20-minute HIV tests

BANGOR – The Bangor STD Clinic is now offering 20-minute HIV tests. Results of the test are ready in 20 minutes and are 99 percent accurate. The tests are done by an oral swab in the mouth, so there is no need to take blood. The price is $50.

With the incidence of HIV on the increase, the need to be tested for HIV is greater. Because the new test is so fast and so accurate, there is no need to return to the clinic for the results of the test.

The Bangor STD Clinic will do anonymous HIV testing. The clinic also offers sexually transmitted disease testing as well. To obtain more information or to make an appointment, call 947-0700.

New PCHC offices

BANGOR – Penobscot Community Health Care, the largest federally qualified health care center in Maine, and one of New England’s largest community health centers, recently opened new offices in Old Town and at the Manna Homeless Shelter in Bangor.

Penobscot Community Health Care and the Maine Primary Care Association held a ribbon cutting ceremony on Aug. 8 at its primary site, a new building on Union Street in Bangor. The event kicked off the nationwide observation of National Health Care Week.

Penobscot Community Health Care is one of 18 federally qualified health care centers in Maine that operate 40 community health centers from Sanford to Eagle Lake and from Bethel to Eastport. The centers serve approximately 120,000 low-income and medically under-served people in urban and rural locations. The centers provide comprehensive, affordable primary and preventive health care to individuals regardless of ability to pay. Across the U.S., such health centers serve more than 15 million people.

Race for the Cure

Avoid the lines and the hassle by registering online for the ninth annual Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation’s Race for the Cure set for Sunday, Sept. 18, on the Bangor Waterfront.

A race registration storefront also is being set up at the Bangor Mall. Volunteers will stuff 3,000 race goodie bags from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 30, at the storefront.

The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation was established in 1982 by Nancy Brinker to honor the memory of her sister, Susan G. Komen, who died of breast cancer in 1980 at age 36. Today, the foundation is an international organization with 113 affiliates in communities nationwide and other countries. The Komen Foundation and its affiliates fund breast-cancer research, education, screening and treatment programs for the medically under-served. The foundation has raised more than $750 million in the fight against breast cancer.

To register for the race or to obtain more information, visit www.komenmaine.com.

Interim CEO

Daniel Coffey, executive vice president and chief financial officer at Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems, has been named interim chief executive officer, the corporation announced Wednesday.

Coffey will stand in for retiring president and CEO Norm Ledwin, who announced his retirement earlier this summer after 12 years. Ledwin’s retirement is effective Oct. 1, when Coffey will take over.

A national search is under way for Ledwin’s replacement. EMHS board chairman Jack Palmer said that Coffey will serve until a permanent CEO is named. In an earlier interview, Palmer indicated that whoever was named interim CEO might also be considered a candidate for the permanent position.

Beach to Beach Swim

The fifth annual Beach to Beach Swim for Breast Cancer on Aug. 7 raised $14,343.47 for Caring Connections. The goal for the event was $10,000. The amount raised was double that of last year. More than 95 swimmers participated.

One of the highlights of the days was a donation from Rudy Eyerer, who raised more than $1,800. Top fundraising team was Town and Country Realtors.

Beach to Beach participants swam any distance, up to two miles, and raised funds by collecting pledges and donations.

Beach to Beach was sponsored by the Bangor Y, Sandollar Spa and Pool, the Junior League of Bangor and Eastern Maine Medical Center.

Caring Connections provides breast-health education, screening, diagnostic and treatment services to uninsured or underinsured women, and Encoreplus support groups for women with breast cancer.