Bee Healthy
Buffalo Hearing and Speech to honor couple

Buffalo Hearing and Speech will honor Gordon and Gretchen Gross at its second Black Tie Celebration, slated to take place on Saturday May 3.

For more than 35 years, Gretchen Gross has demonstrated a devotion to providing education and a caring atmosphere at her Early Childhood Center, located in Audubon College Park.

Gordon Gross, a patient the Buffalo Hearing and Speech Center, suffered from a hearing loss for several years, and frustrated with his hearing aids not working well, he decided to become involved in a Food and Drug Administration study conducted at the University of Iowa Hospital.

There he received his cochlear implant and was able to benefit from the latest state-of-the-art equipment to adjust his hearing aids.

Seeing the possibilities of having such equipment, Gordon immediately called Joseph J. Cozzo, president and chief executive officer of Buffalo Hearing and Speech Center, and said, "Joe, we need to get you this new, state-of-the-art audiology computer equipment.

"I love your staff but we need to get them the tools they need," he told Cozzo. "Now we will soon be able to improve the digital hearing aids of hundreds of additional people in Western New York with the latest state-of- the-art audiology computer equipment."

For more information on the Black Tie Celebration, call 885-8318.

Univera Healthcare

encourages women

to receive Pap screening

Univera Healthcare would like to remind women of the importance of regular Pap screening - even if they've received the human pampiloma virus vaccine.

"The HPV vaccine is a valuable cancer prevention tool, but it doesn't guard against all potential cervical cancer cases," said Dr. Robert J. Hozlauer, vice president and chief medical officer for Univera Health Care.

"Regardless of whether you've had the vaccine, all women should get their regular screenings," he said. "Especially a Pap test."

A Pap test is the screening for abnormalities such as cancer, and the large drop in the number of U.S. cervical cancer deaths over the last several decades is largely attributed to an increased use of the Pap test.

Many women who get cervical cancer have not had a Pap test in the past five years or never had the test at all, according to the American Cancer Society. About 4,000 people annually die from cervical cancer.

Univera Healthcare recommends the following Pap test guidelines for women:

•Start getting a Pap test within three years of becoming sexually active, or once reaching the age of 21, whichever comes first.

•Get a Pap test at least every three years.

•Check with a doctor after the age of 65, or if they have had a hysterectomy.

"Like many health problems cervical cancer is often curable when it's found and treated early," Holzhauer said. "For cervical health, women must remember their regular screening, get the HPV vaccine if they're eligible and avoid risk factors such as smoking and unprotected sexual contact."

For more information, access the American Cancer Society Web site at www.cancer.org. Youth mental health group

awarded $100,000 grant

A $100,000 grant from the John R. Oishei Foundation has been awarded to Helping Every Adolescent Rally Together (H.E.A.R.T.) for Mental Health.

The organization is a collaboration of Crisis Services, Healthy Community Alliance, the Mental Health Association of Erie County, Inc. and Music is Art.

The school-based mental health program served 16 middle and high schools in Western New York.

The goal is to inform and educate teens about mental health and mental illness, in order to decrease self-destructive behaviors and increase mutual tolerance and respect for one another, parents, and teachers, as well as, to reduce the stigma that creates barriers for persons with mental illness.

For questions and scheduling, contact Jessica Zwieg at the Mental Health Association at 886-1242 Ext. 340 or zwieg@eriemha.org.