Screenings for children

Screenings for children
BOARDMAN -- The Mahoning County Help Me Grow program offers a health and developmental screening day Friday from 1 to 6 p.m. at the Youngstown Hearing and Speech Center, 6614 Southern Blvd. The program targets children up to 5 years old. Health tests include: speech, hearing, vision, nutrition, dental and developmental screenings. A lead-poisoning questionnaire and safety and poison control information are provided, and immunizations are available for a minimal charge by appointment only. The program is administered by the Mahoning County Educational Service Center. For more information, call (330) 965-7912.
Volunteer agency Web site
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Volunteer Services Agency (VSA), 5500 Market St., has established a Web site, http://www.volunteerservicesagency.org, that lists VSA's programs and services.
Women's Health Month
BOARDMAN -- In recognition of September as Women's Health Month in Ohio, the Mahoning Valley Coalition for Cancer Control and Prevention in the Black Community offers a free luncheon session, "Phenomenal Woman: Think Positive, Be a Survivor," from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 20 at Holiday Inn South.
Featured speakers are Derietra Neal-Ferguson, founder of the African American Speakers Bureau in Pittsburgh; and Dr. Stephen King of the Center for Behavioral Health in Youngstown. Call (330) 744-2892 to register by Saturday.
Addiction recovery
YOUNGSTOWN -- Neil Kennedy Recovery Clinic is celebrating the observance of National Alcohol & amp; Drug Addiction Recovery Month in September with a program, "Miracle of Recovery," from 2 to 4 p.m. Sept. 16 at the Holiday Inn MetroPlex in Liberty. The event is free and open to the public. Guest speakers include Dr. Abraham J. Twerski, founder of Gateway Rehabilitation Center in Pennsylvania; and Gary Q. Tester, director of the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services. Call (330) 744-1181 for reservations.
Schizophrenia program
AUSTINTOWN -- The First Ohio Chapter of the Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health offers a session "Schizophrenia: Latest Treatment Options," presented by the Psychiatric Community Education Network from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday at D & amp;E Clinic, 142 Javit Court. The session is free and open to the public.
Heart, CPR courses
GREENVILLE, Pa. -- The general public is invited to attend Heartsaver Adult automated external defibrillator and Pediatric CPR courses from 6 to 10 p.m. Sept. 16 and 17, respectively, at UPMC Horizon. Call (888) 447-1122 to register by Monday. The cost is $12.50 per class or $17.50 for both classes.
Cancer seminar
LIBERTY -- Cancer Treatment Centers of America offer a free seminar, "47 Ways to Take Control of Cancer," at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Holiday Inn MetroPlex. To register, call (800) 765-9920.
Medicare mediation
Medicare beneficiaries can resolve quality-of-care complaints against health-care providers through a new voluntary mediation program sponsored by the Centers for Medicare & amp; Medicaid Services, an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The program brings together a provider or physician and a patient or his/her representative for a face-to-face meeting facilitated by an impartial mediator as an alternative to the traditional medical record review process, said Dr. David A. Bitonte, medical director for Ohio KePRO, Ohio's Medicare Quality Improvement Organization.
Dr. Bitonte said mediation is not available in serious cases. However, he said in up to 80 percent of complaint cases driven by lack of communication or patients' concerns about their interaction with physicians, mediation can help resolve complaints faster and help prevent litigation. For more information, call Ohio KePRO's Medicare Beneficiary Help Line at (800) 589-7337.