Prevention

The Sugar Nomenclature Problem: Why Language Matters Healthcare policy and public health messaging suffer from imprecise language around “sugar.” This linguistic ambiguity enables misleading marketing, confuses consumers, and undermines effective policy. The Problem: The term “sugar” encompasses dramatically different molecules with distinct metabolic effects: Why It Matters: Identical chemical formulas (C₆H₁₂O₆) don’t guarantee identical metabolic […]

Sleep deprivation rarely makes headlines. There are no press conferences for lost REM cycles, no emergency declarations for chronic fatigue. Yet its consequences quietly ripple through every system we care about: healthcare utilization, workplace safety, learning outcomes, mental health, substance use, and long-term neurological disease. In communities like Jackson County, sleep loss isn’t just an

Southern Oregon has a long tradition of taking care of its own. From school-based health clinics to community health workers embedded in rural towns, our region has quietly built a safety net that many communities our size simply don’t have. And yet, for children with complex medical and social needs, that net still has holes.