Health news 4/12/07

Briefly

Town hall forum on children's health in April

Citizens for Missouri's Children, Missouri's leading child advocacy organization, will hold a Children's Health Town Hall forum from 5:30 to 8 p.m. April 25 at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau. Topics to be discussed include Medicaid redesign, the latest KIDS Count data for the Cape Girardeau region, the growing crisis in the number of uninsured children and strategies for individuals and organizations to show their support for reauthorization of the federal State Children's Health Insurance program. For more information, call 651-3747, extension 107, or e-mail catherine@mokids.org.

ALS walk scheduled for May 5 at Arena Park

The ALS Association will hold a "Walk to D'Feet ALS" May 5 at Arena Park in Cape Girardeau. Teams and individuals can register online at walk.alsa-stl.org, by calling the ALS Association's office at (888) 873-8539, or at the walk from 9 to 10 a.m. The walk begins at 10 a.m. There is no registration fee and participants do not need to walk the entire 3.1 miles to participate. All participants receive a free T-shirt and lunch following the walk. The Cape Girardeau ALS walk is one of 140 walks scheduled this year by the ALSA chapters nationwide to increase awareness of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and raise funds for local patient programs and national research. Each year more than 6,000 Americans are diagnosed with ALS and more than 6,000 Americans die from the disease. ALS is a progressive, fatal neuromuscular disease that slowly robs the body of its ability to walk, speak, swallow and breathe. There is no cure for ALS, and the cause is undetermined. ALS is fatal usually within two to five years after diagnosis. For more information, contact Sara Story at (888) 873-8539, extension 8, or sstory@alsastl.org.

Inpatient Rehab Center receives accreditation

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Missouri Delta Inpatient Rehab Center has received a three-year accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities. the accreditation represents the highest level of achievement that can be awarded to an organization and shows the organization's substantial conformance to more than 400 standards established by CARF. A facility receiving a three-year accreditation has endured a peer review process and demonstrated to a team of surveyors that its programs and services are of the highest quality. CARF is an independent, not-for-profit accrediting body whose mission is to promote the quality, value and outcomes of services through a consultative accreditation process that centers on enhancing the lives of the patients the facility serves. Missouri Delta Inpatient Rehab Center is a 12-bed private room facility with a full staff of rehabilitation nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists and speech therapists. Services include treatment of stroke, hip fractures, amputations, brain injuries and various neurological disorders.

Calendar

Today

American Red Cross blood drive at Scott City High School, 1 to 6 p.m.

Ask Your Doctor, local health-care providers discuss medical issues and welcome questions from viewers who can call the show live at 334-3095, 8 to 9 p.m., cable Channel 5. This week's speaker is Dr. Anthony Knox.

Asthma education program for children and adults who deal with asthma at the Generations Center in Southeast Missouri Hospital, 6:30 p.m. For more information and to register, call 651-5825.

Monday

Old enough to stay alone program for children and parents at Southeast Missouri Hospital, 6:30 to 8 p.m. For more information or to register, call 651-5825.

Wednesday

Long distance grandparenting program at Southeast Missouri Hospital's Generations Center, 6:30 to 8 p.m. For more information or to register, call 651-5825.

Heart and health screenings at Saint Francis Medical Center's Health and Wellness Center, 7 to 10 a.m.

Grief support group for those dealing with grief and loss at HealthPoint Plaza, 1 p.m.

-- From staff reports