Medical Matters Weekly Features Expert in the Connection Between Environment and Wellbeing
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Medical Matters Weekly Features Expert in the Connection Between Environment and Wellbeing

BENNINGTON, VT—July 12, 2022—Esther Sternberg, MD, is an expert in neuroimmunology and how our physical surroundings affect our health. She will be a guest on Medical Matters Weekly at 12 p.m. on Wednesday, July 20. Viewers will learn about how they can improve their wellbeing through changes to their environment.

The show is produced by Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC) with cooperation from Catamount Access Television (CAT-TV). Viewers can view on facebook.com/svmedicalcenter and facebook.com/CATTVBennington. The show is also available to view or download as a podcast on svhealthcare.org/medicalmatters.

Dr. Esther Sternberg is internationally recognized for her discoveries in the science of the mind-body interaction in illness and healing and the role of place in wellbeing. She is a pioneer and major force in collaborative initiatives on mind-body-stress-wellness and environment interrelationships.

She currently holds the Inaugural Andrew Weil Chair for Research in Integrative Medicine and is Research Director for the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona (UA) at Tucson. She is the founding director of the UA Institute on Place, Wellbeing & Performance, and holds joint appointments at UA as professor of Medicine and Psychology.

Prior to joining UA, Dr. Sternberg served for 26 years in leadership roles with the National Institutes of Health. In addition, she has lectured and keynoted at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.; the Nobel Forum at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm; and the Royal Society of Medicine in London. She has advised the World Health Organization, the U.S. Institute of Medicine, and the Vatican, where she had an audience with Pope Benedict XVI. She moderated a panel with the Dalai Lama in 2005 and has briefed high level U.S. federal officials, including the Office of the Surgeon General, leadership of the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, and the United States Congress.

Dr. Sternberg is the author of two popular books including: Healing Spaces: The Science of Place and Well-Being and The Balance Within: The Science Connecting Health and Emotions. Both address the need for more understanding surrounding stress, place, healing, and wellness.

Medical Matters Weekly features the innovative personalities who drive positive change within health care and related professions. The show addresses all aspects of creating and maintaining a healthy lifestyle for all, including food and nutrition, housing, diversity and inclusion, groundbreaking medical care, exercise, mental health, the environment, research, and government. The show is broadcast on Facebook Live, YouTube, and all podcast platforms.

After the program, the video is available on area public access television stations CAT-TV (Comcast channel 1075) and GNAT-TV's (Comcast channel 1074), as well as on public access stations throughout the United States.
 
About SVHC:
Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC) is a comprehensive, preeminent, healthcare system providing exceptional, convenient, and affordable care to the communities of Bennington and Windham Counties of Vermont, eastern Rensselaer and Washington Counties of New York, and northern Berkshire County in Massachusetts. SVHC includes Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), Southwestern Vermont Regional Cancer Center, the Centers for Living and Rehabilitation, and the SVHC Foundation. SVMC includes 25 primary and specialty care practices.

Southwestern Vermont Health Care is among the most lauded small rural health systems in the nation. It is the recipient of the American Hospital Association’s 2020 Rural Hospital Leadership Award. In addition, SVMC ranked fourth nationwide for the value of care it provides by the Lown Institute Hospital Index in 2020 and is a five-time recipient of the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet® recognition for nursing excellence. The health system is fortunate to have the support of platinum-level corporate sponsor Mack, a leading supplier of contract manufacturing services and injection molded plastic parts based in Arlington, VT.

Southwestern Vermont Medical Center provides exceptional care without discriminating on the basis of an individual’s age, race, ethnicity, religion, culture, language, physical or mental disability, socioeconomic status, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression. Language assistance services, free of charge, are available at 1-800-367-9559.

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Moving Forward Safely

One of the most frustrating and anxiety-producing traits of our COVID –19 pandemic is how much uncertainty is involved in all aspects of this disease. Symptoms caused by the Coronavirus, age groups affected, the usefulness of medications, anticipated death rate, and the timeline for development of a vaccine are examples of information that sometimes change on a weekly basis.

Vermonters have done a great job of limiting the spread of the virus and protecting our most vulnerable neighbors by following the Governor's "Stay Home, Stay Safe" order over the past few months. Now, we've all been directed to wear masks in public. Both Bennington and Wilmington's Select Boards have passed local mandates requiring masks in public places. Thanks to these efforts—along with distancing, handwashing, and other factors—Vermont is among the states with the fewest number of infections. Continuing each of these important infection-prevention strategies is crucial to returning to a more normal way of life.

As we open up and begin to re-connect, we fully expect to see a rise in COVID –19 cases in Vermont. Thankfully, we have had time to prepare for this increase. We also have adequate PPE, and increased testing will help us gather crucial information for stemming the spread with less disruption to our normal lives.

More than ever, I find it helpful to focus on what we have learned and how it can help us move forward safely. Here is some of what we have learned so far: Most large hospitals, often treating over 1000 COVID patients daily, effectively protected their workers by obsessively following the rules of screening, hygiene, distancing, and masking. Each of these components is designed to work together; Each alone has its inherent limits.

  • Absent quick testing at the workplace, the best screening is asking employees if they have COVID-like symptoms (fever, chills, new cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, loss of taste or smell) and to stay home if they do.
  • Washing our hands (or using sanitizer) after touching well-handled items or visiting populated areas. Washing your hands 10 times daily is not too often.
  • Though an uncovered sneeze or cough can travel farther, 6 feet distancing continues to be the sweet spot for safety.
  • Masks (double layer cotton and surgical) are effective to prevent spreading of large and some small droplets containing virus. They also seem to give some minimal protection to those wearing a mask. Since possibly 40 percent of transmission happens when we do not have symptoms, we wear our masks to protect others and to suppress overall infection rate. They also help many people (not all) to avoid touching their face. The downside is a warm chin; the upside is you may be protecting someone from a significant illness. Masks are not a symbol of government intrusion. Masks are simply a tool to protect others and show empathy.

It is difficult to predict how many COVID-19 infections will occur in our communities in the coming months. What I am certain of is that our choices, on where we go and what we do, often affect the safety of those around us. As we learn to live with this virus in our community, following the recommendation above will help us all.

Marie George, MD, is SVMC’s infectious disease specialist.

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