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S.D. Firms Sponsoring Sharp Health Symposium

Businesswomen of all ages can find tips on staying healthy , advice on everything from meditation to menopause , at the 16th annual Sharp Women’s Health Symposium from 7:30 a.m.- 4 p.m. May 13.

Educational workshops on yoga, “Ageless Living in the Prime of Life” and “Preventable Cancers in Women,” are highlights of the event sponsored by Sharp and more than a dozen other local health care and non-health-sector companies.

If the workshops aren’t enough, Ricardo Chavira of “Desperate Housewives,” best known by his character’s name, Carlos Solis, will deliver the keynote address.

Chavira lost his mother to breast and ovarian cancer when he was 15 years old and will speak to the tragedy’s effect on his life and the importance of early detection. The UC San Diego graduate is the first male to deliver the symposium’s keynote address.

The event costs $70 for general admission or $100 for patron admission, which includes preferred seating and parking. Those interested can sign up through www.sharp.com/whs or by calling (800) 82-SHARP.

In addition to Sharp, the sponsors include San Diego’s Sempra Energy and Quidel Corp., the county of San Diego Aging & Independence Services, as well as South San Francisco-based Genentech, Inc., Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly & Co., and Swiss-based Novartis Corp. Genentech and Novartis each has hundreds of local employees.

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Caring For Kids:

A Massachusetts-based child-care company is rocking the cradle in San Diego with its first back-up child-care center now located in University Towne Center.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions is not crawling before it walks: The public company has jumped into the market by targeting San Diego’s largest health industry employers, including Biosite Inc. and Scripps Health. Together with more than 11,000 employees, the two companies’ workers are already taking advantage of the new location, which offers emergency child care between 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Friday at 9255 Towne Centre Drive in Suite 150.

Although the center opened in February, it held its grand opening last week, with top executives from Biosite and Scripps attesting to the firm’s convenience and reliability. Bright Horizons, which has more than 60 locations in America and more in Ireland and England, has made its niche by branding itself as an upscale child-care center for employees with children who encounter breakdowns in primary child care, during school vacations or last-minute business travel.

Busy parents can book a place for their child by calling (866) 273-2773.

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Improving Health Care:

Biocom and Project Concern are raising money for better access to health care , locally and globally.

The two groups will hold an online fund-raising campaign until May 18 , the day of the CALBIO Conference.

Biocom is a life sciences trade group representing hundreds of local companies, and Project Concern International is a San Diego-based nonprofit health and development group.

Donors can sign up at www.projectconcern.org/handsonhealth as a team or individual.

Project Concern works both around the world and in San Diego. Locally, the group works with the Mexican Consulate to help the uninsured and under-insured as well as improving access to preventive health care. Project Concern also promotes healthy lifestyles among Latina women, and manages Project B.R.O. (Brotherhood, Responsibility, Outreach), a program to improve reproductive health and teach life skills to African immigrant male youths.

Biocom reports that if all of its member employees donated $5, the effort would raise $20,000. The group said the money could translate into immunizations or shelter for 1,000 children or a healthy breakfast each school day for 135 children for a year.

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Top Honor:

The state of California has presented Gary Erbeck, director of San Diego County’s Department of Environmental Health, with one of its top annual honors, the 2006 Beverlee A. Myers Award for Excellence in Public Health.

Erbeck is chairman of the California Conference of Directors of Environmental Health, as well as chairman of the state’s Food Safety Policy Committee. Erbeck led the development of a new California Retail Food Code, according to the California Department of Health Services.

He has addressed the issue of protecting students from food-borne illness, participated in hazardous materials emergency response, and Project Clean Water, along with other community and regulatory efforts.

The annual award is named after a former state health director. It is one of two honors presented by the state Department of Health Services during National Public Health Week, which was held this month.

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Health Fairs:

National Employee Health and Fitness Day is May 17, and several local employers are holding health and lifestyle expos to encourage workers to stay or get fit.

Northrop Grumman Corp., the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park, the San Diego Community College District, Carlsbad-based Invitrogen Corp., AT & T;, Cox Communications Customer Care, 24 Hour Fitness, Children’s Hospital and others will host on-site health and fitness events throughout May with the help of Carlsbad-based corporate wellness company Health Dimensions.

The expos include educational speakers, health screenings and interactive exhibits.


Contact Katie Weeks with health care news at

kweeks@sdbj.com

, or call her at (858) 277-6359.

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