A new clinical trial involving our Department of Psychiatry and the UConn Center on Aging seeks to address the concerning observation that older adults tend to be more susceptible to cognitive decline associated with what's become known as "long COVID." As neuropsychologist Cutter Lindbergh explains, it's a study of the effectiveness of a "brain training" program.

We already count Dr. George Kuchel among the world's top scientific minds. And now, so does the Academy for Health and Lifespan Research! This elite society of researchers, scientists, and clinicians has elected Dr. Kuchel to its membership. Learn more about this prestigious honor. Congratulations, Dr. Kuchel!

Did you know, every month, a group of medical students invite the public to join them and a physician for a walk in Elizabeth Park? The students run our chapter of Walk With a Doc, which includes a short presentation from the physician on a health topic, then the group gets stepping and continues the conversation along the way. The next one is Saturday, Oct. 21. Learn more about Walk With a Future Doc.

Those of us who fight with our alarm clocks in the morning might have been encouraged to hear about a Swedish study that suggested hitting snooze a few times isn't that bad after all. If that's you, then you might want to skip this piece about what our Dr. Jennifer Kanaan has to say about it!

"Any day is a great day" to exercise! In the latest UConn Health Minute on CPTV, Dr. Jacyln Olsen Jaeger at the UConn Center on Aging explains how regular physical activity can help older adults manage or prevent many chronic conditions, and help all of us age well.

I got mine Monday, and encourage all among our workforce and learners to arrange to get theirs. Here's how:

Remember, federal regulations require us to report our workforce's flu vaccination statistics, so if you choose option 4 or 5, be sure to email flu@uchc.edu.

As you may have heard, we also have the newly approved COVID-19 vaccine, available by appointment either through Employee Health Services or in our vaccine clinic on the first floor of the Outpatient Pavilion. You may receive both the flu shot and the COVID vaccine at the same time. Please see the latest on the new COVID vaccine, including how best to schedule your shot.

Thanks to the work of our Information Technologies colleagues, UConn Health makes this year's College of Healthcare Information Management Executives Digital Health Most Wired awardee list, ranking above our peers in categories including analytics and data management, population health, infrastructure, and patient engagement. "As a Level 7 awardee, we have reached the initial award level for our use and application of technology across our clinical and business areas," says Rick McCarthy, our chief information officer. "Our clinical and business areas depend upon technology to provide the best of service and care and this award shows we are doing a great job." Congratulations to our IT team!

Pumpkin Palooza is back this fall, with three ways to get involved!

See all the Pumpkin Palooza '23 details, including contest deadlines... and see you there!

Policy Manager, our new cloud-based repository for all policy and standards documents across UConn Health, is going live this fall. Have you taken the brief online training module yet? Here's what some of our colleagues have had to say about it:

Thanks to the post-training survey responses and questions we’ve received, we now have a short fact vs. myth info sheet to help clarify a few points. The Policy Manager team reminds you to complete your training by the Oct. 31 deadline to get access to the Policy Manager system and begin browsing for policies and standards documents. Questions? Stop by the Policy Team’s café table Friday, Oct. 20, between 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m., or email policy@uchc.edu.

The first large-scale homeopathic research conference in the U.S. is happening here, Oct. 20-22 in Keller auditorium, and streaming live worldwide! Our Department of Family Medicine is sponsoring this landmark gathering of leading basic science and clinical researchers from around the world, in the American Institute of Homeopathy presentation "Groundbreaking Science: Homeopathy and the Future of Global Health." UConn and UConn Health students, faculty, and employees can attend for free using code UCONN2023. Learn more and register today.