Brattleboro OB/GYN moves to new office
BRATTLEBORO - The Brattleboro OB/GYN medical practice has relocated to the first floor of the Gannett Building, located at the west end of the Brattleboro Memorial Hospital campus. The practice opened at the new location on Jan. 17.
The practice, which includes Four Seasons Midwifery, moved because it outgrew the offices on 28 Belmont Ave., according to Vice President of Physician and Business Development Prudence MacKinney.
Brattleboro OB/GYN consists of physicians Dr. James Bunker and Judith McBean. Four Seasons Midwifery is comprised of Lois Trezise, CNM, Raine Kane, CNM, and Meghan Arthur, CNM.
Since 1999, the practice has offered obstetrics and well woman's care in Windham County, as well as state-of-the-art gynecologic services, including management of abnormal paps, PCOS, menopausal management, pelvic pain, endometriosis, pelvic prolapse, infertility, ultrasounds, total laparoscopic hysterectomy, incontinence surgery, and endometrial ablation. Appointments can be made by calling 802-251-9965.
Two new doctors join Grace Cottage Family Health
TOWNSHEND - Dr. Katya Petrova and Dr. Lynn Madsen have recently joined the medical staff at Grace Cottage Family Health.
Dr. Petrova is now seeing pediatric patients on Wednesdays and Fridays, adding to the pediatric services already provided at Grace Cottage by Dr. Elizabeth Linder. In addition, Dr. Petrova will continue seeing patients at Just So Pediatrics in Brattleboro.
She received her master's degree in biomedical sciences at Albany Medical College, Center for Immunology and Microbial Diseases, after having completed her first medical degree at Russian State Medical University in Moscow. She finished her residency at State University of New York Downstate. She has served as an English language interpreter for medical missions to the Ukraine and Russia.
Her interests include sewing, reading, volleyball, and ice skating. She will see patients up to age 21. Her professional interests include obesity, digestive diseases, and autism.
Dr. Madsen is a native of northern California, and graduated from the University of California-Davis with a degree in biology. After obtaining her Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Minnesota, she practiced as a psychologist in Minnesota for 19 years.
In 2003, Dr. Madsen graduated from the University of Vermont College of Medicine and completed her residency at Providence Milwaukee Hospital in Portland, Ore., where she practiced until joining Grace Cottage. She lives in Dummerston. She is board certified in Family Practice and sees patients of all ages.
For more information or for an appointment, call 802-365-4331.
Brattleboro Retreat awarded theater-based education grant
BRATTLEBORO - The TD Charitable Foundation has awarded a grant for academic programming to the Brattleboro Retreat. The $13,500 grant will underwrite the Inspired to Shine program, a theater-based academic program for children and youth enrolled in the Meadows Educational Center, a K-12 Vermont approved school located on the Brattleboro Retreat campus.
Piloted in the summer of 2011, Inspired to Shine ties a theater-based project in with core classroom subjects to help participating students improve educational outcomes, develop self-esteem, and build interpersonal skills. Students from the Retreat's alternative therapeutic day school program, the Brattleboro Retreat Individually Developed & Guided Education Services (BRIDGES), as well as Meadows School residential patients participate together in the program.
In the pilot session, students read several different Shakespeare works and - under the direction of a theater teacher - created a dramatic performance using a “newscast” format to highlight various Shakespeare plots. The themes were embedded into all of the students' core subjects: students read Shakespeare scripts for English, studied the time period for history, used ancient architecture for math, and created set designs for art.
“The successful pilot session of Inspired to Shine was a rewarding and memorable experience for our students, our school staff, and the Retreat employees who served as our audience,” said BRIDGES Coordinator Jessica Shepley. “We have found that success in reaching our students, many of whom have struggled in school - and helping them absorb academic material - lies in moving away from the traditional classroom setting and engaging them in hands-on, activity-based programming.”
Dickey receives board certification in family medicine
BRATTLEBORO - Kari Dickey, D.O. of Putney Family Healthcare has obtained certification in family medicine from the American Board of Family Medicine.
Board certification demonstrates a physician's exceptional expertise in a particular specialty of medical practice. Physicians voluntarily undergo rigorous testing and peer evaluation designed to demonstrate her or his level of knowledge of the latest advances in medical science and technology within the specialty as well as best practices for patient safety and providing quality health care.
Dr. Dickey joined Putney Family Healthcare in 2011. She received her medical degree from University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed her residency at NH Dartmouth Family Practice.
Putney Family Healthcare is a member of the BMH Physician Group, which provides member practices access to Brattleboro Memorial Hospital's appointment scheduling, registration, and coordinated billing services.
In addition to Dr. Dickey, the practice consists of Richard Fletcher, FNP and Maggie Lake, FNP. It serves Putney, Dummerston, Westminster, Townshend, Grafton, and surrounding towns. To schedule an appointment, call 802-387-5581.
Therapeutic hypnosis practice opens in South Newfane
SOUTH NEWFANE - Susan E. Rosano, a nationally certified hypnotist, has opened a new therapeutic hypnosis practice, Healthy Change Hypnosis, at 73 Adams Hill Rd.
She describes hypnosis as “an excellent therapy for losing weight, gaining self-confidence, elevating sports performance, relieving anxieties and eliminating fears.” It is a method of attaining deep relaxation to bring positive suggestions to the subconscious mind.
Rosano holds a master's degree from Wesleyan University, is a certified pastoral counselor, Reiki master, and registered Expressive Arts therapist. For more information on the therapeutic use of hypnosis, contact Rosano at healthychangehypnosis@aol.com, visit www.HealthyChangeHypnosis.com, or call 802-365-9970.
Non-invasive depression treatment offered in Brattleboro
BRATTLEBORO - PineWood TMS Magnetic Stimulation has opened its practice for the treatment of depression using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), a method that delivers highly focused MRI-strength magnetic pulses to stimulate nerve cells in an area of the brain that is linked to depression.
Owner and manager Julie Plummer, RN, says the treatment offers patients who suffer from depression a convenient, localized, non-systemic (does not circulate in the bloodstream throughout the body), and non-invasive (does not involve surgery) treatment. Moreover, side effects associated with TMS therapy are minimal. TMS treatments can be prescribed only by a specially trained psychiatrist.
She cites studies that have demonstrated TMS to work in treating patients with treatment-resistant depression, including a 2010 triple-blind study conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In an open-label clinical trial, patients treated with NeuroStar TMS experienced a response rate (substantial improvement in symptoms) of 54 percent, and 33 percent experienced remission (complete resolution of symptoms).
More than 10,000 treatments have been safely performed with no systemic side effects, she says. A typical course of treatment for acute depression is administered for approximately 40 minutes daily over a four-to-six-week period. While receiving TMS treatments, patients remain awake while they are comfortably seated in what resembles a dental chair.
Plummer had primarily cared for patients with acute mental issues for more than a decade. She can be contacted at 802-246-1304 or visit www.PineWoodTMS.com. The practice is located at 167 Main St. #310.
Full moon meditation group meets in Walpole
WALPOLE, N.H. - The River Valley Full Moon Meditation Group invites the community to join them in celebrating the Aquarius full moon on Monday, Feb. 6, from 7-9 p.m., at the Hastings House, Walpole Unitarian Church, at the corner of Main and Union streets.
“Each month, at the time of the full moon, people from all over the world meet to offer service to humanity,” organizers write. “Those who are concerned about the state of the world and humanity as a whole, gather to offer their help by meditating, using a scientific form of creative meditation. This form of meditation helps to step down the spiritual and healing energies, available at this time, for planetary redemption.
“Each full moon occurs during a certain zodiacial sign, that serves as a symbol of what energies are available to humanity. Each sign has a keynote, the keynote for Aquarius being, 'Water of life am I, poured forth for thirsty humanity.' This keynote reminds us that as souls, as group conscious beings, we are here to help heal and serve.”
Meditations are open to the public and operate on the principle of shared responsibility. Visit the River Valley Full Moon Meditation Group Facebook page for news and information on scientific meditation, or call 802-536-5024 for more information.
Workshop deals with the 'winter blues'
TOWNSHEND - If you have a tendency to feel blue during the long, dark days of winter, you might benefit from attending a free educational talk by Grace Cottage Hospital's psychiatrist Dr. Mario Hasaj.
This presentation will be held on Thursday, Feb. 2, from 5 to 6:30 p.m., at the Grace Cottage Hospital Community Wellness Center, 133 Grafton Rd. (Route 35). The talk will be followed by a question-and-answer session. Light refreshments will be served. For more information, call 802-365-3649.
Health clinic goes solar
WESTMINSTER- Staff members at Sojourns Community Health Clinic have noticed over the years that their clientele feel better and are generally happier on sunny days.
Now they have another reason to look forward to those beautiful days: the clinic is now generating its own electricity from the sun since installing a 22.08 Kilowatt solar photovoltaic system in December.
“This system consists of four dual axis solar tracking units, which will produce over 33,000 kilowatt hours of electricity each year,” said Dick Struthers, a project designer with Integrated Solar of Brattleboro. “This will outperform the standard fixed position solar technology by 30 percent or more, because of its ability to accurately track the position of the sun at all times. That translates to less land used, and much better economics.”
Sojourns' Executive Director Cynthia Moore said the project reflected the values of the clinic.
“Our founders realized that healthy communities consist of healthy people who have access to healthy food and natural environments,” she said. “Harvesting the power of the sun to provide electricity in a sustainable manner is a natural and really exciting extension of their vision.”
The clinic is located on 11 acres of fertile Connecticut River farm land along Route 5. The land is organically farmed by Harlow Farms, whose solar installation was the inspiration for the project.
Integrated Solar is a Brattleboro-based state certified renewable energy solutions provider with over 36 years of service to the southern Vermont and New Hampshire region. Employing 14 people, the company specializes in solar electric, solar hot water, and geothermal heating systems design and installation.