News

Beebe Medical Center to Host Popular Community Heart Fair

02/04/08

Beebe Medical Center will host the 4th Annual Community Heart Fair on Thursday, February 21, 2008, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center. The event, which drew more than 1,000 people last year, promises to be even better, with more booths and more exhibitors, as well as the traditional offerings of free screenings, health education, food and entertainment.

Due to the high demand for the free cholesterol screenings, a system has been set in place in which each Heart Fair attendee wishing to have a screening will receive a designated screening appointment time so that he or she is free to enjoy the event without having to wait in line. Other free screenings to be offered will be blood pressure checks, glucose screenings, body mass index calculations, and stroke risk assessments.

"We are anticipating that this is going to be the best Community Heart Fair ever," says Peggy Diehl, R.N., MSN, CEN, Beebe Medical Center Community Health Nurse Coordinator and event organizer. "We have grown our offerings to better serve our community. And we are happy to say that we have been joined by representatives from other health organizations who wanted to take part."

Jeffrey M. Fried, Beebe Medical Center President and CEO, together with cardiac surgeon Fernando Garzia, M.D., Medical Director of Beebe's Cardiac Surgery Program, will provide opening remarks at 10 a.m.

"It is important to us to bring needed health care services to our communities, whether these services are offered in or out of the hospital setting," says Mr. Fried. "Heart disease is a serious problem in our nation and in our community and we want to do whatever we can to help battle this disease."

Interventional cardiologist Stephanie Goodwin, D.O., Medical Director of the Beebe Medical Center Interventional Cardiology program, will speak at 11 a.m.

Both the Cardiac Surgery Program, in affiliation with Christiana Care Health System, and the Interventional Cardiology Program, started at Beebe Medical Center in February 2007. These services expanded the Medical Center's cardiovascular services that already included non-invasive cardiac diagnostic procedures and cardiac rehabilitation services.

For the first time at the Heart Fair, a representative from The Sussex Family YMCA will be on hand to share information on exercise and fitness programs offered through the Rehoboth Beach location. Linda Leonard, the Consumer Health Librarian based at Rehoboth Beach Public Library, will be available to talk about the educational programs that she offers.

Visitors also will learn about Beebe Medical Center's focus on medication safety. Sam Roberts, R.Ph., MS, Beebe Medical Center's Director of Pharmacy, together with Marcy Jack, Esq., Director of Risk Management, will discuss tips on how consumers can help insure their own personal health and safety in regards to their use of prescription and over-the-counter drugs. Beebe Medical Center advocates that people keep a list of the names of all the medications they take, the dosages, and the times they take them. This list should be regularly updated and easily accessible. It will help their personal physicians treat them, as well as help physicians in the hospital in time of a medical emergency, or when a patient is admitted.

Representatives also will be on hand from the American Heart Association and from First Town Mended Hearts, the nonprofit organization that offers support to those who have had heart surgery. A representative from the Delaware Pharmacy Association will be doing A1C tests, which measure what a person's average blood sugar level has been for the past few months. This test can help determine whether a person should be referred to a physician for further testing. Abnormal sugar levels can be a symptom of diabetes, which is a critical risk factor for heart disease.

Another risk factor for heart disease is cigarette smoking. A representative from Delaware QuitLine, a state program focused on helping people to stop smoking, will be on hand to give information on the program. A representative from the Blood Bank of Delaware also will have information available on blood donation.

Other Beebe Medical Center programs and services will be represented. Student nurses from the Beebe School of Nursing will be giving information about the school, as well as doing free blood pressure checks, body mass index calculations and stroke risk assessments. Two Beebe cardiovascular clinical specialists, Lynn Toth, R.N., MSN, NP-C, and Beth Richardson, R.N., MSN, MPH, will be attending, not only to represent and discuss Beebe's new heart programs, the Interventional Cardiology program and the Cardiac Surgery program, but to bring educational expertise and information with them. Ms. Toth with be focusing on stroke education and will be showing a video.

Certified Diabetes Educators Tina Trout, R.N., MS, CDE, CS, and Phyllis Toomey, R.N., BSN, CDE, will be available to offer helpful information to those with diabetes. They also will have educational materials available for free. Beebe's diabetes self-management education program has been awarded continued recognition from the American Diabetes Association for offering high-quality education to the patients it serves. The classes are offered at Beebe Medical Center's Wound Care Services/ Diabetes Management outpatient location at the Longneck Health Campus on Longneck Road in the Millsboro area. Diabetes is another major risk factor for heart disease.

Those attending the Heart Fair will be entertained by the popular local personality Mario Rocco. Light, healthy snacks will be available throughout the day and lunch will be served. For more information on the event, please call (302) 645-3468.

Beebe Medical Center is a not-for-profit community medical center with a charitable mission to encourage healthy living, prevent illness, and restore optimal health with the people residing, working, or visiting in the communities we serve. For more information, please visit us online at www.beebemed.org.