Boulder Peak Family Practice, Inc.

Pass the salt – 9 in 10 get too much

boulderpeak — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 19:49:29 +0000

The Centers for Disease Control reports that 9 in 10 Americans consume too much salt every day. “Too much sodium raises blood pressure, which is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke,” said CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. “These diseases kill more than 800,000 Americans each year and contribute an estimated $273 billion in health care costs.” According to their findings, 10 types of foods are responsible for more than 40% of typical sodium intake. Culprits include breads and rolls, luncheon meat, pizza, poultry, soups, cheeseburgers and other sandwiches, cheese, pasta dishes, meat-based dishes, and salty snacks such as potato chips, pretzels and popcorn. While bread tops the list and each serving doesn’t contain a lot of sodium, multiple meals containing bread per day adds up.

U.S. Dietary Guidelines recommend limiting sodium intake to less than 2,300 milligrams per day, or 1,500 mg per day for people aged 51 and older, anyone with high blood pressure, diabetes, and chronic kidney disease, and African Americans. How much does the average person consume? Over 3,300 mg a day. Your best game plan: cut out sprinkling table salt on your food, look for no- or reduced-salt options, and avoid salty snacks.

Dr. Wisner Honored as Electronic Health Record Meaningful Use Vanguard

boulderpeak — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 20:32:15 +0000

Dr. Mark Wisner, D.O., was named an inaugural Meaningful Use Vanguard, or MUVer, by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology during the program’s first recognition ceremony on January 12. In Colorado, only about 275 of more than 2,500 primary care providers and two Critical Access Hospitals have adopted and achieved “Meaningful Use” of electronic medical records. Meaningful use, initiated in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, requires that medical providers attest that they meet standards, set forth by the Centers for Medicare/Medicaid Services, demonstrating they are using certified EHR technology in ways that can be measured significantly in quality and in quantity. The three components of meaningful use include using certified EHR technology in a meaningful way (such as e-prescribing), in electronic exchange of health information, and in submitting data to meet clinical quality measures.

The nationwide network of Regional Extension Centers, together with the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), established the Meaningful Use Vanguard (MUV) program to honor and connect health care providers who demonstrate their commitment to significantly improve the quality of patient care through the use of certified health information technology. Dr. Wisner, who opened Boulder Peak Family Practice in September 2009, immediately implemented electronic records in his medical office. MUVers are an exclusive group of EHR early adopters with meaningful use that serve as local leaders, advisors and role models in the move toward an electronically-enabled health care system.

Electronic health records are an improvement over paper-based recording. The technology-based system has proven to provide a reduction in errors, accessibility of records and data, reminders and alerts, clinical decision support, and e-prescribing/refill automation.

Not enough time to work out? Traveling? No money for a gym? Here are 3 solutions.

boulderpeak — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 16:19:27 +0000

Time, money, and space are all excuses that sabotage your activity levels, which in turn can negatively impact your health. It’s a catch 22 – you need energy to work out, yet working out will boost your energy. So tune out your internal saboteur and get moving. Here are 3 solutions that stop your excuses, bust your gut, and will help improve your energy levels.
1. Add a workout app to your phone, such as Nike Training Club. It’s free, the workouts can be done in a small space (think hotel room), and don’t need much or any equipment. Choose a 15, 30, 45 or 60 minute version. You do have 15 minutes, no excuses.
2. Stair climb. You can see improvement in energy and fitness level even with minimal time input. Live in a highrise, staying in a hotel, or work on the 8th floor? Take 10 minutes to walk up and down the stairs during a break. Move your arms for an even quicker heart accelerator.
3. Get off the couch. While watching TV shows, get on the floor and stretch. During commercial breaks, lunge with alternating legs through the 2 minute ads. Stretch during the show. Next break, squats. Stretch again. Commercial time, run in place with high knees. Repeat. Your favorite 30 minute show will fly by and you won’t feel like you worked out.

Remember, the point is to be more active, not necessarily a world class athlete. Keep moving and you’ll feel better.

Holiday Schedule

boulderpeak — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 17:01:32 +0000

Happy holidays to our patients. We wish you a healthy, fun-filled season. Our holiday office hours are as follows:

Friday, December 3: morning appointments only
Monday, December 26: office closed
Tuesday – Wednesday, December 27 – 28: office is closed, but we will fielding phone calls and scheduling future appointments
Thursday – Friday, December 29-30: normal office hours
Monday, January 2: office closed

Study: Fitness May Lower Death Risk Even Without Weight Loss

boulderpeak — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 21:37:06 +0000

Researches at USC found that men who maintain or improve their activity level, even without losing weight, can increase their overall fitness level. Published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation, researchers found that within the 14,000 study cases, even when they did not lower their weights they sustained their fitness level and had about a 30 percent decreased in their risk of dying from certain cardiovascular diseases or from any other diseases. Those study participants who continued to sustain their fitness level in 10 additional years had 40 percent reduced health risks. In short, even if you’re not losing weight, having an active lifestyle improves your long term health outlook. Get out there and get active.

Did you see us in Boulder’s Lights of December parade?

boulderpeak — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 03:32:14 +0000

Boulder Peak Family Practice partnered up with our good friends at SOBO Homes Inc to present a float in last weekend’s parade. The huge gingerbread house rolled down the parade route, complete with lots of pint-sized helper elves, unicyclists, and adult-sized gingerbread greeters. We’re proud to be a part of this community, and bringing smiles to the kid’s faces during the event was heartwarming. Happy holidays to all of our patients, and we wish you a healthy New Year.

Boulder Peak Family Practice and SOBO Homes Float

Using BMI to determine “underweight” “normal,” “overweight,” or “obese”

boulderpeak — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 19:59:21 +0000

The percent of Americans of a “normal weight” has increased over the past year, barely overtaking the “overweight” status, states a Gallup Poll released in October. But what exactly labels you as underweight, normal, overweight, or obese? Individual BMI values of 30 or higher are classified as “obese,” 25.0 to 29.9 are “overweight,” 18.5 to 24.9 are “normal weight,” and 18.4 or less are “underweight.” To check your status, click on this BMI calculator. If you don’t like your rating, come in to talk about a health plan.

Finishing off that Halloween candy? Consider this…

boulderpeak — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 18:34:27 +0000

A Cooking Light feature by Sidney Fry, MS, RD, put popular candy on a quadrant grid to determine better treat choices. The delineation consisted of Less Saturated Fat to More Sat Fat, and Less Sugar to More Sugar. The best choices of Less Sat Fat/Less Sugar and their corresponding calories per serving is: Laffy Taffy (30), Starburst (40), Smarties (25), and Toostie Roll (50). The More Sugar/More Sat Fat offenders were M&M regular (73) and M&M Peanut (90), Milky Way (80), and sadly our favorite, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup (110).

Limit yourself!

If you feel drawn to candy, why not bite off half and throw the other half away – you get the same tasty treat but limit your caloric and sugar intake.

Have a teen? Put them to bed.

boulderpeak — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 04:23:03 +0000

Nearly 70 percent of teens are not sleeping the recommended hours on school nights, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Prevention Medicine’s online report states that students with less than 8 hours sleep on an average school night were more likely to engage in health-risk behaviors including fighting, smoking cigarettes or pot, drinking alcohol, physical inactivity, eating poorly, being sexually active, and were more likely to feel sad or hopeless. Turn off the TV, computers and phones, and tell them to hit the hay!

Teens need 8 hours of sleep minimum

Thank you for these first two years!

boulderpeak — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 13:14:48 +0000

We recently celebrated our 2nd anniversary at Boulder Peak Family Practice. The office was created to bring back a personal, knowledgeable relationship between doctor and patient and to provide quality care. Part of our mission is to support the local community. So far we’ve been proud to sponsor: South Boulder Little League; American Cycling Association; Lake Eldora Racing Team; Fairview High Cheerleaders; and soon the Fairview Chorale. We appreciate your partnership in your healthcare, and for welcoming us into your family’s lives!