Martin's Point Holding Workshop for Kids Home Alone

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

The single-session workshop, designed for children ages 9 to 11, will be held from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 13, at the Martin's Point facility in Brunswick, located on Farley Road near Cook's Corner. The program costs $10. For additional information, call the Martin's Point Health Education Center at 828-2497 or 1-800-260-6681.

The workshop 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. Parents, too, will receive information and tips about how to reduce safety hazards.

Instructor Katherine Riddle will lead the discussion, using videos and providing take-home materials to participants. "All children who are home alone should be given the tools they need to remain safe and stay out of trouble," Riddle said. "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."

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. Riddle also will give tips to children about how to deal with people who come to the door or call on the phone.

The Martin's Point Health Education Center offers a variety of resource materials such as publications and videos, as well as classes that focus on a host of topics, ranging from weight management and smoking cessation to disease management.

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, N.H. Martin's Point has a staff of more than 300 health care professionals and serves 54,000 patients - including military retirees and dependents of active military personnel - under all major health plans.

Martin's Point serves patients in the areas of family practice, internal medicine, pediatrics, surgery, radiology, cardiology, and mammography, as well as other fields. For additional information, visit online at www.martinspoint.org.

# # #

REPORTER/EDITOR: To view this and other news about Martin's
Point, go to Wolfe News Wire at www.wolfenews.com. Thank you.