A Middle Schooler Talks DBT
DBT, or Dialectical Behavior Therapy, is a fancy name for the high-test mental health therapy provided to students who attend the Miller-Dwan Foundation’s Amberwing – Center for Youth & Family Well-Being. A critical component of DBT is the skills associated with this mode of therapy. I recently spoke with a 13-year-old whose school has benefited from learning these skills. I’ll
Miller-Dwan Foundation: Year in Review
2019 was an extraordinary year! Each year brings new projects, new challenges and new people to our lives, while each day brings new stories of hope, strength and love. We wanted to recap some of the things that topped this year that will make a difference in the health of people throughout our region in 2020 and beyond: Lou Ann!
Don’t Hold Back
What happens when cancer strikes? What happens when everything you’ve ever counted on changes on a dime? For Miller-Dwan Foundation’s Caring Ways Cancer Resource Center Manager, Chris Mitchell, the answer easy. You help one another. You pull people together, and especially around the holidays, you give. This year with Mitchell’s help, a multi-department employee team didn’t hold back. Together they
Amberwing: Flyability
Chances are you know the story about Amberwing. How it got its name from a dragonfly that shares our air space, right here in the Northland. You may also know that the Amberwing dragonfly, like all dragonflies, has two sets of wings. If one of them breaks, it can usually still fly. That ability to carry on no matter the
Animal-Assisted Therapy
So, what does it entail to become a therapy dog? We are animal lovers here at the Miller-Dwan Foundation and we understand the importance of having our furry friends as our partners in healthcare. In March, we adopted an Australian Cattle Dog names Lou Ann, in hopes of her being our therapy-dog-in-training and ambassador for the Animal-Assisted Therapy program. She
Dressing for ARTcetera
I go through the same routine every year. Order a dress, send it back. Order another one and send it back. It’s my annual ARTcetera calamity, and it’s because ARTcetera, our region’s largest fundraiser, is for me, such a big deal. I didn’t grow up wearing dresses and attending parties. I grew up fishing and swimming and playing kick-the-can
Speech Language Pathologist
When was the last time you lost your voice? Were you ever worried it might not come back? It happens sometimes for a variety of reasons –– trauma, stroke, tumor. People who use their voices for a living or who shout or scream frequently are at particular risk. An SLP may be able to help. An SLP is a Speech
Nurse of the Year: Robin Madsen
Meet Robin Madsen, Nurse of the Year. Robin is an RN at Solvay Hospice House and we had the opportunity to sit down with her to ask her about her journey to this prestigious award. What does winning the Nurse of the Year award mean to you? It honestly means, we have a God who sees us. At a time
What is Your Favorite Music?
What’s your favorite music? We used to believe that it was classical music that made us smarter. Today, thanks to more than 25 years of research, we know that whether it’s rock ‘n’ roll, jazz, hip-hop or classical, your gray matter prefers the same music you do. And it doesn’t just impact your smarts. Music can affect our brains and our
Have You Taken a Shower?
Have you taken a shower? Eaten breakfast? Pooped yet? For most of us these are routine everyday tasks. For many served by the Polinsky Medical Rehabilitation Center, every move, every step, requires gargantuan effort. Dolly was right-handed. When she had a stroke, she lost the use of her hand and used a walker to stabilize herself. She couldn’t type. She
