The Great American Smokeout Prevention Program

The risks associated with smoking are known to just about everybody in the USA. Everyone knows how addictive and destructive they can be, yet everywhere you go you see people still smoking. Even physicians, nurses and people in the health care field who are suppose to know better still do. I, not being a smoker or raised in a family of smokers, don’t know why the obvious hazards of smoking don’t stop people but I can assume part of the reason must be due to how hard it is to quit.

St. Lawrence has a prevention program aimed a helping those trying to quit. Its called the “Great American Smokeout” urges smokers to try and stop smoking for one day. This event is sponsored by the American Cancer Society and gives smokers who make this pledge the support and information they need to quit. The smoking rates in New York are 18.1% for adults and 12.6% for high school teens, in St Lawrence County the smoking rate is above 25%. It is estimated that smoking accounts for more than 8 billion dollars in medical cost in New York, including taxpayer funds for Medicaid.

This program and others aimed at smoking prevent aim not only to saves peoples lives but help reduce medical costs and spending. Now that people are aware of the dangers of smoking, programs need to focus their efforts on directing people to places where they can get help. People need to know that it is possible to stop and there are ways to do it that are very affordable, if not free.  This event encourages people to call the toll free New York State Quit Line, which gives the caller access to wide range of strategies to quitting, coaching support and motivation.

Even though people are still taking up smoking, which is their right to do so, they are doing it with the knowledge of the dangers. But programs like these are important so that they know they can get support when they decide they need to get help.

http://northcountrynow.com/news/great-american-smokeout-today-chance-cut-tobacco-use-st-lawrence-county-071656

Virtual House Calls

So I realize that this article doesn’t pertain exactly to the county of St. Lawrence but I was interested by the last article we read about the lost practice of house calls. Upon researching the internet I have come to find that there are several companies like Stat Doctors or MDLivecare that do perform virtual house calls. These companies diagnosis and prescribe medications for common illnesses, like sore throats or sinus infections all via a web camera. All a patient has to do is sign on and register on the site and within 30 minutes they will be seen by someone at any hour of the day.

            I think this is a real step forward in bringing back the idea of house calls. Instead of a doctor having to drive 100 miles and only see a couple of patients, they can interact with more patients in a day and do more frequent follow ups. An orthopedic surgeon can check on a patients progress after they went home to make sure they are doing fine. Or if the patient is concerned their surgical wound is becoming infected, they could consult a doctor immediately. Patients far from a hospital can have access to medical care from the comfort of their home. They would be able to get a doctors advice on an illness and whether to make the trek to the nearest place. Its not a perfect switch because nothing can beat a human to human interaction but at least its progress. There are still kinks to be work out on it but I feel eventually this could become a common thing and a great benefit to rural communities.

http://www.azcentral.com/community/scottsdale/articles/2011/01/07/20110107scottsdale-hospital-employees-get-virtual-house-calls.html

http://www.limaohio.com/news/local_news/article_4cd2c64a-14be-11e2-8b8d-001a4bcf6878.html

"I-Stop" to stop prescription drug abuse

  With the growth of prescription drug abuse in rural communities, there has begun a need to figure out how to stop it. The death toll from overdose in 2010 reach 15,000 people and it was documented that 1 in 20 people over 11 admitted to taking a painkiller for non-medical reasons. The problem with prescription drugs is that they are difficult to control and monitor seeing that they are meant for the medical use for the person that the physician prescribed for. The State Senate past a Bill called “I-Stop” that allows for real-time prescription tracking that allows practitioners and pharmacist to follow the prescription. New York is trying to move away from paper prescriptions and to an electronic one. It also sets up a database so that they can easily view a patient’s controlled substance history.  The Bill also proposes setting up a Safe Disposal Program so when a patient has left over drugs, they can dispose of them without being tempted to give them to family or friends. As drug abuse prevalence and understanding evolves so must protocols to prevent it and so I think that this Bill is a great step towards that.

http://northcountrynow.com/news/state-senate-passes-i-stop-reduce-prescription-drug-abuse-epidemic-059430

Demolition of the former Shade Roller factory

The city of Ogdensburg is set to demolish the Shade Roller factory, which contains several buildings that have harmful materials. Some of these materials consist of lead based paint and asbestos. Breathing asbestos fibers can cause a buildup of scar-like tissue in the lungs, which is called asbestosis. This can result in loss of lung function that often progresses to disability and death. Asbestos also causes lung cancer and other diseases such as mesothelioma. Also it is reported that there may have been pollution at the site from improper removal of petroleum products and heavy metals. The articles focus is on demolishing this factory and restoring the waterfront. Care must be taken in the careful demolishing of these buildings so that the water will not be polluted and hurt the fishing community. Also care must be taken in protecting the workers that are doing the asbestos removal. I’m sure that there are strict rules and precautions to help protect them, but it still put them at a higher risk. Also all of the asbestos must be removed before they tear down the buildings to prevent any of it from getting in the air and possibly spreading it around if there is a strong wind. Again I’m sure that all safety measures will be upheld and these are not real issues however it is a concern.

http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20110728/NEWS05/707289972