Event

        Get help: Thursday is National Depression Screening Day.

        To find a screening site in Kentucky, call the Mental Health Association of Northern Kentucky, (859) 292-2486. In Ohio, call 721-2910. All screenings are confidential. Or go to www.nmisp.org/depression.htm.

Just in

        Good news: More Americans are being hospitalized for stroke, but fewer are dying from it, according to a report in the October edition of Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

        Researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx based their findings on data from the National Hospital Discharge Survey, conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics.

        Their findings:

        • From 1988 to 1997, the number of hospitalizations for stroke increased by 38.6 percent, and the age-adjusted rate for strokes — the number per 100,000 population — increased by 18.6 percent. Changes in admissions practices could account for the increase.

        • Fewer people died from stroke: The age-adjusted stroke rate decreased from 29.9 deaths per 100,000 to 25.9 from 1988 to 1997, and the in-hospital death rate for stroke decreased from 12.7 percent to 7.6 percent.

        • Hospital stays decreased in that time period from 11.1 days to 6.2 days. Changes in Medicare could be part of the reason, as could be more directed care.

        • More stroke patients also had other illnesses, including high blood pressure, diabetes and congestive heart failure.

Shelf help

        New edition: For seniors and their caregivers, there's a spankin' new edition of the Medication Guidebook for Healthy Aging (Merck-Medco; $23.95) that features updated and revised information on safe medication use.

Tips

        For parents: Experts at the National Association of Inpatient Physicians say parents can help prepare their children for hospital stays by taking a few simple steps:

        • Explain early on what a hospital is. That way, the child will have an idea of where he's going if there's an emergency.

        • Keep your children's medical records — growth, past injuries and illnesses, allergies and immunizations — up-to-date. In an emergency, good records save valuable time and lives.

        • For non-emergency hospitalizations, explain why your child is going to the hospital, what will happen and how long she'll be there.

        • Be honest about procedures: Blood tests, shots and other procedures will a hurt a little bit for a little while.

        • If there's time, take your child to the hospital a few days before admission so he has an idea what to expect.

        • Stay with your child as much as possible, especially during the first 24 hours. Try to have siblings visit, and bring a favorite toy, doll, blanket or book to the room. Take advantage of child life specialist services if they're available.

        • Stay calm. If you're scared, your son or daughter will be, too.

        • Reassure your child that she's there to get well, not because she did something bad.

        • Once the child is home, talk to him about his feelings. And don't be surprised if he regresses a little. Recently potty-trained children may start having “accidents” again.

        Contact Peggy O'Farrell by phone: 768-8510; fax, 768-8330; e-mail, pofarrell@enquirer.com.

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