Health Briefs 2-26

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 All area codes are 850 unless specified.

 Sacred Heart Hospital

The following classes will be held at Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast. To register, call 278-3600 or toll-free (877) 416-1600 unless noted.

•Diabetes support group: The group will meet at 6 p.m. March 1 in the hospital’s Resource Center Suite 1 education classroom. Physician referral not required to attend. To join, call Jenny Stuckey at 278-3683.

•Happiest Baby Class: Learn how to calm your baby at 6 p.m. March 1 in the Family Birth Place classroom at Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast. Cost is $30. Registration required.

•Breastfeeding class: Breastfeeding 101 will be held at 6 p.m. March 8 in the education room on the second floor of the Family Birth Place. The cost is $10. Registration required.

•Diabetes classes: Jenny Stuckey, registered nurse and certified diabetes educator, will host self-management classes from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. March 8 and 10 for adults with diabetes who are looking for ways to manage their disease. Pre-registration required and a physician referral is needed to attend. Call 278-3683.

•Baby Weigh Day: For moms with healthy babies under the age of one year at 1 p.m.  March 9 in the education classroom on the second floor of the Family Birth Place. Registration required.

•Baby Basics: To help prepare future parents for the basic handling of their newborn, monthly class will be held at 6 p.m. March 15 in the Family Birth Place education room. Cost is $10. Registration required.

•Baby blues: A discussion group for new moms at 10 a.m. March 23 in the education classroom in the Family Birth Place. Registration required.

•Super Siblings: Class to help children prepare for the upcoming arrival of their new baby brother or sister at 4 p.m. March 23 in the Family Birth Place. Registration required. Children should be accompanied by their parents.

•Infant and Child CPR: Training in infant and child CPR, first aid for a child who is choking, and additional basic first aid skills at 5 p.m. March 31.  Each participant will receive a Family and Friends CPR guide. Cost is $22.

Blood drives

The Northwest Florida Blood Center will hold blood drives at the following locations.

•Feb. 28: Walmart, DeFuniak Springs, 12 to 6 p.m. Free gift card for all donors.

•March 18: Sacred Heart Hospital, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

•March 24: South Walton County offices, Coastal Library, 1 to 5 p.m.

•March 24: Walton County offices, DeFuniak Springs Fairgrounds, 8 a.m. to noon.

Grief Support Group

The Mission and Pastoral Care department at Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast will host a six-week bereavement support group for patients’ families and community members who have experienced a loss from 10 to 11:30 a.m. March 1, 22 and April 5 in the Family Birth Place Conference Room; March 8 and 15 in the Board Room; and March 29 in the Hospital Chapel. The non-denominational group provides a safe, healthy and confidential space for people going through the grief process to listen and share with others. Along with discussion, reading resources will be used to help participants learn about the different stages of grief. Call 850-278-3639.

Community Health Fair

Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast will host its eighth anniversary Community Health Fair from 8 to 11 a.m. March 5 in the main colonnade of the hospital. Community members are encouraged to take advantage of free health screenings, including fasting glucose and cholesterol, blood pressure, heel scans for osteoporosis, body-fat analysis, pulse oxygen, skin cancer spot checks by a dermatologist, hearing tests and more.

Participants who want to take advantage of the free glucose and cholesterol screenings should not eat or drink anything other than water eight hours prior to testing. Walk-ins are welcome, and there is no need to pre-register.  Call 278-3600 or visit www.sacredheartemerald.org.

Vitamin D seminar

Sacred Heart Hospital's SENIORSpirit! program will offer a free seminar on vitamin D and similar vitamins at 10 a.m. March 9 in the Suite 3 Resource Center conference room at Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast. To register for the free seminar, call 278-3600.

Life Line Screening

Residents living in and around Miramar Beach can be screened to reduce their risk of having a stroke or bone fracture on March 11 at Faith Assembly Christian Church, 306 South Geronimo St. Packages start at $139. All five screenings take 60-90 minutes to complete. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 1-877-237-1287 or visit www.lifelinescreening.com.  Pre-registration is required.

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 April 7-May 12; Aug. 25-Spt. 29; and Nov. 3-Dec. 8. To register, call 862-1069.

SWFD flu vaccination program

SWFD Paramedics will provide seasonal influenza vaccinations to members of our community at all SWFD fire stations. Vaccinations will be available six days a week, Monday through Saturday, between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.

SWFD will require payment of $20 prior to the administration of vaccinations and specific documentation must be completed by the individual being vaccinated. SWFD will require one of the following two forms of payment: Medicare Part B; or, a personal check made payable to the South Walton Fire District. For information, call 267-1298 or e-mail rcrawford@swfd.org.

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.