Posts made in November, 2011

For most people, the winter holiday season, including Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah and the New Year, is a happy time filled with parties and gatherings with friends and family. For others, this time of year can be a time of loneliness, anxiety and depression, all of which can contribute to addiction.

“The holidays can be a time of heightened emotion about life events and memories of past events, like the loss of a spouse or another important person,” said William Glatt, M.D., Mills-Peninsula’s Medical Director of the Chemical Dependency department who brings over 30 years of experience to the program. “It can be a time of great loneliness which can kindle or increase drug and alcohol addiction.”

Read More about Alcohol, Drug Addiction Can Increase During Holidays, Says Mills-Peninsula Expert

Just in time for the holiday season, Mills-Peninsula Health Services and Sutter Health have given a $33,500 donation to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties.

The funds are a portion of a quarter-million-dollar donation by the Sutter Health network to 29 food banks throughout Northern California, which will help provide more than a million healthy meals to families in need.

Food banks say that monetary donations help maximize the amount of food available for the hungry – in many instances, a $1 donation can translate to over $5 worth of distributed food.

On average, every dollar donated translates to 4.5 meals provided by regional food banks. This year’s donation – made on behalf of our network’s 48,000 employees, physicians, staff and volunteers – will help provide more than 1 million meals. Read More about Mills-Peninsula, Sutter Health Give $33,500 to Local Food Banks

Burlingame, CA — November 14 is World Diabetes Day, an international event started by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and World Health Organization (WHO) to raise awareness and education on diabetes. Today, WHO estimates that more than 220 million people worldwide have diabetes. Without intervention, this number is expected to more than double by 2030.

Every ten seconds, two people in the world develop diabetes and one person dies of it. In the United States, California has more new cases of diabetes each year than any other state in the nation, according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA). Read More about Mills-Peninsula Helps Community with Diabetes Prevention Information and Education

Burlingame, CA — Since the new Mills-Peninsula Health Services Medical Center opened in May 2011, the old hospital has remained largely quiet while preparations for demolition have been underway.

On Friday, October 28, the old eight-story medical center, located on Trousdale Avenue beside the new Burlingame hospital, was anything but quiet and empty.  The Central San Mateo County Training Division & San Mateo County South Zone Training, in cooperation with Mills-Peninsula Health Services, hosted more than 20 fire companies from seven cities, each with multiple engines and trucks. Read More about Old Hospital Serves as Valuable Safety Training Site for Bay Area Fire Companies