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March 2010
We inspire, train, recruit and retain a diverse and broad range of health professionals to practice in communities where the need is greatest.  Thanks again for helping us meet our mission!  As always, please let us know how we can assist in your efforts to improve the health of underserved communities.

FEATURED ARTICLES
My Life: Serving the Medically Underserved
Congratulations to DeSoto Memorial Hospital!
King Middle School HOSA Members are Winners!
Turning the Tides on Breast and Colorectal Cancer
PRODUCTS & SERVICES 

Domestic Violence:

 Trauma, Abuse & Healing

A full day of advanced training

 Wednesday, March 10, 2010

8:30am-4:30pm

Presented by author, workshop leader and activist Lundy Bancroft

Hyatt Sarasota

*Training is free - 6 CEU's will be provided.

 

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Training

 Monday, March 22, 2010

9:00am-1:00pm

Presented by: Anika Trancik, PhD

The Community Foundation of

 Sarasota County

*Training is free and CEU's are available.

 

 Preventing Workplace Violence
   Friday, March 26, 2010 

9:00am-12noon 

Presented by: Captain Stan Duncan, Ret.

The Community Foundation

 of Sarasota County

*$20 fee; CEU's are available.

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Click here!
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GSAHEC's Tobacco Training and Cessation program offers quit smoking support at various times/locations in Charlotte, DeSoto, Manatee and Sarasota counties.  A single 90-minute seminar can give you the Tools to Quit  smoking or a 6-week group can provide the support to help you
Quit Smoking Now
Businesses in these areas may arrange for special on-location employee groups.  Services now available in Spanish.  To learn more call
 (941)552-1283 or 87-QUIT-NOW-6 (877)848-6696
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Educational Products
Check out these resources!
IN THE NEWS
 
Heart Healthy Talks

 

"Be Kind To Your Heart"

 

Learn how to reduce health disparities in our community!
 
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Mark your calendar!
 
Kick Butts Day
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
 
Kiick Butts Day is back, with new opportunities to take action in 2010! On March 24th, thousands of youth in every state and around the world will 
 STAND OUT ... SPEAK UP ...     and SEIZE CONTROL AGAINST BIG TOBACCO.
 
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SAVE THE DATE
Florida Tobacco Summit
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel
Orlando, FL
 
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Gulfcoast South AHEC Youth Programs is now on Facebook!

GSAHEC realizes that the Internet has become a useful tool to help educate and communicate with students, teachers, parents, community partners, and the online world.  In an effort to broaden our outreach and track the educational path of current and former students who have participated in our AHEC programs, we have created a Facebook fan page.  If you are familiar with Facebook and are already a user, please follow the link to become a fan/friend of Gulfcoast South AHEC Youth Programs. 

 
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The Sarasota County Wellness Coalition presents Motivational Interviewing: Key Techniques & Strategies on Friday, March 26, 2010, 8:00am-9:00am at Laurel Nokomis School Cafetorium, 1900 East Laurel Road, Nokomis. GSAHEC will provide continuing education credits for Florida licensed nursing and mental health professionals. Credits through the Commission of Dietetic Registration have been applied for. To register for this seminar, contact

 Lucie Gurley at (941) 361-6602.
 
 
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HHS Delivers the Nation's First Health Security Strategy

On January 7, 2010, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius released the National Health Security Strategy, the nation's first comprehensive strategy focused on protecting people's health during a large-scale emergency. The strategy sets priorities for government and non-government activities over the next four years. The strategy and the accompanying interim implementation guide outline 10 objectives to achieve health security. Click here to obtain a copy of the strategy and implementation guide.
   
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My Life:  Serving the Medically Underserved

By Sherrilyn McSheehy, RN

Nurse Practitioner student, University of South Florida

 

Growing up in Rhode Island with my parents, five sisters andSherrilyn McSheehy one brother, we lived in a low income neighborhood where dealing drugs and crime were the predominant professions; then, when I was ten, we moved to the country and maintained a small farm. In both the inner city and rural settings, I was blessed to have had my medical needs met through community based services. As I became an adult and continued to use these same services, I had an epiphany of sorts. I recognized how fortunate I had been to receive such great care for myself as well as for my own four children.  That was when I decided I was going to "give back" to the community in the form of medical services.

As a Registered Nurse, I have practiced for almost 18 years and have been blessed to work with children in Pediatric intensive care, Neonatal intensive care, and the emergency room. My interest and need to care for and meet the needs of the underserved has strengthened as I have progressed toward my educational and professional goals. Moreover, my focus has become more specific to that of mothers, adolescents, and children. This can be related to my experience and observation that they are often the populations most underserved or lacking of additional affordable services, yet often have the greatest needs.

Currently, I am preparing to graduate with my pediatric nurse practitioner degree from University of South Florida in Tampa in August 2010.  I would like to thank Gulfcoast South AHEC and the DeSoto County Health Department for facilitating my community health clinical placements in women's health, pediatrics, and family medicine. My plans after graduation are to work in dual arenas of community health as well as private health.  I am hoping in this way I may maximize my clinical experience and knowledge base while serving the populations I have come to care so much about... the undersized and underserved.   

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Congratulations to DeSoto Memorial Hospital!
By Edna Apostol, MPH

The Florida Department of Health recently awarded a grant to DeSoto Memorial Hospital (DMH) to conduct and sustain tobacco cessation counseling and classes for the hospital's patients, employees and employee family members, as well as strengthen their established tobacco free campus policy. DMH will continue to partner with GSAHEC to enhance tobacco education and cessation services, and promote wellness and healthier lifestyles for all patients, staff, and staff family members.

 

According to the State Epidemiology Workgroup information, 22.8% of adults in DeSoto County are smokers; and according to the Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey conducted in 1999 and published in 2000, 11.3% of youth respondents in DeSoto County had used smokeless tobacco in the past 30 days (state average 4.7%), and 20.4% had smoked cigarettes (state average 15.3%).  The goals of this program are to reduce the prevalence of tobacco use among youth, adults, and pregnant women; decrease per capita tobacco consumption and exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke; and reduce tobacco-related disparities.

Beverley Winston, RN, MSN, MBA, Vice President Patient Services/CNO at DMH says:
 
Beverley Winston
 
"By concentrating on tobacco cessation services with our patients, employees and their families, our goal is to make positive gains in tobacco reduction in DeSoto County."
 
 
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King Middle School HOSA Members are Winners!
By Joan Beatty-Lee  

King MS HOSA Members

Congratulations to the Martha B. King Middle School members of Health Occupation Students of America (HOSA) on your awesome success at the HOSA Regionals competition!  View the list of winners.
 
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Turning the Tides on Breast and Colorectal Cancer
By Paula Murray
ACS LogoThrough funds awarded by the American Cancer Society, Florida Division, Inc., Gulfcoast South AHEC and the Newtown Wellness Program will implement the project "Turning the Tides on Breast and Colorectal Cancer."  This project will provide breast and colorectal cancer education and promote preventative behaviors among medically underserved African Americans in north Sarasota County. Trained Community Health Workers (CHWs), who many times come from the same neighborhoods and share similar cultural experiences as their target audience, will educate and guide community members to the services and resources they need. We want to instill in our participants that healthy, preventative behaviors and early detection can help save lives. 
 
March is National Colorectal Awareness Month 
CCAM logo
Quick Facts on Colorectal Cancer 
  • The second leading cancer killer in the United States, but it doesn't have to be
  • Sometimes called colon cancer, it is a cancer that occurs in the colon or rectum
  • Most often found in men and women aged 50 or older; it is the 2nd most diagnosed cancer
  • Rates are rising for African Americans
  • Often has no symptoms
  • Early detection is the key to survival
 
Resources
 
Attention Cancer Stakeholders: 
 
Gulfcoast South AHEC is partnering with the Screen for Life, a Colorectal Cancer Control program housed at Manatee County Health Department to facilitate the creation of the Southwest Cancer Control Collaborative (SWCCC). GSAHEC will provide continuing education credits for a Cancer Disparities seminar to be held Wednesday, March 31, 2010 from 9:00am - 11:00am at the Venice Health Park located at 1289 Jacaranda Boulevard, Venice. The presenter is Desiree Rivers, PhD, MSPH, Center for Equal Health, USF - Moffitt Cancer Center for Communtiy Parnerships. Contact Lucie Gurley to reserve your spot at (941) 361-6602.