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Speech Language 101

By Rachel McKian, CCC-SLP What is speech language pathology? What is speech? What is language? What do speech therapists do? Could my child benefit from speech therapy? These are all questions that I’m asked regularly as a speech language pathologist. The easy answer is I work with any and all parts of communication and the…

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Drug Overdose in Chequamegon Bay

Submitted by Jenna Ingersoll, MD In recent weeks, our community has suffered many drug overdose deaths. This loss of lives has affected many people, who may be searching for answers. As a physician in our community, I wanted to share some impressions about this situation. Why is this happening? We aren’t exactly sure. One theory…

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Rae-Jean Bergner, CSAC, Now Part of NorthLakes

Hayward, Wisconsin – NorthLakes Community Clinic is pleased to announce that Rae-Jean Bergner has joined the Hayward clinic to provide substance use disorder therapy. She joins a team of community health workers, peer support specialists, recovery coaches, physicians and behavioral health therapists that work together to provide care to those with substance use disorder. Bergner…

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NorthLakes Expands and Adds Services in Hurley

Hurley, WI – NorthLakes Community Clinic has expanded their clinic in Hurley and added medical services, joining the other services, including dental, chiropractic, behavioral health and health & wellness supports. NorthLakes is a community health center, part of a national program that began during the war on poverty during the Johnson Administration, to offer healthcare…

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Oral Health Begins at Birth

Submitted by Sheri Brunette                                     Outreach Dental Hygienist, NorthLakes Community Clinic We all have been told that we need to brush our teeth two times a day. Can you remember as a child someone showing or helping you to take care of your teeth? With that in mind let’s talk about oral hygiene for kids. The…

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Pediatric Speech Therapy Now Available in Hayward

Hayward, WI – NorthLakes Community Clinic has begun to offer pediatric speech therapy in Hayward. This new service joins the many others in Hayward including medical, dental, chiropractic behavioral health and pediatric occupational therapy. Pediatric speech therapy works with individuals to support the communication growth needed for interaction and socialization. They also help patients develop…

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Sean Akerman PhD, joins Ashland Clinic

Ashland, Wisconsin – NorthLakes Community Clinic is pleased to announce that Sean Akerman, PhD., has joined the Behavioral Health and Recovery staff in Ashland.  This group works together to provide integrated care for our patients with all of the services NorthLakes offers. Akerman is a behavioral health and recovery therapist and sees adults and adolescents…

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Hurley Adds Medical Services

Hurley, WI – NorthLakes Community Clinic is now offering medical services at their clinic in Hurley. This complements the other services currently being offered: Chiropractic, Dental, Behavioral Health and Health and Wellness supports. This has been a goal for some time. “Offering medical services was actually not part of our original plan for Hurley”, said…

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Write it Down.

Lately I’ve been reading a lot about the intersection of mind and body. We really need a word that includes what we mean when we say “mind” and what we mean when we say “body” because there is really only one thing, most ways you look at it, and we have created a lot of difficulty and confusion for ourselves by seeing them as separate. What kind of trouble, you ask? I think the easiest way to answer that question is to consider this – we humans are somaticizers. Big time! By which I mean, an awful lot of the emotional strain we experience (mind) get expressed in our bodies (body). We get scared and our chest squeezes up on us or our head hurts or our throat gets dry and tight. We get really scared and we are trotting to the bathroom. Our jaw clenches and hurts when we’re mad. Water falls out of our face when we’re sad. Etc. Etc. And often we have these or a range of other physical reactions when we aren’t even aware of a difficult emotion. We have the physical reaction instead of the emotion because somewhere along the line we learned that this was preferable to feeling anger, or sadness, or whatever feeling we have learned is in the no-go zone for us. Sometimes (ok, maybe surprisingly often) this can even translate into chronic, problematic, physical symptoms that seem quite unrelated to our emotional life.

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Spring into a Stronger You.

Submitted by Jill Williamson, DC Getting adequate physical activity during this extraordinary time of social distancing and COVID-19 may have been challenging, especially over the winter.  Thankfully we are coming into the perfect time of year to start moving our bodies more.  Your body was made to move. The risks of an inactive lifestyle are…

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One Year In

Submitted by Allison Allen So here we are, one year into a worldwide experience of disruption, dismay, fear, grief, and for too many, deep, deep loss. Also a year of challenges encountered and challenges met! Not one of us has gone through this untouched or unaffected, and most of us have been impacted in many…

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Joshua Simpson, DMD Joins NorthLakes

Northlakes Community Clinic – Oconto is happy to announce that Joshua Simpson, DMD has joined the team providing dental services. Dr. Simpson has returned to Wisconsin where he was raised after living and working in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dr. Simpson will be seeing patients of all ages. Dr. Simpson earned his Bachelor of Science from the…

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What Causes Picky Eating?

Submitted by Jennie Zelenak, MS, CCC-SLP Picture this: You made dinner and your child is refusing to come to the table. Or, you thought you’d be adventurous and try a new meal, and your child is crying, possibly gagging, and maybe even throwing the food off the table.  Or, you are making the same meal…

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Kind Eyes

Submitted by Allison Allen Let’s begin with an experiment. I think it’s one I have suggested in a past missive, but it’s quick and worth repeating. Imagine you are looking at someone you do not trust. Your least favorite politician may come to mind, or that kid who made your life miserable in high school. Notice how…

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American Cancer Society and NFL Award Grant to NorthLakes

American Cancer Society and National Football League Award Grant to NorthLakes Community Clinic to Safely Increase Cancer Screening During COVID-19 Iron River, Wis. –  The American Cancer Society and the National Football League (NFL) has awarded a grant to NorthLakes Community Clinic (NLCC) to safely increase cancer screenings during the COVID-19 pandemic. The grant funding was…