According to the American Cancer Society, people

who stop smoking before age 50 cut their risk of

dying in the next 15 years in half, compared with

those who continue to smoke. Quitt ing takes a lot

of hard work and eff ort, but there are immediate

benefi ts to quitt ing. Did you know: within 20

minutes, blood pressure returns to normal and

heartbeat stabilizes? Within 8 hours, oxygen

levels in your blood increase? Within 48 hours,

chances of heart att ack decrease? Within 3 months,

circulation and the immune system improves? To

help you quit and stay quit, consider these tips:

prepare a Quit Plan; change daily routines to upset

your smoking habit; cut down on your amount of

smoking before you quit; set a quit date and write

it on your calendar; line up support of family and

friends; contact EAP for a session with our Clinical

Consultants or Health Coach. Online information

and support can be found at NYSmokeFree.com.

Access EAP services by calling (716) 681-4300.

June Birth days Margie Hunter – June 3 Ileana Hernandez – June 6 Tara Rosado – June 6 Clara Seung – June 8 Ka e O’Sullivan – June 11 Ron Silverio – June 16 Ashley Roberts – June 19 Daisy Rochez – June 21 Connie Butler – June 26 Crystal White – June 26 Brian Planty – June 28

June Anniversaries Daryl Ashley – 1 year Shannon Curry – 1 year Courtney Voss – 1 year Jillian Nowak – 2 years Ka e Diebold – 3 years Jorien Brock – 5 years Victoria DeLeon – 7 years Ray Ganoe – 8 years Brendan Orrange – 8 years Elisa Luciano – 14 years

Your Con nued Dedica on and Hard Work Are No ced and Appreciated - Management Team

connections J U N E 2 0 1 4

PUBLISHER/LAYOUT John CarocciEDITOR Kimberly Harding

CONTRIBUTORSSheila Marcheson, Christopher Miller

Kate Gallivan

june i4

I will be traveling to New York City for Hot 97’s Summer Jam Concert with my

friends for a pre-birthday celebration. I will also be traveling to Punta Cana

this summer. - Amajaraya Hunter Several camping weekends, and a week in

Myrtle Beach in September. - Kim Harding I’ll be traveling to Atlanta to see

my family during the irst week of July, then swinging over to Orlando for a

week. However, the biggest vacation plan involves leaving my kids with my

parents in Atlanta for the entire month of July!!!! - Maisha Drayton Maybe go to

Charlotte to visit family and New York City to shop. - Moselle Whitehead Visit

New York City, Toronto, DC/Virginia, Montreal and Delaware. - Cecil Sutton

I’m de initely going to Puerto Rico this summer like I do practically every year.

Maybe a weekend trip to New York City or Toronto. - James DeGarmo I am

planning a South American vacation to Costa Rica or Brazil with a few guys I

went through basic training with. - Aaron Pry My family and I will be going to

North Carolina and to Myrtle Beach. I am really excited to be in a real beach,

not a Buffalo beach LOL. - Johanna Aponte Lots of camping and weekend

getaways! - Ashlee Rudolph This vacation (since I am inally done with school)

I plan to go to Washington DC, Toronto, Chicago, Charlotte, and Atlanta. - Cord

Stone I want to hike to the top of Mt. Marcy in the Adirondacks. Camp at the

highest point in New York State! - Brendan Orrange My vacation plans for this

year include going to Puerto Rico and enjoying the island. - Magali Maldonado

3Describe Yourself in 3 WordsBoisterous, indefatigable, sesquipedalian - Kim Harding I can

do it in one... FIRE - Maisha Drayton Busy, busy, busy - Moselle

Whitehead Kind, empathetic, creative - Ashley Roberts

Happy, passionate, diligent - James DeGarmo Passionate,

crazy, determined - Ashlee Rudolph Observant, ambitious,

leader - Cord Stone I don’t follow directions well - Brendan

Orrange Friendly, kind, simple - Magali Maldonado

Find the Lie - by Kim Harding

1. Asia is the largest continent in population.2. Honey doesn’t spoil or expire.3. John F. Kennedy was the youngest President of the United States. 4. On average 100 people choke to death on ballpoint pens every year.5. No word in the English language rhymes with “month”.

3 is false! Th eodore Roosevelt was the youngest president at 42 years old. John F. Kennedy was 43 when he was elected to offi ce.

Super Mario Brothers (Amajaraya Hunter) ‘80s: Ms. PacMan, ‘90s: Super Mario Brothers, ‘00s: Metal Gear Solid/Resident Evil, Present: The Walking Dead (Maisha Drayton) Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo (Moselle Whitehead) I have a few favorites: Super Smash Brothers, Paper Mario 2, and GTA (Ashley Roberts) Need for Speed (Cecil Sutton) Bubble Bobble (John Carocci) This is the worst question to ask a gamer because I can’t really decide. But, since I’m forced to answer, I guess I would have to go with Call of Duty. I’ve loved all eleven of them and there’s a new one coming out in November! Obviously I will be purchasing that one (James DeGarmo) The original super Mario Brothers on old school Nintendo (Aaron Pry) My all time favorite game is ZELDA!!! I have most of them from Nintendo Game Cube, Nintendo DSI and the last one Nintendo Wii (Johanna Aponte) By far, Mario Brothers (Cord Stone) The original Super Mario Brothers and any Resident Evil game (Ashlee Rudolph) Old school games: Contra and Bad Dudes. New school: Mario Party and Kart (Brendan Orrange) My favorite game is Legos for Xbox (Magali Maldonado)

Connections Poll ResultsWhat is your strongest of the ive senses?

Sight - 8 Smell - 6 Hearing - 7 Touch - 4 Taste - 1

Staff in Evergreen’s Center for Behavioral Health off ers rapid HIV and Hepatitis C screening to

anyone who comes in and requests these services. A year ago we moved our rapid testing services and STI screening to the second fl oor in Evergreen Medical Group. We are now in the process of further integrating these services with our medical practice. In the fall of 2013 the Center for Behavioral Health began implementing “high impact prevention strategies” as directed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC). When we conducted an analysis of the risk behaviors of our testing patients, we learned that nearly one third of them (about 50 people a month) would not be considered “high risk” by the CDC. In an eff ort to target HIV testing services to those at highest risk, and to be able to continue to serve everyone who comes to us for testing, EMG nurses and phlebotomists will be working with staff in Behavioral Health to provide rapid HIV

and Hepatitis C screening to our “walk in” patients. Th eir help with these services will free up Behavioral Health staff to off er testing off site in other community-based organizations. Ashlee Rudolph and Helene Cacciato have been coordinating training for EMG staff , which we hope to have completed by mid-June. Our patients will probably not notice any changes in the HIV and Hepatitis C screening services they receive here. Behavioral Health staff will continue to be on call to provide HIV testing, counseling and referral to our high-risk patients. We are grateful to EMG staff for their willingness to share responsibility for providing these services. Behavioral Health staff are currently working to identify community partners who serve those at high risk for HIV where we can off er HIV and Hepatitis C screening. Our testing hours here at the Evergreen Center will not change. Hours are Monday, Wednesday, Th ursday, and Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Tuesday from 12 noon – 7:00 p.m.

Raising the Rainbow Flag at Buff alo City Hall - Photos by John Carocci

For Sale: 2 beautiful lamps for those who love elephants. $25 each. Contact Moselle Whitehead

For Sale: Grayco Booster seat. $15. Contact Moselle Whitehead

Wanted: a used long dresser, made of wood, with 6 - 8 drawers. Contact Ashley Roberts

Freebies: Attention green-thumbs! My plant babies are growing by leaps and bounds and I have plenty to give away to a loving home. I have4 big and beautiful spider plant babies that Iwould love to root and send home with you! (see photo C) Please let me know if you’d like to take one home today! I also have a plant called ‘Mother of Thousands’ which grows little baby plants off of its leaves (see photo A). They’re very easy to grow (in fact, my ‘Mother’ fell into my potted aloe plant as a tiny little baby and is now so big it needs its own pot!) and don’t require much care. If you’d like either a clone of either of these plants, please let me know! Contact Lindsay Zasada Lost & Found: missing coffee cup (see photo B)! Looks like a Canon camera lens, black with ‘focus rings’. Last seen on the 5th loor, but since I traverse the building doing IT support, it could be ANYWHERE! Reward of my undying gratitude and never-ending hugs and/or baked goods of your choice are available. Contact Lindsay Zasada