HEALTH NEWS
Chronic fatigue syndrome

The monthly meeting for community members diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome or fibromyalgia 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 monthly meeting for 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. May 24 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. June 16 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. June 9 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 contact Gail Cochrane, IBI Coordinatior at (585) 382-3959.

Caregiver support

The 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.

STD/HIV 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. May 24 at the Steuben County Public Health and Nursing Services Clinic Rooms, County Office Building, 3 E. Pulteney Square, Bath.

+ From 9-11 a.m. June 7 and June 21 at the Steuben County Public Health and Nursing Services Clinic Rooms, County Office Building, 3 E. Pulteney Square, Bath.

The clinic services are available to all residents of Steuben County for HIV counseling and testing and for testing and treating sexually transmitted diseases which include Gonorrhea, Chlamydia, and Trichomonas.

For an appointment or for more information call the Steuben County Public Health and Nursing Services at the Bath office at 664-2438 or (800) 724-0471. Blood pressure screenings

+ 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 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 clinics from 12-1 p.m. May 24 at the County Office Building, Bath.

A comprehensive blood screening will be conducted for a $35 fee with the results sent to the participant's physician. Additional screening for Prostate and Colo-rectal Cancer will be available for an additional fee as well.

Interested participants are asked to contact the Community Services Office at St. James Mercy Health System at 324-8188 to register.

+ The Steuben County Public Health and Nursing Services will sponsor a blood pressure clinic from 12-1 p.m. June 28 at the County Office Building, Bath.

Immunizations

The Steuben County Public Health and Nursing Services will sponsor the following:

+ From 5-7 p.m. May 23 at at the Steuben County Public Health and Nursing Services, County Office Building - G3 off D.S.S. lobby, Bath.

+ From 1-3 p.m. June 13 at the Steuben County Public Health and Nursing Services, County Office Building - G3 off D.S.S. lobby, Bath.

+ From 5-7 p.m. June 27 at the Steuben County Public Health and Nursing Services, County Office Building - G3 off D.S.S. lobby, Bath.

Anyone with special needs or for further information, call the Steuben County Public Health and Nursing Services office in Bath at 664-2438 or (800) 724-0471.

Blood drives

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

+ From 1-6 p.m. May 21 at the Campbell Alliance Church, 8766 State Rte. 415, Campbell.

+ From 12-6 p.m. May 24 at the Hammondsport Fire Department, 8521 State Rte. 54, Hammondsport.

+ From 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 25 at the Haverling High School, 25 Ellas Avenue, Bath.

+ From 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 30 at the Hammondsport Central School, 8272 Main St., Hammondsport. Medical transportation assistance

Steuben Coordinated Transportation, in partnership with Office for the Aging and the United Way of the So. Tier, offers transportation assistance to Steuben County residents (not on Medicaid) to medical, nutritional, or other necessary services. Transportation assistance is offered by referrals to area services or by arranging for a volunteer driver to transport qualified clients.

If you are a senior citizen without transportation to necessary, non-emergency appointments, please call HELPLINE at 1-800-346-2211 and ask for Steuben Coordinated Transportation. Donations are accepted but there is not a fee for any services given.

Residents of any age interested in becoming a volunteer driver and a vital part of our community are also invited to call for more information. (Mileage reimbursement is available to volunteer drivers.) 5th Annual Symposium

The Alzheimer's Association 5th Annual Symposium will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 31 at the Double Tree Hotel, 1111 Jefferson Rd., Rochester.

This year's symposium is titled "The Five Senses, Dementia, and the Environment." The program will demonstrate the importance of the five senses and their relationship to Alzheimer's disease and appropriate interventions. Keynot speaker will be Dr. Charles Duffy, a member of the University of Rochester Faculty as a Professor of Neurology, Neurobiology and Anatomy, Ophthalmology and Brian and Cognitive Sciences.

The symposium is open to professional, non-professional caregivers and the general public. The fee is $60 and includes continental breakfast and lunch. Advanced reservations are requires, call 585- 760-5417 or 800-272-3900 or emial karen.richards@alz.org. For more information, please visit the Alzheimer's Association website at www.alz-rochesterny.org. Instructor training course

The Greater Steuben Chapter American Red Cross has announced a new instructor training course that has been scheduled for May 20 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Hornell Chapter House, 24 Maple St., Hornell.

The course will train those who wish to teach Health and Safety courses such as CPR/AED and First Aid either in the workplace or community. The cost is $100. Any businesses who wish to have their own instructors are welcome to attend.

Call the Hornell office at 324-6511 or the Corning office at 936-3766-1-877-754-3711 to sign up for the class. Health and wellness fair

Haverling Central School will hold a community health and wellness fair from 9 a.m. to 12 noon June 9 at the Haverling High School Gym.

The free event offers many activities for the people of all ages. Numerous local health and wellness agencies and organizations will participate, including the Bath fire and Police Departments, the Pregnancy Resource Center, the Diabetes on Target program, the ProAction Senior Wellness Center, the Southern Tier Tobacco Coalition, the Steuben County Public Health Department, Poison Control and many more.

Activities will include: Healthy cooking demonstrations, blood pressure and oxygen level checks, massage and chiropractic care, bike rodeo with safety instructions for children, free bike helmet giveaways for children, a magic show will be held from 10-11 a.m., fire truck, ambulance and police care displays and visits by Rocky the Clown and Rowdy the Ram.

The Haverling Athletic Complex facility will be open from 9 a.m. to 12 noon for public use, including the fitness room and pool.

A free book will be given to every child who attends. Children may enter to win one free boy's and one free girl's bike. Adults may enter to win other door prizes including gift certificates to local businesses.

Coping with Cancer

The final spring 2007 Coping with Cancer presentation will be held at 7 p.m. June 6 at the Centenary United Methodist Church, 3 W. Washington St., Bath.

Marlene and Brinette from the Wellness Council of the Southern Tier will address the topic: "How Can I Afford to Have Cancer?" The presentation is free to the community. A special gift will be available for all who attend.

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

The Office For The Aging will hold an Alzheimer's Disease support group from 10:30 a.m. to 12 noon June 11 at the Steuben County Health Care Facility, 7002 Mt. Washington Rd., Bath. The support group is for spouse's and partners only of those with dementia.

Reservations must be made by calling 664-2298 by June 4. Gastric Bypass support

The monthly meeting of the Gastric Bypass Support Group of St. James Mercy Health System will be held on the third Monday of every month from 7-8:30 p.m. in the Cafeteria at St. James Mercy Hospital. The next meeting will be held Monday, May 21.

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