Bee Healthy

DiPasquale-Cove

Veterans benefits

guide available

The United Spinal Association announces the availability of an online veterans self-help guide.

The guide is designed to help veterans of all eras, including those recently discharged from the service, determine if injuries or disabilities suffered are directly related to their service or if it was a pre-existing condition that was aggravated while serving.

The guide also provides information about VA pensions for veterans whose disabilities are not related to military service and circumstances under which such pensions might be available.

To succeed in a claim for VA disability compensation for a disability or condition, there must be a medical diagnosis of a current disability. It can be either medical or nonmedical.

For more information, visit www.unitedspinal.org or call 1-800-404-2898.
DiPasquale-Cove
speaks to group
Lisa DiPasquale-Cove spoke to the Women Interested in Cystic Health organization about Alzheimer's disease at a luncheon held Wednesday, March 12 at the Sonoma Grille, 5010 Main St., Amherst.

A Williamsville native, Di- Pasquale-Cove is a masters-prepared nurse practitioner who has worked in Cleveland as well as Rochester, where she currently lives with her husband, Dr. Christopher Cove, and their three sons.

She recently returned from a three-day training program in Aventura, Fla., where she was able to bring back the most recent information for her presentation.

She is currently on the board of directors of Lifespan, a Rochester-based organization that provides information, guidance and services to help older adults take on both the challenges and opportunities of being older.

For more information on Women Interested in Cystic Health, contact Nancy DiPasquale at 634-5455.

Medical students

educate youth on

dangers of smoking

Univera Healthcare's youth smoking prevention program, 2Smart 2Start, has teamed up with the University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences students to educate local school children on the hazards of smoking.

The medical students have been volunteering their time to present the national Tar Wars curriculum to area students.

Tar Wars, which was developed by the American Academy of Family Physicians, is an award-winning educational program designed to increase students' awareness of attitudes about tobacco use and the effects of tobacco on the body.

The Tar Wars program focuses on the promotion strategies of the tobacco industry and teaches students how to examine these strategies and how these messages influence consumers.

Univera's 2Smart 2Start program has been presenting the Tar Wars curriculum to grades four through seven students for the last nine years. Those Tar Wars presentations have reached nearly 36,000 students.

The 2Smart 2Start program has additional components suited for students in grades three through 12 - including interactive theater performances and peer counseling - and has more than 125,000 students participating in 330 Western New York schools.

The driving force behind the program is the 2Smart 2Start smoke-free pledge card, which the students can sign as their promise to live a smoke-free life.

For making this healthy decision, the pledge card is also a discount card, which rewards students with discounts at participating merchants such as Pizza Hut.

Students can also go to the 2Smart 2Start Web site and download coupons for other local businesses, such as the Buffalo Zoo, Laux Sporting Goods and the Book Outlet.

For more information on the program, call 843-7878 or visit the Web site www. 2smart2start. org.