Outpatient Psychiatric Therapy Program Offered.

Senior Life Solutions at McCune-Brooks Regional Hospital will offer an intensive, comprehensive, multi-disciplinary outpatient treatment program for persons 60 and older. The program will focus on depression and mental health disorders- problems that affect a large segment of the community. In doing so the hospital will be closing the current in-patient unit.

Senior Life Solutions will provide an alternative for patients not requiring 24 hour inpatient hospitalizations. This program offers an option for patients who need more intensive outpatient therapy and will support inpatient area facilities by acting as a bridge or step-down unit to those programs. Senior Life Solutions will also satisfy the need for after care options and possibly shorten psychiatric hospital stays as well.

Bob Copeland, CEO said, "We are very excited to offer Senior Life Solutions as the first outpatient intensive psychiatric facility in our area. We are committed to providing the best service to our patients; this program fits our patient-centered care philosophy and will strengthen our commitment to the psychiatric needs of our community and the surrounding area."

Saw onea those shows ‘bout animals the other evenin’. I don’t ‘member what they were, but these two little critters were facin’ opposite directions diggin’ their respective holes in the ground. Both of ‘em goin’ a mile a minute. The fact that they were throwin’ all the dirt outa their hole into the hole bein’ scraped out by the other didn’t seem ta bother ‘em any. They just kept their nose down and kept movin’ the dirt back and forth between ‘em.

I suppose as obviously futile a situation those two critters were in, it’s sometimes a good idea to stick your head up and take a look around. Could be that by shiftin’ just a little, the work might get done a little better, or at least not hinder those makin’ progress.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

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THIS IS A HAMMER

By Samantha Mazzotta

Carpet-Cleaning Tips

Q: I saw a reader’s tip last year where they took their area rugs out and laid them on the snow to clean them. My question is, can I do the same for installed carpet? -- Fred G., Rockingham, Vt.

A: While the snow-cleaning method may or may not work for your installed (wall-to-wall) carpet -- I haven’t tried the original tip myself, by the way -- just getting the carpet up and outside would be incredibly difficult and time-consuming. So I do not recommend trying this.

Instead, vacuum your carpet very thoroughly and then rent a steam cleaner from the home-improvement store (some larger supermarkets also rent them) and steam clean the carpet.

If the carpet is so down-deep dirty that it merely laughs at the efforts of a steam cleaner, consider installing new carpet. Very dirty carpet or carpet that’s been exposed to flooding or large liquid spills that weren’t dried properly has a shorter life span and can harbor molds and bacteria that a steam cleaner may not get to. This creates an unhealthy living environment.

Now, you might say at this point, "Replacing the carpet will be incredibly difficult and time-consuming, too. What’s the difference?" Well, ask yourself, is the amount of time and effort spent pulling up the carpet, hauling it outside in the snow and then reinstalling it a better investment -- personally and financially -- than if what you haul back inside is a new carpet (which will increase the value of your home)?

Taking up a really old or dirty carpet allows you to inspect the subfloor for damage, make repairs and clean out accumulated dirt that filtered down through the carpet. You’ll put fresh padding under the new carpet, so it may feel like a completely different floor when you’re done.