Living With Cancer program
BREWER — The third American Cancer Society Eastern Maine Living With Cancer Conference will be held 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6, at Jeff’s Catering. The conference is a free, daylong program for cancer patients, family members, caregivers and professionals.
The conference theme is “Personal Empowerment: Taking Care of You.” The keynote speaker is Dr. Robert Ferguson, a clinical psychologist at the Maine Rehabilitation Outpatient Center whose responsibilities include evaluation and treatment of those with chronic pain, pain and symptom management for cancer and cognitive effects of cancer treatment.
Panel discussions will include cancer survivors sharing their stories and professionals focusing on identifying and coping with the treatment effects of therapies. Workshop sessions, vendor exhibits, individual massage sessions and a candlelight ceremony are all part of the conference offerings.
The conference is sponsored in part by the Oncology Support Foundation and Jeff’s Catering.
To register, call 800-227-2345 or visit www.cancer.org/lwcc.

Alzheimer’s education night
BANGOR — Westgate Manor will celebrate National Alzheimer’s Month with an educational event for families and the community. The agenda includes discussions about healthy caregiving, resources for healthy caregiving, tips for healthy aging and more.
The event will be held 6:30-8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12, at Westgate Manor’s Residential Care Center, 750 Union St.
For information, call 942-7336.

Healthy teeth trick-or-treat
BANGOR — University College of Bangor dental hygiene students, including one costumed as the Tooth Fairy, will hand out trick-or-treat bags of toothbrushes, toothpaste and other healthful goodies to children participating in the Bangor Mall’s Halloween Fun Night 4-6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31.
“Because Halloween is a fun and nonthreatening event, it’s a perfect time for us to be out educating children and parents alike,” said Christine McNamara, a senior in the University College of Bangor dental health programs.
“On a day when so many kids load up on candy, it’s an especially important time to begin instilling proper oral hygiene habits that, hopefully, can lower the rate of childhood tooth decay,” McNamara said. “Tooth decay is the No. 1 chronic childhood disease affecting 50 percent of children by age 10. Reaching out to the community and providing our knowledge to educate people is the first step toward creating healthy oral hygiene habits.”
The Bangor Mall expects more than 700 trick-or-treaters between the ages of 2 and 10.
Student volunteers will have a table with oral health educational material and brochures highlighting UCB’s Dental Hygiene Clinic, which offers affordable dental hygiene services to adults and children from September through April.
McNamara is vice president of the Student American Dental Hygiene Association, the students’ professional affiliation with the American Dental Hygiene Association.
For information on the Halloween event, UCB dental health programs or the association, call McNamara at 262-7872 or e-mail christine.mcnamara@maine.edu.

‘Halloween for Needs’
ORONO — The Bodwell Center for Service and Volunteerism, the University of Maine Touchstone Project and the Peer Education Program will host a “Halloween for Needs” event at 3 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, beginning at the Orchard Trails Community Center.
Volunteers will inform students about the services of the University of Maine Counseling Center and collect food for the Black Bear Exchange.
Student and staff volunteers from UMaine will go door-to-door at off-campus housing complexes where large numbers of university students live. They will hand out bags of goodies and inform students that the Counseling Center offers free and confidential services for enrolled students. In addition, students will collect nonperishable food for the Black Bear Exchange, a food cupboard on campus serving university students and members of the larger community.
The Touchstone Project is a new program on campus that promotes belonging and connection through social justice. Touchstone also works with the Counseling Center to promote emotional well-being through healthy relationships.
Off-campus housing includes Orchard Trails, Dryden Terrace, Washburn Place, Founder’s Place, Park Place, Timberview and College Park.
For information, contact Ryan C. Bouchard at The Bodwell Center for Service and Volunteerism by e-mail at ryan.c.bouchard@umit.maine.edu or call 581-1796.

Health provider celebration
BANGOR — In late August, residents at Freese’s in Bangor, Merry Gardens in Camden and Stearns in Millinocket were unsure what would happen when Eastern Area Agency on Aging announced it no longer was going to provide assisted living services.
“I had calls from constituents worried about their family members that lived at the facilities,” said Chris Rector, state senator for District 22. “I was relieved when I heard that Penquis was selected to provide the services.”
Penquis began providing assisted living services to residents at all three locations on Oct. 1, working closely with existing staff to ensure that residents could remain in their homes and continue to receive the same services.
Penquis was able to offer employment opportunities to existing EAAA employees who wanted to continue providing assisted living services. Now Penquis is formally celebrating its new role.
“We want to mark this occasion by meeting the residents in a social setting and get to know them while helping them get acquainted with Penquis,” said Shannon Bonsey, Penquis deputy director. “We want the residents to know it is indeed an honor for Penquis to provide these services.”
- 1:30-3 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 21, Freese’s Building in Bangor.
- 1:30-3 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22, Stearns in Millinocket.
- 1:30-3 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23, Merry Gardens in Camden.
The public is invited.
Diabetes Support Group
BANGOR — St. Joseph Healthcare’s monthly Diabetes Support Group will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10, in the Diabetes and Nutrition Center, Building 1, St. Joseph Healthcare Park, 900 Broadway.
Group members share tips on diabetes management. For information, call the Diabetes and Nutrition Center at 907-1836.

Family Connections grant
Maine Kids-Kin, a program of Families and Children Together, in collaboration with the Maine Department of Health and Human Services has been awarded a Family Connections grant from the U.S. Administration for Children and Families.
The grant funds the Maine Kinship Connections Project, a collaboration of agencies Families and Children Together, Casey Family Services, Adoptive and Foster Families of Maine, the University of Maine Center on Aging and the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.
“We are very proud to be recognized for our long-standing contributions to children and their families here in Maine,” said Beverly Daniels, executive director of Families and Children Together. “As one of only 24 grantees, we look forward to providing enhanced services and resources to grandfamilies throughout the entire state.”
The Maine Kinship Connections Project will use the funding to create enhanced kinship services that will improve the health and well-being of at-risk children and those already in the child welfare system.
The funds, authorized as part of the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008, were awarded to child welfare and nonprofit agencies with experience in serving children in kinship and foster care.
According to Barbara Kates, director of Maine Kids-Kin, “This grant will allow us to strengthen the supports to children and families and increase awareness of kinship care in the state of Maine.”
Maine Kids-Kin assists extended family members throughout Maine who are stepping in to care for relatives’ children. For information about this and other programs and resources for grandfamilies, call Maine Kids-Kin at 866-298-0896 or visit www.mainekids-kin.org.

Wound care specialist
BANGOR — Penobscot Community Health Care announced that Angel Merchant, family nurse practitioner, has joined the medical staff at Extended Care Services full time.
Merchant’s practice centers on all aspects of geriatric medical care including patient physicals, acute visits, health care maintenance, wound care and nursing home care.
As a certified wound specialist, Merchant will provide wound management services to patients through Extended Care Services and the PCHC specialists department.
Merchant previously worked at Orono Family Medicine, Orono Commons and Acadia Hospital before joining Penobscot Community Health Care. She has more than 16 years of experience in the medical field.
Merchant received a master’s degree in nursing in the family nurse practitioner program at Husson College.
Dr. Robert Allen, executive medical director, said, “PCHC is very pleased to have such an experienced, dedicated and caring practitioner join us and provide a new level of expertise in the area of wound management.”
Dr. Henry Atkins, Extended Care Services medical director, said, “Angel was once a student with us and now returns as a nurse practitioner and a certified wound specialist. She provides us a valuable expansion of our services and is available for consultation with primary care providers on patients with wounds.”
Merchant works with Atkins at Extended Care Services, 1012 Union St., and is seeing new patients both in the nursing homes and at the Extended Care Services clinic. For information, call 992-2601.

Geriatric medical care
BANGOR — Penobscot Community Health Care announced that Katherine Lawson, a family nurse practitioner, joined the medical staff at Extended Care Services full-time.
Lawson’s practice centers on all aspects of high-quality geriatric medical care including patient physicals, acute visits, health care maintenance and nursing home care.
Lawson worked as a staff nurse at Eastern Maine Medical Center before joining Penobscot Community Health Care and has more than 750 hours of clinical education experience.
Lawson was an undergraduate at Colby College and received her Master of Science in nursing through the family nurse practitioner program at the University of Maine School of Nursing in Orono.
Lawson, who is a member of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners and the Sigma Theta Tau Honor Society of Nursing, is working with Dr. Toby Atkins at Extended Care Services on 1012 Union St. and seeing patients both in the nursing homes and at the Extended Care Services clinic.
Lawson is accepting new patients. For information, call 992-2601.