Clinton News Record, 2015-04-01, Page 7Wednesday, April 1, 2015 • News Record 7
Londesborough woman says thank A successful year for
you to Ronald McDonald House health unit program
Tara Ostner
The Clinton News Record
On March 20 Stacey Mid-
dleton -Lyons and her family
traveled to the Ronald
McDonald House in London
to deliver numerous items to
the special care centre.
Last year Middleton -
Lyons, a Londesborough res-
ident, spent one month at
the Ronald McDonald
House after prematurely giv-
ing birth to her youngest
son, Connor.
As a way to say thank you
to the centre, Middleton -
Lyons decided that, in hon-
our of Connor's first birthday
which was on February 10 of
this year, she would collect
various items and give them
to the centre as a donation.
In the span of a couple of
months Middleton -Lyons
was able to collect numer-
ous useful items including
gift cards, toys, snacks, bak-
ing supplies, personal care
products, household clean-
ers as well as over $1,800 in
cash. The Londesborough
Lions Club and Auburn
Lions Club were also happy
to make donations.
"I don't know what I
would have done if the
House wasn't there for me,"
Middleton -Lyons
describes. Collecting all of
these things just seemed
like "a good way to give
back."
Contributed photo
Pictured here (from left to right) are Connor, Stacey, Mike and Kaleb at the
Ronald McDonald House in London as they proudly display all of the items that
they were able to collect for the special care centre.
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Steph Smith
QMI Agency
The Huron County Health
Unit nicotine replacement ther-
apy (NRT) support program
Smoking Treatment for Ontario
Patients (STOP) is celebrating
its first successful year.
What makes STOP different
from other programs such as
Driven to Quit and wouldu-
rather, is that it's a monthly
opportunity for participants to
learn about NRT and how to
cope with cravings, as well as
how to build a quit plan;
whereas the other are annual
contests to quit, attempt to quit,
cut back or stay smoke-free.
"Our current model for STOP
is nicotine replacement therapy
that is assisted by the Centre for
Addiction and Mental Health
(CAMH)" said Julie Verch, pub-
lic health nurse for the Huron
County Health Unit. "Partner-
ing with CAMH allows us to
have more flexible workshops,
helping to tailor them to the
needs of people in the commu-
nity. This flexibility also allows
for increased access so that
more people, who otherwise
may not have been able to
make it to the workshops, can
participate.'
We will be closed
Verch said the health unit is
also able to host sessions
monthly through this partner-
ship and rotate them through-
out the county to increase
their reach as well. She said
overall, it's been a successful
first year.
"Being able to have this
kind of flexibility as well as the
support from several commu-
nity partners, many of which
would come out to the work-
shops to talk to participants
about what services they offer
and how they can help sup-
port their quit plans," Verch
said. W W"It's been a great first
year and I'm looking forward
to the next."
According to Verch, the
program saw 73 people partic-
ipate in nine sessions.
Whether or not all of the par-
ticipants were successful has
yet to be determined, as the
data report is currently being
put together by CAMH.
For more information on
STOP and other programs the
health unit offers, visit www.
huronhealthunit. ca/health-
topics/tobacco/quitting/help-
quitting/. For an updated
schedule of STOP workshop
sessions, call Verch at
519-482-3416.
•
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