Roundup of events related to a healthy lifestyles.
Stop smoking
HOLYOKE - Holyoke Medical Center will hold a quit smoking workshop series, offering six, one-hour classes, designed to give attendees needed information and support.
Each session will cover topics such as choosing and sticking to a quit date, keeping motivated to remain smoke free, developing coping skills to manage the mental and physical feelings associated with quitting, looking at how to obtain medications to help you quit, and building supports. All classes are facilitated by the hospital staff.
The workshop will be held on Thursdays, beginning Feb. 13, from 5 to 6 p.m. in the hospital’s South 4 conference room. The cost of the six-week series is $30, and preregistration is required. For further information or to enroll, call (413) 534-2789.
Breastfeeding help
EAST LONGMEADOW — La Leche League of East Longmeadow will hold its first meeting in a series of four meetings on Jan. 22 at 7 p.m. at the Council on Aging, located in the old Pleasantview School, at 328 North Main St.
The first meeting topic will be the “Advantages of Breastfeeding for Mother and Baby.”
The La Leche League International mission is to help mothers worldwide to breastfeed through mother-to mother support, encouragement, information and education, and to promote a better understanding of breastfeeding as an important element in the healthy development of the baby and the mother.
La Leche League leaders are experienced mothers who have breastfed their own babies and who have been trained and accredited by La Leche League International to help mothers and mothers-to-be with all aspects of breastfeeding. They are available by phone whenever you have breastfeeding questions or concerns.
New doctor
HOLYOKE — Dr. John Nicasio has joined the staff of Holyoke Medical Center Endocrinology, located at Suite 402 on the fourth floor of the medical center. Nicasio obtained undergraduate degrees in both biochemistry and medical laboratory science, before receiving his doctor of osteopathic medicine degree from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. He completed an internal medicine residency and endocrinology fellowship at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY.
He is board certified in internal medicine and endocrinology. He will be giving the talk “Diagnosed with Diabetes. Now What?,” as part of the center’s “Dessert with the Docs” series, on March 5 at 4 p.m. in the center’s Auxiliary Conference Center.
Nicasio is fluent in English and Spanish and currently accepting new patients. Appointments can be made by calling (413) 534-2820.
Heart series
Holyoke – Baystate Medical Center will hold its free heart and vascular health lecture series during the month of February, beginning with a look at heart health on Feb. 2.
Preventive cardiologist Dr. Quinn Pack, of heart and vascular program on Baystate’s Springfield campus, will present the first of four free seminars at the Baystate Health Education Center on 361 Whitney Ave. His presentation will focus on risk factors, and simple, active steps to take to maintain heart health.
All lectures are from noon to 2 p.m.
Other scheduled lectures are “Herbal Products, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly,” on Feb. 9, featuring Baystate pharmacist Pam Liebro, and on Feb. 16 with “Nutrigenomics: The Study of How Food Talks To Our Genes – Can We Alter Our DNA with Food, Diet and Exercise?” by registered dietitian Kathleen Roberts, from the hospital’s Food and Nutrition Services.
The series concludes on Feb. 23 with “The Complementary Role of Physical Activity in the Attainment of Optimal Health,” by Christopher Higgins, clinical exercise physiologist in cardiovascular rehab and wellness at Baystate.
Heart healthy light refreshments will be served, and related educational hand-outs will be provided. Parking is free. Registration is required for each session by calling (1-800) 377-4325.
Baystate offers full HDL/LDL cholesterol screenings on the first and second Wednesdays of each month, from 7:30 to 9:15 a.m. for $10 at its outpatient care facility on 3300 Main St. in Springfield. A 12-hour fast is required before the screening. To register, call 1-800-377-4325.
Career advances
NORTHAMPTON - Dr. R. Dirk Stanley, of Cooley Dickinson Hospital, is one of the first 500 physicians in the country to earn a new clinical subspecialty certification in clinical informatics from the American Board of Preventative Medicine. The first-ever credentialing exam was offered in October.
Clinical informatics, a medical discipline that has emerged within the past 10 years, integrates health care with information science, technology, evidence-based medicine, and process improvement.
Linda Riley, a registered nurse and Cooley Dickinson’s infection prevention manager, recently earned re-certification in infection prevention and control, an exam that is administered by the Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology.
Elizabeth Cardinal recently became Cooley Dickinson’s first registered EEG technologist, by successfully completing the EEG technology credentialing exam given by the American Board of Registration of EEG and EP Technologists (ABRET).
Cardinal, who is one of just 52 registered technologists in the state, and 5,195 nationwide, performs EEGs, or electroencephalograms, as one of the many diagnostic services offered in the hospital’s cardiovascular suite.
An electroencephalogram (EEG) is a specialized recording of the electrical activity in the brain, that is done by systematically applying electrodes to the head in a specific configuration. The neurodiagnostic test shows wavelengths whose amplitude, duration, and morphology are evaluated to assist in diagnosis of neurological diseases, disorders, infections, and impact of injuries to the brain’s functions.
Pet app
The Red Cross has launch a new Pet First Aid app, available at www.redcross.org/prepare/mobile-apps
App features include:
Instant access to information, including step-by-step instructions, videos and images for more than 25 common first aid and emergency situations for dogs and cats.
Click-to-call feature to allow pet owners to quickly contact their veterinarian, and also contains an “animal hospital locator” to find emergency pet care facilities or alternate veterinarians.
Owners can create a pet profile, including tag identification number, photos and list of medications with instructions.
List of early warning signs helps users learn when to call their veterinarian.
Users also can also locate pet-friendly hotels emergency shelter or travel.
The app also lets pet owners test their knowledge with interactive quizzes, and earn badges that they can attach their favorite pet photo to and share on their social networks.
Home help
WEST SPRINGFIELD — The Mercy Continuing Care Network has launched Mercy Companions, a new private duty homecare service that provides support to individuals who are recovering from an illness or injury, or need assistance with the tasks of daily living.
Services are tailored to meet the specific needs of each client, whether those needs entail 24-hour care, healthy meal planning and preparation, light housekeeping, or personal care services, such as bathing, dressing, personal hygiene and grooming. Mercy Companions are also available to provide transportation for appointments and outings, as well as reminders about medication.
For more information, call (413) 827-4295.
Organ run
WINDSOR, Conn. — On May 3, LifeChoice Donor Services is hosting the 1st Annual Blue & Green 5K and 2 Mile Walk/Fun Run, from its offices at 8 Griffin Road, with registration at 7:30 a.m., to gather the community in support of organ and tissue donation and transplantation. Funds raised from the event will be used to educate the public about the need for more people in Connecticut and Massachusetts, to join the Donor Registry. Every day, 18 people die due to a shortage of organs.
The event will feature entertainment, local Food Trucks, the Wall of Hope and all registrants will receive a Donate Life goodie bag, T-shirts and light breakfast.
LifeChoice Donor Services, Inc. is the federally designated, non-profit organ procurement organization for six counties in Connecticut and three counties in Western Massachusetts with a combined population of 2.2 million people. The organization serves 23 acute care hospitals for organ and tissue donation, and two organ transplant hospitals, Hartford Hospital in Hartford, and Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Mass.
For more information, visit www.lifechoiceopo.org or call (1-800) 874-5215.