Health & Wellness
Healthbeat
Baptist's Stichl t oiler available
I for birthday parties for children
I Children's birthday parties are now being offered
the J. Paul Sticht Center on Aging and
Rehabilitation of Wake Forest University Baptist
Medical Center
While die Sticht Center is best known for its work
'' aging adults, swimming lessons in the warm
pool have long been available to children of
" ages. According to learn- to-swim coordina
te Drayton, the pool parties were started
: of growing requests from parents whose chil
i were taking swim classes.
s believe it is good to share our knowledge of
"? ming with children and their parents in any
ble said Drayton. "The specialized birth
present an opportunity for children to
pool safety, safe swimming and
_ M ' -j? ? i
5 pool at the center is fully staffed with hfe
and trained individuals in recreational therapy,
I, first aid and water safety. Party packages vary
i individual and can include pool games, craft
and other fun learning activities. Party themes
~tly offered include dolphin, pirate and tropical
?L "' 'ren who attend these parties receive a $5
i for their next swim lesson. Currently, the
? does only two parties per month, so space is
more information, contact Drayton at 336
190 or by email at ddrayton@wfiibmc.edu or
t, www.wfubmc.edu/aquatics.
Hospital hires
i resources chief
E. H. Locke, a career human resources
* and innovator, has been named the new
" for human resources and chief human
omcer or wake
University Baptist
Center, beginning
i$ a new position , cre
following the restructur
Medical Center in
will be responsible
resources functions
Carolina Baptist
and Wake Forest
Health Sciences,
has been the chief
Tfcsources officer for
of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)|
2005, where she had responsibility fori
and hospital human resources services
She is recognized for "reinventing"
i at UAB, providing staff and faculty
Qtly enhanced customer service andj
i on all human resources issues
t is a graduate of Brown University, and her
ourcel experience also include* Brigham A
Hospital (Boston), University Medical
aville, Fla ), Bell Atlantic (Arlington,1
American Express (Jacksonville, Ha.),
and her husband, Ron, will be relocating to
| I in October.
County's Mountain Valley
receives WSF grant
Winston-Salem Foundation has awarded
i Valley Hospice & Palliative Care, official
.je of Surry County Inc., a grant of $7j000, to
Mountain Valley Hospice's "Transitions"
for patients and families. The
i funds provided by the Elkin Community |
Valley Hospice's Transitions
I January. It was created as a non-i
k to identify unmet needs of patients,
nts, with life-limiting illnesses or
a prognosis of 12 to 18 months, or
a shorter prognosis but do not wj
care. The program provides
at and volunteer services and
with referrals and links to
r *?ci
nt from The Winston-Salem
to help Mountain Valley Hospice '
: of patients and family transportation to I
ents and treatments, as well as w
I, educational materials and in other |
offer fewer sugary drinks
? in beverages served at schools have
I 58 percent since 2004, according to a
'? American Beverage Association,^?
tfSD06, leading beverage companies
r a Healthier Generation (a Joint in
merican Heart Association
i Foundation) announced j
i in school beverage*. Ac<
everage Guidelines Progress
" 79 percent of all contracts betw _
ols have achieved compliance with I
i surpasses the benchmark
nt by 2008.
f also points to an ongoing shift i
tis water, portion-controlled
t drinks, accompanied by a twe
Jpments of full-calorie soft drinks.
t was released at a Sept. 10 1*
York, where the AHA was
hy Gardner, M.D. He was J
t Bill Clinton and California Gov.l
t, co-leader of the ABfawfl^l
Bullock
Ford
Hutchinson
Lewis
Smallwood
Williamson
JNurses honored for being 'Great
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT o
Next week, several local nurses will be
among those honored in Greensboro for being
the best of the best in their professions.
Sixteen Wake Forest University Baptist
Medical Center nurses have been named to
North Carolina's "Great 100" list for providing
excellent health care. The Great 100 Inc. lets
nurses across the state nominate their peers.
Those who demonstrate excellent care of their
patients and a commitment to their profession
are selected for the list.
The Great 100 Inc., which was formed in
1988 when Nurse Heather Thorne called on her
collegues from across the state to develop the
recognition program, also raises funds for nurs
ing scholarships, and over the past 12 years has
awarded more than $140,000 to help others pur
sue a nursing career.
This year's nurse honorees will be feted at a
gala event on Saturday, Sept. 27 at the Koury
Convention Center in Greensboro.
"It is an honor to have 16 nurses from our
staff to be inducted into this prestigious group
of nurses from across North Carolina," said
Patricia Johnson, vice president of operations
and chief nursing officer at Wake Forest Baptist.
Nurses at Wake Forest Baptist who were
recognized are: Sarah Bullock (pediatric behav
ioral health); Patricia Ford (adult behavioral
health); Christine Hastings (Rapid Response
Team); Sally Hauser (Breast Care Center); Billy
Haynes (Life Support Education); Ann Heilig
(4B - ICU); Kim Hutchinson (behavioral
health); Theresa Johnston-Crews
(Neurology/ALS Center); Deborah Krueger
(interim Magnet coordinator); Todd Layland
(Emergency Department); Robin Lewis (Breast
Care Center); Mitzi Robinson (Rapid Response
Team); Sheila Smallwood (staff development);
Carol B. Tilley (8 Reynolds Tower); Valerie
Vestal (Nursing Clinical Systems); and Vera
Williamson (adult behavioral health).
o
Mental
illness
treatments
Last week, we discussed some basics
about mental illness and the impact it bas on
our community. This week, ^fce wjfl touch on
some factors to consider whenSeeking treat
ment for mental illness. It is important to
keep in mind that treatment plans will vary
from person to person, and only you and
your doctor together can determine what is
right for you. Treatment for mental illness
frequently centers on medication, psy
chotherapy ("talk therapy"), or both.
Sometimes, it may be necessary to try a few
different options before finding one that
works best for you.
Medications for Mental Illness
Of course, the types of medication that
can be prescribed to treat a condition depend
on what the condition is and how severe it is.
For some conditions, a single medication
may be prescribed as part of a treatment plan,
but for many others, a combination of med
ications is needed. Different medicines do
different things to help manage your symp
toms. Also, a medication that works well for
one person may not work as well for another
person, or one person may experience differ
ent side effects than another person would. It
may take some time to tailor pharmacothera
py (medication treatment) so that it is just
right for you to treat your symptoms.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH)
divides medications used to treat mental ill
ness into four broad categories: antipsychot
ic, antimanic, antidepressant, and antianxiety
medications. It is important to keep in mind
that different medications may be used to
treat children and the elderly. Antipsychotic
medications are traditionally (though not
exclusively) used to treat psychoses, or
"breaks with reality" that may include hallu
cinations, extreme paranoia, or delusions
(see last week's article). Now, newer ("atyp
ical") antipsychotics are sometimes used to
treat other conditions, like bipolar disorder.
Antimanic medications, such as lithium and
some anticonvulsants (anti-seizure medica
tions), are used to treat the manic stages of
bipolar disorder. Antidepressants, converse
ly, treat major depression and depressive
episodes of bipolar disorder and are some
times used in conjunction with antianxiety
medications to treat anxiety disorders.
While some medications are fast-acting,
it is important to keep in mind that some
medications might not work right away. It
may take a couple of weeks or longer with
some medications before the medicine has an
effect. That's because some medicines take
longer to build up in your body and begin to
act like they're supposed to act. For some
people, the right dose may be ten milligrams
of a given medication, whereas for others it
may take twenty milligrams of the same
medication to achieve' the same effect.
Everyone's body is different, and the pre
scribed dosage does not necessarily corre
spond to the severity of the illness.
You may experience side effects, espe
cially when you first start taking the medica
tion; sometimes these side effects will
become less troublesome with time, but other
See Treatment on All
Call for Action
MtNmfWADAPT
National Disability Rights Activists (ADAPT) protest in front of the US. Department
of Housing and Urban Development in Washington, D.C. The group is upset at what
they call a lack of accessible and affordable housing for those with disabilities.
Protesters spent a week outside the building, even setting up a tent village called
"DUH City."
.Conference to tout health jobs to minorities
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
The former secretary of the U.S.
Department of Health and Human
Services will keynote a conference
next month in Durham aimed at
addressing the need for minority faces
in health care.
"Preparing Future Health Leaders:
Hand to Hand, Generation to
Generation" will be held Saturday,
Oct. 4 from 8:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. on
the campus of N.C. Central
University. The conference is being
presented by the Center for Health and
Healing's Minority Health Careers
Initiative CMHCI), in partnership with Durham's
Union Baptist Church .the North Carolina Hospital
Association and NCCU.
Dr. Louis W. Sullivan will give the keynote
address. He served as the HHS secretary in the
Cornell
administration of the first President Bush. He is
also the founder of the Morehouse School of
Medicine.
"We are facing a shortage of health
care professionals both locally and
nationally," says Cornell Wright of
MHCI, which primarily works to edu
cate middle and high school youth about
the opportunities in healthcare.
The MHCI staff also partners, trains
and provides opportunities to churches
and community groups to plan health
careers conferences, create Health
Careers Clubs and other health careers
related activities.
For more information about the
Center tor Health ana Heating please visit tneir
Web site at www.c4hh.org. Next month's event is
free and open to the public. But registration is
required by Sept. 30.
Wake students open free clinic
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
Wake Forest University
School of Medicine students
began offering a free evening
medical clitic at the
Community Care Center yester
day.
The students will offer the
clinic - called the DEAC Clinic
(Delivering Equal Access to
Care) - every Wednesday from
6-9 p.m. at the Community
Care Center on New
Walkertown Road. Patients who
are not eligible for Medicare,
Medicaid or the State Children's
Health Insurance Program, and
whose income falls below 200
percent of the federal poverty
level are eligible to receive free
services at the clinic.
"The response from students
has been overwhelming," said
Brian Mikolasko, a second-year
student at the medical school.
"When we put a notice on the
Internet asking for volunteers
for a three-month time period,
every slot was filled within 15
minutes."
Mikolasko has coordinated
the opening of the clinic along
with second-year students Keli
Beck and Tricia Williams, third
year student Cameron Webb,
? I
and many other WFU medical
students. Mikolasko, who is
jointly pursuing his M.B.A.
from the WFU Babcock School
of Management, developed the
initial budget for the clinic.
Since 2000, the Community
Care Center has offered free
medical and dental clinic servic
es to patients who lack health
care service. The center is
staffed by volunteer health care
professionals. Community Care
Center is providing its building
to the DEAC Clinic at no cost.
LabCorp. a clinical laboratory
based in Burlington, will supply
complimentary services.
The DEAC Clinic will cost
about $15,000 a year to ran. It
has already received a $30,000
grant to be distributed over four
years from the Association of
American Medical Colleges
(AAMC) and an American
Medical Association (AMA)
Fund for Better Health grant of
$2,000. The students have
applied for membership in the
See CHnk on A13