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Welcome to CentraState Healthcare System’s blog, your trusted resource for wellness tips, health trends, medical insights, and more.

Browse through our vast collection of articles, backed by our expert team of healthcare professionals and doctors. From essential preventive care strategies to cutting-edge medical innovations and uplifting patient stories that embody resilience and hope, our blog will help you stay informed and inspired on your journey to optimal health.

A Three-Generation Commitment to Health with Weight-Loss Surgery

By |2024-05-10T08:42:35-04:00April 12th, 2018|Categories: Bariatrics, Health A-Z, Patient Stories|Tags: , , |

At only 22 years old, Mariah Rodriguez’s lifelong battle with her weight had come to this: She struggled to walk from her car up to her attic bedroom, she was uncomfortable going out with friends, and she was on the verge of developing diabetes. Having had [...]

Moving Forward – Following Up with a Young Stroke Survivor

By |2024-11-20T15:31:33-05:00April 12th, 2018|Categories: Neuroscience, Patient Stories|Tags: , , , |

That optimism came from a 24-year-old woman who just the year previously had her life turned upside down by a stroke. Now, more than two years later, Alex's positivity has only grown as she continues to make remarkable progress in her recovery. In December 2012, Alex was just getting [...]

Couple Looses Nearly 200 Pounds with Bariatric Surgery

By |2024-05-10T08:42:37-04:00April 12th, 2018|Categories: Bariatrics, Health A-Z, Patient Stories|Tags: , , , |

Old Bridge residents Betty and Bob Peterson, both 53, had spent their 35-year marriage doing virtually everything together. For many years, that included eating poorly, becoming obese, and developing significant health problems that often accompany excessive weight, including Type 2 diabetes and heart disease. “After years of putting our [...]

A Young Stroke Survivor Credits Fast Action for Her Recovery

By |2024-05-10T08:42:38-04:00April 12th, 2018|Categories: Neuroscience, Patient Stories|Tags: , , , |

Catherine Zalewski knew right away that she was having a stroke. She just wasn’t able to tell anyone around her. Catherine, who was Miss New Jersey in 2011, was working at her gym as a personal trainer on the morning of July 30 when she suddenly began feeling “very strange,” [...]

Tough But Ready with LSVT Rehab

By |2024-11-25T14:45:29-05:00April 12th, 2018|Categories: Neuroscience, Patient Stories|Tags: , , , |

Lydia Arana, 79, is a soft-spoken woman, living with Parkinson’s disease but not willing to let it keep her down. The Matawan resident was diagnosed with the degenerative neurological disease in 2007 and has lived with fluctuating levels of intense tremors for years, but last year she started the [...]

Breathing Easier with Pulmonary Rehabilitation

By |2024-11-20T15:22:40-05:00April 12th, 2018|Categories: Health A-Z, Patient Stories|Tags: , |

For about a year, Sandy Gordon of Colts Neck had labored breathing when performing tasks such as climbing stairs, and just thought it was part of the aging process. When her breathing didn’t improve, she visited Kenneth D. Barofsky, MD, board-certified internal medicine physician and on staff at CentraState and [...]

Rock Steady: How Ken Fights Back Against Parkinson’s

By |2024-05-10T08:42:41-04:00April 12th, 2018|Categories: Health A-Z, Patient Stories|Tags: , , , |

Rock Steady Boxing can help patients improve balance, strength, and agility. Ken Springer goes to the gym twice every week to box his enemy. But he’s not fighting against any ordinary opponent—this one is a degenerative movement disorder that causes a deterioration of motor skills, balance, speech, and sensory function. [...]

Freedom to Live: Pelvic Floor Program Offers Gina Relief from Chronic Pain

By |2024-05-10T08:42:42-04:00April 12th, 2018|Categories: Patient Stories, Women’s Health|Tags: , , , |

Gina Barnett was living in extreme pain. Her pelvic area felt so heavy that she could barely walk, forcing the 52-year-old Freehold resident to give up exercise, singing, and just about every other activity she loved. “I was constantly uncomfortable,” says Gina, describing unbearable pressure and pain that extended [...]

Balance and Dizziness Program Restores Mary Jean’s Stability and Independence

By |2024-05-10T08:42:43-04:00April 12th, 2018|Categories: Neuroscience, Patient Stories|Tags: , , |

Life has been compared to a carousel—sometimes up, sometimes down, and sometimes round and round. No one understands that better than Mary Jean Sehnal, who suffered from vertigo (the sensation of spinning), weakness, and other problems that impaired her balance for the past 10 years. [...]

Growing Confidence after Parkinson’s Rehabilitation

By |2024-05-10T08:42:45-04:00April 12th, 2018|Categories: Health A-Z, Patient Stories|Tags: , , , |

Before the program, Mark Herman was falling frequently. “He was very unsteady,” his wife, Barbara, recalls. “Frankly, it was very frightening.” Mark, a Jackson resident, had been living with Parkinson’s disease for the past four years, and his now 72-year-old body was having difficulty performing everyday tasks. His recurrent falls were [...]

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