Compiled by Debra Scherban. Please send items to dscherban@gazettenet.com
Volunteers are needed to serve as health-care benefits counselors with LifePath (formerly Franklin County Home Care) in Turners Falls.
Training begins Thursday at LifePath offices, 330 Montague Road. There will be 13 sessions which last from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. each.
Counselors for the program known as SHINE (Serving Health Insurance Needs of Everyone) will learn to provide free, confidential health insurance advice to Medicare beneficiaries in their communities.
Those interested should be comfortable working with elders and people with mental and physical disabilities.
For more information contact Lorraine York-Edberg, Western Regional SHINE Program Director, at 773-5555 x2275 or 978-544-2259 x2275 or lyork-edberg@lifepathma.org. For more information about LifePath, visit www.lifepathma.org.
Local pediatrician Jonathan Schwab will present a free workshop on children’s vaccinations April 13, at 6 p.m. at Cooley Dickinson Hospital’s Midwifery Center on Locust Street in Northampton.
Schwab, who is associated with Northampton Area Pediatrics, will discuss the various diseases that vaccines can prevent, how vaccines work and other information parents may need.
There will be time for questions and answers.
The Midwifery Center is the yellow house on the hospital campus.
Contact Katherine Bohne or call 586-9866 ext. 9 or email Katherine_Bohne@cooley-dickinson.org.
Dr. Vicki A. Jackson, the chief of the division of palliative care, at Massachusetts General Hospital, will give a free lecture on palliative care April 14 at Edwards Church in Northampton.
The talk, hosted by Cooley Dickinson and Massachusetts General hospitals, begins at 7 p.m.
Jackson will discuss the needs of patients with serious illness and how to advocate for them.
Registration is required. Visit cooley-dickinson.org/classes or call 888-554-4CDH (4234).
The program is part of a series of community conversations with area residents, local librarians, and Cooley Dickinson palliative care practitioners that focus on end-of-life care and planning.
The community conversations continue through April 20. See a schedule of events at http://bit.ly/1U7GKPb
Jackson, who is also co-director of the Harvard Medical School Center for Palliative Care, spearheaded the development of an outpatient palliative care clinic at the Mass General Cancer Center and serves as lead palliative care investigator for several NIH funded trials.
Clinical & Support Options will be hosting the 14th Annual Mental Health and Wellness Fair at the Energy Park in Greenfield May 18 from 10 a.m to 2 p.m.
Featuring CSO’s Green River House and Quabbin House Clubhouse members, the fair will be an afternoon of music, poetry, and testimonials to highlight mental health illness, wellness and recovery. There will also be food and raffles.
The fair started in 2002 in an effort to bring awareness and information to the community about mental health illness and recovery.
Local mental health and wellness providers are welcome to present their materials and programming for free by calling the Green River House at 772-2181.
To learn more about blood donation opportunities or to schedule an appointment download the Red Cross donor app, visit redcorssblood.org or call 1-800-REDCROSS (1-800-733-2767) Walk-ins are welcome.
Tuesday, 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Northampton VA Medical Center, 21 North Main St., Leeds
Friday, 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., University of Massachusetts Student Union, 41 Campus Center Way