Health Night informative, well attended as always

Women's Health Night celebrated it's 15th annual event dedicated to female health issues last week Wednesday in the social hall of Heritage Church. Clinic manager Barb Schlimmer introduced the evening's emcee, Jolene Erickson of the Lincoln County Health Department in Davenport. Erickson kept the proceedings on schedule, pausing now and then to give away donated door prizes. Also available that evening were brief massages provided by the Odessa hospital's physical therapy department, blood pressure screenings by hospital nursing staff and displays of hearing aids by Laura Strasser of Columbia Hearing Centers.

Hospital administrator Mo Sheldon welcomed the visitors prior to turning the microphone over to Odessa's current medical providers, Rhonda Freeman and Rich Ervin. Both are nurse practitioners. Ervin and his wife have purchased a home in Odessa and have been settling in. Freeman has agreed to remain at OMHC at least until spring of next year.

Both providers spoke to the guests about health-related issues in general, Ervin in particular addressing the need for patients to accept greater responsibility for maintaining overall health.

As the evening progressed and more and more door prizes were given away, the more apparent it became that Dr. Linda Powell had not forgotten about her Odessa base following her recent move with husband Steven Powell to Salmon, Idaho. Item after item had been donated by Powell, many of them handcrafted.