AHN News | September 2019
Your monthly news & updates from AHN!
What you need to know...
September is National Cholesterol Education Month
  • Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance found in your body and many foods. Your body needs cholesterol to function normally and makes all that you need. Too much cholesterol can build up in your arteries. After a while, these deposits narrow your arteries, putting you at risk for heart disease and stroke.
  • The National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) recommends that adults aged 20 years or older have their cholesterol checked every 5 years.
  • You can lower your cholesterol levels through healthy lifestyle changes: Low-fat and high-fiber food (Eat more fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, and whole grains), getting at least 2 hours and 30 minutes of moderate or 1 hour and 15 minutes of vigorous physical activity a week, maintaining a healthy weight, not smoking or quitting if you smoke.
Roasted Vegetables Recipe
Lower your cholesterol with this Roasted Vegetables recipe! This recipe is shared with participants in our Diabetes Self-Management workshops.

AHN offers   free   Diabetes Prevention Program workshops to members of the Reno community.

For more information regarding this program or to inquire about upcoming classes, please visit accesstohealthcare.org/diabetesclasses.
*NEW at AHN*
Access to Health Podcast
Hosted by Sherri Rice, CEO
Dr. Nathan Slotnick is a medical geneticist at Cancer Genetics Risk Assessment.

Join Slotnick as he discusses DNA and Genetic testing with Sherri Rice, AHN CEO.
Andy Pasternak, MD, MS is a practicing family medicine physician with Silver Sage Center. John Packham, PhD is Associate Dean for the Office of Statewide Initiatives for UNR School of Medicine.

Join Sherri Rice, Pasternak and Packham as they discuss physician shortages in Nevada.
Meet Our Board - Helen Lidholm
Helen Lidholm is CEO of Saint Mary’s Health Network and has proudly served on AHN’s Board of Directors for the past 7 years.

Lidholm states, “As a health network CEO I have always been impressed with AHN and how the organization has been able to create a program that creates an environment that promotes accountability in your clientele. I use Access Medical as an example of a health program that has the lowest ER utilization of any health plan we encounter at the Emergency Department at Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center. Becoming a board member has afforded me insights into AHN; an amazing organization that continues to move and grow based on the need of our community.”

Lidholm was born and raised in Sweden where she received her BSN degree and was subsequently offered opportunities to go into leadership in various healthcare venues around Southern Sweden. Lidholm moved to the US in 1990 to work in hospital administrative opportunities with USC in Los Angeles and spent the next 17 years in executive leadership positions around California. She moved to Reno in 2007. 
Pharmacy Savings Network for Nevadans
All Nevadans now have access to our new discount prescription program, the Access Nevada Rx Network.

Members can call 1-877-385-2345 or visit us at 4001 South Virginia Street, Suite F, Reno, NV 89502 to receive a Access Nevada Rx Network card.
Support AHN on Amazon Smile
Did you know Amazon donates when you shop on Amazon Smile?

A percentage of your purchase is donated to AHN when you choose us as your charity of choice!
AHN in D.C.at United Sates Conference on AIDS 2019
Some of our staff had the opportunity to attend USCA 2019 in Washington D.C.  This year the focus is on the plan to end the HIV epidemic in America. It will be an opportunity for health departments, community-based organizations, People Living with HIV, People on PREP, national organizations, health centers, health care providers, donors, activists, and federal leaders to come together to discuss implementation. We hope you will join us and thousands of your colleagues to celebrate the resiliency and diversity of this movement.
National Healthcare News
Medical Schools Are Being Pushed to Include the Health Effects of Climate Change in Their Curriculum
The movement backed by the AMA is pushing schools to teach their students how to treat patients as temperatures, extreme weather events, and air pollution all increase. Schools have been slow to take up this challenge, as many see their curriculum as already jam-packed, but some schools are making efforts to teach about subjects such as increased asthma diagnoses from wildfires and increased tick-borne diseases from rising temperatures.
Eating More Plant-Based Foods Linked to Better Heart Health
A study of more than 12,000 adults finds that eating a diet that's rich in plant-based foods may be better for heart health than an animal-based diet or one that doesn't have many servings of fruits and vegetables. Researchers surveyed the adults periodically between 1987 and 2017 about their food habits and recorded any cardiovascular-related incidents. People who ate a plant-heavy diet — where they consumed between four and five servings of fruits and vegetables and less than a serving of red and processed meat daily — had a 16% lower risk of cardiovascular disease and about a 30% lower risk of cardiovascular-related mortality compared to those who didn't eat as many plant-based foods
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