Op-Ed: Independent Medical Groups Need Negotiation Preparation Fertility

Op-Ed: Independent Medical Groups Need Negotiation Preparation

Chicago Health is committed to publishing a diversity of opinions. The opinions expressed in this op-ed article are the author’s own.…

Announcing Our 2023 Award-Winning Stories from Chicago Health and Caregiving Features

Announcing Our 2023 Award-Winning Stories from Chicago Health and Caregiving

Chicago Health and Caregiving magazines have won a host of prestigious journalism awards in 2023. Read them here. The results…

Meaningful Movements Fitness

Meaningful Movements

Trauma-informed yoga creates space for physical healing When a person experiences trauma — gun violence, abuse, or military combat, for…

Nutritional Surplus Lifestyle

Nutritional Surplus

Can you overdo the supplements? America’s dietary supplement industry is big business, with an estimated 85,000 products in the marketplace.…

Medical Essentials Lifestyle

Medical Essentials

5 health tools to keep in the house First, it was a new thermometer, with a battery and display. Later, a…

Feeling Flexible Food

Feeling Flexible

Flexitarian diets let people prioritize plant-based options — without totally saying bye to meat You’ve probably heard that eating less…

Eating Disorder Surge Features

Eating Disorder Surge

How Covid-19 created a wave of eating disorders among America’s youth From age 12 to 25, Mackenzie Carmichael felt controlled…

Pins and Needles In The Know

Pins and Needles

5 common causes of peripheral neuropathy At 7 weeks old, Angel Mason’s doctor diagnosed her with type 1 diabetes. Twenty…

Take Heart Heart

Take Heart

How your legs’ health affects your heart — and vice versa Count to 40.  In the time it took you…

Ask the Doc Ask The Doc

Ask the Doc

Your embarrassing questions answered! By Harold Boutté Jr., MD   Q: I’m having some, um, issues with, uh, pooping. Is what I’m…

Never Not Hunting for a Diagnosis Columns

Never Not Hunting for a Diagnosis

My two boys are perfect. They are void of the trappings of time: wrinkles, scars, clogged pores, hunched shoulders, bulbus…

Seeing Clearly In The Know

Seeing Clearly

How a routine vision check can save your life Jackie Memije assumed she was just stressed out, so she ignored…

Finding the Pain Bone & Joint

Finding the Pain

How orthopedic specialists go beyond imaging to diagnose and treat pre-arthritic knee pain Sofía Stutz went bouldering for the first time in…

Invisible Ailments Endocrinology

Invisible Ailments

Hormone disorders can be tricky to diagnose, but often the root cause is something else With a mix of concerning…

Teens & Opioids In The Know

Teens & Opioids

Conversation starters and strategies to guide young people toward treatment  If opioids hijack your teenager, keeping them safe while they…

The Art of Practicing Yourself Columns

The Art of Practicing Yourself

I couldn’t believe that my editor deleted the phrase “practice yourself” from my last column. She said readers wouldn’t understand the…

Teaching Hospitals Features

Teaching Hospitals

Chicago area hospitals take steps to increase patients’ overall health through health literacy Greg Banks had one month in which…

Health Literacy Features

Health Literacy

Roughly half of American adults read below a sixth grade level. Yet, most health information — educational pamphlets, discharge instructions,…

From the Frontlines Features

From the Frontlines

We asked nine area healthcare professionals to answer… What is the most important thing about healthcare that you wish more…

Healthcare Guides Charities

Healthcare Guides

Health literacy nonprofits highlight crucial need for patient advocacy The U.S. healthcare system is daunting, and often people have to…

Reason to Smile Charities

Reason to Smile

Chicago-area dentist travels to rural Mexico to care for patients At a make-shift dental clinic in Mexico’s Southern Sierra Madre…

Denying Depression Features

Denying Depression

Expanding mental health literacy in the Black community It’s an understatement to say that coming to grips with my mental…

Breaking Barriers Features

Breaking Barriers

Interpreters and community health workers build healthcare connections  A confused, non-English speaking patient arrived for chemotherapy at a local community…

Heading Home Features

Heading Home

Planning for hospital discharge Hospital discharge — the process when a patient heads home after a hospitalization or procedure — …

Take Charge of Your Numbers How To

Take Charge of Your Numbers

Your blood contains secrets about your overall health. It can indicate whether you’re at risk for heart disease, show that…

Records Request How To

Records Request

How to access your medical records Your medical records are a gold mine of information about your health. They contain…

A Simple Test for Fentanyl Briefs

A Simple Test for Fentanyl

Even in tiny amounts, the synthetic opioid fentanyl can be deadly. Dealers cut it into everything from heroin and cocaine…

New Health Laws Briefs

New Health Laws

Lead Service Line Replacement and Notification Act – HB3739 This law upgrades Illinois’ outdated water infrastructure and protects human and…

Chronic Migraines — Better with Botox? Briefs

Chronic Migraines — Better with Botox?

Pounding, debilitating, chronic migraines may qualify for an unexpected treatment: Botox. Merle Diamond, MD, director of the Diamond Headache Clinic, has…

Creating Jobs, Smoothies, and Community Briefs

Creating Jobs, Smoothies, and Community

Misericordia, a care community in Chicago’s West Ridge neighborhood, opened the Hearts & Flour Bakery and Café in April 2022,…

Virtual Reality Transforms Occupational Therapy Briefs

Virtual Reality Transforms Occupational Therapy

Imagine an occupational therapy session next to a beautiful lake or in an art studio. When Michael Swayne goes to…

Public Safety and Public Health: Sharing the Bike Lane Columns

Public Safety and Public Health: Sharing the Bike Lane

I have long said that I’m not a true Chicagoan because I haven’t been doored. If you’re not familiar with…

Our Well-being: It’s More Than Personal Columns

Our Well-being: It’s More Than Personal

Shootings. Extreme weather. The Great Resignation. Depression. Anxiety. The messaging is clear: How we move with ourselves, our communities, and…

Ask the Doc Ask The Doc

Ask the Doc

Your embarrassing questions answered! By Dhara Bhakta, MD   Q: How can I talk to my medical providers about my sexual…

High-five Cancer

High-five

The 5 supports that got me through cancer treatment Getting support during cancer treatment is essential. But finding the right support…

Repeat Performance Bone & Joint

Repeat Performance

The medical consequences of gaming and esports The call of Call of Duty — a top-selling (400 million copies worldwide),…

Owning Disability In The Know

Owning Disability

By talking about their differences, children can self-advocate and build confidence  Tommy O’Leary appreciates a good joke. Occasionally, when a…

Time to Chill Heart

Time to Chill

The effects of stress on heart health At 28, I got into an argument with my boyfriend and ended up…

Restless Nights? Brain

Restless Nights?

A sleep disorder may be a hidden precursor to Parkinson’s disease Otis Peeples always had vivid dreams. So vivid, in…

Losing Control In The Know

Losing Control

Pelvic floor physical therapy can improve quality of life for men and women For years, Park Ridge resident Amanda Key, 24,…

Tough Teen Talks Features

Tough Teen Talks

Connection and communication help prevent adolescent suicides  On a rainy day last winter, the principal of a suburban Chicago high…

Is Sitting Worse Than Smoking? Fitness

Is Sitting Worse Than Smoking?

Build more activity into your day How much time do you spend sitting? Probably more than you realize. The average…

Finding Refuge Features

Finding Refuge

Organizations and medical professionals step up to help the newest Chicagoans When the Taliban reclaimed Afghanistan in 2021, 2.6 million…

Managing Pain in Orthopedics Sponsored Content

Managing Pain in Orthopedics

People tend to seek orthopedic care for one root reason: They’re experiencing pain. Whether from an acute sports injury or…

Advanced Fertility Center of Chicago Fertility

Advanced Fertility Center of Chicago

Fertility Specialists When seeking exceptional reproductive specialist care in Chicago, Illinois, people trust the caring and distinguished providers at AFCC.…

Keeping Track Lifestyle

Keeping Track

Wearable tech lets people monitor their health in real-time Using a small, personalized device to access complex health information isn’t…

Plant-Based Doctor Lifestyle

Plant-Based Doctor

Finding inspiration in his grandmother’s recipes, local physician creates his own cookbook Growing up in the Milwaukee suburbs, Sheil Shukla, DO,…

Quality Supplements Lifestyle

Quality Supplements

What to look for in a label Choosing a supplement can be confusing. Not all brands are equal, and how…

Expert Perspective: Fertility and You Fertility

Expert Perspective: Fertility and You

If you want to start a family but experience obstacles in your reproductive health, a lot can feel beyond your…

Announcing Our 2022 Award-Winning Stories from Chicago Health and Caregiving Columns

Announcing Our 2022 Award-Winning Stories from Chicago Health and Caregiving

Chicago Health and Caregiving magazines have won a host of prestigious journalism awards in 2022. Read them here. AAOS Media…