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About Janine Monico

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So far Janine Monico has created 148 blog entries.

Fast Facts: Men’s Health Month

Women of DBHIDS Supporting Men's Health Month by Wearing Blue June is Men’s Health Month - a time to raise awareness of preventable health problems and encourage early detection and treatment of disease among men and boys.  Consider these statistics: 450,000 men die of cardiovascular disease each year (CDC). More than 700,000 men are diagnosed with a type of cancer each year; 300,000 of those cases will result in death (Men’s Health Resource Center). 230,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year. It’s the second leading cause of death in men (Cancer.org)  More than 60% of adult American men are overweight or obese (National Institutes of Health). As part of an educational campaign for men’s health, The Cleveland Clinic surveyed more than 500 American men ages 18-70 about their use of healthcare resources and found:  Only 3 out of 5 men get annual physicals Over 40% of men only go to the doctor when they think they have a serious medical condition More than half of men said their health wasn’t something they talk about. It’s time for men to take a proactive approach to health - both physical and mental health. While you’re here, take a quick screening. Then review these guidelines for keeping an eye on your physical health:     

2021-01-02T21:53:39-05:00June 14th, 2019|Awareness, Men's Health, Self-Help, Stress|
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Addiction: A Story of Love and Loss

We met when I was 16 years old, and nearly 20 years and several serious relationships later, he remains the love of my life. His smile, his sense of humor, and his ever-giving selflessness are what I loved the most about him. Drugs took that all away. Early on, I wasn’t as concerned about his drug use because he worked full time in construction and went to community college at night. It was 2003, and I lived in the dorms at Temple University. We saw each other on weekends and occasionally during the week; but I had no idea how the disease of addiction was developing.  Looking back now, it makes sense considering his family’s cycle of addiction. His own father had overdosed a few years prior, and other members of his immediate family were in various stages of addiction. For his 22nd birthday, we took a trip to Ft. Lauderdale. While there, he never wanted to leave the hotel and unbeknownst to me, he was going through withdrawal. Recognizing how serious his addiction was, our relationship quickly fell apart. I was pregnant with our son and we had little to no contact during that time. But when our son was born in July 2006, he came to the hospital, and I was in complete denial of his addiction. We [...]

2021-07-31T13:03:15-04:00June 5th, 2019|Addiction & Recovery, Lived Experience|
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A Colorful Legacy: A Mural Arts Story

Author: Laure Biron, MSS, LSW, is the Porch Light Program Director for Mural Arts Philadelphia. Also a practicing psychotherapist, she has worked for Mural Arts since 2008, beginning in the Art Education department and working additionally in Restorative Justice, Special Projects, and currently, the Porch Light Program At Mural Arts, we believe that hands-on art-making provides a strong pathway for individual and community healing.  Our Porch Light program, a joint collaboration with the City of Philadelphia’s Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services, focuses on achieving universal health and wellness among Philadelphians, especially those living with mental health issues or trauma. We do this by providing opportunities to contribute to meaningful works of public art. Alongside the mural-making workshops and paint days that have taken place across our city, a series of important conversations have been crafted for audiences around Philadelphia to talk about what barriers and disparities exist for their health.  How does bias and racism impact the health of our communities, and especially, for men and boys of color?  One shining example comes to mind. Colorful Legacy by Willis "Nomo" Humphrey & Keir Johnston. Photo by Steve Weinik. In 2015 Mural Arts Philadelphia Porch Light Program completed a critical project as part of our Signature Project series in West Philadelphia. Willis "Nomo" Humphrey and Kier Johnston worked [...]

2021-01-02T19:59:38-05:00May 13th, 2019|Community|
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Nursing & Mental Health

Happy Nurse’s Week to all of my fellow nurses out there!  I am very proud to be a nurse. It’s an amazing profession. Nursing is more than a job, though; it is a calling. It’s not just something you do, it is something you are; so it can be hard to maintain a level of separation when work is such an integral part of who you are. So how can nurses step back and make sure that they are caring for themselves in addition to the wonderful care they provide to their patients? First, let’s take a look at some facts.  The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Interdisciplinary Nursing Quality Research Initiative (INQRI) found that hospital nurses are twice as likely as the general public to suffer from clinical depression.  That is, 9% of “everyday” citizens experience clinical depression while a whopping 18% of nurses are affected. At first I found this number alarming. But then I thought about my last shift at work.   One doctor hung up on me and another doctor walked out of a room while I was mid-question.  I was on the phone with our pharmacy trying to clarify a medication order. All the while call bells didn’t stop ringing, the other line of the phone rang off the hook, the doorbell was going off, and [...]

2021-07-31T13:03:36-04:00May 6th, 2019|Lived Experience, Self-Help, Stress, Workplace Mental Health|
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