Health Care

Cartoon wasin poor taste To the editor: The first article I read this morning was about the beheading of Nick Berg, it was difficult to read and I can't imagine the pain the family is going through. A few pages later I was shocked to see the cartoon of Rumsfeld's head on a platter. I feel it was an inappropriate cartoon to run at this time and I am disappointed in the paper's decision to use it. Darcy Munro Williamsport (Editor's note: Because the Opinion Page is laid out in advance, the cartoon was selected before the Berg story became public.

marlob@herald-mail.com MARTINSBURG, W.VA. - How fitting that Doris Hughes should be on hand Saturday to help dedicate the new 43,000-square-foot "broom closet" now known as the Shenandoah Community Health Center. A registered nurse who saw a need for affordable health care for everyone almost 30 years ago, Hughes founded the Shenandoah Valley Medical System in 1976, carving out space the size of an actual broom closet at the old Berkeley County Health Department office on King Street.

daniels@herald-mail.com MARTINSBURG, W.VA. West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin III praised officials at City Hospital and West Virginia University Hospitals-East on Friday night for seeking to narrow gaps in medical care across the state in advance of the upcoming legislative session in January during which affordable health-care coverage is set to take center stage. "We're going to change the health and well-being of this state," Manchin said. "It's going to be a great service.

charlestown@herald-mail.com CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - A clinic designed to offer free medical care to people who cannot afford health care officially opened at its new location Thursday. But as Leona Richards was telling visitors, the idea is not entirely new in Jefferson County. During an open house for the Eastern Panhandle Free Clinic, officials there paid tribute to another doctor who used to look out for those in need. Physician Mildred Williams, who practiced in the area from 1949 to 1986, often provided medical care to those who could not afford it, said Richards, a family nurse practitioner who pushed for the free clinic after she saw firsthand how people were struggling to meet high health-care costs.

War Memorial Hospital will offer the American Heart Association's CPR for Health care Providers Course from noon to 4 p.m. Tuesday, May 3, and Tuesday, May 24, at the hospital, 109 War Memorial Drive, Berkeley Springs. This one-day course is designed for licensed health care providers who need to obtain or renew their CPR certification. The course costs $50. Class size is limited so advance registration is required. For more information or to register for either class, call Deb Unger at 304-258-6525 or Paul Cooper at 304-258-6577.

A class of Towson University nursing students at the University System of Maryland at Hagerstown is participating in a walk equal to the distance across the Democratic Republic of Congo. The community health fundraiser, promoted by the world relief advocate group Adventist Development and Relief Agency aims to help provide health care to children of this region. The DRC has been labeled “Africa's world war” because millions of lives have been lost due to disease and malnutrition.