Ibot demonstration

BANGOR – The Ibot, the wheelchair that climbs stairs, will be demonstrated during the next meeting of the Physical Disabilities Support Group at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, April 5, at Alpha One, 1048 Union St.

Also on display will be the Renegade, the Maine all-terrain vehicle for use by people with disabilities, and a standing frame.

Gam-Anon meetings

ORONO – Gam-Anon, a program for family and friends of problem gamblers, will hold meetings at 7 p.m. Thursdays, beginning April 12, at the Church of Universal Fellowship, 82 Main St. For information, call 827-5406.

Film on opiate education

BANGOR – The Close to Home Opiate Education Campaign, with the support of Acadia Hospital, Community Health and Counseling and Eastern Maine Community College, will sponsor the free Bangor premiere of the short film “Falling” at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 12, at Schoodic Hall, EMCC campus.

A panel discussion will be held afterward. Parents are encouraged to attend with their middle or high school children. Seating is limited. Please preregister by April 10 by calling 973-6119.

The nonprofit organization Project Aware has worked with Maine teens to write, direct and act in “Falling,” and the Close to Home Campaign is supporting their efforts to share the film and its important message. Project Aware and Close to Home will send a “Falling” DVD and other educational materials this spring to every middle and high school in the state.

Program on healthy aging

BANGOR – Rosscare has been awarded a $4,000 grant from MaineHealth’s Partnership for Healthy Aging. The funds will be used to offer elderly community members the Living Well-Chronic Disease Self Management Program.

Rosscare’s Center for Healthy Aging will offer the Living Well program as a series of workshops in community settings, instructed by community volunteers.

The workshops are designed to enhance wellness for aging people living with chronic illness. Topics include: Techniques to deal with problems such as fatigue, pain and isolation; appropriate exercise for maintaining strength and endurance; appropriate use of medications; communicating effectively with health professionals; and nutrition.

Rosscare’s participation in Living Well affords opportunities for regional capacity building in the senior wellness arena and research collaboration with MaineHealth’s Partnership for Healthy Aging and the Maine Office of Elder Services.

Maine Quality Forum

The Dirigo Health Agency in Augusta has announced the appointment of Bangor native Dr. Josh Cutler as acting director of Dirigo Health Agency’s Maine Quality Forum.

The Maine Quality Forum was created as part of Dirigo Health. Its mission is to advocate for high-quality health care and help each Maine citizen make informed health care choices. To achieve its mission, the Maine Quality Forum serves as a clearinghouse of best practices and information to improve health, and acts as an informational resource for providers and consumers.

Cutler served on the Hospital Study Commission and the Advisory Council on Health Systems Development, both of which were integral in formulating the State Health Plan.

Cutler is a cardiologist who most recently has practiced in South Portland with Maine Cardiology Associates and on the staff of Maine Medical Center and Mercy Hospital. He has a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and a medical degree from Duke University.

STD Awareness Month

BANGOR – Condom usage for Maine teens is well below the national rate, according to Dr. Dora Anne Mills, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. This places youth at risk for sexually transmitted diseases and other serious health issues, she said, adding that April is STD Awareness Month.

In 2006, chlamydia infections most often were diagnosed in young people between 15 and 24, accounting for 76 percent of cases. The same age group accounted for 45 percent of gonorrhea cases last year.

Jennifer Pinette, Family Life Education Component coordinator for Penquis CAP Health Services, said most people do not think they will get an STD.

She recalls the plight of one girl who had approached her after an in-class presentation on birth control options, including abstinence, and STDs.

“A young girl [15 or so] approached me and informed me she had genital warts,” Pinette said. “She was obviously heartbroken, and the look on her face and the tone of her voice expressed the emotions she was feeling – disappointment and embarrassment. She told me that she had sex with only one partner, whom she loved, and didn’t think about getting STDs. She was concerned about getting pregnant so she was using a birth control method to prevent pregnancy only.

The United States has the highest STD rate, with 18.9 million new cases (including HIV) each year. More than half of all people will have an STD at some point in their lifetime.

Each year, one in four teens contracts an STD. One in two sexually active persons will contract an STD by age 25. As many as one in five Americans have genital herpes. Approximately one-fourth of those with HIV do not know they are infected.

Chlamydia is the most frequently reported STD in the United States, especially among teens and young adults. Fewer than half of adults ages 18 to 44 have ever been tested for an STD other than HIV-AIDS.

Many STDs have no symptoms. The only way to know is to get tested. Most STDs are curable or can be controlled to prevent complications. Untreated STDs in women can result in serious complications such as infertility, tubal pregnancy, pelvic inflammatory disease, chronic pain and cervical cancer.

For STD information, testing and treatment, call Penquis CAP Health Services at 973-3650. Services are provided using a sliding fee scale. MaineCare, Medicare and most insurance plans are accepted.

Award for LifeFlight

BANGOR – The LifeFlight Foundation was recognized by the National Association of Air Medical Services with the first Excellence in Community Service Award. The award, given out at a congressional luncheon on March 22 in Washington, recognizes an emergency medical transport individual or organization demonstrating broad-based continuing commitment to their referring and receiving agencies and the communities they serve.

“We are extremely honored to be the recipients of this new award,” said Tom Judge, executive director of the LifeFlight Foundation and LifeFlight of Maine. “When LifeFlight started operations in late 1998, Maine was the only state in the country without access to any air medical resource. We had to build from scratch an infrastructure to support a safe, reliable and high quality medical aviation environment. LifeFlight’s teams are asked to deliver high performance in a complex operating environment. It is essential that they have the tools necessary.”

The LifeFlight Foundation acknowledged its partners, including the Maine Department of Public Safety, Maine EMS, the Maine DOT Aviation Office, Satellite Instrument Technologies and Belfort Instruments.

The award-winning project includes a system of helipads, weather navigation systems, GPS instrument navigation systems and fuel systems supporting LifeFlight’s helicopters.

The projects were funded through a combination of the state Transportation Bond, federal, local and funding raised by the LifeFlight Foundation.

The LifeFlight Foundation is the charitable development foundation supporting LifeFlight of Maine.

Hospice of Eastern Maine

BANGOR – Due to a steadily increasing patient census, Hospice of Eastern Maine will offer a spring volunteer training course. HOEM is seeking compassionate men and women who would enjoy sharing time and friendship with terminally ill neighbors. HOEM, a program of Bangor Area Visiting Nurses, serves communities within 25 miles of Bangor.

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

HOEM’s spring volunteer training course will be held 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Fridays, May 11-June 15, at the Eastern Maine Healthcare Mall, Suite 220, 885 Union St.

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 for patient care services.

For more information about becoming a volunteer with Hospice of Eastern Maine, call Wayne Melanson, director of volunteer services, at 973-8269 or (800) 350-8269. Aspiring volunteers must complete an application and interview before April 30. Class size is limited.

Grant for OHI

BANGOR – OHI has received a grant award from the JTG Foundation for $25,000 to purchase five new computer system servers. The grant will help support an overall technology upgrade for OHI.

Not all that long ago, many people with disabilities were relegated to hospitals and mental health facilities where, at best, their basic needs were met and at worst, they were crowded, neglected and abused. They were separated from families who often were unable to provide adequate care, and rarely thought to have talents and competencies that might allow them to live in and contribute to their communities.

In 1979, Bonnie-Jean Brooks quit her teaching job and founded the nonprofit Opportunity Housing Inc., or OHI. It was her belief that people with disabilities should be provided with opportunities and support services to allow them to be part of their families and to live in the community.

Brooks’ passion was fueled by the civil rights movement of the 1960s and the Pineland Consent Decree, which covered some 1,000 individuals who had been involuntary committed to the Pineland Center on or after July 3, 1975. The decree set rigorous standards for treatment, both for those at Pineland and for members in the community.

OHI started out with two homes and offered support services to people with mental illness and intellectual disabilities, or both, providing the opportunity to set goals, make choices, and to live and work within their communities.

Today, OHI supports nearly 400 adults and teenagers with intellectual disabilities in their own homes or apartments, in one of OHI’s 52 staffed houses, and on the job as they work in banks, stores and local businesses of all kinds.

Yard sale donations

BANGOR – The Warren Center is accepting donations for its annual yard sale, to be held 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, May 19, at 175 Union St.

The center is seeking household items, toys and other resale items. Clothing will not be accepted.

The yard sale benefits the center’s All Ears preschool and Voices to Be Heard program, which teaches the deaf and hard-of-hearing to listen and speak with the assistance of hearing aids and cochlear implants.

Drop off donations 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday at the center’s office, 175 Union St. For more information, call 941-2850.

Diabetes support group

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

St. Joseph Healthcare dietitian Georgia Clark-Albert will speak on “Cooking for Two.”

The evening support group will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 10, also at the Diabetes and Nutrition Center. Psychiatric clinical nurse and counselor Deborah Vallance speak on “Food and Mood.”

For more information, call the center at 262-1870.

Blood donor hours

BANGOR – The American Red Cross Donor Center has announced new hours at 900B Hammond St.:

. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday.

. 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Friday.

. 8 a.m.-2 p.m. first and third Saturday of the month.

For information or an appointment, call 941-2900.