Volume 17, No. 4, Fall 2009
November Is National Hospice Month
(Click here for more stories on Hospice activities in the region)
SUNFLOWER SISTERS BRING A BLOOM TO HOSPICE PATIENTS
Hyannis resident Cynthia Robotham (left) is Volunteer Coordinator for
Beacon Hospice’s Yarmouth Port office and Georgia Williams, a registered
nurse from Bourne, is a Beacon Hospice volunteer. Together, they’re the
Sunflower Sisters who don their bright costumes to entertain patients
suffering from dementia, end-stage Alzheimer’s, and other terminal
illnesses at various Cape Cod nursing and assisted living centers. They
began transforming themselves into the Sunflower Sisters earlier this year
and make their “rounds” at least once a month. For more information
about the Sunflower Sisters,
call 508-778-1625.
ALL THE SURGERY ISN’T IN OPERATING ROOM
It’s A Time Of Big Change
For Healthcare On Cape
In many respects, the face of healthcare on Cape Cod is taking on a new look these days even before the Obama Administration’s overhaul plan for health insurance has graduated from the drawing board.
Taken individually, these changes don’t represent major surgery. They more resemble a facelift accompanied by a financial tummy tuck. But, in total, they may represent the greatest shift in how we get our healthcare since the merger of two major hospitals and other ancillary organizations created Cape Cod Healthcare (CCHC) in 1996.
(Click here for the full story, including specific issues)
The Flu Vaccine Story
Just remember, the seasonal flu and H1N1 are all flu viruses. There is nothing magical about either group. Their notoriety stems from how active they are and seasonal flu vaccine is designed to target the most active of the group. H1N1 was not included in the seasonal vaccine for this year as it was a late bloomer. That’s why it requires a second shot.
For the first time in my memory, we are dealing with the arrival of a new strain of influenza virus not included in the seasonal prediction.
Each year, around April, the current active strains of flu that are in the world are studied. With this information, smart people make educated guesses as to which strains will be the biggest players in the coming winter’s flu season. Plans are made and production begins within the month to produce the familiar seasonal flu vaccine that is offered each year at the doctor’s office.
In June of this year, (after the vaccine production began) the World Health Organization announced that a new “Novel”(H1N1) flu had reached pandemic status. Not that it is more scary or dangerous, but that it is very contagious and very good at spreading rapidly. It had not yet existed in April to be studied.
Our government responded to a new viral challenge, as you may well have heard. The nation’s virus factories stopped producing the regular seasonal flu vaccine that we have been using each year to change over into producing just an H1N1 version. They decided that since H1N1 was moving so fast, this threat needed to be dealt with first. Once enough H1N1 vaccine was produced, the plan was to restart production of the familiar seasonal vaccine.
Remember, the seasonal flu and H1N1 are all flu viruses. There is nothing magical about either group. Their notoriety stems from how active they are and seasonal flu vaccine is designed to target the most active of the group.. H1N1 was not included in the seasonal vaccine for this year as it was a late bloomer. That’s why it requires a second shot.
--Dr. Paul Marz
Click here for full flu coverage.