Mother Mary Angela Service Awards

BANGOR – St. Joseph Healthcare and the Felician Sisters held the annual Founder’s Day celebration on Nov. 21.

As a part of the celebration, three individuals were recognized with the highest honor awarded by the hospital, the Mother Mary Angela Service Award.

Mother Mary Angela founded the Felician Sisters on Nov. 21, 1855. Each anniversary, the Mother Mary Angela Awards are presented to one clinical employee, one employee from a non-clinical department and one volunteer who continue to practice the mission of Mother Mary Angela today.

Individuals are nominated by their peers with the recipients chosen by the St. Joseph Healthcare Mission Advisory Committee made up of employees from within the organization.

This year’s clinical recipient is nurse Vicki Kolenik of Bangor, the employee health nurse-ethics coordinator. She has been a St. Joseph Hospital employee since 1986, when she was a part-time nursing supervisor.

“I feel very honored and humbled to have been chosen for this award,” Kolenik said. “St. Joseph has been like a second family to me.”

Dean Hanson of Clifton is the non-clinical employee recipient. Hanson joined the hospital laundry department in 1981 and is now the laundry supervisor.

“It means a great deal to me to be working here,” Hanson said. “I like to get up in the morning and know that when I come to work, I am working to help somebody, to be a part of this mission.”

The volunteer recipient, Marianne Ruhrold of Hampden, loves what she does and refers to herself as a “professional volunteer.” After battling and surviving cancer, she wanted to give something back. Ruhrold has volunteered in the cardiopulmonary care unit at St. Joseph Hospital for 12 years.

“My joy is in meeting the patients,” she said. “Sometimes, just holding a hand and listening to a story once in a while – that’s what I enjoy most.”

‘The House That Love Built’

BANGOR – They call each one “The House That Love Built,” and that’s certainly true for the building at 654 State St.

The Ronald McDonald House in Bangor opened on Dec. 16, 1983. For a quarter-century, the home has welcomed families who needed a place to stay while tending to sick children being treated at local hospitals – and often couples who need to be nearby their premature infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Eastern Maine Medical Center.

The executive director and house manager, Pat Beckwith, has been with Ronald McDonald House from Day 1.

Dina Casey is the assistant house manager, and there are three part-time employees, not to mention some 60 volunteers.

Two open houses have been scheduled to mark the house’s 25th anniversary:

. An open house for the business community on Tuesday, Dec. 2.

. A public open house coinciding with the 25th anniversary on Tuesday, Dec. 16.

McDonald’s helps support the Ronald McDonald House, but additional funds – and time – are always needed.

What can you do to help?

. Save your soda tabs, for which the house receives 50 cents a pound.

. Donate through the “donor designation” feature of United Way.

. Purchase a new book for a child or an adult and drop it off.

. Cook a dinner for families staying at the house, many of whom can’t afford to eat out. Bring by some sweets.

. Take a cooking class for $20 at the house, available January through November.

. Remember the Ronald McDonald House in planned giving.

For information, call the Ronald McDonald House at 942-9003.

New location for day spa

BANGOR – Skin Necessities Day Spa has a new location in Stillwater Professional Plaza.

The day spa will hold its grand opening 2-7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 28, at 33 Penn Plaza, Suite C.

Skin Necessities owner Katie Narofsky, a registered nurse and licensed aesthetician, and co-worker Hannah Leavitt, a licensed electrolysist and licensed aesthetician, have been in business for six years, offering skin care services and electrolysis.

Dianne Grandchamp, licensed massage therapist of Tender Touch Bodywork, has been a massage therapist for seven years.

Jenn Small, formerly of the Polished Look in Hampden, will be doing nail care.

The women are coming together to offer the Bangor area a relaxing new day spa, Narofsky said. The spa will offer clinical skin care, massage therapy, electrolysis, make-up, air-brush tanning, pedicures and manicures.

“The staff is professional and highly trained in the latest treatments,” Narofsky said. “We invite you to come and ‘Relax, Renew and Restore’ yourself.”

For more information, call 990-4772 or 852-6688.

Award recipient

BANGOR – Northeast Occupational Exchange has received The Caleb Group’s annual Community Award.

NOE was nominated for the award by Caleb Group Resident Services Coordinator Laurie Holmes.

The Caleb Group is a non-profit organization that provides resident services for area housing communities, as well as others in Maine and New England. It is dedicated to helping elderly, disabled and low income individuals remain independent by linking them to area agencies in order to obtain services including mental health, housekeeping, home health care, transportation, budgeting and other services.

NOE is a licensed mental health and substance abuse agency serving children, adolescents and adults with centers in Bangor, Lincoln, Newport, Dexter and Portland.

NOE’s services include individual and group outpatient, case management, community support, including a strong commitment to parent training and child treatment, day treatment, residential, 24-hour emergency care, vocational and psychological testing.

National Home Care and Hospice Month

BANGOR – More than 11 million Americans receive home-delivered health care and hospice services from home health care providers.

In their honor, Bangor Area Visiting Nurses and Hospice of Eastern Maine join the National Association for Home Care and Hospice in celebrating November as National Home Care and Hospice Month.

“Our staff works hard every day to serve the sick, elderly and dying,” said Carol Carew, BAVN director. “Home care professionals, volunteers and modern medicine make it possible for people to stay in their homes, regardless of their condition. We are proud of our 40 staff members and nearly 100 volunteers. They make it possible for our neighbors and friends to stay at home – where they most want to be.”

Through technological advances, home-delivered health care has grown far beyond basic professional nursing and home care aide services. Today’s modern home care agency offers a wealth of nursing, physical, occupational, respiratory and speech therapies, counseling, dietary and personal care.

Home care services are paid for by public and private sources or directly by patients and their families. Home care continues to be the preferred means of receiving quality health care services for millions of Americans.

Founded in 1913, Bangor Area Visiting Nurses is celebrating 95 years of service to the community. For information about its home care and hospice services, visit Bangor Area Visiting Nurses at www.bavn.org or call 973-6550. Last year BAVN staff drove 163,043 miles to provide 13,722 visits to 736 patients and their families.