By Barbara Scott
Staff Writer
The Siruno Stroke Education Center will present the third annual Stroke Prevention Conference for health care professionals on Friday, June 1 at the Caribou Inn and Convention Center.
The conference will begin with a Heart Healthy Lunch at noon which will include an update on the Healthy Hearts, Healthy Community Program. Following the luncheon, Dr. George Howard, professor and chair of biostatistics at the University of Alabama, Birmingham and Dr. Aleksandra Pikula, assistant professor of neurology at the Boston University School of Medicine will address “Stroke Risk Factors and Prevention.”
Bill Flagg, director of community relations and development at Cary Medical Center and coordinator of the event said that the conference will be a very special opportunity for area health care professionals.
“This is a rare opportunity for health care professionals in Aroostook County and western New Brunswick to hear from some outstanding professionals, specializing in stroke and stroke prevention. Thanks to the Siruno Stroke Center we have the ability to bring some of the top medical researchers and specialists to Caribou on an annual basis.”
“With the high cost of travel and limited time available, area health care professionals should really take advantage of this local offering,” he added.
Flagg also pointed out that all health care professionals and medical students are invited to attend.
“We would like to see physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, registered nurses, dietitians, nursing students, all area health care professionals turn out for this program. It is a major undertaking and we work very hard to get outstanding speakers. We are very grateful to the Siruno family for helping to make the event possible,” Flagg said.
The Siruno Stroke Education Center was established by the family of the late Dr. Cesar Siruno, longtime general surgeon at Cary Medical Center. Dr. Siruno died from complications from a major stroke which he suffered while reading X-rays at the hospital. His family donated more than $100,000 to establish the Stroke Program. Each year the program sponsors a Stroke Medicine Conference for health care professionals and a program for the general public.
In addition to the two keynote speakers, a special luncheon presentation will be provided by Dr. Julie Maxson, of the Aroostook Mental Health Center and Hope Walton, R.N. at Cary Medical Center. Maxson and Walton have served as a clinical team for the Healthy Hearts Healthy Community plant-based diet program. They have recently completed the first round of a clinical program and will present clinical outcomes for patients who participated in the program.
Following the luncheon presentation, Dr. Howard will address stroke prevention and risk factors. Dr. Howard has directed major research projects on the issue of stroke and stroke prevention. He has published more than 300 papers on stroke and has been co-investigator in numerous epidemiological studies and clinical trials including the Community Hospital Based Stroke Program.
Following Dr. Howard, Dr. Pikula will also address stroke risk factors and prevention. Dr. Pikula a native of Yugoslavia, and a board certified neurologist who also holds a degree in public health from the Harvard School of Public Health. She is an investigating physician with the Framingham Heart Study.
At the conclusion of the presentations a panel will be conducted featuring all presenters.
Pre-registration for the June 1 conference is required and there is a $45 registration fee which includes lunch and all conference materials. For more information or to pre-register call Cary Medical Center at 498-1112 or go to carymedicalcenter.org.
