Health News

Jackson schools hold health fair

Students at Blue Ridge School and Blue Ridge Early College concluded a week-long focus on health and wellness with a community health fair and blood drive on Friday, Feb. 14. Numerous volunteers, agencies, and organizations participated in the Valentine’s Day event with the theme “Love Yourself to Health.” Throughout the day, students rotated through stations where they received health-related information on issues appropriate for their age. For elementary students, topics included exercise, safety, dental care and healthy snacking while high school students focused on risky behaviors, personal relationships, setting boundaries and staying safe during summer activities. Meanwhile, community members gave blood and received health screenings.

New urgent care opens in Waynesville

Mercy Urgent Care has opened its eighth and newest location at 120 Frazier St. A, in Waynesville.

The Waynesville location, just off the Great Smoky Mountains Expressway exit 102, officially opened to patients on Feb. 4. Located in the Waynesville Pavilion shopping center near Publix, Mercy Urgent Care Waynesville will be open seven days per week: 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

This new location will bring high-quality, affordable and convenient medical care for nonlife-threatening illnesses and injuries to Haywood County, giving patients in the Waynesville area access to walk-in care at a fraction of the cost of an ER visit.

Mercy Urgent Care, as an independent provider, accepts Blue Cross Blue Shield and all other major insurance carriers; offers a self-pay option for those without insurance, with simple, tiered “fee for service” pricing; and has a Compassionate Care financial assistance program for qualifying patients.

www.mercyurgentcare.org.

What’s in your medicine cabinet?

The upcoming Ladies Night Out program, “What’s in Your Medicine Cabinet?” will be held at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 25 in the cafeteria at Angel Medical Center.

All women are invited to attend this meeting and are asked to encourage all the women in their life, who are over the age of 13 years, to attend with them. This month’s charity and proceeds will go to REACH. Items they need include bottled water, canned soups and spaghetti and meatballs, packed snacks (gummies, chips, peanut butter crackers, breakfast and granola bars), toilet tissue, paper towels, hand sanitizer and personal hygiene items. Monetary donations are also welcomed. Ladies Night Out is a partnership between Macon County Public Health and Angel Medical Center to provide free monthly programs on a variety of health topics for women with an emphasis on the importance of regular health screenings.

Health foundation awards $2.5 million

Highlands Cashiers Health Foundation recently approved $2.5 million in grants to 53 area nonprofits.

When HCHF’s Board of Directors came together last February as a newly classified nonprofit with a new mission to “Improve the health and wellbeing of those in the Highlands, Cashiers, and surrounding communities,” they knew it was a big goal. Through the journey of conducting Listening Sessions, Community Outreach Meetings, and committing over 2,000 hours toward grant review, the Programs and Grants Committee and the Highlands Cashiers Health Foundation Board of Directors has learned so much about our community and the incredible strengths it possesses through existing nonprofits as well as the roadblocks to health that are prevalent in our community.

“The Foundation looks forward to another tremendously impactful year in 2020, as it will unveil strategic priorities that will truly move the needle forward for Highlands, Cashiers, and the surrounding communities,” said Robin Tindall, executive director and CEO of the Highlands Cashiers Health Foundation.

Suicide prevention training

Suicide prevention training will be offered from 2 to 3 p.m. Thursday, March, 12, at the Waynesville Library, 678 S. Haywood St.

Presented by the Suicide Prevention Team at the Veterans Administration, the presentation will cover a brief overview of suicide in the veteran and civilian population. Information will also be presented on suicide myths and misinformation, the risk factors for suicide and the components of the S.A.V.E. model (Signs of suicide, Asking about suicide, Validating feelings, Encouraging help and Expediting treatment). Registration required. Email kathleen.olsen@haywoodcountync.gov or call 828.356.2507. Refreshments provided by the Friends of the Library.

Harm Reduction Coalition gets grant

The National Association of County and City Health Officials — representing the country’s nearly 3,000 local health departments — has awarded over $600,000 in funding to seven Overdose Response Strategy states to help address the opioid crisis in their communities. Atlanta-Carolinas HIDTA and North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition will receive $49,420 award. Last year’s ORS pilot project funding enabled the North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition and the Overdose Response Strategy Public Health Analyst to expand jail-based overdose prevention education programs in Cumberland, Catawba and Haywood counties. This second year of funding will allow them to continue operating the program by supporting staff who provide the jail-based overdose education and linkage to care upon exit. Funding will also enable the team to develop and implement a training component for jail staff on the opioid epidemic and overdose risks, and will help to further evaluation efforts.

Robbinsville practice hires social worker

Appalachian Mountain Community Health Centers (AMCHC) announced that John Shirey, LCSW, LCAS, a licensed clinical social worker specializing in behavioral health, has joined Tallulah Community Health Center, located at 409 Tallulah Rd., in Robbinsville.

The addition of Shirey allows AMCHC to expand its behavioral health services in the Graham County community. Shirey is an Asheville native and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) veteran. He received his bachelor’s in psychology from UNC Asheville, and a master’s in social work from Western Carolina University. The Tallulah Community Health Center is open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday. The clinic provides primary care and behavioral health services. It serves self-pay, Medicaid, Medicare and traditionally insured patients. The organization also offers discounted pricing based on family size and income. To schedule an appointment, call 828.479.6434.

REACH to hold volunteer training

REACH of Haywood County (domestic violence/sexual assault/elder abuse prevention and intervention non-profit) is seeking new volunteers and will hold a Volunteer Training Day from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 29, at the REACH office, 627 N. Main St., Waynesville. Lunch and snacks will be provided for all participants. Volunteers can offer help in several areas, including one able-bodied assistance at the Within Reach Resale Store in Hazelwood, answering calls referred from the answering service on the helpline after hours and weekends and assisting as a Friend of REACH on fundraising, special events and client assistance committees.

The morning training will be general information about REACH, domestic violence and sexual assault. After lunch training will be specifically for helpline volunteers. Participants do not have to attend the afternoon session if not training for the helpline. RSVP to Buffy Queen, REACH Community Educator, 828.456.7898, or BQreach@aol.com by Feb. 25, as notebooks will be prepared for all participants.

HRMC renewed as Chest Pain Center

Haywood Regional Medical Center has received Chest Pain Center Accreditation from the American College of Cardiology Accreditation Services.

Hospitals that have received ACC accreditation have achieved a higher level of expertise in dealing with patients who arrive with symptoms of a heart attack. They emphasize the importance of standardized diagnostic and treatment programs that provide more efficient and effective evaluation as well as more appropriate and rapid treatment of patients with chest pain and other heart attack symptoms. They also serve as a point of entry into the healthcare system to evaluate and treat other medical problems, and they help to promote a healthier lifestyle in an attempt to reduce the risk factors for heart attack.

“Renewing our Chest Pain Center accreditation, which we first received in 2016, is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our clinical team, our community partners and the ACC, who have been working collaboratively to ensure our hospital is prepared to provide high quality care to patients when heart attacks strike,” said Rod Harkleroad, CEO at HRMC. “Our top priority is to provide quality healthcare close to home, and this accomplishment demonstrates one of the many ways we continually work to enhance and improve our service.”