Support Connection, Inc. is offering a free seminar that will address workplace issues for people living with cancer. “Cancer and the Workplace: Issues, Questions & Rights” will be held today from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Somers Public Library, Route 139 in Somers.

Topics will include how to speak to your employer or co-workers about your diagnosis; employee rights; information about the ADA (American’s with Disabilities Act) FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act) and disability; concerns about re-entering the workforce after treatment.

To reserve a spot, call 914-962-6402.

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital’s Westchester Division will present its second annual Community Behavioral Health Fair on Thursday, July 23 from noon to 3 p.m. located on the hospital’s campus at 21 Bloomingdale Road, White Plains.

The event, sponsored by the Hospital’s Patient Care Services Department, is intended to provide information on various behavioral health issues including depression, anxiety management, substance abuse and related disorders as well as on available treatment services.

The fair is open to the public and free of charge.  No registration is required.

In addition to Hospital staff being on hand to answer questions about mental health issues and providing behavioral health information, there will be give-aways and refreshments. For more information, contact Janet Moran, Director of Nursing, at 914-997-5806.

The state has gotten a  two-year $600,000 grant  to offer more services to children with autism and their families. The grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration will be used to “help implement and sustain a system of family-centered care that provides for the early identification and treatment of children with autism spectrum disorders  and other developmental disabilities,” according to the state Department of Health.

New York State’s Early Intervention Program is part of a national program for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families. New York’s EIP offers a variety of therapeutic and support services to eligible  children and their families.

The number of children with autism spectrum disorders  enrolled in New York’s EIP nearly doubled from 1,939 children in 2002-2003 to 3,795 in 2007-2008.

If you happen to be at the Palisades Center Mall in West Nyack this weekend, you might want to roll up your sleeve to give blood. The New Yok Blood Center is hold a blood drive there during what is normally the toughest time of year to get people to donate.

The blood drive is being held Saturday from 11:30 a.m. until 9 p.m. and Sunday from 11:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. on the fourth floor near the ice rink.

For more information call New York Blood Center at 800-933-2566

As we reported online and in today’s newspaper, Northern Westchester Hospital sent out letters to 2,700 former surgical patients alerting them of possible exposure to Hepatitis C.

A surgical technician charged in Colorado with stealing syringes, injecting herself and putting them back for use on patients worked at the Mount Kisco hospital from October 2007 to February 2008. Kristen Diane Parker, 26, was an intravenous drug user and carrier of hepatitis C, a potentially dangerous virus linked to liver disease and cancer.

Read the full story and the response from Northern Westchester Hospital to the case in Colorado.

Three New York City hospitals made the honor roll list for the annual ranking of America’s Best Hospitals

They are:

Number 6: New York-Presbyterian University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell, the massive partnership between the old Columbia-Presbyterian and New York hospitals.

Number 17: NYU Medical Center.

Number 19: Mount Sinai Medical Center.

The list, complied by U.S. News & World Reports, looks at how well hospitals handle complex medical needs.

The institutions are ranked in 16 specialties, from cancer and heart disease to respiratory disorders and urology. A total of 4,861 hospitals were considered; 174, or less than 0.4 percent of the total, were ranked in even one of the 16 specialties.

Of the 174 hospitals that are ranked in one or more specialties, 21 qualified for the Honor Roll by earning high scores in at least six specialties.

The top hospital over all was Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. Ranking second was the Mayo Clinic in  Rochester, Minn.

The House of Representatives’ health committee this morning approved a $600 billion plan that would require individuals to have health coverage and employers to offer it — part of a larger effort to overhaul the nation’s health-care system.

This is the first congressional panel to advance the Obama adminstration’s health plan. The news comes a day after the Democratic lawmakers pledged to create health-care legislation, a plan that would cost $1 trillion,  before they break in August.

Read the complete story by  Associated Press reporter Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar.

Hudson Center for Health Equity & Quality, a not-for-profit health-care advocacy group, has created a Web site to help Lower Hudson Valley residents determine whether they are eligible for state-run health insurance plans such as Family Health Plus and Child Health Plus.

The site, www.EnrollNY.org, aims to streamline the application process by allowing applicants to electronically input basic information about themselves, income and family size. A representative will then contact the applicant by telephone to complete the process.

The Web site is being marketed to individuals, community-based organizations, health centers and county agencies.

Doctors who perform surgery in their offices must now have those facilities accredited, according to a state Department of Health regulation that just went into effect.

there are approximately 500 New York State providers that are accredited to perform office-based surgeries and 200 more are awaiting accreditation. Any provider that has not received final accreditation as of  July 13, cannot perform office-based surgeries requiring moderate or deep sedation or general anesthesia.

Click here to see a county-by-county  list of accredited office based surgery facilities.

Support Connection Inc., a not-for-profit organization based in Yorktown Heights offering free,support services to people affected by breast and ovarian cancer, has received a $7,500 grant from the MBIA Foundation, Inc.

The grant will help fund Support Connection’s Peer-to-Peer Counseling Program for Women with Breast and Ovarian Cancer. Support Connection’s Peer Counselors provide personalized, confidential support and education to women with breast cancer. All services are provided free of charge.

Peer Counselors are women who have experienced cancer and have also received professional training. Peer counseling is provided on the phone or in person, and is available from the time of diagnosis for as long as it is needed.
To learn more about Support Connection’s programs and services, call 914-962-6402 or 800-532-4290