Compiled by Debra Scherban. Please send items to dscherban@gazettenet.com.
Linda Manor Assisted Living and Linda Manor Extended Care in Leeds will host the third “Successful Aging Summit” Sept. 12, between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Continental breakfast and lunch are included in the free event at 345 Haydenville Road. Register by email at dboussard@bhs1.org , online at www.lindamanorassistedliving.org/summit, or by calling 588-3302 by Sept. 5.
Dr. Beth Warner, medical director at Linda Manor, will deliver the keynote address at 10 a.m.
Morning sessions, beginning at 11:15 a.m., include presentations on “How to Arch Above Aching Feet” with Diane Roeder, RN; “Home Safety 101” with Paul McCloskey, Caretenders Home Health; “Tap into Your Creativity: The Art of Collages” with activities assistant Betsy Young; and “Benefits and Resources for Veterans A-Z” with Chris Riga, patient experience coordinator at the U. S. Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Following a barbecue lunch and music by the Berkshire Hills Music Academy, afternoon sessions, starting at 1:45 p.m., will include “The Road Ahead: Thoughts on Advanced Care Planning with Lea Appeal, NP-C and Jenn Moser, MA-CT, MSW from Hospice of Franklin County; “Movement for Wellness” with Chad Moir, Dopafit; “Find Your Volunteer Vocation” panel discussion; and “Abstract Thinking: Ways to Stay Sharp” with Emily Uguccioni.
Sessions beginning at 3 p.m. include “Exercises to Build Your Bone Density” with Shelley Uguccioni, CPT; “Estate Planning and Essential Documents” with attorney Valerie Vignaux of Bacon & Wilson; “Under Pressure: What You Need to Know About Managing Your Blood Pressure” with Kristina Hontz, RN; and “Smiling Through Art” with Saba Moir.
River Valley Counseling Center has opened a full-service pharmacy at its 303 Beech St. location in Holyoke.
Rosemarie M. Ansel, the center’s executive director, says it is the first outpatient behavioral health clinic in Western Massachusetts to have a Genoa pharmacy on site. Genoa, a QoL Healthcare Company, specializes in behavioral health and addiction treatment communities.
“This will provide our clients with easier access to their medicine and will encourage medication compliance as part of the treatment they receive at River Valley Counseling Center,” Ansel said in a prepared statement. “Both the pharmacist and the pharmacy technician are bilingual in Spanish and will be able to assist all of our clients in understanding the importance of following their treatment plans,” she said.
The Massachusetts Medical Society, along with doctors from the medical education website TheAnswerPage.com, has developed a comprehensive cannabis curriculum to train healthcare providers on the medical, legal and social issues regarding marijuana use.
The online course was reviewed by the Massachusetts Medical Society’s Committee on Sponsored Programs and by Dr. Alan Ehrlich, an assistant clinical professor in Family Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester and deputy editor for DynaMed.
The new curriculum expands on the Medical Society’s existing continuing education offerings on the medical uses of cannabis. It provides details of the endocannabinoid system and its interactions with medical cannabis, cannabis administration, dosing, contraindications, metabolism and drug interactions. Studies addressing the physiologic, cognitive and mental health effects of cannabis are reviewed in detail.
Additional segments are focused on the medical use of cannabis for 10 diseases, including ALS, cancer, epilepsy, HIV/AIDS, Huntington’s Disease, IBS, multiple sclerosis and spasticity, neuropathic pain and Parkinson’s disease.