Healthy Lombard is once again sponsoring the “Flat Apple” Summer Activity. The purpose of Flat Apple is to encourage youth to make choices that encourage healthy lifestyles through education, promotion of exercise and supplementing physical education programs during summer vacation.

Participation for children in the community ages 4-14 is easy. Parents can take the following steps to help their students participate:

1. Register your child in the FLAT APPLE PROGRAM using the link in the banner at  the top of this page.
2. Participate in a Healthy Lombard Hot Spot Event. – Throughout the program, Healthy Lombard will host “Hot-Spot Events” that encourage summertime group exercise activities for children. When you participate in the event, you will earn one (1) apple bite (ticket). Each “bite” provides the participant an opportunity to enter the drawing to earn a valuable prize for their healthy habits.
3. BE HEALTHY AND HAVE FUN – The 2015 Healthy Lombard FLAT APPLE PROGRAM will kick-off June 12, 2015 with the Dash For Ash 5K Fun Run supporting the Outreach House. The FLAT APPLE PROGRAM will conclude on September 19, 2015 at the Sky Centers Challenge. Raffle prizes including a bicycle, electronics, and gift certificates to Lombard businesses will be drawn and given away at the final event

“The Flat Apple program is an easy way to have fun this summer and spread the message that, if we are going to curb Childhood Obesity, everyone needs to be involved,” said Healthy Lombard founder and CEO Jay Wojcik.

The Healthy Lombard Board of Directors encourages all Lombard children between the ages of 4 years old and 14 years old to TAKE A BITE OF THE APPLE FOR A HEALTHIER YOU!

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With spring in full swing, coach Robin Arzon has a few tips for how you can jump right into a fresh fitness routine!

Start where you’re at, not where you WANT to be. This is essential for avoiding injury and unrealistic expectations. If you haven’t been working out, you haven’t been working out. That’s okay. Be honest with yourself. Start with the first step, not what your PR was a year ago. You’ll get there. Overuse injuries are no way to get to your fitness goal.

Reinforce your training pyramid. Training plans are a pyramid– now’s the time to build your solid base. Gradually increase your weekly mileage by 10% per week. For example, if you’ve been running once or twice a week for 30 minutes throughout the winter, take it to no more than three to four times a week for 30 minutes until you build your base. Once you have a base of easy miles, you can fold in speed, stamina, and long runs. Adding speed work too soon can risk injury. Be easy!

Have you been beasting training all winter? Salute. Take advantage of your consistency and mix it up! It’s a long road of summer training to fall marathons, so spice up your routine and come for a ride with me at Peloton!You can’t out-train a bad diet. Eat like you love yourself. Fuel for greatness at least 80% of the time. The other 20% can be for food porn and other ratchet activities.

Have you been beasting training all winter? Salute. Take advantage of your consistency and mix it up! It’s a long road of summer training to fall marathons, so spice up your routine.

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Mosquitoes are likely to become plentiful as warmer weather arrives and DuPage County residents are encouraged to protect themselves from mosquito bites and the risk of contracting West Nile virus (WNV).

The DuPage County Health Department is again using the Personal Protection Index (PPI) widget on its website, which is an easy-to-understand alert system that informs the public about the risk of contracting WNV, as well as the steps that should be taken to protect themselves and their families.

Residents may also report dead birds using a simple form on the Health Department’s website:

http://www.dupagehealth.org/dead-bird-sighting. Dead birds can often be an early sign of the presence of the virus in the environment.

The PPI widget provides residents with a real-time snapshot of WNV activity in the county, which ranges from zero to three, zero meaning there is no risk and three announcing a high level of risk with multiple confirmed human cases of WNV. The widget is based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. Residents will be able to see the PPI widget by visiting the Health Department’s website.
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Amie Valpone from SELF shared that if there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s that cauliflower is one versatile vegetable. It’s a nice, crunchy raw snack; it blends in seamlessly with spuds for lighter mashed potatoes; it roasts up whole for a statement-making weeknight dinner. Our latest incarnation of the cruciferous veg: this healthy, grain-free pizza crust, which involves cooking and baking baking the florets with almond meal for a tender and flavorful crust. Choose your own toppings such as fresh spinach, red onions, black olives, marinara sauce, shredded cheese, mushrooms and zucchini. Pro-tip: Add an extra pinch of chili powder to the dough for spicy kick!

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Elmhurst Hospital has been recognized by the Immunization Action Coalition (IAC) and the DuPage County Health Department (DCHD) for achieving one of the highest reported rates in the state for its work to protect newborns from hepatitis B virus infection.

Elmhurst Hospital is among the newest entries into IAC’s Birth Dose Honor Roll (www.immunize.org/honor-roll/birthdose), which recognizes hospitals and birthing centers that have attained high coverage levels for administering the hepatitis B vaccine at birth. Elmhurst Hospital immunized 92 percent of babies from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014 and took additional steps to prevent perinatal transmission of hepatitis B.

“Elmhurst Hospital is only the third hospital in Illinois, and the first in the Chicago area to be listed on the IAC Birth Dose Honor Roll,” said Karen Ayala, DCHD Executive Director.  “We congratulate them and appreciate our collective efforts to measure and recognize birth dose coverage and hepatitis B prevention—especially during May, which is Hepatitis Prevention month.”

The national standard of care to prevent hepatitis B virus infection in babies is to administer hepatitis B vaccine to all newborns before they leave the hospital or birthing center. This standard is being adopted by centers of healthcare excellence nationwide as a safety net to protect newborns from a wide range of medical errors that may lead to babies being unprotected from perinatal hepatitis B infection.

“Hospitals and birthing centers have a responsibility to protect babies from life-threatening hepatitis B infection,” said Deborah Wexler, MD, executive director and founder of IAC. “Elmhurst Hospital’s commitment to the best practice of hepatitis B vaccination at birth has shown them to be a leader in preventing the transmission of the hepatitis B virus.”

“It’s important that we give the hepatitis B vaccine to newborns before they leave the hospital because people transmitting the disease sometimes don’t show symptoms,” said  Roma Allen, MSN RNC-OB, Director, Women and Children’s Services, Elmhurst Hospital.  “Our campaign to achieve newborn vaccination prior to being discharged from Elmhurst Hospital demonstrates our commitment to family-centered care and the health of the community.”

Elmhurst Hospital’s Family Birthing Center features private birthing suites, ultra-innovative technology, deluxe family amenities and enhanced birthing methods.  The Center combines state-of-the-art facilities with personalized care in a comfortable home-like environment.  For more information, to meet the Center’s physicians and midwives, and to take a virtual tour, visit www.emhc.org/FBC.

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By Dana Leigh Smith

Ask anyone who has lost weight and they’ll tell you that shedding the pounds was the easy part—it’s keeping them off that’s the real challenge. Good news: it is possible.

That may be hard to believe if the flab has slowly but surely been finding its way back to your frame. There’s likely more to your expanding waistline than calories in versus calories out, so simply moving more and eating less may not help you slim back down. Instead, you’ll need to pinpoint the precise reasons behind your weight gain so you can reverse the damage. To help you out, we’ve outlined eight of the most common weight-maintenance saboteurs below, along with ways to fight back against each. You may be surprised to learn just how easy it can be to shrink down to your more slender self again!

Counter It: There’s no need to be a slave to your scale; checking in once a week should do the trick. Since weight naturally fluctuates throughout the week, researchers say that Wednesday weigh ins are the most accurate.

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