Health care quality

BANGOR – Georges Nashan, director of performance improvement for St. Joseph Healthcare, will serve a one-year term as president-elect for the Maine Association for Healthcare Quality. He will serve in 2004 as president and in 2005 as immediate past president.

Nashan has been a member of MAHQ since 1993. He was treasurer in 2002 and also served on the program committee. Nashan was the recipient of the “Distinguished Member of the Year” award in 2001 and 2002, the only MAHQ member to receive the award two consecutive years.

Nashan joined St. Joseph Healthcare in 1984. He holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Rhode Island and a master’s degree in business from Husson College.

Health screening

BANGOR – Blood pressure and cholesterol screening will be held 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 12, at the YMCA, 128 Hammond St. The cost is $12. To make an appointment, call 973-7088.

Daffodil Days

BANGOR – The American Cancer Society’s Daffodil Days are about to bloom in the Bangor area. During the week of March 24, volunteers will deliver daffodils to area residents and work toward the society’s goal of raising $275,000 in Maine this year.

The donation for a bouquet of 10 daffodils is $6. For a Gift of Hope, a bouquet arranged in a vase and given anonymously to a cancer patient in a nursing home or hospital, the donation is $15. To place a daffodil order, call 989-0332 by March 7.

MS open house

HAMPDEN – The Maine Chapter, National Multiple Sclerosis Society held an open house at the chapter’s outreach office to celebrate expanded services and a new location at 735 Main Road North.

The outreach office was located in Bangor for the last three years. Representatives from the offices of U.S. Sens. Olympia Snow and Susan Collins, city officials, and Gail Kelly, mayor of Brewer and member of the MS Society board of trustees, attended the ribbon cutting ceremony.

Sue Tidd has joined the MS Society as the new development coordinator. She will work to expand the MS Walk in northern and eastern Maine, which drew 1,900 walkers last year.

“We are thrilled to have Sue aboard,” said Kris Dorer, chapter president. “This new addition to our staff will bring us one step closer to accomplishing our mission: to end the devastating effects of MS. We also thank Webber Oil Company for a generous donation which made this move possible.”

Tidd came to the MS Society from United Way of Mid-Maine, where she worked as resource coordinator for five campaigns. She was responsible for fund raising, public relations, marketing, communications and youth initiatives.

To obtain information, call the MS Society at 942-8604, (800) 273-4703, or visit the Web at www.msmaine.org.

Honor for The Weekly

BANGOR – The Weekly was honored by the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation on Jan. 21 in Lewiston. Editor Roxanne Moore Saucier accepted the organization’s 2002 Maine Media Award in the field of Weekly Print for supporting the March of Dimes Campaign for Healthier Babies.

Weekly newspapers in Rumford and York County received honorable mention.

Gene Staffiere, director of the Northern Maine Division of the March of Dimes, attended the annual meeting. For information on March of Dimes activities, call the Brewer office at 989-3376.

Camp Sunshine

SEBAGO – For families who have a child undergoing active treatment for cancer, or whose child has been on maintenance or out of treatment for up to two years, Camp Sunshine offers its first-ever winter oncology program Feb. 14-18.

The nonprofit organization on Sebago Lake serves each year more than 500 families of children dealing with life-threatening diseases.

Funding for the February session is provided by the Shawnee Peak Moonlight Charity Challenge. For more information about the February session, call Camp Sunshine at 655-3800.