CERT Certification

      Many of the members in HOSA are already CPR certified. Yet, being the health fanatics that we are, we are always looking to learn something new. Mrs. Kohntopp introduced us to the CERT certification program. All of us jumped onto this opportunity.
      Our CERT certification began by taking the online course. That thing was brutal, requiring many hours of reading and filling out practice examples. It probably took each of us a week to get through all the modules. Then, we took the final test that gave us the certificate we had worked so hard for. Yet, our CERT certification was only half way through. We still needed an instructor to teach us basic things that all CERT certified people should know.
      Marissa Young, our HOSA president, contacted her uncle Danny Young. He had the qualifications an instructor needed. He was a local EMT, volunteer firefighter, and actually taught multiple other courses to people. The day was set on December 16, 2013 that he would come in a teach us all we needed to know.
      Danny Young came into class that day carrying many bags of supplies. He began by teaching us the safety procedures in a HAZMAT situation. He actually had three suits that our members could try on. We learned there was a lot of steps in putting a HAZMAT suit on. You needed to put on the heavy air tank that probably weighed about 15 pounds! Then there was the issue of actually getting into the suit with all the equipment on. The day was ended by discussing the different classifications of fires. Most importantly, we were taught when arriving on a scene to always make sure you are not putting yourself in danger.
      This wrapped up our CERT certification, officially allowing us to call ourselves CERT certified. The end count of the number of members certified was 15. That was great number for our chapter. Now, on to the next thing to learn!

Zoee Castro, Elko High School

Secretary

As the State Leadership Conference approaches, we take a moment to reflect on all we have done, and continue to do, to prepare for this experience. The year started with a meeting to introduce our officers and explain to everyone what we do. At first we, well the Biomed I class, was awkward and difficult to communicate with. Now, here we are throwing parties and bringing food for whatever occasion we can muster. Our parties range from Halloween Parties to birthdays to any excuse to bring Doritos.
As Health Occupations Students we jump at the opportunity to inform you that cookies are in fact healthy for you. Cookies make people happy and happy is healthy, right? For four weeks we will sell cookies as a fundraiser for our 2014 State Leadership Conference. At this point, most of us have our basic hotel and registration paid for and are compiling our funds for food and the mall trip. As Elko students, a mall trip is a must when we venture to the "Big City." This year, 24 members from both Elko and Spring Creek will be attending the State Conference. Our events include: the Health Care Issues Exam, Vet Assisting, Medical Reading, CERT, CPR, Sports Med, Healthy Lifestyles, Extemporaneous Poster Making, and of course Extemporaneous Writing. All of our competitors are working hard and studying to make the best of the skills events and tests to come. Zoee Castro, of Elko, has already taken her Human Growth and Development test and placed in the top five. Two of our chapter officers are preparing to run for state office, both of us will be graduating so we will be running for the same positions adding a touch of competitive edge to our chapter.
HOSA week in Elko has grown in the last two years. Last year, a class competition took place and our HOSA chapter took gold at state with $800. This year the festivities expanded to include an obstacle course, a chicken drop, taco-in-a-bag sales, and a night at Spoon Me, the local Fro-yo hot spot. Mr. Kohntopp's Welding class won our class competition and just with what his class raised, we more than doubled last years total.
In our classes, we continue to prepare ourselves for the medical field. The Biomed I class has begun their dissection unit. While some squeal and barely poke it others are getting elbow deep in exploring arteries and veins. The Biomed III class just completed our fetal pig autopsy where our pigs were pulled apart piece by piece to discover how they died. Our causes of death ranged from spinal cord breaks to brain hemorrhages.
Between fundraising, studying, and preparation our chapter teams have been hard at work. We look forward to all that State, Nationals, and the end of the second semester brings.

Courtney Harris, Elko High School HOSA Vice President

Our chapter came back from the summer hot with enthusiasm.  My 2^nd Place finish in Extemporaneous Writing at nationals not only enthused me, but breathed fiery life into the entire chapter as well.  True, the beginning of our new school year had the usual rumblings of a new administration heading our chapter and driving its success, but those to-be expected baby steps were fervent and yearning to turn into a well-paced stride.

                This stride was in full force by the time our respective chapter participated in HOSA week.  Enthusiasm for the week’s activities was nearly overwhelming for our barely-tenured leadership team, but we pulled ourselves from the trappings of newness to handle the flow activities with a youthful deftness that raised thousands in the name of Cystic Fibrosis.

                We followed our HOSA week success with a stab at raising funds for the state competition.  While some of us were not able to participate—the fall sports season was hitting its climax and required our attention to be paid elsewhere—those who were able to participate brought in enough money so as to pay for almost all of their fees for competing at state.

                As the state leadership session looms before us, we wait in both anticipation and nervousness.  We are anticipating the glorious fun, the indelible memories, and the unforgettable experience.  We are nervous for the long tests, the terrifying performance evaluations, and the final awards ceremony.  But we will face these feelings with the innovation and fire that our chapter has always employed for such situations.  As we see this new season abound with new things, new members, and even a new president, we will be looking forward for the greater things to come while still holding onto our past to remind us what has brought us this far already.

Jakob Tsosie, Elko County HOSA President

This semester has been crazy and full of fun. Starting off the school year on October 22nd we had our fall leadership conference in Reno. This year there were three other organizations involved; FCCLA, Deca, and FBLA. Within our organization we won two “awards”, one for biggest group with about 25 and another for longest distance traveled. We were very excited. During our long trips we have all grown together—Elko and Spring Creek students alike—into one big HOSA family…and like families we like to get together and PARTY!!!!! Throughout the semester we had parties and get-togethers and had a blast. We had potlucks for our Cystic Fibrosis fundraiser and we had the Colors for Cancer obstacle course at Elko High School. It was great to see all the people how came a supported our fundraisers. We also had holiday parties and even did a secret Santa gift exchange. During our Thanksgiving potluck we had a Guesstures tournament. The 1^st place trophy was given to our former president Bruce Bonich and our recruiter Kevin Terral.

With the semester coming to an end we had to say good bye to our former president Bruce Bonich, in which we had a breakfast party on his last day. We then sent him on his way with a little reminder of the Elko County HOSA chapter with a mini skeleton. We then welcomed our current president Jakob Tsosie with open arms and our look forward for the upcoming competitive season.

(Photo: Gary Small, UCLA School of Medicine)

Alzheimer's risk tied to concussions in some

Having a serious concussion could be a risk factor for developing Alzheimer's decades later – though not everyone with head trauma will lose their memory, a new study suggests.

A team from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minn., conducted brain scans on 448 older Minnesotans who had no signs of memory problems and 141 who did. Roughly 17% in both groups had had a brain injury earlier in life involving some loss of consciousness or memory.

Those who had no signs of memory problems had normal brain scans, regardless of their history of brain injury. Scans of those with memory problems and a history of brain injury were five times more likely to show a buildup of a brain protein long associated with Alzheimer's Disease, says study author Michelle Mielke, an associate professor of epidemiology and neurology at the Mayo Clinic.

The study, published online today in the journal Neurology, examined people in their 70s and 80s who reported having an earlier head trauma – in most cases 50 or 60 years earlier when they were adolescents. In those days, only the sickest people went to the doctor, so the head injuries were probably quite significant, Mielke says.

This is one of the first studies to take advantage of new technology, allowing brain scans to measure the buildup of a protein called beta amyloid, long associated with Alzheimer's. Most previous studies of the connection between Alzheimer's and head injury had looked only at cadavers.

"In my view, these findings are consistent with the idea that traumatic brain injury may lead to amyloid accumulation and Alzheimer's disease," says Richard Lipton, director of the Division of Cognitive Aging and Dementia and the Montefiore Headache Center at Albert Einstein College Of Medicine in New York City.

More research is needed, he cautions, to help explain how one causes the other. "To more fully explore the causal links, we need not just brilliant snapshots but the movies which track brain changes and cognitive changes over time."

For people worried about their own head injuries, the study provides some comfort, Lipton says. Both groups of older adults – impaired and normal – had the same rate of head injury. So, clearly, not every head injury leads to Alzheimer's disease, he says.

Most head injuries are accidents and therefore unavoidable, though helmets and seat belts can make a difference in some cases.

Lipton says he hopes that learning more about the connection between head injury and Alzheimer's will lead to interventions to protect injured brains from long-term damage. "Drugs that block the development of amyloid or increase its removal from the brain may help protect persons with traumatic brain injury from Alzheimer's disease, though that has not been demonstrated," he says.

Until then, the best strategy is to minimize known risk factors for Alzheimer's – high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol – by eating a healthy Mediterranean diet and exercising both mind and body, he says

From USATODAY: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/12/26/alzheimers-concussion/4205373/