Great Websites for the Whole Family!

We had the pleasure of meeting with our Healthy Kids representative from the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene today, Trish Guiles. Usually these visits are tedious, full of news of coding changes and additional hoops we'll have to hurdle in order to get paid. I was pleasantly surprised today by Trish's bubbling personality and good news, including this wonderful website I just had to share with you. "Chop Chop" is chock-full of recipes for every meal throughout the day, including snacks, desserts, and beverages. I love the colorful photos for each; it all the more inspires me to make something when I see what the finished dish will look like. I was really happy to find a recipe for Kale Chips -- these seem to be ubiquitous these days, arriving as a side on every other restaurant dish I order these days it seems - so I was curious how to make them. 

She also recommended a website that emphasizes not just healthy eating, but ways to get active as well. Let's Move. For example, a page on getting families to include more physical activity in their lives encourages families to facilitate a safe walk to school a few times a week. This might not be possible in our rural area, but how about this? Maybe, next time you drive the kids to school, you could park the car a block or two from the school and walk the rest of the way? I see so many parents waiting in cars to pick up their kids from the bus. How far could they possibly live from the bus? Maybe a walk is in order there, as well. I especially liked the hint to not allow anyone to "sit still during TV commercials." I wonder if running out to the kitchen for a snack counts?!

So how about checking out those websites next time you're cruising the internet. They're just a click away from here!

Come to our Ribbon-Cutting and Open House!

The Astonishing Benefits of the 2012 Walk Across Maryland

“The benefits of regular walking are astonishing!” reports Walk Across Maryland organizer, Dr. Matthew Hahn. “Studies show that walking regularly can lower a person's risk of diabetes; decrease the need for medications; decrease arthritis pain symptoms; improves the chances of survival with some cancers; reduces the risk of stroke; and can decrease the risks of developing Alzheimer's disease. Regular walking can even improve your sex life! So, if any of that interests you, and it should, you should participate in the 2012 Walk Across Maryland.”

The 2012 Walk Across Maryland will be held on Saturday, September 29, at 9 AM, in Hancock, Maryland. Participants are challenged to walk across the entire state of Maryland, along the length of Pennsylvania Avenue, from the MD-PA border to the C & O Canal (1.7 miles). Local police will escort the walkers. Area residents are reminded that they may experience traffic delays along Pennsylvania Avenue between 8:45 am and 9:45 am, and to plan their trips into Hancock accordingly.

Free tee shirts are being provided by Meritus Medical Center, and will be available to the first 200 participants to arrive. Parking for the Walk Across Maryland is available at the Hancock Assembly of God, and shuttles will be available to transport walkers back to the start area after the walk.

BIG BIG BIG NEWS!

Hahn and Nelson Family Medicine is bringing its "new way to practice old fashioned care" to Cumberland, Maryland!  
In response to a shortage of physicians and health care providers in that area, Dr. Nelson will head the new Cumberland office, while Dr. Hahn will continue at the Hancock office. We will be opening the new office in phases to best serve our patients in both locations. We have hired a Nurse Practitioner to work with Dr. Nelson in the Cumberland office. Terry Harvey, CFNP MS, will be working full time in the Cumberland office, while Dr. Nelson will continue to see patients in the Hancock office until our new Nurse Practitioner can begin work in Hancock. Amber Morrow, NP, will begin working full-time in Hancock sometime in the late Fall. Phil Nelson will be managing the practice in the Cumberland location.

We will begin registering patients for the new practice beginning September 17th. Patients can make appointments, which will begin October 1. You may call to register or download the forms from our website and fax or email them to the new practice. Phil Nelson's email address is pnelson@hahnandnelson.com.

An open house for the Cumberland office will be held on September 30.

The address for the Cumberland practice is  30 A North Mechanic Street, Cumberland, Maryland 21502.  
The phone number is  240-362-7265, and the fax is 240-362-7266. Our website, www.hahnandnelson.com will be updated with all the information you need soon.
Please call us with any questions or concerns. Watch this blog and our Facebook page for more news!

Next stop, Hollywood?

From the Morgan Messenger, 8/22/2012

He isn't just a doctor, he also plays one on TV. Or in this case, in the latest film produced by Roman Pictures, "Signals 2." Although he was originally supposed to have a non-speaking role as described in the photo, Dr Hahn ended up providing medical advice for the film, which was shot in the old War Memorial Hospital in Berkeley Springs. In addition to his "medical training" from the TV show "ER," patients can be assured that he also has a medical degree from George Washington University! Don't  be surprised if the next time you come into the office, you're met with the greeting "Action!"

Check your Sources, please!

During election years, things can get very contentious. No matter whether you're a member of the Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Green Party, or whatever, you must think before you believe! Here's an example. One of my friends on Facebook posted a letter, supposedly from Blue Cross Blue Shield, that states that in 2014 under "Obamacare," Medicare monthly premiums will rise to $247 (more than double what they are now). When I see something like this that even smells like it might be a story, I go to FactCheck.org, a non-partisan website that vets all kinds of stories for factual content. What did it say about the letter from "Blue Cross Blue Shield?"

"Medicare officials project the basic premium will be less than half that. But the law will eventually cause 14 percent of seniors with incomes over $85,000 a year ($170,000 for couples) to pay higher “income-related” premiums, up from 5 percent currently."

And furthermore,

"Actually, only 27 percent of Medicare beneficiaries are paying the basic rate. The rest — 73 percent — are paying less under a “hold harmless” provision triggered by the lack of a cost-of-living increase in Social Security this year or last year. Most are still paying $96.40.

As for the future, nobody can say with precision what the basic Part B premium will be next year or the year after, let alone in 2014. The premium is set each year at a level calculated to pay for 25 percent of the cost of the coverage. Medicare officials do keep close watch on the trends, however. And when we contacted Medicare’s Office of the Actuary, we were given these projections — the most recent available — which are current as of the president’s budget for fiscal year 2012 issued in mid-February:

Medicare Part B Standard Premium (projected, February 2011)
2012 $108.20
2013 $112.10
2014 $117.10

Source: Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Office of theActuary

Please feel free to  bookmark the Factcheck.org site and use it before believing for truth that next chain letter, or worse, before you click the forward button on your email and spread untruths. The truth will set you free!

Happy birthday to us!!!!!

It's our third birthday! We are so happy, and feel so grateful, to be celebrating our third anniversary in this community. Thank you, all, for the support and the trust you've given us. We look forward to serving you throughout many more years.