Wednesday, February 14, 2001
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Wednesday, February 14, 2001 |
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Healthy heart is February focus
By SALLIE
SATTERTHWAITE
St. Valentine's Day, with its emphasis on matters of the heart, falls in February, and that may be reason enough to focus on health, especially heart health. Reason enough for Sue Blackburn, a nurse and pastoral care coordinator who heads up the Health Cabinet at Christ Our Shepherd Lutheran Church in Peachtree City. "February is the month that the American Heart Association has selected as a time to pay special attention to heart health," Blackburn said. She and other congregational leaders are emphasizing the care of one's own body in a number of programs being offered to the congregation and the community this month. Melissa Stephens, a registered pharmacist, answered questions about medications one Sunday, and health care and wellness information currently appears on a series of displays in the narthex. Saturday, Feb. 24, Chester Cannaday of the Peachtree City Fire Department will conduct a four-hour CPR course at the church, beginning at 8:30 a.m. The AHA recommends that every household have at least one person trained in CPR especially if there are older people or youths of baby-sitting age in the family. The session will include a brief introduction to the automatic external defibrillator the congregation purchased recently. The AED is a device that delivers an electric shock needed to restart the heart's normal rhythm in the event of cardiac arrest. Christ Our Shepherd, which hosts community groups daily in addition to its own members, is the first church facility in Peachtree City to have this life-saving machine on site. The CPR course will cost $10 per person, and pre-registration is a must, said Blackburn. If space allows, she said, the public may participate. The church office number is 770-487-8717. Blackburn said she also wants to encourage people to think about making life-style changes, adding good habits like exercise and weight control and eliminating bad ones such as smoking. "Get a checkup, including cholesterol screening, blood pressure check, and cancer screening tests," she said. "Get enough rest. Laugh out loud every day. "Even the smallest change can start us on the road to better health," she added. "Take time for yourself. When you enjoy good physical and spiritual health you can care for others so much better."
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