(PRWEB) February 22, 2012

The Consumer Justice Foundation, a for-profit corporation whose team of professional consumer advocates provide free online educational resources to the public that alert them to the potential risks and dangers presented by certain prescription medications, hereby alerts the public to the results of a recently published study that concludes that the introduction of valproic acid, which is the active ingredient in Depakote to medications already being used by patients taking psychotic drugs can lead to significant weight gain.

This study, which was performed by researchers at Vanderbilt University and led by Dr. Herbert Meltzer, reviewed data concerning patients who suffered from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder who were using medications that included olanzapine and risperidone. Each group was split and one half of the patients were given an additional dose of valproic acid in order to stabilize their moods. Valproic acid is the active ingredient in the anticonvulsant medication known as Depakote.

According to the abstract of the study that was published in Family Practice News, every one of those taking olanzapine plus valproate experienced significant weight gains, whereas the weight gain occurred in 60% of those taking olanzapine alone. In addition, those using risperidone and valproic acid saw 15 percent of subjects experience what was described as significant weight gain. The full study was published in the January 2012 edition of the Journal of Clinical Psychology.

“At each visit, obtain both weight and body mass index. Measure waist circumference at least once a year, and provide counseling on diet and exercise,” said Dr. Christoph U. Correll of the Zucker Hillside Hospital at a recent psychopharmacology update sponsored by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

About the Consumer Justice Foundation

The Consumer Justice Foundation, whose Web site is located at http://www.consumerjusticefoundation.com, is a public resource that’s been built and maintained by a group of concerned professionals who want to provide general information for consumers regarding the potential dangers involved with the use of Depakote while pregnant. This resource is not to be considered as medical or legal advice, which should only be dispensed by a licensed medical doctor or a Depakote lawyer.

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Vocus, PRWeb, and Publicity Wire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Vocus, Inc. or Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.

Overland Park, KS (PRWEB) February 20, 2012

Custom content and sales agency Ascend Integrated Media LLC has been selected by American Heart Association (AHA) to represent them for exhibit sales at Scientific Sessions 2012 in Los Angeles, Nov. 3–7, 2012.

Scientific Sessions is the leading cardiovascular meeting in the U.S. with more than 17,000 professionals attending annually, and more than 22,000 total attendees. The meeting also is AHA’s largest gathering of scientists and health care professionals devoted to the science of cardiovascular disease and stroke and the care of patients suffering from these diseases.

“We selected Ascend to be our exclusive partner for exhibitor sales because of the expertise and tenure of their sales team,” said Laura Gossett, Senior Manager, Exhibits for American Heart Association. “Combined, the sales team members have more than 60 years of sales and marketing support experience in the health care industry. We feel this extension of our current partnership will allow us to strategically focus on showcasing the value of exhibiting at Scientific Sessions and the direct impact it has to our mission and 2020 Impact Goal.” The AHA’s 2020 Impact Goal is to improve the cardiovascular health of all Americans by 20 percent while reducing deaths from cardiovascular diseases and stroke by 20 percent.

“Selling exhibits for this prestigious meeting is a natural extension of our 20-plus-year relationship with AHA,” said Barbara Kay, Ascend’s president. Ascend currently sells advertising and promotional opportunities for Scientific Sessions, the International Stroke Conference and various specialty conferences for AHA.

Scientific Sessions typically features more than 1,000 faculty presenting more than 4,000 abstracts in seven Cores and 14 Clinical Tracks. The meeting attracts attendees from around the world and is covered by more than 300 media outlets with more than 4 billion media impressions.

About Ascend Integrated Media:

Ascend Integrated Media LLC, and its operating brand Ascend Media, is a custom media agency that specializes in custom publishing, custom content creation, content integration, trade show publishing and exhibit sales. Headquartered in Overland Park, Kan., the agency will celebrate its 30th anniversary this July. Ascend Integrated Media is uniquely positioned to work with companies to develop and produce brand-enhancing communications products. The company engages on behalf of the client to create, produce and distribute print, digital and mobile content associated with marketing, branding, trade show and social media initiatives. Ascend’s suite of fully integrated products and services includes print and digital magazine publishing, show daily newspaper publishing, newsletters and eNewsletters, membership directories, product buyers’ guides, exhibit guides, maps, annual reports, hotel door-drop services, advertising and sponsorship sales representation, patient education information, website design and management, smartphone mobile app development, iPad/tablet publishing as well as social media account management, targeted text services and QR code programs.

About American Heart Association:

The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association mission is to build healthier lives, free of cardiovascular disease and stroke. AHA/ASA receives funding mostly from individuals. Foundations and corporations donate as well, and fund specific programs and events. Strict policies are enforced to prevent these relationships from influencing the association’s science content. Financial information for the American Heart Association, including a list of contributions from pharmaceutical companies and device manufacturers, is available at http://www.heart.org/corporatefunding.

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©Copyright 1997-

, Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.
Vocus, PRWeb, and Publicity Wire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Vocus, Inc. or Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.

Know Your Risk, Save a Life

Irvine, CA (PRWEB) February 17, 2012

Aviir, a biotechnology company specializing in cardiac risk assessment and Guard A Heart, a non-profit foundation dedicated to raising awareness about heart disease, announced they will be presenting the first Guardian of Hearts Award to Larry King in recognition of his contribution to saving lives through The Larry King Cardiac Foundation.

During the event, they will also honor Dr. Louis Ignarro, co-recipient of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his research in the prevention of heart disease.

The awards will be presented at a private pre-Oscar party to be held at the Avalon Theater in Hollywood on February 25, 2012. This gathering will bring together foreign dignitaries, politicians, sports figures, prominent physicians and celebrities to honor the awardees. The celebration is being produced by Connected Gift Rooms a company that has planned entertainment events for more than a decade.

The exclusive gala marks the launch of Guard A Heart’s “Know Your Risk, Save A Life” campaign to raise awareness about the importance of effective risk assessment in the prevention of heart attacks. Doug Harrington, M.D., CEO of Aviir Heart Laboratories and Tom Quertermous, M.D., Director, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine (Research) at Stanford Cardiovascular Medicine, Falk CVRC and Philip S. Tsao, PhD Associate Professor of Medicine Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine, will present the award to Mr. King.

“It is our great pleasure to participate in this event honoring Larry King. He has literally saved thousands of lives through the work of his foundation, making critical treatment available for those without the means to afford it,” said Dr. Harrington. “We are also delighted to honor Dr. Louis Ignarro with the Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award for his influential work regarding heart health.” He added, that because of dedicated professionals like Dr. Ignarro, foundations such as Guard a Heart and The Larry King Cardiac foundation have a better chance at reducing the devastating impact of cardiovascular disease, which is currently the leading cause of death in the United States.

About Aviir

Aviir was founded in 2005 by cardiologists and scientists from the Stanford University School of Medicine to focus on discovery, development and commercialization of innovative diagnostic tests. The biotechnology company specializes in developing proprietary diagnostic tests that will assist in identifying patients that are truly at high risk for the development of a cardiac event. Aviir’s proprietary MIRisk and TruRisk assessments objectively identify, by a simple blood draw, individuals who are at a high risk of a cardiac event over the next five years. Aviir’s CLIA laboratory (Irvine, CA) complements these novel tests with a wide range of additional tests for risk assessment and therapeutic monitoring of cardiovascular disease and related metabolic disorders — including pharmacogenomic and genetic tests. The company has adopted a unique clinical laboratory service model to provide physicians better diagnostic tools that improve cardiovascular health of their patients. The company is privately owned and funded by leading life science venture capital firms. Please visit http://www.aviir.com for more information.

About Guard A Heart

Guard A Heart is a non-profit foundation dedicated to raising awareness of heart disease prevention by spreading the word to guard your heart and save your life. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. If individuals know their risk and take the necessary steps, the good news is that most cardiovascular disease is preventable. Although heart disease is typically diagnosed in adulthood, its roots are often found in childhood. Compelling research has shown that plaque buildup in the arterial walls begins very early in life and progresses through increasing degrees of atherosclerosis. Intervention strategies and healthy lifestyle changes to reduce heart disease risk should begin in childhood when reversal of the process is easier, not later in life when the disease is more fully developed. Guard a Heart Foundation provides funding for individuals who are unable to pay for cardiac risk assessments. Please visit http://www.guardaheart.org for more information.

About The Larry King Cardiac Foundation

The Larry King Cardiac Foundation (LKCF) was established in 1988 to provide funding for life-saving treatment for individuals who, due to limited means or no insurance, would otherwise be unable to receive the treatment and care they so desperately need. The Foundation works in conjunction with hospitals throughout the nation to ensure that such patients receive proper medical attention. Doctors performing these surgeries do so at no charge. Hospitals are compensated only for the materials used. Hearts are repaired. Families are given another chance. Lives are saved. The LKCF is a non-profit organization funded from the proceeds of Mr. King’s books, speaking engagements, and from entertainment galas conducted in New York City, Washington D.C. and Los Angeles. The LKCF is affiliated with eight premier Cardiac Centers: Children’s National Medical Center and George Washington University Medical Center in Washington, D.C., Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and Los Angeles County + USC in Los Angeles, California, New York Presbyterian: The University Hospital of Columbia and Weill Cornell University Medical Center in New York, NY, St. Joseph’s Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, and The Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. LKCF also works in conjunction with Venice Family Clinic in Venice, California. Please visit http://www.lkcf.org for more information

About Connected Gift Rooms

Connected Gift Rooms has over 10 years of working side-by-side with some of the most prestigious film, television and music event in today’s entertainment world. Their ongoing relationships with celebrities have proven to provide a unique level of trust and reliability that allows Connected Gift Rooms to continue to provide their unique services.

Jeff Astegen

888-658-5937

info(at)guardaheart(dot)org

http://www.guardaheart.org

“Supported by The H.O.M.E. Foundation”

About The H.O.M.E. Foundation:

The Helping Others Means Everything, or The H.O.M.E. Foundation, is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping our Family of Charities. Frank Verdugo, President of The HOME Foundation, wants to help as many worthy charities as possible as they struggle during these tough economic times. Frank Verdugo helps raise funds through luxury dream home raffles, prizes, and high profile celebrity events in Hollywood… “Our mission is to help charities reach their fundraising goals and to bring awareness to their praiseworthy causes.” Please visit our Dream Home Raffle at: http://www.HOMEFoundationRaffle.com and http://www.facebook.com/HOMEFoundationRaffle.

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©Copyright 1997-

, Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.
Vocus, PRWeb, and Publicity Wire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Vocus, Inc. or Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.

Houston Sex Therapist Joins Pelvic Health Center

Houston, TX (PRWEB) February 08, 2012

Emily deAyala, a marriage and family therapist, has announced she will be joining the Pelvic Health and Physical Therapy Center to provide sex therapy in Houston. PHPTC is a group of pelvic floor and pelvic health specialists with services in pelvic muscle rehabilitation, physical therapy, pain management, and other treatments for pelvic and sexual conditions. Emily, a Certified Sex Therapist, says she is excited about joining the practice and increasing her ability to offer high quality care in the treatment of sexual dysfunction at the pelvic health center.

As a subspecialty of psychotherapy, sex therapy focuses on the treatment of sexual dysfunction and other specific conditions related to human sexuality and relationships including desire, arousal, difficulty with orgasm, sexual pain, and other issues. Sex therapy hinges on individual as well as couples and relationship counseling to address patient concerns and find the proper course of action for treatment. Emily says her goal in joining the PHPTC is to enhance her services by ensuring the best use of patients’ time and working with a team of specialists to provide more comprehensive care in the treatment of pelvic and psychological conditions affecting sexual health. “I feel fortunate to be surrounded by a team of experts in the field. The team I work with is always open to new ideas and we constantly work together to expand our knowledge base.”

Emily says she hopes partnering with an experienced, full-service pelvic health center such as the PHPTC will ultimately improve the quality of care patients receive, and assist in restoring her patients’ comfort in their sexuality and relationships. She also adds that she is eager for the opportunity to continue developing her methods and therapy practice throughout the transition to her new home. “I am thrilled to be working with a team that values continuing education as much as I do. Going to conferences together and learning the latest technologies, theories, and modalities keeps us on the cutting edge of care.”

About Emily deAyala, MA

Emily deAyala received her undergraduate degree in Psychology with honors from the University of Texas at Austin and her Master of Arts in Counseling from St. Edward’s University, with a dual emphasis in marriage and family therapy and licensed professional counseling. She is a member of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists as well as the Texas Association of Marriage and Family Therapists. As a psychotherapist at The Pelvic Health and Physical Therapy Center, Emily currently serves as the Texas Section leader for the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists. Her services include individual and relationship/couples counseling and the treatment of orgasmic disorders, erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, sexual orientation, sexual addiction, and many other sexual and relationship concerns.

About the Pelvic Health and Physical Therapy Center

The Pelvic Health and Physical Therapy Center is a division of the Colorectal Surgical Associates focused on evaluating and restoring pelvic health through therapy and rehabilitation. It also provides dietary counseling, stress management, and treatment for urinary and bladder dysfunction and bowel and fecal disorders.

Located at 7900 Fannin, Suite 1200 in Houston, TX, the Pelvic Health and Physical Therapy Center can be contacted at (713) 790-0600. It can also be reached online via the website pelvichealthcenter.com or facebook.com/pages/Pelvic-Health-and-Physical-Therapy-Center/159260407423834.

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Attachments

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Viewbox

New York, NY (PRWEB) February 14, 2012

ViewboxTM is an incredibly convenient tool allowing easy portability for your teaching file images in the workplace as well as the classroom. Say goodbye to the tedious days of using storage devices for your images because ViewboxTM just made utilizing the iPad the most efficient to view and present anonymized medical images for teaching purposes.

ViewboxTM offers radiology trainees and other medical professionals a method to create and share image teaching files which are the bedrock of radiology learning and education. In light of the recently reported controversy surrounding alleged cheating by U.S. radiology trainees and purported use of recalled exam questions, ViewboxTM offers trainees an alternative method to create and share image teaching files with the ability to link and reference their files with peer reviewed sources via technology built into the application.

Users will now be able to search, view, and edit images from several sources on their iPad including their Apple Photo Stream accounts through the iCloud, Google Picasa, Dropbox, and the Radiology Society of North America’s MIRC Server. ViewboxTM is a one-stop shop for all mobile teaching file image viewing and presentation needs employing unique proprietary technology. There is no other application currently available which allows the user to access data from multiple sources, and view it within seconds to be viewed offline as well. One can share anonymized images with colleagues via the built-in email sharing feature, compare multiple images in up to four virtual viewboxes, or share images with an audience using presentation mode.

Aside from teaching purposes, using a laptop for medical use is simply not realistic anymore because hospitals and medical offices are busy environments. Doctors and nurses are constantly on the go and it can be a challenge to carry a computer from one place to the other. ViewboxTM for the iPad allows a convenient way for medical professionals to share images with patients and can enhance the doctor-patient relationship by helping patients understand what is going on with their physical health.

ViewboxTM by Viewbox Holdings, LLC is a free Apple iTunesTM application now available in the iTunes store, http://bit.ly/xsgCuy. The demographic for ViewboxTM includes medical professionals who require access to medical imaging in any way, specifically within the field of radiology; however, practitioners and students of orthopedics, general surgery, cardiology, neurosciences, dermatology, pathology, dental imaging, and veterinary imaging will find the technology useful. Please visit http://www.viewbox.net for more information.

Viewbox Holdings, LLC

P.O. Box 50062

Baltimore, MD 21211

info(at)viewbox(dot)net

http://www.viewbox.net

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©Copyright 1997-

, Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.
Vocus, PRWeb, and Publicity Wire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Vocus, Inc. or Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.

U.S. Market for Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Devices 2008 – 2018

Vancouver, BC (PRWEB) January 10, 2012

According to a new report by iData Research (http://www.idataresearch.net), the leading global authority in medical device market research, the U.S.. gastrointestinal endoscopic device market was valued at almost $ 1.9 billion in 2011. Gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy is one of the most widely performed medical procedures in the U.S. and growth in this market will be fueled by an increase in colon cancer screening and anti-reflux procedures. In addition, the adoption of newer technologies such as double-balloon and ultrasound endoscopes, will drive sales. By 2018, the market is expected to reach annual sales of over $ 2.7 billion.

“Over the last decade, great strides have been made in raising awareness about colon cancer, resulting in steady growth in the number of colonoscopies performed each year in the U.S.,” says Dr. Kamran Zamanian, CEO of iData. “In addition, adoption of GI ultrasound endoscopy for detecting incremental cancer growth is gaining popularity, especially within private practices. As more physicians are familiarized with the technology, market leaders Pentax and Olympus will see strong sales growth.”

The report states that gastrointestinal hemostasis devices, which are used to repair gastrointestinal hemorrhaging, are also expected to see rapid growth. This will be fueled by the adoption of ligation clips, which are less expensive and can be more effective than alternative therapies. The ligation clip segment is expected to more than double in value by 2018, with Boston Scientific and Olympus leading the market, followed by Cook Medical. In addition, combination therapies that combine multiple hemostasis devices in a single procedure to increase the likelihood of success are also expected to drive unit sales for other manufacturers such as ERBE, Conmed and U.S. Endoscopy.

Additionally, the report states that the number of anti-reflux procedures, used for the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), will increase almost 7 fold by 2018 in the United States, driving anti-reflux device sales. This increase in procedural volume will be fueled by the obesity epidemic in the U.S., improved awareness among patients and physicians as well as recent studies that indicated serious side effects from long-term use of anti-reflux medication, the primary alternative to surgery.

“EndoGastric Solutions is currently the only company offering an anti-reflux device, however, two new companies are currently in the process of gaining FDA approval,” says Dr. Zamanian. “Medigus and Torax Medical are currentlty seeking approval for their SRSTM endoscope and LINXTM products respectively. If approved, this could dramatically change the competitive landscape in this rapidly growing market.”

For more information, register free on iData’s website at: http://www.idataresearch.net/idata/registration.php

iData’s 3-report series on the: “Markets for Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Devices 2012” provides a comprehensive analyses of the following segments: GI endoscopes, capsule endoscopy, virtual colonoscopy, stenting and dilation devices, ERCP devices, biopsy forceps, polypectomy snares, FNA devices, specimen and foreign body removal devices, hemostasis devices, anti-reflux devices, and enteral feeding devices.

About iData Research

iData Research (http://www.idataresearch.net/idata/discoveridata.php) is an international market research and consulting group focused on providing market intelligence for medical device, dental and pharmaceutical companies. iData covers research in: endoscopy, laparoscopy, ENT, neurological devices and more.

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©Copyright 1997-

, Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.
Vocus, PRWeb, and Publicity Wire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Vocus, Inc. or Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.

White Plains, NY (PRWEB) February 14, 2012

Misys Open Source Solutions (MOSS), LLC, a division of Misys plc (FTSE:MSY.L), the world’s first open source, standards-based health information exchange solutions provider, announced today they have created the first fully functional HIE that is designed to drop into a healthcare community and begin the secure exchange of patient medical summaries and other discrete data in a matter of days, using their first-of-a-kind — HIE-in-a-Box™ approach.

Targeted users for the new HIE-in-a-Box™ solution are mid-tier and smaller hospital groups who recognize the need to provide connectivity to their community providers and labs but don’t have millions of dollars to pour into an HIE project. This new HIE solution will allow them to cost-effectively comply with the Stage 2 meaningful use requirements and also allow them to realize the benefits of coordination-of-care.

Everything healthcare providers need to begin the secure exchange of patient clinical records between their hospitals and community providers is included in the HIE-in-a-Box™:

    Enterprise Master Patient Index (eMPI)
    Patient consent management service
    Record locator service (RLS)
    Clinical data repository (CDR) with allergies, meds, immunizations and labs        
    Clinical portal for longitudinal medical record display
    Secure messaging with basic referral capability
    Policy engine with opt-in/ opt-out and ‘break-the-glass’ functionality
    Full administrative capabilities
    Full auditing capabilities with security audit trial reporting

“There are multiple reasons why our HIE-in-a-Box™ makes perfect sense for our targeted healthcare providers,” explained Tim Elwell, Vice President of MOSS. “This HIE solution will create a competitive advantage for users by building community bridges that are needed to reach out to their providers without breaking the bank. The solution is inexpensive and quick to install. It is standards-based and built with modern technologies and all of its core components have been fully tested in the North American IHE Connectathon. Optionally, the system may be extended to include electronic prescriptions, workflow, rules, lab orders, radiology viewing, reporting and full coordination-of-care capabilities. In addition, the HIE-in-a-Box™ is secure and completely HIPAA-compliant. The best reason is that documents can begin to be shared within two weeks of the agreed start date,” Elwell added.

The HIE-in-a-Box™ solution can be delivered on-site or from the Cloud, and can be integrated with any EMR/EHR that can produce an ADT feed for patient registration, medical summaries in standard CCD (C32 or XDS.b) compliant formats, and HL7 messages for discrete data. Other non-standard systems may also work with the HIE-in-a-Box™ but may require some customization.

About Misys Open Source Solutions , LLC

Misys Open Source Solutions, LLC, a division of Misys plc, supports the Misys banking, treasury & capital markets and healthcare customers by leading the development of open source projects to create new services and applications to address these industry’s most difficult problems. Misys Open Source Solutions, based in New York City, is currently leading projects to dramatically reduce atmospheric pollution and improve healthcare delivery. http://www.MisysOSS.com.

Visit MOSS at HIMSS Booth 6327 from Feb. 21 – 23 in Las Vegas.

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Attachments

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s, Cape Breton, NS (PRWEB) June 17, 2011

St. Ann’ The Gaelic College of Celtic Arts and Crafts with its Cape Breton accommodation partner the Silver Dart Lodge in Baddeck are offering the Silver Bough – Celtic Arts for a Celt at Heart Cape Breton vacation package available July 11 to August 15, 2011. In the beauty of St. Ann’s and nearby Baddeck, visitors experience first-hand the rooted culture of Cape Breton through a variety of disciplines including Great Highland bagpipe, Bodhran, Cape Breton fiddle and dance, Celtic harp and Gaelic language and song. Also featured are Highland dance, piano accompaniment, pipe band drumming, Scottish small pipes and weaving. Those purchasing the vacation package can choose which disciplines they wish to experience.

The Silver Bough – Celtic Arts for a Celt at Heart package includes five nights Cape Breton accommodation at the Silver Dart Lodge in Baddeck, daily breakfast, Gaelic College Traditional Cape Breton Summer School, lunch at the College and a Gaelic Welcome Pack. “This is the start of our progressive marketing plan to diversify our products and services to incorporate our partners and colleagues and to expand the level of services for our students. Giving our student an opportunity to stay at an upscale Cape Breton resort like the Silver Dart will help us attract a whole new demographic of student,” states Connie MacAskill, Marketing and Promotions Officer.

Packages start from $ 735/person double occupancy plus applicable taxes in an East Lodge double room at the Silver Dart Lodge. Rates may vary with room type selected.

For further information on the Gaelic College of Celtic Arts and Crafts and its dedication to the preservation of Gaelic language, arts and culture, visit http://www.gaeliccollege.edu/. To book the Silver Bough – Celtic Arts for a Celt at Heart Cape Breton vacation package visit http://www.maritimeinns.com/en/home/silverdartlodge/default.aspx

About the Gaelic College of Celtic Arts and Crafts

The Gaelic College is owned by The Gaelic College Foundation, a non-profit organization founded in 1937 to create a center to protect, promote and perpetuate the language, music, arts and culture of the area’s Scottish settlers. The Foundation is incorporated under the laws of Nova Scotia as a Registered Charity. The current mission statement of the College, which has not changed since its inception, is to promote, preserve and perpetuate, through studies in all related areas, the culture, language, music, arts, crafts, customs and traditions of immigrants from the Highlands of Scotland. The school is a multi-functional facility offering:

Summer School and March Break session, degree-credit courses and on-line Gaelic courses

Elderhostel Programs

Concerts, Céilidhs, Festivals

Hospitality services for various groups, events, conventions and meetings

Operating a Craft Shop that specializes in Scottish and local crafts and includes a sewing room for Scottish attire

Other culture oriented courses and workshops throughout the year

Great Hall of the Clans – Gaelic Heritage Learning Centre exhibit consists of eight interpretive stations

The Gaelic College of Celtic Arts and Crafts is a founding member of the Celtic Heart of North America Co-operative, a group of eleven Cape Breton businesses representing and preserving the Gaelic and Celtic cultural experiences on Cape Breton Island.

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Vocus, PRWeb, and Publicity Wire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Vocus, Inc. or Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.

Perth Amboy, New Jersey (PRWEB) February 12, 2012

Raritan Bay Medical Center (RBMC), a community hospital with locations in Old Bridge and Perth Amboy, NJ, has joined select hospitals around the nation that are employing nurse navigators to assist patients and coordinate their care. As healthcare continues to evolve in its complexity, and with the myriad of physician specialists and treatment options available, nurse navigators can play an important role in helping patients make informed medical decisions, understand treatment and by providing emotional support. As suggested in their title, nurse navigators guide patients and their families through their healthcare experience at RBMC, providing an overview of services and facility locations, explaining diagnosis’s, scheduling visits, providing advice and following up to support patients after they leave the medical center. The goals of the nurse navigator coincide with RBMC’s national Magnet nursing status and the Patient Family Centered Care Model followed by the medical center.

RBMC’s specialty services, the Human Motion Institute (HMI), Institute for Weight Loss and Center for Women currently employ nurse navigators who share common goals but have unique perspectives derived from their specialties. As navigator for HMI, a program providing comprehensive musculoskeletal healthcare, Clare Schuld, RN, BSN, ONC, is focused on coordinating care for patients during initial referral from acute injury or elective surgery through postoperative physical therapy and return to normal function. She works in cooperation with physicians and a multidisciplinary team to schedule patient appointments, provide preoperative education and community outreach and serve as a liaison between patients and the entire HMI healthcare team. “Our patients are taught how to prepare for surgery, what they can expect and the daily goals they need to accomplish throughout their entire surgical stay to help ensure the best clinical outcomes,” says Clare. “Also important, I track and review patient outcomes with our specialized teams to reduce complication rates and enhance care.”

Center for Women navigator Melissa Scholz’s, RN, BSN, BHN, CBPN-IC, role encompasses more of a preventative and educational aspect in line with the Center’s focus on women’s specific healthcare needs and goal of early diagnosis of cancer. She provides comprehensive and holistic care to patients receiving their first mammogram to those diagnosed with breast cancer. During treatment Scholz ensures patient’s needs are being met from diagnosis to survivorship; providing education, support, resources and referrals and advocacy services to patients and their families. “I believe in reducing fear and anxiety by providing empowerment through education, providing a non-judgmental ear to listen and shoulder to cry on for support, and overall just helping people get through a difficult time as life is hard enough without cancer or a cancer scare,” says Melissa. “The best part of my job is interacting with patients on a personal level and guiding them to the other side of a difficult journey.” Additionally, she provides community education and promotes good breast health practices and breast cancer awareness to people of all ages and cultures within the community.

Maureen Ali, RN, BSN, works to customize services as part of the Institute for Weight Loss, which encompasses a wide range of treatment options from state-of-the-art minimally invasive surgical (called bariatric) weight loss options to non-surgical medical weight loss. Ali explains the benefits and concerns associated with each bariatric surgical option as well as conservative options and coordinates nutrition education, lifestyle counseling and ongoing support with the Institute’s multidisciplinary team. “No matter which option ends up being right for the patient, my ultimate goal is to ensure their good health and healthy weight loss,” says Maureen. “We all work to create a personalized treatment program for our patients, combining bariatric or medical intervention with a lifetime commitment to healthy eating, exercise and follow-up care and support.” She also follows strict guidelines to ensure that bariatric options are explored with patients only when appropriate.

The nurse navigators have not only had a profound positive effect coordinating care across the medical center’s healthcare continuum and linking staff, but also have been a great source of satisfaction with patients and their families during their stay or experience at RBMC.

About Raritan Bay Medical Center (RBMC)                

A New Jersey state-designated primary stroke center, RBMC is a recipient of the American Stroke Association Get with the GuidelinesSM – Stroke Silver Performance Achievement Award, recognizing the medical center’s success in implementing a high standard of stroke care and the American Heart Association Get with the GuidelinesSM – Heart Failure Gold Performance Achievement Award, recognizing the optimal care of heart failure patients.

RBMC, with locations in Old Bridge and Perth Amboy, is also one of less than two percent of hospitals nationally to achieve re-designation as a Magnet Hospital, recognizing nursing excellence, and is a three time recipient of the New Jersey Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield patient care quality award.

Licensed for 501 beds with a medical staff of more than 500, RBMC provides medical-surgical, maternity, pediatric, diagnostic imaging, laboratory and general and critical care, as well as adult behavioral health, emergency and interventional cardiac and same day surgery services. A leader in cardiovascular care, RBMC is one of only ten New Jersey hospitals chosen to participate in a national Johns Hopkins University Medical Center demonstration project studying the benefits of providing elective angioplasty in hospitals without onsite cardiac surgery.

The hospital’s Human Motion Institute is devoted to providing superior outcomes and patient satisfaction in all areas of musculoskeletal treatment, and its new Institute for Weight Loss at Old Bridge provides individualized medical and surgical weight loss options. RBMC has several other specialty services including the Center for Wound Healing, Center for Sleep Medicine, Center for Women and Pulmonary Rehabilitation and Physical Therapy programs. RBMC’s Medical Pavilion at Woodbridge provides urgent care services without an appointment 365 days a year, an obstetrics and gynecology physician practice and outpatient physical therapy services.

The medical center is a major clinical affiliate of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and a member of the Robert Wood Johnson Health Network. For more information about services, visit http://www.rbmc.org. For a free physician referral call 1-800-DOCTORS.

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, Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.
Vocus, PRWeb, and Publicity Wire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Vocus, Inc. or Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.

Efrem Korngold, OMD, LAc

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) February 10, 2012

Acupuncture can do amazing things for kids—from treating colds, earaches and GI complaints to addressing serious chronic illnesses—according to Efrem Korngold, OMD, LAc. Doctor Korngold, the founder of Chinese Medicine Works in Noe Valley, and one of the few practitioners who routinely treats children in the San Francisco Bay Area, is now teaching Traditional Chinese Medicine Pediatrics to students at the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine and is developing a post-graduate curriculum which is scheduled to be launched this fall.

“We are reaching a stage in the advancement of acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in America, in terms of confidence in the medicine and of public support, where parents are comfortable exploring Chinese medicine and acupuncture for their children,” said Korngold. “Children have been treated with acupuncture and herbal medicine for centuries in the East, but it’s just beginning to catch on here.”

Korngold believes that the increasing interest in herbal medicine and acupuncture for children results from a natural progression beginning with couples seeking complementary and alternative (CAM) approaches to boost fertility and sustain healthy pregnancies. Western medical specialists report that acupuncture can enhance fertility in women and men, optimizing outcomes of conventional medical procedures. Acupuncture improves blood flow to the uterus and ovaries and modulates the release of hormones that regulate the reproductive organs, including the production of healthy male sperm.

Studies support the safety of pediatric acupuncture when administered by appropriately trained practitioners. But, according to Korngold, there are also many ways of effectively administering acupuncture point therapy with children that do not require the use of needles. Such painless methods include massage, pinching techniques, ionized steel, gold and silver pellets taped to the skin that interact electrically with acupuncture points, non-piercing Shoni Shin needles and even the use of cold lasers.

“While non-needle techniques are useful and effective, acupuncture using very thin, stainless steel needles tends to more rapid effects, with longer lasting results, than alternate techniques,” said Korngold. “Children’s fears about acupuncture usually have everything to do with their parents. If the parents are optimistic, encouraging and unafraid, the children feel the same.

I have treated children with serious neurological problems, like cerebral palsy and seizure disorders, in much the same way that I would treat an adult. I find that the children who need acupuncture the most are quite amenable to receiving it.”

The conditions pediatric acupuncturists treat are much the same as Western pediatricians, but because there are so few acupuncture practitioners who treat children, they tend to get the more complex cases—neurodevelopmental disorders, failure to thrive, and stress induced conditions such as stomach aches, headaches and sleep disturbances—complaints that are particularly prevalent in pre-teens and teens, according to Korngold.

For more information about pediatric acupuncture and Chinese medicine, please contact Alissa Cohan at the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine (ACTCM) by phone at (415) 355-1601 x 12.

About the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine

The American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine (ACTCM) has been at the forefront of educating students in Traditional Chinese Medicine in the Bay Area since its inception in 1980. Their two degree programs—the Master of Science in Traditional Chinese Medicine (MSTCM) and the Doctorate of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (DAOM)—provide an exceptional professional education.

Bay Area acupuncture treatment, as taught by ACTCM, restores balance and health, and is used for everything from chronic pain to drug dependence. Increasingly numbers of people are turning to acupuncture for infertility, allergy relief, weight loss, and pain management.

During treatment practitioners insert sterile, disposable needles at acupuncture points along the meridians. Because of the thin and pliable needles used, most people feel little to no discomfort. Patients typically leave feeling energized or relaxed with a deep sense of well-being.

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