Update for Week ending
June 13, 2009
- H1N1 (Swine Flu). The H1N1 flu strain was confirmed across Alaska this last week including in our communities of Haines, Skagway, Juneau, and Sitka. Below are the general talking points on the flu and general prevention techniques:
- SEARHC is taking all necessary precautions to protect its patients and employees throughout the region in case of an H1N1 (swine) flu outbreak. SEARHC staff is in regular contact with the Alaska Division of Epidemiology and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention so we can stay updated on the situation. We are continually monitoring and testing to see if any of our patients are developing symptoms, so we can ensure they receive the appropriate treatment.
- Patients who have any flu symptoms -- cough, fever, body aches, runny nose, sore throat, vomiting or diarrhea -- are asked to first call their local health clinic by phone, except in the case of an emergency. Our medical staff will ask the patients about their symptoms to see if they need to come into the clinic for flu testing or treatment. By calling first, our staff will be able to prepare for your arrival so we can limit the spread of germs and protect our other patients. This includes giving patients with flu symptoms a mask to wear during their entire clinic visit. If you are sick, please stay home (unless asked to come to the clinic). Do not go to work or school, and avoid public activities for at least five days (seven days for children) to keep from spreading the flu to others.
- People can help prevent the spread of flu and other airborne diseases through the frequent washing of hands with soap and water or the use of an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, using a tissue to cover your mouth when coughing or sneezing (promptly throw away the tissue when you are done), coughing into your upper sleeve or elbow if you don't have a tissue, washing your hands or using a hand sanitizer after coughing or sneezing, and using sanitary wipes to clean surfaces where germs gather (such as computer keyboards, telephones, light switches and stairway banisters).
- SEARHC currently is following state guidelines regarding which people are eligible for treatment using the antiviral medication, Tamiflu. So far these are patients who are hospitalized with confirmed or probable cases of H1N1 (swine) flu and patients who are at higher risk for seasonal influenza complications (this may include children younger than 5 years old, adults older than 65, people with certain chronic diseases and pregnant women).
- Updated information on the H1N1 (swine) flu can be found online at www.pandemicflu.alaska.gov (state site) or at www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/ (national site). The SEARHC site, www.searhc.org, also has information about our preparations for a possible flu outbreak.
- Haines Visit. On Friday, we made a trip to Haines. While in Haines, we were able to provide an update on SEARHC to the Haines Chamber of Commerce, meet with the Chilkoot Indian Association, tour the new construction of the Haines Assisted Living Facility, and have a brief meeting with our Board members from the Chilkoot Indian Association and Chilkat Indian Village. We also had a few moments to check in with the Health Center staff.
- Trauma – Informed Care Training. SEARHC and the IHS Women's Health Programs sponsored a training June 8-10, 2009 in Sitka focusing on transforming primary care to be more responsive to women and children who have experienced sexual abuse. A 2007 Amnesty International report states that Native American and Alaska Native women are more than 2.5 times more likely to be raped or sexually assaulted than other women in the United States in general. More than 1 in 3 Native women will be raped in her lifetime. According to US Department of Justice statistics, Alaska has the highest incidence of “forcible rapes” of women of any US state. Alaska Native women experience high levels of sexual violence in both urban and rural areas.Representatives from five tribal health organizations around the nation participated. Participants included the Dine' Nation, Fort Defiance Hospital Navajo Area, AZ, the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, the United Indian Health Service, Arcata, CA, the Chemewa Indian Health Clinic, Salem, OR, and the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. The training was supported by funding from the IHS through our former WISEWOMAN Project Officer, Carolyn Aoyama, who also supports our Domestic Violence project. SEARHC staff attending the training, which included Women's Health, Behavioral Health, Health Aide Training Center, and Injury Prevention staff, plan to develop a plan to share what they have learned with their colleagues in primary care.
- Cultural Awareness and Communication. Staff from the Ethel Lund Medical Center (ELMC) worked to improve cultural awareness and cross-cultural communication at the full-staff meeting in Juneau on Wednesday. Everett Wright, Marilyn Boggs, Andrea Cadiente-Laiti, and Victoria Johnson were joined by Ethel Lund (President Emeritus) and Sue Ann Lindoff (Juneau Board Representative) to share our Native culture to better serve our patients and clients. Staff focused on our great advancements in health delivery, but the need to stay connected with the people we serve. “Look at how far we’ve come… remember the people we serve,” said one of our nurses at the ELMC. The group will continue this work for a portion of each full staff meeting in the future.
- CDC Site Visit. In May, Thelma Williams, our new CDC WISEWOMAN Project Officer from the Division of Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention at the CDC visited SEARHC. We had a very pleasant meeting and she expressed her experience was positive. She met with staff in Sitka, Haines, Klukwan, and Juneau. We shared with her our unique cultural approach and the geographical challenges we face at SEARHC. Ms. Williams was able to witness the importance of the program to our populations, both in our larger clinics as well as to our smaller communities. We wanted to share why it is important to have this program throughout our communities. In the past, the CDC asked us to focus our services in Sitka and Juneau, to allow for greater efficiency and cost effectiveness in program delivery. This site visit was an opportunity to convey to our new Project Officer the difficulty of doing this, since we are a consortium of tribes, all of which have the expectation of similar services. We are also working to integrate a heart disease screening into annual women’s examinations as a requirement of the program.
- Fall Mobile Mammo Schedule Released. The SEARHC WISEWOMAN Women’s Health Program has announced the Summer-Fall 2009 schedule for the mobile mammogram program. The mobile mammography program is run through a partnership between Bartlett Regional Hospital and the SEARHC WISEWOMAN Women’s Health Program. The mobile mammography van makes regular mammography services available to women who live in nine communities where they aren’t available year round. The mobile mammography van will visit Hoonah, Haines, Skagway, Klawock, Craig and Metlakatla this summer and fall. This year the van has been updated with digital imaging on board instead of film.
- The van is scheduled to visit:
- Hoonah on Aug. 18-24
- Haines on Aug. 27 to Sept. 11
- Skagway on Sept. 14-17
- Klawock on Sept. 23 to Oct. 9
- Craig on Oct. 12-14
Just a reminder. . . SEARHC frequently brings in traveling medical specialists to hold specialty clinics at our various facilities. Please click here to view our upcoming specialty clinic schedules.
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