DOVER-FOXCROFT — Mayo Regional Hospital is joining hospitals, physicians and other health care providers across the nation, in offering a therapy for heart disease that doesn’t involve drugs or surgery. Mayo’s program is based on the Dr. Dean Ornish Diet for Reversing Heart Disease.

Dr. Ornish believes that a strict vegetarian diet, daily exercise and stress reduction, may produce a longer-lasting cure for patients who are treated with traditional methods such as bypass surgery, only to develop clogged arteries again.

The kickoff to the hospital’s program will be a public supper at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 22, in the Congregational church chapel in Dover-Foxcroft. The supper will include dishes from the low-fat diet in the Ornish program. The intent is to introduce people to the benefits of the diet and demonstrate that there are tasty, easy-to-make dishes that meet the diet’s guidelines.

Tickets for the meal are $3 per person. Reservations may be made by calling Kathy Willey at 564-8401, Ext. 251. Tickets must be paid for by Tuesday, Feb. 15.

Seating is limited to 100 people.

An educational session featuring Dr. Lesley Fernow will be conducted after the supper. She will discuss the features of the Ornish diet and talk about the success some of her patients have had with it. A panel discussion with Fernow, Marion McLellan, a registered dietitian, and patients following the diet also will be part of the program.

Anyone interested in learning more about the Ornish program is encouraged to talk with their physician, who can refer them for a diet consultation. Individuals should begin the program under the supervision of their physician, and should not make decisions concerning current treatment without talking with their doctor.

For more information, contact Marion McLellan at 564-8401, Ext. 295.