THE GIRARD CITY BOARD OF HEALTH will meet at 7 p.m. today in Council Chambers, upstairs in the City Building.
THE ALZHEIMER'S ASSOCIATION will hold its monthly Caregiver Support Groups on the following dates:
- Jan. 4 at 10 a.m. at the Senior Center of Mahoning County, 1110 Fifth Ave., Youngstown.
- Jan. 11 at 7 p.m. at Howland United Methodist Church, 730 Howland-Wilson Road N.E., Howland Township.
- Jan. 19 at 10 a.m. at Trumbull Memorial Hospital, 1350 E. Market St., Conference Room F, Warren.
For more information, call the Alzheimer's Association at 330-533-3300 or 800-272-3900.
WARREN WEST COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER, 716 Tod Ave., Warren, is offering a flu clinic from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m. daily. Medicaid and Medicare will be accepted. All others are $20 each. Walk-ins are welcome. For information, call 330-373-0222.
COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT GROUP will meet from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Tuesdays at First United Methodist Church, 309 N. Park Ave., Warren, and from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Wednesdays at the church. This group is for those with or those who know someone with a mental illness. For more information, call the church at 330-392-6276.
THE Q CLUB FITNESS FACILITY is offering a free workout the third Saturday morning of each month. Offered are cardio classes, zumba and water classes. For more information, call 330-856-4777.
A CHRISTIAN CANCER SUPPORT GROUP will meet at 6:30 p.m. the first and third Tuesday of each month, at 1228 Niles-Vienna Road. There will be fun, fellowship, food and faith-based support. For registration and more information, call Jean at 330-856-1634 and leave a message.
The NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Mahoning Valley Daytime Support Group meets from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. the first and third Thursday of each month at the Girard Free Library, corner of North Avenue and Broadway. The NAMI Mahoning Valley Evening Support Group meets from 7 to 9 p.m. the second and fourth Tuesday of the month at the D&E Center, 142 Javit Court, Austintown. For more information, call Dianna at 330-540-8583.
The MAMMOVAN Medical Imaging Network will offer breast cancer screenings for women from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. the second Tuesday of each month at the Warren Family Mission parking lot, 361 Elm Road N.E., Warren. The screenings are for women 30 and older.
For more information, call 330-726-2064.
POSTPARTUM SUPPORT INTERNATIONAL has formed in the Youngstown/Warren area and will meet from 6:30 to 8 p.m. the first and third Thursday of every month at the D&E Counseling Center, 142 Javit Court, Austintown. For more information, contact Jodi at 330-207-1385 or jodi@poemonline.org.
The YWCA LUPUS SUPPORT GROUP meets from noon to 2 p.m. the first Tuesday of each month at the Oak Hill Renaissance Center, 345 Oakhill Ave., Youngstown. Meetings are free and usually feature a guest speaker. Transportation to meetings is available.
The YWCA support group meetings are made possible through a grant from the Ohio Commission on Minority Health and in cooperation with the Lupus Foundation of America Inc., Akron Chapter.
For more information about the group, contact Patricia Phillips at the YWCA of Youngstown at 330-746-6361.
PARKINSON'S SUPPORT GROUP meets from 1:30 to 3 p.m. the second Wednesday of each month at Howland United Methodist Church, 730 Howland Wilson Road N.E. For more information, call Beverly at 330-856-4286.
ST. JOE'S AT THE MALL is open from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday and 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday and is located next to Sears at the Eastwood Mall. Call 330-652-7542 to register.
The schedule includes:
- Flu and pneumonia vaccines available various days. Cost is $25 for flu and $38 for pneumonia. Medicare, Medicaid and Medicare HMO will be billed. Call 330-652-7542 for appointment.
- Free blood pressure screenings 9 a.m. to noon every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
- Weight management strength training program for $20 a month. Nutrition classes will be once a month on diet and behavior modification. Call 330-652-7542 to register.
- Strong Bones, Strong People program. This is a free, 12-week program for people with osteoporosis, low bone density or at high risk. It offers personalized strength training by a fitness trainer and nutritional education to improve muscle strength and nutrition. The exercise room is open Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. or 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Call to register 330-652-7542.
- Dec. 30: 1 to 4 p.m. - Free peripheral vascular disease screening. By appointment only. Call 330-652-7542.
- Dec. 30: 1 to 4 p.m. - Free notary public services and free living wills and durable power of attorney for healthcare.
NORTHSIDE MEDICAL CENTER Community Calendar:
- Childbirth Preparation Series is a four-week series of educational classes held each week to help for birth experience. Classes are 7 to 9 p.m. each Wednesday in the John Politis Auditorium in Auditorium C. The cost of the class is $50. Medicaid, Caresource or Unison can be billed directly for registration fee. Bring card to class.
- Breastfeeding class: This class provides parents with up-to-date information to help them make the best informed choice when it comes to breastfeeding your new baby. This class meets the second Tuesday of every month from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the John Politis Auditorium. ($10; free if enrolled in childbirth class) To register for Northside Medical Center classes, call 330-884-2912.
- RTS Bereavement Services is a parent support program for families who are grieving over the loss of their baby through miscarriage, stillbirth or newborn death. The group meets 7 to 9 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month, in the Medical Education Building, Auditorium A, at Northside Medical Center, 500 Gypsy Lane, Youngstown. For more information, call 330-884-2911.
HILLSIDE REHABILITATION HOSPITAL
- The Stroke Education for Caregivers and Survivors meets from 6:30 to 7 p.m. every Wednesday at Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital in the nursing unit. For more information, contact 330-841-3891.
- Our Living with Stroke support group meets at Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital in the boardroom from 2:30 to 4 p.m. on the first Thursday of every month. For more information, call 330-841-3891.
- The Mahoning Valley Spinal Cord Injury Support Group meets the second Monday of every month from 5 to 7 p.m., in the Occupational Therapy Department at Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital. All spinal cord injury patients and their family and friends are welcome. The goals of the group are to assist disabled people in finding programs and agencies that can assist them and provide social activities for all who attend. For information, call Rick Ackerman at 330-550-3616 or e-mail Bird196@aol.com.
TRUMBULL MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
- Total Knee Arthroplasty Class - 1 to 2 p.m. today and Dec. 28, on 8 East. Call 330-841-9938 to register.
- Alzheimer's Association Meeting - 10 to 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday. Call 330-533-3300 to register.
- Diabetes Day Group Class 2 to 3 p.m. Dec. 27 and 28; 1:30 to 3 p.m. Dec. 29 and 30. Class meets in Diabetes Room 905. Call 330-841-9689 to register. Physician referral required.
SLIMDOWN, a six-week weight management program taught by registered dietitians who are certified in weight management, will begin classes the first week of January at Humility of Mary Health Partners sites in Warren and Boardman. Classes are scheduled for 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays, Jan. 4 to Feb. 8 at St. Joe's at the Mall, Eastwood Mall, Niles; and Thursdays, Jan. 6 to Feb, 10 at St. Elizabeth Boardman Health Center, 5401 Market Street, Boardman. Cost is $40 for new participants and $20 for repeat participants.Dietitians will teach lifestyle changes in food, activities and behaviors. To register for the class, call Humility of Mary Healthline at 330-480-3151 or toll free at 877-700-4647. Payment is due at the time of registration.
Also, Humility of Mary Health Partners and the staff of the D.D. and Velma Davis Family YMCA in Boardman have teamed up to provide a SLIMDOWN FOR KIDS weight management program Jan. 3 to Feb. 10. Participants meet from 5 to 6 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays for fitness activities and 5 to 6:30 p.m. on Wednesdays for a nutrition class, which parents/guardians also attend. The first hour of the nutrition class is child focused and the last half hour is for parents/guardians only while the child takes part in more fitness activities. Registered dietitians certified in childhood and adolescent weight management teach the nutrition classes; fitness classes are taught by YMCA fitness instructors. All classes are held at the D.D. and Velma Davis Family YMCA at 45 McClurg Road, Boardman.
Registration is through the Y. YMCA members may register online. All others may call for a registration form at 330-480-5656. Cost is $60 for the six-week, three-day-a-week program.
ST. ELIZABETH HEALTH CENTER will demonstrate the LIFENET STEMI system today, at noon in the private dining rooms on the second floor at St. Elizabeth's. Hospital leadership and members from the EMS community will be in attendance.
To treat patients even faster, HMHP has implemented the LIFENET STEMI Management System which helps speed time to treatment and improves care and outcomes for patients suffering from a dangerous form of heart attack known as STEMI (ST elevated myocardial infarction).
HMHP has partnered with area EMS agencies on the LIFENET system. Modems installed in EMS units are able to perform a diagnostic-quality electrocardiogram (EKG) on a heart attack patient at the scene. The data is then transmitted to the selected emergency room at the push of a button. The LIFENET system sounds an alarm on a computer in the hospital's emergency room. There, a physician reviews the EKG to confirm a STEMI and the emergency room staff begins preparing for the patient's arrival - all while that patient is being transported to the hospital.
The system is in place at all three hospital locations -St. Joseph Health Center, St. Elizabeth Health Center, St. Elizabeth Boardman Health Center - and at the St. Elizabeth Emergency and Diagnostic Center in Austintown. Any patient with a confirmed STEMI heart attack is taken to St. Elizabeth Health Center in Youngstown, where there are cardiac catheterization labs equipped to perform angioplasty procedures to open the blockage in the heart and the most experienced interventional cardiologists in the Mahoning Valley on staff.
HMHP is the area's only health care system with the LIFENET in place at all hospital emergency room locations.