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Ku Named Vice President & Chief Nursing Officer at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital
Evelyn Ku, MSN, RN has been named vice president and chief nursing officer at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital.
Ku, who has nearly 30 years of experience in nursing, joins Henry Mayo after most recently serving as the chief nursing officer, vice president of patient care service and chief operating officer at Advanced Healthcare Management Corporation in Alhambra. Ku joined Advanced Healthcare Management Corporation in 2007 as a project administrator and a nursing education director. She worked in a number of clinical nursing and executive roles there before she was appointed to her most recent positions in 2021.
Ku received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Southern California and her Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Phoenix. She is in the process of completing her Master of Healthcare Management at the University of Phoenix.
Ku is an associate professor of nursing at East Los Angeles College, Cal State Los Angeles and Standbridge University. She also serves on the nursing education advisory boards of all three institutions.
"Evelyn Ku's focused style and considerable experience will be a great asset to Henry Mayo," said Roger E. Seaver, Henry Mayo president and CEO. "As a Santa Clarita resident she looks forward to enhancing our strong community reputation."
Henry Mayo's executive leadership team consists of nine highly-trained and respected executives. The hospital administration plans, organizes, directs and coordinates medical and health services, program expansion, annual operating budgets, infrastructure development and long range planning for Henry Mayo, following goals and policies approved by the hospital's board of directors. For more information on Henry Mayo's Executive Leadership team, log on.
henrymayo.com/about-us/our-people/

Q & A with Dr. Larisse Lee
Board-certified Surgeon & Vein Specialist
Why do women get varicose veins more often than men?
There are many risk factors, one of which is pregnancy. Women undergo significant physiological changes with pregnancy. Increased blood volume and hormonal changes cause the veins to dilate. In addition, a gravid uterus exerts downward pressure on the leg veins.
Many women can develop bulging varicose veins during their pregnancy. Fortunately, these may regress once the baby is delivered. However, in some women, they may remain and unfortunately, may worsen with subsequent pregnancies. This can cause leg pain, aching, cramping, fatigue and restless legs.
What can be done about them?
Fortunately, the treatment for varicose veins is very effective and minimally invasive. Bulging varicose veins are usually an outward manifestation of underlying venous reflux. The blood flow in the veins, instead of moving back toward the heart, falls back down toward the feet. This causes backward flow in the varicose branches. The refluxing vein can be treated with a radiofrequency catheter that seals the vein permanently. The unsightly varicose veins can then be removed with tiny incisions. Both of these can be done comfortably in the office under local anesthesia.
Dr. Larisse Lee, Harvard- and
Stanford-trained board-certified surgeon, of LA Vein Center. 818-325-0400

New Full-service Med Spa Features Artistry of Sonja Leahy, FNP-C
Mind Body Infusion, a full-service med spa, features the aesthetic professionalism and art of Sonja Leahy, FNP-C, a highly-respected nurse practitioner in the Santa Clarita Valley.
Leahy began her nursing journey in 1999, eventually becoming a registered nurse for cosmetic injections, laser procedures, public health and family-nurse practices.
Mind Body Infusion brought another opportunity for Sonja to practice her craft. Clients can choose a variety of treatments, from IV infusion therapy to support your body's immunity and energy, to the latest offers in medical aesthetics. Each treatment is carefully hand selected with patients' happiness, health and results in mind.
Sonja Leahy takes pride in bonding with each patient and alotting herself the time to truly get to know their wants and needs. Creating works of art is her passion and with years of experience, her patients are far from disappointed.
The office setting at Mind Body Infusion is designed for comfort with a welcoming, calm atmosphere. You can meet Sonja Leahy, and the entire Mind Body Infusion family, by dropping in or calling.
Mind Body Infusion 544-4036

Mind Body Infusion Now Offers Primary Care Visits
Avoid stressful, tiresome and time consuming trips to urgent care and enjoy the consistency of the same friendly medical staff at Mind Body Infusion. The luxurious medical office offers primary care and family medicine, including preventative health screenings, checkups, rapid PCR COVID testing, sick-care treatment and much more. Benefit from convenient concierge care like same-day and next-day appointments Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm. Nurse practitioner Sonja Leahy FNP-C and Dr. Yuvraj Grewal are well known in Santa Clarita for their exceptional bedside manner and patient care.
Mind Body Infusion 544-4036

Don't be an Easy Target for Scammers
Scams targeting seniors have become so prevalent that they're now considered "the crime of the 21st century." And many of these scams are centered around a senior's health and well being.
In health and Medicare frauds, perpetrators may pose as a Medicare representative to get older people to give them their personal information, or they will provide bogus services for elderly people at makeshift mobile clinics, then use the personal information they provide to bill Medicare and pocket the money.
Counterfeit prescription drugs are also a risk. These scams operate online - where seniors increasingly go to find better prices on specialized medications. The danger is that besides paying money for something that will not help a person's medical condition, victims may purchase unsafe substances that can inflict even more harm.
There's also dangers with fraudulent anti-aging products.
Whether it's fake Botox like the one in Arizona that netted its distributors $1.5 million in less than a year, or bogus remedies that do absolutely nothing, there is money in the fraudulent anti-aging business.
You'll find a full list of scams targeting older adults on the National Council on Aging's website.
Home Instead Senior Care for Santa Clarita and Antelope Valleys 254-8701

Has your Hearing Care Provider Retired?
Now's the Time to Meet Dr. Ginny Veloz
If your hearing specialist recently retired and you're looking to continue your care in Santa Clarita with a beloved and well-established doctor, it's time to meet Dr. Ginny Veloz! Get to know the warm and caring Dr. Veloz and her entire staff during your complimentary hearing aid cleaning and programming check. All you have to do is call and make an appointment.
Santa Clarita Hearing Center
388-4135

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Heel & Arch Pain: The Why, the How & What to Do About It
Heel and arch pain is one of the most common foot ailments affecting millions of people on a daily basis. Unfortunately, this affliction is left untreated by a majority of the population. Eventually, this ailment becomes chronic, often manifesting with "first-step pain" when getting out of bed or after a period of rest, usually dissipating after a few minutes of walking, then eventually returning later in the day.
WHAT CAUSES IT?
The number-one reason is improper biomechanics of the feet along with an abnormal gait pattern, placing too much stress on the heel bone and the soft tissue that attaches to it.
The medical term for this inflammatory response is plantar fasciitis. This condition occurs when the plantar fascia - a tendon attached to the heel bone - is strained over time beyond its normal extension, causing the soft tissue fibers of the fascia to tear or stretch at its attachment to the heel bone or along the arch, resulting in pain and inflammation. Eventually, this could lead to development of excess bone underneath the heel commonly known as a heel spur.
Those typically affected by this disorder are athletes, people with flat feet, overpronators, people who are overweight, weekend warriors and those with a limb-length discrepancy.
Other causes include improper shoe gear, a thin fat pad in the heel, a bursal sac or inflamed nerve over the heel bone and compensation of one limb over the other due to foot, ankle, knee, hip, or lower back pain.
This problem can present in people of all ages, including children who are diagnosed as having growing pains - which is often not the case.
THE GOOD NEWS
The good news is that 80 to 90 percent of plantar fasciitis sufferers can get relief with conservative treatment. Creating custom molded orthotics - corrective shoe inserts formed in a doctor's office - is generally the most effective form of treatment, relieving stress on the plantar fascial band and improving the alignment between the feet and legs.
Other types of conservative treatment are anti-inflammatory meds, rest, ice, reflexology/massage, stretching and strengthening exercises, ultrasound therapy, electrical stimulation, cortisone injections and boot or cast immobilization.
Until recently, the 10 to 20 percent that didn't respond well to conservative therapy would have to undergo surgery to alleviate their heel/arch pain. But new advanced procedures such as PRP and stem cell injections are rapidly replacing corrective surgery.
Chronic cases of plantar fasciitis have some element of tissue damage that cortisone can't fix, but PRP and stem cell injections actually bind to the damaged tissue, form new viable tissue and create new blood vessels to enhance healing of the plantar fascia.
Valencia Foot & Ankle Center has a 95 percent success rate with this.
Valencia Foot & Ankle Center 288-2321

"I am so grateful to Dr. Kapil Moza, not only for his brilliance as a surgeon, but for his compassion and his uncompromising commitment to my health. For three weeks I suffered the most excruciating pain I have ever felt. After trying all conventional measures to alleviate my pain, it remained at a constant crippling level. I got in right away to see Dr. Moza and he suggested trying the least-invasive option to relieve my pain first. Dr. Moza personally called a colleague to see me the next day to perform an epidural. The epidural provided no pain relief and Dr. Moza expedited getting me in for surgery two days later. During surgery, Dr. Moza performed a nerve conduction test before and after the procedure to accurately assess the results of the surgery. The test is rarely - if ever - done because of the additional time it takes. Dr. Moza, being a perfectionist, did the test.
Dr. Moza removed a large extruded disc fragment that was twisted into the nerve root at L-3 and L-4. This required a very delicate procedure to lift the nerve root in order to remove the fragment. If this was not enough, Dr. Moza discovered a cyst on the left side of L-4 and L-5 that was on the nerve. Four years earlier I was diagnosed with a condition called foot drop, leaving me unable to flex my foot and walk normally. I was told that this was due to nerve damage and there was nothing to be done for this condition. Dr. Moza removed the cyst, which was not part of the original scope of the surgery. I no longer have foot drop! I cannot possibly thank Dr. Moza enough. He has given me a life-altering gift. I am pain free." 5-star review from Don Martin via Google
Kapil Moza, MD 805-497-3622