WNC Wellness review: Buncombe named a ‘Fit Community’; Mission and Pardee announce collaboration

• It’s official: Buncombe named a Fit Community:

“Buncombe County has been designated a Bronze level Fit Community by the N.C. Health and Wellness Trust Fund. […] Designees are selected in recognition of their success in promoting healthier lifestyles among their residents.” – [Asheville Citizen-Times]

• Buncombe to get funding for physical-activity program that targets adolescents:

“Buncombe County is one of 20 health departments receiving funding to implement programs to get and keep at-risk adolescents moving more and sitting less. The $300,000 in grants is part of the N.C. Division of Public Health’s Eat Smart, Move More Community Grants Program.” – [Asheville Citizen-Times]

• UNC Hospitals named top 100 value:

“Cleverley & Associates placed the hospital on its Community Value 100 list. The list works to capture the nonprofit hospitals that best provide value to the community based on four factors: financial viability, costs, charges and quality.” – [Triangle Business Journal]

• Mission, Pardee announce collaboration to expand services:

“ Mission Hospital and Pardee Hospital are collaborating on plans for a patient-focused, outpatient-oriented health campus which will improve access, quality and availability of cost-effective healthcare services to residents of south Buncombe and north Henderson counties. ” – [BlueRidgeNow.com]

• However:  Mission, Pardee plan raises WNC ‘market dominance’ concern:

“Park Ridge Health CEO Jimm Bunch said Park Ridge opposed the acquisition ‘as it would create an organization of such dominance in the market, giving them an unchecked ability to be predatory in the region’.” – [Asheville Citizen-Times]

• Acupuncture beats aspirin for chronic headache:

“Acupuncture works better than drugs like aspirin to reduce the severity and frequency of chronic headaches, U.S. researchers reported on Monday. A review of studies involving nearly 4,000 patients with migraine, tension headache and other forms of chronic headache showed that that 62 percent of the acupuncture patients reported headache relief compared to 45 percent of people taking medications, the team at Duke University found. ” – [Reuters]

• Genetic finding may provide a test for longevity:

“Scientists studying the genomes of centenarians in New England say they have identified a set of genetic variants that predicts extreme longevity with 77 percent accuracy. […] “I feel there’s an elephant in the room and no one realizes it’s really important — this is the next step to make us all healthy,” Dr. Barzilai said.” – [NYTimes]

• Sugar, not just salt, linked to high blood pressure:

“People who consume a diet high in fructose, a type of sugar and a key ingredient in high-fructose corn syrup, are more likely to have high blood pressure (hypertension), according to a new study. Drinking 2.5 cans or more of non-diet soda per day—or consuming an equivalent amount of fructose from other foods—increases your risk of hypertension by at least 30 percent, the study found. ” – [CNN Health]

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