County General Hospital

FIRE* Westminster: Westminster investigated a fire alarm at Carroll County General Hospital at 2:51 p.m. Tuesday. The call was canceled after three minutes.

Robert A. Makofski, a retired Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory scientist and administrator who headed Howard County General Hospital's board, died of cancer Dec. 25 at Pen Bay Medical Center in Rockport, Maine. The former Columbia resident was 81. Born in Wanamie, Pa., he was the son of a coal mine fireman and a homemaker. "His father would not let him visit the coal mine until he had graduated college," said his wife, the former Cathy Lickteig. "His father did not want him to work in the mines.

The House Appropriation Committee officially killed a bill requesting a $500,000 grant for the expansion of the Carroll County General Hospital emergency room.The vote was expected since legislators have decided to target the $15 million normally set aside as grant moneyfor local projects to public school construction.CCGH's emergency room is too small to meet demands, said a hospital administrator.

More than 500,000 people have knee replacements each year, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. Dr. Daniel Tang, an orthopedic surgeon at Howard County General Hospital, discusses the purpose of and the procedures involved in the surgery. The purpose of a knee replacement is to relieve a person's pain, restore movement, restore alignment and remove the impairments to activities of daily living. The ideal candidate for a knee replacement is a generally healthy individual who has failed conservative management of arthritis and who is past the age of 60. Persons with issues of diabetes, peripheral vascular disease and obesity have increased risk factors for the replacement of a joint.

A Columbia man was being held by Howard County police detectives last night in connection with the death of his 2-year-old stepson. Marcus Dannon Owens, 32, of the 5200 block of Brook Way was being held after preliminary autopsy results indicated that his stepson died from multiple blunt force injuries, Howard County police said. On Wednesday, police received a call from doctors at Howard County General Hospital who said the boy's death appeared suspicious. Owens had taken the boy to the hospital about 5:30 p.m. that day. The toddler was unresponsive when he arrived and died soon thereafter.

Carroll County General Hospital has named Patricia Higgins as assistant vice president for patient care, women's and children's and support services.She will oversee inpatient and outpatient surgery and related units, the Family BirthPlace, pediatrics, shift coordinators and the staffing office, and nursing information systems.A registered nurse with a bachelor's degree, Higgins began at the hospital as director of women's and children's services in September 1996. Prior to that, she worked at St. Joseph Medical Center for 19 years.

WESTMINSTER - Blythe Zechman has been selected as Carroll County General Hospital's Employee of the Month for November 1990.An employee at CCGH since 1983, she has worked part time as cashier and file clerk. She presently is employed as billing clerk for the outpatient Blue Cross insurance accounts.Selected for the honor in recognition of her thorough knowledge and competence in her job, she is also commended for her initiative in performing tasks and for her loyalty to the hospital.Zechman lives in Westminster with her husband, Mick, and children: Sheilah, 10, and Tiffany, 2 months.

A driver was seriously injured yesterday after losing control of a car that struck a pole in Columbia's Harper's Choice village yesterday afternoon, Howard County police said.The driver, whose name was not released, was driven to the Howard County General Hospital and then taken to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center, police said.Police said the victim was driving north on Harpers Farm Road toward Maryland Route 108 about 2:50 p.m. when his car jumped a curb and hit the pole. Officers were still investigating the accident yesterday.

Hospital gets grant of $4,000 for its families program Howard County General Hospital has been awarded a $4,000 grant by the Columbia Foundation for its Healthy Families Howard County program. The grant will help pay for the 24-hour Warmline, a support service for new parents. More than 500 families have entered the program since it began in November 2001. Healthy Families Howard County is funded by grants from the Local Children's Board of Howard County and Freddie Mac Foundation and administered by the hospital in partnership with Family and Children's Services of Central Maryland.

Ness named director of hospital's recordsPamela Ness of York, Pa., has been named director of medical records at Carroll County General Hospital.A registered record administrator, Ms. Ness has worked for hospitals in Pennsylvania since 1986, when she was hired by Holy Spirit Hospital in Camp Hill to supervise its medical records department.In 1988, she joined the staff of York's Memorial Hospital as department manager. At Memorial, she developed criteria to monitor the hospital's medical records for the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Health Care Organizations.

Congestive heart failure refers to a large number of conditions that affect the structure or function of the heart, making it more difficult for the heart to supply sufficient blood flow to meet the body's needs. Dr. Michael E. Silverman of Cardiovascular Specialists of Central Maryland and chief of medicine at Howard County General Hospital writes about the causes of and treatments for the problem. * Congestive heart failure occurs when one or more of the heart's chambers loses the ability to maintain proper blood flow.

Howard hospital names departmental chairmen Dr. William F. Atha has been appointed director of the emergency medicine department at Howard County General Hospital. He recently served as deputy director of the department; then, as interim director. Board certified in emergency medicine, Dr. Atha received his medical degree from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and completed his residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Dr. Michael G. Macon has been elected chairman of the hospital's surgery department.

The tiny waiting room at AllCare of Maryland boasts some unusual touches for a walk-in medical clinic. There is the child-friendly corner, handouts in three languages -- English, Korean and Spanish -- and a wall decorated with funky silver beads. The Columbia clinic might not be typical, but neither is AllCare's president, Margaret Kim. She has put her stamp on not only this small health center but also all of Howard County. Before moving to Fulton from Carroll County six months ago, Kim had established herself as a community leader in Howard.

Older adults, people with mental illnesses and low-income individuals in Howard County should see improved health care services over the next few years under a new $3 million partnership between the Horizon Foundation and Howard County General Hospital. After several years of planning, the Community Health Partnership officially took shape last week with a commitment of $950,000 over four years from Horizon -- the largest grant in that philanthropy's nine-year history -- and $2.1 million from the hospital.

Program promotes activity, fitness The Get Active Howard County Committee is encouraging businesses and organizations to participate in the 3rd Annual Get Active Howard County program. The 10-week program is designed to promote a variety of physical activities to help county residents become fit. The committee is offering two workshops for organizations to explain the program and discuss strategies for implementing it; workshops will be offered at 7 p.m. Tuesday and at 10 a.m. Friday at Department of Recreation and Parks headquarters, 7120 Oakland Mills Road, Columbia.

Free health fair to be held March 17 The Howard County Muslim Foundation will sponsor a free Community Health Fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 17 at the Bain Center, 5470 Ruth Keeton Way, Columbia. More than 30 physicians, dentists and other health care professionals will provide information and clinical tests, including blood tests; mammograms; cancer screening; blood pressure monitoring; and screening for stroke, vision and glaucoma. Dental screening will also be available. Door prizes are planned.

An Anne Arundel County man died yesterday as Howard County police attempted to arrest him for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend in her Scaggsville home, police said. Howard police said the man was resisting as officers were taking him out of the woman's home in the 8500 block of Murphy Road when he stopped breathing. After police attempted to revive him, he was taken to Howard County General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy was scheduled for today. His name was not released last night.

A 27-year-old male patient at Howard County General Hospital has been charged with sexually assaulting a female patient in an adjoining room, police and hospital officials said yesterday. Jerel Antonio Mcrae of the 5900 block of Turnabout Lane in Columbia was arrested Thursday night by Howard County police as he was being released from the hospital. He is charged with two second-degree sex offenses and one charge of sodomy. Mary Patton, a hospital spokeswoman, said than the incident occurred in a shower room that connected the patients' rooms.