Sunshine Calls News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Loneliness is considered an epidemic in the United States with the U.S. surgeon general comparing the health impacts to smoking daily cigarettes.

Legislation passed in Olympia this year will provide more dental-care access to underserved communities. House Bill 1678 authorizes dental therapists to work in community health clinics or federally qualified health centers. Marcy Bowers, executive director of the Statewide Poverty Action Network, said the new law will allow more staff capacity to dental-care teams in these facilities to assist dentists. ...

Hospitals in Connecticut and across the nation faced significant financial losses in 2022. A Connecticut Hospital Association report found that hospitals in the state incurred $164 million in losses in 2022, relative to pre-pandemic levels. Along with this, hospital expenses increased by 23%, reflecting a national trend. ...

Many Americans experience depression or anxiety, but a new Texas study shows a regular phone call to those suffering can reduce symptoms. Known as "Sunshine Calls", the study recruited 240 mostly homebound, older adults suffering from depressive symptoms. Mini Kahlon, Ph.D., study author and associate professor of population health, Dell Med, University of Texas at Austin, said the phone calls were made by people who were not health-care professionals but had been briefly trained in how to listen and ask questions. ...

Feb. 23, 2021 AUSTIN, Texas – Social isolation arising from COVID-19 has sparked significant mental health issues, resulting in a jump from 1 in 10 adults reporting anxiety or depressive disorder symptoms before the pandemic to 1 in 3 adults more recently. But new research published today in JAMA Psychiatry shows that loneliness, depression, anxiety and overall mental health among older people can be improved through an empathy-focused telephone program. Known as “Sunshine Calls,” the four-week program was conducted as a randomized controlled trial of 240 mostly homebound, older adult...