To Your Health

Blood drive at Palisades Center Mall

Jane Lerner — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 21:54:47 +0000

If you happen to be at the Palisades Center Mall in West Nyack this weekend, you might want to roll up your sleeve to give blood. The New Yok Blood Center is hold a blood drive there during what is normally the toughest time of year to get people to donate.

The blood drive is being held Saturday from 11:30 a.m. until 9 p.m. and Sunday from 11:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. on the fourth floor near the ice rink.

For more information call New York Blood Center at 800-933-2566

Northern Westchester Hospital responds to Hep C scare

Candice Ferrette — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:36:27 +0000

As we reported online and in today’s newspaper, Northern Westchester Hospital sent out letters to 2,700 former surgical patients alerting them of possible exposure to Hepatitis C.

A surgical technician charged in Colorado with stealing syringes, injecting herself and putting them back for use on patients worked at the Mount Kisco hospital from October 2007 to February 2008. Kristen Diane Parker, 26, was an intravenous drug user and carrier of hepatitis C, a potentially dangerous virus linked to liver disease and cancer.

Read the full story and the response from Northern Westchester Hospital to the case in Colorado.

Three NYC hospitals make top list

Jane Lerner — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:55:05 +0000

Three New York City hospitals made the honor roll list for the annual ranking of America’s Best Hospitals

They are:

Number 6: New York-Presbyterian University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell, the massive partnership between the old Columbia-Presbyterian and New York hospitals.

Number 17: NYU Medical Center.

Number 19: Mount Sinai Medical Center.

The list, complied by U.S. News & World Reports, looks at how well hospitals handle complex medical needs.

The institutions are ranked in 16 specialties, from cancer and heart disease to respiratory disorders and urology. A total of 4,861 hospitals were considered; 174, or less than 0.4 percent of the total, were ranked in even one of the 16 specialties.

Of the 174 hospitals that are ranked in one or more specialties, 21 qualified for the Honor Roll by earning high scores in at least six specialties.

The top hospital over all was Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. Ranking second was the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

House health committee approves Obama health-care plan

Candice Ferrette — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:06:59 +0000

The House of Representatives’ health committee this morning approved a $600 billion plan that would require individuals to have health coverage and employers to offer it — part of a larger effort to overhaul the nation’s health-care system.

This is the first congressional panel to advance the Obama adminstration’s health plan. The news comes a day after the Democratic lawmakers pledged to create health-care legislation, a plan that would cost $1 trillion, before they break in August.

Read the complete story by Associated Press reporter Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar.

Web site aids in applying for state health plans

Candice Ferrette — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 21:16:19 +0000

Hudson Center for Health Equity & Quality, a not-for-profit health-care advocacy group, has created a Web site to help Lower Hudson Valley residents determine whether they are eligible for state-run health insurance plans such as Family Health Plus and Child Health Plus.

The site, www.EnrollNY.org, aims to streamline the application process by allowing applicants to electronically input basic information about themselves, income and family size. A representative will then contact the applicant by telephone to complete the process.

The Web site is being marketed to individuals, community-based organizations, health centers and county agencies.

Accredited office-based surgery list

Jane Lerner — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:48:23 +0000

Doctors who perform surgery in their offices must now have those facilities accredited, according to a state Department of Health regulation that just went into effect.

there are approximately 500 New York State providers that are accredited to perform office-based surgeries and 200 more are awaiting accreditation. Any provider that has not received final accreditation as of July 13, cannot perform office-based surgeries requiring moderate or deep sedation or general anesthesia.

Click here to see a county-by-county list of accredited office based surgery facilities.

Grant for cancer support

Jane Lerner — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 19:42:29 +0000

Support Connection Inc., a not-for-profit organization based in Yorktown Heights offering free,support services to people affected by breast and ovarian cancer, has received a $7,500 grant from the MBIA Foundation, Inc.

The grant will help fund Support Connection’s Peer-to-Peer Counseling Program for Women with Breast and Ovarian Cancer. Support Connection’s Peer Counselors provide personalized, confidential support and education to women with breast cancer. All services are provided free of charge.

Peer Counselors are women who have experienced cancer and have also received professional training. Peer counseling is provided on the phone or in person, and is available from the time of diagnosis for as long as it is needed.
To learn more about Support Connection’s programs and services, call 914-962-6402 or 800-532-4290

Swine flu vaccine may not be ready until the end of the year

Candice Ferrette — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:05:23 +0000

Officials from the World Health Organization are now saying that a vaccine for the swine flu may not be widely available until the end of the year.

According to Associated Press writer Maria Cheng, this could affect many countries’ vaccination plans, but countries could use emergency provisions to get the vaccines out quicker if they decide their populations need them.

So far, the swine flu viruses being used are only producing about half as much “yield” to make vaccines as regular flu viruses.

Last week, WHO reported nearly 95,000 cases of swine flu worldwide including 429 deaths. Most people who get the virus only experience mild symptoms and don’t need treatment to get better.

WHO experts are suggesting that health-care workers get priority when the vaccine is available.

HPV vaccine proves effective against cervical cancer

Jane Lerner — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:44:40 +0000

A new study shows that the controversial HPV vaccine is effective at preventing cervical cancer, according to a new study in the medical journal, The Lancet.
The study of women aged 15 to 25, who received three vaccine doses over six months, found that it was as much as 98 percent effective against HPV-16/18, the most common type of human papillomavirus, and between 37 percent and 54 percent effective against 12 other cancer-causing HPV types.
HPV-16/18 causes about 70 percent of cervical cancer cases, while the remaining 30 percent of cases are caused by other cancer-causing HPV types.

In an accompanying editorial in the respected medical journal, two experts wrote that men must also be included in efforts to halt the spread of HPV.

Free screenings at college health fair

Candice Ferrette — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 18:30:12 +0000

Can’t get to the doctor’s office? No problem. With all of the spring and summer community health events there’s no excuse for not getting a check-up!

Monroe College’s School of Allied Health will sponsor a health fair July 9 at its Main Hall, 434 Main Street in New Rochelle from noon to 4 p.m.

The free, public event will include special guests like State Assemblyman George Latimer, who will be accompanied by a 30-year survivor of an organ recipient. They will provide facts and figures about organ donation.

Representatives from the Westchester County Department of Health will also offer free and confidential HIV testing in a mobile clinic parked in front of Main Hall.

Attendees will get screened for high blood pressure, glucose and body mass index.

For more information, contact Virginia A. Rahilly, 914-740-6424 or by e-mail: vrahilly@monroecollege.edu.