Free health screenings
Centerpoint Medical Center will host a Peripheral Artery Disease Health Fair from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday. The event will be held at the hospital’s main entrance or lobby level.
Free Peripheral Artery Disease screenings will be offered, but there are a limited number of spots available. Registration is necessary for the screening by calling 816-751-3000.
Other health information and screenings will be offered such as blood pressure checks, diabetes assessment, smoking cessation, active lifestyle, know your risks, and health professionals will be on hand to answer questions.
Alzheimer’s Caregiver’s seminar
Bridge Builders Senior Services will be hosting its next Alzheimer’s Caregiver’s Seminar from 10:00 a.m. to noon on Saturday, July 26 at TMC/Lakewood Care Center, 7900 Lee’s Summit Road, Kansas City, Mo. The program is free and open to the public. However, reservations are required since materials will be provided for all pre-registered attendees.
The topic of that day’s program is “art therapy” presented by Marilynn Demers, president of Naturally Yours, Inc., an organization that provides traveling Art Therapy sessions to nursing homes, long term care facilities and other organizations. Every professional art therapist employed by Naturally Yours, Inc. holds at least a Masters Degree in Art Therapy. Marilynn will offer basic instructions and techniques for caregivers wishing to use art as a means of communicating with a loved one impaired by memory loss.
She will lead participants in several activities and there will be ample opportunity for questions and discussion. Light refreshments will be served.
Bridge Builders offers services, support, resources and programs to the public free of charge. Call Nancy Powell, program coordinator at (816) 404-7150 to register and/or receive additional information.
Disabilities council to host forum
The Metropolitan Council on Developmental Disabilities will host a public forum at the Kansas City Regional Center from 7 to 8 p.m. July 23 at the Kansas City Regional Center, 821 E. Admiral Blvd.
The purpose of the forum is to lend an opportunity for people with interest in the developmental disability community to identify needs, wants and to discuss issues.
Guest speakers include Jake Jacobs, executive director EITAS, and Jerry Carpenter, director of the Kansas City Regional Office.
For further information, contact Nadine Gordon at 816-889-3422.
Don’t take a vacation from healthy eating this summer
Parents have the opportunity to encourage and support their families in choosing healthy foods throughout their summer break, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
The following are some ideas for including more fruits and vegetables in meals and snacks.
- Serve a colorful and tasty fruit salad that combines strawberries, blueberries and bananas or fresh pear slices or a layer of strawberries and blueberries with low-fat vanilla yogurt. Red and ripe watermelon slices are always a popular dish during the fourth.
- When hosting a backyard barbecue, replace chips with raw baby carrots, bell pepper strips and broccoli with low-fat dip. Also, try grilling the vegetables.
- Make frozen fruit pops at home to help beat the summer heat. Freeze 100 percent fruit juice in small paper cups.
Add wooden sticks when the juice is slushy enough to hold the stick upright.
When the juice is frozen solid, peel the paper off and serve. Then add cut-up fruit to the juice before freezing for extra fiber and nutrients.
Centerpoint offers new procedure
Centerpoint Medical Center has started performing cardiac electrophysiology procedures, according to the hospital.
Centerpoint is the only hospital in Eastern Jackson County to offer the specialty procedure.
Cardiac electrophysiology is a rapidly growing field that involves diagnosis and treatment of rhythm disorders caused by flaws in the heart’s electrical system. The most common sustained heart rhythm disorder, atrial fibrillation, affects an estimated 2.2 million Americans, including 3 to 5 percent of people over 65 years old.
Dr. Peter Park, who completed fellowship training in cardiac electrophysiology and has been performing interventions for almost two years. Park recently took his knowledge and training to Centerpoint.
New physicians join St. Mary’s
The following physicians have joined St. Mary’s Medical Center.
Taro Aikawa, MD specializing in teleradiology; Steven Brick, MD specializing in teleradiology; Ernest Camponovo, MD specializing in teleradiology; Johann Ohly, MD specializing in ophthalmology; Geetha Raghuveer, MD specializing in pediatrics/cardiology; Kevin Ring, MD specializing in internal medicine; Robert Ardinger, MD specializing in pediatrics/cardiology; William Drake, MD specializing in pediatrics/cardiology; Mark Gelatt, MD specializing in pediatrics/cardiology; Marius Hubbell, MD specializing in pediatrics/cardiology; Thomas Neil Davis, MD specializing in teleradiology; and James Hulse III, MD, specializing in pediatrics/cardiology.
New physicians join St. Joseph’s
The following physicians have joined St. Joseph’s Medical Center:
Mark Austenfeld, MD specializing in urology; John Forman, MD specializing in thoracic/cardiovascular surgery; Frederick Seligson, MD, specializing in thoracic/cardiovascular surgery; Narendra Khare, MD, specializing in urology; Thomas Neal Davis, MD, specializing in teleradiology; Jack D. Moore, MD, specializing in urology surgery; Tara Aikawa, MD, specializing in teleradiology; Norman I. Bamber, MD, PhD, specializing in neurosurgery; Cecelia Babbott, MD specializing in pediatrics; Steven Brick, MD, specializing in teleradiology; Ernest Camponovo, MD specializing in teleradiology; Nelopher Hathiary, MD, specializing in oral surgery; Tyson Marrs, DDS specializing in oral surgery; Kevin Ring, MD specializing in internal medicine.
Help for pandemic flu planning
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services said it is offering small and mid-sized businesses in the state help with planning for emergencies and the pandemic influenza.
Department officials contacted 14,000 Missouri businesses that have between 25 and 5,000 employees and offered information and resources that help them begin and improve their emergency response.
– Compiled by Michael Glover
