Health news ? Health & Fitness ? Bangor Daily News

Hospice training

BANGOR ? Hospice of Eastern Maine will hold its annual volunteer training course 5:30-9 p.m. Tuesdays, Oct. 11-Nov. 15, at the EMMC Healthcare Mall, 885 Union St. HOEM invites caring men and women who live in a 25-mile radius of Bangor to apply for a place in fall?s training course.

HOEM volunteers are compassionate people of all ages and walks of life who share their time and friendship with terminally ill patients and their caregivers. They generally give two to four hours of service a week when assigned to a patient, and are members of the interdisciplinary group that plans and delivers their patient?s care.

The HOEM comprehensive training course will help volunteers better understand the dynamics of end-of-life and prepare them to effectively provide companionship, emotional support, respite and bereavement care for hospice patients and their families.

Hospice care is holistic care that focuses on the physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs of hospice patients and their caregivers. Trained professionals deliver the physical, psychological-social and spiritual aspects of care. Hospice volunteers provide companionship and comfort care, such as actively listening, talking, playing games, reading, writing letters, recording memoirs, making a meal or driving to appointments.

Hospice of Eastern Maine is the oldest hospice in the Bangor area and has been meeting end-of-life needs in area communities since 1981. HOEM is a program of Bangor Area Visiting Nurses and part of Eastern Maine HomeCare.

To obtain more information about becoming a patient care volunteer, or to learn about other volunteer opportunities with Hospice of Eastern Maine, contact Wayne Melanson, volunteer manage, at 973-8269 or wmelanson@emh.org. Aspiring patient care volunteers must complete an application and interview prior to Oct. 7. Class size is limited to 16.

Walmart clinics

BREWER ? Eastern Maine Healthcare has announced plans to close five of its six ?convenient care? clinics in Walmart stores. Clinics are due to close in Bangor, Brewer, Palmyra, Presque Isle and Augusta.

Convenient access to care will continue through the hospital?s other walk-in clinics. In addition, Inland Hospital?s highly successful clinic at the Waterville Walmart will remain open. All of the clinics will remain open until a final date for closure has been decided.

Convenient care clinics located inside or near stores such as Walmart have made five of the clinics financially unsustainable, officials said. No jobs are being lost. Open positions within EMHS are being filled by employees of the Walmart clinics.

Eastern Maine Medical Center?s Walk-In Care at the Healthcare Mall in Bangor, The Aroostook Medical Center?s Walk-In Care on North Street in Presque Isle, and walk-in services at SVH Primary will expand their hours.

CPR & First Aid

EDDINGTON ? Eddington Fire Department will present ?Community CPR & First Aid,? a free class offered to the public to increase CPR & First Aid awareness and preparedness. On completion of the class, participants will receive an American Heart CPR & First Aid card.

The class will be held 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10, at Eddington Fire Department, 906 Main Road. While there is no cost to attend, donations are appreciated to benefit future community events. A lunch of hot dogs, chips and soda will be available by donation.

CPR pocket masks will be on sale. $5 for key chain mask; $10 for pocket mask.

Register by calling the Eddington Fire Department, 843-5251; or Eddington town office, 843-5233

Jackson Laboratory

HOLDEN ? The Jackson Laboratory has appointed three new members to its board of trustees: Dr. Charles E. Hewett, Dr. Jeffrey Dunn and Neal Milch.

Charles E. Hewett of Holden is executive vice president and chief operating officer of The Jackson Laboratory. Since joining the lab in 2004, Hewett has overseen the launch of several research products and services, the modernization of mouse production facilities, completion of new research laboratories in Bar Harbor, and the relocation and expansion of the Laboratory?s Sacramento, Calif., operation.

In his previous position as CEO of Atlantic Energy Partners, Hewett developed a $650 million underwater electric transmission system connecting Long Island, N.Y., to New Jersey, which now provides almost one-quarter of Long Island?s power. In the mid-1990s he served for three years as chief operating officer of the executive branch of the state of Maine under Gov. Angus King.

Hewett also has held chief executive posts in international pharmaceuticals, electricity generation and natural resource management. He has developed companies, facilities and projects in Europe, Asia and North America. Hewett holds a Phi Beta Kappa bachelor?s degree from Williams College, and two master?s degrees and a doctorate from Yale University.

Dr. Jeffrey Dunn of Philadelphia and Mount Desert joins the board as incoming president of The National Council, a nationwide organization of Jackson Laboratory supporters. Dunn, a pediatric thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon, is executive vice president, chief medical officer and founding partner of MediQLogix, a company that provides hospitals and health care systems with software solutions for clinical quality and safety performance improvement.

Neal Milch of Hewlett Neck, N.Y., is the CEO of Autarkic Holdings Inc., a supplier of commercial laundry and wet-cleaning equipment doing business as Laundrylux. In 2007, Milch succeeded his father as CEO of Bermil Industries Corp., where he was president 1995-2007. Milch is one of the co-founders of Cbite, which focuses on thin film transistor technology to enable organic light-emitting diode display panels and next-generation active-matrix liquid crystal displays.

The Jackson Laboratory is a nonprofit biomedical research institution and National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center in Bar Harbor. Its mission is to discover the genetic basis for preventing, treating and curing human disease, and to enable research and education for the global biomedical community.

Medical staff

BANGOR ? Penobscot Community Health Care has announced that Dr. David Rocker has joined the medical staff at 1012 Union St. Rocker?s practice centers on all aspects of family medical care, including patient physicals, acute visits and health care maintenance.

Dr. Robert Allen, executive medical director, said, ?Dr. Rocker is an outstanding and experienced physician with a long career of providing outstanding care to the people of Winterport. Dr. Rocker will be a great addition our staff and will help PCHC better serve the needs of its patients in the Greater Bangor area.?

Rocker earned a bachelor?s degree from St. Lawrence University, Canton, N.Y., and a Doctor of Medicine degree from the State University of New York School of Medicine, Syracuse, N.Y. He completed a residency in family practice at Eastern Maine Medical Center, Bangor, and has more than 22 years? experience as a family physician in the area.

For information and appointments, call 945-5247.

Honored administrator

BREWER ? Brewer Rehabilitation and Living Center Executive Director Janet Hope recently was honored by the American College of Health Care Administrators with the 2011 Facility Leadership Award.

The ACHCA award recognizes administrators of nursing homes who have met superior health care standards. Selection is based on reported skilled nursing facility resident data that reflect the care and services provided. In addition to meeting stringent patient care and life safety code standards, recipient?s organizations must have an average occupancy above 90 percent.

The American College of Health Care Administrators is the only professional association devoted solely to meeting the professional needs of today?s long-term care administrator and executive. ACHCA?s mission focuses on advancing leadership excellence through leadership education, promotion of professional advancement programs such as fellowship and professional certification, and facilitation of leadership development.

?I am honored to receive this recognition,? Hope said. ?We have a great team at Brewer and I want to thank my staff for doing such a great job taking care of our residents.?

Brewer Rehabilitation and Living Center is an 111-bed nursing and rehabilitation center that offers a full range of nursing and medical care, including short-term rehabilitative services and long-term skilled care. Brewer Rehab is part of Kindred Healthcare Inc., a top-150 private employer in the United States and a health care services company based in Louisville, Ky.

Al-Anon meeting

BANGOR ? Al-Anon, for friends and relatives of problem drinkers (past and present), meets at noon Mondays and Fridays. Use the back-door entrance on the side at 234 French St.

Alateen for Teens meets at 1 p.m. Saturdays at 234 French St.

For information, call 745-7208 or 800-498-1844.

Senior vice president

BREWER ? Scott A. Oxley, Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems vice president and chief accounting officer, and interim chief financial officer, has accepted a new position with Affiliated Healthcare Systems.

In the coming months Oxley will become senior vice president for support services at AHS. He will provide operational leadership and guide the growth strategies for the vast majority of AHS? operating companies and joint ventures.

EMHS President and CEO Michelle Hood called Oxley ?a tremendous asset to EMHS, our member organizations and to me personally. He provided critical support when Dan Coffey transitioned to his new role as president and CEO of The Acadia Hospital. I know that in his new role with AHS, Scott will continue to do great work on behalf of our entire system.?

Affiliated Healthcare Systems President and CEO Miles Theeman said, ?Numerous staff participated in the search process and agreed hands down that the best fit for this newly created position was already right here in the system. Scott has been with EMHS for more than 18 years, and I am confident he understands AHS and EMHS, the complexities of business and health care, and is a natural to provide a new level of operational leadership at AHS.?

Hood has contracted with a nationwide recruiting firm to begin conducting a search for a new, permanent chief financial officer for the system.

Source: http://bangordailynews.com/2011/08/30/the-weekly/weekly-health-news-sept-1-2011/

blade runner continental continental bbq car dealerships big brother malls