Bariatric surgery

Bariatric surgery

hermitage, PA.

Sharon Regional Health System is offering a free bariatric surgery informational session at 6 p.m. May 27 at the Hermitage Diagnostic and Imaging Center, 2435 Garden Way.

The sessions include information on obesity and its impact on overall health, a review of surgical weight- loss options including benefits and risks, a look at body/ mass index, along with other information to assist participants in making an informed decision about surgical weight-loss treatments.

The bariatric surgery program at Sharon Regional is under the direction of bariatric and minimally invasive surgeon Dr. Sheetal Nijhawan and features a multidisciplinary, customized approach to weight-loss surgery. For information or to register, call 724-981-4561.

Foster parents

LISBON

A foster-parent recruitment campaign titled “Foster Dreams, Foster Kids” has kicked off in Carroll, Columbiana, Harrison and Jefferson counties. The campaign’s goal is to educate the public about foster-care services and the need for foster families, with the goal of recruiting more foster families to meet the need of youths in foster care in the four-county region.

The campaign was made possible by a grant from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, and the collaborative relationship among the four counties. In these counties, the public can expect to see posters, billboards and television commercials and hear radio commercials supporting the campaign. Information also can be found at fosterdreamsfosterkids.org, the new campaign website, or on the campaign’s Facebook, Twitter or YouTube page.

Typically, children are placed in foster care because of abuse, neglect or abandonment – whether it’s physical abuse or not providing enough food – but they also can enter the system because a biological parent is incarcerated or ill. While most children in need of foster care are 13 years old or younger, people often forget there also are older youths ages 14-17 in need of care. It will take more than 60 additional foster families in the four-county region to provide for the children currently in need of foster homes.

For information about becoming a foster parent, visit the website or call the Columbiana County Department of Job and Family Services at 330-420-6635.

Hepatitis awareness

COLUMBUS

In observance of national Hepatitis Awareness Month in May and Hepatitis Testing Day today, the Ohio Department of Health urges all Ohio baby boomers, people born between 1946 and 1964, to get tested for hepatitis C.

Also, it is recommended that some individuals be tested for hepatitis B. They include anyone born in Asia or the Pacific Islands, except Australia and New Zealand; anyone whose parents were born in most parts of Asia or the Pacific Islands; and anyone who lives with someone who has hepatitis B.

Hepatitis B is usually spread when blood, semen, or another body fluid from a person infected with the hepatitis B virus enters the body of someone who is not infected. Hepatitis C is usually spread when blood from a person infected with the hepatitis C virus enters the body of someone who is not infected.

If left untreated, hepatitis B and hepatitis C can lead to serious liver problems. For information, visit the ODH website at www.odh.ohio.gov or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website at www.cdc.gov.