Health briefs for Feb. 11

By Journal staff | Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Previous Page

Share

• del.icio.us
• Digg
• NewsVine
• Fark

Print

Email

NAMI to show video at regular meeting

NAMI-Rapid City (National Alliance on Mental Illness) will show the video “The Medicated Child” from “Frontline” at its meeting on Thursday, Feb. 14. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the lounge at First Presbyterian Church, 710 Kansas City St. Visitors are welcome. For information, call 348-7244.

Alternative health therapy uses horses

Klara Parks, a registered nurse and Reiki master, and Josie Chase, an enrolled Mandan Hidatsa and Hunkpapa Yanktonnai, will present “Equine Assisted Psychotherapy and Equine Assisted Learning Activities” at the monthly meeting of Wholistic Health Society of the Black Hills.

The presentations at the alternative health care organization meeting begin at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 19, at Canyon Lake Senior Citizens Center, 2900 Canyon Lake Drive. Cost is $5. Parks and Chase will discuss physical and mental therapies used with horses to improve human mental health.

Support group hosts guest speaker

Pam Hendrickson of Pain Solutions will give a presentation on “Living and Coping with Mood Disorders” at the Depression and Bipolar Support Group meeting. The group will meet at

7 p.m. today in the Rushmore Room at Rapid City Regional Hospital.

Anyone interested in learning more about mood disorders is welcome. Black Hills Chapter is affiliated with Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance. Its Web site is www.dbsalliance.org.

Free support group for suicide grief recovery

On Feb. 25, the Front Porch Coalition will offer a free eight-week educational support group experience for survivors who have suffered a loss to suicide. This support group is specific to anyone who has lost a loved one, family member, friend or colleague to suicide regardless of how recent or long ago the loss occurred. A licensed professional will facilitate the support group. The emphasis of the support group will be on education as opposed to counseling. Interested participants will be given referrals to other counseling and support resources in the community should they need any additional resources and assistance.

Attendance at every meeting is encouraged. The group will meet Mondays, Feb. 25 through April 14 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Lutheran Social Services at 2920 Sheridan Lake Road. For those who cannot attend the first eight-week session, another eight-week session will begin later, depending on registrations and individuals interested in attending. Materials will be provided to each participant. Pre-registration is required, so contact the Front Porch Coalition at 605-348-6692, by e-mail at: inquiries@frontporchcoalition.org or send to 401 Third St., Suite No. 4, Rapid City, SD 57701. For more information, contact Stephanie Schweitzer Dixon at 348-6692 or e-mail info@frontporchcoalition.org; or Laura Boyd, Black Hills Area Survivors of Suicide, at 721-7720.

McDonald Care Mobile makes Sturgis stop

The Ronald McDonald Care Mobile will stop in the Meade County School District of Sturgis Feb. 11-15. Last year, the mobile dental office had 56 dentist volunteer their skills to examine 3,222 children, 44 percent of those were unable to afford dental insurance. The children were given the opportunity to receive dental care. For more information, call Connie Halverson at 1-800-627-3961.

BHSU presentations given at conference

Black Hills State University faculty and students gave their health and wellness presentations recently at the annual South Dakota Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance conference in Aberdeen.

Betsy Silva, the conference’s College Teacher of the Year recipient and chair of the BHSU Department of Physical Education and Health, along with physical education seniors Matt Oliver and Derek Nelson and junior Breon Schroeder, presented “Implementing Wellness Policy: A Success Story.”

BHSU health instructor Sandy Klarenbeek’s presentation, “Aligning Health and Reading with a HEAP of Books,” focused on helping teachers make connections between the literature and health goals of education by integrating literature into the health curriculum.

Oliver of Rapid City; Schroeder of Spearfish and Nelson of Rock Springs, Wyo., each received a Gary Bush Memorial Scholarship to attend the conference. Senior Laurel Foster, a Spanish major from Platte, also received one of the five Bush Scholarships awarded in 2007. The scholarships are based on each student’s scholarly capability, commitment to professional development and potential for future success.

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.