Free suicide-prevention training offered

LAKE PLACID — The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s Capital Region chapter is hosting a free suicide-prevention training from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 23, in the Adirondack Room at the Olympic Training Center, 196 Military Road.

SafeTALK will prepare anyone over age 15 to identify persons with thoughts of suicide and connect them to suicide first-aid resources. Trainers are certified by Living Works, Inc.

For more information or to register, contact Laura Marx at 791-1544 or lmarx@afsp.org.

New hours for blood draws at CVPH

PLATTSBURGH — Starting Saturday, Oct. 20, CVPH Medical Center’s first-floor registration area on the main campus will no longer offer weekend blood draws.

Those seeking lab work (and radiology services) on Saturdays should go to the Medical Center’s Diagnostic Center, located in the CVPH Health Plaza, near Hannaford. It is open from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays and from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. The first floor registration area’s new operating hours are 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Should a health-care provider order STAT blood work on Sundays, holidays or after 6 p.m. any day, patients will be directed to the Radiology Reception desk, and service will be provided.

For more information, call 314-3439.

Impeerium hosting Halloween-themed events

PLATTSBURGH — A Halloween party will be one of the first events hosted by the new program Impeerium Peer Network, recently established through a grant acquired by National Alliance on Mental Illness: Champlain Valley.

The event, open to all, takes place from 2 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 30, in Suite E at 14 Healey Ave. — look for the Halloween door around the back of the complex.

The party features a pumpkin-painting contest for the first 20 children ages 12 and younger, with prizes, and a costume contest for adults with prizes for the Scariest, Most Creative and Funniest. And there will be games and refreshments, too.

The day before the party, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Oct. 29, is Mask-Making Monday at Impeerium. The program supplies the masks and decorations; participants bring their Halloween creativity. And they are encouraged to attend the Halloween Party the next day.

Impeerium is a peer-based program that provides mutual support for those who have used mental-health services or are currently using them.

RSVP for the Mask-Making by Oct. 25 and the party by Oct. 26 by calling 324-6250 or emailing recoverycenter@nami-cv.org.

Zumbathon to help Toys for Kids

ELIZABETHTOWN — Essex County Toys for Kids, in conjunction with the Elizabethtown Social Center, is holding a Zumbathon charity event on Saturday, Oct. 20.

Registration starts at 9:30 a.m. at the Elizabethtown-Lewis Central School auditorium and includes two 45-minute sessions of Zumba fitness, a goodie bag, healthy snacks and a chance to win door prizes.

Cost is $20 for adults and $15 for students (ages 12 and up only). All proceeds will be donated to Toys for Kids.

Essex County Toys for Kids is a nonprofit organization created by two Essex County residents. This generous organization donates toys to Essex County families during the Christmas season.

For more information, contact Jodi Thompson at JThompson@elcsd.org or the Social Center at www.elizabethtownsocialcenter.org or 873-6408.

Fletcher Allen named Best Regional Hospital

BURLINGTON — For the second year in a row, U.S. News & World Report has designated Fletcher Allen a Best Regional Hospital.

The magazine also named 21 physicians in the UVM Medical Group to its Top Doctors list and recognized five specialties as High Performing. Twelve of the physicians on the Top Doctors list were ranked in the best 1 percent of specialists in the nation.

Vermont’s academic medical center was also selected for the U.S. News Most Connected list for the second consecutive year, indicating it is one of the leading hospitals in the nation in the adoption of electronic medical records.

The five specialty areas ranked as High Performing are orthopedics, neurology, neurosurgery, gynecology and nephrology. To be included on this list, the quality of care must be on the same level as that provided by nationally ranked hospitals.

Most Connected hospitals must meet federal requirements for e-prescribing, exchanging medical records, supplying medical data to patients, and providing data for monitoring clinical quality. The magazine surveyed nearly 10,000 specialists and analyzed about 5,000 hospitals to rank the best in 16 adult specialties.

Stroke program earns ‘Gold Plus’ award

BURLINGTON — Fletcher Allen’s Stroke Program has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s “Get with the Guidelines” Gold Plus Performance Achievement award for the second consecutive year.

The award recognizes success in implementing excellent care for stroke patients according to evidence-based guidelines. It is the only Gold Plus program in Vermont and northern New York.

To earn the award, providers at Fletcher Allen’s multidisciplinary Stroke Center achieved at least 24 consecutive months at 85 percent or higher achievement for the stroke performance measures, as well as 75 percent or higher for five out of nine optional quality measures.

The Stroke Center team has been honored with “Get with the Guidelines” awards in each of the last four years and has been designated a Primary Stroke Center by The Joint Commission, the nation’s leading organization for setting health-care quality standards.