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Participants in a Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
"Light the Night" walk Sept. 19 at Zephyr Stadium
will carry illuminated balloons commemorating
survivors of the disease and supporters' fight
against the cancers.
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Supportive Trek
A walk through Uptown Sept. 14 will help to raise funds for
the NO/AIDS Task Force, a nonprofit group that provides support to people
infected with HIV and suffering from AIDS. Registration for the 14th annual
event starts at 8 a.m. at Audubon Park and the walk starts at 10 a.m. Adults,
children and pets all are welcome to participate.
The event will include activities for kids as well as music
and refreshments from local sponsors such as Starbucks, Abita Beer, Rain Vodka,
Kentwood Springs Water, Krispy Kreme, Louisiana Pizza Kitchen and the French
Market.
Lights of Hope
September is Leukemia Awareness Month and
in commemoration, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is hosting a "Light
the Night" fundraising walk Sept. 19 at Zephyr Stadium (6000 Airline Hwy.).
The local event is part of a national endeavor to raise funds for and awareness
of leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma, which strike more than 670,000 Americans.
Registration begins at 5 p.m. and the walk
starts at 7 p.m. with survivors of the diseases carrying illuminated white balloons
and supporters carrying red. The event features music, food and family activites.
For more information, call 837-0945.
Expanding the Universe
Speaking of Women's Health (SWH) is
holding a "Universal Sisters" day of speakers, educational presentations, health
screenings and more focused toward African-American women from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Sept. 20 at Franklin Avenue Baptist Church (2515 Franklin Ave.).
Universal Sisters is a national health initiative
aimed at increasing awareness of the need for preventative health care among
minority women. The day includes keynotes by Patricia Reid-Merrit and Dr. Marilyn
Hughes Gaston, a cooking demonstration by local Chef Carmen Bazile, a panel
of local health experts who will answer questions from participants, health
screenings and a luncheon. Attendees also will receive a gift bag filled with
products from event sponsors such as Lifetime, Wal-Mart, American Greetings,
Hanes Her Way, Lean Cuisine and others.
Tickets are $15 and are available by calling
866-SWH-INFO.
Medical Information Highway
Ochsner Clinic Foundation is hosting
a free seminar from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Sept. 23 to help consumers find accurate
medical information on the Internet. The seminar will be held at Brent House,
Room 226, on the Ochsner campus (1514 Jefferson Hwy.). Call 842-3760 to register.
A Good Start
The first of a 10-week series of workshops
for mothers and guardians of children from birth to 5 years old is scheduled
from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sept. 25 at Incarnate Word Community Center (8326 Apricot
St.).
Healthy Beginnings is sponsoring the
free workshop, which will deal with issues such as healthy child development,
positive discipline strategies, relieving stress and more. Transportation, refreshments
and activities for participants' children will be provided.
To register or for more information, call
Dr. Shana Bellow at 569-4690, ext.1# or Vincentian Ministries at 866-4978 ext.
21.
Lesser Is More
Lesser Family Medical Clinic last month
opened a second location at 3330 St. Claude Ave. (949-1123) in the Bywater to
better serve the needs of the New Orleans community. The primary care medical
practice also is retaining its original Uptown clinic at 3600 Prytania St. (895-9044).
Clinic founder Dr. Robert Lesser says the
new location will promote comprehensive wellness and preventative health measures
and is a member of the new CommunityCARE Medicaid health system of primary care
physicians. Lesser's clinics focus on comprehensive family health care and also
has laboratory testing equipment on site to make it more convenient for patients
to receive the services they need.
Dr. Lesser specializes in testing and treatments
for diabetes, hypertension and vascular diseases, Hepatitis C, substance abuse
and pain management.
Jump for Health
Parents and school administrators now have
a new option for teaching healthy, active lifestyles to children from 2 to 5
years old. Cindy Lovecchio has set up a JumpBunch franchise for St. Tammany
and Jefferson parishes with a sports and fitness curriculum featuring scores
of fun physical activities designed for preschoolers.
Lovecchio says she'll conduct 30-minute weekly
classes in preschools in the metro area through contracts either with the schools
or parents interested in having their children participate. For more information
about the program, contact Lovecchio at (985) 373-6582 or log onto www.jumpbus.com.
Vehicles of Health
The American Lung Association of Louisiana
is urging people to donate vehicles to the organization to raise funds for its
programs and services that include in-school education about asthma, smoking
cessation, and patient support. The organization says lung diseases are the
third leading cause of deaths in this country.
The donation is tax deductible, and the Lung
Association will pick up boats, cars, vans, RVs and other vehicles free of charge
anywhere in the state, even if the vehicle must be towed. For more information,
call 800-LUNG-USA or visit the Web site www.louisianalung.org.
Good Sport Award
Fitness and performance enhancement expert
Mackie Shilstone has received the 2003 Dwight David Eisenhower Fitness
Award from the United States Sports Academy (USSA) graduate school in Alabama
for his achievements in fitness and his contributions to the growth and development
of sport fitness through leadership.
Shilstone, a regular columnist in Gambit
Weekly's health section, received the award during the USSA's 31st annual
graduation ceremonies this summer. For more than a quarter century, he has trained
athletes and helped them to achieve better performance, including former world
heavyweight champion Michael Spinks, baseball Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith and
others.
Continuing His Service
New Orleans businessman and former state Lt.
Gov. James E. Fitzmorris Jr. has been elected to a new term as a vice
president of the national Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). It will be his
15th term.
Fitzmorris, president and CEO of Fitzmorris
& Associates Inc, will act as a volunteer leader who will provide advice, counsel
and support to the MDA and its programs. The MDA is focused on treatments and
cures for more than three dozen neuromuscular diseases and maintains 230 clinics
across the country, including New Orleans clinics at Children's Hospital and
Louisiana State University Medical Center.
Investing in Education
LSU Health Sciences Center has received
matching funds for three endowed chairs and three endowed professorships worth
almost $3.5 million and covering a range of health issues.
The T.G. and Doris Solomon Family Endowed
Chair for the Study of Crohn's Disease and Related Disorders will support the
research, clinical and educational programs at LSU's Center for Inflammatory
Bowel Disease. The Wendell H. Gauthier Chair of Cancer Research will help LSU's
Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center attract a top-rate cancer researcher. The Paul
J. Ramsay Endowed Chair of Psychiatry will support the psychiatry department's
Violence Intervention Program, which focuses on prevention and intervention
for children at risk of exposure to violence within their family or community.
The endowed professorships receiving matching
funds include the James D. Rives M.D. Professorship of Cancer Surgery, the Henry
Jolly M.D. Professorship of Dermatology and the Cancer Crusaders Professorship
of Basic Cancer Research.
