News

‘You’ve Been Served’: Wisconsin Hospitals Sued Patients Even During Pandemic

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Bram Sable-Smith, Wisconsin Public Radio

When her doorbell rang Sunday night, Blanche Jordan was just starting a new Game of Thrones puzzle on her living room floor.

Jordan, 39, is a breast-cancer survivor who is taking social distancing seriously, so she put on a mask before opening the door. A woman handed Jordan a paper and said: “You’ve been served.”

The paper was a court summons that said Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital, Inc. was suing Jordan for $7,150. Just three weeks before, Jordan had paid off a different $5,000-plus Froedtert debt linked to a hysterectomy that her insurance did not cover.

A lawsuit was the last thing Jordan expected during a viral pandemic.

“This lady came to my door. She didn’t have a mask on. She didn’t have gloves. And she looked at me like I’m crazy because I had a mask across my face,” said Jordan, who lives in

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Healthy Recipes

6 steps to a better mindset | Health Beat

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A daily gratitude journal can help you reflect on the many positive aspects of your life, even when you’re overwhelmed by uncertainty and stress. (For Spectrum Health Beat)

Proper diet, regular exercise and adequate sleep are the bedrock components to good health.

But inevitably, you may find yourself looking beyond food and fitness to lift your spirits.

“We’re in the midst of a huge amount of uncertainty, so that tends to bring up fears about the future and ruminating about the past,” said Allyn Richards, PhD, a psychologist with Spectrum Health.

If you’re finding it difficult to tame your worries, Dr. Richards suggests giving these six strategies a try.

1. Be grateful

Take a moment to practice gratitude every day.

“It’s sometimes easy to forget during times of crisis and stress,” Dr. Richards said. “But feeling grateful for what we have in this moment, while expressing gratitude to others,

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Fitness & Diet

Stocking the pandemic pantry | Health Beat

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While we are all facing changes in our daily work and home life routines, one thing we all have in common is a need to nourish our bodies.

Now that we are a few weeks into the stay-at-home order, we may be finding ourselves in one of two camps: cooking meals at home or relying on takeout.

While it is important to support your local restaurants, it is also more important than ever to be mindful of what we choose to put in our bodies.

Today, and over the next several weeks, what we choose to consume can either hinder or support our immunity.

I don’t know about you, but I want to give my immune system a fighting chance.

Vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients and fiber are vital in maintaining a strong, healthful immune system that’s capable of fighting off illness.

Stocking foods in your pantry that contain these nutrients can

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