Cheryl Alkon

As a parent, you’re likely very aware of your baby’s early developmental milestones, such as eye contact, smiling and babbling. But there’s a good reason pediatricians recommend tracking your child’s milestones: the sooner you notice a delay, the sooner you can get the support your child needs.
In many cases, children with a developmental delay will catch up. In other cases, there could be an underlying neurological disorder causing the delays.
Identifying Developmental Delays in Young Childr...

Thanks to the teamwork of two Northwell hospitals, he’s back on his feet. Published in Northwell Connections magazine.

Weather-watcher Scott McPartland has been through some of nature’s most challenging events, but it was his own body that almost took him down. Published in Northwell Connections magazine.

There’s a common saying that health is wealth. The phrase is meant to articulate the fact that one’s most valuable asset is their health and well-being. And while it’s true you can’t necessarily buy these things directly, and that even those with excess funds can fall ill, it’s a privilege to be able to invest in your health.

For Ryan Rasdall, a Black transgender man who works as an associate at Boston law firm Goulston & Storrs, picking Fenway Health for health care was the obvious choice.
“I purposefully sought to get my primary care at Fenway Health because of their reputation for LGBTQ+ centered care,” says Rasdall, who has been a patient since 2017.
“As a Black transgender man, I have a history of negative interactions with medical providers that have questioned my gender and made me feel unwelcomed."

When Victoria and Caio Borges learned their son Lucas had cystic fibrosis (CF) at three weeks old, they had no idea what it even was. The progressive and currently incurable disease thickens the body’s mucus so that Lucas, now 4, has to work harder to clear it out of his lungs and digestive tract.
“The lungs are like a dark, wet basement, which is a breeding ground for bacteria,” says Victoria.

With the April 2022 recommendation that all U.S. adults between the ages of 19 and 59 years be vaccinated against hepatitis B virus (HBV), the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) hopes to significantly increase the number of people who are protected against this disease.

Bictegravir-emtricitabine-tenofovir alafenamide (Biktarvy, Gilead) could be a long-term option for older adults with HIV.

The availability of COVID-19 vaccines less than a year after the arrival of the novel coronavirus has showcased how mRNA vaccine technology could work and how quickly and safely it could be put to use. So, let's take a look at what's in the pipeline for future mRNA vaccine applications.

What is mRNA & what does it do?

More fully known as messenger RNA, mRNA is a type of genetic material that can create a copy of a protein in a virus that can cause illness. With mRNA vaccine technology, the bo...

Pre-pandemic, chronic conditions management could be easily discussed and tested during a routine well visit. But when people sheltered in place during the onset and continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people skipped in-person well visits with their healthcare providers.
Instead, most providers either rescheduled in-person visits for months or else pivoted to offering telehealth visits. Though such care provided some medical oversight, particularly for those who need chronic condition...

COVID-19 has put conception on hold for many women, both in the United States and around the world.
Briana “Bri” Allessi is one of them.
“We are waiting on conceiving this year because of COVID,” says Allessi, 34, of Dekalb, Illinois. “I am immune compromised and have had rough pregnancies anyway, so we don’t want or need any extra problems.” Allessi, along with her husband, Daniel Allessi, have three children (Ashlynn, 6; Caiden, 4; and Everleigh, 8 months), and had wanted a fourth. Allessi,...

Tubal ligation, also known as having your tubes tied, refers to a form of permanent sterilization for women. It is when a woman’s fallopian tubes, through which an egg travels to the uterus each month, are blocked or closed through surgery. This prevents the egg from ever being fertilized with sperm, and therefore, prevents pregnancy. It is for women who know and choose, with certainty, that they do not ever want to get pregnant or have children after the procedure.
Myths and Misunderstanding...

Interest in the intrauterine device (IUD) and other types of affordable, long-acting contraception (LARC) increased right after the 2016 presidential election, according to research published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine’s February 2019 issue.
In the research letter, published on February 4, 2019, researchers found that there was a 21.6 percent increase of women with commercial insurance getting LARCs (either IUDs, such as Mirena or Paragard, or an implant, such as Nexplanon)
As Ever...

You already know about the importance of hand-washing and staying at home to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. But in the United States, four women’s health issues have emerged as the country experiences the realities of living in the time of COVID-19:
Tax breaks on menstrual products
The rise of telemedicine for routine care of pregnant women
The lack of access for women who seek to terminate unwanted pregnancies using medication
Several states declaring that abortions aren’t nece...

Bayer’s recent announcement that it would stop selling its Essure brand of permanent birth control has been met with disappointment as well as relief.
The company announced in July that it would voluntarily discontinue sales of Essure by the end of 2018 because of declining sales. But some customers’ complaints have called into question how safe the birth control device was in the first place.
Essure is the only form of permanent sterilization for women that doesn’t require surgery. Coils mad...