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Health briefs for Jan. 7
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Fark‘On Call’ reviews favorite episodes for 2008
Viewers will see highlights from studio discussions and key interviews of medical editor Dr. Rick Holm and host Tami Watson on the public television medical show “On Call.” Holm and Watson will touch on a wide variety of topics, ranging from men’s health to spina bifida. The Jan. 10 episode will address antibiotic resistant organisms. “On Call” airs at 6 p.m. Mountain Standard Time on South Dakota Public Broadcasting.
A weekly program about health produced by South Dakota State University Cooperative Extension, “On Call” is the only medical program endorsed by the South Dakota State Medical Association and the South Dakota Department of Health. It receives major support from Avera Health and The South Dakota Foundation for Medical Care. Additional sponsors include Dakotacare, Brookings Health System, Rapid City Regional Hospital, Swiftel Communications and Friends of SDPB. For more information, go to http://oncall.sdstate.org/.
‘Family-to-Family’ class set for January
If you have a family member or friend who is dealing with any mental illness, the National Alliance on Mental Illness will present a free class, “Family-to-Family,” beginning this January. It will meet once a week for 12 weeks. To register or for information, call Audrey at 343-1366 or 431-0872, or Sarah at 719-5117.
Wholistic Health Society introduces series
The Wholistic Health Society of the Black Hills (WHS) will offer the first of regular monthly presentations, sharing alternative choices for health care, on Tuesdays at the Canyon Lake Senior Citizens Center, 2900 Canyon Lake Drive. Cost is $5. Fees will be applied to project of the WHS.
The first presentation will be at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 15, by Cynthia Dumdey on Reiki, a hands-on method of healing that helps to balance the body’s energies, restore emotional balance and harmony and support the body’s natural ability to heal. Dumdey, who received a doctorate in holistic health science and is a Reiki master, also holds master’s degrees in clinical psychology and nutritional lifestyle counseling. The educational talks are an ongoing effort to share information on the many avenues and practitioners of alternative and complementary health care available in the Black Hills area. The WHS is a growing group of practitioners of massage therapy, Reiki, acupuncture, equine-assisted therapy, veterinary medicine, reflexology and cranial sacral therapy.
Suicide alertness training available
The South Dakota Suicide Awareness Partnership will present a free suicide alertness training called “safeTALK” from 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays at the United Way Building, 621 Sixth St. Pre-registration is required. The three-hour training demonstrates how to help a person having thoughts of suicide by using the “TALK steps” of tell, ask, listen and keep safe. The sessions will be on the following Saturdays: Jan. 26, Feb. 23, April 5 and May 17.
The Suicide Awareness Partnership is a three-year project funded by a U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration grant.
To register for the training, call Suicide Prevention Specialist Nancy Fleming at the Suicide Awareness Partnership’s Rapid City office at 484-0738 or e-mail nancy@helplinecenter.org.
Tips for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries
With the closing of re-enrollment, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services does not expect beneficiaries to face any difficulties at the pharmacy counter due to the collaborative work among beneficiaries, partners and advocates, pharmacies and plans, according to a news release. Nevertheless, those beneficiaries who have newly enrolled or changed plans should keep these four tips in mind when visiting the pharmacy:
* Bring your red, white and blue Medicare card; a photo ID and your new drug plan membership card. These items will help the pharmacist in verifying your coverage.
* Bring an enrollment acknowledgement, confirmation letter or the name of your new drug plan if you have not received a plan membership card. Your enrollment search might take longer, but these items will assist the pharmacist in verifying your coverage.
* Keep copies of your receipts. In the rare instance where the pharmacist cannot confirm enrollment, you can work with your new plan prospectively to obtain reimbursement.
* Don’t leave the pharmacy counter without your medicine. If you cannot pay out-of-pocket expenses, call 1-800 MEDICARE for assistance or ask the pharmacist to dial the special hotline for these cases.
For Medicare Advantage plans only, beneficiaries can make one change in enrollment ” enrolling in a new plan, changing plans or canceling a plan ” between Jan. 1 and March 31. For more information, go to www.medicare.gov or call -800-MEDICARE.
January is Volunteer Blood Donor Month
January is National Volunteer Blood Donor Month, and United Blood Services encourages those who are eligible to donate.
People may fall out of the blood donor pools because of health issues, medication use, travel in the malaria-filled jungles of Mexico or European countries tainted with bovine spongiform encephalopathy and even military service in Iraq and Afghanistan.
With more accurate testing procedures, the blood service has deferred donors testing positive for HIV, West Nile virus, hepatitis, sexually transmitted diseases, low iron and those using blood thinners, including daily aspirin use.
People can safely donate six times a year. If all donors would donate just one more time a year, it would take the pressure off of the blood supply, according to Bob Garcia, donor recruiter at UBS.
“Check with us periodically if you’ve been deferred, because the reason why you were deferred may have changed,” Garcia said.
Returning to the donor pool are diabetics, and people with tattoos and piercings that were performed in a licensed facility that meets the health standards, Garcia said.
Regular whole blood donation ” from the interview process to donation ” takes about 35 to 45 minutes. Platelet donation requires one to three units and takes 45 minutes to 1-1/2 hours. Donors must be 17 years old or older and have a photo ID. Donors who have donor cards are asked to bring them to the interview.
“The need for donors never goes away,” Garcia said.
For an appointment or information, call United Blood Services, 2209 W. Omaha, at 342-8585 or 1-800-834-8525.
All health-related announcements must be received no later than noon Thursday to appear in the next Monday’s edition. Send announcements to Health Briefs, the Rapid City Journal, P.O. Box 450, Rapid City, SD 57709, fax them to 394-8463 or e-mail to features@rapidcityjournal.com. Items will appear once and as space permits. For information, call 394-8418.
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