by Guest | Nov 22, 2023 | Being Well, Featured, Uncategorized, Work Well
For many people, the holiday season is filled with opportunities to gather with family and friends. Some gatherings may have alcoholic beverages as a drink option for adults who are the legal age to consume alcohol. If you are the legal age to consume alcohol and are offered an alcoholic beverage, I encourage you to take a moment to ‘Rethink the Drink’. Rethinking the drink will allow you time to reflect on the role alcohol plays in your life, plays in the lives of those around you, and will allow you time to consider if there are any changes that you would like to make concerning alcohol.
Drinking alcohol can be harmful to a person’s health. Alcohol use has both short-term and long-term health risks. Examples of short-term health risk include poisoning, accidents, and unsafe sexual behavior. Examples of long-term health risk include memory problems, increased risk of cancer, weakened immune system, and mental health problems. According to the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), “More than 2,000 people in Oregon die from alcohol-related causes every year”. The OHA adds that the number of people who die from alcohol-related causes is three times higher than the number of people who die from other drug overdoses. To address this concern, the OHA created a campaign called ‘Rethink the Drink’. The target audience for this campaign are adults who are at the legal age to consume alcohol. One of the main components of this campaign is a website. People who visit the website can learn about excessive alcohol use, health consequences of excessive alcohol use, and learn where to get support for excessive alcohol use. The campaign’s website is www.rethinkthedrink.com.
My top takeaways from this campaign are:
- Excessive drinking includes underage drinking, drinking while pregnant, binge drinking, and heavy drinking. According to the OHA, 1 in 5 people in Oregon drink excessively. Excessive drinking increases a person’s risk of an alcohol use disorder, certain cancers (colorectal, prostate, breast, cancers of the mouth, etc.), heart disease, and liver disease.
- Excessive drinking includes both binge and heavy drinking. Binge drinking for a male is five or more drinks on one occasion. Binge drinking for females is four or more drinks on one occasion. Heavy drinking for a male is fifteen or more drinks per week. Heavy drinking for a female is, eight or more a drinks per week.
- Not all drinks have equal alcohol content. Alcohol calculators can help a person understand how many standard drinks are in each drink. For more information about standard drinks, review the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism at www.niaaa.nih.gov.
- A person can become more aware of their behaviors involving alcohol by utilizing the track, count, and shift method. Step 1, track the number of drinks, step 2, calculate the total alcohol in each drink, and step 3, get advice and/or shift to healthier options.
- Alcohol treatment services are available to help individuals explore how drinking impacts their life. The campaign’s website has an alcohol treatment navigator link. This link will take you to the NIH’s National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism website. On the website community members identify resources in their area. The resources featured on the website include alcohol treatment programs, counselors, therapists, and doctors. One local provider located on the navigator is the Tillamook Family Counseling Center, to learn more call (503) 842-8201.
I encourage adults to spend time this holiday season having conversations with youth about the dangers of excessive drinking. These conversations can make a big impact in the prevention of underage alcohol use.
Tips for having conversations with youth about alcohol:
- Learn about the harms of underage drinking. To learn about this topic, I recommend the National Institute of Health’s (NIH) website to review ‘Get the Facts About Underage Drinking’. The website can be accessed at www.niaaa.nih.gov.
- Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) website and review the ‘Talk. They Hear You’ campaign. This campaign can be found at www.samhsa.gov.
- Have conversations with youth early and continue the conversations into early adulthood.
- Integrate topics about alcohol into everyday conversations.
- Educate youth on the harms of underage alcohol consumption.
- Help youth feel confident declining alcohol by roleplaying scenarios that they may be offered alcohol.
- Let youth know that they can come to you if they have questions about alcohol.
Author: Janeane Krongos, Tillamook Family Counseling Center
Other wellness questions? Email us at info@tillamookcountywellness.org. For more local health and wellness information, visit www.tillamookcountywellness.org or follow Tillamook County Wellness on Facebook and Instagram.
by Guest | Nov 20, 2023 | Being Well, Eat Well, Featured, Recipes, Uncategorized
Nearly every one of us will celebrate one or more of the upcoming fall and winter holidays, observances, and celebrations just around the corner. This year why not aim for praiseworthy recipes and meals that are also thrifty and nutritious as well as delicious? You need look no further. Following is a menu for a pretty easy breezy meal all the guests will enjoy. Uncle Morrie won’t need to sit in the corner with salad and applesauce while Cousins Burt and Sheila sift through each dish to avoid anything with meat, your granddaughter can’t have most grains, hubby has an Epi-pen handy in case he accidentally swallows nuts, your sister is diabetic and your old friends, the Carters, are vegan. Yikes! The scenario leaves a lot of guests in a post dinner hunger mode that might well ruin the celebration for them and for you.
Turkey, ham, and brisket are not necessarily meal requirements for every holiday meal, and no one needs marshmallows on yams, cheese and butter in every dish or layer cake for dessert. Exotic fruits and vegetables from other areas of the world might be fun for a holiday meal, but if they’re unseasonal where you live, they’ll be not only more expensive but less nutritional due to their long journey to your table.
- Prepare or at least partially prep recipes up to three days ahead, and even longer for items you can freeze.
- Look for what’s available and least expensive at the grocery store, including cuts of meat and eggs.
- Be aware of what’s plentiful and seasonal where you reside. It will be fresher and less expensive.
- When there are sales at the store on dry goods, stock up. We can always have use for canned beans, tomatoes, tuna, fruit, broth, dry milk, nut butters, corn meal, butter, vegetable oil, dry and canned milk and of course flour and baking supplies.
- If friends or neighbors have a large supply of certain ingredients or prepared foods and you have something they might use, trade. It won’t cost either of you a penny.
- Ask guests to bring a holiday dish, to share, that they enjoy and possibly prefer.
- Know your limitations. Base your menu on availability of your time, your expertise and whether you’ll have a kitchen helper or be the chief cook and bottle washer.
- Don’t overextend yourself or your budget.
- Or be even more creative and make personal pizzas with easy no-yeast yogurt crusts and toppings you have on hand.
- Or host a taco party and ask guests to bring components, they adore, for the taco fiesta. Have gluten free and vegan tortillas available if possible or ask guests to bring their preference.
Whether for Thanksgiving or any other winter meal celebration, the menu options are endless when the chef steps out of the conventional meal box and goes creative. Here are two thrifty menus that provide dietary options for all your guests. One is a quick and easy menu. The second is a menu plan for the ardent chef, on a budget, who wants to present showstoppers. Both menus are delicious and nutritious and varied to feed all the tastes and dietary needs of your guests while fitting into your budget. Mix and match or prepare just two or three of the dishes listed. It’s all about variation and deliciousness based on what works for you and your holiday crowd.
EASY MENU:
Stove Top Popcorn (gf/vegan)
White Bean Hummus with Rice Crackers (vegan, gf)
*Potato & Green Chile Stew
Zesty Barbecue Glazed Roast Turkey Drumsticks
Steamed Fresh or Frozen Broccoli with* Tamari aioli (veg, gf)
OR
Steamed Peas with mint and lemon butter (veg, gf)
Cornbread (gf) with butter/margarine
Homemade Jam
Chocolate Wacky Cake (vegan)
& Fruit Compote Sundaes (gf)
OR
*Chocolate Love Pudding (gf, veg/vegan)
& *Carrot Spice Cookies (vegan)
ARDENT MENU:
Humble Pumpkin Soup (veg/vegan)
*White Bean & Spinach Antipasto (gf, vegan)
*Gardeners’ Seasonal Company Galette (vegan / veg) &
Gardeners’ Seasonal Casserole (vegan / veg, gf)*Scalloped Spiced Yams & Apples with walnuts & cranberries (vegan/ veg, gf)
*Turkey Meatballs Stroganoff
Herbed Rice Pilaf (vegan, gf)
*Damper Bread with butter/margarine
*Oregon Apple Tart a la Jacques (veg/vegan)
& Maple Pumpkin Pie
OR
*Light Lemon Cheesecake Cups (gf)
& Zucchini Tahini Brownies (vegan)
By: By Kitchen Maven, Judi Berman-Yamada, https://www.facebook.com/Creativepenandpantry/
Many Recipes in my posts are found in my cookbook, “Thrifty Comfort Cooking for Challenging Times”. The book is available through Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com. All (100%) of author royalties from retail sales of my cookbook go directly to the Oregon Food Bank, Tillamook Services, to assist families and individuals experiencing food insecurity. Purchasing the cookbook will benefit not only the recipient of the cookbook, but people in need, as well. Living near Tillamook County or even in Portland, you can purchase the book through Food Roots Farm to Table Marketplace for a sale price and all proceeds will go directly to that non-profit organization.
Amazon.com: Thrifty Comfort Cooking for Challenging Times: 9780578310763: Berman-Yamada, Judith, Berman-Yamada, Judith: Books
Thrifty Comfort Cooking for Challenging Times by Judith Berman-Yamada, Paperback | Barnes & Noble® (barnesandnoble.com)
by Guest | Nov 16, 2023 | Being Well, Featured, Uncategorized, Work Well
Angelica immigrated from Mexico to America in 2008, seeking a better life. Starting as a seasonal harvester, she soon discovered the many barriers between her and her goals. Realizing she was spending the majority of her wages to cover rent; she became determined to find a path to becoming a homeowner.
Unsure where to start, she went to her local credit union, began asking questions, seeking assistance. She learned that her first step was to build up credit, a process that took her seven months to be in good standing. Another issue arose, however, as her immigration status became another barrier to home ownership. Angelica was persistent with her credit union to provide a home loan, which she received after just weeks of deliberation.
Seeking to reduce her 30-year mortgage, Angelica made a commitment to pay off the house quickly, forcing her to cut expenses, save any funds, take on extra work and continually improve her credit. Through such planning, the house was paid in full in just four years.
Angelica shows that resilience and determination are fundamental traits to using existing systems to one’s benefit. By asking questions, getting advice from people with experience, and careful budgeting, anyone, no matter their financial status, can make their dream of home ownership, or finding financial freedom, a reality.
To watch Angelica’s interview visit https://tillamookcountywellness.org/work-well/financial-wellness
For more information on upcoming classes, visit our website at https://tillamookcountywellness.org/work-well/financial-wellness and follow Tillamook County Wellness on social media.
by Michelle | Oct 5, 2023 | Being Well, Featured, Work Well
To promote the well-being and growth of children, access to regular physical activity is essential. Over the past three years, Tillamook County Wellness’ Health Promotions Committee has been offering fun, physical activity programs designed to introduce families to local outdoor recreational opportunities. Where participants qualify for exciting prize drawings.
Historically, we’ve collaborated with schools, local libraries, the Oregon Food Bank, and various community partners to promote these activities. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we’ve been able to incentivize participation through rewarding prizes.
Tillamook County Wellness would like to encourage more family participation, especially among families with children aged 0-17 years. Since younger children might not have the means or easy access to parks and other physical activity locations on their own, they depend on older family members for transportation and motivation. This realization has led us to develop a more deliberate strategy for engaging families in 2024.
We plan to identify and acquire participation prizes that are specifically appealing to families. The Kiwanis Community Giving Award Funds will play a crucial role in enabling us to achieve this goal.
Tillamook County Wellness extends its heartfelt gratitude to be the recipients of the Kiwanis Community Giving Fund. Their support is invaluable in helping us achieve our mission of promoting health and well-being in our community to young children in Tillamook County.
Picture of: Janeane Krongos of Tillamook Family Counseling Center and Ron Rush of Tillamook Kiwanis Club
Tillamook County Wellness is a community-driven initiative with a primary focus on reducing the risk of chronic diseases by promoting healthy behaviors from an early age. We believe that by making healthy choices more accessible and enjoyable, we can cultivate thriving and vibrant communities.
by Guest | Sep 5, 2023 | Being Well, Featured
Parents and teachers prepare for children born during the COVID-19
pandemic head to preschool this fall.
In early spring 2020, when the COVID pandemic began to take hold,
everyone’s daily routines changed. For many new parents, this meant an
unexpected and sudden loss of much-needed support systems. Holly
Rondeau is the mom of a toddler born in early February 2020, making her son
a pandemic baby. “We had maybe a week or two, and then boom! (The) world
closed down, my mom had to leave early because the airports were closing,
and then we couldn’t see anybody for like a year.” Children born in 2020
experienced isolation during an essential phase of early childhood
development. This fall, these pandemic babies head to preschool.
According to the Oregon Health Authority, there were 39,820 births in 2020.
This fall, an estimated 10,000 of those children will enter preschool. This
number of children is an increase of about 2,000 children from the prior year
due to the inception of the state-funded Preschool Promise program which
provides free or low-cost preschool for eligible 3- and 4-year-olds. Studies
show early childhood education programs, like preschool, are critical for
children in many areas, including academic achievement and future health.
With preschools preparing to take in these pandemic babies for the first time,
there is some apprehension for the parents. Children, especially young
children, learn through play, activities, and interacting with other children their
own age. The forced isolation brought on by the pandemic led to many
children spending their formative years without some of these vital
interactions. The isolation children and families experienced during the
pandemic varied based on factors like family size and location. How this
isolation affected young children’s social skills is likely just as varied. Add in
the dynamic of masking for a year or more, and small children were
challenged even further by not getting social cues learned from reading facial
expressions.
Research studies on how infants and young children fared during the
pandemic are assessing for changes in early development. Unfortunately,
they are finding them. A study published in Japan this month looked at the
effects of screen time on infants and young children. The impact of screen
time is significant because many parents turned to increased screen use
during the pandemic. The Japanese study found the more screen time an
infant had at age 1, the greater the risk of delays in communication and
problem-solving of toddlers at ages 2 and 4. A second study looked at
changes in early childhood development that pandemic babies experienced.
The study found a decline in these children’s communication and personal-
social skills. Parents like Rondeau hope preschool will help provide some of
these lost abilities.
Keri Archer is a kindergarten teacher at Nehalem Elementary. She taught
before, during, and after the pandemic, giving her an excellent perspective on
how little ones do when attending school for the first time. From her
perspective, Archer says the children starting school at the beginning of the
2021-2022 school year were the most impacted by the pandemic. She notes
kindergarteners that year had not attended preschool because of the
pandemic closures and the first graders spent most of their kindergarten year
attempting virtual learning. Archer found a lot of gaps in the children’s
education, and the children lacked an understanding of how to behave or act
in a school setting. “Preschool and kindergarten are the years we are as
human beings learning how to relate to each other,” says Archer. “Typically,
that’s the first group settings that a lot of kids are in…they have to learn how
to get along with each other, and take turns, and play.” But there is hope, as
Archer saw last year as a more typical school year, and she expects the same
this year. Rondeau is ready for this with her son. “I’m excited for him to start
preschool and kind of, like, see this next phase of his development.”
Studies of the effects of isolation on babies who grew into toddlers during the
pandemic will likely be under scrutiny for years. Because of the isolation,
many young children have not had the traditional opportunities to socialize
with other children their age. Archer wants to reassure parents with young
children attending school for the first time. “The encouragement of a parent
goes a long way to help them be successful in school. Because it is always
going to be scary.” The advice Archer would give parents going into the new
school year is the same as she would have given to parents before the
pandemic. “I think the more confident that parents can be about how fun it’s
going to be, and how great it’s going to be, and that encouragement, and just
feeling confident that educators are well versed in what they do and are going
to handle it well so they can feel that confidence too.”
AUTHOR: Leanna Coy, FNP-C, Family Nurse Practitioner and Health Content Writer
Resources:
Takahashi I, Obara T, Ishikuro M, et al. Screen Time at Age 1 Year and Communication
and Problem-Solving Developmental Delay at 2 and 4 Years. JAMA Pediatr. Published
online August 21, 2023. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2023.3057
Almeida, L., Rego, J. F., Girardi Teixeira, A. C., & Moreira, M. R. (2022). Social isolation and its
impact on child and adolescent development: A systematic review. Revista Paulista de
Pediatria, 40. https://doi.org/10.1590/1984-0462/2022/40/2020385
Other wellness questions? Email us at info@tillamookcountywellness.org. For more local health and wellness information, visit www.tillamookcountywellness.org or follow Tillamook County Wellness on Facebook and Instagram.
by Guest | Sep 3, 2023 | Being Well, Featured, Work Well
Each year, lives are lost due to suicide. Suicide is an intentional self-inflected death. This cause
of death is complex and is typically a result of many factors in a person’s life. These factors are
often referred to as risk factors. A risk factor is a condition, characteristic, or attribute that can
increase the risk of a negative outcome. Examples of suicide risk factors include: a previous
suicide attempt, access to lethal means, social isolation, lack of access of care, problem
gambling, substance use disorder, loss of a loved one (especially by suicide), and a stigma of
discussing mental health. If you would like to learn more about risk factors, I recommend the
CDC’s Risk and Protective Factors, this resource can be accessed on the CDC’s
website(www.cdc.gov).
Suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States and in Oregon. According to the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in the year 2021, suicide was the 11th leading cause
of death in the United States. The CDC’s data shows that in the year 2021 there were 48,183
suicide deaths in the United States. For more information about national suicide statistics visit
www.cdc.gov. According to the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), in the year 2021, suicide was
the 10th leading cause of death in Oregon. OHA’s Center for Health Statistics data shows that
893 Oregonians died by suicide in the year 2021. For more information the state level suicide
statistics visit www.oregon.gov.
The good news is that this cause of death is preventable. One way to prevent suicide is to
increase protective factors. Protective factors are a characteristic, attribute, or condition that
can decrease a negative health outcome. Protective factors include: a connection with others,
access to mental health care, access to basic needs, reduced access to lethal means, coping
strategies, and problem-solving skills. For more information about protective factors, I
recommend the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s (AFSP) Risk factors, Protective
Factors, and Warning Signs, this resource can be accessed on the AFSP website (www.afsp.org).
If you would like to learn more about suicide prevention, I recommend attending a Question,
Persuade, and Refer (QPR) Gatekeeper training. This training is an evidence-based suicide
prevention training that has been used worldwide. In this training participants learn about
suicide, suicide warning signs, conversations tips, and the three steps of QPR. After the
completion of the training participants will receive a certificate, QPR Institute booklet, and
other relevant prevention information.
Since the year 2020, the Tillamook Family Counseling Center (TFCC) has offered the QPR
Gatekeeper training to community members every other month (or as requested). From
September 2020-August 2023, TFCC prevention staff has offered 32 QPR Gatekeeper trainings
(29 in English and 3 in Spanish) and have trained close to 300 community members. This past
year, TFCC has begun to offer QPR Gatekeeper trainings in the Spanish language. If you would
like to learn more about this new offering, please contact Angelicao@tfcc.org. TFCC will present
a virtual English QPR Gatekeeper training on September 11th from 10-11:30AM. If you would
like to register for this training email me at Janeanek@tfcc.org.
If you are having thoughts about suicide, you are not alone, help is available. For local crisis
support call the Tillamook County 24/7 crisis support at (503)842-8201. For national support
call the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 or the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at (800)273-
8255.
If you should have questions about this blog. Please feel free to contact Janeane at
Janeanek@tfcc.org.
AUTHOR: Janeane Krongos, Tillamook Family Counseling Center, CPS
For more local health and wellness information, visit www.tillamookcountywellness.org or follow Tillamook County Wellness on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
