Photo by FamVeld Getty Images/iStockphoto
Halloween can be especially scary for kids with food allergies and their parents.
That’s why there’s a Food Allergy Friendly Trunk or Treat on Saturday, Oct. 28, at Deep Run Park. The sixth annual Trunk or Treat begins at 4 p.m. and is in the parking lot of the recreation center in the complex, 9900 Ridgefield Parkway.
It’s open to all; come costumed and decorate your trunk to set the scene.
Participants are encouraged to bring nonfood treats, according to Stephanie Gatewood, an organizer. Her two children have food allergies.
There are eight major allergens (peanuts, milk, eggs, wheat, soy, tree nuts, shellfish and fish), but Gatewood notes that some children have other allergies, such as to sesame, and some children should avoid candies because they have conditions such as diabetes. That’s why nonfood treats are recommended, such as bouncy-balls, glow-in-the-dark sticks, stickers, pencils, erasers or bubbles.
If you do bring food treats, they will be checked. They should be free of the major allergens and not processed in a plant where allergens were present. Bring in the packaging, which will be inspected.
About 70 children and their families participated last year. Call 804-433-6990 or email for more information.
For Halloween night, many homes offering allergy-friendly trick-or-treating goodies are registered through the Teal Pumpkin Project. You can find the locations on this map.
If your household has an over-abundance of candy and confections post-Halloween, you can send it to members of the armed services who are stationed overseas, courtesy of Operation Gratitude. There are several drop-off sites across Metro Richmond. Call first to check collection dates and hours of operation.
Kool Smiles locations participate through their Operation Troop Treats program. Children who donate Oct. 28-Nov. 4 receive a toy. About 430 pounds of candy was donated in Richmond last year, with about 1,000 children participating, according to Kool Smiles.
HEALTHY DEVELOPMENTS
A roundup of the week’s health and medicine news
- Less time in the hospital and fewer surgical complications have been the results of an enhanced recovery program for colorectal patients at Bon Secours St. Mary’s Hospital. St. Mary’s says in a release that the program uses pain management strategies that have seen an 80 percent reduction in opioid use among program participants following their procedures.
- Basic Life Support Provider CPR training is offered from 8 a.m. to noon on Friday, Nov. 3, at Southside Regional Medical Center in Petersburg. You must register by close of business on Monday, Oct. 30, and the fee is $65 for the class. Call 804-765-5729.
- Retreat Doctors’ Hospital will mark its 140th anniversary with an event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 4, in front of the hospital, 2621 Grove Ave. You can receive a free flu shot at the celebration, which also will include games, activities and food vendors. The HCA Virginia facility was originally known as Retreat for the Sick and was founded in 1877.
Burnt Bruce (Photo courtesy MEDARVA)
- They’re burning Bruce at MEDARVA Stony Point Surgery Center for a good cause. Bruce is a mannequin that’s part of a safety demonstration on a potential fire hazard in operating rooms. Waggishly named for MEDARVA HealthCare CEO Bruce Kupper, the mannequin receives an alcohol-based skin prep commonly used in surgeries that should be left to dry for at least 3 minutes, but the mannequin is exposed to fire after about 90 seconds and bursts into flame. The demonstration shows the consequences of impatience in the operating room and the importance of following safety procedures. The yearly demonstration for staff and physicians is held in the surgery center parking lot. The training session earned a national honor for MEDARVA, Outpatient Surgery Magazine’s OR Excellence Award for patient safety, according to a release. It was presented in an event on Oct. 12 in Las Vegas. “As with everything, practice makes perfect. That is why it is so effective to see demonstrations up-close and physically go through the steps,” says Kupper in the release.
Elias Neujahr (Photo by Matthew Chase)
- The Children’s Hospital of Richmond at Virginia Commonwealth University has its first CEO, Elias Neujahr. He comes to Richmond after three years as president of The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio in Texas.
- Is your child meeting developmental milestones? There’s a free app to check, courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Milestone Tracker has checklists you can use to assess your child from ages 2 months to 5 years on how they speak, act, move and play.
- A new vaccine to prevent shingles has received a recommendation from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory committee. The vaccine Shingrix is recommended for use in preventing shingles in people age 50 and older, even if they have previously been vaccinated with an earlier vaccine, Zostavax, according to a release from GlaxoSmithKline.
