FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, September 30, 2008

CONTACT:
Cindy Hickey, 330-489-1212
cindy.hickey@cantonmercy.org

Mercy Offers Free Mental Health Screenings

Canton, Ohio: Mercy Medical Center Behavioral Health will offer free mental health screenings on Thursday, Oct. 9, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in Mercy Medical Center’s Mercy Hall auditorium.

National Depression Screening Day® – held each year in October – began nearly two decades ago as a nationwide effort to screen individuals for the most common mental health disorders: depression, bipolar disorder, generalized anxiety disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.

"People suffering from depression and other disorders often do not recognize it themselves," said Krutarth Choksi, M.D., medical director of Mercy Behavioral Health. "Typically, it's loved ones who first notice the warning signs."

Screening appointments are required. For more information or to make an appointment, please call the Mercy Healthcare Connection at 330-489-1333 or 1-800-223-8662.

To learn more about National Depression Screening Day, visit Mentalhealthscreening.org.

Mercy Medical Center, a nonprofit corporation of The Sisters of Charity Health System and University Hospitals Health System, operates a 476-bed hospital serving Stark, Carroll, Wayne, Holmes and Tuscarawas Counties and parts of Southeastern Ohio. It has 550 physicians on its Medical Staff and employs 2,500 people. Mercy operates outpatient health centers in Carrollton, Jackson Township, Lake Township, Louisville, North Canton and Plain Township. A Catholic hospital, Mercy Medical Center upholds the mission and philosophy of the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine and continues to be responsive to the needs of the community, including the provision of care to all, regardless of their ability to pay. For more information, see www.cantonmercy.com .

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