Articles by Steven Gilchrist

W orldwide approximately 500 million people have hypertension – which is commonly known as high blood pressure. This month, marks National High Blood Pressure Education Month. In the United States the observance of May as National High Blood Pressure month has taken place since 1984. The slogan for the awareness campaign is “Know your numbers.” Earlier this year, a panel of medical experts from the Institute of Medicine (one of the National Academies of Sciences) concluded that high blood pressure is a “neglected disease” in the United States. Despite being a preventable ailment, high blood pressure is the second leading cause of death in the U.S. “Hypertension as a disease is relatively easy to diagnose and it’s inexpensive to treat,” says David Fleming who is the Director of Public Health for Seattle, Washington. One in six deaths in the United States is caused by hypertension resulting in $73 billion dollars in costs for the U.S. healthcare system. Blood pressure is defined as the f...

O n March 2, 2010, about 350 people attended the 3rd annual White Ribbon Day Proclamation Event in Massachusetts. The program was held in Gardner Auditorium at the State House in Boston. Nine speakers including elected officials, a local sportscaster, social workers, and advocates against domestic violence led the program with the theme “Men for Change.” As participants entered into the auditorium they were given White Ribbon Day pledge cards and white ribbon lapel pins. The White Ribbon Day campaign is an awareness program to encourage men of all ages to speak out and to not tolerate or perpetuate domestic violence against women. The White Ribbon Pledge asks that men make both a private and public commitment to advocate for healthy, respectful, and safe relationships and communities. The idea for the White Ribbon Campaign began in 1991 as a way to pay tribute to the 14 women students who were murdered by a lone gunman on December 6, 1989 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 13 other students ...

B eginning in 1845, a fungus spread across Ireland devastating numerous potato crops. The Irish referred to the famine as “An Gorta Mor” or “The Great Hunger.” Despite the significant losses of potatoes the British government (which ruled Ireland at the time) exported tons of grain from Ireland in order to pay absentee landlords their rents. While the British government was sending food elsewhere, poor Irish families suffered from starvation. One million people died of starvation and/or disease during the five years of the famine. About 500,000 Irish citizens were evicted from their homes for not paying their rent. As a result of the horrific living conditions between one million to 2 million Irish people immigrated to other parts of the world. Many immigrants landed in North America. Several of the immigrants died at sea because of the lackluster conditions on the ships that crossed the Atlantic Ocean. Many of these immigrants settled in Boston, Massachusetts. During the five years of...

F or the past three years I have donated blood with the American Red Cross at least once during each year. The last time that I donated blood was in November 2009. The donation process is relatively simple. Donors must be at least 16 years of age, weigh at least 110 pounds, and be in good overall health. Donating blood with the Red Cross is a way to give back to one’s community. Just one blood donation can save up to three people’s lives. The O-negative blood type is the universal donor, which means this blood type can be given to anyone. Only 7% of the U.S. population has type O-negative blood. Donating blood with the Red Cross is done only on a volunteer basis and donors are not paid. To sign up you can call the American Red Cross or schedule an appointment at http://www.redcrossblood.org/ . In 1940 the American Red Cross blood program was established under the direction of Dr. Charles Drew. Since its creation seventy years ago, the ARC blood program has grown and currently it stores...

D uring the Civil War, American citizens fought against each other in an attempt to uphold the respective ideologies in which they believed. The South sought to maintain the institution of slavery, and the North desired to preserve the Union. African American soldiers’ participation in the war aided the Union’s victory. The sacrifices of the African American soldiers who served in the Civil War are memorialized at the African American Civil War Memorial, located at 1000 U Street in Washington, D.C. Built in 1998, the memorial includes the “Spirit of Freedom” statue surrounded on three sides by The Wall of Honor. Sculptor Ed Hamilton, of Louisville, Kentucky designed the 9 ½ foot statue, which depicts three African American soldiers and an African American sailor who symbolize protectors of the fight for freedom. The soldiers and sailor are accompanied by a spirit, at the top of the statue, who is symbolically guiding them into battle. The back of the memorial depicts a family with thei...

D id you know that hunger in America is a serious problem? I became aware of this ongoing issue when I read a newspaper article titled “Childhood hunger’s many fronts” by Amy Goldstein of The Washington Post. Experts refer to childhood hunger as a “silent epidemic.” Although it might be silent, hunger and childhood hunger in particular is a complex problem. H unger is not an issue that is confined to people who are homeless or unemployed. Hunger can affect people with college educations, people who have jobs, senior citizens, and children. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture more than 49 million Americans do not have dependable consistent access to enough food due to limited money and resources. In a November 2009 report from the U.S.D.A. the number of children living in homes without enough food was 17 million. D uring his historic presidential campaign, President Barack Obama declared that one of the goals of his administration was to end childhood hunger in the U.S. by 2...

L ast summer I visited two parks in the Boston, Massachusetts area that are especially noteworthy because of the historical significance of the people who the parks are named after. The state of Massachusetts, in particular the Boston area, is well-known for its institutions of higher education and cultural & historic landmarks. Massachusetts also has numerous parks that offer open space for public recreation. O ne place is Macdonald Park in Medford. This park is named after Torbert Hart Macdonald (1917 - 1976) who was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Macdonald Park is part of the Mystic River Reservation. The Reservation is home to the Mystic Lakes – one of the best protected streams in Massachusetts. In addition to Macdonald Park, the Mystic River Reservation includes Mary O’Malley Park in Chelsea, Draw Seven Park in Somerville, and Shannon Beach in Winchester. M acdonald attended Harvard College where he was roommates with John Fitzgerald Kennedy. After graduating ...