Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 2, 2017)
Health Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, August 2, 2017 A7 Community HEALTH BEAT Quality Healthcare Close To Home 170 Ford Road, John Day • 541-575-1311 • www.bluemountainhospital.org Eagle file photo A participant enjoys a past Blue Mountain Healthcare Scramble at the John Day Golf Club. This year’s tournament will be held Sunday, Aug. 27. Scramble to benefit Blue Mountain Care Center 18-hole golf tourney set for Aug. 27 By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle The Blue Mountain Healthcare Foundation’s an- nual fundraiser golf scramble is on the horizon. Set for Sunday, Aug. 27, the 18-hole tournament will be played at the John Day Golf Club with check-in at 8 a.m. and tee off at 9 a.m. Proceeds from this year’s event will benefit the Blue Mountain Care Center in Prairie City, with a focus on replacing the old boiler, up- dating heating in the building and the purchase of a walk-in refrigerator and freezer. The deadline to sign up a four-person team is Aug. 24, and the cost is $75 per person. If anyone signs up with fewer than four players, they will be placed with other players to make up a team. Cart rentals are available for $20. Awards and cash prizes will be presented after the scramble. Tickets for a barbecue by Tim and Tracie Unterwegner are $25 each. BMHF board president Jack Southworth said it’s an event not to be missed. “It would be hard to imag- ine a funner golf tourna- ment,” he said. “We’ll have complimentary food and drink on the course for par- ticipants.” Entries may be mailed, delivered or called in to Blue Mountain Healthcare Foun- dation, 170 Ford Road, John Day, OR 97845, or 541-575- 1311. For more information, call board member Tom Win- ters at 541-542-2066 or email tjwinters1951@gmail.com. Eagle file photo Strawberry Wilderness Community Clinic inside Blue Mountain Hospital is now offering a limited number of same-day appointments for certain symptoms. Raffaella S. Betza, MD The truth of the matter is that none of us like getting flu shots and there are a number of reasons why people are skeptical about this. As we head in to flu shot season, this is a great time to think a little bit about influenza and why we doctors care so much about it. Influenza virus is one very specific virus that causes fever, body aches, chills, runny nose, and fatigue. We all use the word ‘flu’ to describe pretty much any minor illness we get (‘stomach flu,’ ‘the flu’) but when doctors are talking about ‘influenza,’ we are talking about this specific virus. Influenza is one of the oldest viruses out there. It’s very clever and mutates every year which is why we humans haven’t become immune to it. It’s been responsible for huge epidemics that have claimed many lives. A recent influenza outbreak in 2009 claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, many among young adults and children. It was referred to as the ‘swine flu’ outbreak but sure enough the virus that caused all that suffering was influenza. Everyone is at risk of catching influenza virus during the cooler months. That’s because we all spend more time indoors and the virus thrives in cool dry weather. Young healthy people who catch influenza are looking at a week or two on the couch feeling absolutely miserable followed by a few weeks of feeling tired while getting strength back. However the elderly, young children, pregnant women, and people with conditions that weaken their immune systems could be looking at pneumonia, hospitalization, septic shock, and even death. From time to time even young healthy adults can get dangerously ill from influenza. Influenza virus is serious business. According to the CDC, in a good year, 3,349 people die from influenza related deaths. In a bad year, that number can go up to over 44,000. The CDC recommends that everyone age 6 months and older get vaccinated against influenza every year. We should all be vaccinated because we’re all at risk. We should be vaccinated every year because influenza mutates every year. Unfortunately, if you had influenza last year that does not give you any immunity this year. The influenza vaccine is usually about 50-80% effective - that’s not perfect by any means. The effectiveness changes every year. Every year a bunch of mathematicians and biologists at the CDC in Atlanta (and at other labs around the country including Los Alamos in New Mexico) look at strains of influenza from around the world and crunch numbers to try and predict which strains are most likely to be floating around the coming fall and winter. They then develop a vaccine against those strains and that’s the flu vaccine we give in the clinic. They’re using math to predict the strains so they can put the vaccine out in advance so they’re not always able to get it 100% right. With less than 100% effectiveness, it becomes even more important that everyone get vaccinated. We know that not everyone is going to get the flu shot: for example anyone who’s had an allergic reaction to the flu shot and babies under 6 months old can’t get flu shots. By preventing 50-60% of flu cases, we’re making it less likely that people who are unvaccinated will catch influenza. Think about it this way: if you are exposed to 100 people who have the flu you are more likely to catch influenza than if you are only exposed to 40. Finally, I know a lot of people are worried that the flu shot could give them the flu. The injected influenza vaccination is an inactivated vaccine. It cannot give you the flu. There is nothing in it that could possibly give you the flu. It just can’t happen! A lot of people pick up colds or even sometimes influenza virus when they come to clinic which is why sometimes we ask you to wear a mask if you’re having cold symptoms. The nasal vaccine (which we sometimes give to children) is a live vaccine and some people do end up with a runny nose, cough, or mild fever after that one. The live vaccine wasn’t available last flu season and we don’t know yet if it will be available this year either. Flu shot: do you really need one? Unless you’re a baby under 6 months old or you’ve had an allergic reaction in the past, the answer is, “yes!” You need a flu shot because you’re at risk of catching influenza this year and if you do you will be miserable and you will be at risk of serious life threatening complications. You need a flu shot because by being vaccinated you will be protecting vulnerable members of our community. You should go ahead and get your flu shot because there is just no way that by getting the (injected) flu shot you could ever get the flu. Hope to see you soon at Strawberry Wilderness Community Clinic for a flu shot! Clinic offering limited same-day appointments Blue Mountain Eagle People who wake up with certain symptoms have a new option for same-day treat- ment. After a trial run earlier this year, Strawberry Wilderness Community Clinic inside Blue Mountain Hospital is now offering a limited num- ber of “Fast Track” appoint- ments each weekday for some urgent symptoms that do not require emergency room care. “Our patients who have taken advantage of this sched- uling model have been very thankful, and our providers enjoy it,” said Blue Mountain Hospital District CEO Derek Daly. “This is really some- thing we’re excited about.” Designed for people who wake up with symptoms, pa- tients can call to schedule an appointment for one of the slots beginning at 7 a.m. Mon- days through Fridays. Fast Track appointments can only be made for the same day. Some of the symptoms eligible for the appointments include ear infections, urinary tract infections, flu, sinus pain, sore throat, cough, a new rash or allergies. Other symptoms may also be eligible. The program was launched in response to community and patient concerns about hav- ing access to appointments. Patient, provider and staff feedback from the trial was positive. “We will continue to look at scheduling models to en- sure our patients have access to urgent needs services,” Clinic Manager Lynne Combs said. “We may be expanding our Fast Track time blocks in the future to accommodate the needs of our patients.” For more information, call the clinic at 541-575-0404. BLUE MOUNTAIN CARE CENTER Resident of the Month PEGGY (MARGARET) BARTLEY Peggy (Margaret) Bartley was born on August 10, 1928 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Clifford Howell (born in 1888 in Prairie City) and Estella( Ford) Howell (born in Philadelphia 1892). Peggy was an only child. She lived in Philadelphia prior to moving to Prairie City during her Elementary years. Peggy lived in Bates, Oregon for 12 years then Prairie City for most of her adult years. Peggy’s first husband was Wilburt Sullens who served in the Army Air Corps-WWII; they had two children Jim (who served in combat- Army-Vietnam) and Gloria. Her second husband was Bill Hammack who served in combat – Army – Korea. They had two children Ginger and Cindi. Then she married the love of her life Chuck Bartley in 1976. Chuck served in combat – Navy- WWII. Chuck passed away in 2003. Peggy is a mother, was a housewife, worked in retail and spent over 30 years working as a bank clerk in Prairie City. The bank was known by many names over the years, some of them were; The Grant County Bank, First Interstate Bank, First National Bank, Wells Fargo and Bank of Eastern Oregon. Peggy and her husband, Chuck, also owned Chuck’s Service Station and Chuck’s Mini-Mart in Prairie City. Peggy likes to visit, work on her Genealogy, loves her cat Dixie, puzzles and taking care of her home. She likes to watch game shows and loves to watch “Blue Bloods”. Peggy also pays close attention to the news. She has 3 living children, 7 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren (soon to be 4), whom she cares for and loves very much. Peggy came to the Blue Mountain Care Center on May 26, 2017. Presents... August Visiting Specialists August 9th Dr. McLellan Bend Cardio August 14th Dr. Rushton Farris Baker Podiatrists August 15th Dr. Korrina Farris Bend Neuro August 23rd Dr. McLellan Bend Cardio August 28th Dr. McLellan Bend Cardio 05831
