Photo by Tom Rivers – Sue Gagne, director of the newly merged Mental Health Association of Genesee and Orleans, addresses the Albion Rotary Club last Thursday. She said the merged agency will offer more services to the two counties.

ALBION Two agencies that promote mental wellness through education, advocacy and support have merged.

The mental health associations in Orleans and Genesee counties officially joined on Sept. 1. Each county will continue to have its own drop-in center. The Orleans County location is at 20 North Main St., the former Cornell Cooperative Extension building next to the Post Office in Albion.

“I believe coming together with this transition will be absolutely wonderful for Orleans County,” said Shirley Pudney-Eilers, wellness director for the MHA in Orleans County.

Sue Gagne is the director of the new combined agency. The board of directors is expected to soon approve the name for the association.

Pudney-Eilers and Gagne both addressed the Albion Rotary Club last Thursday. They said the community will see a more active MHA. In November, for example, the MHA will offer First Aid training with a focus on how to respond to people in a mental health crisis.

The MHA also has a grant to promote workplace wellness, and will offer an upcoming workshop on relaxation on Oct. 20 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Albion location. It also is working with the Suicide Prevention Coalition for a workshop on Nov. 21.

“We still have a long way to go with stigma for people with mental health disorders,” Pudney-Eilers said. “The more we work together, the more we can get things done.”

She said Orleans County has a big geographic area and there are a lot of people with unmet mental health needs. The MHA wants to bolster services for residents with more community-based services “as time goes on,” she said.

The MHA differs from the county mental health departments that provide therapy through counselors and services with caseworkers. The MHA is community-based with a focus to help people live more independently, Gagne said.

“With the drop-in centers people can come in and get peer support,” she said. “We complement their therapy.”

The MHA also provides a 24-7 “warm line” 813-0072 for people to reach out for support in non-emergency situations.

For more information on the MHA, contact the Albion office at (585) 589-1158 or in Batavia at (585) 344-2611.

Press Release, Sheriff Scott Hess

ALBION – The Orleans County Sheriff’s Office will once again sponsor a household pharmaceuticals collection event next weekend.

Sheriff Scott Hess and Jail Superintendent Scott Wilson are pleased to announce that the Sheriff’s Office will again participate in this semi-annual undertaking, which will take place on Sept. 26 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

This is a collaborative effort with the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, the Orleans County Health Department, and the Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism & Substance Abuse.

This is a great opportunity for the public to surrender unwanted and/or expired medications and drug paraphernalia for safe and proper disposal. Events such as these have dramatically reduced the risk of prescription drug diversion and abuse, as well as increasing awareness of this critical public health issue. Similar collection events held in the past have been touted by all involved as having been highly successful.

There are three collection locations:

Orleans County Public Safety Building, 13925 State Route 31, Albion;
Holley Fire Department, 7 Thomas St., Holley;
Medina Fire Department, 600 Main St., Medina.

Special Thanks to the Holley and Medina Fire Departments for providing space in their facilities for this event.

Photo by Tom Rivers  – Janna Stirk gives her son, Brody, a hug during a stop today at Bullard Park in Albion. Janna has raised the most money, $1,380 as of Monday evening, in a Sept. 20 walk to benefit autism awareness and services for the Rochester/Finger Lakes region.

ALBION – When he was 18 months old, Brody Stirk started getting services to help with his speech. He continues to receive speech and occupational therapy at Rainbow Preschool.

His mother, Janna Stirk, believes those services and an early diagnosis of autism have helped Brody be highly functioning.

“When he was first diagnosed, it was overwhelming,” Stirk said about her son. “But now we celebrate it.”

Brody is 3 1/2 and is in Rainbow Preschool. His mother said the program provides many services to help Brody with his verbal skills and to understand and use his sensory skills.

Janna and her husband Morgan Stirk used many services and information from Autism Speaks, a leading autism science and advovacy organization. When Mrs. Stirk saw the Rochester/Finger Lakes region was having a beneft walk on Sept. 20 for Autism Speaks, she and many of Brody’s family and friends signed up for the walk at Monroe Community College’s Brighton Campus.

Stirk also had been good at asking for donations for the cause. In fact, the $1,380 she has raised by herself is the most of anyone in the Rochester/Finger Lakes. Click here to visit the Autism Speaks website.

Stirk is also part of “Team Brody,” which is up to $1,745 in donations. The team has a $2,000 fund-raising goal.

Stirk has used Facebook and other social media to rally support for the cause.

She would like to try another walk in the spring, but this time would like the proceeds to stay in Orleans County and help Rainbow Preschool.

“The services for Brody have made a big difference,” she said. “He’s really come a long way.”

Provided photo

BATAVIA – Two cheerleaders at the Albion-Batavia youth football games on Saturday were the focus of an effort to raise awareness for childhood cancer.

Emma Harris, left, of Batavia and Madison Muckle, 7, of Albion have been diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia. Madison has endured chemotherapy and is cancer-free.

“She is doing wonderful,” said Madison’s mother, Jaime Allport. “We’ve been very lucky. There hasn’t been any side effects.”

Emma was recently diagnosed with ALL.

More than 60 coaches and parents from both communities wore gold-colored shirts to highlight childhood cancer during youth football games on Saturday. The effort was part of a national push where September is “Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.”

Photo by Tom Rivers

Geno Allport, coach for the Albion JV team in the youth football program, wears one of the gold shirts while addressing the team after a 34-0 victory over Batavia. He is the uncle of Madison Muckle, who battled cancer for 2 1/2 years and is now free of the disease.

Madison was diagnosed when she was 3. She is now entering second grade and participates in dance, baseball, cheerleading and Girl Scouts. Her family and friends have put on the “Madisonation Golf Tournament” the past five years. Visit madisonation.org for more on the golf tournament.

The benefit on Aug. 23 at Hickory Ridge Gold Course raised $6,110, with some of the proceeds given to Emma Harris’s family to help them while they fight the disease.

Madison’s mother said few research dollars or public awareness is directed to childhood cancer, even though there are about 13,500 children diagnosed with cancer in the United States annually.

Michael Hodgins is grateful for chance to raise family

Photos by Tom Rivers – Michael Hodgins, 53, had a heart transplant when he was 28. He is pictured at the Shelby waterfalls near his home on Thursday. He is wearing the “Cardiac Rehabilitation” T-shirt from Medina Memorial Hospital, a shirt he has had for a quarter century.

SHELBY – Michael Hodgins was 28, married with three young children when he got a new heart.

The Shelby resident was waiting for a transplant for 15 months when he was rushed to Buffalo General on Sept. 13, 1990. The transplant has been a tremendous success, giving Hodgins newfound energy and a longer lease on life.

“I’m very grateful to God for bringing me through it,” Hodgins said at his home in Shelby on Thursday. “I just thank God for life and being able to see my kids grow up and spend time with my grandkids.”

Hodgins and his wife Kathy have three grown children: Alisha Duffina, 32; Greg, 31; and Ryan, 28. The three grown children all live in the Medina area and all have their own children – six grandkids in all for Michael and Kathy.

Hodgins had a failing heart at age 27. He was born a preemie, just over 2 pounds and had a a hole in his heart. He had heart surgery at age 9, and seemed to be doing OK until he was 27.

His enlarged heart struggled to pump blood. He was sluggish and short of breath.

Doctors made him a candidate for a heart transplant. Three times he hurried to the hospital for the surgery, only to have it called off, until Sept. 13, 1990.

Hodgins said he remembers feeling so much better after the surgery, with newfound energy.

“Once it was done, it was like night and day,” he said. “It was like being a new person.”

Michael and Kathy Hodgins hold a heart-shaped pillow given to them 25 years ago after Michael had a heart transplant.

Hodgins started working in bakeries when he was a teen-ager. After a brief recovery after the transplant, he felt well enough to return to work, including the physically demanding tasks of lugging heavy bags of ingredients.

Hodgins hasn’t slowed down on the job. After more than 20 years with the Jubilee in Medina, he needed to get a new job when the store closed in 2006. Hodgins joined Medina Memorial Hospital nine years ago and supervises the dietary department at the hospital.

“God’s given me the hands to work and the life to work,” he said. “So I’m going to keep working.”

He frequently takes walks, and used to play a lot of racquetball before he had a hip replaced in 2004. He also battled Non-Hodgin Lymphoma in 2007.

His wife of 33 years marvels at her husband’s strength through the physical challenges.

“Our faith has helped get us through,” said Mrs. Hodgins, who works as director of treatment services for GCASA in Albion.

Now that their children are grown, the couple has been taking more time together. They have visited Aruba and the Dominican Republic.

“We’re taking vacations and enjoying life,” Mrs. Hodgins said.

The couple attends the Oak Orchard Assembly of God at 12111 Ridge Rd., Medina. This Sunday, on the 25th anniversary of the transplant, the Hodgins family and their church will celebrate during the 10:30 a.m. service at Oak Orchard.

The Rev. Dan Thurber, the church pastor, will preach about the successful transplant. Hodgins also will sing during the service with some of his friends.

“It’s going to be a huge celebration of life,” Mrs. Hodgins said.

MEDINA – Medina Memorial Hospital officials say they have reduced MRSA and C. Diff infections by 71.4 percent this year compared to data in 2013-14, when Consumer Reports says Medina Memorial had the highest rate of infections for Western New York hospitals.

Officials at Orleans Community Health, the parent organization of Medina Memorial, say they believe in the transparency of reporting of quality measures.

“However, we are concerned with the Consumer Reports methodology, which according to their technical specifications states that ‘although extremely serious, these infections are relatively infrequent, which makes the infection rates volatile, as the occurrence of one or two infections can have a large impact on reported rates …'” according to a statement from the hospital today.

Medina Memorial staff have made changes to cleaning processes, skin preparation prior to certain procedures and education for staff ordering and obtaining blood cultures to accurately reflect a community acquired or a hospital acquired infection, hospital officials said in a statement.

“We will continue to implement best practice measures in our hospital to continue to provide quality care close to home,” Medina Memorial officials said.

Provided photo – The family of the late David Millis gathers for a photo at the 9th annual David R. Millis Memorial Golf Tournament.

The family of David Millis hosted their 9th annual David R. Millis Memorial Golf Tournament on June 7 at the Batavia Country Club. This year the tournament raised $12,600, bringing the nine-year grand total to over $112,000.

The money was again donated to the Knights-Kaderli Memorial Fund, which is a non-profit charitable organization dedicated to assisting local families with their fight against cancer. The money is used to assist with prescriptions, medical insurance, nutritional supplements, hospital beds and many other needs.

This year the tournament had 129 golfers and an additional 44 dinner guests. Justin Klein, Jim Klein, Matt Wood and Greg Piske won this year’s tournament.

Golfers and dinner guests had a chance to find purple golf balls hidden throughout the golf course and banquet hall to help raise pancreatic cancer awareness, which took the life of Dave Millis. Anyone who found a golf ball throughout the day won a prize.

Millis was an active community member and the long-time superintendent of Albion’s sewer plant.

For more information, pictures and updates on the tournament, click here.

ROCHESTER – U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, while visiting the Foodlink Headquarters in Rochester earlier this month, said she will push to protect healthier food standards and programs for schools as Congress prepares to debate child nutrition standards.

Gillibrand also announced bipartisan legislation to provide more children with nutritious meals throughout the summer.

Gillibrand’s proposed legislation would give more children access to healthy summer meals by expanding the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Summer Food Service Program. The legislation would help improve nutrition and enhance learning in underserved areas by better integrating summer education and meals programs, making it easier for public-private partner organizations to participate in the summer meals program, and by providing the option of a third meal for children who attend evening enrichment programs.

“For many children the only meals they eat are provided at school, and that means some children go hungry over summer break,” said Gillibrand, first New York Senator to serve on the Senate Agriculture Committee in nearly 40 years.

Congress has been debating child nutrition standards and school meals as the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA) is set to expire in September that were a landmark achievement for improving what cafeterias serve children. Under the law, in order for school meals to be eligible for federal reimbursement, one of the main requirements is that they must contain at least ½ cup serving of fresh fruit and vegetables.

The authorization for USDA’s core child nutrition programs: the National School Lunch Program, the School Breakfast Program, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), the Summer Food Service Program, and the Child and Adult Care Food Program is also set to expire in September and must be renewed this year, Gillibrand said.

She is also pushing to expand purchases from local food producers, particularly fresh fruit and vegetable growers and suppliers, to provide nutritious school meals and also raise students’ awareness of local agriculture.

“As we debate child nutrition standards, we need to make serving healthy food at our schools is a priority,” said Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. “Fresh fruits’ and vegetables’ place on the lunch tray should not be replaced with French fries and onion rings.”

Across the country, 31 million students participate in the national school lunch program, and 22 million students receive free or reduced school lunch – meaning their families lives at or near the poverty line – but only one in seven of these high need children have access to summer meals. In New York, there are more than 1.7 million children who receive free or reduced school lunch, but only 27 percent have access to summer meals, Gillibrand said.

The Summer Meals Act would help more children access healthy food by lowering the threshold to allow areas with 40 percent or more of students receiving free or reduced lunch to be eligible for the program, rather than the current threshold of 50 percent. Senator Gillibrand’s legislation would expand eligibility to 3.2 million children.

This legislation would also reduce the paperwork burden for meal program sponsors who want to participate in the program, provide children with transportation to the summer meals sites, and would also offer the option of an additional meal to children who attend evening programs.

The USDA Summer Food Service Program provides low-income children under age 18, who would normally receive free or reduced school lunch, with quality, nutritious food during the summer. Several programs run in tandem with educational enrichment programs to keep children engaged and safe during the summer months.

Currently, there are more than 50 national organizations that have endorsed the Summer Meals Act legislation.

The most recent Child Nutrition Reauthorization (CNR) process concluded when the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA) was signed into law on Dec. 13, 2010. Gillibrand said the HHFKA made substantial improvements to Child Nutrition by:

Increasing reimbursement rates paid for school meals by $0.06.

Updating school nutrition standards and standards for all food sold in competition with school lunches such as food sold in vending machines.

Encouraging farm-to-school initiatives and other obesity reducing programs;

Introducing new physical activity standards;

Expanding support for food service programs to include summer programs, afterschool, and outside of school programs;

Establishing new guidelines for school food safety

The HHFKA and its child nutrition standards are set to expire on Sept. 30, 2015. As Congress begins to debate renewing these programs Gillibrand said she will be advocating for the following priorities:

Give more children healthy summer meals by expanding access to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Summer Food Service Program.

Reduce red tape and make it easier for existing after school meal providers to sponsor Summer Meal programs.

Strengthen the ties between farmers, producers, and meal service providers by bolstering Farm-to-School programs.

Preserve existing nutrition standards including the requirement of fresh fruits and vegetables every day.

Help school nutrition professionals meet their professional standard requirements, support peer mentorship programs, and provide grants for improved kitchen equipment that enable the preparation of healthy, appetizing meals that children will truly enjoy.

Improve student participation rates in the School Breakfast Program.