FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM SEPTEMBER 10, 2020 • THE QUEENS COURIER 11
Far Rockaway hospital hosts back-to-school giveaway
BY QNS STAFF
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
Every year for the past four years,
St. John’s Episcopal Hospital has hosted
a back-to-school event with vendors,
games and music. To prevent the spread
of COVID-19, the Far Rockaway hospital
reimagined the festival to make
sure children were still provided for in
the weeks before the beginning of the
school year.
Th e hospital hosted the Community
Wellness and Back to School celebration
by staggering attendance, providing 500
children with school supplies, hand sanitizers,
face masks and thermometers on
Th ursday, Sept. 3.
“While we’re still faced with these
challenging times, we wanted to push
forward and host this event for the benefi
t of the community, especially the children.
Back to school is always an exciting
time for kids and we wanted to continue
to be a part of that excitement,”
said Renee Hastick-Motes, the vice president
of external aff airs at St. John’s.
“Healthcare is the best back-to-school
supply.”
In addition to distributing essential
back to school items, St. John’s provided
children with health visits on site.
Th e money to purchase the grab-andgo
school items was made possible by
donations from hospital staff , community
members, and companies and organizations
including Th e Wave, CVS,
Target, Cut the Red Tape for Heroes,
BIC Corporation, Ridgewood Savings
Bank and the St. John’s Episcopal Hospital
Auxiliary, the hospital said.
“In everything that we do, we alwayshave
the community’s best interest at
heart,” said Jerry Walsh, the hospital’s
chief executive offi cer. “We were determined
to continue our mission especially
during these trying times. And, by seeing
the smiles on the faces of families
Photo courtesy of SJEH
and children I believe that we were able
to make a positive impact on their lives.”
For their next charitable eff ort, St. John’s is
raising funds to purchase Chromebooks for
local students. Donations in support of their
eff ort can be made at ehs.org/schoolsupply.
��������������������������������������������������������������������������������
��HE PROSTATE—the
small gland sitting just
below the bladder that
supplies an essential ingredient
of semen—may provide
a variety of clues that
something is wrong. Use this
primer about three common
prostate conditions to get to
know the signs that you need
to see your doctor.
������������������������������������
The most common nonskin
cancer, prostate cancer
shows no symptoms in the
early stages. However, in later
stages, prostate cancer can
cause many of the same symptoms
as other prostate-related
conditions, especially BPH.
These symptoms include frequent
and sudden urges to
urinate, difficulty initiating
urination, weak or erratic
urine flow, trouble emptying
the bladder and painful urination.
Treatment for prostate cancer
depends on a variety of factors,
including the stage of the
disease and the patient’s overall
health. For men with early,
low-grade disease, we may simply
need to monitor the cancer
over time. Others may need
surgery to remove the prostate
or other treatments to kill
cancer cells or inhibit their
growth, such as radiation therapy,
chemotherapy, hormone
therapy or immunotherapy.
����������������������������
Prostatitis—inf lammation
of the prostate—occurs
in two main forms, bacterial
and nonbacterial. Prostatitis
can make urination difficult,
painful or more frequent. It
can also cause fever, low-back
pain, discomfort in the penis
and testicles, and blood in the
urine.
Bacterial prostatitis is
treated with antibiotics, but
the length of time depends on
whether the patient has acute
or chronic prostatitis. Someone
with chronic bacterial
prostatitis may need to take
antibiotics for an extended period,
whereas someone with
the acute form may only need
antibiotics for a week or two.
In the case of nonbacterial
prostatitis, doctors may also
prescribe antibiotics to help
treat an underlying bacterial
infection but will likely use a
variety of other medications,
too, such as nonsteroidal antiinflammatory
drugs.
����������������������������������������
����������������������
The prostate grows for
most of a man’s life, but if
it becomes too large, it can
squeeze the urethra, making
urination difficult. That abnormal
enlargement of the
prostate is called benign prostatic
hyperplasia (BPH). The
oversized prostate may also
contribute to weakening of
the bladder, which prevents it
from emptying completely.
If you have BPH, you may
feel the need to urinate much
more often than normal, especially
at night, and with
an abnormal urgency. You
may have trouble initiating a
urine stream, and when you
do, it may be weak or intermittent.
After urinating, your
bladder may still feel full because
it is not emptying completely.
At the extreme end of
the spectrum, kidney damage
may occur.
Fortunately, doctors can
prescribe a variety of treatments
for BPH, including
long-term monitoring, medications,
minimally invasive
surgeries—procedures that
shrink or lift the prostate out
of the way—and laser surgery
to remove part of the prostate
causing blockage. Open surgery
for BPH is rarely necessary.
If you are experiencing any
of these symptoms, or have questions
about prostate health,
make an appointment with a
NewYork-Presbyterian Queens
urologist by calling 718-303-
3720
/schoolsupply
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
link
