Health

A new Six-Week Bereavement Support Group for adults begins on Tuesday May 6th and will meet each Tuesday from 4:30-6:00 pm, ending June 10th. The group is free of charge and open to anyone in the community grieving the death loss of a loved one, no matter where you are on your journey of grief.

Bereavement Support Groups offer a safe, mutually supportive environment for sharing experiences, insight and encouragement, through discussion, handouts, and suggestions for moving through grief. This group is sponsored by Brattleboro Area Hospice (BAH) and will meet at the hospice office at 191 Canal St. in Brattleboro. No prior connection with BAH is required in order to participate.

at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital will be hosting a on May 3, 2014. The Symposium will be held in the Brew Barry Conference area from 7:30 AM -12:30 PM.

The Symposium will host several speakers who will discuss the impact of heart disease on women. Topics will include cardiac risk factors, emergency care, STEMI protocols, cardiac rehabilitation and how Accountable Care Organizations are working to improve the continuum of care. For more information about speakers, .

“We are very excited to be able to bring so many experts together to discuss the impact of heart disease on women,” said Marcy Rushford, Director of Cardiovascular Health. “Women are often so busy taking care of others, that they neglect themselves and the warning signs for heart disease. By offering this free seminar, we are hoping to raise awareness.”

National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day aims to provide a safe, convenient and responsible means of medication disposal, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse of these medications. Clean our your medicine cabinet and bring your expired and unused medications to one of the following locations.

Bellows Falls Police Dept. 170 Rockingham St., Bellows Falls

Brattleboro Police Dept. 230 Main St., Brattleboro 

Did you know that 1 in 5 Windham southeast high-school students have misused a prescription (Rx) stimulant or opiate (pain reliever), not prescribed to them? And 1 in 10 have misused an Rx medication in the past 30 days?

The Brattleboro Area Prevention Coalition (BAPC) will be hosting a Community Conversation-Preventing Teen Rx Misuse. This event is designed to bring teens, parents, adult mentors, educators and community members together, using a “World Cafe” styled event, to discuss and develop solutions to prevent youth Rx misuse.

Teens and adults will take part in determining achievable strategies to address teen Rx misuse and create an opportunity to develop and execute strategies in the coming year.

This April marks the 11th annual National Donate Life Month, a celebration commemorating those who have given the gift of life through organ and tissue donation. For those whose lives have been saved or healed by a transplant, National Donate Life Month provides a chance to share their story to encourage more people to register as donors.

Suellen Canfield was a happy wife, mother and grandmother when she died suddenly in 2001. Her family had no doubt that if given the opportunity she would continue to help others even after she had passed. At 61 years old, Suellen’s gift of organ donation saved the lives of three people. Her husband, Bob, volunteers for New England Organ Bank sharing his story of how in great loss he found comfort in his wife’s ability to help others.

On April 24, Brattleboro Memorial Hospital will be offering a free educational program featuring Dr. Elizabeth McLarney discussing knee pain.

Dr. McLarney, who is a board certified orthopaedic surgeon, will review knee pain. She will address its etiology and treatment. She will discuss both surgical and nonsurgical treatment options.

Dr. McLarney, who attended Brown University, Albany Medical College and completed her orthopaedic surgery residency at Yale-New Haven Hospital, has experience diagnosing and treating a wide a variety of orthopaedic conditions. She works in the office of , which is part of the , a multispecialty group practice of primary care and specialty care physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. The group’s mission is to provide community-based, quality health services delivered with compassion and respect.

You are your best healer!

Come learn how each and everyone of us is born with the gift to heal ourselves. I n this weekend retreat, you will experience simple and profound ways to awaken your body’s innate healing ability.

Participants will leave with a renewed and empowered sense of health and well-being.

On April 10, Brattleboro Memorial Hospital hosted a dedication ceremony of BMH’s new lobby in honor of long-time Brattleboro residents Roland and Harriet Fisher.

The new “Roland and Harriet Fisher Lobby” recognizes the couple’s final and generous gift in support of BMH’s $3.5 million “Doorway to Exceptional Care” Capital Campaign for the new Emergency Department and front entrance at the hospital.

The guests were welcomed by BMH Board Chairman Peter Carvell. Following brief remarks about the renovation and the improved facilities, BMH President and CEO Steven R. Gordon, introduced the featured speaker Arthur Magnaghi.

On April 21, Brattleboro Memorial Hospital will be hosting an educational program entitled, “Conversations about Dementia,” designed to help community members talk about some challenging and often uncomfortable topics.

Presented by Maggie Lewis, MPA, LNHA, director of programs and services for the Vermont Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, this program will clarify many of the signs and resources, and clearly outline what steps can be taken.

“Many in our community confront issues with Alzheimer’s and related dementias,” says Lewis. “Often, we are unsure of seeing the signs of dementia and what steps need to be taken to plan for its occurrence.”

On Monday, April 7, at 7:00 p.m., local author and women’s health advocate Elayne Clift will be at Brooks Memorial Library in Brattleboro to read from and discuss her latest book, with Christine Morton, Birth Ambassadors: Doulas and the Re-emergence of Woman-supported Birth in America.

Published by Praeclarus Press in January, the book about women who offer physical and emotional support to birthing mothers, is already garnering rave reviews. Clift, a volunteer doula at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital’s Birth Center, will be joined by doula Carol Schnabel, volunteer coordinator of the Doula Program at the hospital, and a contributor to the book.

This spring, Brattleboro Memorial Hospital is offering three self-management workshops to give individuals new tools to deal with chronic health issues and live a fuller, healthier life. All of the workshops are free and open to the public.

Two of the workshops are being offered in collaboration with the Brattleboro Senior Center. The first program, Healthier Living, will take place from April 15 to May 20. The second program, Healthier Living with Chronic Pain, will happen June 3 to July 8. Both workshops will meet from 9:30 AM to 12 PM every Tuesday for six weeks at the Gibson-Aiken Center.

The Healthcare deadline is today! So I hear on the radio.

As both a taxpayer and small business owner, I’ve received no written information about the Affordable Care Act. I get mail from the IRS and from the State of Vermont about all sorts of things, but not once has any information about any changes to laws regarding healthcare come my way. Not even a postcard with a website address.

Brattleboro Memorial Hospital is pleased to announce the addition of Paul Stanchfield, PA-C, as a new physician assistant at Brattleboro Internal Medicine, as of March 24.

Stanchfield has more than a decade of experience as a physician assistant, including working at the Brattleboro Retreat, Brattleboro Primary Care, and Mount Anthony Primary Care. He completed the Physician Assistant Program at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in psychology from Westminster College of Salt Lake City.

Brattleboro Memorial Hospital is pleased to welcome new physician assistant Maureen Mahoney, PA-C, ATC, to the Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine department.

Mahoney’s experience includes working as a physician assistant at Cheshire Medical Center/Dartmouth-Hitchcock in Keene and at Grace Cottage Hospital in Townshend. Previously, she was the head athletic trainer at Wellsley College in Massachusetts.

In case you’ve already forgotten!

The Psycho-Neuro-Immunology Institute (NEPNI) is once again presenting its fun and informative brain health course, “Train Your Brain to Retain.”  This 7-week class is being offered at two convenient times: Tuesday mornings from 10 to noon or Tuesday evenings from 6:30 to 8:30.  Both sections begin on April 1st. (Yes, the easier to remember it by!)

Classes will be held at 31 Frog Hill in Brattleboro.  There is a limit of 12 students per class. You must register by Friday, March 28.

Brattleboro Memorial Hospital recognized for achieving exemplary marketing results

Brattleboro Memorial Hospital has received the 2013 All Star Award from, the trusted marketing advisor to more than half a million small organizations worldwide.Each year, Constant Contact bestows the All Star Award to a select group of businesses and nonprofits that are successfully leveraging online marketing tools to engage their customer base, and drive success for their organization. Brattleboro Memorial Hospital’s results ranked among the top 10% of Constant Contact’s international customer base.

42 U.S.C. Section 1396p(b)(B)

Are you age 55 or older, and a single home owner who receives Medicaid,
or suddenly got signed up for Medicaid when you explored the Obamacare
 government Affordable Care Act website because you fit the new higher  income guidelines for  Medicaid under  Obamacare?

If you are getting arthritic from living in a cold wet climate, you might be thinking of moving south to a warmer and drier climate; but now you have to figure out if Medicaid / Obamacare has put a lien on your home before you sell it, because they aren’t adequately  warning or informing anyone!

Circus Yoga Workshop comes to Putney!

Circus Yoga combines the best of circus games and partnered yoga. Join Circus Yoga founder, Erin Maile O’Keefe, for a Sunday afternoon of pure fun.

Bring your friends and family over the age of 7.

Brattleboro Area Hospice and Brattleboro Memorial Hospital Ethics Committee invite the public to a free presentation about Act 39: Patient Choice and Control at the End of Life. Vermont’s law pertaining to Patient Choice at the End of Life took effect on May 20, 2013 and legalizes physician-aid in dying for eligible adults living with a terminal illness. Featuring Cindy Bruzzese, the Executive Director of the Vermont Ethics Network, this forum is not a debate for or against Act 39; it is a public informational presentation only and allows time for questions and answers.

When: Monday, March 24, 6 pm – 8 pm
Where: Brew Barry Conference Room, Brattleboro Memorial Hospital

Where are my keys?  What is that person’s name?  Why did I come into this room?

Sound familiar?  Want to do something about it?

The latest brain research has reached such popular publications as National Geographic and AARP Magazine.  It has scientifically revealed that our mind-body connections can have a positive influence on our memory.  The faculty at Brattleboro-based NEPNI (the Northeast Psycho-Neuro-Immunology Institute) has extensively explored much of this evidence-based brain research and wants to share it with you.