An American Cancer Society volunteer who is driving around Alabama to raise money for the cancer fight will be holding a kickoff to his journey at the American Cancer Society’s Joe Lee Griffin Hope Lodge on 1100 Ireland Way in Birmingham on Sunday, August 5th at 2pm.   Ruben Greenwood of Helena will gather along with several other car enthusiasts as they help send him and his 1983 right hand drive Mini Cooper off on “One Lap of Alabama.”        

Learning basic first aid, how to administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), or how to use an automated external defibrillator (AED) can quite possibly mean the difference between life and death for someone suffering from sudden cardiac arrest or other medical emergency. People in the Montgomery and Opelika areas can learn these skills by taking an American Red Cross course. 

The Red Cross offers courses where people can learn how to perform CPR, how to use an AED, what to do if someone is choking, and how to prevent and respond to other emergencies until advanced medical help arrives. Course participants also learn how to control bleeding as well as how to care for seizures and other sudden illnesses.

Pertussis, or whooping cough, is a highly contagious and sometimes fatal bacterial disease which has increased alarmingly in the past decade. To help provide protection, all students 11 years of age and older entering the sixth grade in Alabama schools during the 2012-2013 school year are required to have a tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine.

Students entering the seventh and eighth grades during the 2012-2013 school year who did not receive the Tdap vaccination during the 2011-2012 school year are required to have the vaccination.

All students including those 11 years of age or older entering the sixth, seventh and eighth grades are required to have an up-to-date certificate of immunization.

The Tdap vaccine helps to protect adolescents from pertussis which will prevent spreading the disease to family members, other students and school staff. The Tdap school requirement will go up by one higher grade each school year.