People, Places & Events

Kaufman hospital provides fever kits to local residents
Special to The Monitor
KAUFMAN–Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Kaufman now has fever kits in its emergency department to help local families deal with this fall’s cold and flu season.
Each fever kit includes a digital thermometer, hand sanitizer and information on hand washing, when to go to the doctor and how to take care of someone with a fever.
“These are available free to the community. All people need to do is come to the reception area of the ER and pick one up,” community representative for Texas Health Kaufman Pat Jackson said.
The kits, which are also being provided to patients in the ER, are available while supplies last.
Studies have shown that fever kits can help people treat non-serious illnesses effectively at home.
People with some viral conditions, like the cold or flu, can safely and cheaply take care of their illness in the comfort of their home, without going to the local hospital.
“In most cases, there is little we can do to treat a viral condition other than fever medication, fluids and rest, so caring for your loved one in the comfort of your own home is safe,” director of critical care medicine at Texas Health Kaufman Mark Sanders RN said.
“It also lessens the financial burden on these patients, who incur medical bills when they come to the ER,” he added.
The fever kits are a gift from Texas Health Kaufman Community Health Council.
The council is made up of community members, including hospital leaders, local churches, a nurse from the Kaufman Independent School District, United Way representatives and other community leaders.
The group identifies needs in the local area and works to provide resources to meet those demands.
These symptoms indicate the need for hospital/ER evaluation if you or a loved one has cold or flu symptoms:
• feeling confused or unable to stay awake,
• difficulty breathing or breathing too fast,
• pregnant women,
• anyone suffering from organ disease (liver, heart, brain, lung etc.) or cancer,
• immuno-compromised patients (HIV, organ transplant recipients),
• elderly patients (65 years or older) and
• anyone who feels sicker than they usually do with the flu.
For more information, go to TexasHealth.org/fluinfo.

Controlling Pharoah, sugar ants
By Brian Cummins
VZ County Extension Agent
CANTON–Pharaoh, or sugar ants, are perhaps the most difficult household pests to control.
They are quite small (less than 1/16 inch long) and are light tawny brown.
Careless application or improperly directed insecticides often make the situation worse.
Even an intensive, properly conducted control program may require two to three months to eliminate Pharaoh ants.
Follow these steps to control ants:
• Survey. Make a diagram of the floor plan of your home, and mark the areas where Pharaoh ants are seen.
Another technique is to put out numerous, small bait stations containing corn syrup. Keep the bait moist by periodically adding a few drops of water. Check the bait stations daily. Record where the ants are and where they travel after they feed.
Shift the bait stations around, but concentrate in areas where both heat (more than 80 degrees F) and moisture (more than 80 percent humidity) are present.
Example of such areas are around kitchen sinks or dishwasher, under the refrigerator, over the stove, around heating ducts, near hot water heaters and around air conditioning units.
Pharaoh ants prefer moisture, but sometimes can be found nesting in attics, crawl spaces, linear closets or other widely scattered areas.
They generally prefer to feed on grease or sweets, so watch for them in the kitchen or pantry.
Pharaoh ant colonies can move around within the home and can split, or “bud,” into two or more separate colonies.
Budding can occur in response to improper insecticide applications or various other adverse environmental factors, and can make control even more difficult.
The effort to locate the nest(s) pays off in effective control.
• Treating with insecticides sprays and dusts. Treat the infested areas with boric acid dust.
All ant entrances must be treated. Usually this means injecting the dust into cracks around baseboards, door frames, electrical switches and plugs, cabinets, etc.
Apply dusts in thin even layers, and not in clumps or piles. Small hand dusters can be obtained at most hardware stores.
After dusting, apply a band of insecticide spray using Sevin®, or Baygon®, along baseboards and other areas where ants have been seen.
Spray around suspected nest areas. It is not necessary to spray vast open areas, but do concentrate on the areas where you noted ant activity.
• A third insecticide application technique is also necessary.
Prepare a boric acid bait (mix two teaspoons boric acid with four ounces of boiling water, then add the dissolved boric acid solution to 10 ounces of corn syrup) to be placed in infected areas.
Place on aluminum foil or pie pans. Keep the bait moist by periodically adding a few drops of water.
This should kill ant infestations in four to five weeks. Keep baits away from children or pets.
 

Come Adopt Us At The Humane Society of Cedar Creek Lake
The domino effect is a chain reaction that occurs when a small change causes a similar change nearby, which then will cause another similar change, and so on. My name is Domino, and I got my name not only because I’m black and white like a domino tile, but also because my outgoing, cheerful personality causes my doggie roommates to smile. This also causes our human friends to smile, which even causes the kitties in the cat room to smile. I am an 8-month-old male Pointer/Terrier mix. I love children, other dogs, and even get along great with kitties. I’ve had all my shots and am ready to be adopted. If you’d like to experience the domino effect, I am sure to put a forever smile on your face when you take me to my forever home. I currently live with a foster family, so if you would like to meet me, call my friends at the Humane Society of Cedar Creek Lake at (903) 432-3422 to make an appointment. You can also email them at dogshsccl@yahoo.com.
	We have many animals at the Humane Society of Cedar Creek Lake in Seven Points in dire need of a good home. Please call or stop by the Humane Society today and rescue one of these forgotten animals. The Humane Society of Cedar Creek Lake is located on 10220 County Road 2403 in Seven Points. For more information, please call (903) 432-3422 after 11 a.m. We are closed on Wednesday and Sunday.
For further information visit our website at petfinder.com