Better Hearing and Speech Month

BANGOR – Each May, the Warren Center for Communication and Learning celebrates Better Hearing and Speech Month.

The event is designed to raise awareness and promote treatment of communication disorders. Communication disorders include hearing loss, tinnitus – or ringing in the ears, difficulty with swallowing or balance, stuttering, delayed language and voice problems.

Upcoming events are:

. Annual yard sale, Saturday, May 31, 175 Union St. Those who want to donate gently used goods for the sale may call 941-2850.

. Brown Bag Lunch and Learn, “Communicating with a loved one with memory disorders,” 11:45 a.m. Wednesday, May 28, Bangor Public Library.

Geriatric nursing leadership

BANGOR – Rosscare announced that Amy E. Cotton has been accepted into the first national Geriatric Nursing Leadership Academy of the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International.

The academy, funded by the John A. Hartford Foundation and in partnership with the Hartford Foundation’s Centers for Geriatric Nursing, was developed to prepare, position and recognize the ability of nurses to influence practice and patient outcomes in geriatric health care.

During the training, the academy will develop the leadership skills of nurses at key health care institutions.

Nurse Lisa Harvey-McPherson, vice president of Continuum of Care at Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems, said, “I am delighted by Amy’s acceptance into the Geriatric Nursing Leadership Academy. Geriatric nursing leadership is essential as we care for older adults in Maine. Preparation through the leadership academy will ensure that we fulfill our obligation to support nurses in developing skills to provide excellence in care to our aging baby boomers.”

During the academy, participants work with mentors to develop a project that cultivates the participant’s leadership competency and skills.

Dr. Marilyn R. Gugliucci of the New England College of Osteopathic Medicine will be Cotton’s mentor.

As part of its vision to become the best rural health care system in America by 2012, officials said, EMHS is striving to eliminate all preventable errors from medical care.

Cotton will work with EMHS long-term care providers on her Geriatric Nurse Leadership Academy project, “The Long-Term Care Zero Defect Project: Improving Geriatric Health Care Outcomes Utilizing Gap Analysis.”

Starting in June, each academy class will offer a national workshop, monthly online learning opportunities, facility site visits, project implementation and evaluation and project presentation.

“Nurses are pivotal to the delivery of quality care to geriatric patients,” said nurse Mary Rita Hurley, honor society International Leadership Institute director. “Yet many nurses do not have the necessary skills to lead in geriatric clinical settings. The Geriatric Nursing Leadership Academy will build leadership capacity in healthcare settings serving older adults across the United States.”

Nursing Honor Society

Omicron Xi-At-Large Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Honor Society held its 10th annual induction of members April 27.

Membership is based on academic performance, leadership skills and potential to advance nursing practice.

In addition to undergraduate students, the chapter inducted graduate nursing students and community nurse leaders. The highlight of the event was a keynote presentation by Dr. Jean Symonds, one of the founders of the chapter.

Symonds spoke of the history of the chapter and the development of partnership between the University of Maine School of Nursing and Husson College School of Nursing.

New members and their families enjoyed a buffet and were congratulated by nurse leaders including Sue Hermansen, president; Valerie Sauda, president-elect; Dr. Mary Brakey, counselor from the University of Maine; Dr. Judy Kuhns-Hastings, vice president from the University of Maine; Connie Sprague, counselor from Husson College; Mary Tedesco-Schneck, vice president from Husson; and Sherry Winchester, leadership succession.

New members will work with chapter leaders in eastern and central Maine to help implement Vision 2020, the new strategic plan for Sigma Theta Tau International.

National EMS Week

May 19-24 is National EMS Week, a time to recognize and honor the men and women in emergency services who dedicate their lives to public safety.

Capital Ambulance is celebrating EMS Week by helping those in local communities, but this time their efforts won’t involve lights and sirens. Capital staff will collect nonperishable foods and personal care items 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Thursday, May 22, at the Brewer Wal-Mart. Those items will be distributed to local nonprofit agencies in Greater Bangor.

“The mission of those of us in EMS is to help others, so we thought what better way to recognize what we do than by making sure that those in our communities who need it most have the food and other items they need,” said Chuck McMahon, chief operating officer.

Walk to defeat ALS

BANGOR – The ALS Association Northern New England Chapter is organizing the first ALS Walk in Bangor. It will be on Saturday, Aug. 23, at Hayford Park on Union Street. Registration begins at 9 a.m. and the walk will step off at 10 a.m.

Dr. Greg Cox, an ALS researcher from The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, will be a guest speaker.

The event’s planning committee, led by Bangor native Lisa Kingsbury, is seeking volunteers, walkers and donors. “We are hoping for a good turnout,” Kingsbury said. “Our main goals are to increase awareness of the disease and raise funds that will go toward ALS research.”

Kingsbury and her husband, Jim, who was diagnosed with ALS, recently were featured in the Bangor Daily News in an article about the disease.

For information on how to support the walk, call Lisa Kingsbury at 659-5019, e-mail l.kingsbury@roadrunner.com, or visit www.alsanne.org.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a progressive, fatal neuromuscular disease that slowly robs the body of its ability to walk, speak, swallow and breathe. The life expectancy of an ALS patient averages two to five years from time of diagnosis. Every 90 minutes, someone in the United States is diagnosed, and every 90 minutes another person will lose the battle against the disease.

Senior health, fitness day

OLD TOWN – The Old Town-Orono YMCA will celebrate the 15th annual National Senior Health and Fitness Day 6:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 28. As an official host site, the Old Town-Orono YMCA will hold a Senior Fitness Fair for those age 55 and older.

The Old Town-Orono YMCA promotes an active, healthy lifestyle through physical fitness, good nutrition and preventive care.

The Senior Fitness Fair will include classes and workshops. Facilities at the Old Town-Orono YMCA include the Cyr Family Field House, the Herbert Sargent Therapeutic Pool, the Douglas Springer Fitness Center and the older-adult room. Workshop subjects range from balance and strength to power of the mind. The fair is free to seniors.

For information, call Kristy Albee at 827-6111, e-mail kristy.albee@umit.maine.edu or visit www.otoymac.org.

Pink tulip garden

BANGOR – In October 2007, Vicky Blanchette and her neighbors in Bangor’s Little City area set to work creating a space at Broadway and Center Street where they planted 500 pink tulip bulbs as part of the Maine Cancer Foundation’s Pink Tulip Project. The garden is in honor of Blanchette’s mother, who died of breast cancer at age 65. She also planted 40 yellow tulips in honor of a male friend who survived breast cancer.

Blanchette said she went out and talked to the bulbs earlier this spring, urging them to grow and bloom. Apparently it’s working, because the more she clears away excess mulch and dirt, she said, the more sunshine the tulips get and the more stronger they appear.

Planting the garden raised $745 for the Maine Cancer Foundation. As a garden leader, she asked for a donation of $1 for each bulb she planted. The tulips are now in bloom.

Diabetes Support Group

BANGOR – St. Joseph Healthcare’s daytime Diabetes Support Group will meet at 1 p.m. Thursday, June 5, in the Diabetes and Nutrition Center, Building 1, St. Joseph Healthcare Park, 900 Broadway.

Group members share personal experiences relating to diabetes management, stress reduction and coping skills. June’s program will feature Val Sauda of the Eastern Area Agency on Aging, with an overview of the agency’s services.

A second, evening support group meets the second Tuesday of the month. The June meeting for this group will be at 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 10, also at the Diabetes and Nutrition Center. For information about either support group, call St. Joseph Healthcare’s Diabetes and Nutrition Center at 262-1870.