Health News

Davenport & Taylor

 Free sports medicine clinics sponsored by Ira Davenport Memorial Hospital will be held every Wednesday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. in the Rehabilitation Services Department. Call the sports medicine number at 776- UWIN to make your appointment.

 Free blood pressure screenings will be offered on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month for the convenience of community residents who wish to monitor their blood pressure. The screenings will be available on the fourth Wednesday of each month. The screenings will be available from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Adult Day Care Department at Taylor Health Center.

St. James Hospital

 A new support group for community members diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome or fibromyalgia. The group is scheduled to meet the third Tuesday of the month from 3-4 p.m. in the small cafeteria conference room at St. James Mercy Hospital.

 Every Wednesday - Understanding Diabetes - an outpatient Education Program meets 1-3 p.m. in the meeting room 1A at St. Joseph's. Call Cheryl Hollenbeck at 737-7800 for further information.

 The Multiple Sclerosis meetings will be held the first Wednesday of every month.

 The monthly Blood Pressure Screening will be held the first Friday of every month in the main lobby at the Hospital.

 The Cardiac Support Group will meet on the second Wednesday of every month at 6:30 p.m., in Cardiac Rehab, second floor, at the hospital.

 A Grief Support Group will be offered on the second Wednesday of every month at 1 p.m. in the hospital Chael. For more information, contact Chaplain Astuti Bijlefeld or Sister Elaine Hollis at the St. James Mercy Hospital Spiritual Care Office at 324- 8153.

 F inancial Representatives will be available on the second Tuesday of every month to answer questions regarding hospital bills or Medicare. This is a free service offered to any individual and no appointment is necesssary.

 The monthly meeting of the Diabetes Support Group of St. James Mercy Health will be held the third Tuesday of every month. Two meetings have been scheduled to accommodate the needs of those who participate, 3 p.m.

 The monthly meeting of the Gastric Bypass Support Group of St. James Mercy Health will be held on the third Wednesday of every month from 7-8:30 p.m. in the Memorial Conference Room at St. James Mercy Health on the third Wednesday of every month from 7-8:30 p.m.

 The new evening Grief Support Group; "Good Grief Group" will be held every other Monday evening at 7 p.m. in the Hospital Chapel on the ground floor. The group is designed to help individuals who have experienced a recent loss of a loved one, or are experiencing grief and are having difficulty with their loss.

For more information contact Laura Vetter, community services coordinator at 324-8147 or Kim Gardner 776-1146 (days)/776-9523 (evenings).

Smoking cessation for veterans

The Bath VA is offering the Quit Smart Program to assist eligible veterans to stop smoking. To find out if you are eligible and/or to enroll, contact the Behavioural Health Clinic at 664-4300.

Smoking cessation classes

Steuben County Public Health and Nursing Services offers Smoking Cessation classes on October 30 and November 2, 6, 13, 20. There is $20 registration fee (refundable upon compleation of all 7 sessions.) Session 1 is orientation, session 2 is preparation, session 3 is quit day, session 4 is stress management, session 5 is benefits of quitting, session 6 is relapse prevention, and session 7 is maintaining the quit. Methods are based on the latest scientific research and the practical experiences of some of the country's leading smoking cessation researchers.

For more information contact the Steuben County Public Health and Nursing Services at 664-2438 ext. 2652 or toll free at 1-800- 724-0471.

Senior home care

The Steuben County Office for Aging can assist senior citizens and their families explore the many options for home care and support services for eligible senior citizens.

Call the office of the Aging for more information at 776- 7813.

Free health care services

Free health care services are now available in Bath for people who have no health insurance or means of payment.

Call for an appointment, 776-8085 Ext. 218. Health Ministry of the Southern Tier, Bath Community Care Center, 23 Liberty street, Bath.

Public Health & Nursing

The Steuben County Public Health and Nursing Services sponsors free HIV and sexually transmitted disease clinics, by appointment only, as follows:

STD/HIV clinics for the months of November is as follows:

 From 9-11 a.m. November 9 at the Steuben County Public Health and Nursing Services Clinic Rooms, County Office Building, 3 East Pulteney Square, Bath.

If your child is in need of immunizations, the Steuben County Public Health and Nursing Services will sonsor the following clinics for July under the direction of the local Health Officer.

All children should have their record of previous immunizations with them.

Children unable to attend with adult family member must bring a permission form signed by parent/legal guardian. Please call the Steuben County Public Health and Nursing Services at 664-2438 to obtain appropriate permission forms before coming to clinic.

The State Law requires that all children entering and attending school must be immunized against measles, polio, mumps, and diphtheria, hepatitis B and chicken pox. Children also should be protected against whooping cough, tetanus and HIB. All of these vaccines are available at the clinics, and are free to children less than 19 years old; altough the vaccine to protect against chicken pox is only available at the Bath evening clinic. The clinics are as follows:

 From 1-3 p.m. November 8 at the Steuben County Public Health and Nursing Services, County Office Building - G3 off D.S.S. lobby, Bath.

 From 5-7 p.m. November 22 at the Steuben County Public health and Services, County Office Building - D.S.S. lobby, Bath.

For more information call the Steuben County Public Health and Nursing Services office in Bath at 664-2438.

Brain injury support group

Traumatic Brain Injury Support Group meeting will be held from 5:30-7 p.m. on the third Monday of every month in the conference room located at the rear entrance of the Pro-Action building, 117 E. Steuben St., Bath. The meeting is for people with brain injury and their families.

For more information contact Gail Cochrane, TBI Coordinator, (585)747-3959.

Three Wishes Program

The Three Wishes Program makes available to Senior Citizens and the permanently disabled, power (electric) wheelchairs at no cost to the recipient, if they qualify. The power wheelchairs are provided to those who can't walk and can't self-propel a manual wheelchair in their home, and who meet the additional guidelines of the program. No deposit or cost required. Call 1-800-839-5715 for more information.

American Red Cross course schedule

 An adult CPR/AED course will be held November 28 from 6-10 p.m. The course will teach rescue breathing, first aid for choking, and CPR. The cost of this course is $40.

 A basic First Aid course will be held November 29 from 6-9 p.m. The course will teach first aid for bleeding, fractures, sudden illness, burns, and sock. The cost of this course is $40.

Traumatic brain injury support group

A Taumatic Brain Injurty Support Group meeting will be held the third monday of every month from 5:30-7 p.m in the conference room, rear entrance of Pro-Action building, 117 E. Steuben St., Bath. The meeting is for people with Brain Injury and their families. For more information contacct Gail Cochrane, IBI Coordinatior at 585-382-3959.

Senior Wheels USA Program

The Senior Wheels USA Program makes available Power Wheelchairs to Senior Citizens and the Permanently Disabled at no cost to the recipient, if they qualify.

The Power Wheelchairs are provided to those who can no longer walk nor selfpropel a manual wheelchair, and who meet the additional guidelines of the program. No deposit is required.

If the patient's need is for use in the home, please call for more information to see if they qualify. Call toll free at 1-800-246-6010.

Bath VA

 The Bath VA announces flue shot clinics for Veterans. The schedule is as follows: Monday-Friday, October 30-November 9 from 8 a.m. to noon and 1- 3:30 p.m. Veterans should report to Building 76 (Main Hospital), room 161

Local residents unable to attend the flu shot clinic can make an appointment for their convenience. To make an appointment residents should call their assigned Primary Care team. There will be minimal to no waiting with an appointment.

For more information visit www.va.gov/visns/visn02 on the web.

Red Cross blood drives

The American Red Cross will hold blood drives for the month of November as follows:

 From 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. November 4 at the First Presbyterian Church, 6 Pulteney Square, Bath. Free breakfast will be available from Stephanie's Family Restaurant for all presenting donors.

 From 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. November 9 at Avoca Central School, 17 Oliver St., Avoca. Sponsored by Avoca Central School.

 From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. November 16 at Steuben County Health Care Facility, 7002 Mount Washington Rd., Bath.

 From 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. November 18 at United Methodist Church, 8593 Jacobs Ladder Road, Avoca.

 From 1-6 p.m. November 20 at Campbell Alliance Church, 8766 State Rte. 415, Campbell.

 From 12-6 p.m. November 24 at Hammondsport Fire Department, 8521 State Route 54, Hammondsport. Sponsored by the Hammondsport Fire Department.

55 Alive Driving course

AARP and the St. James Mercy health System are teaming up to offer the 55 Alive Driving course for adults ages 50 and over. The two-day course will be held November 13 and 15 from 1-5 p.m. in the hospital's Memorial Conference Room.

Participants who complete the 8-hour classroom refresher course may receive a 10% discount on their auto insurance for three years and points may be taken off their license. The cost is $10 and seating is limited.

For more information, or to register, call the St. James Mercy Health Community Services Office at 324-8147.

Office For The Aging

The Alzheimer's Disease Support Group schedule for November is as follows:

 From 10:30 a.m. to 12 noon November 13 at the Steuben County Health Care Faciltiy, 7002 Mt. Washington Road, Bath. The meeting is for spouse's/partners only (of those with dementia.)

The Alzheimer's Association in partnership with the Steuben County Office for the Aging presents "Seminar for Understanding Alzheimer's Disease." The Alzheimer's Association offers a free onesession seminar for families and friends of individuals newly diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. This program is not recommended for individuals with the disease. The seminar will be held from 1-3 p.m. November 13 at the South Conference Room, Steuben County Office Building, 3 East Pulteney Square, Bath.

Topics covered in this introduction to Alzheimer's disease include: obtaining an accurate diagnosis, possible treatments, the caregiving partnership, communication techniques, supportive services available.

Registration is required. For more information call the Alzheimer's Association at 585-760-5400 or 800-272-3900 or Steuben County Office for the Aging at 664-2298.

Coping with Cancer Educational Series

Coping with Cancer, a free four part educational series, will proved information regarding causes, treatments, financial and emotional implications.

The third educational program in the series, "Financial Aspects of Facing Cancer," will be presented by the Wellness Council of the Southern Tier. The program will be held at 7 p.m. November 8 at the Centenary United Methodist Church, 3 West Washington Street, Bath.

For more information contact Patricia Lauzze at 776- 2289.