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Family First Health

A community health care center

Get involved in our free programs in April

There's so much going on this month that we can't even!
There’s so much going on this month that we can’t even!

It’s nearly April and we’ve got a lot going on at Family First Health. Let’s get caught up on what’s coming soon.

All month: It’s time for our Eat Your Greens campaign! This time we’re focusing on sneaking fruits and veggies into each of your meals. Keep an eye on our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram all month as we include tips, tricks and more!

April 1 and 2: This weekend, we’re teaming up with the vision van to bring free eye exams to all York students and then Saturday in Delta to the entire community. It’s pretty awesome, and we’re very excited. Read today’s York Dispatch story on the event.

Also on April 1 and 2: Our Caring Together staff April 1st and April 2nd The Caring Together program will  be working a table at the Bears, Bikers and Mayhem event in Adams County. They’ll be doing some HIV testing and education on HIV/AIDS.

April 16: Our Caring Together staff and volunteers will be readying the Serenity Garden for spring!

April 18: Free advance directive workshops. No one wants to think about themselves or someone they love reaching the end of life. But it’s something we need to plan for — so we can receive the type of care we want to have. All adults should have a plan for a health care crisis. So join us Monday, April 18 from 8 to 10 a.m. at our George Street Center for a free workshop.

April 23: It’s Go Green in the City! Join us on Beaver Street in York for veggie and fruit stamping fun for the kids. We’ll also have some juice samples from our friends at Mr. Nice Guy Produce and Corner Cabinet. This is part of our Eat Your Greens campaign, which this month is focused on sneaking fruits and veggies into every meal! We’ll be there from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

April 26: Our Hanover parenting classes — “Parenting the love and logic way” kicks off. The classes run May 3, May 24, June 7, June 24 and July 5 at our Hanover Center. It’s run by us and Family-Child Resources. Reach out to our patient care coordinator Hyacinth Gayle at 632-9052 or email hgayle@familyfirsthealth.org.

April 29: Join us at Hauser Estates Winery in Adams County for A Toast to Good Health. We’ll be celebrating years of service to the Adams County community. Get your tickets online — they include wine, apps, free music and a fishbowl raffle.

April 30: This is a very busy day for Family First Health. We will be at the Hispanic American Center Hanover’s Kids Day with the Hanover Center staff. Some of our dental staff will be at the Colgate Van at the York YMCA. And other staffers will likely be at Leg Up Farm’s Family Fun Day.

May 3: Our Diabetes Prevention Program with the YMCA kicks off. It will run every Tuesday from May 3 to Aug. 16 and is FREE to Family First Health patients. Childcare will be provided at our George Street center. Call 843-7884 x 248 for more information. Learn more about the program here!

I think that’s it. Excuse me while I go hide somewhere because it’s going to be a BUSY MONTH of serving everyone and caring for you!

This will be your friendly development and marketing team come May.
This will be your friendly development and marketing team come May.

 

February WOW card winners

wowcardDid you know that at Family First Health we have “WOW” cards?

It’s a chance for staff to nominate other employees who they see doing something the exemplify our guiding principals.

What are our principals you may ask:

“Patient Centered” – “Respectful” – “Serves Everyone” – “Fiscally Responsible” – “ Continuous Improvement and Innovation” – “Integrity” – “Collaborative”

Not only does the employee, supervisor and CEO get to see who’s WOWing who in the office, but each month, a drawing done by HR will choose the winners of 3 $50 Giant gift cards. [Read more…] about February WOW card winners

Meet the staff: Alexander McKinley

mckinleyWe want you to get to know your staff at Family First Health in and out of the doctor’s office. It’s a daunting task, but we’re starting with some of our newer providers.
Meet Alexander McKinley — one of our dentists working in the Hanover and Gettysburg centers.

Alexander McKinley is a graduate of the Temple University Dental School Class of 2015 and joined us here at Family First Health after graduation. He’s also recently engaged!

Why did he decide to pursue a career in dentistry? “I wanted to help people achieve their best oral health and alleviate any problems that may arise with their oral conditions,” he said.

And at Family First Health, he believes our “open and welcoming atmosphere” emphasizes “putting the needs and well-being of the patients ahead of profit margins.”

When he’s not here working on your teeth, Dr. Alexander McKinley likes to go on hikes, read books, learn new languages — he’s learning Spanish and Mandarin — and cook.

He’s a New York Giants and Philadelphia 76ers fan and when it comes to eating and drinking, his favorites are sriracha and egg sandwiches and unsweetened ice tea.

 

Staff gives back to nonprofits

Over the holidays, our sites picked charities of their choice to give back to with sales of ornaments, candy and donations. Each tree was decorated to the theme of the charity.

Here’s a rundown of all the giving done at the sites:

George Street Dental – $82 for the York Hospital NICU

George Street Medical – $136.75 for the Wounded Warrior Project

George Street third floor – $116 for Nurse-Family Partnership

Hanover Dental and Lewisberry – $80 for the Children’s Miracle Network

Hanover Medical – $67 for the American Cancer Society

Gettysburg – $55 and canned food donations for The Gleaning Project (Did you know that the Gleaning Project provides our Gettysburg patients with fresh produce?)

Hannah Penn – 150 pairs of underwear in their HannahPants campaign for Hannah Penn students

Thanks to all of our staff and patients who give back to causes that are important to us all!

Free vision screenings come to York County

We hear a lot of talk about making sure children are fed so they can focus in school. Same goes for making sure they’re taken care of when it comes to medical and dental appointments.

But one thing that might be under the radar is vision. As a child, I never had problems seeing the blackboard during class, but I often had headaches. So we got my vision checked just to be sure that wasn’t the case.

For some kids, maybe they don’t understand why they’re struggling in class. Maybe the misbehave in the back because they can’t see the board. And maybe they don’t know that it’s a sight problem.

And many people don’t have vision insurance for themselves — much less their kids. Let’s be honest, having vision insurance as an adult doesn’t really do much — since glasses and contacts are still costly and over what you get for your annual payments.

Thanks to Envolve, Family First Health is working to change this for many York County residents by bringing in a mobile vision van.

This van will visit Hannah Penn school on Friday, April 1 and will be at Delta/Peach Bottom Elementary on Saturday, April 2. In York, the visit will be for CHILDREN only. In Delta, for the entire community.

So what will happen? Everyone will undergo a free vision screening. If it’s determined from that screening that you need a more comprehensive eye exam, you’ll step onto the van where you’ll get that (also for free). And if you need glasses, you’ll pick out a frame and in three weeks your very own pair will arrive at home (also FREE).

So far, we’ve been getting some great support spreading the word and hope to keep our volunteer doctors busy the entire time they’re in York County. Please help us spread the word!

Talk to your doctor about your colon

March is  Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month so we’re going to be dropping knowledge like …

Jokes aside, colon cancer is often treatable if caught early. Many more lives could be saved by understanding risks, increasing screening rates and small lifestyle changes.

The American Cancer Society released some information about screenings to help healthcare providers identify who they need to reach out to — and the results are very interesting.

Rates

  • The rate of colon cancer in the U.S. is down 30 percent over the last decade. YAY.
  • More and more people are getting screened — 56 percent of people were screened in 2002, 65 percent in 2010. Another YAY.
  • And more people have insurance coverage for colon cancer screenings — making cost less of an issue. Hooray!
  • BUT it’s not enough. The American Cancer Society wants to get the screening rate to 80 percent by 2018. If they can do so, that’s 203,000 lives that will be saved by 2030.

So who’s not listening?

Research has identified those who aren’t getting screened and they are:

  • The newly insured
  • The financially challenged
  • Insured procrastinators/rationalizers
  • Hispanics
  • African Americans

And most of those who need screenings are between 50 and 64 years of age. Additional numbers break it down even further to say that two-thirds of those needing to be screened can fit into these categories — 50-59 years of age, uninsured, earn under $40,000 a year, Hispanic, and having less than a 4 year degree.

To reach the 80 percent goal, Pennsylvania needs to screen 1,020,300 people by 2018.

So why aren’t they listening?

Studies took a look at why some people might be ignoring the call to get screened. The answers are pretty easy to understand.

  • People think they are taking care of their own health.
  • They have a fear of the unknown — or the unknown prep and procedure
  • They are focused on more immediate health concerns
  • They’re procrastinators
  • They rationalize reasons for not getting screened
  • They have an “I know best” attitude.

What are the barriers to care?

We talk a lot about what is “wrong” and what the barriers are keeping people from taking charge of their own health. The Cancer Society has identified these factors — and really calls on doctors to recommend screenings to those at risk. They also push for more information about the fact that there are different options and not all people need a colonoscopy. An at-home test is something many people might be more willing to do.

  • Rationalized avoidance
  • Lack of affordability
  • No symptoms or family history
  • Negative connotations — especially to tests like colonoscopies
  • No doctor recommendation
  • No personal connection to cancer
  • Low levels of healthy behavior.

So please, talk to your doctor to see if you’re at risk and should get screened!