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CHILDREN’S HEALTH
Unsafe sleepMore than one third of photos in women’s magazines depicted babies in unsafe sleep positions. To reduce the risk of SIDS, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends babies be placed on their backs when sleeping — Children’s Natl. Medical Ctr.
HEALTH
SPRY TIP
Try this weight loss helperPuppies can help you lose pounds. One study reported volunteer dog-walkers dropped about 14 pounds in a year.
A FRESH STARTRev up your walks, fine-tune your diet this fall. WEDNESDAY
The Herald News, Monday, September 7, 2009 WWW.HERALDNEWS.COM D SECTION
QUESTIONS? Contact Lynne Sullivan, Extras editor, at [email protected].
IN BRIEFSaint Anne’s offers prostate screening
FALL RIVER — Last year, there were more new cases of prostate cancer than there were new AIDS or breast cancer diagnoses. This year, according to the American Cancer Society, more than 218,000 American men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer — more than any other cancer. Yet, since 1989, the five-year survival rate for pros-tate cancer, when diagnosed in its earliest stages, has risen to nearly 100 percent.
Because the best chance of cure is early detection, Saint Anne’s Hospital Regional Cancer Care will host the 20th annual free prostate cancer screening program on Sept. 21, 22 and 23, from 5 to 8 p.m., at the Hudner Oncology Center at Saint Anne’s, corner of Osborn and Forest streets, Fall River.
Who should undergo prostate cancer screening?
Prostate cancer screenings are recommended for:
• Men at high risk should be screened at age 35. High-risk fac-tors include a family history of prostate cancer and/or men of African-American descent.
• All other men should begin screening at age 40.
• All men should undergo screening once per year.
Sign up now for FREE prostate cancer screenings
Area men are encouraged to sign up for free prostate cancer screenings at the Hudner Oncology Center on September 21, 22 and 23. Please note the following:
• Screenings will be held from 5-8 p.m.
• Exams consist of PSA blood test and a digital rectal exam done by a trained professional.
• Each appointment is about ten minutes.
• Appointments fill quickly, so participants are encouraged to call early.
To schedule an appointment or receive more information about the prostate cancer screening program, call Saint Anne’s Hospital’s Cancer Registry between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday, at 508-674-5600, Ext. 2185. Please mention code 575.
For more information about Saint Anne’s prostate cancer screenings and other related topics is available on Saint Anne’s Web site: www.SaintAnnesHospital.org.
Lecture to focus on sibling relationships
DARTMOUTH — Join the Schwartz Center on Sept. 14 at 6:30 p.m. for the first edition of its lecture series. Featured speaker will be Richard Rende, Ph.D,, and the often complex nature of sibling relationships will be explored. Learn how siblings can effect each other’s behavior, and come to understand the positive and negative interac-tions that occur among siblings.
Rende is an associate professor of psychiatry and human behavior at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. He is also Director of Butler Hospital’s Transdisciplinary Research Group.
This event is free and open to the public. RSVP at 508-996-3391, Ext. 427 or [email protected] to reserve your spot. The Schwartz Center for Children is located at 1 Posa Place.
Family University sessions planned
DARTMOUTH — Family University at the Schwartz Center for Children is now enrolling. Programs include:
Social Skills 101: an integrated group for preschoolers on the Autism Spectrum, Mondays and Wednesdays starting Sept. 21
Parenting Group: educational ses-sions for parents of special needs chil-dren, Wednesdays, starting Sept. 23.
Sibling Group: meetings and exercises designed to allow the typi-cally abled siblings of special needs children share their common experi-ences. Wednesdays starting Sept. 23
Contact Kim Wilmot at 508-996-3391 Ext. 248 or [email protected].
SENIORS
Saint Anne’s introduces Geriatric Psychiatry ProgramDeborah AllardHerald News Staff Reporter
FALL RIVER — Saint Anne’s Hospital will start seeing patients this week in its all new Geriatric Psychiatry Program, a 16-bed in-patient unit designed to treat elders with psychi-atric disorders.
The new program, located on the third floor of the hospital in what was for-merly the Transitional Care Unit, will accept patients with a primary psychiatric diagnosis and a variety of medical conditions.
“We have a trained staff to deal with these psychiatric issues,” said Margaret M. Pfeiffer, a registered nurse and the administrative director of the new program. “We’ve all had extensive training. It’s a dedicated staff all working toward the same goal.”
The new locked unit has been completely refurbished with large patient rooms, four private and 12 semi-private, along with a brand new kitchen and dining area for patients and their families, a sitting room, a relaxation room and private
consult rooms, all created with various safety features. The project began in May and cost $1.5 million. The new Geriatric Psychiatry Program will respond to psychiatric conditions as well as address the medical needs of its older patients. A multi-disciplinary team is in place, including psy-chiatrists, specialists, nurses, therapists and nutritionists. The average patient stay is 10 days. Ongoing support is available in a number of outpatient settings.
One in five elders in the United States experi-ences a mental disorder of some kind, according to the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. Some common psychiatric prob-lems may include anxiety, agitation, behavioral distur-bances, depression, sudden onset of memory impair-ment, confusion, sleeping and eating disturbances, unrealistic fears, withdrawal, hearing or seeing things not present, or bizarre thoughts.
These disorders can be caused by a progressive physical decline, medical ill-ness, neurological deficits, or psychosocial stressors.
“This will be a huge ben-efit for these patients,” said Theresa E. Sousa, clinical social worker for the geri-atric psychiatry program.
Patients and their families have had to travel to other farther facilities for this specialized treatment, Sousa explained.
Hospitals with an elder psychiatry unit are Morton Hospital in Taunton, and several in the Caritas Christi family of hospitals, which runs Saint Anne’s Hospital, such as Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton, Carney Hospital in Dorchester, Norwood Hospital in Norwood, and St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Boston.
St. Luke’s Hospital, man-aged by Southcoast Hospitals Group, runs an adult psychi-atry unit in New Bedford.
“This (new program) will really serve Fall River well,” said Michael Bushell, vice president of finance.
Bushell worked with Carole Billington, vice presi-dent of patient care services, to establish a need for the program.
Bushell said that 902 senior patients with a psy-
chiatric disorder were hos-pitalized in Bristol County in 2007. Of those, 254 were from Fall River and 168 of those residents were trans-ported away from home to one of the other hospitals with a psychiatric unit. Another 86 were treated in hospitals without a special-ized unit.
Bushell said the hos-pital closed the former Transitional Care Unit at St. Anne’s Hospital because it was determined no longer
needed. Other similar programs are run at area nursing homes.
All of the employees of that unit were retrained and retained their jobs at St. Anne’s Hospital’s new Geriatric Psychiatry Program.
For more information about the new program, call 877-437-7792 or visit www.SaintAnnesHospital.org.
E-MAIL DEBORAH ALLARD AT [email protected].
PHOTO | SAINT ANNE’S HOSPITAL
Members of Saint Anne’s Hospital’s new Geriatric Psychiatry Program team include, from left, Edgardo Angeles, MD, medical director; Barbara Smith, RN, case manager; Margaret Pfeiffer, RN, MS, administrative director; and Theresa Souza, MSW, LICSW, clinical social worker.
PHOTO | GATEHOUSE NEWS SERVICE
Registered nurse Teresa Elmore at Glenwood High School gives junior Kahlin Smith a pain reliever.
Registered nurse Teresa Elmore, who is starting her second year as a school nurse at Glenwood High School in Springfield, Ill., sees 100 to 120 students daily at the high school of more than 1,000 students.
While school nurses must be on the outlook for acute emergen-cies, they are also busy with routine duties. From asthma, diabetes and allergies to stomachaches, head-aches, rashes and more, these nurses ensure kids stay
healthy so they can learn at school.A FIRM FOUNDATION
The school-nursing practice launched on Oct. 1, 1902, when nurse Lina Rogers Struthers was assigned to serve four schools with 10,000 students in lower Manhattan as an experiment to see if school nurses could improve school atten-dance and children’s health, according to the National School Nurse Partnership.
There was a 90 percent drop in the absentee rate in the first year of the trial,
according to “All Your Scrubs,” a Web site about medical apparel
and the medical profession.Today, there are
66,171 school nurses in the country in public and private schools and other school health ser-vices, according to “The Condition of Education (2009),” a publica-
tion of the U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics.
GO SEE THE NURSEStudents with chronic medical condi-
tions need to have medications admin-istered. Diabetics have their blood sugar levels checked throughout the day. Students with emergency conditions have sought Elmore for help with dislocated knees, broken bones and lacerations that needed stitches.
“Most people don’t understand how many kids you really see. A lot of kids will come to you first,” said Elmore, who worked at the Springfield Diabetes & Endocrine Center for four years.
“Parents, instead of going to a doctor, they’ll say, ‘Go see the nurse and see what she says.’ You kind of have to triage and see what’s really wrong. Is it something that they need to go to the doctor for? A lot of parents will send students to us first.”
KEEPING TRACK OF WORKNursing supervision and education
of staff are keys to maintaining a good educational “health atmosphere” so that students can get the best education, said registered nurse Pam Powell, school nurse for 17 years for Auburn Community Unit District 10 in Springfield.
School nursing involves a lot of record keeping and paperwork, Powell and Elmore said — everything from recording when students have physical exams to keeping up with immunizations and whether stu-dents have had eye or dental exams.
“Somebody will walk in, and if there isn’t a student in here, they’ll say, ‘Oh, gee, you don’t have anything to do.’ They get the impression if the room’s empty, there’s nothing to do,” Powell said. “There is tons of paperwork. Everything I do is dictated by parent consent and doctor standing orders.
SICKIN SCHOOL
Nurses are first line of defense for students
