ztroutman's blog

November is National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month, bringing to the forefront the disease many refer to as "the long goodbye".  Tiffany Cloud-Mann from the Alzheimer’s Association’s Mid South chapter lists the warning signs of Alzheimer's, names some possible contributors to the disease, and explains the best ways to interact with those who have it.  Also, Donna Kumar and Rosemary Ramsay from the Council on Aging explain how they consolidate resources for caregivers as well as programs to assist seniors with everyday needs.  The Council on Aging is available at <a href=

Lu Sipos, founder of Gabe's Chemo Duck, a Nashville-based nonprofit which works to give children stricken with cancer the smoothest possible treatment experience by educating them and their families about the process, shares the personal story of her son, Gabe, who inspired the program, and talks about the importance of patient education, and what friends and family of patients can do to make a loved one's battle as worry-free as possible.  She also discusses a new partnership with musical education group Flocabulary, to provide further learning materials for children battling cancer.&

Right now, 26 million Americans have been diagnosed with diabetes, about 11% of the total population over the age of 20.

Well, it’s officially the start of flu season, and as if that wasn’t bad enough, this year we’ve got an outbreak of meningitis to contend with as well!  Dr.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, drawing attention to a disease that will affect 1 in every 8 women at some point in their lives.  Fox 17's Deb Williams and Leigh Wilburn from the Making Strides campaign relive their discoveries of breast cancer, and what they learned from their battle with the disease.  Kim Stanke, volunteer for the American Cancer Society talks about the great services offered by the ACS to make life just a little easier for patients.  And finally, we hear the words of Judy Sisco, a close personal friend of the program, who recently lost her multip

In case you somehow haven’t noticed, this year is a presidential election year, and Albert Tieche, Administrator of Elections for Nashville/Davidson County wants you to exercise your rights as an American and get out and vote!  Albert talks about how many people vote on average (the numbers are very encouraging), where and when to register to vote, new technology involved in this year’s election, plus how to vote if you’re out of town, change your registration information, and what photo IDs are accepted at voting stations.  For more, visit

The incoming cool fall weather presents the perfect opportunity to get out and work in the yard, and David Cook, UT Agricultural Extension agent for Davidson County, talks about how to spot physical signs of your plants’ health, what grass to plant and how much to water it, the importance of having your soil’s pH tested, proper pruning technique, the right way to apply fertilizer and mulch, and more.  For more information, call 615-862-5995, or check out Nashville.gov/AES.

To date, the Make-a-Wish Foundation has granted more than 200,000 wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions in the United States.  Beth Torres, President and CEO of Make-a-Wish Middle Tennessee, and Doug Renegar, and Mike Lister from Famous Daves talk about their partnership of over a decade, share emotional stories of how the children of Make-a-Wish have touched their lives, and give all the details of the Birdies, Bogeys, and Bones Golf Tournament, September 26th at Vanderbilt Legends Golf Club, to benefit the Make-a-Wish program.  To learn more, volunteer, or

September is Hispanic Heritage Month, recognizing one of the most rapidly expanding communities both here in Nashville and nationwide.  Conexión Américas specializes in outreach to the Nashville Latino community, offering tax assistance, homeownership and entrepreneurship resources, legal aid, and help learning English.  Renata Soto, Executive Director and Co-founder, also discusses their new Casa Azafran community center, slated to open in December, which will provide a clinic providing health assistance, children’s counseling, after

Tennessee currently has the 2nd highest obesity rate of any state overall, 4th for childhood obesity, and Nashville specifically has an obesity rate of 30%.  Mayor Karl Dean is sick and tired of those numbers, and he's taking action to get the city up and moving.  The mayor discusses his health initiatives, including community walks to promote more active living, expanding the Greenway system and adding parks, continuing efforts to make the city more bike-able, and how businesses are getting involved with the Workplace Challenge.  To start getting active yourself, visit <a hr