Walgreens is offering free clinic visits and treatments for a variety of health issues for their clinic patients who lose their job and are uninsured.
"Drugstore operator Walgreens will offer free clinic visits to the unemployed and uninsured for the rest of the year, providing tests and routine treatment for minor ailments through its walk-in clinics — though patients will still pay for precriptions.
"Walgreens said patients who lose their job and health insurance after March 31 will be able to get free treatment at its in-store Take Care clinics for respiratory problems, allergies, infections and skin conditions, among other ailments. Typically those treatments cost $59 or more for patients with no insurance." -Associated Press
Walgreens offers health services through their Take Care clinics in select stores. Walgreen's is calling their program the "Take Care Recovery Plan", which can be found here.
These free services will be offered Monday-Friday, between 11am and 3pm. Immediate family members will be eligible for free services, but as a note, these services do not include check-ups and prescription medication will still cost money.
This is a generous service offered by Walgreens. Below are the nearest locations with Take Care Clinics in the Sarasota area, unfortunately, the closest one is in St. Petersburg.
900 49th St. N
St. Petersburg, FL 33710
View Larger Map
Other locations-
3851 4th St. North
St. Petersburg, FL 33703
6560 Ulmerton Rd
Largo, FL 33771
14004 Walsingham Rd.
Largo, FL 33774
128 E Brandon Blvd
Brandon, FL 33511
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Fast Food Culture
You can now watch the famous fast food documentary, Super Size Me, on Hulu for free. I watched the film and read the comments other viewers left. There were many interesting remarks. Some people commented on the effectiveness of the film: "This film single-handedly did away with a lucrative marketing gimmick from one of the most powerful corporations on the planet." Other comments were neutral with many people noting that they realize fast food is bad but they cannot help themselves--"had it yesterday" one person said. Other comments rated the film negatively, stating that the film has a "look how smart I am, look how dumb you are" preachy vibe that "does nothing to curtail non-sensible dietary habits."
The comments made me wonder what is the most effective way of going from a fast food culture to a healthy food culture? It seems that advertising campaigns and entertaining scare-tactic documentaries will only go so far when fast-food lifestyles are tightly tied into our society. It seems what we need is a large-scale cultural shift for us to move away from our high calorie, low activity lifestyles. Does that happen incrementally--through lawsuits, new policies, and bigger and better health food companies? Or is it something that will sweep through our culture as a result of a major event or news story?
It is obvious that cultural changes are difficult considering the fast food industry is so widespread. Fast food is easy food. Everywhere we go, we are surrounded by places that provide quick, inexpensive food--from gas stations and convenient stores to food chains like Burger King. These fast food establishments are part of our culture, as Super Size Me notes. Many of these locations have toys and play areas to attract young kids and families. Children at a young age associate fast food with fun food. There is a purpose behind the naming of "Happy Meals."
Here is a glimpse of how widespread fast food establishments are in our neighborhood--
Within a 10 mile radius from downtown Sarasota there are
14 McDonald's
8 Wendy's
6 Burger Kings
6 KFCs
3 Taco Bells.
In a 10 mile radius, you can find 37 of the top fast food establishments, many of them with drive-thrus. In other words, you should be able to find nearly four fast food restaurants in a one mile radius.
So, one of the major problems is that fast food is convenient and affordable. Another problem is a lack of universal knowledge about food. Many people realize "fast food is bad" and "vegetables are good" but when you ask why, it is hard to get a thorough answer. In Super Size Me, people were randomly asked, "what is a calorie?" A lot of people laughed and said they did not know. I honestly think food science should be a mandatory course in public education. Even students I talk to in biology courses in college have a difficult time explaining how nutrients are absorbed by our body. Without this knowledge, it is difficult to know exactly what foods are healthy and what foods are not--and why that is the case. We need good information to make good decisions about our health and diet instead of relying on superficial knowledge of food. Our society needs to internalize food information before people can start rejecting fast food in favor of healthier food establishments. Until this happens, people will continue to eat at places where their friends and family eat, places that are affordable and easy to get to, and places that have tasty food that make them happy.
The comments made me wonder what is the most effective way of going from a fast food culture to a healthy food culture? It seems that advertising campaigns and entertaining scare-tactic documentaries will only go so far when fast-food lifestyles are tightly tied into our society. It seems what we need is a large-scale cultural shift for us to move away from our high calorie, low activity lifestyles. Does that happen incrementally--through lawsuits, new policies, and bigger and better health food companies? Or is it something that will sweep through our culture as a result of a major event or news story?
It is obvious that cultural changes are difficult considering the fast food industry is so widespread. Fast food is easy food. Everywhere we go, we are surrounded by places that provide quick, inexpensive food--from gas stations and convenient stores to food chains like Burger King. These fast food establishments are part of our culture, as Super Size Me notes. Many of these locations have toys and play areas to attract young kids and families. Children at a young age associate fast food with fun food. There is a purpose behind the naming of "Happy Meals."
Here is a glimpse of how widespread fast food establishments are in our neighborhood--
Within a 10 mile radius from downtown Sarasota there are
14 McDonald's
8 Wendy's
6 Burger Kings
6 KFCs
3 Taco Bells.
In a 10 mile radius, you can find 37 of the top fast food establishments, many of them with drive-thrus. In other words, you should be able to find nearly four fast food restaurants in a one mile radius.
So, one of the major problems is that fast food is convenient and affordable. Another problem is a lack of universal knowledge about food. Many people realize "fast food is bad" and "vegetables are good" but when you ask why, it is hard to get a thorough answer. In Super Size Me, people were randomly asked, "what is a calorie?" A lot of people laughed and said they did not know. I honestly think food science should be a mandatory course in public education. Even students I talk to in biology courses in college have a difficult time explaining how nutrients are absorbed by our body. Without this knowledge, it is difficult to know exactly what foods are healthy and what foods are not--and why that is the case. We need good information to make good decisions about our health and diet instead of relying on superficial knowledge of food. Our society needs to internalize food information before people can start rejecting fast food in favor of healthier food establishments. Until this happens, people will continue to eat at places where their friends and family eat, places that are affordable and easy to get to, and places that have tasty food that make them happy.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Advertising Health: Anti-Smoking Campaigns
There are a variety of ways anti-smoking campaigns use video advertisements to promote their message.
Song and Dance
This advertisement uses entertaining humor to grab your attention by using musical sarcasm to illustrate how ridiculous tobacco companies are with their attempts to cover-up the negative health consequences of smoking cigarettes.
Not Quitting is Harder
Some believe the most effective anti-smoking ads have real people, real stories, and negative emotions. These type of advertisements are supposed to make viewers relate to a smoking sufferer on a serious, emotional level. Many of these ads can be graphic like the one below.
Scientific Facts
Other anti-smoking ads make their point using a simple, direct, scientific message: smoking is very unhealthy.
Reverse Psychology
One of my favorite anti-smoking advertisements use a method of "reverse advertisement." Tobacco companies are notorious for their sexy advertisements that are intended to make smoking appear cool and attractive. This advertisement does a good job at targeting this approach.
Song and Dance
This advertisement uses entertaining humor to grab your attention by using musical sarcasm to illustrate how ridiculous tobacco companies are with their attempts to cover-up the negative health consequences of smoking cigarettes.
Not Quitting is Harder
Some believe the most effective anti-smoking ads have real people, real stories, and negative emotions. These type of advertisements are supposed to make viewers relate to a smoking sufferer on a serious, emotional level. Many of these ads can be graphic like the one below.
Scientific Facts
Other anti-smoking ads make their point using a simple, direct, scientific message: smoking is very unhealthy.
Reverse Psychology
One of my favorite anti-smoking advertisements use a method of "reverse advertisement." Tobacco companies are notorious for their sexy advertisements that are intended to make smoking appear cool and attractive. This advertisement does a good job at targeting this approach.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Low Cost Health Food
Here's the list-
Frozen Vegetables
Canned Salmon
Brown Rice
Edamame
Sweet Potatoes
On a personal note--edamame is sooo good.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Discrimination and Health
I wanted to continue the discussion on the association between discrimination and health since I came across a good article that outlines five inequality variables that lead to negative health outcomes. This blog has talked about two major factors -- access to quality health care and social stress. This article mentions these two factors and notes additional factors that are important to consider.
These five variables are a result of a variety of inequalities found in lower socioeconomic brackets.
The first variable is economic and social deprivation. The author notes "residential and occupational segregation lead to greater economic deprivation...and increased likelihood of living in neighborhoods without good supermarkets, thereby reducing access to affordable nutritious diets; risk of hypertension is elevated by nutritional pathways involving high fat, high salt, and low vegetable diets."
Second, residential inequalities lead to higher exposure of toxic substances and hazardous conditions among those with a lower socioeconomic status. "Residential segregation increases risk of exposure to lead...contaminated soil..."
The third factor is socially inflicted trauma. This ranges from psychological stress caused by formal or informal discrimination to violence. These conditions "provoke fear" which can cause sustained levels of hypertension and high blood pressure, plus increasing the risk of injury as a result of violence.
The fourth factor is targeted marketing of legal and illegal substances, such as alcohol and junk food. Studies have found targeted alcohol beverage marketing in lower income communities. This type of marketing increases the "harmful use of alcohol" to cope with distress.
The fifth factor is one that this blog has talked a lot about--inadequate health care, including access to health care facilities. "Insufficient and inappropriate" medical can lead to undiagnosed or poorly treated conditions.
An abstract of the article, written by Nancy Krieger (Professor of Society, Human Development and Health at Harvard School of Public Health), can be found here.
These five variables are a result of a variety of inequalities found in lower socioeconomic brackets.
The first variable is economic and social deprivation. The author notes "residential and occupational segregation lead to greater economic deprivation...and increased likelihood of living in neighborhoods without good supermarkets, thereby reducing access to affordable nutritious diets; risk of hypertension is elevated by nutritional pathways involving high fat, high salt, and low vegetable diets."
Second, residential inequalities lead to higher exposure of toxic substances and hazardous conditions among those with a lower socioeconomic status. "Residential segregation increases risk of exposure to lead...contaminated soil..."
The third factor is socially inflicted trauma. This ranges from psychological stress caused by formal or informal discrimination to violence. These conditions "provoke fear" which can cause sustained levels of hypertension and high blood pressure, plus increasing the risk of injury as a result of violence.
The fourth factor is targeted marketing of legal and illegal substances, such as alcohol and junk food. Studies have found targeted alcohol beverage marketing in lower income communities. This type of marketing increases the "harmful use of alcohol" to cope with distress.
The fifth factor is one that this blog has talked a lot about--inadequate health care, including access to health care facilities. "Insufficient and inappropriate" medical can lead to undiagnosed or poorly treated conditions.
An abstract of the article, written by Nancy Krieger (Professor of Society, Human Development and Health at Harvard School of Public Health), can be found here.
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