CHEERS to Dr. Anne Cahill, the cardiothoracic surgeon at Champlain Valley Heart Center at CVPH Medical Center, for her proactive stance on heart disease. Cahill joined the CVPH team in April 2010 and told the Press-Republican right off that she planned to advocate for heart health. Within a few months of coming to Plattsburgh, she was speaking before a packed house at the Foundation of CVPH's Girls Night Out. She hasn't stopped pushing a heart-healthy lifestyle since, her latest speaking engagement being last Friday at the annual Go Red for Women dinner sponsored by the American Heart Association. You can even find UTube video of Cahill talking about heart issues. "One of my strongest focuses and goals is to educate patients to take responsibility, to be empowered for their own health," she told our health reporter, Jeff Meyers, for an article published last week. Education can help prevent heart disease, which is the No.1 killer of men and women in the North Country, and Cahill seems determined to deliver her message to everyone willing to listen. The Milwaukee-born surgeon learned her skills at Marquette University Medical School, Georgetown University and UCLA Medical Center and then practiced in Pennsylvania before moving to the North Country. It would have been easy for Cahill to stick to her very demanding job and spend her free time with her family. But she has devoted many hours to her cause and become a very visible spokeswoman for weight loss, exercise, healthy eating and other lifestyle changes. She's winning North Country hearts — and saving them — with her message.
JEERS to motorists who don't signal for turns and changing lanes. It's frustrating for others either behind them or, for example, drivers in cars that meet up with these others at a four-way stop. It's very helpful to know whether the car facing you intends to go straight after stopping or will turn right or left. It's also the law — for the very good reason that drivers who don't communicate their intention to deviate from the straight line can be struck by or hit another vehicle. Pedestrians are also at risk, for they, too, watch for turn signals when deciding when to cross a street. Using that very simple technology tends to become a habit for drivers who make a conscientious effort to do so, so it's likely the next car you see that doesn't signal is driven by someone who won't signal the next time or the time after that. Just think — if you're one of those drivers, you may end up with a ticket one day, or worse, a ticket with damage to your car, another vehicle and maybe even injuries.
— If you have a Cheers and Jeers suggestion that you want the Editorial Board to consider, email it to Editor Lois Clermont at letters@pressrepublican.com.
