Tax time traps some who failed to sign up for health insurance

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EL PASO — Yvonne Mendoza a master tax advisor usually helps clients wind their way through the tax return maze, but this year she came up with a nasty fine in her own return – a penalty charge because she did not sign up for personal health insurance. “With my refund being affected, it didn’t allow me to pay the things I needed to pay in January,” said Mendoza, a17-year veteran tax expert at H & R Block. The penalty cost her more than $400, one percent of her household income. This year’s tax return bill can cost more than expected because the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or Obamacare imposes a penalty on Americans who failed to get health insurance. Mendoza said that she made the mistake of not going to the marketplace.

3 great El Paso outdoor fitness spots to inspire your new year workout resolutions

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When I ask people around the city what is holding them back from working out, the answer often deals with not feeling comfortable in the gym environment or not wanting to pay for pricy gym memberships. I can relate. I don’t have a gym membership either. However, that is not stopping me from trying to maintain a healthy life. I have found much comfort and peace in the beautiful and free outdoor workout areas my hometown of El Paso, Texas, has to offer.

Colonia residents struggle to pay for safe, healthy infrastructure

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EL PASO – Two years after getting help to improve the quality of water storage and waste management, Cuadrilla – a small, unincorporated community on the far eastern edge of the Lower Valley – still struggles with infrastructure problems that residents say they can’t afford to maintain. This colonia is made up of a couple hundred people that, before the septic and water tanks were installed, used to get their water from a nearby canal. But the water in the canal has high levels of salt, which damages containers and is too polluted for safe consumption, residents said. Up until recent years the Cuadrilla residents did not have any source of clean water, until a local nonprofit organization called AYUDA provided them with septic and water tanks. Before the organization helped them install the septic tanks for their homes properly, the residents of the Cuadrilla community used improvised septic tanks and outhouses that most of the time were left uncovered and were unsafe.

Endometriosis, a painful stealth disease, attacks women under many disguises

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EL PASO — Melissa Ronquillo, was a teenager when she first experienced some painful and bewildering pelvic cramps and pain that radiated down her legs. The mystery discomfort continued for years until at age 24 it was diagnosed as endometriosis

“I have painful cramps, pelvic pain, heavy bleeding, nausea, and back pain not only during my cycle but in between, as well as when I exercise.”said Ronquillo,33. The Mayo Clinic describes endometriosis,which affects 176 million women and girls worldwide, as a painful disorder in which the tissue that normally lines the inside of a woman’s uterus, referred to as the endometrium, grows outside. The symptoms include nausea, abdominal pain, fatigue and in more severe cases infertility. Although there is no known definitive cause for the disorder, there are many treatments available to make life with endometriosis easier.

Un jovencito mira la vida desde su diagnosis de cancer

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EL PASO – La primavera de 2013 fue una de las mejores temporadas para un joven de 13 anos de edad, Job Arellano. La temporada de futbol americano habia terminado y el empezaba a vivir las celebraciones de jugar en un equipo de fútbol que acababa de ganar 9 de 12 juegos. Pero todo cambió cuando los doctores le dieron la noticia que no todo estaba bien. “Job tenia una bola del tamano de una llema de dedo en el lado izquierdo cerca de la clavicula”, dijo Margarita Arellano la mamá de Job. La primera vez que le hicieron examenes a Job, el doctor lo dejo ir a su casa porque al parecer era un exceso de grasa.

Abortion law reduces access to health care for El Paso women

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While most people might not remember the date October 21, 2011, it is eternally engraved into Mimi’s mind. She was 18, scared, and pregnant. She was lying down in a room inside one of El Paso’s abortion clinics, her heart beating through her skin. Two nurses entered the room and poured a cold blue gel on her stomach to do a sonogram. After the nurses left, the room seemed to enlarge.

Ebola coverage too important to be a competition, editor tells journalists

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After reports of an El Paso hospital closing its emergency room over a possible Ebola case burned like wildfire through social media Friday, Bob Moore, editor of the El Paso Times, posted the following cautionary note on his Facebook account:

“Something important to remember about reports of the closure of the Del Sol ER and any possible connection with Ebola:

Hospitals across the country have been dealing with concerns about possible Ebola cases. They react with an abundance of caution, as is appropriate. But in every case except those tied to the case in Dallas, tests have all turned up negative. We in the media should be informative but not alarmist.”

On Saturday the hospital released a statement saying its emergency room did not close. It explained that a patient’s symptoms and answers during a screening process triggered infectious disease protocols.

Herbal remedies big sellers in wellness strategies for Hispanics

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EL PASO— When it comes to trying to keep bodies healthy in the fit-vs-fat wars, this predominately Hispanic border city leans toward natural solutions. Seventy percent of residents here and across the border in Cuidad Juarez say they use herbal medicines to lose weight and treat a variety of illnesses, according to a 2010 study funded by the Paso del Norte Health Foundation. Infographic: The pros and cons of 5 common herbal remedies

El Paso and Ciudad Juarez are essentially one urban metropolis of some 2 million residents divided by an imaginary political line. Together they make up one of the largest population centers to regularly use medicinal herbs. “It is definitely tied to the cultural factors especially among Hispanics,” said Armando Gonzalez-Stuart, one of the authors of the study.

British parliament welcomes El Paso scholar on global health panel

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After walking around in Parliament Square and mingling with the larger-than-life cast iron statues of Winston Churchill and Nelson Mandela, my wife, Anuja and I entered the Palace of Westminster from the Cromwell Green.  We were, finally, inside the closely guarded compound of the United Kingdom’s Houses of Parliament. The date was September 2, 2014 and the Big Ben struck its chimes precisely at 5:30 p.m.

Some 45 minutes later, Lord Collins of Highbury introduced me as “Dr. Arvind Singhal, a leading global academic of communication and social change, based at the Department of Communication, The University of Texas at El Paso”

A wave of UTEP Miner pride ran down my spine. What was I doing inside the highly ornate complex of towers, turrets, and spires that is home to the British House of Commons and the House of Lords? Sitting in the packed CMA room which adjoined the 100 yard long Westminster Hall — where Winston Churchill lay in state for 23 days, and from where Nelson Mandela and President Barack Obama addressed the two Houses of Parliament, I was participating in a parliamentary panel on global public health policy.

Engineering Professor Roger V. Gonzalez graduated from UTEP. (Velia Quiroz/Borderzine.com)

UTEP professor recognized for international work providing affordable prosthetic limbs to amputees

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EL PASO – Roger V. Gonzalez has been to every continent except Antarctica in the last 30 years. He has traveled through almost 30 countries and 48 states of the union. Although he has seen most of the world and experienced many cultures, he says he’s been most affected by encounters with hundreds of men, women, and children with missing limbs because of poor health or accidents that have led to amputations. “It’s really hard to see those who are disabled,” said Gonzalez, 50, a UTEP engineering professor who recently was nominated as Global Humanitarian Engineer of the year. He is also the founder of LIMBS International, a nonprofit founded about 10 years ago that offers affordable prosthetic solutions to amputees around the world.