ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, October 8, 1996 TAG: 9610080033
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 3 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: health notes
SOURCE: SANDRA BROWN KELLY
Existentialism is generally associated with names like Sarte and Kierkegaard, names that evoke panic in students who don't have much interest in philosophy. But Dr. Susan McDonald, a counselor who used to practice in Roanoke and now lives in Atlanta, has put a version of the word in the title of her presentation Oct. 14 at Lewis-Gale Foundation in Salem.
Her topic, "The Existential Tipping Point: Choices About Burnout," will explore the issues of burnout for people trying to balance career demands, family obligations and other life situations.
McDonald has been inspired by a book, "The Existential Tipping Point," said Diane Kelly, executive director of the Mental Health Association of Roanoke Valley Inc., which is sponsoring the talk.
Sarte and Kierkegaard probably were burned out at some point in their lives, but it's doubtful they'll be part of McDonald's lecture. The topic grew out of a suggestion that came last year from area lawyers who were feeling life pressures, Kelly said. It's a follow up also to last year's session on how care-givers can deal with "compassion fatigue."
The program will be held from 7-8:30 p.m. and costs $20. For registration information, call 540-344-0931.
If you are intrigued about existentialism, you're on your own. It's all about making choices, you know.
Healthy kits
"You can have a healthy heart,
It's easy as 1-2-3!
Eat healthy stuff,
move around enough,
live tobacco free."
Good advice for anyone, this little ditty is the motto of HeartPower! kits that will be available to Roanoke area kindergarten and elementary school teachers to help them encourage good health practices by their students.
Five Southwest Virginia hospitals owned by Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp. will give the American Heart Association, Roanoke Division, $74,000 over the next three years to pay for the school materials.
The kits use language and literature, music, posters and activities to motivate children to think about nutrition and fitness and to encourage them to avoid using tobacco.
The donation for the kits came from Columbia's Lewis-Gale Medical Center in Salem, Montgomery Regional (Blacksburg), Pulaski Community (Pulaski) and Alleghany Regional (Low Moor) hospitals and Clinch Valley Medical Center in Richlands. The kits will be distributed to public and private schools in Roanoke, Roanoke County, Salem, Alleghany, Covington and Clifton Forge, Radford, and in Botetourt, Franklin, Craig, Floyd, Montgomery, Pulaski and Tazewell counties.
An additional $20,000 grant from Trigon Blue Cross Blue Shield will be used to purchase kits for the middle schools in Roanoke, Roanoke County and Salem.
Lectures, meetings
COST OF DRUG ABUSE: A special lecture on the cost of drug abuse to society will be held Oct. 18 at the University of Virginia School of Nursing. Featured speaker is Hila Richardson, a graduate of the UVa and now with the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University.
Richardson is director of a study, "Substance Abuse and Urban America: Its Impact on an American City, New York," which is trying to determine the impact of the problem on public health issues.
The lecture is free. Shuttle buses will take guests from the Central Grounds Parking Garage to McLeod Hall Auditorium, site of the talk.
* * *
MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS: Dr. Robert Knobler, a neurologist and scientist with a Philadelphia hospital, will speak Oct. 26 at the annual meeting of the Blue Ridge Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Knobler is director of the MS Comprehensive Clinical Center at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. He will discuss new directions in the management of MS.
Knobler's talk is at 10:45 a.m. and is part of a daylong symposium on living with MS. It will be held at the Days Inn in Charlottesville. For information call 1-800-451-0373 or 1-804-971-8010.
Child seats
As of this month, the child safety seat distribution program in the state was transferred from the Department of Motor Vehicles to the Department of Health. The program issues seats to qualified recipients who receive Medicaid, Aid for Independent Children or who fall within the federal poverty income guidelines.
Since the program started in 1983, more than 88,000 seats have been distributed. The health departments at 28 sites will have about 5,000 seats to give out this year. People interested in the program need to write the Virginia Department of Health, Child Transportation Safety Program, Division of Child and Adolescent Health, P.O. Box 2448, Richmond, Va. 22448.
And for anyone using a child seat, don't forget this tip: Do not place children in safety seats in the front seat of a vehicle equipped with passenger-side air bags.
You can reach Sandra Brown Kelly at 1-800-346-1234, ext. 393, at 981-3393 or at biznews@roanoke.infi.net
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