Month: March 2014

Faith news

To send in items for the Faith News, email information to Mary Rupert, editor, at  [email protected].

The SocialLights at Christ the King Catholic Church, 3024 N. 53rd St., will hold a benefit corned beef and cabbage dinner after the 5:30 p.m. Mass March 15. The Christ the King CYO will hold a fish fry from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Fridays, through April 11.

The second annual Rainbow of Colors in the Bible Luncheon will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 29. The host of the event is the Mary F. Handy Women’s Missionary Society of the First AME Church, 1111 N. 8th St., Kansas City, Kan.  Other women’s organizations and members of other churches are invited. Table sponsorships are available at $200 per table, or individuals may attend at $20 per person. Each table will select a color. The program will include praise and worship while each table gives an overview on the interpretation of their color in the Bible. Reservations are due by March 9 for the luncheon. For more information, call 913-573-5423 or 913-219-0234.

Grandview Christian Church, 8550 Parallel Parkway, is collecting canned goods for Help 3:17, a local food pantry.

Grinter Chapel United Methodist Church’s Annual Ham and Bean Dinner will be held from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 29. Homemade vegetable soup also will be served. For a donation of $7 for adults and $3 for children 10 and younger,  those attending will receive ham and beans or vegetable soup, corn bread, dessert and drink.

Robert Houston and the True Dedication music group are part of a Covenant Ministries concert at 6 p.m. March 15 at the St. Stephen Baptist Church, 1414 E. Truman Road, Kansas City, Mo. Tickets are $10 in advance or $15 at the door. Headlining the event is gospel singer Martha Munizzi. Also appearing are the Anders Family, Yielded Vessels, New Era, the Mac Family and more. For information call 913-788-5662.

The Crafting Sisters at Open Door Baptist Church, 3033 N. 103rd Terrace, will hold a drop-in meeting from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, March 15, in the dining room. Those attending the come-and-go event will bring their crafts to work on. The Soul Sister Book Club will meet after the 10:30 a.m. church service March 16 in Room 130.

Stony Point Christian Church, 149 S. 78th St., will hold a Community Bunko Night to benefit its StoreHouse ministry from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. March 15. StoreHouse provides assistance for those in need. A dinner will take place from 6 to 7 p.m. March 15, at $5 per person, and bunko begins at 7 p.m. Donations are sought.

New less invasive defibrillator implanted by KU Hospital doctors

Cardiologists at The University of Kansas Hospital, Kansas City, Kan., are the first in the region to offer the S-ICD system, an implantable defibrillator that sits just under the skin, leaving the heart muscle untouched.

The device is designed for patients at risk of sudden cardiac arrest, an abrupt loss of heart function caused by chaotic activity of the heart. The S-ICD system constantly monitors a patient’s heart, delivering a lifesaving shock if sudden cardiac arrest strikes.

What makes the S-ICD system different from other implantable cardiac defibrillators is that it sits just under the skin without the need for thin, insulated wires, or leads, to be placed into the heart itself. This leaves the heart and blood vessels untouched, providing many benefits for patients. Those include less scarring, less chance of infection and a quicker recovery.

“This is an insurance policy, it’s like a couple of paramedics sitting in your chest all the time just riding around, and when your heart needs something it springs into action and shocks it back into rhythm,” said Dr. Rhea Pimentel, an electrophysiologist at The University of Kansas Hospital. “It’s the perfect device for patients who don’t need the pacing that a traditional implantable defibrillator provides.”

The American Heart Association estimates approximately 850,000 people in the United States are at risk of sudden cardiac arrest and need an implantable pacemaker but remain unprotected.

A KU Hospital video about the defibrillator is online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pl3Cb73xf3Y.

 

 

On duty on the Harry S. Truman

Aviation Structural Mechanic Airman Zechariah Eger, of Edwardsville, Kan., assigned to the “Ragin’ Bulls” of Strike Fighter Squadron 37, performed maintenance recently on an F/A-18C Hornet on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman. Harry S. Truman, flagship for the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group, is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility conducting maritime security operations, supporting theater security cooperation efforts and supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Blagoj B. Petkovski)