Women’s health practitioner

BANGOR – Penobscot Community Health Care announced the recent addition of nurse practitioner Sandra Wardwell to its staff. She joined the medical staff in June and is accepting new patients.

Wardwell began her health care career as an obstetric registered nurse at Eastern Maine Medical Center in the 1980s. In 2002, she completed a master’s degree as a women’s health nurse practitioner at the University of Maine.

When her son left for college, Wardwell decided the time was right for public service, and she was commissioned as a captain in the U.S. Air Force.

Her first two military years were spent in the OB/GYN unit of Malcolm Grow Medical Center, Andrews Air Force Base, Md. In addition, she was selected to serve the current Bush administration as a White House military social aide.

Wardwell’s last two years of active duty were on assignment at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio as a women’s health nurse practitioner. She deployed to Iraq and served for five months as the gynecology provider for all female troops north of Baghdad.

In 2007, Wardwell re-entered civilian life working in a medical affairs setting as a contraceptive expert in the New York City area.

As a full-time PCHC provider, Wardwell will provide routine well-woman exams and periodic consultations and exams for a variety of health needs for women of all ages, from birth control to hormone replacement. Her services will be available at these PCHC clinics each week:

. Monday and Friday at the PCHC specialty clinic, 1012 Union St., Bangor, 945-5245, option 1.

. Tuesday at Capehart Community Clinic, 86 Davis Road, Bangor, 992-2205.

. Wednesday at Brewer Community Clinic, 451 South Main St., 989-1567.

Patients both new and current should call the appropriate clinic for an appointment.

Autism workshop

ORONO – The University of Maine Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies will host a three-hour workshop on an approach to assessing and intervening with children with autism.

The workshop will focus on Developmental Individual Difference, Relational-based/Floortime, or DIR/Floortime, and it will run from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, July 26, at the Wells Conference Center on the UM campus.

“An Introduction to DIR/Floortime” focuses on helping children master the building blocks of relating, communicating and thinking.

Registration is $20 and includes light refreshments.

Dr. Kathleen A. Platzman is the presenter. Platzman, a Maine native, received a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1983 and is a licensed psychologist who specializes in working with people with autism. She is a faculty member of the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders, founded by Dr. Stanley Greenspan and Dr. Serena Wieder.

The workshop is for parents, teachers, therapists, public school personnel and administrators, or anyone who wants to learn more about the DIR/Floortime approach. A limited number of complimentary registrations are available for parents and family members. For information, or to register, contact Margaret Zubik by e-mail at ccidsmail@umit.maine.edu, by phone at 800-203-6957 (v/tty), or by fax at 581-1231.

The registration deadline is July 24.

MaineCare outreach

A $5,000 grant from KeyBank of Maine will enable the Maine Children’s Alliance to launch a Back to School campaign to enroll more eligible children in the federally supported MaineCare program, according to alliance President Elinor Goldberg.

Dick Lucas, president, Maine District, KeyBank, said of the recent donation, said the donations focus on work force development, financial literacy and family self-sufficiency. “Helping children leads to a stronger work force and greater self-sufficiency,” Lucas said.

While significantly increased federal support for MaineCare funding has allowed the state to sharply reduce the number of children without health insurance, several thousand families are still eligible but have not enrolled, Goldberg said.

“Regular access to health care is one of the most important indicators of early childhood success,” she said. “Outreach, including coverage in the news media and other public forums, is an important step toward making sure this program reaches everyone it should.”

According the alliance’s 2008 Kids Count Data Book, 11,000 Maine children are eligible whose parents have not enrolled them, including 5,000 in families with incomes below federal poverty guidelines.

Chords for Cure concert

Eastern Maine Medical Center’s Cure Kids Cancer project will present its first Chords for Cure concert at 7 p.m. Saturday, July 26, at the Sports Cafe, 19 Mill St., Orono. Wristbands costing $10 will be available at the door.

The concert is made possible because EMMC trauma surgeon Ian D. Dickey has a band with other area professionals called Stone Doctors. They play classic rock with an emphasis on the Rolling Stones.

“Music and medicine have always been a passion of mine since I was young – to have an opportunity to pursue both and help children with cancer is an honor,” Dickey said.

WKIT-FM 100.3 is helping to promote the concert.

Road to Recovery drivers

The American Cancer Society need volunteers to drive cancer patients to doctor appointments. To learn more, call 800-227-2345.