For African mission

BANGOR – Hundreds of items collected by St. Joseph Healthcare employees will be packaged Friday and mailed to the Ruiri Mission Health Center in Meru, Kenya, in East Africa. Since October, employees have been donating items and money for the small health center, which, like St. Joseph Hospital, is a Felician Sisters ministry. The center turns no one away and works to provide all manner of support, including food, clothing, education and medical care, to its patients and nearby villagers.

The center is in need of the most basic items, including clothing, bottles, diapers and other baby necessities. The Kenyan Sisters often are forced to use bed sheets and curtains as clothing and diapers for children. The sisters estimate that as many as one in every four mothers who come into the center has AIDS. This makes the need for baby formula and bottles essential to help the spread of AIDS through breastfeeding.

The “Celebrate, Honor and Change the World” mission project is part of St. Joseph Healthcare’s 60th anniversary celebration. Employees collected hundreds of items for the center and the people it serves, as well as hundreds of dollars. The hospital also has donated sterilizing equipment to the center, as it previously was forced to sterilize equipment over a charcoal fire.

For information, call 262-1724.

Gastroenterology practice

BANGOR – St. Joseph Healthcare has acquired Gastroenterology Associates of Eastern Maine as an affiliate, effective Jan. 2. The six-physician group practice will be known as “Gastroenterology Associates of Eastern Maine – an Affiliate of St. Joseph Healthcare.”

“The acquisition of this long-established and extraordinary practice by St. Joseph Healthcare will strengthen the group’s capabilities for continued recruitment and retention of first-rate gastroenterologists,” said Sister Mary Norberta, St. Joseph Healthcare president and CEO.

“This new partnership will allow us to retain and enhance this high quality resource of talented professionals for the people of the Bangor region for years to come,” she said.

“We look forward to this new and exciting relationship,” said Dr. Daniel Cassidy of Gastroenterology Associates. “We fully intend to continue our mission of providing high quality digestive disease health care throughout northern and eastern Maine.”

The practice is staffed by six board-certified gastroenterologists: Cassidy, Dr. Mark Lena, Dr. Scott Stern, Dr. Sandeep Singh, Dr. Angel Fernandez and Dr. John McDevitt. The physicians and their office staff will continue to operate at their current location, in the Evergreen Woods office complex on Mount Hope Avenue.

“It is the intent of our practice as well as the administration and trustees of St. Joseph Healthcare that we will continue to care for patients in both inpatient and outpatient settings at both St. Joseph Hospital and Eastern Maine Medical Center,” Cassidy said.

With this acquisition, Gastroenterology Associates of Eastern Maine joins several area medical practices which already are affiliated with St. Joseph, including Bangor Internal Medicine Associates; Endocrinology Associates; Northeast Inpatient Medical Service; St. Joseph Healthcare Pulmonology Clinic and the urology practice of Dr. Jeffrey Graham.

Relay for Life kickoff

BANGOR – Those who are looking for a positive way to make a difference are invited to join millions of other American Cancer Society Relay For Life participants across the country in the fight against cancer.

Find out how to get involved in the 15th annual Relay For Life event in Old Town at a Relay kickoff at 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 24, hosted by the Bangor Banquet and Conference Center, 701 Hogan Road, Bangor.

The evening will feature a buffet dinner, information on how to get a team involved in the relay and a luminaria remembrance ceremony.

The Relay For Life in Old Town will be held at the Old Town High School track May 30-31. This is the first year the relay will be an 18-hour event, starting at 6 p.m. Friday, May 30, and ending at noon the next day.

Those interested in joining the planning committee, becoming a team captain, volunteering or just finding out more about Relay For Life are encouraged to attend the kickoff.

Old Town Relay For Life in 2007 raised more than $200,000 for local programs of cancer research, education, advocacy and patient services, including transportation for cancer patients and one-on-one support for women with breast cancer.

To obtain information about Relay For Life, to find out how to volunteer, or to RSVP for the Relay Kickoff, call Mike Hart, community executive for development, at 989-0332.

Spruce Run hotline

BANGOR – Spruce Run Association is seeking volunteers to answer hotline calls.

Spruce Run’s hotline is available 24 hours a day for those who want a safe, confidential place to talk about what’s going on in a relationship or about a friend or family member who may be abused.

Hotline workers provide support, explore options and provide information about abuse and community resources. You need no previous experience or special skills except a desire to help.

Most hotline volunteers work from their homes. Hotline workers may volunteer time, use work-study funds or internship time. Training for hotline workers will be held on Monday and Thursday evenings beginning Jan. 21.

For information about volunteering at Spruce Run, call Margo Batsie at 945-5102, ext. 14.

Spruce Run’s 24-hour hotline, 800-863-9909, is available to those affected by domestic abuse to talk about the situation and to explore options.

Bone health studies news

BANGOR – Acadia Clinical Research announced that it is doing osteoporosis studies. After the departure of Dr. Clifford Rosen from the Maine Center for Osteoporosis Research and Education at St. Joseph Hospital, some of its studies were transferred to Acadia Clinical Research, which focuses on keeping the interest of the patient so that she is able to finish the study without interruption.

Those with questions about the studies they are participating in, or those interested in taking part in one of the studies, may call 941-9965.

Acadia Clinical Research also announced that Deb Storm, a research coordinator from the Maine Center for Osteoporosis research and education team, has joined the organization.

Storm worked with Rosen for 17 years as a research coordinator. She will continue to work with patients from the Osteoporosis Center and also work on other studies at Acadia Clinical Research.

Muscular dystrophy camp

BANGOR – The Bangor Wal-Mart announced that it has made a donation to the Muscular Dystrophy Association to help send local children to MDA summer camp located at Pine Tree Camp in Rome.

For more than 25 years, the Muscular Dystrophy Association has provided an opportunity for children with neuromuscular disease to spend a week at summer camp where physical barriers do not exist and they can experience the pleasures and joys of camp.

MDA is a national voluntary health agency fighting 43 neuromuscular diseases through worldwide research, a nationwide program of medical services, and far-reaching professional and public health education. MDA’s programs are funded entirely by individual, private contributors and businesses.

The association seeks no government grants or fees from patients or families. The annual Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon energizes a local and national effort that provides the resources for vital services and programs. For information about MDA summer camp, visit www.mda.org/clinics/camp.

Low-cost dental clinic

BANGOR – University College of Bangor, a campus of the University of Maine at Augusta, offers a low-cost dental hygiene clinic to the public through April.

Dental services provided are oral cancer screenings, dental cleanings, fluoride treatments, sealants, athletic mouth guards and X-rays. Services are provided by dental hygiene students under the close supervision of faculty. For more information, call 262-7872.

Grief, loss and healing

BANGOR – The Grief, Loss and Healing Group, for those who have lost a loved one, will meet 2:30-4 p.m. Thursdays at Acadia Hospital.

The group is led by an experienced clinical social worker. Participants learn about the grief process, build coping skills and obtain support. Enrollment is open and most forms of insurance are accepted. Call 973-6199 to register.