Welcome to The Pulse

We have a lot of job openings at the hospitals and across our affiliate clinics. If you know of anyone looking for a new opportunity, point them to our job page to browse through our current opportunities. You may even be eligible for a referral bonus!

https://www.idahofallscommunityhospital.com/employment-opportunities/

This is Brynn D. along with two of our Pediatric Nurses holding a coloring/activity book that Brynn designed & illustrated herself. Today, she donated a box full of these to our Idaho Falls Community Hospital’s Pediatric Unit.

She is a 13 year decorated Girl Scout and graduating high school senior of Class 2023. This Coloring for Grounding book is her Gold Award Project and Senior Project. She lives in Idaho with her 3 pugs Buddha, Beignet, and Beita.

Thank you, Brynn!

The stress response, or “fight or flight” response is the emergency reaction system of the body. It has evolved to help us react quickly to life-threatening situations. Adrenaline and cortisol is released, increasing our heart rate, elevating blood pressure and increasing glucose in the bloodstream. For many of us our stress response is usually self-limiting. But when stressors are ever present in our life the “fight or flight” reaction stays turned on.

Some people in our community are constantly operating at high levels of stress, continually triggering the “fight or flight” stress response, not because they are being suddenly threatened, but because they cannot meet their basic needs. People with social disparities such as low income, housing instability, food insecurity, limited transportation, discrimination and violence consistently have higher levels of cortisol in their bodies. Sustained higher levels of cortisol stimulates hypertension, cardiovascular disease, glucose intolerances, insulin resistance, inflammation, decreases immune responses and causes atrophy and cell death in critical parts of our brains.

Anthony Iton, MD from Johns Hopkins in Baltimore states, “Low income and wealthy people in this country are physiologically different.”2

It is important for us in health care to understand the underlying causes of the conditions we see daily, and what social factors are contributing to disease. Understanding how our patients live and what social factors play a part in their health can help us provide better treatment for better community outcomes.

¹Chronic stress puts your health at risk (2021) Mayo Clinic. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Available at: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress/art-20046037 (Accessed: April 13, 2023).

²Parks, T. (2016) Death by zip code: Investigating the root causes of health inequity, American Medical Association. Available at: https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/patient-support-advocacy/death-zip-code-investigating-root-causes-health-inequity (Accessed: April 13, 2023).