By: Sheila Kun RN, BSN, MS, CPN, FCCPSalesian Cooperator I was watching CNN on their special on Michelle Obama, the former First Lady and her work. One of her passions was for the children to eat healthier food. She converted part of the garden in the White House into a community farm. Unfortunately, even with her clout, celebrity status and passion, her efforts to combat … Continue reading Strategies to Combat Obesity – Final Thoughts

By: Sheila Kun RN, BSN, MS, CPN, FCCPSalesian Cooperator There is so much to learn about how we manage our approaches to food when it comes to combating obesity. I am so thankful that Anet Piridzhanyan, MS, RDN spells it out in a way that is easy to understand. Here is a summary of her recommendations: Meal Structure: Structure eating with 3 meals and 2 … Continue reading Strategies to Induce Lifestyle Changes In reducing Obesity: Meal Structure, Balance, Portion and Environment

By: Sheila Kun RN, BSN, MS, CPN, FCCPSalesian Cooperator “Knowing the situation or problem without intervention is a futile exercise.” I totally agreed. This was the reaction from my husband Louis when he read about the contributing factors of childhood obesity. Little did he know that Anet Piridzhanyan, MS, RDN has a lot to say about how to approach the problem. Multiple strategies and components … Continue reading Strategies to Induce Lifestyle Changes In reducing Obesity

By: Sheila Kun RN, BSN, MS, CPN, FCCP Salesian Cooperator Yes, we get it, children with obesity are at risk for associated complications. But what are the factors that contribute to obesity? Some environmental factors need to be considered: having one obese parent increases the risk of obesity by two to threefold and up to 15-fold if both parents are obese. Other considerations include ethnicity … Continue reading Factors that Contribute to Obesity

By: Sheila Kun RN, BSN, MS, CPN, FCCP Salesian Cooperator One of the benefits of working in an academic setting is the opportunity to grow by attending Grand Rounds. Recently I attended an excellent presentation on lifestyle modifications for the pediatric patient with obesity by Ms. Anet Piridzhanyan, MS, RDN. She presented updated data on obesity with nutritional considerations. I thought I would break it … Continue reading Children with Obesity

By: Sheila Kun RN, BSN, MS, CPN, FCCP Salesian Cooperator I can speak with certainty that the following scenario has happened to many of you – my office mate came to work one day, soberly depressed. In an almost disgusted voice, she lamented: “I cannot believe this is true; I could not zip up my dress this morning. And there is more than one dress … Continue reading The Unintended Health Consequences of COVID

By: Sheila Kun RN, BSN, MS, CPN, FCCP Salesian Cooperator Three months ago, if you asked me if I knew of any friends or relatives who were tested positive for COVID 19, hospitalized or dead from this viral season, my answer was no. It seemed that the epidemic season was a hoax, to quote some earlier commentators on the subject. 3 months later, in September … Continue reading A Friendly Reminder

By: Sheila Kun RN, BSN, MS, CPN, FCCP Salesian Cooperator If you ask parents what are the latest challenges they have beginning the fall school year, no doubt, back to school is one of the major concerns. With so many of us affected by changes to school activities, our wellness focus this week is on resources for parents, care takers and those who need to … Continue reading Back to School During the COVID Season

By: Sheila Kun RN, BSN, MS, CPN, FCCP Salesian Cooperator Wellness  is an essential theme in coping with the viral season.  Our hospital has posted this write up from Dr. Christina Zhang, a pulmonologist specializing in sleep and a pediatrician. She has given me permission to share the write up on quality sleep with you. As we have explored the topic of sleep before, we … Continue reading Coping with COVID Viral Season -Revisiting Quality Sleep

By: Sheila Kun RN, BSN, MS, CPN, FCCP Salesian Cooperator The research data from China on depression and anxiety of youth from 12-18 are still very vivid in my minds; 30 to 40% of the participants reported depression and anxiety. Hence I was seeking answers from you regarding the solutions to these emotional issues. Since I have yet heard from my Salesian Families, I resorted … Continue reading How Are the Youngsters Coping with the COVID Viral Summer?

By Sheila Kun RN, BSN, MS, CPN, FCCP This is my response. I thought a picture is worth a thousand words. What is yours? Your homework assignment from the Care Ministry this week: please email our Care Ministry your intervention and plans in working with adolescent depression and anxiety during this COVID season. We love to hear from you: kunlouis@gmail.com   Continue reading How Do You Coach Adolescents with Depression and Anxiety During this COVID-19 Season? Part II

By Sheila Kun RN, BSN, MS, CPN, FCCP Do adolescents have psychological health problems during this epidemic viral season? For many of you who have worked with young people, psychological health problems, especially emotional disorders, are common among adolescents. The epidemiology of emotional disorders is greatly influenced by stressful events. No one will disagree this is a very stressful time for our kids; months of … Continue reading How Do You Coach Adolescents with Depression and Anxiety During this COVID-19 Season?

By Sheila Kun RN, BSN, MS, CPN, FCCP Our immune system is pretty complex. In our previous discussion, we learned about the lymphatic system, the lymphocytes, the T and B cells, the antibodies, interferons, phagocytes, the active and passive immunity. As I have alluded before, it is not an easy system to understand. It would not hurt to go back to the last two weeks’ … Continue reading Graphic summary of our Immune System

By Sheila Kun RN, BSN, MS, CPN, FCCP To continue our conversation from our last edition, let us explore the two types of immunity. This is a continuation of our Immunity Lesson 101. There are two types of immunity that protect us from infection: active and passive system. Active immunity – for those of us who are parents, you have known this active system for … Continue reading The Immune System – Part II

By Sheila Kun RN, BSN, MS, CPN, FCCP With the COVID 19 epidemics, there has been tremendous interest in understanding the virus and how our immune system work. Our CDC has extensive, detailed information on the Corona virus. But for those with a positive testing, the response to the invasion of this virus varies. At this point, there is no specific answer to the question … Continue reading The Immune System –Lesson 101

By Sheila Kun RN, BSN, MS, CPN, FCCP When will this viral season end? It depends on whom you talk to. Most politicians want to be optimistic and hope it would come and go. However, working in a hospital, the reality check is on a daily basis; we were told to plan for at least another 12 months before we can conduct business as usual. … Continue reading Adapting to the New Normal

By Sheila Kun RN, BSN, MS, CPN, FCCP During the COVID-19 lockdown, my young friend Sarah, an intelligent, Master-prepared, fervent catholic, wrote this thought-provoking piece on Limbo for her Journal Club. I asked Sarah’s permission to share with you. I hope you will savor this very amazing piece of reflection on Limbo. Here in my apartment, my life has been put on hold. So, I’ve … Continue reading Are we in Limbo?