Genesis Health System and Trinity Regional Health System have temporarily changed their visitor policies to restrict visitors younger than age 18 from visiting children's and maternal units during flu season. To ensure the safety of patients, only visitors at least 18 years old and without flu symptoms will be allowed to visit Genesis BirthCenters at Genesis Medical Center in Davenport and Genesis Medical Center Illini Campus in Silvis, the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Davenport, and the pediatrics units in Davenport and Silvis. Trinity's Pediatrics Unit at its West Campus in Rock Island, and Trinity BirthPlace at its Seventh Street campus in Moline (which includes its Neonatal Special Care Unit) and Terrace Park campus in Bettendorf have enacted the same restriction. Parents younger than 18 will be an exception.
A recent study issued by HealthGrades, an independent health-care-ratings organization, ranks Trinity Medical Center's West Campus as the best in the Quad Cities area for overall cardiac services, cardiology, cardiac surgery, and coronary interventions for 2010. Nearly 5,000 non-federal hospitals were included in the study, which examined mortality rates and complication rates from government data from 2006, 2007, and 2008. For more information, visit HealthGrades.com.
The Community Foundation of the Great River is accepting grant applications from charitable organizations for its fall grant cycle. The deadline to apply is Thursday, November 1. Grant applications and guidelines can be found at CFGRB.org. Call (563)326-2840 with questions.
Sylvia Branzei, also known as Her Grossness, returns to the Family Museum promoting the fun and learning of "Grossology," the idea of teaching science through gross things. Branzei will perform at the Family Museum on Saturday, November 7, at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. This year Branzei will focus on three demonstrations: barf, "germ zappers," and sneezing/snot. For more information, visit FamilyMuseum.org.
On Saturday, October 24, more than 1,800 events in more than 140 countries around the world will be held in the largest day of climate-change activism ever. Two of these events will be occurring in the Quad Cities. The Sisters of the Humility of Mary in Davenport are holding a prayer service from 9 to 9:45 a.m. The sisters will focus on the care of creation in the Magnificat Chapel at the Humility of Mary Center, 820 West Central Park Avenue in Davenport. From 10 a.m. to noon in the Olin Auditorium of Augustana College in Rock Island, Quad Cities mayors (including Moline's Don Welvaert and former Rock Island Mayor Mark Schwiebert) will meet with activists and students at a "teach-in" event. The mayors will speak about the Cool Cities Campaign. Local activists, including Kristen Bergren of the Sierra Club, will also speak.
The Greater Iowa Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association will hold its annual conference at the Best Western Steeplegate Inn in Davenport on November 5 from 8 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. The conference is intended for anyone whose personal or professional life puts them in daily contact with people who have Alzheimer's disease or related disorders. The deadline for registration is October 29. For more information, contact Jerry Schroeder at (563)324-1022.
"Where There's a Will, There's A Way," a free seminar, will be held from 10 to 11 a.m. on Thursday, November 12, in the Clubhouse at The Fountains Senior Living Community (3726 Thunder Ridge Road in Bettendorf). With an up-to-date will, you will be able to determine precisely who will receive your property and who will care for minor children. Registration is requested by November 9. For more information, contact the Bettendorf Public Library Foundation office at (563)344-4182 or dstafford@bettendorf.org.
Teen Read Week is October 18 through 24, and teens are invited to join a Quad Cities teen read-in on Thursday, October 22. Participating libraries are inviting teens to come and spend time reading. For more information, visit ALA.org/teenread.
Organizations in Davenport, Des Moines, Sioux City, and Waterloo received nearly $403,000 to provide housing-counseling services to homebuyers, homeowners, and low- to moderate-income renters, and to provide services to reduce the number of homeless. These funds were made available through the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development's Housing Counseling Grant Program. United Neighbors in Davenport received $45,732.
The Quad City Wind Ensemble will present its own version of the British Invasion in its October 25 concert, showcasing a variety of music composed for kings, queens, and nobility. The concert will be held in Galvin Fine Arts Center on the campus of St. Ambrose University at 3 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, and free for students. The program will include British composers Ralph Vaughn Williams, Gordon Jacob, Guy Woolfenden, and William Walton.
