(Chillicothe) — A concert for the whole family! Join us at the Ohio University Chillicothe Shoemaker Center for a holiday concert of the Columbus Symphony on Saturday, December 18th. Brought to you by the City of Chillicothe and the Chillicothe-Ross Community Foundation. Proceeds to benefit community fine arts programs.
A pre-performance concert begins at 4pm featuring the Chillicothe High School Orchestras! Columbus Symphony takes the stage at 5pm.
Tickets: General Admission bleacher seats and reserved sponsor tables are available!
General Admission Adults – $20.00 General Admission Children under 12 years – $5.00 Sponsor a Table (seats 5) – $500.00
Tickets (if available) will be sold at the door, however, advance tickets are recommended to ensure your seat.
COVID-19 Safety Requirements: Masks will be required for all staff, volunteers, and audience members (age 5+).
Information: With questions or for additional information about the performance, please contact Katelyn Rush at krush@columbussymphony.com
(Waverly) – Try walking through the halls of Adena Pike Medical Center with Mary Alice Cisco without anyone passing by, flashing a big smile and tossing out some variation of, “Hey, Mary Alice, how’ve you been?” Odds are, you can’t do it. After all, Mary Alice has been an integral part of that hospital since before its doors opened in December of 1958. When her tenure at APMC officially ends with her retirement at the end of this year, it will have been 64 years since she first applied to help care for the residents of Pike County.
The 95-year-old native of Jeffersonville, Indiana, began her journey to a healthcare career during World War II when she pursued training in the Cadet Nurse Corps. She didn’t quite finish the program because, during her second year, she got married – something that wasn’t allowed for those involved in the Corps. She wound up becoming an LPN as a registered surgical technician instead. After a move to Pike County and years of staying home caring for the couple’s two children (at the time, a third would be welcomed into the family later), an opportunity presented itself that she never could have imagined she would still be enjoying more than six decades later.
“As soon as I heard this hospital was going to be built, I applied as soon as I possibly could,” she said. “I was hired around July of 1958 and we didn’t open until December. An RN and I set up surgery, central supply and we also had the recovery room we were responsible for.”
Remembering that in the early days of the hospital they “were a busy bunch,” Mary Alice’s background was put to good use training all of the surgical techs and assisting the physicians performing surgeries at the hospital. Because she was credentialed in Medical Records as well, she also provided help to area nursing homes which had to have a credentialed person on staff.
After 35 years on the surgical staff, Mary Alice moved over to the Medical Records department for the next 25 years of her career. As she reached and then passed the usual retirement age, she knew she still had plenty to contribute after leaving that post.
“At that time, I was plenty old enough to retire and I told the administrator, ‘If you don’t find me another job, I’m going to be leaving,’” she recalled. “So they got me the job I’ve been doing the last several years, which is call backs, where I call surgery and ER patients who have recently been discharged to see how they are doing and get their feedback.
“When Adena took over APMC, they’ve been extremely good to me, and that’s what I’ve continued doing the last four years. I’m enjoying this and really enjoy getting the feedback I gather. I enjoy talking with the patients.
True to her past performance, she hasn’t been content with doing just her own job. Mary Alice has been very active with the hospital’s volunteers to the point that she jokes, “I’m involved with the volunteers as much as if I was a volunteer.”
In 2020, she took the lead in working with the Adena Pike Medical Center Foundation Board and Adena Health Foundation to shepherd to conclusion a project converting an inpatient hospital room at APMC into one specifically for hospice patients and their families. With the help of $15,000 she personally donated, the room now bears her name and includes a pullout couch, microwave, refrigerator, tables and chairs, and more space than the average room, making it much more comfortable for families of hospice patients to gather and visit their loved ones in the hospital. Mary Alice considers that project, as well as the kindness and compassion she’s brought to relationships she’s formed over the decades at the hospital, as her legacy.
Others would definitely agree. During the dedication of the Mary Alice Cisco Hospice Room in 2020, Dave Zanni, Senior Operations Executive Officer at APMC, expressed his appreciation and spoke of the importance of her generosity, her institutional knowledge of the hospital and her willingness to share of herself.
“Throughout her long and storied career at Adena Pike Medical Center, Mary Alice remains a true champion of this facility, never losing faith in what this hospital can accomplish or how we can best serve our community,” he said. “Her passion has been a driving force behind our successes, making us stronger and better prepared to serve our community members.”
Even now, 25 to 30 years after many people would have called it a career, Mary Alice finds it difficult to consider walking away from something she still enjoys doing. A recent hospital stay as a patient, however, convinced her the time was right. She still plans to stay active with the hospital’s volunteers, saying there is a definite need for additional help and urging members of the community to consider sharing a bit of their time and abilities to enhance the hospital experience for their friends and neighbors.
When she’s no longer a daily fixture in the APMC halls and her name comes up in conversation, Mary Alice simply hopes people speak of her as having been a good employee who was very faithful to whatever job she happened to be doing. She also hopes they realize how much she loved them, how they have been like family and how much they will be missed.
“I like to take care of others, and I’m really going to miss coming here,” she said. “Some people say, ‘Why in the world do you want to work that long?’ I just say, ‘Because I really enjoy it.’”
A college scholarship for the daughter of the late Matt Orin will benefit from a day long of boys junior high and high school basketball Saturday, November 27th at the Waverly’s Downtown Gym.
Orin, who officiated high school sports for many years in southern Ohio and was a teacher in Pike County, passed away earlier this year.
Saturday’s games will be between Piketon and Waverly, starting at 2pm with the 7th grade game. The schedule will move up the age ladder and conclude with the varsity boys game at approximately 8pm.
(Washington CH) — Your blood donation can help a patient get home for the holidays. The Red Cross encourages donors to make an appointment to give something that means something this month. This time of year, blood drives across the country are often affected by seasonal illness and winter weather. If you’re feeling healthy and well, your blood donation is needed now help meet the needs of hospital patients this holiday season. Give a gift, get a gift!
(American Red Cross)
All who come to give Nov. 29–Dec. 16 will receive a $10 Gift Card by email thanks to Amazon. Those who come to donate December 17th- January 2nd will receive a Red Cross long-sleeved T-shirt, while supplies last.
Below are the four blood drives open to the public in Fayette County during the month of December.
Fayette County Victim Witness Division – 2nd Floor Conference Room 213 on Friday December 10th between 12pm-6pm. To schedule an appointment call (740)335-0888, 1-800-RED CROSS or visit RedCrossBlood.org, sponsor code: FayetteVWD
Jeffersonville Lions Club and Masonic Lodge– 23 S. Main Street on Saturday December 11th between 8am-1pm. To schedule an appointment call Kathy Shriver at (740)463-3521, 1-800-RED CROSS or visit RedCrossBlood.org, sponsor code: Jefferlions
Grace United Methodist Church – Fellowship Hall on Tuesday December 14th between 10am-4pm. To schedule an appointment call 1-800-RED CROSS, (740)437-7106 or visit RedCrossBlood.org, sponsor code: GraceUMC
Adena Fayette Medical Center – Medical Arts Conference Room, Building #2 on Thursday December 23rd between 1pm-6pm. To schedule an appointment call 1-800-RED CROSS or visit RedCrossBlood.org, sponsor code: AFMC
(Columbus)—State Senator Bob Peterson (R-Washington Court House) has announced controlling board approval of $737,101 for infrastructure improvements located on the Greenfield Rail Line in the Village of Greenfield.
The Village of Greenfield owns and operates a private rail line serving three major industrial operations, including Huhtamaki, Adient and Candle-Lite, which combined, employ over 1,200 southeast Ohioans.
In partnership with the Ohio Rail Development Commission, the project improvements will increase capacity and efficiency on the line, which is currently in jeopardy as tie conditions continue to deteriorate.
“This infrastructure investment will help keep products moving, continuing the trajectory of bringing viability to our community and helping improve the quality of life for the hard-working people in southeast Ohio,” said Peterson.
(Chillicothe) – Never smoking or quitting smoking have been proven to reduce the incidence of lung cancer, but the greatest chance to survive lung cancer is by catching it early. This can be accomplished with a simple lung cancer screening.
Adena began offering its free screenings in 2013 and since has become a national model for excellence – and is saving lives. Since the program’s inception, more than 3,200 patients have been screened, with about 130 of those being formally diagnosed with cancer. Because of the early diagnosis, some of those patients were able to have completely curative surgical removals that did not require chemotherapy or radiation treatments.
Many people may not experience symptoms linked to lung cancer, especially in the early stages. This is why a lung cancer screening is so important. The no-cost lung cancer screening is a simple, painless, low dose, non-invasive CT scan that can identify tumors or lesions potentially needing further medical attention.
While several healthcare organizations offer lung cancer CT screenings, the majority bill insurance or, at minimum, require a co-pay. Adena decided at the onset of its program to offer the screenings for free in order to better serve its patient population regardless of insurance status.
Those eligible for the free screening are:
· Between 50-80 years old;
· Have 20 or more “pack years” of smoking in their past (a pack year = 1 pack a day for 20 years, 2 packs a day for 15 years, 3 packs a day for 10 years, etc.); and
· Are a current smoker, or someone who has quit smoking in the past 15 years
If you or a loved one meet these criteria, please consider setting up a free lung cancer screening. People in the above groups are recommended to have a lung screen each year for the greatest chance of survival in the event of a lung cancer diagnosis. In addition to the screenings, the program also provides patients with information on tobacco cessation and a program offered by the Health System through which smoking cessation counseling is offered.
Adena’s free lung cancer screenings are available year round, but the Health System will be holding a special screening event.
Adena Free Lung Cancer Screening Event Saturday, December 4, 2021 8 a.m. – 12 p.m. Adena Regional Medical Center 272 Hospital Road Chillicothe, OH 45601
Patients meeting the screening criteria may schedule an appointment for this specific event, or a future lung cancer screening by calling (740) 542-LUNG (5864).
(Columbus)— Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP) Superintendent Col. Richard Fambro have announced plans to outfit every trooper in Ohio with a body-worn camera.
Governor DeWine directed OSHP to invest in body cameras to better protect Ohio’s troopers, aid in crime scene and accident scene documentation, and support the Patrol’s ongoing commitment to public transparency. The distribution and installation of 1,550 new body cameras and 1,221 new in-car systems began this month.
“The Patrol has been using in-car cameras for decades, but as technology continues to advance, body cameras have become an essential tool for policing,” said Governor DeWine. “By investing in these cameras, we’re not only giving our troopers the tools they need to better protect the public, but we’re also giving the public another reason to have confidence in the professionalism of the Ohio State Highway Patrol.”
The new OSHP body cameras will link to the new in-car systems to ensure that all cameras record simultaneously when lights and sirens are activated. The systems, which are being installed first in districts with the oldest current in-car cameras, are expected to be fully installed at all OSHP districts by May 2022.
“Today’s announcement is another example of our commitment to transparency,” said Col. Fambro. “Our troopers have been working in front of a camera for over 20 years. The addition of body worn cameras is an enhancement to our current video capabilities.”
Body-worn cameras have become a key tool for law enforcement in recent years to accurately document arrests, critical incidents, and other interactions with the public. The cameras also allow for detailed documentation of crime and crash scenes, enhance the accuracy of incident reports and court testimony, and help to improve community-police relations.
OSHP staff evaluated multiple camera systems based on audio and video quality, ease of use, and compatibility with the current network interface. The total cost for the camera package, which includes equipment, storage, installation, maintenance, training, and other operational costs, is approximately $15 million over the next five years. The expense is being paid for through OSHP’s operating budget.
To help other law enforcement agencies with costs associated with body cameras, Governor DeWine launched the new Ohio Body-Worn Camera Grant Program in September. The program, which was funded as part of the 2022-2023 operating budget that was passed by the Ohio General Assembly in June, allots $10 million toward helping local law enforcement agencies invest in body camera equipment and pay for associated expenses such as video storage and public record management personnel. The first round of local grant awards is expected to be announced before the end of the year.
