Health news

Calling for stitchers For Preemie Project

The March of Dimes Maine Chapter is calling for stitchers, knitters and crocheters to help make preemie clothing for inclusion in the Preemie Project 1372 event, which takes place Tuesday, Nov. 14, at Augusta Armory. The first lady of Maine and honorary chairwoman of the March of Dimes Maine Chapter Prematurity Campaign, Karen M. Baldacci, will serve as host for the event.

Preemie Project 1372 is a statewide grass-roots project, which this year will result in a visual display of 1372 articles of preemie-sized clothing sewn by volunteers in Maine. The display aims to demonstrate the tiny statures of premature babies and the number born in Maine each year. The clothes, which range from onesies to dresses to tops and bottoms for boys and girls, will be on display all day before being donated to the neonatal intensive care units at hospitals in Bangor, Portland and Lewiston.

Karen Baldacci will speak about the problem of prematurity and read to children from “Evan Early” by Rebecca Hogue Wohjan, a book for siblings of preemies. A Moment of Hope will be observed with a pink and blue lighting display at 5 p.m. at the Augusta Armory.

Sharon Schulberger of March of Dimes Maine Chapter said, “The Preemie Project 1372 was borne out of many women wanting to do something to help and to raise awareness of the crisis of preemie babies. Prematurity is the No. 1 killer of newborns in Maine and the crisis is worsening. Many babies who do survive are often plagued with illnesses such as cerebral palsy, lung disease, mental retardation, learning problems and blindness.”

Schulberger said the emphasis this year is on preemie clothing rather than caps or blankets. Those who wish to make clothing will find patterns for sewing and resources for knitters and crocheters at www.marchofdimes.com/maine. Scroll down the page and click on Preemie Project. then scroll to the end of the page to find the patterns and resources links. Those who do not have computers may call Schulberger at 878-1199 or (800) 668-5678 and she will mail patterns. Finished items should be mailed to: March of Dimes, 60 Gray Road, Falmouth ME 04105-2024. Deadline for delivering preemie clothing is Oct. 25.

Hospice training

BANGOR – Hospice of Eastern Maine, a program of Bangor Area Visiting Nurses, will offer a fall volunteer training course. HOEM is looking for compassionate men and women who feel called to share their time and friendship with neighbors living with terminal illness. HOEM serves communities within 25 miles of Bangor.

Hospice services focus on the physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs of individuals and families at the end of life. HOEM’s volunteers provide friendship and comfort care, not physical care, such as bathing.

HOEM’s fall volunteer training course will be held 5:30-9 p.m. on six Tuesdays, Oct. 10-Nov. 14, at the Eastern Maine Healthcare Mall, 885 Union St., Suite 220. The comprehensive, fast-paced course will prepare prospective volunteers to provide emotional support, respite and bereavement care for hospice patients and families. HOEM’s volunteers are members of an interdisciplinary team that plans and delivers patient care services.

For more information about becoming a volunteer with Hospice of Eastern Maine, please call Wayne Melanson, Director of Volunteer Services at 973-8269 or (800) 350-8269. Aspiring volunteers must complete an application and interview before Friday, Oct. 6. Class size is limited.

Honor for the Millers

BANGOR – Restaurateurs Sonny Miller and John Miller will be honored for their long efforts to bring the Bangor area community together during the annual March of Dimes Dinner Auction on Oct. 17 at the Elks Lodge.

“Members of the community are encouraged to attend the event and help honor the Millers and all of their great efforts to help build and strengthen the Bangor area,” said Gene Staffiere, director of the Northern Maine Division, March of Dimes. “This is an opportunity for the community to honor a family which built Miller’s Restaurant from the ground up into one of the most recognizable establishments in the entire state of Maine. In the charitable spirit of the Miller family, attendees will also be able to enjoy a great meal while raising money to help aid the March Of Dimes’ efforts to save babies.”

The March of Dimes is a national voluntary health agency whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality.

For more information on how you can become involved with October’s dinner auction, contact Gene Staffiere at 989-3376.

Sleep center support group

BANGOR – The St. Joseph Hospital Center for Sleep Medicine will present a panel discussion on “Living with Your CPAP Machine” 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 21, at a meeting of the center’s patient support group at St. Francis Center, 294 Center St.

CPAP is an acronym for “continuous positive airway pressure,” a mechanical method designed to aid breathing during sleep.

The support group is open to the public and holds quarterly meetings for those with sleep disorders.

Refreshments will be served at the meeting compliments of Sleep Well Inc. To register for the meeting, call 262-1630.

Medical assisting

BANGOR – Renee Weeks of Bangor has become a certified medical assistant by passing the American Association of Medical Assistant’s CMA certification examination on June 24. The examination tests clinical and administrative knowledge needed for competent medical assisting practice. Although medical assistants are employed in a wide range of health career delivery settings, they are the only allied health practitioners trained specifically for the physician’s office.

Weeks is a graduate of the medical assisting program at Beal College and is employed by Eastern Maine Medical Center at Husson Family Practice.