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Dental Radiology Course
Feb. 1-17: Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) is accepting applications for an intensive, two-week dental radiology certificate training for dental assistants, the only program of its kind west of Boston. This hybrid (online and clinical component) course, which opens Feb. 1 at 9 a.m., trains dental assistants in the fundamentals of dental radiogra- phy. The labs will be held Mondays and Wednesdays, 5:45 p.m. to 8:45 p.m., on Feb. 8 and 10 and Feb. 17 and 17. Participants must successfully complete the first two modules before the first lab on Feb. 8, and must successfully complete the last two modules
by Feb. 17. Offered through the Workforce Develop- ment Center at STCC, the course explores the basics of dental radiography, which includes X-ray physics, effects of radiation exposure, radiation protection, image receptors, digital radiography, dental radio- graphic anatomy, and intra- and extra-oral radio- graphic procedures. Dental assistants who enroll in the program will gain experience exposing digital radiographs and correctly mounting them using
a digital mount. This experience will be gained by hands-on exposure on a manikin and hands-on placement on both a manikin and a lab partner.
A final laboratory competency consists of expo- sure and evaluation of a full-mouth series on a live patient selected by the student. For more informa- tion about the course and to enroll online, visit stcc. io/radiology.
COVID-19 Vaccine Community Webinars
Feb. 1, 8, 15: Trinity Health Of New England experts
Farm
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ever. But if you go to a local farmstand and get as many items as you can there instead of the store as part of your weekly or monthly routine, that makes a huge difference. And I wish people knew how much impact they can have just by including more locally oriented shopping in their routine.”
One benefit, of course, is fresher produce; while local chains like Big Y do buy from local farms, many of the fruits and vegetables they sell are not local, and, in many cases, not even in season in Massachusetts. So people are eating produce that’s been in transit for a week or two.
Switching exclusively to local pro- duce requires some changed habits from consumers, she added, and occa- sionally some sacrifice.
“Part of it is people learning to
eat in season and not expecting to have strawberries year-round and not expecting to have perfect, flawless- looking fruit if they want to eat organic; something grown with less chemicals is not going to look as picture-perfect,” she explained. “There needs to be somewhat of a shift with the way that people view what kind of produce
they should have, and in exchange for making that shift, they can have high- quality, locally grown food that doesn’t break the bank and can support local farmers.”
While that education process is ongoing, it’s a culture that has taken
will continue its weekly series of educational webi- nar presentations, “COVID-19 Vaccine: What You Need to Know.” The Monday-evening series, which began Jan. 11, run for one hour, from 6 to 7 p.m. A question-and-answer session will follow the presen- tation with Dr. Syed Hussain, chief clinical officer
of Trinity Health Of New England. These sessions are free and open to the public, but registration is required. To register for an upcoming session, visit trinityhealthofne.org/vaccine-webinar.
‘Establishing Resilience: Building Happiness’
Feb. 6: Past year got you down? Need a brighter out- look for 2021? Holyoke Community College has a class for you. HCC is partnering with Pam Victor, president and founder of Happier Valley Comedy,
to offer a Zoom workshop titled “Establishing Resil- ience: Building Happiness” from 11 a.m. to 1:30
p.m. Victor, a comedian and improv facilitator who prefers the title ‘head of happiness,’ will lead partici- pants on an experiential exploration of happiness and resilience building to enhance their joy and ease at work and home. She will share stress-relieving exercises and techniques to help people bring more well-being, laughter, gratitude, and play into their daily lives. The cost of the class is $99. To register, visit hcc.edu/happiness.
Phlebotomy for Healthcare Workers Class
Feb. 8 to March 2: Springfield Technical Commu- nity College (STCC) will offer a 60-hour training for
healthcare workers who want to become a certified phlebotomist. The class, open to anyone licensed in various medical fields in the Commonwealth of Mas- sachusetts, runs Feb. 8 through March 2, with the exam offered on March 5. Class hours are 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Labs for the course will be held in person on the STCC campus. All students must wear masks and adhere to STCC COVID-19 procedures. The non-credit course, offered through the Workforce Development Center at STCC, prepares students to take the exam to become a certified phlebotomist in Massachusetts. The class is designed to teach work- ers in certified healthcare positions to draw blood for
Agenda
diagnostic procedures. Anyone interested in taking the class should have a current healthcare certifica- tion in at least one of the following healthcare roles (those with certification in other healthcare fields may be eligible): certified nursing assistant (CNA), emergency medical technician (EMT), patient care technician (PCT), certified medical assistant (CMA), licensed practical nurse (LPN), certified electrocar- diogram technician (CET), and certified dental assis- tant (CDA). To enroll online and learn more about this course, visit www.stcc.edu/wdc/healthcare and click the ‘Phlebotomy Certification for Healthcare Workers’ link.
slowing down. As she waits for the first harvests from those new peach, nectar- ine, and pear trees and diversifies into vegetables, she’s also looking into new business opportunities, like making hard cider. For that, she’s been gather- ing equipment and trying to nail down the right recipe.
The store continues to grow, too. “It typically takes a few years for a busi- ness like that to optimize and settle into what it’s going to be like,” she said, adding that she also wants to expand the pick-your-own business.
“That’s another necessary piece of the business. Our fruit is the difference between being in the red and being
in the black. We need direct markets through the store and pick-your-own to survive, and we’re still building those things up. Both need to con- tinue to grow if the business will be sustainable.”
But, as evidenced by that A+ Award and, more importantly, the growing number of locals heading to Phoenix for something fresh, she’s on the right track.
“We’re not there yet,” Vaughan said. “It’s going to be a lifelong journey, shaping this place into what it’s going to be for the future.” u
Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]
    Apples may not cost 25 cents a bushel anymore, but fresh fruit bought directly from farms is still very affordable, Elly Vaughan says.
 root (literally and figuratively) in West- ern Mass. more than in many regions of the country.
“I think we are very fortunate in this community — people are really hip to local foods, and we have so much great local food in this region, and you don’t have to look very far to find everything you need to feed your family just with
food produced in the Pioneer Valley,” Vaughan said. “There’s such a wealth of really great, locally produced foods around here. I’m really proud to be a part of that.”
Looking Ahead
Now in her fourth year running the farm, Vaughan has no intention of
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