Upcoming expo featuring controversial author
The 16th annual Celebrating Body, Mind, Spirit Expo and Northwest Health and Wellness Bodyfair will be June 3 and 4 at the Spokane Convention Center.
Speakers include Kevin Trudeau, author of “Natural Cures: What They Don’t Want You to Know About,” who in 2004 was banned by the Federal Trade Commission from appearing in or producing infomercials that advertise any product or service. Trudeau also agreed to pay the FTC $2 million to settle charges that he falsely advertised products as cures for serious diseases, including cancer.
“This ban is meant to shut down an infomercial empire that has misled American consumers for years,” Lydia Parnes, acting director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in 2004, after Trudeau settled with the agency.
Also speaking at the expo is JZ Knight, commentator in the movie, “What the Bleep Do We Know.” Knight also channels Ramtha, a 35,000-year-old spirit-warrior who first appeared to Knight in her Tacoma kitchen in 1977.
Other expo topics include palmistry, spiritual sex, “cold laser therapy” and a past-life workshop.
The expo opens at 9:45 a.m. both days. General admission is $6 each day or $10 for both days. More information can be found online at http://www.consciousliving.com/welcome.htm, or by calling (509) 217-1952.
Paramedic given highest award
The American Ambulance Association awarded its Star of Life, the highest honor an emergency medical service worker can receive, to a Spokane paramedic who volunteered last year to help victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Kym Plaisance, an employee of American Medical Response, was one of 114 people nationwide to receive the Star of Life and attend a May 9 awards banquet attended by the surgeon general of the United States in Washington, D.C.
Plaisance also met with Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray and Rep. Cathy McMorris and toured the White House while in the nation’s capital.
“Kym is truly a compassionate individual who treats each of her patients as if they were members of her own family,” said Randy Strozyk, AMR regional vice president.
A New Orleans native, Plaisance spent a month in Louisiana helping Katrina victims last year. She was nominated for the award by her co-workers, who cited her compassion and dedication to providing the best emergency medical service possible.
Program accredited
Washington State University’s doctoral program in clinical psychology has been granted a seven-year accreditation cycle, the highest level of accomplishment, by the American Psychological Association, the university announced.
Among the attributes of the program cited by a panel of the association’s committee on accreditation was the program’s commitment to diversity.
“The program appears to have made systematic, coherent and long-term efforts to recruit and retain diverse students and faculty,” evaluators said in their report.
Many highly qualified prospective students apply only to accredited programs, said Paul Kwon, WSU associate professor and director clinical training. WSU’s program is one of only four accredited Ph.D. programs in clinical psychology in the Pacific Northwest.
“The decision of the board speaks to their high evaluation of our training program’s objectives, resources and outcomes,” Kwon said.
Technology funding
The Washington Health Information Collaborative will give out $1 million in awards to physician clinics and hospitals across the state to promote use of electronic medical record systems.
Generally the awards of up to $20,000 each will be given to qualifying smaller and rural practices and hospitals to improve safety and quality of care by improving secure access to patient medical records, the collaborative said.
The Collaborative, a public-private partnership of First Choice Health, the Washington State Health Care Authority, Qualis Health and the Puget Sound Health Alliance, seeks to improve the quality of patient care through the use of information technology.
Letters of Intent will be accepted from eligible applicants until June 16, after which the provider or hospital may be invited to submit a formal application. The final awards are expected to be announced in September. More information is available at www.WAHealthInfoCollaborative.org.
Epiliepsy and your rights
Donna McKereghan of the Washington state legislative board of ethics will be discuss the rights of people with epilepsy and seizure disorders under the American with Disabilities Act on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Lindaman Center, conference room, 315 W. Mission Ave. For more information, call (509) 325-1128 or e-mail sjohnston@epilepsynw.org.