COVID-19 has made us all re-examine how we carry on with the important things in our lives, and that includes continuing education. Like many institutions now postponing in-person classes, and rolling out online-only tuition, we’ve decided to do the same. ​

We're excited to introduce our class of 2020, who recently began our summer Healthcare Immersion Program. The program, which provides college students with a unique, clinical immersion experience in healthcare, continues this year, although we've modified it a bit to accommodate COVID-19 health and safety protocols.  As always, our students will only be observers in low-risk outpatient, orthopedic, elective care. and classroom settings.

This year's students are: Mahnoor Yousuf, Roxie Wiblin, Christian Roy, and Sarah Shandy. Our program coordinator once again is Jacob Geier.

Our nurses are in trouble. Due to the COVID-19 health crisis, many nurses who treat patients living with muscle, bone and joint disorders are having their pay cut, or being laid off or furloughed. Orthopedic procedures have been canceled or delayed, and some medical practices have been forced to close.

​Before COVID-19, there was a growing concern that many individuals who suffer from osteoporosis had experienced adverse issues with prescribed medications, and were therefore avoiding seeking treatment. ​ Now, with the disruption to the health system by the pandemic, the situation has only gotten more complicated, and potentially dangerous, for these patients.

For that reason we thought it would be good to update our article from last year to include new clinical guidance on managing osteoporosis patients that takes the so-called "new normal" into account.

COVID-19 has made many of us adapt to unforeseen changes in our home, work and school lives. At JOF we're no different. We thought long and hard about how best to continue with our educational programming, including our annual, summer Healthcare Immersion Program. 

We have decided to go ahead with a modified HIP program for 2020, including extending our application deadline to July 1. Additionally, we can now announce that we have confirmed 2020 HIP program dates: July 6-August 14

With more businesses reopening and many of us going back to work, there’s more than COVID-19 and social distancing to think about. June is Employee Wellbeing Month, and comes at a great time to remind ourselves also of how to reduce risk of muscle, bone, and joint injuries at work – even if your workplace is now at home.

Our world has turned into a very different place in the month since we sent you our last newsletter. 

Many of you are on the front lines of your community’s — and our nation’s—response to the COVID-19 health crisis. You are working in hospitals, clinics, private practice, and elsewhere. Some are working in offices, senior and childcare centers, and other places of care. And that doesn’t include the care you are providing to your own family, neighbors, friends, and often strangers.

Did you know that Ankylosing Spondylitis may be harder to diagnose in women?
Spondyloarthritis may be difficult to diagnose; it often goes undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. Since 2009, the Spondylitis Association of America (SAA) has observed April as Spondylitis Awareness Month in its ongoing efforts to draw national attention to a potentially debilitating disease.​

The statistics for juvenile arthritis (JA) are staggering: An estimated 300,000 children in the United States—that’s 1 in 250 kids—are affected by some form of the disease. According to the Arthritis Foundation, the disease takes a unique physical and emotional toll on kids, often resulting in debilitating pain and feelings of loneliness or depression. Not a happy illness at all, yet many children are resilient, thank goodness.

Each August we commemorate National Immunization Awareness Month to highlight the importance of vaccination for people of all ages.
 
An early vaccine that made a huge difference for people throughout the world was the polio vaccine. Developed by the American virologist and researcher, Jonas Salk, the vaccine was first available in the United States in 1955.
 
Today, few people in developed countries get paralytic polio, thanks to the polio vaccine. Yet the disturbing news, according to the Mayo Clinic, is that people who had polio at a young age could get post-polio syndrome. Post-polio syndrome, or PPS, can include progressive muscle and joint weakness and pain.