February 12, 2020 -Making improvements to public housing may not have an impact on any specific healthcare condition, but housing quality certainly does affect net quality of life, according to data published in the latest issue of Health Affairs.

The healthcare industry has become increasingly concerned with affordable housing in recent years, as industry experts tout the importance of the social determinants of health and access to affordable, quality, and stable housing. Leaders say that individuals experiencing homelessness have more difficulty managing chronic illness as well as a higher likelihood of incurring costly acute care crises.

To address this issue, many hospitals, health systems, and payers have invested billions of dollars into creating affordable housing units. The logic holds that improving access to quality housing will save the stakeholders in downstream healthcare costs.

But what of older affordable housing units that have been serving vulnerable populations for decades? How can addressing the quality, not necessarily the amount, of affordable housing units impact patient health?

This is a real and pressing problem, the researchers explained. Currently, about 1.1 affordable housing units are facing nearly $50 billion in capital needs, per estimates from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Conditions in these buildings including broken elevators, leaks, old heating systems, and lead paint exposurepotentially threaten the health of the roughly 2.3 million low-income children and adults who live in public and other HUD-assisted housing, the researchers said. Moreover, many of these units will deteriorate further and become uninhabitable unless they are renovated.

And while making these repairs may not have a measurable impact on any one healthcare condition, it could have a significant effect on tenants quality of life, a key measure in patient experience and wellness.

Looking at a case study in New York City, the researchers specifically found nominal change in individual outcomes or utilization for asthma, anxiety or depression, injury, hypertension in adults, and acute respiratory infection.

However, they did find improvements in disease burden for each of those diseases, excluding hypertension in adults. This finding illustrates an improvement in quality of life, which is essential on the road to patient wellness and healthy lifestyle.

The researchers specifically looked at a New York City Housing Authority move from back in 2015, during which the Housing Authority sold 50 percent stake in six delipidated housing units to two private real estate development groups, establishing a public-private partnership for housing.

Through the partnership, the housing units received a renovation, including improvements to elevators, stairway handrails, heating and hot water systems, emergency generators, and roofs. The project also tackled more cosmetic changes, such as bathroom and kitchen repairs complete with new appliances, window replacements, painting, and air conditioning units.

The public-private partnership also resulted in exterior improvements.

Finally, New York City Housing Authority relinquished building management responsibilities to the private real estate firms, which revamped rent collection and other management issues.

On the whole, these changes improved patient experiences, quality of life, and in some cases, health.

This pattern of findings was not surprising, since we were examining the impact of broad-based renovations not targeted to address any particular health conditions or populations, and we observed people for only three years after the renovation was completed, the researchers reported.

It is possible that over a longer period and with a larger sample, we might have seen a significant impact on individual diseases as well as larger impacts on overall disease burden.

Of note, measures about emergency department or hospital utilization remained largely unchanged, the team found.

Patterns of health system usesuch as the proportion of residents visiting the ED or hospital appeared to be less sensitive to the renovations than disease outcomes were, the team said. This may indicate that peoples manner of engaging with the health care system is persistent, even when their mix of exposures, conditions, and overall well-being changes.

These housing interventions also made an improvement with overall patient satisfaction with their housing options.

Compared to individuals living in nearby affordable housing complexes, more intervention patients said they would recommend their complex to a family or friend, 54 percent versus 83 percent, respectively. Only 18 percent of intervention residents reported plans to move, compared to 34 percent of those in nearby affordable housing complexes.

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We've all been rejected at one point or another whether it be from a new love interest, a job you applied to, or a group of friends. Whichever kind of rejection you're facing, the fact of the matter is that rejection hurts and when you put it out all on the line only to get a heartbreaking "no," it's enough to make anyone want to stop trying to put themselves out there for anything.

When you let rejection hold you back like this, though, it can wreak havoc on all aspects of your personal life. In fact, according to Leslie Becker-Phelps, Ph.D., psychologist and author of Bouncing Back from Rejection: Build the Resilience You Need to Get Back Up When Life Knocks You Down, dealing with rejection in unhealthy ways can not only negatively impact your personal relationships, but can even lead to debilitating conditions such as depression and anxiety.

Fortunately, though, there are ways you can deal with rejection that can help you come out of it stronger. Getting rejected doesn't have to be the end-all be-all, and the experience can actually help you in the long run to become more resilient in your life. So if you're wondering how to deal with rejection from friends, family, coworkers, or a crush, here are some of the best psychologist-approved tips and techniques to help you bounce back from the experience:

Before you learn how to deal with rejection in dating, at work, or in your home life, the first thing to remember is that there's a reason rejection stings so much and it's not because you're weak or too sensitive. In fact, there's an evolutionary reason why we desperately need other people to accept us: According to Lori Gottlieb, M.F.T., psychotherapist and author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, our need for connection traces way back to ancient history, when humans relied on being in groups to survive. "When somebody rejects us, there's a very primal piece to it, which is that it goes against everything we feel like we need for survival," Gottlieb explains.

Beyond an evolutionary standpoint, our response to rejection also depends on something called our attachment styles, or the models in which we develop our relationships with other people. People who interact with their caregivers in a healthy way as infants, Becker-Phelps says, usually develop a secure attachment style in which they view themselves as being worthy and lovable but those with insecure attachment styles come to generally view themselves as unlovable, unworthy, and inadequate. It's no wonder, then, that some of us have a harder time getting through rejection as Becker-Phelps explains, our need of connection is wired into us right from birth!

"In the immediate aftermath of a rejection, we're not really in that space to think about it because we're in so much pain," says Gottlieb. Anger and hurt will probably be your immediate reactions after a rejection, but contrary to popular belief, releasing your anger (for example, screaming or hitting a punching bag) doesn't help bring the negative emotion down in fact, it's likely to even increase it.

In these moments, Becker-Phelps says that self-care is truly important: Activities like exercising and going for a run, doing yoga or meditating are great ways to get in a balanced place, so you think more clearly about the situation instead of getting into the rut of emotional thinking. And if those activities aren't really your thing, try engaging in anything that makes you feel good and helps you calm down whether it's baking, taking a bath, or listening to music.

After you've taken some time to calm down and get grounded, it's important to pay attention to what you're feeling and a great way to do this is write it all down in a journal. One exercise you can do, says Becker-Phelps, is to write down all the emotions you're feeling and then pair them with the thoughts that are going with those emotions. "Just by doing that, you're getting some distance, and then you can cope with the rejection better, because you're not just all tangled up in it," she says.

And whenever you are paying attention to your emotions, remember that it's never helpful to feel like you shouldn't feel a certain way. "Your emotions are never right or wrong, they just are," notes Becker-Phelps.

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Beyond simply acknowledging your emotions, try writing down some things that are positive about yourself in other words, come up with a list of some of your strengths and values, and start your morning off each day by reading them out loud to yourself. "This doesn't mean just talking yourself up, but thinking about what makes you, you," explains Becker-Phelps. By helping you hold onto the things that are a part of you, these self-affirmations will help you feel stronger just by recognizing who you really are and how you identify yourself, especially in the face of self-doubt that often comes with rejection.

When you're faced with a rejection of any type, one of the most important things is to remember that there's more to life than the one rejection from that one person or thing and that there are plenty of other people who are on your side. To remind yourself that you haven't been completely shunned by the world, spend some quality time with friends and family, and make sure that you're still feeling truly connected with other people around you. If you're trying to figure out how to deal with rejection from a crush, for instance, you might want to turn to your friends for moral support and some quality BFF time.

"Connection is so important because it reminds us of all the things that we can't remember in that moment: It reminds us of how lovable we are...that people care about us...that we're worthy," Gottlieb says.

Even if you can't actually spend time with a loved one at the moment, try taking some time to just think of someone who's important in your life. In fact, you can even find a picture of them preferably a photo of you two enjoying your time together and set some time to look at it each day while reminding yourself that this person supports you.

"Sometimes by repeating that and seeing the pictures, you start to take it inside and then you kind of carry it in your heart more strongly," says Becker-Phelps. "So when a difficult situation comes up and you feel rejected, you can go back to the image of that person even just in your mind and feel comforted by them because you've been practicing feeling comforted."

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We tend to beat ourselves up over the things that might have led us to be rejected, but this habit inevitably causes us to feel worse. "The first thing a lot of people do when they get rejected is to be unkind to themselves, and they start coming up with all kinds of ideas about what's wrong with them," Gottlieb notes.

Instead of constantly thinking about what might have gone wrong and dwelling on these negative emotions (a process called rumination), Gottlieb recommends looking at the situation more objectively and asking yourself if there's anything you can learn from the experience and doing so with compassion towards yourself.

Whether you're trying to figure out how to deal with rejection from family or from coworkers, sometimes it's just everyday things in your home or work life that might influence how you respond to rejection maybe you didn't get enough sleep, or haven't been eating well lately. These things can definitely make it harder to handle rejection in a healthy way so one thing you can do to cope better is to work on leading a healthy lifestyle. That means eating well, exercising frequently, and staying hydrated, all of which can help you stay strong in the face of rejection. "The healthier your lifestyle, the more resources you have then to deal with difficult situations," notes Becker-Phelps.

If there's one important skill to learn from rejection, it's that you should never let it stop you from your future endeavors getting rejected is just an inevitable part of life, after all, and e
very single successful person has experienced it at one time or another (yes, even people like Oprah Winfrey and J.K. Rowling!).

So the next time you're turned down for a date or don't get that job you applied to, remind yourself that rejection happens to everyone and instead of allowing yourself to be devastated and beat down, ask yourself what you can do going forward. Says Gottlieb: "The most important thing is to not sit in the rejection, but to say, is there anything I can learn from this experience? And then what can I do moving forward? Where can I go?"

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FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Last month, hit reality show The Biggest Loser returned to television after a 4-year hiatus. Previously on NBC, the show now brings its 18th season to USA entertainment network with some major changes to the competitions structure. With the shows resurgence, they have once again teamed up with Rubber-Cal to floor the Biggest Loser gym, otherwise the setting for the trials and tribulations of the contestants. In late summer of 2019, the episodes were filmed just outside Santa Fe in Glorieta, New Mexico.

The Biggest Loser is one of the most popular and longest-running unscripted franchises in television history. The program has revamped itself to give contestants a 360-degree view of what it takes to make a serious, healthy lifestyle change. The new season will aim to improve contestants quality of life as well as their waistlines. Even though fitness is one component of a healthy revival, the shows focal point is the gym floor. Decked out with the latest cardio equipment, barbells, ropes and the customary black rubber floors, the gym becomes the backdrop to the emotional journey of the contestants. The Biggest Loser gym covers 15,000 square feet and contains all of the equipment needed for contestants to get into shape.

With the return of host Bob Harper, the show has brought in new trainers Steve Cook and Erica Lugo to guide contestants toward a healthier lifestyle from every level. Contestants now work with doctors, life coaches, and nutritionists to develop individualized routines and meal plans, which will be closely monitored for safety. The 30-week competition now also includes group therapy sessions and an improved after-care package for eliminated contestants, which provides them with a gym membership and nutritionist access after leaving the show.

Season 18 of The Biggest Loser airs on USA Network every Tuesday at 9/8 c. Tune in to see the new facility and watch contestants face-off for a grand prize of $100,000.

About Rubber-Cal

Rubber-Cal, Inc. is an American distributor that specializes in offering quality rubber products. Based in Southern California, the company was founded in 1994 and has since established itself as one of North Americas leading suppliers of rubber flooring, industrial sheet rubber, flexible ducting and specialty rubber parts. Product specialists at Rubber-Cal are focused on serving all consumers with custom-produced parts and products, from huge companies to individuals with small-scale projects. In addition to their showroom in Fountain Valley, California, the company also has online storefronts at Rubbercal.com and Ducting.com, as well as other sales channels. These sites give customers access to Rubber-Cals extensive inventory, along with a vast array of information, specifications and pricing.

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Rubber-Cal Floors The Biggest Loser in its Return to the USA Network - Business Wire

There are two major heart attack symptoms that everyone is aware of: sudden and severe chest pain that feels like a clenched fist and pain radiating down the arm. But its possible other warning signs may have cropped up on the way to that cardiovascular event, and not been recognized as heart failure.

Unlike an actual heart attack, heart failure can happen gradually, and thats why people often mistake the symptoms for something else, like indigestion or being out of shape, says Robert Greenfield, M.D., cardiologist and medical director of non-invasive cardiology and cardiac rehabilitation at MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, Calif. But the longer you go without seeing these as signs of heart trouble, the more damage you may have over time.

Sometimes called congestive heart failure, this condition occurs when there are problems associated with how the heart is pumping blood. That doesnt mean your heart has suddenly stopped working. In some cases, the heart may not pump with enough force to deliver the blood into your circulatory system, and in other cases, not enough blood is getting into your heart so the amount pumped out is reduced. As symptoms worsen, emergency treatment may be required.

According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, about 5.7 million people in the U.S. have heart failure, and it can affect both children and adults. Currently, theres no cure, but treatments like lifestyle changes and medications can make a huge difference in terms of longevity and quality of life.

Like many conditions, the earlier you catch it, the better your outlook. Here are 10 signs that your ticker may not be operating the way it should.

Quick anatomy refresher: The heart and lungs are best pals when it comes to functionality, working together to make sure your body has oxygen-rich blood. The right side of the heart takes in blood thats been depleted of oxygen and pumps it over to the lungs so it can get an oxygen refresh. Since heart failure affects how well this elegant system operates, shortness of breath is a major sign of trouble, says Dr. Greenfield. People will feel air hunger, meaning no matter how deeply you inhale, you dont feel like youre getting enough oxygen.

The feeling of air hunger can happen at rest but its especially acute with exertioneven walking across a room can feel like too much effort. If youre trying to get in an actual workout, increased activity raises your heart rate, which means its trying to pump faster and you could find yourself really gasping for air then. People often think theyre just out of shape when they cant catch their breath, Dr. Greenfield says. They think they need to get to the gym. But what they need is to get to the doctor.

When you lie down, some of the blood in your legs goes back into your bloodstream, and that creates an increased amount returning to the heart. Usually, the heart can compensate through its pumping mechanism. But with heart failure, it cant keep up and that can cause more shortness of breath, says Dr. Greenfield. You can often find some relief through propping your head up, relieving the pressure on your lungs, which is why a cardiologist might ask how many pillows you use to avoid feeling winded.

When your heart isnt operating properly, it pumps less blood to your kidneys, and as a result, that organ compensates by retaining fluid. Most often, this shows up first in your lower extremities, according to Adriana Quinones-Camacho, M.D., cardiologist at NYU Langone Health in New York. Also called edema, this puffiness in your legs, arms, and feet tends to affect both sides, and causes stretched, shiny skin. Its also a telltale sign of edema if you press a finger into the swelling and that indentation stays for several seconds.

The fluid buildup that may be in your legs can back up higher into the abdomen and arms. This rapid weight gain is often mistaken for fat accumulation, but its actually water weight from fluid retention, says Dr. Quinones-Camacho. This can happen suddenly, she adds, like seeing an additional five pounds over a few days, particularly in the belly.

All that fluid youre retaining has to go somewhere eventually. Thats when you may find yourself always having to pee, especially multiple times in the middle of the night. Sometimes, people brush this off as a sign of aging, says Dr. Quinones-Camacho, or drinking too much water close to bedtime. Unfortunately, some people try to correct the issue by cutting down on water intake during the day, but this can make fluid retention worse, since the body starts holding on to water in order to prevent dehydration. That cycle gets even uglier with heart failure because dehydration causes strain and increases your heart rate.

The way the body compensates during heart failure is to divert blood to vital organs, especially the brain, and channel it away from less-important areas like your muscles and limbs. That can lead to a feeling of weakness and fatigue, says Dr. Greenfield.

Another area of the body the heart considers non-vital when theres trouble? Your digestive system. With blood being diverted, your stomach and gastrointestinal tract are getting less blood, and that can slow their functions way down, Dr. Greenfield says. You might have a range of effects, including indigestion, lack of appetite, nausea, and constipation.

Even though the heart prioritizes brain function when theres an issue, heart failure might be caused by a circulation issue, according to Dr. Greenfield. When that happens, not enough blood may be reaching your brain, and that can lead to symptoms like dizziness, mild disorientation, confusion, or even challenges with memory and concentration. In extreme cases, you may experience fainting.

Multiple woolen layers of socks and mittens are doing nothing to help your icy feet and hands? That could be another symptom of a circulation issue, potentially brought on by heart failure. But this is the kind of sign thats not enough on its own, Dr. Greenfield says, especially because its common for people to have colder hands and feet in general. However, if you experience this as well as several others on the list, they could all be connected.

How to deal with heart failure symptoms

Its critical to see your doctor. Although there are certain tactics that can help address minor symptomsprop your head up at night, drink more water, and dont smokethis isnt an issue to try to tackle on your own.

The sooner you can get your heart checked out, especially if your symptoms are more minor, the more chance you have to improve your heart function and avoid potential heart attack, says Dr. Greenfield.

Of course, there are great heart-healthy lifestyle habits that will be invaluable for long-term change. But if youre experiencing any of the symptoms listed here, its possible you may need short-term interventions, like medication, to make sure your heart gets back on track.

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10 Signs of Heart Failure You Should Know, According to Doctors - Prevention.com