National Adoption Day will be at 10 a.m. Nov. 14 at the Woodbury County Courthouse, Seventh Street Entrance.

National Adoption Day will be recognized throughout the United States, in communities large and small, when an unprecedented number of courts open their doors on this special Saturday to finalize the adoptions of thousands of children in foster care and celebrate all families that adopt. In the Woodbury County Courthouse, we expect to finalize three adoptions on this one day.

National Adoption Day will serve to raise the public's awareness of the ever-growing need for adoptive homes for these waiting children.

In the Woodbury County Courthouse, foster care children and their new parents will have their adoptions finalized. Family-court judges, volunteer lawyers, adoption professionals, child advocates and community volunteers will be also be there, working together to celebrate the adoption process.

Call 1-866-409-2351 to RSVP by Nov. 2.

Mercy Medical Center, Sioux City will host its 16th annual Respiratory Conference for respiratory therapists, physicians, nurses and other medical professionals Nov. 5 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Sioux City Convention Center.

The conference will provide attendees with the latest information about research, diagnosis and treatment options in the field of pulmonary and cardiopulmonary medicine.

Israel Rubinstein, M.D., a professor of Medicine and Biopharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Illinois in Chicago, will discuss "Smoking Cessation: An Ongoing Performance Improvement Challenge." He will outline the epidemiology and health economics of smoking, the mechanisms underlying tobacco dependence, and evidence-based approaches to smoking cessation.

Dr. Rubenstein will also present on the topic of the "Management of COPD in the Community." He will outline the diagnosis, management and public health burden of COPD.

Thomas Benzoni, D.O., staff physician in the Emergency Department at Mercy Medical Center, Sioux City, will present on the subject of "Hypothermia after ROSC." Benzoni will discuss developments in therapeutic hypothermia after return of spontaneous circulation.

Thong Pham, M.D., FACC, a cardiac electrophysiologist at the Mercy Heart Center at Mercy Medical Center, Sioux City, will discuss the "Stepwise Approach to Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation." He will review treatment approaches, the current strategy for the medical treatment of atrial fibrillation, as well as the benefits and risks of such treatment.

William James Spencer, executive director of Mission, Ethics and Spirituality at Mercy Medical Center, Sioux City and an assistant professor of Pharmacy (Ethics) at Creighton University School of Pharmacy and Health Professions in Omaha, will educate conference attendees on the topic of "Treatment Abatement and Futility." He will discuss values underlying futility of care and healthcare ethics, and will also distinguish between rationing and futility related to ethics.

James Maguire, Ph.D., a senior scientist and lecturer for Pall Life Sciences and a senior consultant on respiratory care for VA Regional Medical Center in White River Junction, Vt., will conclude the conference will a presentation on the "Use of HMEF to Decrease Risk and Cost in Ventilator Care."

Continuing education credit will be available for respiratory therapists, physicians and nurses.

There is a cost.

For more information and the cost, visit Mercy Medical Center's Website at www.mercysiouxcity.com, or call (712) 279-2507.

Mercy Medical Center-Sioux City was honored Wednesday with a national clinical excellence award for vascular surgery from HealthGrades, the nation's leading healthcare ratings organization. The basis for Mercy's latest accolade was the 12th annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality in America Study, which is the most comprehensive study of its kind, analyzing more than 40 million Medicare hospitalization records from 2006 to 2008 at the nation's approximately 5,000 hospitals.

According to the new HealthGrades study, Mercy Medical Center ranks among the top 5 percent of the nation's hospitals for vascular surgery. The report gives Mercy five-star ratings for overall vascular surgery, carotid endarterectomy procedures, and peripheral vascular bypass surgery.