The theme of the week, “Celebrating America’s Health Centers: Serving Locally, Leading Nationally,” highlights the amazing 47 year record of Health Centers in providing affordable, high quality, cost-effective healthcare to all people, regardless of their ability to pay. National Health Center Week also provides an opportunity to focus on the progress we have made towards fulfilling the goal of our “Access for all Americans” plan to provide a healthcare home to 30 million patients by 2015.

Events marking this week include health fairs, visits by local, state and national leaders and media coverage. Capital Area Health Network will be celebrating this week by having activities:

Thursday August 11, 2011
Radio One’s KISS FM’S Midday host, Alex Dupree will broadcast live.

10:00am – 3:00pm
Glenwood Medical and Dental Center
2709 Byron Street, Richmond, VA 23223
Tours of the facility as well as FREE Medical and Dental screenings for adults and children will be available on this day.

Our network provides Primary Adult and Pediatric Medical Care, Dental Care, Mental Health Care, and HIV/AIDS Care. CAHN also offers Patient Education, Specialty Referrals, Social Services Support and Free Transportation.

Capital Area Health Network (CAHN) is a FQHC non-profit medical and dental organization that provides services to the uninsured and underserved population. CAHN provides services on a “sliding fee’ scale for those without medical insurance. (Some restrictions apply) to our medical appointments. CAHN has 5 medical centers, one near you! Make CAHN you new medical and dental home.

Download the National Health Center Week Flyer

The United Network for Organ Sharing purchased Jackson Center, a 51,000-square-foot office building at 501 N. Second St., for $2.5 million. The deal closed June 30.

UNOS, which has a federal contract to match organ donors with transplant recipients nationwide, has outgrown its headquarters in the Virginia Biotechnology Research Park.

“We are just bursting at the seams here at our headquarters,” said Lisa Schaffner, spokesperson for UNOS.

Read the entire article.

Record high temperatures are sweeping several states again this week, making heat safety a priority. To keep yourself and your family safe, follow these precautions.

• Stay hydrated. Drink plenty of fluids, even if you do not feel thirsty. Avoid drinks with caffeine or alcohol. Eat small meals and eat more often.
• Wear loose-fitting, lightweight, light-colored clothing. Avoid dark colors because they absorb the sun’s rays.
• Slow down, stay indoors and avoid strenuous exercise during the hottest part of the day. Postpone outdoor games and activities.
• Take frequent breaks if you must work outdoors, and use a buddy system when working in excessive heat.
• Check on family, friends and neighbors who do not have air conditioning, who spend much of their time alone or who are more likely to be affected by the heat.
• Never leave children or pets alone in enclosed vehicles. Check on your animals frequently to ensure that they are not suffering from the heat.

HEAT-RELATED EMERGENCIES
Excessive heat and humidity is not just uncomfortable—it can lead to a life-threatening situation. Know the signs for each of these conditions and what to do if they occur.

Heat Cramps
These are muscular pains and spasms that usually occur in the legs or abdomen. They are caused by exposure to high heat and humidity and loss of fluids and electrolytes. Heat cramps are often an early sign that the body is having trouble with the heat.

Heat Exhaustion
Heat exhaustion typically involves the loss of body fluids through heavy sweating during strenuous exercise or physical labor in high heat and humidity.

Signs: cool, moist, pale or flushed skin; heavy sweating; headache; nausea; dizziness; weakness; and exhaustion.

What to do:

• Move the person to a cooler place. Remove or loosen tight clothing and apply cool, wet cloths or towels to the skin. Fan the person. If the person is conscious, give small amounts of cool water to drink. Make sure the person drinks slowly. Watch for changes in condition.
• If the person refuses water, vomits or begins to lose consciousness, call 9-1-1 or the local emergency number.

Heat Stroke
Also known as sunstroke, this is a life-threatening condition in which a person’s temperature control system stops working and the body is unable to cool itself.

Signs: hot, red skin that may be dry or moist; changes in consciousness; vomiting; and high body temperature.

What to do:

• Heat stroke is life-threatening. Call 9-1-1 or the local emergency number immediately.
• Move the person to a cooler place. Quickly cool the person’s body by giving care as you would for heat exhaustion. If needed, continue rapid cooling by applying ice or cold packs wrapped in a cloth to the wrists, ankles, groin, neck and armpits.

Read the original article.

Go Red For Women is focusing its June 2011 promotional activities on CPR by asking women to view the Hands-Only® CPR instructional video – and then share it with five women they love! We are sharing this lifesaving information with the women and men of our 2011-2012 Richmond Go Red For Women Campaign – consider yourself loved by the entire Richmond AHA team!!

I hope that you, as a supporter of the mission of the American Heart Association and Go Red for Women, will help us by sharing this important, life-saving message with your internal and external audiences as well. Visit our Sponsor Resources page to access the CPR Week Sponsor Activation Strategy/Creative Brief for all the information you’ll need.

Don’t be afraid. Your actions can only help!

National Nurses Week begins each year on May 6th and ends on May 12th, Florence Nightingale’s birthday. These permanent dates enhance planning and position National Nurses Week as an established recognition event. As of 1998, May 8 was designated as National Student Nurses Day, to be celebrated annually. And as of 2003, National School Nurse Day is celebrated on the Wednesday within National Nurses Week (May 6-12) each year. Please make it a point to show your appreciation to a nurse this week.

The Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA’s) second National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day is this Saturday, April 30. More than 4,700 sites nationwide have joined the effort that seeks to prevent pill abuse and theft. This is hundreds more sites than were established for the event last fall. The free event will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. local time.

Government, community, public health and law enforcement partners at these sites will be working together to collect expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs that are potentially dangerous if left in the family’s medicine cabinet.

Last September, Americans turned in over 242,000 pounds—121 tons—of prescription drugs at nearly 4,100 sites operated by more than 3,000 of the DEA’s state and local law enforcement partners. Also last fall, Congress passed the Safe and Secure Drug Disposal Act of 2010, which amends the Controlled Substances Act to allow users of controlled substance medications to dispose of them by delivering them to entities authorized by the Attorney General to accept them. The Act also allows the Attorney General to authorize long term care facilities to dispose of their residents’ controlled substances in certain instances. DEA is presently drafting regulations to implement the Act.

Collection sites in every local community can be found by going to www.dea.gov and clicking on the “Got Drugs?” banner at the top of the home page, which connects to a database that citizens can search by zip code, city or county. This site is continuously updated with new take-back locations. In addition, interested media can now go to: www.nationaltakebackday.com to download a public service announcement about the initiative.

This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high—more Americans currently abuse prescription drugs than the number of those using cocaine, hallucinogens, and heroin combined, according to the 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Studies show that individuals that abuse prescription drugs often obtained them from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, many Americans do not know how to properly dispose of their unused medicine, often flushing them down the toilet or throwing them away – both potential safety and health hazards.

“The overwhelming public response to DEA’s first nationwide Take-Back event last fall not only rid homes of potentially harmful prescription drugs, but was an unprecedented opportunity to educate everyone about the growing prescription drug abuse problem,” said DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart. “Studies have shown that, for many, prescription drugs are the very first drugs they abuse—and all too often they aren’t the last. That is why we are committed to helping Americans keep their homes safe by ridding their medicine cabinets of expired, unused, and unwanted drugs.”

“I encourage every American to take advantage of this valuable opportunity to safely dispose of unused, un-needed, or expired prescription drugs,” said Gil Kerlikowkse, Director of National Drug Control Policy.  “Preventing these readily available and potentially deadly drugs from being diverted and misused is something each and every one of us can do to help reduce the epidemic of prescription drug abuse that is harming so many Americans.”

Other participants in this initiative include the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy; the American Association of Poison Control Centers; the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America; D.A.R.E. America; the Federation of State Medical Boards; the U. S. Health Resources and Services Administration; the International Association of Chiefs of Police; the National Association of Attorneys General; the National Family Partnership; the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives; the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy; the National District Attorneys Association; the National Sheriffs Association; and The Partnership at Drugfree.org.

National Doctor’s Day was created to show appreciation to your doctors. Doctors perform vital diagnosis, treatment and care for yourself and your family. When you are well, your doctor keeps you well. When you are sick, there is no other person more important to you than your doctor.

Doctors’ Day observances date back to March 30, 1933. It was started by Eudora Brown Almond of Winder, Ga. The day marks the anniversary of the first use of general anesthesia in surgery. The first National Doctor’s Day was celebrated in 1991.

On March 30, 1958, the United States House of Representatives adopted a resolution commemorating Doctors’ Day. In 1990, the congress and the senate approved legislation establishing National Doctors Day. The resolution designating March 30th as National Doctors’ Day was signed by President George H. Bush.

March 6-12, 2011 is designated National Patient Safety Awareness Week, offering hospitals and other health care providers an opportunity to increase awareness of efforts and initiatives to improve quality of care. National Patient Safety Awareness Week is an educational and awareness building effort launched in 2002 by the National Patient Safety Foundation. The focus for 2011 is to get staff, patients and families and communities involved, informed and invested in improving the health care process. The theme this year is “Are you in? Commit to Safe Health Care.” For more information, visit www.npsf.org.

M. H. West & Co., Inc. CEO, Marilyn West and associates Erica Cage and Meaghan West attended the Go Red for Women Luncheon at the Jefferson Hotel. Go Red for Women strives to raise the awareness of the issues of women and heart disease and also encourages action to save more lives. Marilyn West serves as Vice Chair on the Leadership Committee of the Richmond Chapter and M. H. West & Co., Inc. was a sponsor of the event.

Patricia Kluge, the founder, owner and chairwoman of Kluge Estate Winery and Vineyard served as the Keynote Speaker at the luncheon. Survival stories were told throughout the day and expert advice from notable health experts was given. All were pleased to find First Lady Maureen McDonnell at the reception last evening and at the luncheon today.  Her gracious support and commitment was appeciated.  Marilyn noted that there was an atmosphere of positive energy surrounding the event and that she is proud to play a role in such an important cause. She thought this year’s luncheon was well done and looks forward to being the Leadership Committee Chair next year, following in the footsteps of Toni Ardabell, CEO of Bon Secours Saint Mary’s Hospital, the 2011 chair.

After the Health Care Issues Meeting, participants enjoyed lunch in the Jefferson Hotel’s Grand Ballroom. The guest speaker at the luncheon was Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. Mr Cuccinelli discussed the status of his lawsuit against the federal health care bill. He also predicted that the Supreme Court will not grant his request for an expedited hearing and that he expects the ultimate decision on the lawsuit to be given around June 2012.