This next school year will be different for students and parents alike. While school systems are finalizing details for the 2021-2022 school year, you and your family should also prepare a plan-of-action to stay healthy in and out of class. Mercy Medical Group pediatrician Kimberly Hart, DO has some advice that can ease any concerns you may have about sending your kids back to school in this phase of the pandemic.

Summer for most kids means no school, road trips, and days well-spent in the sun. With that, your child’s body needs to be well-fed and hydrated in order to power through summer activities. For some kids three square meals will do the trick, but for others, snacking can keep them going between meals. Melody Steeples, MPH, RD, with Woodland Clinic, shares some insight on why snacking can be helpful for your child, as well as some advice on how to snack healthily this summer and beyond. Read to the end for a special summer recipe from Melody Steeples!

Dr. Robert Quinn, CEO of Dignity Health Medical Foundation, is no stranger to the organization. While he recently became CEO, Dr. Quinn brings more than 25 years of physician and medical leadership experience in our system to the role.

Aside from nonmelanoma skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the United States and is one of the leading causes of cancer death among men of all races. To give more insight on this disease, Serena Yang-Loudin, MD, a urologist at Dignity Health Mercy Medical Group in Sacramento, shared key information and advice around prostate cancer prevention and treatment.

June is National Men’s Health Month. Time to get the proverbial tune-up for your body (and mind). Studies show that men tend to visit doctors less than women, which is a problem because routine checkups are key to finding problems before they turn into major health issues.

It’s the time to get vaccinations and vital screenings, including testing your blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar. We asked J. Kevin Deitchman, MD, a Family Medicine physician at Mercy Medical Group how he helps his male patients take better care of themselves.