HEALTH NOTES

Marijuana forum scheduled

The Heartland Republican Women’s Club will host a forum on State Question 788, which would legalize medical marijuana, on Thursday.

The forum will start at 6:30 p.m. at the Edmond Community Center, 28 E Main. August Rivera, of Oklahomans Against State Question 788, will argue against the proposal, and Sam Fredrickson, of Our Revolution Oklahoma, will argue for it. The question will be on the June 26 ballot.

Fundraiser is coming up

CASA of Oklahoma County will hold its annual fundraiser May 4 in Bricktown. The organization’s volunteers act as advocates for children in the foster care system, representing their best interest in court. The event runs from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Aloft Hotel. Tickets are $75. For more information, go to okcountycasa.org/ETR.

Transplant program honored

The liver transplant program at Integris Baptist Medical Center had the highest survival compared with similar programs last year. About 98.7 percent at Integris of patients who received a liver transplant were alive one year later. Nationwide, about 92.2 percent of liver transplant patients survived at least one year. The risk of complications also was lower at Integris, and patients were less likely to die while waiting for a liver.

Helping prevent child abuse

The Oklahoma Health Department is trying to draw attention to the more than 15,000 children mistreated in Oklahoma in a typical year during Child Abuse Prevention Month. It offered some suggestions to raise awareness of child maltreatment:

• Decorate a tree with blue ribbons.

• Ask your child to draw or color his or her “happiest day” and post the results on Twitter with the hashtag #PictureaBrighterFuture.

• Participate in the annual Child Abuse and Neglect Conference, Wednesday through Friday. Cost is $280 for all three days. For more information, go to www. ouhsc.edu/okcantraining/AnnualConference.aspx.

• Tell struggling families you know about ParentPro, which connects parents to resources to help with family communication, stress and children’s behavior. For more information, go to www.parentpro.org.

Volunteer with Prevent Child Abuse Oklahoma. Call 405-232-2500 for more information.