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
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