FIFTH LIFEBEAT AIR MEDICAL CONFERENCE TO BE SATURDAY

The fifth annual Air Medical Emergency Conference sponsored by Southeast Missouri Hospital and LifeBeat Air Medical Service will address the emergency medical needs of children.

The conference directed toward emergency and primary care physicians, registered nurses, and emergency personnel will be held Saturday at Cape Girardeau's Holiday Inn Convention Center.

The conference will run from 7:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., and more than 200 health-care professionals from throughout the region are expected to attend.

Discussion will include how best to deal with issues ranging from accidental poisonings to trauma from child abuse.

Dr. Joseph Weinberg, director of emergency services at Lebonheur Children's Medical Center in Memphis, Tenn., is keynote speaker. He's also associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Tennessee-Memphis.

Weinberg will address the conference twice. The titles of his presentations are: "Emergency Medical Systems for Children: A Comprehensive Approach to Pediatric Critical Care," and "Pediatric Multiple Trauma."

Dr. Mary Case, chief medical examiner for St. Louis, St. Charles and Jefferson counties and an associate professor at St. Louis University, also will speak on child abuse and House Bill 185.

Other speakers include Julie Blanquart, a certified poison information specialist with Cardinal Glennon Poison Center in St. Louis; Linda Book, director of the Burn Center at St. John's Mercy Medical Center in St. Louis; Cape Girardeau pediatrician, Dr. Jesse Ramsey; LifeBeat Chief Flight Nurse Mark Sprigg; and LifeBeat flight nurses Joy Goodman and Paul Slamon.

Since its inauguration in August 1987, LifeBeat has provided emergency care response within a 150-mile radius of the tri-state area. In the past year, LifeBeat responded to 789 requests for emergency medical service.

Southeast's pediatric capabilities include a 21-bed pediatric unit and four-bed pediatric special care unit.

Physicians, nurses, and other health-care professionals may obtain more information or register for the conference by calling the LifeBeat Communications Center at (314) 651-5855.

Conference fees are $85 for physicians; $60 for registered nurses; and $35 for allied personnel. Physicians and nurses attending the conference may earn continuing education credits.