TAMC plans community events|
to mark National Hospital Week
PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — National Hospital Week, National Nursing Home Week and National Women’s Health Week take place May 8-14, 2016, and The Aroostook Medical Center has planned a full calendar of community events to celebrate.
The upcoming recognition weeks are set aside to honor healthcare professionals that work in both hospital and long-term care facilities, and the important contributions of such organizations in the communities they serve. It’s also a week dedicated to helping women learn how to achieve longer, healthier and safer lives.
The medical center’s operations include A.R. Gould Memorial Hospital in Presque Isleand a rehabilitation and long-term care or nursing home facility, Aroostook Health Center in Mars Hill. TAMC provides health services for women in the region through its OB/GYN and Midwifery Services and Women’s Health Center practices, the Women and Children’s Unit and advanced imaging services.
The events planned for the week ahead include activities to engage and support the community, to encourage area residents to take part in healthy physical activity, to introduce members of the public to newly expanded healthcare services — and to have fun.
From Monday, May 9-Thursday, May 19, through Hospitals Against Hunger, TAMC will partner with Northern Maine Medical Center, Cary Medical Center, Houlton Regional Hospital and the Feed the County program of Catholic Charities Maine to support area food pantries. Non-perishable food items will be accepted at all four hospitals, as well as Aroostook Savings & Loan locations in Caribou and Presque Isle and other businesses County-wide. Community members are invited to help in this great cause.
On Sunday, May 8, Mother’s Day, there will be free desserts in the hospital cafeteria for all mothers, and 20 percent off items in the TAMC gift shop, excluding stamps, periodicals and regularly discounted items.
Monday, May 9, will feature the food drive Cans for Kernels at Gould Hospital. From 2-4 p.m., community members may bring in canned food or other non-perishable items to the Pinkham lobby and enjoy some tasty popcorn. Similar Cans for Kernels events will be held throughout the week at different TAMC locations; go to tamc.org to find specific times and places.
The Community Couch to 5K Program will begin Tuesday, May 10, at 5 p.m. outside of the Academy House (located in front of the A.R. Gould Memorial Hospital, between the two entrances). This free multiple-week activity features both a running and walking component to accommodate all participants.
On Wednesday, May 11, at 1:30 p.m., a community social is planned at TAMC’s Aroostook Health Center in Mars Hill. Community members are invited to enjoy refreshments and music. Call 768-4932 to register.
Grand openings and an open house for TAMC’s new ENT Services practice and the new location for the Aroostook Heart and Lung practice along with the Cardiology Department, as well as an Open House for OB/GYN and Midwifery Services, are planned Thursday, May 12, from 4-6 p.m. at the hospital. All are welcome to tour the facilities, meet providers, learn more about services, ask questions of providers and enjoy refreshments and free giveaways. All tours depart from the Pinkham lobby.
The Aroostook River Fun Run will get underway Saturday, May 14, with registration beginning at 8 a.m. Co-sponsored by the Presque Isle and Washburn Rotary Clubs, the fun run is open to participants who want to canoe or kayak the Aroostook River from Washburn’s Thomas Brewer Park to the Presque Isle Fish and Game Club. Runners and bicyclists are also invited to participate in a run/ride component on the recreation trail that runs parallel to the river.
TAMC will sponsor a free barbecue lunch for participants at the Presque Isle Fish and Game Club. For more information visit the Aroostook River Run Facebook site.
On Sunday, May 15, TAMC will help to sponsor a local effort to raise funds for Crohn’s Disease and Colitis. The Got Guts 5K and Kids Fun Run, which starts and ends at TAMC, features a 5K run/walk and a free kids 1-mile Fun Run. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. The fun run will begin at 9:30 a.m., the 5K walk at 10 a.m. and the 5K run at 10:15 a.m.
The cost to register online before the event for the 5K is $15, or $20 to register the day of the event. A virtual run/walk option is available for those who can’t make it here that day. Register online at runsignup.com/Race/ME/PresqueIsle/GotGutsforCrohnsColitisWalkRun5KandKids1MileFunRun.
For more information on TAMC activities during this week and throughout May, go to the TAMC website www.tamc.org or call the TAMC Communication and Development Office at (207) 768-4044.
