Christmas and community health – Five nonprofits to look out for this holiday season

We had special guest, Valerie Ingram, on our show this week. We really want to focus this holiday season on community health and how the nonprofit sector, especially when it comes to health issues, can help bridge the gap between what people can do for themselves and what government can do for them.  It’s more important than ever that we support our community nonprofits.

Here are 5 to watch out for:

1. Solace – Santa Fe Rape and Crisis Center offers counseling and shelter for abused women and children.  A bit of holiday info:

• There is a 25% increase in hotline calls during the holidays…mainly due to increased stress.
• For every dollar you donate, 90 cents goes towards direct services.

Solace’s hotline number is 800-721-7273 and their website is www.findsolace.org

2. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern New Mexico – This year, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern NM is serving 600 children and are still have 50 children on the waiting list: 42 boys and 8 girls. They are in serious need of volunteers and funding in order to match a big to a little.

Their phone number is 505-983-8360 and website is www.BBBS.org. They take donations online.

3.  Women’s Health Services – This is a huge one. For 35 years, Women’s Health Services has been championing the need for research on gender-specific health care and clinical application, mainly because disease manifests itself different in men and women.  Therefore, doctors need to be trained in both.

• Serve men, women, and uninsured.
• Many insured patients because of the excellent care they provide.
• 50% of funding has to be raised.

Donations can be made at www.whssf.org

4. Pandemonium Productions – Let’s talk about the arts for one minute. Pandemonium Productions is focused on keeping funding going for the arts.  They take hundreds of students to the theatre, and for them, every dollar counts. You can donate online at www.pandemoniumprod.org

5. Artworks – Artworks brings artists into classrooms to not only teach PreK-8^th graders about art, they also take kids to the museums and to live performing arts. Since so much funding has been cut out of the arts at school, these nonprofits are doing everything they can to keep these important educational resources accessible. You can learn more about them at http://www.santafenm.gov/index.aspx?NID=811

All of these nonprofit programs are so important to our community and our community growth. Please watch the videos below to learn more about how you can help, not only this holiday season, but all year round.

Have a safe and happy holiday from all of us over at my office!

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Tyler Perry: Speaking Out on Abuse

I’m going off a plastic surgery topic today because had a great guest on our show this past week: Malinda Williams, Director for the Community Against Violence in Santa Fe. As a surgeon, I hear about stories of abuse from my patients. It’s not uncommon for me to work on men and women alike, who grew up with years of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. Some are trying to escape it with plastic surgery.

Tyler Perry, director and movie producer, recently came out on multiple platforms about his abuse as a child. Often, the shame people feel when they go through these types of things can almost be overbearing. For some people, its triggers such as these that can cause them to not want to take care of themselves…ie: drug or alcohol abuse, overeating, etc. We touched on overeating bit in our last post.

I once had a patient tell me that one of the reasons she overate was because of the sexual abuse she incurred as a child. She felt that if she were ugly, it would keep abusers away.

Check out our discussion with Malinda on abuse:

Children don’t have the choices that an adult has. We have a voice to speak out for them — if we hear of children that are in abusive homes, we can pool resources and support programs designed to deal with these issues.

If you are in an abusive situation, there are hotlines you can call and people out there who care.

I’ll leave this open for discussion, if you’d like to share. Tyler Perry spoke up to help be an encouragement for others who have endured or are going through what he went through. I would encourage you to get involved in your community abuse program to help those who may not feel there is anywhere to go.

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New Mexico as a plastic surgery destination

After a pretty brutal period economically, many people who want plastic surgery are considering going overseas for their procedures, lured by the advantage of lower costing process. However, I would ask– what are you getting for the money? There are a few things to think about before going outside of the U.S. for plastic surgery.

1. You may be taking a risk — although there are many skilled and qualified physicians practicing all over world, it is almost impossible to assess their training and credentials. It’s also hard to assess the qualifications of the facility where the procedure would be done, not to mention the anesthesiologists who work there. Don’t you want to know who is going to operate on you? I mean, you are trusting your body, your beauty, and your health to the surgeon and their team. Some vacation destinations don’t even have formal accreditation boards to certify physicians or medical facilities. Also, the devices and products used in cosmetic surgery abroad may not meet U.S. standards as they may not have been approved by the FDA.

2. Cosmetic surgery is real surgery. Every surgery has some risks, even at the highest level of care right here in the United States. Infections are the most common complication seen in patients who go abroad for cosmetic surgery (and the bacteria can be particularly nasty). Another common complication I’ve seen in those who have gone abroad are unsightly scars, especially after tummy tucks. Also, major travel too soon after surgery significantly increases the risk of complications such as blood clots, which can be fatal. I tell my patients to wait about 7 – 14 days before flying, depending on the procedure and how long the flight is.

Here’s another point: if you were to have cosmetic surgery abroad, once you return to the United States, who would you go to for your follow-up care and monitoring? This is a very important part of any surgery. It’s difficult to find a qualified plastic surgeon to treat a problem or revise a procedure that was done abroad. I’ve had to revise several surgeries done abroad: the initial technique used by the foreign doctor was substandard, and the revision surgery was more complicated than the initial operation! If you were to have complications, your bargain surgery will end up being very costly.

Finally, do you really want to make all those hotel and travel arrangements? Travelling is very stressful, and plastic surgery should be a happy, rejuvenating, and stress-free experience – the last thing you want to worry about is your luggage or your connecting flight.

With the cost of cosmetic procedures in Santa Fe and Albuquerque running at half to two-thirds of the cost for the same procedure in larger markets, I have seen an increase in cosmetic surgery tourism to New Mexico, an area known for natural and holistic medicine. The services in my office include integrative programs with both psychotherapy and nutritional counseling. Out of town patients may want to come into town early to take advantage of these and other programs designed to add to the success of your plastic surgery.

Thoughts?

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Cosmetic Dentistry: Dr. Gabriel Roybal

One thing that I feel has always gone hand in hand with cosmetic plastic surgery is dentistry. If you think about it on a cosmetic level, if someone is not happy with how their teeth look, it can cause some serious self-esteem problems. They may not want to smile out of embarrassment. They may not want to talk because of halitosis (bad breath) caused by corroding teeth or gums. It can cause a major hurdle in everyday communication for some people.

But that’s not all. One topic that has been hit pretty hard in the news media lately is the relationship between periodontal diseases (gingivitis) and cardiovascular disease. With the technology now available, dentists in some areas can now tell you your risks for cardiovascular disease and your risk for heart attacks by examining your DNA.

We had Dr. Gabriel Roybal, who has been a dentist in Santa Fe for 24 years, guest speak on our show last week. He explained to us that the same plaque that builds up on the heart and causes disease, is identical to the plaque we have on our teeth. And because of this, they can do DNA work ups on the patient and do DNA work on the actual cultures from the samples they take.

So, can a simple swab of the mouth and good oral care guarantee you never have a heart attack? We’ll let Dr Roybal explain:

So, as you saw and heard in the video, Dr Roybal is doing much more than helping keep your smile in check. He’s giving back to the community in a HUGE way. I’m honored to have him as a friend and associate. If you’re interested in speaking with him or knowing more about what he has going on, visit his website here, and as always, if you have any question for me, let me know!

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