For Immediate Release
February 24, 2005

Contact:
Mary Lynn Engel
(207) 774-5801
Beryl Wolfe
(207) 883-6083
E-mail: beryl@wolfenews.com
Web Site: http://www.martinspoint.org

Martin’s Point Health Care is once again offering a workshop to help boost the confidence and calm the fears of children who are home alone after school.

The single-session workshops, designed for children ages 9 to 11, will be held from 4 to 5:30 p.m. March 9 at the Martin’s Point on Farley Road near Cook’s Corner in Brunswick and March 16 at the Martin’s Point Health Education Center at 331 Veranda Street in Portland.

The fee for the program is $10. For additional information, or to register, parents may call the Martin’s Point Health Education Center at 828-2497 or 1-800-260-6681.

The workshops will focus on safety issues and first aid techniques as a way to help children feel more confident in case of an emergency. Children will be instructed on what to say if they need to phone 911 or another emergency number for help.

Instructors Leigh Kirchner and Katherine Riddle, Health Educators at Martin’s Point, want to reassure parents about leaving their children home alone. “The decision to leave a child home alone is a difficult one for parents, but if the necessary steps are taken their concerns can be minimized,” Kirchner said. “Children who are home alone should be given the tools they need to remain safe and stay out of trouble.”

A key element of the workshop is the preparation of a “Home Sweet Home” list of telephone numbers to post near the phone. The list includes contact information for parents, adult friends or neighbors, and emergency resources such as police, fire, ambulance and poison control. The child’s home address and phone number also are listed.

First aid techniques and issues covered will include preventing choking, helping in a choking emergency, treating minor wounds and dealing with nosebleeds. Children will also receive tips about how to deal with people who come to the door or call on the phone.

Established in 1981, Martin’s Point is a not-for-profit health care provider with facilities in Portland, Brunswick and Windham, Maine, and in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and serves patients in the areas of family practice, internal medicine, pediatrics, surgery, radiology, cardiology, and mammography, as well as other fields.

The Martin’s Point Health Education Center has a variety of related resource materials that includes publications and videos. The center also offers information and classes that focus on a host of other topics, ranging from weight loss and smoking cessation to disease management. For additional information, visit online at www.martinspoint.org.

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