Health Briefs 4-30

All area codes are 850 unless specified.

Blood drive

The Northwest Florida Blood Center will hold a blood drive from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 11 at Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast and from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 12 at the City Hall Annex Bldg., Defuniak Springs.

Dental seminar

Northwest Florida Dental Assistants Association, in conjunction with the Northwest Florida State College Dental Assisting Program, will host a dental continuing education seminar May 21, 2011 at the college’s Niceville campus. The seminar will provide a local opportunity for dentists, hygienists, dental assistants and dental health professionals to receive continuing education and to obtain the continuing education credits needed to meet credentialing requirements. Morning and afternoon breakout class sessions will be available and participants may choose to attend one or all sessions.

Pre-registration through the Dental Assistants Association is not required but preferred. Participants may also register at the door. The CPR course does require advance registration by May 6. Call 796-4848 or 729-6444.

Patient safety study

Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast has opened patient participation in a new study to evaluate best practices intended to ensure mothers and their newborns are safe during the delivery process. The project, Excellence in Obstetrics, will take place within the Family Birth Place at Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast. The Excellence in Obstetrics project is designed to determine whether and how birth complications can be reduced or eliminated altogether. 

The project involves the review and analysis of information from medical records. With the patient’s permission, Sacred Heart will collect information from patients’ medical charts about delivery. This will be used to learn how Sacred Heart can make it safer when women have babies. The information could also be used to change the way the hospital takes care of patients during labor and delivery.

Mothers who participate in the study will not be subject to any additional medical tests or treatment outside of the routine birth process. Participation is entirely voluntary, and the names of patients and their babies will be kept confidential in accordance with federal and state privacy laws. Patients will not be treated any differently if they choose not to participate in the project.

For more information about participation in the study, mothers and their families can visit www.sacredheartemerald.org.

Grief support group

Emerald Coast Hospice will hold free 6-week Grief Support Groups for bereaved families in Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, and Walton Counties every Thursday from 12 to 1:30 p.m. at Trinity United Methodist Church, 403 NW Racetrack Road in Fort Walton Beach. Groups meet Aug. 25-Sept. 29 and Nov. 3-Dec. 8. To register, call 862-1069.

Alzheimer’s support group

Crystal Bay Senior Living at Sandestin hosts an Alzheimer’s support group at 6 p.m. the last Thursday of the month. Call 267-1600.

Wound care

The Sacred Heart Center for Wound Care in Pensacola provides advanced wound care therapy to promote healing and a speedy recovery. The Sacred Heart Center for Wound Care team will begin seeing patients once a week in the Medical Office Building at Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast in Miramar Beach. A physician referral is needed for an appointment and most major insurance plans are accepted. To make an appointment in Miramar Beach, call 416-2500.