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INDIANAPOLIS – Consider the caterpillar: It builds a cocoon and remain safe until it transforms and emerges into a new life, one that takes flight.
Death is a part of the life cycle, and it’s especially difficult for children to grasp and make sense out of it, particularly when they lose a loved one. And that’s why St. Francis Hospice offers Caterpillar Kids, a support program that offers learning experiences for children ages 5 to 12.
The latest program gets under way Wednesday, Sept. 24, with each session meeting at Christ United Methodist Church, 8540 U.S. 31 South in Indianapolis.
Led by staff trained in bereavement support for children, youngsters participate in storytelling, art projects, games and other sharing opportunities. Parents also are invited to participate in a concurrent session to help them support their children.
Registration is required. To register, call Karla Norton at 317-859-2879.
More information about St. Francis Hospice is at www.stfrancishospitals.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=280.
INDIANAPOLIS – Three out of four child safety seats are installed improperly in vehicles, according to research by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
That’s why St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers is urging all parents and caregivers to attend the National Seat Check Saturday on Saturday, Sept. 20. As part of National Child Passenger Safety Week (Sept. 21 to 27), Safe Kids Indiana and Babies R Us are collaborating to offer free child safety seat inspections that day.
St. Francis child safety seat specialists will provide free inspections at Babies R Us, 8800 U.S. 31 South in Indianapolis from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“It’s the responsibility of every parent and caregiver to make sure their children are safely restrained – every trip, every time,” said Dorry Ante, certified child safety seat technician at St. Francis. “We are urging everyone to get their child safety seats inspected. When it comes to the safety of a child, there is no room for mistakes.”
According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration research, 8,325 children younger than age 5 have been saved by the proper use of child restraints during the past 30 years. Research shows that child restraints provide the best protection for all children up to age 8; after age 8, seat belts provide the best protection.
For maximum child passenger safety, Ante said parents and caregivers should refer to the 4 Steps for Kids guidelines for determining which restraint system is best suited to protect children based on age and size:
1. For the best possible protection, keep infants in the back seat in rear-facing child safety seats as long as possible up to the height or weight limit of the particular seat.
2. When children outgrow their rear-facing seats (at least age 1 and at least 20 pounds), they should ride in forward-facing child safety seats in the back seat until they reach the upper weight or height limit of the particular seat.
3. Once children outgrow their forward-facing seats (usually around age 4 and 40 pounds), they should ride in booster seats in the back seat until the vehicle seat belts fit properly. Seat belts fit properly when the lap belt lays across the upper thighs and the shoulder belt fits across the chest.
4. When children outgrow their booster seats (usually at age 8 or when they are 4’9” tall and 80 pounds), they can use the adult seat belts in the back seat if they fit properly.
For more information about child safety seats or to schedule a personal child safety seat inspection at St. Francis, call 317-865-5774 in Indianapolis or 317-834-5817 in Mooresville.
INDIANAPOLIS – Thomas H. Fairchild, M.D., recently received a three-year appointment as Cancer Liaison Physician at St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers.
That designation is an integral part of cancer programs accredited by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer (CoC). Fairchild joins a network of more than 1,600 volunteer physicians responsible for providing leadership and direction to establish, maintain and support their facilities’ cancer programs.
Fairchild, a member of Otolaryngology Associates, specializes in head and neck cancers and is a member of St. Francis’ Head & Neck Cancer multidisciplinary team. He earned his medical degree and completed a residency at the Indiana University School of Medicine and completed an internship at Methodist Hospital.
Cancer Liaison Physicians are responsible for leading CoC initiatives within their cancer programs, collaborating with local agencies such as the American Cancer Society and coordinating quality improvement measures using data submitted to the CoC’s National Cancer database.
Fairchild will serve in this leadership capacity alongside Peter Garrett, M.D., who is medical director for St. Francis Cancer Care Services and also serves as the St. Francis Cancer Committee Chair.
More information about the Cancer Care Services program at St. Francis is at http://stfrancishospitals.org/cancer.
INDIANAPOLIS – A new vaccine, designed to stimulate the body to fight leukemia, is under clinical investigation by researchers at St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers.
The trial tests the safety and effectiveness of what is called the “PRI peptide vaccine” for older patients having acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), a fast growing cancer of white blood cells that accumulate in the bone marrow.
“Patients who have no detectable leukemia after chemotherapy but who are at risk for return of the disease because of their age or type of leukemia may be eligible for this study,” said principal investigator Maureen A. Cooper, M.D., hematologist/oncologist with St. Francis Medical Group. “Some patients will receive the vaccine with immune-stimulating drugs; other patients will receive the drugs without the leukemia vaccine.”
Patients accepted into the study will receive a series of four injections – the first three administered at three-week intervals. The final injection is given three months after the third injection.
“Results in earlier phases of the PR1 peptide vaccine show a good safety profile, have been well tolerated by patients and cause them little if any discomfort,” said Cooper, adding that the injections are administered on an outpatient basis.
The vaccine is produced by The Vaccine Company, a San Francisco-based biotechnology company.
More than 13,000 Americans are expected to be diagnosed with AML in 2008, according to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The chance of getting the disease increases with age; however, children and adults of any age can develop AML
To enroll or for more information about the study at St. Francis, call 317-782-7820.
More information about clinical trials at St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers is at http://clinicaltrials.stfrancishospitals.org.
MOORESVILLE, Ind. – St. Francis Hospital-Mooresville and Safe Kids Morgan County are sponsoring “Seat Check Saturday,” Sept. 20.
The event, which is free to the public, is from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and will be in the Family Medical Pavilion parking lot at St. Francis Hospital-Mooresville, 1201 Hadley Rd.
Trained safety staff from St. Francis will be on hand to provide car-seat safety inspections. Organizers also will provide free car seats to qualified families, who must have children present with them.
For more information, call 317-834-5817.
