Health
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Cost of Childbirth Growing For Those With Employer-Based Health Insurance
Even though Caitlyn and Philip Flanagan have health insurance through their employer, the WellStar West Georgia Medical Center in LaGrange, they weren’t immune from the high cost of having a baby. When their daughter, Millie, was born in November 2018, they paid about $6,000 in out-of-pocket costs for the cesarean birth.…
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Local Yoga Studios Offer Virtual Alternatives During Social Distancing
As a result of the ongoing pandemic, yoga studios are one of many establishments deemed “non-essential” by Georgia’s statewide shelter-in-place ordinance, forcing local Athens studios to reevaluate how they will service their membership without physically congregating. On March 14, 2020, weeks before Gov. Brian Kemp would announce the executive order,…
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There’s A Silver Lining For Fitness Industry Workers During COVID-19 Era
When people are quarantined at home, Joey Stewart, the owner of Fit Body Bootcamp in Athens, Ga., says, it is easy for them to lose the motivation to exercise. The challenges that fitness instructors and studio owners in Athens are facing from taking their businesses online due to the COVID-19…
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We All Need Someone to Talk to, But That Might Not Be An Option: Mental Health in the Time of COVID-19
You can’t go outside, loved ones in major cities are getting sick, you just got laid off and you have no idea what the job market will look like for the rest of the year—or ever again. For many Americans, life looks bleaker and more daunting than ever before. Having…
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From Behind the Counter to Beside the Curb: Adaptions of Athens’ Pharmacists During COVID-19
An alarm sounds. It’s an iPhone ringing out its hourly tune. An employee puts on their favorite song and everyone starts to clean; wiping down cash registers, credit card machines, pens, phones and anything else in sight. This is a frequent occurrence for Johnathan Marquess, a pharmacist who owns Horton’s…
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Coronavirus Continues to Plague Elderly Working Class of Athens
Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, the elderly population continues to suffer disproportionately from the virus strain. Out of the 416 deaths in Georgia as of April 10, individuals 60 years or older account for 35% or about 146 of those deaths, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health. Clarke County…
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We’re Home: An Essential Worker, An Elderly Woman, A Child and COVID-19
When COVID-19 began shutting down schools, people flooded grocery stores, buying up essential items like toilet paper. Many companies started encouraging employees to work from home, but not everyone got that luxury. Publix customer service staff member Sara Hammond lives at home with her son, Davis Hammond, 10,…
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Small-Town Business Owner Makes Big Changes for Communities in Need
In the town of Lake Park, Georgia, just 18 miles south of Valdosta, Jennifer Singleton assists the elderly and disabled through the skills she acquired in cosmetology school. Singleton’s business, The Comb Over, offers in-home services that prioritizes the comfort of those who are unable to leave home or…
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Coping with COVID-19: Researching, Reflecting on Love and Life During A Pandemic
According to the CDC, one of the best and only lines of defense we currently have against COVID-19 is social distancing, isolation and quarantining. Staying 6 feet apart and avoiding groups/crowded places is essential to protecting ourselves and others from the virus, as well as flattening the curve globally. However,…
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Northeast Georgia Mask Production Continues With No End In Sight
“We have all felt like we couldn’t stop [making masks],” Barbara Mock, a retired professional seamstress said. “Initially when we did this we thought if we did this for a couple of weeks until the businesses that actually do make masks ramp it up and take over, but we’re not…