Health & Wellness
Healthbeat
Forsyth Medical meditation
room receives piece of art
The Forsyth Medical Center Foundation has
received a gift of" a pointing by Chapel Hill artist
Jacob Cooiey forthe hospital's intensive care unit
meditation room
The large landscape piece - titled "Meander" -
is a contemplative coastal scene of wetlands that
might be viewed along the coast or by a riser or a
marsh. The five foot by four foot oil on canvas,
which was commissioned specifically for this site,
makes a strong statement on the bay window wall.
Or. and Mrs Malcolm Brown, who selected
the work as a focal point tor Ihe meditation room,
donated the piece. The room was dedicated in
2007 to Dr David Collins for his medical guid
ance, consultation and dedication to providing
superior pulmonary care for our community .
NMA honors Fraser-Howze
for commitment to fight AIDS
Debra Fraser-How /e. \ ice president of
External Affairs at OraSure Technologies and
founder and former CEO of the National Black
Leadership Committee on AIDS, was honored last
month by the National Medical Association
(NMA) during a gathering of members of the
African-American doctors
organization in Las Vegas
Fraser-Hovv'ze received
the NMA's highest, honor,
the Scroll of Merit for her
important contributions to
the fight against HIV AIDS
in the African-American
community.
When she founded the
National Black Leadership
Commission on AIDS
(NBLCA) in 19S7 she
became the first leader to
h rastr-Howze
mobijize a broad coalition of prominent African
American clergy members, political leaders, com
munity organization leaders and medical profes
sionals to discuss how to fight HIV/AIDS.
Fraser-Howze has also advised two U.S. pres
idents while serving on the Presidential Advisory
Council on HIV/AIDS from 1995-2001; served as
vice chair of the HIV Human Services Planning
Council in New York City; and chaired the
National Institute of Heath's Public Education
Technology Committee. In 2003, she was appoint
ed to the New York City Commission on AIDS
and in 2007 to the New York State Governors
Health Advisory Council.
She joined Bethlehem. Penn. -based OraSure
Technologies in January 2008. The company is
best known for its assortment of oral HIV tests
that provide results in minutes.
Most state emergency personnel
have completed safety program
North Carolina's Executive Committee for
Highway Safety announced today that nearly 90
percent of the state's fire and rescue departments
have completed the N.C. Responder Safety
Program, which aims to educate emergency
responders on how to quickly and safely clear
incidents on the highway to minimize their impact
on traffic.
The N.C. Responder Safety Program was pro
vided to all fire departments in North Carolina
and will be distributed to an additional 2.235 first
responder agencies, including law enforcement
agencies, emergency medical services and towing
operators across the state.
As an incentive for completing the training,
more than 7.000 fire and rescue vehicles across
the state will receive live 2H-inch reflective band
ed traffic cones at no charge.
The training program includes a 30-minute
DVD written and produced by the ECHS that lays
out standard response methods for the most com
mon types of incidents and educates personnel on
how to clear them quickly and safely while mini
mizing their effect on traffic. In addition, the pro
gram provides reference cards for responders to
put inside their vehicles to serve as on-the-scene
guides pointing out key safety tips such as where
to most effectively park response vehicles and
how to appropriately position traffic cones. They
also feature several state statutes, including the
Quick Clearance and Move Over laws, which help
protect first responders
I Prejudice blamed for spike in
AIDS among gay African men
(GIN/NNPA)
A study published in the medical journal Lancet
attributes the soaring HIV rates among gay men in
Africa to prejudice that leads to isolation and
harassment, in turn, encouraging high-risk sexual
j behavior.
Gay men contending with social stigma were j
more likely to be involved in sex work, have mul
tiple partners and experience contact with intra
venous-drug use
Male-male sex is a criminal offense in some 31
sub-Saharan African countries. It even draws the
death penalty in a few - on the books, at least - if
hardly ever in practice
Release ol the study coincides with the 5th
International Conference on HIV, Treatment and
Prevention, which was recently held in Cape
Town, South Africa, with the participation of at
least 5JX)0 delegates of over MX) countries
College kids at high risk for secondhand smoke
SPH HI It) IHfcCHROMClfc
Secondhand smoke (SHS? is
nt? only a nuisance, but a poten
lial health concern for many col
lege students, and administrators
should be taking steps to reduce
students" exposure, according to
li new study by researchers at
Wake Forest University School
of Medicine.
It is the first study to provide
e\ idence of the high rates of SHS
exposure, and correlates of expo
sure. among coHege students in
the United States.
Funded by the National
Institute on Alcohol Abuse and
Alcoholism, the study can be
found online today and will
appear in the July 23 issue of
Nicotine & Tobacco Research, a
publication of. the Society for
Research on Nicotine and
Tobacco.
"It is well-known that there
are some serious health issues
surrounding secondhand smoke."
said Mark Wolfson, Ph.D.. lead
Protect Your Kids:
Back-to-School
Vaccinations
August is an exciting time as children, young
adults, and their families prepare to start school.
An important part of that preparation involves
ensuring. your children have received all the vac
cines that can protect them from illness. Did you
know that approximately one-third of African
American children do not receive the necessary
vaccinations? Read on to learn about why it is
important to vaccinate your children and what
vaccines are appropriate for children and young
adults.
When and why should I vaccinate
my children?
It is important to vaccinate children because
the there are many diseases that still exist and are
always at risk for returning and causing severe
illness and outbreaks. It is essential to vaccinate
your children during infancy, continue immu
nizations until the child begins school, during
school, and re- vaccinate with appropriate boost
ers thereafter. Frequently, several doses of a par
ticular vaccine are necessary to provide protec
tion against that disease. The American
Academy of Pediatrics recommends the follow
ing vaccines:
Children aged 0-6 years
Vaccine Name Number of Doses and When to
receive each dose j
Hepatitis B Oose # 1 Birth
Dose #2 - between 1 -2 months
Dose tf'i - between 6-18 months
Rotavirus foose #1-2 months
Dose #2-4 months
pose #3 - 6 months
Diphtheria Tetanus Dose #1 - 2 months
Peduss?s (DTa P) Dose #2-4 months
Dose #3-6 months
Dose #4 - between 15-18 months
Dose #5 between 4-6 years
Haemophilus Dose #1 - 2 months
influenza type B Dose #2-4 months
4 Dose #3-6 months
Dose #4 - between 12-15 months
Pneumococcal
^Pneumonia)
Dose #1 -2 months
Dose #2-4 months
pose #3 - between 6-18 months I
Yearly beginning at age 6 months
Measles Mumps Dose #1 - between 12-15 months
and Rubella (MMR ) Dose #2 - between 4-6 years
Varicella 'Oh?c*en Dose #1 - between 12-15 months
Pox j Dose #2 - between 4-6 years
Hepatitis A 2 Doses between the ages of
12-24 months The doses should
be at least 6 months apart
Meningococcal 1 Dose - age 2-10 years This
(Meningitis) could change if your chikl has
other tUnesses or is at risk for
meningitis for other reasons -
check with your child's doctor
Dose #1 - 2 months
Dose #2-4 months
Dose #3 - 6 months
Dose #4 - between 12-15 months
Inactivated
Poliovtrus (Polio)
Influenza
Children and adolescents aged 7-18 years
Vaccine Nam* Number of Doses and Whan to
recaiva aach dose
Diphtheria IBooster Dose - between 1112
Tetanus years
Pertussis Can be made up between ages
(DTaP) 1 J 18 if needed
Rumfefi 3 Dose series - between 11-12
Papillomavirus years.
{HPVj Oose #2 two months after Dose #1
Dose #3 6 months after Dose #2
Can be made up between ages
(1 3- 18 if needed
Meningococcaf 1 Dose between 1112 years (if no!
(Meningitis) ^received before)
|Can be made up between ages
ff&iM tfimrnhd- . . "?
(Influenza V?ariy
Hepatitis B Can be made up between 7-18
years if not received before
Inactivated fcan be made up between 7-18
? PoMovirus years if not received before
{RpHoi . .. L. - ? .. ? ?? '
Measles. Can be made up between 7-18
Mumps and years if not received before
Rubella (MMR) !
Varicella lean be made up between 7 18
(Chicken Pox) years if not received before
f I' patitis A ^ay be recommended for young
(adults in high risk groups discuss
With your doctor If your child is in
lone of these groups
Pneumococcal jMay be recommended for young
{Pneumonia) adults in high risk groups discuss
With your doctor if your child is in
jone of these groups
Advice for parents on vaccinations:
You should always talk to your pediatrician
about vaccinating your child. While most chil
Sce Vaccines on A 7
L
author on the study, professor
and section head for the Section
on Society and Health in the
Department of Social Sciences
and Health Policy. "While some
college campuses are smoke free,
others have virtually no restric
tions on smoking, not even in the
residence halls. There is a grow
ing national movement to move
away from that, but it still very
much varies by campus: In this
first study to evaluate SHS expo
sure among college students, we
were really kind of floored to see
how many, and how frequently,
students are exposed to it."
For the study, researchers sur
veyed 4,J,M unoeigrauuaic col
lege students from 10 North
Carolina universities thght pub
lic and I wo private. The) were
asked questions about their
drinking and smoking habits,
demographics (age. gender, race,
parents' education level),
lifestyle (residence on- or off
campus, living in a substance
tree dormitory, participation in a
fraternity or sorority) and SHS
exposure.
Of the participants. S3 per
cent reported having been
exposed to SHS at least once in
the seven days preceding the sur
vey. Most of those exposures (65
percent ) happened at a restaurant
or bar, followed by exposure at
home or in the same room as a
smoker (55 percent) and in a car
(38 percent).
?* Daily and occasional smok
ers were more likely than non
smokers to report exposure, per
haps not surprising erven that
they are more likely than other
See SHS
n
jamic'crt** i *
? . IV.
Dr. Agnes
Moses (lefti
and Laura
(iuay. I !'
of research
for the
G7 0 Si r
Foundation
UNC doc receives honor
for AIDS work in Africa
CHRONICLE S I Al l RKPOR T
Dr. Agnes Moses received the 2009
International Leadership Award (ILA) from
The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS
Foundation last month at the International
AIDS Society (IAS) Conference in Cape
Town. South Africa.
A senior investigator at the UNC
Project-Malawi, Dr. Moses has played a key
role in the design and implementation of
many of Malawi's prevention of mother-to
child transmission (PMTCT) programs.
UNC Project-Malawi is a research, care and
training facility that is a collaboration
between Kamuzu Central Hospital, which is
in the southeastern African nation, and the
University of North Carolina School of
Medicine.
In addition to having one of the world's
lowest physician-to-patient ratios, Malawi
lacks the capacity to offer medical residency
training. UNC Project- Malawi financed Dr.
Moses's education in internal medicine at
University of the Witwatersrand in
Johannesburg, South Africa.
"I have benefited immensely from gen
erous external training programs," said Dr.
Moses, a native of Malawi who is commit
ted to living and practicing medicine in her
home country.
"This award is a perfect opportunity for
Dr. Moses to realize her full potential in
medicine and public health and as a leader
in the Malawi health sector," said Irving
Hoffman. U.S. Director of UNC Project
Malawi and Research Associate Professor in
the UNC School of Medicine. "Agnes
would be the first to acknowledge that her
ability to win this award was a team effort,
and it will be a team effort to improve the
health of mothers and children in Malawi."
Created in 2002, the International
Leadership Award (ILA) supports physi
cians and scientists worldwide who have the
training and potential to develop pediatric
HIV programs, but lack the financial
resources to do so. To date, the ILA has pro
vided nearly $6 million in awards. The
Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
was founded in 1988 by Glaser. her hus
band, actor/director Paul Michael Glaser.
after Elizabeth Glaser contracted HIV
through a blood transfusion. She unknow
ingly passed the virus to her daughter
through breastfeeding and to her son while
he was in her womb. She died in 1994.
The award will provide Dr. Moses with
funding over a three-year period for a proj
ect aimed at improving the effectiveness of
prevention of mother-to-child transmission
(PMTCT), and improving maternal and
infant HIV diagnosis, care, treatment and
support in Lilongwe District of Malawi.
PMTCT services expand to additional
health centers. _
"I consider it an honor and privilege to
get this award." Dr. Moses said. "I accept it
with humility and commitment to the cause
of reducing pediatric and maternal HIV in
Malawi."
CDC encouraged by slowing child obesity rate
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
According to new numbers from the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
obesity among children may be becoming
less of an epidemic. While one in 7 low
income, prescnooi
aged children is still
obese, it appears that
progress is being
made to curb those
numbers.
The prevalence
of obesity in low
income two-to-four
year-olds increased
from 12.4 percent in
1998 to 14.5 percent
in 2003, but rose to
only 14.6 percent in
2008, said a report
based on CDC's
Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance System
(PedNSS). The study is in the July 24, 20()9
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
"These new data provide some encour
agement, hut remind us of two things - one,
too many young children are obese, and two,
we must not become complaccnt in our
efforts to reduce obesity among young chil
dren," said Dr William H. Diet/, director of
CDC
CDC's Division of Nutrition, Physical
Activity and Obesity. "Childhood obesity
remains a major public health problem that
increases the risk of developing serious
chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, car
diovascular disease and adult obesity."
released late last
month by Wake
Forest University
Baptist Medical
Center found that
the rates of severe
childhood obesity
have tripled in the
last 25 years.
"Children are
not only becoming
obese, but becom
ing severely obese,
which impacts their
overall health,"
said Dr. Joseph Skelton, lead author of the
study and director of the Brenner FIT
(Families in Training) Program at Wake
Forest University Baptist. "These findings
reinforce the fact that medically-based pro- ,
grams to treat obesity are needed throughout '
the United States and insurance-companies
should be encouraged to cover this care."