If you have ever been in the hospital, you know that nurses are the front line when it comes to your health care and wellness. While physicians are indispensable and you can go hours without a visit from one and still be fine, nurses are needed far more often. Luckily, the Pittsburgh region is fortunate to have a number of excellent nursing schools providing education
Read the Full Article →If you grew up in the Pittsburgh area before the collapse of the Steel Industry and the city’s industrial base in the 1980’s, there’s a good chance you knew someone who graduated from high school and took a well-paying job in a mill or factory. Or maybe you went to college and had a summer job in one of the area’s factories or mills that
Read the Full Article →If you are looking for great colleges and universities, Pittsburgh is fortunate to have numerous, excellent institutions from which to choose: everything from small to large, public to private, and rural to urban campuses. The following colleges and universities are all located within 50 miles of Pittsburgh. Allegheny College In 2015, Allegheny College will celebrate its 200th Anniversary. Located in Meadville, Pennsylvania, this small, private
Read the Full Article →The profession of nursing addresses many human needs, from the most basic needs to the more complex technological care of the modern day. To serve those needs, nurses must have increasingly rigorous training. It used to be that there was only one kind of nurse, usually involving a 2-year RN diploma course. But today, there are a plethora of nursing specialists ranging from a shorter
Read the Full Article →With the opening of the Pittsburgh Botanic Garden located in Collier and North Fayette Townships, Pittsburghers may have regained paradise. The sprawling 460-acre garden is situated on abandoned mining land. When completed, it will be one of the largest botanic gardens in the world, and the only one in the United States constructed on reclaimed land. The garden has been two decades in the making
Read the Full Article →In the late 1800s, traveling any great distance was expensive, time-consuming, and inconvenient. Television and radio were yet to be invented and the first primitive cars were just coming on the scene. Manned flight was still years away. For the average person, the chance of ever seeing a cactus or a palm tree outside of a book was only a dream. Yet throughout history, perhaps
Read the Full Article →What is the state of Pittsburgh’s health? Not the city itself, but our residents. How healthy are Pittsburghers? According to Bert Sperling’s Best Places website, Pittsburgh ranks 22 out of the U.S.’s top 50 most populous cities in health. Each city was evaluated on several criteria including Mental Health, Lifestyle, Activity, Health Status, and Nutrition. Mental Health evaluated aspects such as stress level, sleep issues,
Read the Full Article →For the past few years in February (Dental Health Awareness Month) my staff and I head out to local schools to speak to first graders about dental health. We go over brushing and flossing, review what goes on at a typical dental office appointment, talk about how we prevent the spread of germs, and discuss healthy eating. After our little presentation we always leave time
Read the Full Article →Let’s face it, colonoscopies are a pain in the butt. Well, not really; the procedure itself takes place under sedation so you feel nothing during the examination. What is inconvenient about a colonoscopy is the prep work. The idea of drinking an unappealing liquid that induces diarrhea, something we spend the rest of our lives trying to avoid, all so that someone can thread a
Read the Full Article →History of the Allegheny County Health Department In 1885, 114 of the 8,000 residents in Plymouth, Pennsylvania, died of typhoid fever. As the commonwealth’s population grew and commerce expanded, it became apparent that the state needed some sort of governing body to safeguard its residents’ health. In response, Pennsylvania established a State Board of Health in 1886. Until the 1950s all public health matters were
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