HEALTH NEWS

Blood pressure

+ 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 2:30-3:30 p.m. in the Adult Day Care Department at Taylor Health Center.

+ A monthly Blood Pressure Screening will be held the first Friday of every month in the main lobby at St. James Hospital.

+ The Steuben County Public Health and Nursing Services will sponsor a blood pressure clinic from 12-1 p.m. April 26 at the County Office Building, Bath.

Blood drives

The Greater Steuben Chapter American Red Cross will hold the following blood drives for the month of April.

+ From 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. April 11 at the American Legion Post #173, 14 W. William St., Bath.

+From 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. April 27 at Davenport and Taylor, 7571 St. Rt. 54, Bath.

"Dates and times subject to change, please ccall your Chapter Branch office to verify information." 1-877-754- 3711. Chronic fatigue syndrome

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.

The support group is open to persons with diabetes as well as their family and friends. Judy Griffith, RN, is the Patient Educator for St. James Mercy Hospital and facilitates the group.

For more information, please call Judy Griffith at 324-8139.

Diabetes support

The monthly meeting of the Diabetes Support Group of St. James Mercy Health System is held the third Tuesday of every month at 3 p.m. in the cafeteria at MercyCare on Bethesda Drive in North Hornell.

Multiple sclerosis

The Multiple Sclerosis meetings will be held the first Wednesday of every month at 10 a.m. at Friendly's in Hornell.

Cardiac support

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

Grief support

+ A Grief Support Group will be offered on the second Wednesday of every month at 1 p.m. in the St. James Hospital Chapel.

For more information, contact Chaplain Astuti Bijlefeld or Sister Elaine Hollis at the St. James Mercy Hospital Spiritual Care Office at 324-8153.

+ The new evening Grief Support Group; "Good Grief Group" will be held the second and forth Monday of every month 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). Questions on hospital bills or Medicare?

Financial Representatives will be available on the second Tuesday of every month to answer questions regarding hospital bills or Medicare at St. James Hospital. This is a free service offered to any individual and no appointment is necesssary. Want to quit smoking?

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.

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.

Brain injury

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. American Red Cross course schedule

+ An infant and child CPR course will be held from 6-10 p.m. April 5 at the Bath American Red Cross chapter office. The course will teach rescue breathing, choking emergencies and CPR. The cost is $60.

+ A babysitting class will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 14 at the Bath American Red Cross chapter office. The course is for youths ages 11-14. The course will teach responsibilities of a babysitter, accident prevention, emergency first aid, and how to prepare for a babysitting job. The cost is $40.

+ A standard First Aid/CPR/AED course will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 21 at the Bath American Red Cross chapter office. The cost is $75 Traumatic brain injury

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.

Child immunizations

The Steuben County Public Health and Nursing Services will sponsor the foll o w i n g C h i l d r e n Immunization clinics for the month of April under the direction of the local Medical Director:

+ From 1-3 p.m. April 11 at the Steuben County Public Health and Nursing Services, County Office Building-G3 off D.S.S. lobby, Bath.

+ From 5-7 p.m. April 25 at the Steuben County Public Health and Nursing Services, County Office Building-G3 off D.S.S. lobby, Bath.

Adults are encouraged to attend the immunization clinic to receive Tetanus/Diphtheria vaccine which is recommended every 10 years. The cost for this vaccination is $20.

Caregiver support

T h e Alzheimer's Association offers a monthly caregiver support group in Elmira for people who have a loved one with Alzheimer's disease or related dementia. Meetings will be held on the first Tuesday of each month from 1:30-2:30 p.m. at Stafkings Health Care, 221 W. Church St.

For more information contact the Alzheimer's Association at 585-760-5400. HIV and sexually transmitted disease clinics

The Steuben County Public Health and Nursing

Services will sponsor free HIV and Sexually Transmitted Disease Clinics, by appointment only, as follows:

+ From 9-11 a.m. April 12 and 26 at the Steuben County Public Health and Nursing Services Clinic Rooms, County Office Building, 3 East Pulteney Square, Bath.

Coping with Cancer

The Coping with Cancer presentation will be held a 7 p.m. April 4 at the Centenary United Methodist Church, 3 West Washington St., Bath. Speaker will be will be from Southern Tier Hospice and Palliative Care. The presentation is free to the public.

For more information call Patricia Lauzze at 776-2289. Alzheimer's Disease support group

An Alzheimer's Disease support group will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 12 noon April 16 at the Steuben County Health Care Facility, 7002 Mt. Washington Rd., Bath. The group is for spouse's and partners only of those with dementia. Gastric Bypass support

The monthly meeting of the Gastric Bypass Support Group of St. James Mercy Health System 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 Hospital.

The free support group is open to anyone who has had a gastric bypass or is considering one.

For more information, contact Faith Mills at 324-5869 or tmrcj@yahoo.com.