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Shop small this holiday season to support heroes of Main Street economics

Small businesses play a critical role in improving our everyday lives – creating jobs, products and services, and serving as launchpads for new industries as they scale – and the COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced their importance for our communities and Main Street economies. The pandemic also further illustrated their resilience, ability to be nimble, and ability to adjust to the changing environment. Some had to adapt to online sales and scheduling deliveries. Others had to determine how to alter the work environment so they could continue to manufacture products and keep employees ...

Shop small this holiday season to support heroes of Main Street economics

Small businesses play a critical role in improving our everyday lives – creating jobs, products and services, and serving as launchpads for new industries as they scale – and the COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced their importance for our communities and Main Street economies. The pandemic also further illustrated their resilience, ability to be nimble, and ability to adjust to the changing environment. Some had to adapt to online sales and scheduling deliveries. Others had to determine how to alter the work environment so they could continue to manufacture products and keep employees ...

The truth about holiday spirits

He tells the story about a much younger man who was stationed in the military in Illinois. It was a hot, summer evening. The bar was air-conditioned. He had been drinking. When he finally cut himself off, he left the air-conditioned environment. He recalls walking back to the base, but he can’t tell you how he got from the gate to his quarters, how he found his clothes and boots neatly put away when he woke the next day. He cannot say if he got himself into his upper bunk after he put his belongings away or if someone helped him. But he knows he drank too much that night because the ...

Public health concern: Antibiotic resistance

Antibiotic resistance has been a topic of discussion for years. It, like other long-lived public conditions, has grown worse with the passage of time. In fact, in 2015 the World Health Assembly endorsed “a global action plan on antimicrobial resistance, including antibiotic resistance,” the intent of which is “to ensure prevention and treatment of infectious diseases with safe and effective medicines.” In case you’re wondering why we are talking about this subject, World Antimicrobial Awareness Week is Nov. 18 to 24. The theme is Spread Awareness, Stop Resistance. Antibiotic ...

Traveling raises anxiety for seniors

Thanks to breakthroughs in medicine and nutrition in recent years, we are living longer than ever before. But this increase in life expectancy also brings an increase in the number of diseases, injuries and impairments that affect older adults. With this in mind, we at the local Visiting Angels office in Salem have created this series of articles to keep our older population and their families informed and to offer some practical advice for meeting the challenges faced by seniors and those who care for them. --- With the holiday season upon us, many families will be traveling to ...

New infrastructure bill could help America’s medical manufacturers

After much debate, Congress recently passed a massive “Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.” Despite all the political wrangling, the final package includes something known as the “Make PPE in America Act.” This bipartisan legislation, introduced by U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and Gary Peters (D-MI), could prove groundbreaking—since it will help to rebuild America’s domestic production of personal protective equipment (PPE). At the start of the COVID pandemic, Americans saw firsthand the problems that come from the nation’s over-reliance on imports. As the ...