The seminar is from 10 a.m. to noon and features Geoffrey Block, M.D., director of UPMC's Hemochromatosis Center. Free parking and refreshments will be provided. Hemochromatosis is a genetic disorder that causes people to absorb too much iron from a normal diet. One in eight people is a carrier of the disorder. Because iron overload can affect the joints, liver, heart, or pancreas, people with hemochromatosis often develop arthritis, liver disease, irregular heart rhythms, or diabetes, without knowing the underlying cause of these ills.
Treatment can be simple and highly effective.
During the seminar, Block will discuss these and other common complications as well as prevention strategies and current treatments. Monica Yamamoto, will discuss nutritional issues. Two nursing professors from the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford presented a paper at a national nursing educators' conference in Texas, explaining how they are incorporating technology into the curriculum. Lisa Fiorentino, director of Pitt-Bradford's nursing department, and Karen March presented their paper in Fort Worth at the annual conference of the National Organization of Associate Degree Nursing Educators. March said she also posts Internet sources for information that may be difficult to convey in class.