Crisis center hotline

Crisis center hotline

YOUNGSTOWN

Help Hotline Crisis Center Inc. is offering free training classes for people interested in volunteering for the 24-hour Hotline.

Classes will meet from 6 to 9:30 p.m. on eight consecutive Mondays beginning Sept. 8 and ending Oct. 27. Volunteers are asked to make a six-month commitment.

For information, contact Help Hotline at 330-747-2696.

Name change

YOUNGSTOWN

Catholic Health Partners (CHP), parent health care system of Humility of Mary Health Partners (HMHP), has changed its name to Mercy Health. The system already operates under the “Mercy” name in five of its seven markets.

Over the next several years, the Mercy Health name will be phased into all system facilities, including all HMHP facilities. In addition, the website will change to mercy.com.

Mercy Health is Ohio’s largest health system and the state’s fourth largest employer, with more than 1,000 physicians and 32,000 employees. Mercy Health operates more than 250 health facilities, including 23 hospitals, eight senior living communities, five hospice programs and seven home-health agencies.

Testing recommended

COLUMBUS

The Ohio Department of Health is encouraging Ohio patients of the Valley Pain Management in McMechen, W.Va., to talk with their primary care provider about testing for infectious diseases following an investigation of the facility by the West Virginia Bureau for Public Health.

WVBPH has identified possible, unsafe injection practices at Valley Pain which potentially exposed patients to blood-borne infectious diseases like hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

WVBPH says that prior to Nov. 1, 2013, Valley Pain Management, re-used needles/syringes to administer pain medications and saline solutions, and used the same pain medication vial for multiple patients.

Patients who have health insurance should talk with their primary care provider about arranging such testing. Patients who do not have health insurance should call ODH toll-free at 1-844-593-5184 to receive instructions about how to arrange testing.

Lawn mowing tips

AKRON

Akron Children’s Hospital warns that lawn mowing can be dangerous, especially to small children, and says it treated 23 children for lawn mower- related injuries between 2009 and 2014, 69 percent of whom were 6 or younger.

The American Academy of Pediatrics offers lawn-mower safety tips.

Only use a mower with a control that enables the operator to stop the blade if the handle is let go.

Do not allow children to ride as passengers and keep them out of the yard when mowing.

Be aware of other people around you, especially children, while mowing.

Always turn the mower off and wait for blades to stop before performing any maintenance or crossing gravel paths or roads.

Use a stick or broom handle to unclog a lawn mower.

Wear sturdy shoes (not sandals) when operating the mower.

Children should be at least 12 to operate a push mower and 16 to operate a driving mower.

Pick up possible flying objects, such as stones or toys, prior to mowing.

Do not pull the mower backwards or mow in reverse unless absolutely necessary.

Drive up and down slopes, not across, to prevent mower rollover.

Wear polycarbonate protective eyewear while mowing.