December holiday hours
The winter holidays are here! The UNC Family Medicine Center and our Urgent Care will have modified hours through the end of December and beginning of January. Please read below:
12/21: FMC is open from 8AM-5PM and Urgent Care is open from 7AM-9PM
12/22: Same day clinic at the FMC from 8AM-12PM and Urgent Care is open from 12PM-5PM
12/23: Urgent Care is open from 12AM-5PM
12/24: FMC is open from 8AM-5PM with limited appointment slots and Urgent Care is open from 12PM-5PM
12/25: Closed
12/26, 12/27, 12/28: FMC is open from 8AM-5PM and Urgent Care is open from 7AM-9PM
12/29: Same day clinic at the FMC from 8A-12P and Urgent Care is open from 12-5P
12/30: Urgent Care is open from 12-5P
12/31: Both FMC and Urgent Care are open from 8A-5P
1/1: Closed
1/2: FMC is open from 8A-5P and Urgent Care is open from 7A-9P
Medication recalls
• Are you on Amlodipine (Norvasc)? This is a medicine used for treating high blood pressure. Recently, there was a recall of the combination pills that contains amlodipine. If you are on amlodipine/valsartan or amlodipine/valsartan/hydrochlorothiazide(HCTZ) , you should contact your doctor about this. However, if you are on amlodipine alone your medicine is safe and you do not need to make a change.
• Are you on losartan/HCTZ 100/25mg? Recently, there was a voluntary recall of this combination pill at the doses listed. If you are on losartan/HCTZ 100/25mg, you should contact your doctor about this. However, if you are on losartan alone or HCTZ alone (or on a combination that is not 100/25mg), you do not need to make a change.
Let’s Talk Health: depression
More than half of all Americans will be diagnosed with a mental health issue or disorder at some point in their lives. About 16 million Americans live with major depressive disorder, also known as clinical depression. Clinical depression is more than just a down period, or a slump: it is a mood disorder that causes persistent feelings of sadness and a loss of interest. Clinical depression can ultimately interfere with your day-to-day life and worsen existing problems such as chronic pain or substance abuse issues. Depression is also not one size fits all, and the symptoms can vary. Some symptoms of depression include:
- Persistent sadness (feeling sad, empty, hopeless)
- Loss of interest in pleasure in things you used to enjoy
- Anger, irritability, unexplainable frustration
- Sleep disturbances, insomnia, or sleeping too much (hypersomnia)
- Fatigue or loss of energy
- Reduced appetite and weight loss, or increased food cravings and weight gain
- Trouble concentrating, or slowed thinking
- Feelings of guilt or worthlessness
- Thoughts of death or suicidal thinking
You are not alone
If you have been diagnosed with depression, or think you are experiencing depression symptoms, you don’t have to suffer alone. There are resources to help you manage your mental health and wellness. Depression is not only treatable, but recovery is possible.
- Talk to your primary care provider. Your provider is the first stop for your concerns and symptoms, physical or mental. Your primary care provider can assess your needs, help create a treatment plan, and connect you to mental health resources.
- Find a nearby therapist or psychiatrist. A therapist, or other trained mental health provider, can help you work through past traumas as well as current issues with your job, your relationships, or your lifestyle that may be contributing to your state of mind. Therapists can also help you find ways of coping with stressors. Here’s a convenient online search engine to help you located someone near you who takes your insurance.
- Let your loved ones know. If you feel safe to do so, communicate with those close to you about your depression and mental health. While being depressed may have you feeling isolated, you are not alone!
What can you do now?
Everyone is unique in how they relate to, and handle, their health—it’s true, too, of mental health. Depression is not an on-off switch, and depressive symptoms are often complicated by life events and by other mental health issues and disorders. If you’re not ready to speak with a doctor or therapist, that’s OK—there are still steps that you can take to manage your well-being.
- Stay physically active. Make sure you make time to address your basic physical needs. Try taking a walk for a certain amount of time each day.
- Make time for pleasurable activities. Even though you may not feel as motivated, or get the same amount of pleasure as you used to, commit to scheduling some FUN activity each day – like doing a hobby, listening to your favorite music, watching a video, or getting some sunshine when possible.
- Spend time with people who can support you. It’s easy to avoid contact with people when you
- are depressed, but you need the support of friends and loved ones. Explain to them how you feel, if you can. If you can’t talk about it, that’s OK – just ask them to be with you, maybe accompanying you on one of your activities.
- Practice relaxing. For many people, the changes that come with depression – no longer keeping up with our usual activities and responsibilities, feeling increasingly sad and hopeless – lead to anxiety. Since physical relaxation can lead to mental relaxation, practicing relaxing is another way to help yourself. Try deep breathing, taking a warm bath, or just finding a quiet, comfortable, peaceful place and repeat comforting things to yourself like “IT’S OK.”
- Try a depression self-management app. If you use a smartphone, there are several useful phone apps for managing depression. Depression CBT Self-Help Guide helps educate about CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and lets you track your thoughts and moods. What’s Up, another helpful free app, also draws on CBT principles to help people improve internal dialogue and self-expression.
Meet our chronic care management team!
Our Chronic Care Management team helps take care of patients with multiple chronic medical conditions, such as diabetes, hypertension, or asthma, as well as patients who are experiencing mental health conditions such as depression. The chronic care manager works closely with your primary care physician and the health care team to create a care plan to set health goals that are important to you. In addition, they provide personal care coordination tailored to your needs, helping to support communication between you, the pharmacy, specialists, hospitals, and much more.
Throughout the course of a month, a chronic care manager will provide telephone check-ins to ensure you are supported and on track to meet your health goals.
LaToya, Stephanie, Erica, Anna, and Sami are a crucial part of the Family Medicine Center, and are happy to help make sure you are well connected to resources and your health care team. Please ask your doctor about how to enroll in Chronic Care Management at the Family Medicine Center.
Erica is originally from Henderson, NC and studied Media Studies with a concentration in Film & Video Production at UNC-Greensboro. In her senior year of school she studied abroad in Mexico and ever since has had a passion for practicing Spanish as well as outreach in the Latino community. She loves attending local cultural and music events as well as trying new hobbies and activities such as West African dance and yoga.
LaToya is from Akron, OH, she received her Masters of Public Health with a concentration in Social and Behavioral Sciences from Kent State University. She has a passion for promoting health education and improving health literacy. She loves traveling, crocheting and Target, as well as planning morale-boosting events for the department. #SunshineCommittee
Stephanie is from Hillsborough, NC. Attended UNC-W for undergrad and Widener University’s Clinical Dual-Degree Master’s Program with a MSW and M.Ed in Human Sexuality. She has a passion for behavioral health and sex education. She enjoys traveling, animals, and going to concerts.
Anna is originally from D.C. and just moved down to Carrboro, NC after graduating from Dartmouth College with a major in Neuroscience and minor in Global Health. She is now a Medserve Fellow at the clinic; she works both as a clinical support staff and a population health specialist. She has a passion for primary care and enjoys running and the outdoors.
Sami, originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, studied Human Evolutionary Biology and Global Health at Harvard University. She is interested in team-based care and enjoys working with individuals from backgrounds different than her own. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, finding new restaurants to try, and staying active.
Caption: [From left to right: Erica, Sami, Latoya, Stephanie, and Anna.]
Get your flu shot
Getting the flu shot can save you a visit to Urgent Care, or, for some, even a visit to the hospital. Don’t waste time this season sitting on the bleachers; you can get your flu shot at Family Medicine. Make an appointment online at MyUNCChart.org or by calling us at 984-974-0210
If you don’t have a visit scheduled with your provider you can still make an appointment to see one of our friendly MAs who would be happy to give you a flu shot. This service is available Monday-Friday 9AM – 4PM. Make an appointment by calling the phone number listed above.
ACA Health Insurance Enrollment
Act now because open enrollment in the Health Insurance Marketplace ends on December 15, 2018! There are more health plans to choose from this year, and last year 91% of North Carolinians received financial help to purchase a plan! We are here to help you with questions or provide free, confidential help to enroll. Wondering how to enroll? You can enroll in a couple of ways:
- Go on-line and do it yourself at healthcare.gov
- Visit the “Get Covered” educational table in the FMC to request information and schedule a Free appointment with our certified counselor
- Call our confidential, central line to schedule an appointment at (919)545-3440
- Go online here to schedule an appointment
Don’t delay! Having health coverage is important to your health and unless you have a qualifying event during the year such as having a baby, you won’t be able to enroll until next fall’s open enrollment period.