Our Favorite Resolutions
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/ Categories: WELLNESS, 2021

Our Favorite Resolutions

Still searching for your New Year’s resolution? Our medical staff contributed their ideas for the most useful resolutions and offered their ideas about how to make them a part of your life. 

Moving more. We all know exercise is good for us. Taking the first step can be difficult. Lisa Downing-Forget, MD, of SVMC Internal Medicine, reminds her patients, “exercise, which releases stress, is not the same as work, which creates stress, so remember to move just for you—not just because you have to!” Begin by carving out a specific time for exercise and just put on your sneakers at that time. That’s step one. “Once you’ve gotten into that habit,” she explains, “choose your movement.”  It could be dancing to your favorite music or flipping on an easy beginner workout video. (There are many free options available. Try fitnessblender.com, if you don’t know where to begin.) If you have hesitation or questions about activities that you should or should not be doing, ask your health care provider. “As you gain confidence, change up your movement and explore all of the really good feelings that come with moving regularly.”

More fruits and veggies. Eating more fruits and vegetables is a great resolution. “Fruits and vegetables contain fiber, water, and valuable nutrients. They are also really satisfying and can help you feel fuller longer,” said Registered Dietitian Kristin Irace. “Once you get used to eating more healthy foods, you might also find it easier to give up processed foods, which can be harmful when consumed in large quantities,” she continued. “If you don’t eat any fruit or vegetables now, aim for one serving a day. If you eat some, focus on finding new vegetable-oriented recipes to try.”

Preparing meals at home. Cooking more of your own meals, rather than eating out, comes with impressive health, quality of life, and financial benefits. “Most restaurant meals are not designed with health in mind,” Irace explains. Cooking your meals at home allows you to control exactly what is going into your dish. “The most delicious and flavorful home-cooked meals are bound to have more healthy ingredients and fewer of those that require caution, like saturated fat and salt, than those cooked out.” Plus, cooking is fun and provides great quality time with those you love. “Plus,” Irace says, “you will save money too.”

Avoiding sweet beverages. A lot of people drink tons of unnecessary calories in the form of sugary coffee, energy drinks, or soda. “If you drink more than one sweetened beverage each day, begin by cutting back,” Irace recommends. “If you drink one per day or less, what about making your sugary drink a Friday treat?” She continues, “aim for 30ml of water per kilogram of your body weight per day.”  This healthy step can help you maintain a healthy weight and cut your risk of obesity, cancer, diabetes, and other diseases.

A better sleep routine. “Sound sleep is so important to good health,” says Dr. Downing-Forget. In fact, it’s fundamental. “Developing a really good sleep routine could be the important first step to improve your health and your satisfaction with life, because a good night’s sleep has the power to drive other positive changes.” Many people turn to medications for better sleep, but medications often work for just a short time or don’t get to the root of the problem. “Medications are not the only answer. Ask your provider about ways to get better sleep without medications.” Getting better sleep is one of the more complex resolutions, because it could require a lot of other changes to your lifestyle, but with great challenges come the possibility of great rewards!

Enjoying the outdoors. Kim Fodor, MD, of SVMC Internal Medicine, recommends making a weekly date with nature. Just 2 hours a week in the outdoors has the potential to increase your health and wellbeing. “You are likely to feel more calm and notice an increased ability to concentrate,” Fodor says. “Nature time can also reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression, irritability, blood pressure, and feelings of isolation.”

Be sure to ask for help when you need it. Regardless of which resolution you are approaching this year, your primary care provider is ready to help you obtain the information you need to meet your goal and attain greater wellness and life satisfaction.

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Emergency Department: Open, Ready, Safe. 

The last 3 months have been a uniquely challenging experience in the SVMC Emergency Department (ED) and emergency departments and hospitals all over the country and the world. I am very proud of all our staff has done and continues to do to ensure safe care for patients during this era of COVID-19. We are grateful that cases of COVID-19 in our area have been the lowest in the U.S. and have decreased even further over the past several weeks. We are also heartened to see that patients who had been avoiding the ED are now confident to return to get the care they need.

It may be surprising to hear that over the past few months, the sickest patients we have seen in the ER have not had COVID-19. Many people have refrained from seeking care for serious medical problems due to the fear of being exposed to the virus, assuming that the hospital was not a safe place to be and not recognizing the seriousness of their symptoms. The most challenging moments of the past several months have involved critically ill patients who tried to stay away for far too long due to fear of being exposed to COVID-19. We have had many sad moments trying to care for those who waited until it was too late for us to help with conditions that could have been easily treated if presented sooner.

One might expect that the greatest challenges related to the pandemic were those needed to adapt our facilities and procedures and the work of caring for sick COVID-19 patients. SVMC is fortunate to have built a strong foundation of safety and infection-prevention methods over many years, which made this transition much easier. Still, when it became apparent that we were going to see COVID-19 cases coming through our doors, we implemented many COVID-specific changes very quickly.

From day one our staff have all been fully trained to use protective equipment effectively, to focus on cleaning and disinfecting, and to move patients safely through the new areas created to keep them safe. We also spaced the waiting room chairs to allow for plenty of distance and initiated drive-by testing to keep potentially contagious people outside and away from other patients.

We immediately increased our standard of protective equipment we use. For example, all staff who relate with patients now wear both a mask and protective shield, which is a proven and effective strategy to prevent transmission. Those staff who work with patients with respiratory or other contagious symptoms also wear a gown and advanced respirators developed in cooperation with Mack Molding in Arlington. They look strange, but they help us deliver care safely.

We also quickly built special spaces and units in the hospital to treat and segregate patients with respiratory symptoms who might be contagious from those with other routine medical problems. Outpatients with symptoms that could be related to COVID-19 are directed to a spacious area called the Respiratory Evaluation Center. There they can be taken to a safe treatment space called a negative-pressure room without encountering any patients who are using the ED for other reasons or any staff who are not fully equipped with protective gear. There are similar, safe, negative-pressure units for those who require treatment in the ED or hospital.

Our hard work paid off. We have treated a number of COVID-19 patients in our ED and, as far as we know, not a single staff member was sickened in relation to their work here, and no patients have contracted COVID-19 while under our care. With our current procedures and drastically declining COVID numbers, we are confident that we can continue that trend. Furthermore, SVMC recently received a perfect score on a rigorous survey specifically designed to judge our ability to prevent transmission of COVID-19. At this time our ED is safer than just about any other public place you could go.

My goal in writing today is to communicate that SVMC’s Emergency Department is open, ready, and safe. If you need emergency care, we are here and we can care for you safely. Please do not defer emergency care until it is too late for us to help. While many symptoms can represent a serious medical problem, the most concerning are chest pain, difficulty breathing, fast heart rate, confusion, high fever, intense headache, drooping face, dehydration, or weakness. Of course, with any other symptom you feel indicates a serious problem, come in right away or call 9-1-1.

For us, spending time with patients and connecting on a personal level is the best part of our jobs. We take pride in our life-saving role in our communities and the work we have been able to do during the pandemic, but we cannot help if you do not come in. Please don’t hesitate to get the care you need when you need it.

Adam Cohen, MD, is a board-certified emergency medicine physician at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center. He also serves as the chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine and the medical director of SVMC’s Emergency Department.

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