Hearts are all a flutter around Valentine’s Day. Solantic Baptist Urgent Care and the American Heart Association want to make sure yours stays in top condition so that you and the ones who love you can rest assured. That’s why the AHA named February “American Heart Month.” It’s also why Solantic offers wellness exams and physicals that include heart health checks like EKGs and pulmonary function tests. According the AHA and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control:

Solantic Baptist Urgent Care offers tailored physicals to help make sure you're in good heart health.

• Heart disease is the number one killer of women and men in the United States, killing about a half million people each year;
• Each year, more than a million Americans have heart attacks In fact, the first cardiac symptom experienced by 71% of the population will be a heart attack, and one victim out of three will die;
• 90% of Women have one or more risk factors for developing heart disease;
• More than 82 million American adults - one in three people - are estimated to have one or more types of cardiovascular disease;
• About 2,200 Americans die of cardiovascular disease each day. That’s an average of one death every 39 seconds;
• Heart disease is the No. 1 cause of death among women 20 and older, killing about one woman every minute;
• More women die of heart disease than the next four causes of death combined, including all forms of cancer.

To help keep your ticker going strong schedule regular physicals at your nearest Solantic Baptist Urgent Care center. We offer a range of age-specific physicals, including several designed specifically for athletes and executives. And we can tailor a wellness plan that addresses your unique health need and risks. Visit our website to find an urgent care center near you and register online for quicker service. No appointment is ever necessary and we’re open evenings and weekends to accommodate your busy schedule.

National Drug-Free Work Week is October 18-24 and Solantic Baptist Urgent Care is urging all employers to participate. An initiative of the U.S. Department of Labor, Drug-Free Work Week is a dedicated time each year to highlight the benefits of a drug-free workplace to workers, employers and communities, and to help provide companies of all sizes with the resources needed to assure their staff remain drug free all year round.

The statistics on drug and alcohol use in the workplace are quite sobering. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, The Journal of Studies on Alcohol, The Journal of Applied Psychology and other research sources:

Solantic Baptist Urgent Care can help your company avoid the devastating effects of substance use and abuse in the workplace.

•    75 percent of the nation’s current illegal drug users are employed and 3.1 percent say they have actually used illegal drugs before or during work hours.
•    79 percent of the nation’s heavy alcohol users are employed and 7.1 percent say they have actually consumed alcohol during the workday.
•    An estimated 1.7 percent of employed adults worked while under the influence of alcohol and 9.2 percent worked with a hangover in the past year.
•    Workers reporting heavy alcohol use or illicit drug use, as well as workers reporting dependence on or abuse of alcohol or illicit drugs, are more likely to have worked for more than three employers in the past year and are more likely to have skipped work more than two days in the past month.
•    Workers reporting illicit drug use or dependence on or abuse of alcohol or illicit drugs were also more likely to have missed more than two days of work due to illness or injury.

An employee’s substance use or abuse impacts not only his or her own performance at work, but that of coworkers as well. Studies show that coworkers often are forced to work harder, redo botched work or cover shifts and responsibilities of employees who are continually under the influence of alcohol or drugs - including prescription drugs. What’s more, an employee whose substance use poses danger or causes injury to coworkers and customers is a huge legal and financial liability for a company of any size. Keep in mind that smaller businesses are at a higher risk, in part because they are less likely to have or implement programs to combat the problem.

Solantic Baptist Urgent Care can help in your efforts to make your workplace drug-free all year round. We offer 5, 8, 9 and 10-panel drug screens, blood alcohol screens and breathalyzer tests, as well as collection only of blood or urine. Like our screens designed specifically for the Department of Transportation, drug testing can be tailored for your company’s particular needs. And Solantic Baptist Urgent Care is an approved provider for most insurance carriers and worker’s compensation networks.

To help keep your company drug-free, contact your nearest Solantic urgent care clinic at 904-223-2320 or occhealth@solantic.com and ask about opening your corporate account.

As kids and college students head back to campus, Solantic Baptist Urgent Care and the America Occupational Therapy Association are urging parents and youngsters to pay close attention to the loads of books, school supplies and gadgets they’re carrying in their backpacks. September 16 is National School Backpack Awareness Day and the ATOA is encouraging schools to hold backpack weigh-ins and other awareness events. Studies show that heavy backpacks, unevenly distributed weight loads and backpacks worn incorrectly are notorious for causing long term back and shoulder pain, muscle spasms and torn tendons. Backpacks worn with uneven straps can affect balance, which can result in urgent care needs such as twisted ankles.

A great tell-tale clue for parents: if your child tends to lean forward while wearing his or her backpack, it’s too heavy. Other signs are red marks on the shoulders, muscle spasms and tingling or numbness in the arms. A few tips:

Heavy backpacks, purses and laptop bags can cause neck, shoulder and back problems among other orthpedic health woes.

• Make sure your child is using a backpack that’s right for his size.
• Look for backpacks with pockets that help evenly distribute weight.
• A child’s backpack weight should be no more than 20 percent of his body weight according to the American Society of Orthopedics. The American Physical Therapy Association recommends going even lighter - 10-15 percent.
• Look for backpacks with shoulder straps and make sure the straps are adjusted evenly and tight enough that the backpack doesn’t hang loose - even if your kid complains that it looks “dorky.”
• Take out all unnecessary items, including all those electronic gadgets not allowed at school anyway.
• If your child is loaded down with books, he may have to carry a few by hand. If possible, purchase a second set of text books to keep at home.
• Encourage your child to place books in lockers between classes if time permits.
• Rolling backpacks might be an option if your child does not have to climb stairways to get to class, but can pose a tripping hazard for other students if hallways are overcrowded.
• When packing, make sure that the heaviest books and items are placed closest to your child’s back, as the middle of the back is where the strongest muscles are located.

Of course, these issues aren’t just about school backpacks. Those celebrity-inspired oversized purses and heavy laptop cases also can cause neck, back and shoulder strain. Carrying a heavy purse or bag over one shoulder causes the user to totally shift the body’s stance. Over time, this can shorten the muscles, resulting in a twisted or lop-sided body position. Heavy shoulder bags also strain muscles that exit the neck and continue down the shoulder, which can lead to arthritis. Orthopedic experts recommend minimizing your load, opting for a stylish rucksack instead of a purse or using wearing a long-strapped purse across your body, and using a rolling laptop bag, laptop backpack or contoured laptop bag that fits the shape of your body.

Visit Soltantic Baptist Urgent Care for all your back-to-school health need including school and sports physicals and immunizations.

August is National Immunization Awareness Awareness Month and Solantic Baptist Urgent Care is ready with all your family’s immunization needs. With children starting school, college students heading back for the fall term and flu season just around the corner, August is prime time for immunizations nationwide. Each of Solantic Baptist Urgent Care’s Florida locations offers a full battery of immunizations required and recommended for every age group for school, work and travel.

Solantic Baptist Urgent Care offers all CDC-required and recommended immunizations.

Solantic Baptist Urgent Care offers all immunizations listed in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s immunization schedules for children, adolescents and adults. We also offer walk-in service when an unexpected vaccination need arises, such as the need for tetanus boosters and rabies vaccinations. Our highly trained medical staff keeps up to date on all needed or recommended vaccinations for people who work in specified high-risk industries. For instance, veterinarians, animal handlers, pet rescue transporters, park rangers and certain laboratory workers often are required to get regular rabies vaccinations even if they have not been bitten or otherwise exposed to rabies.

If you’re planning a trip abroad, Solantic Baptist Urgent Care also can assure you get all the immunizations required and recommended for travel to various countries and regions of the world. Whether you’re a frequent international business traveler, a spouse-to-be planning to honeymoon in some faraway tropical locale, or a student preparing to depart for a study abroad program any Solantic urgent care clinic can assure that you’re ready for travel.

We also offer seasonal immunizations such as flu shots and seasonal allergy vaccines, and screenings including TB skin tests. Solantic Baptist Urgent Care clinics are open 365 days a year and you never need an appointment. We make it easy for busy parents and professionals to get the treatment and preventative they and their families need. To make sure you and yours remain up to date on required and recommended immunizations, visit the Solantic urgent care location nearest you.

Did you know that Solantic Baptist Urgent Care can help keep your company healthy? Employers and health insurance leaders across the country are booking their spots for the National Corporate Wellness Conference in Los Angeles Sept. 20-22. While there, they’ll learn what smart business leaders and Solantic already know - that healthy, happy employees contribute to your company’s bottom line by boosting productivity and employee morale.

Solantic Baptist Urgent Care's occupational medicine and executive physical services can help keep you, your employees and your company healthy.

A 2004 study by Cornell University shows that “presenteeism” (employees showing up for work despite being ill) costs the American economy $180 billion in lost productivity annually. A 2009 survey by CCH Inc., which provides employment law information for human resources professionals, concluded that unscheduled employee absenteeism (primarily for illnesses) cost companies an average of $755 per year. And substance abuse and addiction costs American companies billions in absenteeism, insurance costs (including insurance for treatment of health conditions exacerbated by substance abuse) and related costs each year.

Solantic Baptist Urgent Care can help keep your employees healthy and your business running smoothly with our occupational medicine services. Each of our urgent care centers located throughout Florida offers confidential employment and pre-employment drug screens, immunizations, X-ray and EKG services, vision testing, hearing testing and pulmonary functioning testing, plus physicals for DOT workers, OSHA physicals and customized examinations tailored for your company’s specific needs. We also offer an “Executive Physical” designed to help evaluate an executive employee or candidate’s ability to handle the rigors and strains of a high-pressure positions. HIV and STD serologic testing also is available.

Whether you’re an HR professional for a large company with thousands of employees or a small business owner with a staff of just a few, Solantic Baptist Urgent Care offers occupational medicine at a budget that works for your company or department. To keep your business in top shape, contact the center nearest you for more information Solantic’s occupational medicine and corporate wellness services today.

Any given month or week of the year is dedicated to some particular health issue, and this month, Solantic Baptist Urgent Care urges you to recognize April’s status as Alcohol Awareness Month.

Alcohol abuse is prevalent among various demographic groups including teenagers who fall prey to peer pressure, college students who binge drink at parties and local bars, professionals aiming to relax after a long day of work and senior citizens who find solace in alcohol during what can be a lonely and reflective time of life. If you’ve ever forgotten what you did while drinking, if your family or friends have talked with you about concerns over your alcohol intake, or if you find that that you drink to deal with loneliness, sadness or anger, you may well have an alcohol abuse or addiction problem.

Solantic Baptist Urgent Care recommends several tips to help you curb or cut out your drinking. First, write down your reasons for taking control of your drinking, such as getting better sleep, improving your health, being more productive at work or improving your relationships. Post these in a spot you’ll see each day for a visual reminder of the better life that awaits you. If you drink socially, alternate alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. For instance, enjoy a glass of wine, then a glass of sparkling water. Drink both slowly and keep a journal listing each drink you have as another visual reminder to help you avoid overindulgence. Steer clear of temptation by keeping a small amount or no alcohol at home and carefully plan your socializing calendar. Rather than meeting a friend at the local bar Friday night, plan a workout in the park or a shopping trip on Saturday instead.

When you visit Solantic Baptist Urgent Care for your annual physical, be sure to talk with our physicians or nurse practitioners about your concerns. Our expert medical staff is trained to pinpoint many lifestyle factors that are potentially harmful and can help tailor a plan to help you address these issues and live a healthier lifestyle. If you are an employer and suspect that an employee may have a substance abuse problem, any Solantic Baptist Urgent Care location can conduct reliable alcohol and drug screenings. In fact, you or your company representative can set up an account for all your occupational health and screening needs by emailing us at occhealth@solantic.com.

If you have questions or concerns about your alcohol intake, Solantic Baptist Urgent Care has nearly 40 locations throughout Florida ready to help. Visit our website to find a location near you and set an appointment today.

Solantic Walk-In Urgent Care knows firsthand the pressures of a business executive and the importance of an annual executive physical. After all, we’re a business too and we’ve got top-notch financial, marketing and other executives working hard to help us keep delivering the best urgent care available while growing our company (see the news report about our joint venture with Baptist Health and look for three new Northeast Florida locations this year).

Unfortunately, that high-achiever lifestyle typical of C-Suite dwellers and other junior and senior level executives means that health often takes second place to landing that big new account. Long hours, meals on the run and stress eventually will take their toll. So while it means a time investment, taking care of your health will pay off. A study by the University of Michigan Management Research Center showed that executives who underwent regular executive physical exams had 20% fewer health claims and missed 45% fewer workdays than those who skip annual exams.

To help keep you in top form Solantic Walk-In Urgent Care offers annual executive physicals designed to screen for all the health risk factors common in those patients who live the high-achiever’s lifestyle. We run an EKG to help identify potential heart complications, test for blood pressure and blood sugar levels and perform vision and hearing tests, plus many more general and executive-specific health screens. And a Solantic urgent care physician will go over all of your lifestyle choices in and out of the office to help pinpoint health and behavior risk factors and recommend ways to improve.

Solantic executive physicals are competitively priced and convenient. Schedule yours any of our nearly 30 urgent care centers throughout Florida today. We’ll help keep you off the surgeon’s table and winning at the negotiating table.

If you’re thinking about your New Year’s health resolutions, Solantic Walk-In Urgent Care and the American Heart Association can help. The AHA has set a few long-term resolutions of its own, all aimed at helping you improve your cardiovascular health. And you can stop by any Solantic urgent care center for a thorough, personalized health assessment.

The AHA recently defined “ideal cardiovascular health” for the first time recently, identifying seven health factors and lifestyle behaviors that lead to a healthier, stronger heart. The goal is to improve the cardiovascular health of all Americans by 20 percent and reduce deaths from cardiovascular diseases and stroke by 20 percent – all by the year 2020.

Dubbed “Life’s Simple 7,” the AHA-identified healthy heart factors for adults as:

•    Never smoked or quit more than one year ago
•    Body mass index less than 25 kilograms per square meter
•    Physical activity of at least 150 minutes (moderate) or 75 minutes (vigorous) each week
•    Four to five of the key components of a healthy diet consistent with current AHA guideline recommendations
•    Total cholesterol of less than 200 mg/dL
•    Blood pressure below 120/80 mm Hg
•    Fasting blood glucose less than 100 mg/dL

The new stated goals come on the heels of the AHA’s successful effort to reduce death by heart disease and stroke by 25 percent by 2010. You can get started on your own 2020 healthy heart plan today by scheduling a physical at any one of our nearly 30 Solantic urgent care centers located throughout Florida. We offer basic annual physicals tailored for children and youth to 17 years old; adults 18-44; and adults 45 and older. Specialized physicals for athletes and executives also are available, as are OSHA and DOT/DOE physicals that may be required for certain jobs such as driving any commercial vehicle. If you’re planning a surgery, Solantic Walk-In Urgent Care also offers pre-op physicals to assure you’re healthy enough to undergo a successful operation.

With each physical, a Solantic physician will let you know exactly where your health, including your cardiovascular health, stands. This will help determine your best cardiovascular health improvement plan, getting you started on both your own New Year’s health resolutions and the AHA’s 2020 heart-healthy America plan. Browse our website to find a Solantic Walk-In Urgent Care location near you, make an appointment and even have directions to our offices texted to your phone.