Health Notes: March 11, 2008

March 11, 2008 04:00 am

— EPIC session today at Clinton Co. Senior Center
PLATTSBURGH -- An informational/enrollment session on EPIC, the New York State Senior Prescription Drug Plan, will take place at the Clinton County Senior Center, 5139 North Catherine Street, Plattsburgh, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., today. Candy Rivera-Whitehead, an Epic representative, will be on hand to answer questions and assist with applications and the recent Requests for Additional Information (RFAI) form many EPIC members received. Health Insurance Information Counseling and Assistance Program counselors from Clinton County Office for the Aging will also be available to assist with Epic enrollment or to answer other senior health-care questions.
For additional information, call Clinton County Office for the Aging at 565-4620.
Lupus group to host Web chat on kidney disease
PLATTSBURGH -- It is estimated that as many as 40 percent of all people with the autoimmune disease lupus and as many as two-thirds of all children with lupus will develop kidney complications that require medical evaluation and treatment. March is National Kidney Month, and the Lupus Foundation of America (LFA) is using the observance to call attention to this serious and potentially life-threatening complication of lupus. The foundation will conduct a Web chat on the topic of the kidneys and lupus at: www.lupus.org on Wednesday beginning at 3 p.m.
Speaking will be Dr. James Tumlin, the director of the Southeast Renal Research Institute in Charlotte, N.C., and associate professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. He will focus upon clinical and translational research in renal disease.
Leukemia & Lymphoma Support Group formed
PLATTSBURGH -- Dr. Jan Duus will be the guest speaker at the very first meeting of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Support Group planned for Monday, March 17, from 6 to 8 p.m. in the FitzPatrick Cancer Center. Duus, a medical oncologist, will present, "Understanding Cancers of the Blood With An Emphasis On Multiple Myeloma." The group will meet the third Monday of each month in the Cancer Center from 6 to 8 p.m. It is free and open to adult survivors and family members and friends of someone with a blood-cancer diagnosis of leukemia, Hodgkin and non-hodgkin lymphoma, myeloma, Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia or myelodysplastic syndrome. It is co-sponsored by the Cancer Center and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Refreshments will be provided. Call the Cancer Center's Stacey LaFave at 562-7534 or the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society at 438-3583 to register.
Essex County Well Child Clinic canceled
ELIZABETHTOWN -- The Well Child Clinic to be held at Essex County Public Health on March 20 has been canceled.
Lecture Series to focus on macular degeneration
PLATTSBURGH -- Dr. Gault Farrell of Eye Care for the Adirondacks will present "The Eyes Have It: Macular Degeneration" on Thursday, March 20, at 7 p.m. in the Comfort Inn in Plattsburgh. The program is part of the ongoing CVPH Community Lecture Series sponsored by the Foundation of CVPH. Age-related macular degeneration is the leading cause of vision loss in Americans age 60 and older, according to a news release. Farrell will talk about the warning signs of the disease and how it's diagnosed and treated. He will offer an update on new treatment therapies and answer questions. Farrell is a graduate of Albany Medical School and completed a residency and fellowship in retina and eye pathology at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston. The program is free, but reservations are required. Call the CVPH public relations office at 562-7320 to reserve.
Fund to aid mental-health professionals
SARATOGA -- Applications are available for the Xavior "Sam" Mastrianni Fund, which awards multiple scholarships yearly to advance the education or professional development of those in the mental-health field. Scholarship applicants can represent a broad range of experiences and backgrounds, but preference is given to individuals working in a community mental-health setting. The fund honors the memory of Mastrianni, a Saratoga Springs psychiatrist, whose vision and leadership guided the expansion of mental-health services in Saratoga County until his death in 1995, according to a news release. For more information or to receive a scholarship application, call Four Winds Human Resource Department at 584-3600, Ext. 3294. The application deadline is April 16.
Essex County promotes sex education
ELIZABETHTOWN -- Raising the subject of sex can be embarrassing for parents and children, but it's vitally important, according to a news release from Essex County Public Health recognizing March as Talk to Your Kids About Sex Month. According to a 2007 national survey of 12- to 17-year-olds, respondents said their parents most influence their decisions about dating and relationships, the released continued. Parents want to talk with their children about sex but often don't know what to say or when to start the conversation. For more information, ask Public Health about free educational programs that cover sexuality and related topics such as HIV and sexually transmitted infections, peer pressure and peer power, substance use, effective communication and negotiation skills and healthy decision making. Call (800) 797-5772, 873-3511 or e-mail sallott@co.essex.ny.us.
Free, 10-minute HIV test available
ELIZABETHTOWN -- Essex County Public Health now offers Uni-Gold as a free, rapid HIV testing option. The Uni-Gold HIV test has a 99.7-to-99.8 percent reliability rate and delivers results in 10 minutes from a simple finger-stick method. "We have offered rapid HIV testing since September 2003 and started looking at Uni-Gold HIV testing last fall," said Susan Allott, RN, HIV program coordinator and test counselor, in a news release. If the rapid HIV test is reactive, clients are offered confirmatory HIV testing and must return for test results. Free anonymous and confidential and HIV counseling and testing are available by appointment at Essex County Public Health's 132 Water Street location in Elizabethtown and at scheduled off-site locations in the county. Phone (800) 797-5772, 873-3511 or e-mail sallott@co.essex.ny.us. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends everyone ages 13 to 64 get tested for HIV.