parents may tend to focus on the outcomes of games or have a difficult time separating themselves from their child’s participation. This can reduce the child’s enthusiasm for sports participation, according to Christopher Peters, M.D., a child and adolescent psychiatrist at UofL Physicians – Bingham Clinic.
“Sports are a vehicle to teach so many life lessons, but most kids drop out of sports before high school and some never engage again,” Peters said. “When we understand the benefits and risks of sport involvement, we can all become part of keeping youth, and ultimately adults, more active and healthier.”
Peters advises that the type of participation and intensity should be dictated by the player’s developmental age. Adults should help young athletes improve their skills and acquire mastery. The dreams of parents and coaches may not be the child’s dreams, and adults must keep this perspective.
Peters offers five recommendations to help parents and coaches promote positive experiences for youth in sports:
- Listen to the kids
- Know the developmental approach
- Focus on improving skills and mastery
- It may not be their dream
- Participate
It’s important for parents and coaches to understand the benefits and risks of their involvement in children’s sports. Youth benefit when adults participate in their activities in a healthy way. Putting the fun back in sports may help everyone remain active throughout their lives.
LET THERE BE LIGHT
A distinctive feature of the University of Louisville Physicians Novak Center for Children’s Health at the UofL Health Sciences Center, is now complete. The third-floor pedestrian bridge – the “pedway” – that links the new building to the UofL Physicians Outpatient Center and to the Chestnut Street Garage is composed of 138 rectangular pieces of glass, each digitally printed with its own individual pattern. Seen from a distance, the panes of glass reveal an abstract design.
To achieve the design, a special paint is applied to the glass, the panes are then kiln-fired and a low-emissivity or “low-e” coating is applied. Low-e glass emits a lower level of radiant heat than non-coated glass without shading it, making it more energy efficient while still allowing light to shine through.
The first new health-care delivery facility constructed in the Louisville Medical Center in nearly a decade, the Novak Center for Children’s Health is a 176,000-square-foot building that will be home to the general, specialty and subspecialty pediatrics offices at UofL. This includes faculty physicians from UofL’s Department of Pediatrics as well as other faculty from the UofL School of Medicine, including those in neurology, oncology-hematology, cardiology, surgery, ophthalmology and more.
DON’T FORGET THE SUNGLASSES TO PROTECT YOUR VISION FROM SUN DAMAGE
With warmer weather inspiring increased outdoor activity in Kentuckiana, it is time to break out the sunglasses. Any time you are outdoors, it is important to wear sunglasses with ultraviolet (UV) light blocking lenses, according to Patrick Scott, O.D., Ph.D., an optometrist at UofL Physicians – Eye Specialists. This protection guards the eye and surrounding skin from sun damage, even when the sun is not at its brightest.
“Sunny or not, UV light is always present and your eyes need proper protection,” Scott said.
While all sunglasses should have a UV filter to adequately protect the eyes, you may opt for polarized lenses to filter additional light and reduce glare. Non-polarized lenses allow more light and visual information to enter the eye and are better for finer viewing at a distance. When you are enjoying activities on the water, such as fishing, sailing or lounging by the pool, glare is a major visual factor and polarized sunglasses will help reduce that glare.
UofL PSYCHIATRISTS PROVIDE TELEMEDICINE SUPPORT TO RURAL AREAS
The Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Louisville School of Medicine has partnered with a community mental health center to bring telepsychiatry to rural residents, most of whom would otherwise have difficulty obtaining care.
A video teleconferencing platform connects patients at the rural mental health care facility to UofL psychiatrists. UofL provides telepsychiatry primarily to facilities in Casey and Taylor Counties in Kentucky.
“Telepsychiatry often means the difference between care and no care for some rural patients,” said Robert Caudill, M.D., UofL Physicians – Psychiatry, residency training director and associate professor of the UofL Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. “These patients can go long periods of time between appointments because they have to travel far from home for care or available slots are filled.”
In addition to convenience, telepsychiatry has other benefits for patients. Stigma surrounding mental health treatment is reduced because the process of going to appointments is more private. It also is less intimidating for patients who have experienced trauma to meet with a physician through a video monitor, Caudill said.
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