V V V V V V V V M _W _W -W -W _IV _W -W -W Community Calendar Here are some programs offered by Catherine McAuley Health Center (CMHC) and St. Joseph Mercy Hospital (SJMH) throughout the winter. The classes in BOLD have a free introductory session (there is a fee for the remainder of the sessions). There is a fee to register for the classes with an asterisk. There are also numerous classes for sen- iors, including educational sessions on reducing stress, vericose veins and how to prevent strokes. For more information on any of these programs, including the cost, please call 572- 3675 and let them know you read about it in Capsules. Learning to Live Healthy Did you hear?" "Hear what?" "That Grover broke his arm and had to go to the emergency room!" "Oh, no! Is he OK?"' "Of course he's OK, silly. Big Bird is his doctor." It may sound like a bad day on Ses- ame Street, but it really isn't. This is just an example of one of the School Health Programs provided by Catherine McAuley Health Center's Office of Health Promotion. This particular pro- gram helps youngsters (kindergarten through fourth grade) learn about what happens in an emergency room. The school education series started in September 1985 and is provided free of charge to local schools for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. Some of these programs include nutrition ed- ucation, smoking education, poison safety, safety for latch key children, can- cer education, sickle cell screening and education and basic first aid. According to John Boshoven, Catherine McAuley Health Center's co- ordinator of the program, fire and burn safety is the most popular program of- fered. The fire and burn safety program is done in conjunction with local fire departments and teaches kids how to prevent fires and what to do in case one occurs. "The fire and burn safety program also teaches younger kids not to be afraid of fire fighters," Boshoven says. "We want the kids to know that the fighters are their friends." One of the reasons youngsters are afraid of fire fighters is that when they have on all their equipment, they look and sound like Darth Vadar, Luke Sky- walker's enemy in Star Wars. To coun- teract this, Boshoven's program allows the fire fighter to put on one piece of equipment at a time so the children see who is underneath. Then a teacher from the school puts on the fire fighter's equipment, once again emphasizing that fire fighters are there to help. Another program topic that has be- come very popular recently is "Say No To Drugs." This session deals with iden- tifying different types of peer pressure and how to counteract it. Even though the School Health Program is only in its second year, Boshoven is very happy with the number of requests he receives and the number of students who have been involved. More than 14,000 students have taken part in the program, he says. For more information, please check the appropriate box on the return mail card. ED 12 Foot Care Service* 16 BE TRIM! Introduction 18 volunteering at CMHC--Informational 18 BE TRIM! Introduction 18 Chronic Pain Outreach 19 Hypertension Screening 19 Vision & Glaucoma Screening 23 Free Health Screenings -Hypertension Screening -Hearing Screening and Hearing Aid Checks 24 Cardiac Rehab. Spouse Support Group 24 I Can Cope (coping with cancer) 25 Breast-feeding Class * 26 Foot Care Services* Arbor Health Building Arbor Health Building SJMH Education Center Arbor Health Building SJMH Education Center Reichert Health Building Reichert Health Building Arbor Health Building Arbor Health Building Arbor Health Building SJMH Discharge Center SJMH Education Center Arbor Health Building 1-5 p.m. 7:30-9 p.m. 10-11 a.m. 7:30-9 p.m. 7:30-8:30 p.m. (Call 434-0671 for more information ) 1-3 p.m. 1-3 p.m. 1-5 p.m. 3-5 p.m. 7-8:30 p.m. (Call 572-5213 for more information) 7:30-9:30 p.m. (Call 995-3873 to register) 7:30-9 p.m. (Call 572-3675 to pre-register) 1-5p.m. Listen to This... While You Can A 2 2 3 4 4 4 4 9 9 9 9 10 BE TRIM! Introduction SMOKE STOPPERS Introduction SMOKE STOPPERS Introduction Alzheimers Support Group Hypertension Screening Sickle Cell Screening BE TRIM! Introduction Alzheimers Support Group Arthritis Self Help Course* Hypertension Screening Senior Health Education Breast-feeding Class* SJMH Education Center SJMH Education Center SJMH Education Center Arbor Health Building Maple Health Building Neighborhood Health Clinic SJMH Education Center Arbor Health Building Reichert Health Building SJMH Lobby Arbor Health Building Arbor Health Building Arbor Health Building SJMH Education Center 7:30-9 p.m. 7:30-9 p.m. 7:30-9 p.m. 1-3 p.m. 8 a.m.-noon 5-7 p.m. 7:30-9 p.m. 7-9 p.m. 7-9 a.m. (Call 572-4108 to register) 4-8 p.m. 1-2 p.m. 7:30-9 p.m. (Call 572-3675 to pre-register) 1-5 p.m. 10-11 a.m. Remember when listening to the birds singing and the leaves rust- ling in the wind used to be enough? Whatever happened to peace and quiet? It seems the use of portahle stereos with headphones has become so preva- lent among teenagers that they'll be lucky if they can hear the birds singing when they're in their golden years. According to Jody Spalding of McAuley Audiology Services, people are using portable stereos with headphones at such high volumes that hearing loss has become a serious threat. "A lot of people we see in their 50s at the McAuley Audiology Clinic worked in industry and now have age and noise- induced hearing loss," Spalding says. 'A lot of the people who are at risk of los- ing their hearing are very young (under 18) and they laugh when you tell them what they're doing now may cause hear- ing loss years down the road." Turn it down AJune 1985 study of college students asked the questions how often and at what levels do you listen to portable stereos with headphones. More than six out of every 10 students said they used these stereos and of those, three out of 10 listened to them at a level louder than that approved by the Occupa- tional Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Of those who exceeded the ap- propriate sound levels, more than half exceeded those levels by 100 percent. The average level for all students using stereos with headphones was 98 deci- bels. The allowable noise level in indus- try as approved by OSHA is 90 decibels over eight hours. "What that means," says Spalding, "is one out of every 10 kids who uses porta- ble stereos with headphones for more than 13 hours per week at a volume level of seven or greater over a 10-year period will show significant hearing loss." A gradual loss A frightening thing about hearing loss is that most of the time it comes on gradually, until one day you can't under- stand what people around you are say- ing. Communication is vitally important to longevity and an active life. A prob- lem for many seniors with hearing loss is the embarrassment that accompanies having to say "what?" all the time. For people over the age of 65, one in four has significant hearing loss. That number is expected to increase as the present generation reaches that age. Free hearing screening is available from 1to 3 p.m. in Reichert Health Building the third Thursday of every month. Call 572-3816 for more information. So for all you people out there who think "kicking out the jams" is all fun and games, Spalding leaves you with this final warning: "You're doing things that can compromise your hearing." Are you listening yet? ED 12 Foot Care Services* 12 volunteering at CMHC--Informational Meeting 3