ST. JOSEPH - The St. Joseph-Ogden girls basketball team held visiting Monticello to just seven points in the first half on the way to a 46-33 win on Thursday. The victory moves SJO to 12-8 on the season and remains undefeated in conference play with a 5-0 record.
Addisyn Martinie drained three treys in the first half and added a fourth in the third quarter to lead all scorers with 22 points.
Fellow senior Addison Frick went 3-for-3 from the free-throw line, finishing with ten points and seven rebounds.
Kayla Osterbur and Timera Blackburn-Kelley came off the bench, contributing four points each to the Spartan cause. Meanwhile, Addison Brooks finished the night with one three-pointer, Sara Kearney scored a field goal in the fourth quarter, and Katie Ericksen rounded out SJO's effort with a solo free throw and a team-high six assists.
The Spartans have the weekend off and travel to Matton on Monday to take on the 17-5 Green Wave.
ST. JOSEPH - Tanner Jacob was 5-for-9 from three-point range, leading St. Joseph-Ogden to a third consecutive win on Friday. The Spartans jumped out to an early 16-point lead on visiting Illinois Valley Central at the start of the second quarter and poured on the points on the way to a 79-56 win Friday night.
Jacob, the squad's go-to scorer, finished the Illini Praire Conference game with 19 points and four assists. Shooting 54% overall, the senior started the game on fire with 14 points in the first half.
The win improved the Spartans' record to 16-4 on the season, and they remain undefeated in league play at 3-0.
SJO led the fast-paced action by as many as 27 points with a little under six minutes to play in the fourth quarter after Coy Taylor buried a three-pointer from near the top of the key. Taylor made four other shots inside the arc to finish with nine points, five boards, and four assists.
Using his long wingspan and height, Tanner Siems led St. Joseph-Ogden's rebound effort, hauling in eight boards. The junior finished with 13 points, all made under the rim.
Luke Landrus and Logan Smith finished with ll points each for the Spartans. Smith led the team's defensive effort with four steals, and dished eight assists. Shooting 50% from the field, Landrus made five of his ten shots and sunk one of his three free-throw attempts.
Next up, the boys' squad takes on St. Anthony's in Effingham today for a 2:30 p.m. contest. SJO then plays at home, hosting St. Thomas More on Tuesday and playing at Monticello on Friday to remain at the top of the IPC standings.
DANVILLE - Decades ago, a day at school for a kindergartener would usually involve an afternoon nap. Today, some schools have phased that out, leaving parents to wonder what’s right.
Luis Garcia, MD, an OSF HealthCare pediatrician, says daytime sleep plays an important role in a child’s development. He says parents should look at it in terms of daytime sleep and nighttime sleep added up to total sleep. He stresses that each child has unique needs, and you should get to know your child’s sleep habits. But there are guidelines. For young kids, Dr. Garcia says nighttime sleep stays mostly consistent at 10 hours. Daytime sleep varies by age.
“Usually, the need for naptime decreases when kids reach 4 to 6 years old,” Dr. Garcia says. “At that point, they only need to sleep the 10 hours at night.”
When and how long
Dr. Garcia says naps for kids should be 30 minutes to two hours. So, you can do some math. For example: your 2-year-old needs four hours of daytime sleep with naps no greater than two hours. So, aim for some two-hour slumbering mid to late morning and early afternoon.
“It’s not recommended to nap after 3 or 4 p.m. to avoid causing disruptions at bedtime,” Dr. Garcia warns. “We want to allow at least four hours between last nap and bedtime to avoid the kids being too tired at bedtime.”
Bad nighttime sleep leads to irritability and poor concentration the next day, he adds.
No more naps
Dr. Garcia suggests parents look for signs that their child is ready to stop napping.
“Is the kid refusing or having a hard time taking a nap? If they do take a nap, do they have a problem falling asleep at night?” Dr. Garcia asks.
You should also talk to your child’s school or day care. If they have daily nap time, let that continue until the child ages out of the facility. If the facility is flexible, inform them of your child’s sleep habits and come up with a plan.
When the time comes to stop naps, Dr. Garcia recommends a clean break. There will likely be some fussiness, but it will subside. Moving bedtime up by 20 to 30 minutes can help.
Sleep tipsSome general good sleep tips:
Make your home’s lighting natural: bright during the day, darker as night approaches and dark at night.
Make the bed the place to sleep. Do other activities like looking at screens in another room, and don’t look at screens right before bedtime.
Get into a routine by going to sleep and waking up at around the same time each day. And make the sleep and wake times normal. Waking up mid-morning each day, while a routine, isn’t the best idea.
Avoid large meals and caffeine before bed.
If you are a light sleeper, use an artificial noise machine.
Why can I speak about this issue? I worked as a pharmacy technician before working as a Registered Nurse (RN) and ultimately becoming a Nurse Practitioner (NP) in 2000. I have been employed in health care for 33 years, including over 20 of those years as a NP. At present, I work in a specialized emergency service, and am attending the University of Washington for a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree. I am writing in hopes to affect change on this ubiquitous delivery of health care problem.
A personal story exemplifies this issue. My 90-year-old grandfather was discharged from an ER and resumed taking a long discontinued antihypertensive (blood pressure) medication from an old pill bottle. He took this in addition to his newly prescribed antihypertensive medication, both medications listed as active in his discharge instructions.
Fortunately, my grandfather was okay, and my mother caught this error and understandably had something to say about it. She drove back to the hospital to give them a piece of her mind, before recommending they come up with a better system. They agreed.
One recurring and nationwide theme are health care providers, and patients, becoming confused with the list of medications in their medical records in all phases of care, including at hospital admission and discharge. This medication list often includes medications that are listed as active and those they haven't taken at times since many years ago.
Sadly, this is not an exaggeration, and often leads to harmful medication errors which are a big problem during all phases of health care. Affected phases include outpatient ambulatory care clinics, during hospital admissions, during hospital stays and hospital discharge. Because of these gaps, medication errors are not surprisingly a leading cause of injury or death.
This is a serious issue that I believe can be solved with a concerted effort by an interdisciplinary team approach along with a streamlined electronic health record system. This is in addition to an emphasis on patient education throughout all stages of treatment which includes outpatient care, an urgent hospital visit or inpatient stay. Providers and ancillary services should always be involved in this process.
Better practice solutions:
1. For health care providers, at all phases of treatment, if it remains unclear if a patient is taking a medication, ask questions, and if medication reconciliation is not possible then list it as such. Increasing awareness of this problem in the advent of increasing use of Electronic Health Records (EHR) is key.
2. Incorporation of admission and discharge medication reconciliation as a continuous process by admitting and discharging RNs, the pharmacist and nurse practitioner and physicians.
As noted by J AM Med inform Association (2016) working towards a solution would include incorporating reconciliation modules that are interoperable with other Electronic Health Record components. This includes medication history, the computerized order set and discharge documentation. Some EHRs have some interoperability with external sources (hospitals, clinics, pharmacy) to import medication history and share updated medication list at discharge, although this is not fail safe and should not be relied on itself alone.
3. As health care consumers, don't be afraid to ask questions or clarification. Most health care providers want you to be involved in your own care. You reserve this right 100 percent and it is okay to ask questions and include your loved ones to advocate for you in your treatment plan.
In summary, medication confusion and errors are fear reaching. It is up to us as health care providers to be conscientious and provide essential emphasis on patient education and collaboration. Encouraging patients and their loved ones to actively participate in their care is vital. This includes asking questions and seeking clarification about medications along with interdisciplinary providers to help prevent confusion and potential medication errors. Involving patient's loved ones can contribute to healthy outcomes. Refining EHR is of the utmost importance.
I thank all health care providers for dedication to this important cause, and I wish success in your continued efforts to make a positive impact on health care practices while encouraging health consumers to be proactive in their care.
Angela Buxton, FNP-BC is a national Board-Certified (BC) Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) since 2000 and who is originally from Massachusetts, obtaining her undergraduate and graduate degrees at UMASS, Amherst, and worked as both a Registered Nurse (RN) and FNP throughout her career. She is currently attending the University of Washington to expand her skills as a Doctor of Nursing Practice in Psychiatric Mental Health. She has now been working as a NP at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Washington for the last 20 years. She enjoys her role in assessing, diagnosing and developing client centered treatment plans, not limited to prescribing medications. Population includes those who are underserved and across the lifespan. She has membership in Snohomish County, WA Search and Rescue (SSAR), has participated in team endurance events with lessons learned that crossover into daily life. Other outside interests include photography, painting, skiing and hiking the Pacific Northwest.
PONTIAC - People everywhere are conquering their cabin fever and are enjoying the great outdoors after a long, bitter winter. But before you head out for that hike, health care experts remind you to take precautions to avoid tick bites. Read more . . .
I’ve always known my Arab culture is worth celebrating.
I heard it in Syrian tenor Sabah Fakhri’s powerful voice reverberating in my mom’s car on the way to piano lessons and soccer practice during my youth. I smelled it in the za’atar, Aleppo pepper, allspice, and cumin permeating the air in the family kitchen. Read more . . .
CHAMPAIGN - In a show of solidarity against President Donald Trump's trade and immigration policies, which critics say are harming families and retirement savings, more than a thousand protesters gathered Saturday at West Park near downtown Champaign for the Hands-Off! Mobilization rally. Read more . . .
Photo Galleries
Kelly Allen lets out a roar while running in the half marathon course on Washington Ave in Urbana. Allen, hailing from Oswego, NY, finished the course at 2:33:30, good for 46th out of 75 runners in the women's 45-49 age group on Saturday. See more photos from the 2024 Illinois Marathon here.
Addisyn Martinie drained three treys in the first half and added a fourth in the third quarter to lead all scorers with 22 points.
Fellow senior Addison Frick went 3-for-3 from the free-throw line, finishing with ten points and seven rebounds.
Kayla Osterbur and Timera Blackburn-Kelley came off the bench, contributing four points each to the Spartan cause. Meanwhile, Addison Brooks finished the night with one three-pointer, Sara Kearney scored a field goal in the fourth quarter, and Katie Ericksen rounded out SJO's effort with a solo free throw and a team-high six assists.
The Spartans have the weekend off and travel to Matton on Monday to take on the 17-5 Green Wave.
“Usually, the need for naptime decreases when kids reach 4 to 6 years old,” Dr. Garcia says. “At that point, they only need to sleep the 10 hours at night.”
When and how long
Dr. Garcia says naps for kids should be 30 minutes to two hours. So, you can do some math. For example: your 2-year-old needs four hours of daytime sleep with naps no greater than two hours. So, aim for some two-hour slumbering mid to late morning and early afternoon.
“It’s not recommended to nap after 3 or 4 p.m. to avoid causing disruptions at bedtime,” Dr. Garcia warns. “We want to allow at least four hours between last nap and bedtime to avoid the kids being too tired at bedtime.”
Bad nighttime sleep leads to irritability and poor concentration the next day, he adds.
No more naps
Dr. Garcia suggests parents look for signs that their child is ready to stop napping.
“Is the kid refusing or having a hard time taking a nap? If they do take a nap, do they have a problem falling asleep at night?” Dr. Garcia asks.
You should also talk to your child’s school or day care. If they have daily nap time, let that continue until the child ages out of the facility. If the facility is flexible, inform them of your child’s sleep habits and come up with a plan.
When the time comes to stop naps, Dr. Garcia recommends a clean break. There will likely be some fussiness, but it will subside. Moving bedtime up by 20 to 30 minutes can help.
Sleep tips
Some general good sleep tips:
