Pain and illness can prompt a wide range of responses in individuals. But too many senior citizens among the African-American community choose to bear their pain in silence.

"Elderly African Americans tend to be stoic and endure their pain privately," says Deborah Mizell, community liaison for VITAS Innovative Hospice Care of Broward County. "They often internalize their pain and just don't talk about it."

The cultural silence surrounding pain and disease is just one reason why there remains an end-of-life care gap among the African-American and Caribbean communities. In Florida, a disproportionate number of African Americans, Hispanics and other people of color never receive appropriate end-of-life care, and never utilize their hospice coverage from Medicare and Medicaid.

As we enter Black History Month, VITAS Innovative Hospice Care seeks to change this through the VITAS Access Initiative, a program dedicated to promoting public awareness about end-of-life care, particularly among South Florida's underserved communities, so that they have the information and access they need to make informed choices about end-of-life care.

Miramar High School's own Alvin A. Davis, current 2012 Florida Teacher of the Year, has been selected as one of four finalists for the 2012 National Teacher of the Year award.

The national award honors teachers across the country, and allows awardees to collaborate with policy makers as advocates of the teaching profession and the nation's students.

"Alvin is a competent and passionate educator who makes sure his students have every chance for success," Florida Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson noted in a press statement. "He knows that teachers are the most influential factor in a student's academic accomplishments and I am honored to congratulate him for this nomination."

"I'm grateful and I'm honored," Davis said at a press conference at Miramar High, after the announcement of his nomination, surrounded by his supportive students, faculty and district administrators.

Your foot is a complex feat of engineering and a critical element in how you stand, walk, and balance. Of all the many body parts, your feet are likely the most neglected. One in four people over the age of 45 have foot pain, and approximately one in six have ankle problems. These numbers ignore many other health ailments that stem from achy, painful feet.

Besides the obvious issues of the toes, arch, and plantar fascia, foot pain can become a much larger, whole-body health issue. Two-thirds of people with chronic foot pain have reported some sort of disability elsewhere in their lives, such as decreasing balance while walking or standing, increasing osteoarthritis in the knees and hips, or prevention from starting or maintaining a healthy walking program.

The great thing about foot health is that it takes just a little effort to make great improvements. Here are five ways to drastically improve the functioning of your feet:

South Florida Congressional Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz recently issued a statement to raise awareness about cervical health, with this January being recognized as National Cervical Awareness Month.

The Congresswoman said in her effort to raise awareness about the dangers of cervical cancer she met with medical professionals, cancer advocates and cancer survivors at the Broward County Health Department to discussed the importance of early detection, the availability of free screenings and what all women should know about the risks of cervical cancer and related diseases.

Each year more than 12,000 American women are diagnosed with cervical cancer, and a third of them will die from it. That's why cutting-edge facilities like the one at the Broward County Health Department are crucial in the effort to increase early detection and treatment. They offer free screening exams for breast and cervical cancers, as well as treatment to women who need it.