October 7, 2005

What's Happening

Menopause and Your Health
The MGH Women's Health Coordinating Council will host "Menopause and Your Health" Oct. 18, from 6 to 8:30 pm at the MGH Charlestown HealthCare Center. The program is designed to help women better understand the facts about menopause and current treatment options. The registration fee is $25, and scholarships are available. For more information, call Mary Ellen Heike, RN, at (617) 724-8044 or send e-mail to mheike@partners.org.

Care Pages information tables
The MGH will sponsor a new web-based program that will enable patients to keep family members and friends updated about their care while in the hospital. Called CarePages, the free, private and personalized website allows patients to share information with selected participants at any time before, during and after hospitalization. MGH employees, staff, patients and visitors can find out more about CarePages at an information table in the Main Corridor Oct. 11 and 12, from 10 am to 2 pm. Computer terminals will be available to demonstrate the CarePages website, and staff will be available to answer questions.

CRP seminar
The Clinical Research Program (CRP) and the Laboratory of Computer Science will offer "Using the Web-based Partners Research Patient Data Registry" Oct. 12, from noon to 1 pm in the Thier Conference Room. Jeanne Guerin of the MGH Lab of Computer Science, will present a brief overview of this Partners information resource that allows human studies investigators to access vast amounts of patient clinical data. Registration is required by Oct. 10. To register or for more information, call (617) 726-1669.

Physical therapy information table
In recognition of National Physical Therapy month, MGH Physical Therapy will hold its annual community education event Oct. 19, from 11 am to 3 pm in the Main Corridor. This year's topic is "The Unique Contributions of a Physical Therapist to Exercise Prescription." Physical therapists will be available to talk about the components of a safe exercise program, effects of inactivity and various forms of exercise. For more information, call Tracy Daigle at (617) 726-3023 or Susan Sannella Fleming at (617) 887-3586.

Alzheimer's disease symposium
The Harvard Center for Neurodegeneration and Repair will host "Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain" Oct. 17, from 4 to 6 pm at Harvard Medical School's New Research Building, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur. Actor David Hyde Pierce will
provide an advocacy perspective. The presentation will focus on the impact of aging on the brain, prospects for better treatments and how to maintain a healthy brain.

MGH Chaplaincy Jewish High Holy Days
MGH Chaplaincy will hold services Oct. 12, from 3 to 3:30 pm as part of Yamim Nora'im 5766 — the Jewish High Holy Days 2005. Challah, grape juice and snacks will be served at the service. For more information, call Rabbi Ben Lanckton at (617) 724-3228.

Vascular Center symposium
The MGH Vascular Center will sponsor a symposium "Comprehensive Update on Vascular Disease for the Primary Care and Specialty Provider" Nov. 3 to 5 at the Conference Center at Waltham Woods in Waltham, Mass. This symposium will be the first of its kind in New England and will provide attendees with the information they need to better serve patients with vascular disease. Course directors and speakers include MGHers Kenneth Rosenfield, MD, and Michael R. Jaff, DO. There will be a public forum Nov. 3 where patients and consumers can learn how to prevent vascular diseases. The deadline to register online is Oct. 21. To register or for more information, visit www.ccmcme.com/mgh.

EAP work/life seminar
The MGH Employee Assistance Program (EAP) will sponsor a Work/Life seminar "Nourishing Your Newborn" Oct. 18, from noon to 1 pm in the VBK Building, room 401. Germaine Lambergs, RN, an MGH lactation consultant, will present to expectant parents, new parents and employees who are considering having children. For more information, visit www.eap.partners.org or call (617) 726-6976.

Melanoma symposium
The SPORE — Specialized Program of Research Excellence — in Skin Cancer and the Dana-Farber Cancer Center will host a symposium highlighting the latest innovative research about melanoma Oct. 20, from 9 am to 4 pm at the Dana Farber Jimmy Fund Auditorium. The symposium is organized by Paul Nghiem, MD, PhD, of the MGH Cutaneous Biology Research Center (CBRC), and Lynda Chin of Dana-Farber. Michael Detmar, of the CBRC, will be a guest speaker. The symposium is
open to all, but registration is required to attend lunch with the speakers. To register, send e-mail to lmazzei1@partners.org.

Ramadan celebration
MGH Patient Care Services and MGH Muslim staff invite the MGH community to an Iftar — a breaking of the fast ceremony during the holy month of Ramadan — Oct. 12, from 5:30 to 7:30 pm in the WACC lobby. All Muslim patients, family members, staff and friends are welcome to attend.