Health Notes:

On Tuesdays at 10 a.m., a group for cancer patients and survivors meets in the Blount Memorial Cancer Center Conference Room One on the second floor.

Before attending, cancer patients and survivors are encouraged call 865-980-5025 to schedule an orientation appointment.
Meeting simultaneously in an adjacent room, also at 10 a.m. on Tuesdays, the family members and friends of cancer patients and survivors meet in the center’s Conference Room Two, also on the second floor.

For more information or to schedule an orientation appointment, call health education and social services coordinator Debbie
Roberts at 865-980-5025.

Adult, children’s swim lessons offered
Adults and children who have always wanted to learn to swim have the chance to do so beginning in October at the Blount Memorial Wellness Center at Springbrook.

The "American Red Cross Swim Lessons for Adults" will be offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Oct. 3-26 at 7 p.m. Cost of the program is $45 for members and $70 for non-members.

Additionally, registrations for an "American Red Cross Swim Lessons for Children" offering that meets on Tuesdays and
Thursdays beginning Nov. 7 and continuing through Dec. 7 will be accepted beginning Tuesday, Oct. 17. Cost for the children’s lessons is $45 for members and $70 for adults.

To register, call 865-980-7100.

Wellness Center offers kids programs to community
The Blount Memorial Wellness Center at Springbrook’s "Especially for Kids" program now is open to non-members’ children.

• The center’s program is filled with fitness-based classes for 6- to 12-year-olds. Members’ kids pay the WellKid rate per class, and for non-members’ kids, the cost of each class is $5.
  
• On Mondays, Oct. 9, 16, 23 and 30, kids can participate in "Musical Monday," a movement-to-music program, at 6 p.m. and "Jr. Fittrek" at 5 p.m.
  
• "WellKid Swim" starts at 4 p.m. on Tuesdays, Oct. 10, 17 and 24. The class also meets on Thursdays, Oc. 5, 12, 19 and 26 at 7 p.m. Kids swim for one hour and accumulate mileage in the pool, which has one lane marked off in an effort to teach kids how to swim with others.
  
• At 5 p.m. on Wednesdays, Oct. 11, 18 and 25, the "Jump Rope Club" meets. The club meets for 30 minutes of instruction in the fundamentals of jump roping and games.
  
• Thursdays, Oct. 5, 12, 19 and 26 also bring with them a 7 p.m.
  "Storytelling" session.

For more information or to register your child for any of the programs, call 865-980-7100.

BMH offers classes for whole family
The Blount Memorial Family Birthing Center will offer a variety of programs and services for the whole family -- parents, parents-to-be, caregivers and siblings -- in October.

• Mothers less than six months pregnant along with their support partners are invited to participate in the "Early Pregnancy and Introduction to the Family Birthing Center Tour" on Thursday, Oct. 12 from noon to 1 p.m. at Blount Memorial. There will be a question and answer session, and lunch will be served. Participants should pre-register by 10 a.m. the day of the
  program.
  
• In addition, a free "Family Birthing Center Tour" will take place on Thursday, Oct. 5 from 10-11 a.m. Participants should meet in the Family Birthing Center waiting room.
  
• Expectant mothers and their support partners also are invited to attend the "Prepared Childbirth Series" (Lamaze), which will meet from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
  
• on Saturday, Oct. 14 in the Family Birthing Center classroom at Blount Memorial. Cost is $65 per couple.
  
• A "Breastfeeding Class" takes place on Thursday, Oct. 19 from 6:30-9 p.m. in the Blount Memorial Family Birthing Center classroom. Those moms-to-be considering breastfeeding are invited to attend, and the cost is $20 per person.
  
• "Mother Goose," an interactive play group for caregivers and infants up to 3 years old, also meets from 10-11 a.m. for kids ages 18 months to 3 years old, and from 11 a.m. to noon for babies who are 6 weeks to 18 months old, on Wednesdays, Oct. 11 and 25 in the Family Birthing Center classroom at Blount Memorial. The program uses rhymes, reading, music, finger plays and object exploration to strengthen the bond between caregiver and child, and to teach caregivers about infant brain development. Typical "Mother Goose" sessions also include one or more "brain facts" explaining how featured activities facilitate brain development.

‘Sleep Difficulties’ discussed at Doctor’s Corner
"Sleep Difficulties" is the Tuesday, October 24, topic of Doctor’s Corner, a free series of informal educational talks. This fall quarter lecture is sponsored by the Center for Sleep Medicine, a partnership of East Tennessee Medical Group and Blount Memorial Hospital.

Leading the panel discussion at Blount County Public Library, 508 N. Cusick Street, Maryville, will be the center’s physicians: Fredric M. Radoff, M.D. neurologist; Jaber Hassan, M.D. pulmonologist; and Bruce Roberts, M.D. pulmonologist.

The evening will begin with refreshments at 6:30 p.m. in the Blount County Public Library’s Sharon Lawson Room followed by the lecture at 7 p.m. Seating is limited. A drawing will be held for a gift basket, worth more than $100.

The panel represents a multidisciplinary team specializing in sleep studies medicine. The Center for Sleep Medicine, located at 710 Morganton Square Drive in Maryville, diagnoses and treats adults with sleep-related problems and disorders using the expertise of neurologists, pulmonologists, psychologists, psychiatrists, dietitians and other health professionals. This includes, but is not limited to, patients with sleep apnea, chronic insomnia, Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) and narcolepsy.

Medical experts estimate that 70 million Americans have sleep problems, half of which are chronic. Lack of restful sleep can contribute to many potentially dangerous health problems including high blood pressure, depression, confusion, lethargy and obesity.

Suicide support group continues in October
"Survivors of Suicide" continues this month, meeting on Monday, Oct. 9 at 7 p.m. in the Blount Memorial Hospital auditorium.
The group is for anyone who has lost a loved one to suicide. For more information, call 865-984-4223.

Weight-training class for women begins
The Blount Memorial Wellness Center at Springbrook’s "Females in Training" or F.I.T. class begins a five-week program that meets twice a week beginning in September under the direction of fitness coordinator Chad Hodson.

Class meets on Tuesday, Oct. 10 from 5:30-6:30 p.m., and on Saturdays, Oct. 7 and 14 from 11 a.m. – noon.

Cost for the 10-session class is $150 for members and $250 for non-members. For more information, or to register, call the Wellness Center at Springbrook at 865-980-7100.

Hypnosis and cancer pain topic of program
The Blount Memorial Cancer Center offers a free program, "Hypnosis and Cancer Pain" to the community, health care workers and cancer patients on Thursday, Oct. 12 from 10 a.m. - noon in the center’s conference rooms one and two on the second floor.

Board-certified hypnotherapist Ron Eslinger will discuss new methods to help reduce cancer pain, nausea and vomiting that are associated with chemotherapy as well as other benefits of hypnosis. For more information, call health education and social services coordinator Debbie Roberts at 865-980-5025.

Medications are topic for stroke support group
October’s Stroke Support Group session features a presentation about medications by Blount Memorial Hospital pharmacist Rob Lucas.

Meeting at 5 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 9 in the Blount Memorial Medical Fitness classroom on the hospital’s Two-East floor, the program comes during October’s observance of Talk About Prescriptions Month.

The free support group is intended for stroke victims and their families.

For more information, call Medical Fitness at 865-977-5636.

Gymnastics classes take center stage
October brings to the community the next six-week gymnastics offerings at the Blount Memorial Wellness Center at Springbrook. Classes teach the basic fundamentals including front rolls, cartwheels, round-offs, along with stretch and strength exercises needed for successful gymnastics performance.

Classes meet on Thursdays, beginning Oct. 12 and ending Nov. 16. Kids ages 18 months to 2 years old meet from 6:45-7:30 p.m. in the "Mommy & Me" class, and kids ages 3-4 meet from 4:30-5:15 p.m. in the "Totnastics" class. "Kidnastics," a class for kids 5-7 years old meets from 5:30-6:30 p.m.

Cost of each six-week class is $30 for members and $60 for non-members.

Registrations are required, and can be made by calling 865-980-7100.