Health

Brattleboro Memorial Hospital will offer a free public talk entitled, “When A Loved One Has Dementia…” in the Brew Barry Conference Room on Monday, May 20 from 7:00 to 9:00 pm.

Led by Michelle Rowland, RN, LISCW, the talk will cover expected stages of dementia and available support and treatments for patients in the community. The talk will also address how families, friends and caregivers can find support and relief.

Brattleboro Memorial Hospital will offer a free class entitled, “Safe and Simple Chair Exercises for Those with Chronic Illnesses and/or Limited Mobility and their Caregivers” on Monday, May 13 from 3:30 – 5:00 pm in the Brew Barry Conference Room.

Led by Connie Baxter, a certified yoga instructor and bereavement care coordinator at Brattleboro Area Hospice, the class teaches a sequence of easy-to-learn exercises that can be done from the safety of a chair to increase circulation and range of motion. Participants will be given a diagram of the movements along with clear instructions so they can practices these chair exercises, based on yoga postures, with their caregivers at home.

Interested in learning Tai Chi? Medicine for the People is offering a new Beginners Tai Chi Series starting May 17th in Putney. This 14 week series covers the basic building blocks of Tai Chi movement — increase stregnth, flexibilyt and vitality. Tai Chi Chuan is often described as a moving meditation; after practice, one feels invigorated, clear-minded, and peaceful.

The BMH Center for Cardiovascular Health announced cardiovascular surgeon Daniel Walsh, MD, will begin seeing patients in its offices starting Monday, May 6.

Dr. Walsh has been a member of the medical staff at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire since 1987. He will be at BMH every other Monday between the hours of 1:00 and 5:00 PM to consult on a variety of arterial and venous diseases, including aortic aneurysm, carotid disease, peripheral arterial disease, venous disease, renal artery disease, hypertension, stenosis and mesenteric ischemia.

“Having Dr. Walsh here to evaluate and treat vascular disease adds another element of care we can provide for our community,” says the Center’s Medical Director, Mark Burke, MD, adding that Dr. Walsh will also be available as a consultative resource for the BMH Center for Wound Healing.

Brattleboro Memorial Hospital announced its Comprehensive Breast Care Program was awarded a grant from the Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Foundation in April.

According to Kelly McCue, RN, MSN, nurse navigator and administrator for the BMH Comprehensive Breast Care program, the grant will be used to support accommodation of patients with disabilities and improve accessibility to mammograms and other breast imaging services.

Brattleboro Memorial Hospital announced it has received a grant from an anonymous foundation. This grant fully funds the training and implementation of the STAR Program into its Rehabilitation and Oncology Departments.

STAR (Survivorship Training and Rehab) is a national certification program developed by Massachusetts-based Oncology Rehab Partners, leading experts in the field of survivorship care. The program provides hospitals and health care providers with the tools and training needed to minimize the side effects of cancer treatment.

The Brattleboro Memorial Hospital Auxiliary is sponsoring a community wide event with former Vermont Governor Madeleine M. Kunin on Wednesday, May 8 at the New England Youth Theatre.

Based on her 2012 book The New Feminist Agenda (Chelsea Green), Kunin’s discussion will address longstanding concerns about opportunity and family responsibilities, including innovative work/family policies embracing affordable quality child care, paid family leave, and equal pay for equal work. “Can women and men unite on sensible and fair family/work issues?” she asks in her book The New Feminist Agenda. President Bill Clinton states: “In this important new book, Madeleine Kunin argues that empowering women to succeed at home and at work is both good economics and good social policy. She presents a convincing roadmap for how we achieve that vision, and calls on all of us to be part of a brighter future.”

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

Brattleboro Memorial Hospital has named Gregory Gadowski, MD, as Medical Director of the BMH Center for Wound Healing, scheduled to open May 9.

Dr. Gadowski has received intensive training in wound treatment from BMH’s partnering organization, Healogics. Under his direction, the Center’s trained staff of physicians, nurses and technicians will work with patients to set up individualized treatment programs utilizing hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), negative pressure therapy, bioengineered tissue and biosynthetics to treat open sores and heal wounds.

In addition to his new role as medical director, Dr. Gadowski will continue his practice at Brattleboro General Surgery, a member of BMH Physician Group. He is a graduate of University of Chicago Medical School and a Fellow in the American College of Surgeons.

Brattleboro Memorial Hospital has hired Lynne Vantassel as Program Director for the new BMH Center for Wound Healing, opening in early May.

Vantassel will be responsible for achieving clinical, operational and financial results at the center. Prior to joining BMH,

Vantassel served as the Director of Global Program Management at WPP in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She holds an MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a BSBA in Business Management from Western New England University.

“We’re very fortunate to have someone with Lynne’s qualifications on board as we launch the Center for Wound Healing,” says Greg Gadowski, MD, who is the Center’s Medical Director. “She has done a terrific job already just making sure we are fully prepared for our opening next month.”

Green Mountain Care Board member Dr. Karen Hein will be the guest speaker during Brattleboro Memorial Hospital’s next Mediterranean Dinner, taking place on Thursday, May 9 at 5:30 PM in the Brew Barry Conference Center.

Hein, who lives in nearby Jacksonville, Vermont, will discuss heart disease and its impact on women. In addition to her work for the Green Mountain Care Board, Hein is an adjunct professor of Family/Community Medicine at Dartmouth Medical School. In 1987, she founded the first comprehensive HIV/AIDS awareness programs for adolescents in the U.S. and is also the author of AIDS: Trading Fears for Facts: A Guide for Young People (Consumer Reports Books, 1994).

Beginner Yoga Series, May 19th – June 30th (no class June 2nd)
Sundays, 9:30-11:00am, Offered by Amanda Upton (http://www.rootdowncoaching.com)
Classes will take place at Medicine for the People. This series is limited to 12 students, reserve your spot today!

Learn more here: http://rootdowncoaching.com/yoga/begi…ga-series/

Beginning a yoga practice can be intimidating and overwhelming. If you are interested in yoga but are unsure what to do when you walk in the door of a yoga studio, or how to do the poses, or why the poses are done in the first place, this series is for you.

This class is for complete beginners and those wanting to revisit the basics.

Brattleboro Memorial Hospital Rehabilitation Services will offer its seven week course “Standing Tall Spine Health: Level 1” beginning Monday, April 29 at 4:00 PM in the BMH Exercise Room.

The program is designed for individuals diagnosed with osteopenia or osteoporosis, or those at risk for low bone mass. Each class consists of a brief educational session followed by guided exercise. Education topics include instruction in safe movement for fracture prevention, strength and flexibility exercises for improved body alignment, and nutrition for bone health.

Brattleboro Memorial Hospital announced the Brattleboro Cardiology practice will move into a newly designed Cardiology Center located on the second floor of the Richards Building opening Monday, April 15.

The move merges the offices of cardiologists Michael Cohan, D.O., and Mark Burke, M.D., into a single space. The Center will also serve as an outreach clinic for Daniel Walsh, M.D., a vascular surgeon from Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center.

Diagnostic Imaging Technologists Susan Gautot RT(R,M) and Ellen Wapner RT (R,M,CT,QC) of Brattleboro Memorial Hospital successfully completed requirements to become Certified MammaCare Specialists.

MammaCare is the recognized standard for teaching and performing clinical breast examination in breast cancer screening clinics. The certification authorizes Gautot and Wapner to teach MammaCare practices to women and other health care professionals.

“It is a pleasure to welcome Susan and Ellen to the MammaCare family,” said Dr. H.S. Pennypacker, President of the MammaCare Corporation and one of the original team of scientists who developed MammaCare. “They will make an important contribution to medical education and women’s health throughout Vermont,” he added.

News from the Massachusetts Medical Society

Montague resident Kathleen M. McGraw, M.D. has been honored by her physician peers of the Franklin District Medical Society as the district society’s 2013 Community Clinician of the Year, an honor recognizing her professionalism and contributions as a physician.

The Community Clinician of the Year Award was established in 1998 by the Massachusetts Medical Society to recognize a physician from each of the Society’s 20 district medical societies who has made significant contributions to his or her patients and the community and who stands out as a leading advocate and caregiver. Dr. McGraw will receive the award at the District Society’s annual meeting Thursday April 25 at the Hotel Northampton.

Brattleboro Memorial Hospital announced the establishment of Vermont’s only comprehensive Center for Wound Healing. Located on the BMH campus, the Center provides the most advanced therapies available for the treatment of chronic and non-healing wounds.

When the Center opens its doors and begins seeing patients on May 9, it will be the first facility of its kind in the state of Vermont and has been designed to serve the tri-state region, said BMH President and CEO Steven R. Gordon.

“Chronic, non-healing wounds are a problem for 8 million Americans, many of whom are elderly and managing chronic health problems, including diabetes, venous disease and injuries from radiation therapy,” said Gordon. With Windham County having the oldest population in Vermont, which in turn is the second oldest state in the whole country, Gordon adds that “The BMH Center for Wound Healing fills the need for this vital medical service not only for our local community, but also for the region.”

Beginning Friday April 5th, Medicine for the People will hold a Community Acupuncture clinic, every Friday from 2-6pm. Community Acupuncture is offered in a group setting for a sliding scale cost of $25-$50 per session. We offer this service in order to make holistic health care accessible to *everybody*, including YOU! Yes, YOU!

If you are interested in our clinic, you are welcome to drop in or call ahead to make an appointment. Our number is 802-387-3028 and we can be reached Monday-Friday 9-5. If you’d like to learn more about the benefits of acupuncture, please.

Brattleboro Memorial Hospital today announced that George Pierce Terwilliger, MD, has been appointed Site Director for its Emergency Department.

Dr. Terwilliger has been practicing emergency medicine at Cheshire Medical Center in Keene, New Hampshire since 2002. He comes to BMH through a unique professional services contract with Dartmouth Hitchcock Clinic, by which Harneet Sethi, MD, serves as Program Medical Director for Emergency Medicine at Cheshire Medical Center and BMH.

“Our arrangement with Dartmouth Hitchcock Clinic and Cheshire Medical Center allows BMH to share in the expertise of physicians like Dr. Terwilliger to meet the existing need in Brattleboro,” says Kathleen McGraw, MD, Chief Medical Officer at BMH.

Prior to his current post, Terwilliger had been a member of the ED staff at BMH for two years and spent 10 years practicing emergency medicine at the Gifford Center in Randolph, Vermont. He also has seven years’ experience as Medical Director of a family medicine practice in Chelsea, Vermont.

Brattleboro Memorial Hospital and AARP are co-sponsoring a Driver Safety program on Saturday, April 20 from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM in the Brew Barry Conference Room.

This driver’s refresher course is for people ages 55 and over and is designed to provide awareness of aging as it affects driving. The class covers normal physical changes associated with aging, provides practical techniques to compensate and review “rules of the road” with an emphasis on defensive driving practices.

Space is limited to 20 participants. The cost is $12.00 for AARP members with a membership card & $14.00 for non-AARP members. Call 802-251-8425 to register in advance. Fee covers materials only. Participants are encouraged to bring a lunch.