Immunization

She started her physician career later than most—with four children, a husband and dog at home—just out of medical school at 43 and in her first physician employment at 46 in a closed model health maintenance organization. On her first day, more than 30 patients were waiting to see her, a veritable conveyer belt. That wasn't what Barbara Hummel, MD, had in mind when she pursued a career as a family physician. She imagined a family practice where she could get to know her patients and spend some time moving them in heathy directions. "It was herd them in, herd them out. Half the time, I wasn't seeing my own patients," she recalled. "I was doing urgent care for doctors who were doing urgent care for other doctors. I left there feeling that wasn't what I went back to school for." After a short stint with a small, multispecialty practice and a year working in urgent care, she made the big decision—she began preparing her own practice. Renting space

Two types of vaccines can help protect you from meningococcal disease, including meningitis. Meningococcal disease is extremely rare in the United States, affecting roughly one in a million Americans annually. However, certain groups, including young people and teens, are at higher risk. Since meningococcal disease can cause serious illness and even death, most Americans benefit from getting the vaccine. The meningitis vaccines protect against bacterial meningitis, which can cause the most serious cases.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that all teenagers get the meningococcal conjugate vaccine, which protects against four strains of bacteria that can cause meningitis. Most children get their first dose at age 11 or 12, and a booster at 16. However, in some cases, the CDC recommends giving the vaccine to younger children who are at increased risk for meningitis.  A second type of meningitis vaccine is not universally recommended, but is a

PITTSFIELD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 28, 2021-- The Hillcrest Educational Foundation, operator of educational centers now providing therapeutic treatment and special education to more than 500 children and adolescents with unique psychological and learning needs, announced today that CEO Gerard E. "Jerry" Burke will retire next year after more than 36 years leading Hillcrest. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210528005226/en/ Hillcrest Educational Centers CEO JERRY BURKE (at left) is retiring in July 2022 after 36 years leading the Berkshire County, Massachusetts, provider of special education and therapeutic services for children and adolescents with unique psychological and learning needs. SHAUN CUSSON (at right), Hillcrest's executive director since 2005, has been appointed to succeed Mr. Burke as CEO by a unanimous vote of Hillcrest's board of directors. (Photo: Business Wire)

Health care is a thriving sector in the West Valley, and by all accounts, the region's industry boom has only just begun. Consider that roughly 36% of the health care workers in Maricopa County live in the West Valley, according to Sintra Hoffman, president and CEO of WESTMARC. That's about 41,000 skilled health care workers. Therefore, hiring professionals for medical facilities and hospitals — particularly as the COVID-19 pandemic drags on — can turn their attention to the West Valley as they seek to hire the talent that they need to staff positions from administrative and general practice to specialists and surgeons. Trevor Stokes, CEO at the Partnership for Workforce Innovation, said health care is the largest private-sector employer across Maricopa County. While health care is a broad industry, one example of its impact on the Valley is that 1 in every 5 sector jobs is in a hospital. "There has been a remarkable growth trajectory in the healt

This transcript has been edited for clarity. Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape's Coronavirus Resource Center. Hello. I'm Dr David Johnson, professor of medicine and chief of gastroenterology at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Virginia. Welcome back to another GI Common Concerns. Today I'd like to focus on the gastrointestinal (GI) manifestations of so-called long-haul COVID-19. Prior to COVID-19, we never really thought of infections caused by SARS-associated coronavirus in terms of GI illness. That began to change during the early days of the pandemic, when it was recognized that some patients were presenting with GI manifestations, diarrhea being the most notable. GI symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain sometimes presented antecedent to the respiratory symptoms, and sometimes as the only symptoms related to the course of COVID-19. Other symptoms included anosmia and dysgeusia. We now know that the COVID-19

"By changing our name, we are changing the conversation." – Chuck Ingoglia Tweet this "By changing our name, we are changing the conversation," National Council for Mental Wellbeing President and CEO Chuck Ingoglia said. "Not only is the National Council for Mental Wellbeing inclusive of mental health and substance use, our new name boldly states our goal – to make mental wellbeing a reality for everyone. "This change also presents an opportunity to align our name with our goal of promoting mental health, recovery from substance use challenges and equitable access to high-quality care," Ingoglia said. The name change is the result of months of discussion among the National Council's Board of Directors, members, staff and consultants, who helped guide the process. "A lot has changed over the past year. The pandemic has fueled mental illness and substance use," Ingoglia said. "Today, the work of mental health and substance us

In 2011, when the CDC began collecting data on babesiosis, 1,126 cases were reported. Today, over 2,000 cases of babesiosis are reported in the United States each year, although Krause said he believes the actual number is many times higher. He explained: Lyme is underreported by more than tenfold, both diseases are spread by the same tick, and babesiosis is harder to diagnose. While 30,000 cases of Lyme are reported each year, the CDC estimates the actual number to be closer to 476,000.

GAMBRILLS, MD — Waugh Chapel Center, a post-hospital rehabilitation and long-term care facility, will temporarily convert select units within the center to care for coronavirus patients. The goal is to assist hospitals in expanding their capacity while the facility helps with the care and recovery of COVID-19 patients. Waugh Chapel Center opened its doors to COVID-19 patients Monday. "We're grateful for the partnership and proactive assistance from facilities like Waugh Chapel Center to aid Luminis Health and other Maryland area hospitals in the fight against COVID-19," said Deneen Richmond, chief quality and population health officer with Luminis Health. "By accepting COVID patients from Anne Arundel Medical Center and Doctors Community Hospital who are stable and need a place to recover, Waugh Chapel Center will help us open our beds for COVID and other patients who need care. We are safe, ready, and waiting, and encourage our community to seek care with us,

Antibiotics can only treat illnesses caused by bacteria. However, there is a common misconception that they can also treat viral conditions, such as colds, bronchitis, and flu. This miseducation of the public, surrounding the use of antibiotics, in addition to improper prescribing from physicians, has lead to increased antibiotic resistance in the population, which threatens to reduce the efficacy of antibiotics, which could render them ineffective against common infections, making them much more threatening to public health. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines the appropriate use of antimicrobials as " the cost-effective use of antimicrobials which maximizes clinical therapeutic effect while minimizing both drug-related toxicity and the development of antimicrobial resistance". Observing the proper use of antibiotics is vital to addressing the threat of antibiotic resistance, which is deemed to be one of the most urgent threats to global health. Antibiotics. Im

William Lynes, MD, had a flourishing medical practice and a fulfilling family life with three children when he first attempted suicide in 1999 at age 45. By 2003, depression and two more suicide attempts led to his early retirement. In a session at the recent virtual American Psychiatric Association (APA) 2021 Annual Meeting, Lynes talked about the challenges of dealing with depression while managing the stresses of a career in medicine. The session in which he spoke was called, "The Suicidal Physician: Narratives From a Physician Who Survived and the Physician Widow of One Who Did Not." By writing and speaking about his experiences, he says, he has been able to retain his identity as a physician and avoid obsessive thoughts about suicide. He hopes conversations like these help other physicians feel less alone and enable them to push past stigma to get the help they need. He suspects they do. More than 600 people joined the APA session, and Lynes received dozens of than

SHEFFIELD – The Syed Scholarship Foundation has selected 10 high school seniors and 1 medical student to receive $1,000 scholarships in Dr. Faizullah Syed 's name.  The following students in the Shoals were selected based on their academic achievement,  involvement in school activities and their community and a desire to pursue a career in the healthcare field.   Kelli Daniel - Colbert Heights High Lily Hufstedler - Deshler High Austin Kimbrough - Deshler High Maylea Perry - Muscle Shoals High Lily Pounders - Russellville High Jeremy Ray - Florence High  Candace Reed - Muscle Shoals High Lauren Richardson - Muscle Shoals High Cameron Roddy - UAB Medical School Macaulay Sheppard - Florence High Ian Williams - Deshler High The Syed Scholarship Foundation was honored to select these individuals and help them along with their educational aspirations.   "Our hope is that the students will remember the Syed scholarship they

As the COVID-19 pandemic swept through the US during the early part of 2020, like any other business, hospitals adopted several measures to reduce the risk of viral spread. Whether it is social distancing requirements, masking regulations, enhanced sanitation, or daily deep cleanings, hospitals tried anything they could to try to limit the spread of COVID-19. And while these measures did have an impact on reducing COVID-19 spread, they may have had a greater impact at reducing other viral infections, such as clostridium difficile infections (CDI). While there has been a lot of focus on the drastic decrease in the community spread of influenza to the point where there was less than 3000 confirmed cases during the most recent flu season, there have been multiple studies and retrospective examinations recently showing that c difficile cases largely decreased because of the enhanced hospital measurements. "This pandemic has led to a number of amazing findings that are either n

Banner Health's newest hospital, Banner Ocotillo Medical Center, will open at 8 a.m. Nov. 2, making it the first new Banner hospital since 2010, when Banner Ironwood Medical Center opened in Queen Creek. Starting with 124 patient beds, Banner Ocotillo is designed to grow and offers emergency care, intensive care, endoscopy, cardiac services, imaging, surgical services and women and infant services, including labor and delivery – with the ability to care for babies born at 32 weeks and older. The hospital anticipates handling about 21,000 emergency visits per year to start. It is shelled to double the emergency room from 14 to 28 beds and grow from four to six operating rooms, whenever patient volumes dictate expansion. "We are so excited to open this beautiful new hospital to serve Chandler and surrounding communities," said Laura Robertson, Banner Ocotillo Medical Center CEO. "I'm proud and honored to be leading and working alongside an experienced, patien

More than 150,000 Texans could soon lose their health care option if a bill making its way through the state legislature passes. That may not sound like a significant number to the politicians on the House Insurance Committee who passed HB 573, but we are significant. Our family is significant. We are among those 150,000 Texans. This harmful legislation would massively expand the jurisdiction of the Texas Department of Insurance over religious ministries. With nearly unlimited power afforded through the bill, this added bureaucracy and regulation could impose insurance-style restrictions on Health Care Sharing Ministries that would threaten their unique religious identity and could eventually even shut them down. Health Care Sharing Ministries are not health insurance – they are a completely different model for managing health care expenses. These ministries are 501(c)(3) charitable organizations, through which individuals come together to share health care expenses that align with

Exebacase showed the potential to be used in patients with chronic Staphylococci prosthetic knee infection (PKI) to reduce symptoms and improve function The observed clinical responses in patients treated under compassionate use in France warrant further study of the use of intra-articular administration of exebacase for prosthetic joint infection (PJI) YONKERS, N.Y., May 26, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ContraFect Corporation (Nasdaq: CFRX) a late clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of direct lytic agents (DLAs), including lysins and amurin peptides, as new medical modalities for the treatment of life-threatening, antibiotic-resistant infections, today announced the publication on the administration of exebacase, arthroscopically, in the setting of debridement, or the surgical removal of the infected tissue, in patients with relapsing multidrug resistant (MDR) Staph epidermidis (S. epidermidis) PKI in Frontiers in Medicine. "The very