Health & Wellness
Healthbeat
Pregnancy Prevention
Conference coming to Greensboro
The 2007 Teen Pregnancy Prevention Conference
entitled Greater Expectations: It's Up to Us to Prevent
Teen Pregnancy will be held May 31- June 1 at the Koury
Convention Center in Greensboro. The conference,
which is held annually by the Adolescent pregnancy
Prevention Coalition of North Carolina (APPCNC'l and
the NC Department of Health and Human Services
Division of Public. Health, focuses on helping health
providers and educators better serve teens and teen parents
in pregnancy prevention.
Author Rachel Simmons will be the keynote speaker
ilits year. Her books, "Odd Girl Out and Odd Girl Out
Speaks," focus on the hidden culture of aggression in ado
lescent girls and how parents can nurture healthy girls
through this difficult period of their lives.
"Rachel Simmons' message is one all parents of teen
girls need to hear," APPCNC Executive Director Kay
Itiillips said, "This is a difficult time for young women
and parents need to understand how to deal with it."
Simmons' speech will be held Thursday, May 31 at
7:30 pjn. and will be open to the public. Tickets can be
obntined by calling (919) 932-9885. A limited number of
tickets are available
Those interested in attending the Conference should
consult APPCNC's web site at wwwjppcnc.org. The final
date for registrations is May 18; pre-registration is
required.
bIM" "i; . VjgH
Kelly receives Meritorious Award
David L. Kelly, Jr., MX)., was the honored guest and
Meritorious Award recipient at the 23rd Annual Meeting
of the American Association of Neurological
Sureams/Coneress of Neurological Surgeons Section on
Kelly
Disorders of the Spine and
.Peripheral Nerves (AANS/CNS)
in March.
Kelly is professor and former
chairman of department of neuro
surgery and has been with Wake
Forest University Baptist Medical
Center for 42 years. He Mas the
chairman of the neurosurgery
department for 22 years. The
award is presented to an individual
who has made outstanding .contri
butions to neurosurgery and the,
spine. He graduated from the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill and completed his residency at
Wake Forest University School of Medicine. Dr. Kelly is
also a recipient of the highest medal awarded by AANS,
called the Harvey Cushing Award.
Tenth Annual Excellence
IViathlon set for May 12
The Women's Health Center of Excellence for
Research, Leadership and Education at Wake Forest
University Baptist Medical Center will hold its 10th annu
al Excellence Triathlon at Tanglewood Park in Clemmons
on Saturday. May 12.
The sprint-distance triathlon will start at 8 a.m. and"
includes a400-meter swim. 12-mile bike course and a 3.1
mile run.
About 350 athletes from across the Southeast are
expected to compete this year. Racers can sign up individ
ually or in relay teams of two or three participants.
Proceeds from the triathlon support domestic violence
prevention programs and community education. Since the
triathlon began in 1997, it has raised more than $155,000.
For information about volunteering, donating, or to
register for the triathlon. visit
www.exceUaKetriathlon .nrg or call (336) 713-4222.
Dole announces $1,184361 to help
North Carolinians with disabilities
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole last week announced thai the
U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training
Administration (ETA) is awarding $1,184361 to the
North Carolina Department of Commerce for the
Disability Program Navigator (DPN) initiative.
According to the Department of Labor, the DPN initiative
helps inform Social Security beneficiaries and other indi
viduals with disabilities about work support programs
available at One-Stop Career Centers.
"It is important that people with disabilities have the
opportunity to work," said Dole. "The DPN initiative
enables One-Stop Career Centers to provide information,
training and other resources that help qualified individuals
overcome the challenges of finding employment."
Accofcling to ETA, the DPN initiativ^Tgrew out of a
ioj?f>Wwith the Social Security Administration to fund,
implement, pilot and evaluate DPN positions within the
One-Stop Career Center system. This would ensure that
Supplemental Security Income and Social Security
Disability recipients have access to work incentive infor
mation and contact with employer, .
Tooth decay on the rise
ATLANTA (AP) - Tooth decay in young children's
baby teeth is on the rise, a worrying trend that signals
the preschool crowd is eating too much sugar, accord
ing to the largest government study of the nation s den
tal health in more than 25 years.
; The study also noted a drop in the proportion of.
non-elderly adults who have visited a dentist in the past
year ? a possible indicator of declining dental insur
But there was some good news: Older children have
fewer cavities and adults have less periodontal disease!
than in the past, and more of the elderly are retaining
their teeth.
"Overall, we can say that most Americans are notio*J
& an improvement in their oral health," said tbH
y's lead author. Dr. Bruce Dye of the NauoOfll
Center for Health Statistics |53:
Experts are concerned about the prevalence of cay^J
ities in baby teeth of children ages 2 to 5.
Most docs let Rx
companies buy them food
BY AI.IC1A CHANG
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Four out of five doctor* sur
veyed said they let drug and
device makers buy them food
and drinks despite recent efforts
to tighten ethics rules and avoid
conflicts of interest.
The national survey also
found that family doctors were
more likely to meet with industry
sales representatives, and that
cardiologists were more likely to
pocket fees than other special
ists.
The study is the first to docu
ment the extent of the relation
ships between doctors and sales
reps since 2002 when a leading
industry group adopted volun
tary guidelines discouraging
companies from giving doctors
gifts or tickets. In general,
researchers found hardly any
thing had changed since previous
studies a couple years earlier.
Consumer advocates say this
is proof the new rules aren't
working.
"These findings are fairly
disturbing. There appears to be
no dialing back at all on these
relationships," said Merrill
Goozner of the Center for
Science in the Public Interest.
The survey, 'published last
week in the New England
Journal of Medicine, was doije
by researchers from
Massachusetts General Hospital,
Yale University and the
University of Melbourne in
Australia.
Researchers mailed question
naires to 3.167 doctors around
the nation in 2003 and 2004 and
1,662 replied. They included
anesthesiologists, cardiologists,
family doctors, surgeons,
internists and pediatricians with
experience ranging from less
than 10 years to over 30 .years.
Half were in private group prac
tices and the rest worked in hos
pitals and medical schools.
See Doctors on A9
Junior League members Daniela Helms, from left, Judy Wicker, Cherry Callahan, Sally Weeks.
Greensboro Junior League honored by clinic
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
GREENSBORO - The
Junior League of Greensboro
was recognized for establishing
the Greensboro Pharmacy in
1991 by HealthServe
Community Health Clinic at
their Business Leadership
Luncheon on April 24. The
Junior League worked with Dr.
Stewart Rogers, Betty Rogers.
RN and Greensboro Urban
Ministry. A total of $100,000
was committed to this project by
the Junior League along with
numerous volunteer hours to
establish a pharmacy for patients
who could not pay for prescrip
tions. This pharmacy program
continues today at HealthServe
with over $1 million of free
pharmaceuticals provided to
patients.
Junior League past presi
dents, Cherry Callahan (1991
1992) and Sally Weeks (1992
1993) along with current presi
dent. Daniela Helms accepted
the award on behalf of the Junior
League of Greensboro. Sally
Weeks states, "HealthServe's
pharmacy is an excellent exam
ple of how the League identifies
a community need and commits
?both funding and volunteers to
build a solid foundation upon
which the program can continue
to grow."
The Junior League of
Greensboro has contributed over
$3 million to the community in
its 80 year history, with more
than $2 million contributed in
the last 10 years.
Free check-ups to be offered to women
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
The Sickle Cell Disease Association of
the Piedmont and Gftensboro's Hayes
Taylor YMCA are teaming up to sponsor an
event for the fourth annual National
Women's Health Check-Up Day.
It will be Monday, May 14 from 12-8
p.m. at Hayes Taylor^ 1101 East Market
Street. The free event will offer health
screenings for things such as sickle cell,
blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose, glau
coma, depression, posture, spinal disor
ders. breast cancer, foot disorders and
HIV/STDs.
Health education exhibits will include
information on stroke, heart disease, dia
betes. smoking prevention, substance
abuse, domestic violence and reproductive
health. The importance of good nutrition
will be demonstrated with taste-testing of
healthy recipes.
Cardio workout equipment will be on
hand, as well as land and water aerobics
instruction and weight training. Fitness
trainers will demonstrate what to do in the
weight room and offer information on the
benefits of each physical activity.
This effort aims to raise awareness of
the importance of healthy eating, daily
physical activity, stress management and
annual comprehensive physicals, including
gynecological and mammography. Such
screenings also demonstrate to participants
that many health problems are preventable
and treatable when detected early.
For more information on this event, call
336-274- 1 507.
What is
Type 1
Diabetes?
In previous articles we
have discussed how to manage
about Type 2 diabetes, which
usually begins with insulin
resistance, or the inability of
the body to properly use the
insulin that it has. Type I dia
betes is different from Type 2
in that, for persons with Type
1, pancreas cells become
destroyed by a virus or an
autoimmune reaction. As a -
result, they cannot make
insulin and therefore can't
control blood sugar effective
ly
Often, Type 1 is called it is
called juvenile diabetes
because it is usually diagnosed
in children and adolescents;
however, adults can also be
diagnosed with Type 1 dia
betes. Like those with Type 2
diabetes, persons with Type 1
diabetes are at risk of having
heart disease, stroke, kidney
failure, high blood pressure,
blindness, and nerve damage;
these problems occur two and
four times as often in persons
with diabetes compared to
those people without diabetes.
How can I reduce my risk
of complications if I have
Type 1 diabetes?
in order to help prevent
these problems, it is essential
to follow the advice of your
doctor with respect to taking
your insulin and maintaining a
diet and exercise regimen. In
addition, you should not
smoke, and you should main
tain your blood pressure
below 130/185 mm of Hg and
cholesterol level below 200.
When you have type 1 dia
betes, the blood can not move
as easily throughout the legs
and of the" feet. This is why it
important to for your health
care provider to examine your
feet every time you see him or
her. People with Type 1 dia
betes can also experience
increased eye and dental prob
lems, so you should also have
a yearly eye exam with a spe
cialist and visit your dentist
twice a year to check your
teeth.
Persons with type 1 dia
betes should maintain a
healthy weight and eat a diet
that is low in fat, salt and
added sugars and that includes
complex carbohydrates such
as integral breads, cereal,
fruits and vegetables. Watch
portion sizes in order to main
tain a healthy weight.
How Do I use Insulin?
Persons with Type I dia
betes take insulin to maintain
their blood sugar levels closer
to the normal value of some
one without diabetes. Insulin
is usually taken before meals,
with an injection. There is also
the option of an insulin pump
for some persons; these pumps
constantly regulate the level of
insulin in your body and auto
matically increase or decrease
your dose as needed. At dif
ferent times, you may need
slightly more or less insulin
depending on your current
blood sugar level and how
your body reacts to the insulin.
Since blood sugar levels often
increase during the night,
many people with Type 1 dia
betes also take a larger dose of
insulin before they go to bed.
Your doctor will explain to
you exactly how and when
you must take your insulin and
your treatment options.
What do I do if my blood
sugar level is too high or
low?
If your blood sugar is too
high, you may need to take an
added dose of short action
insulin to return your blood
sugar level to your normal
value. You should contact
your doctor if this happens, as
only he or she can tell you
how much insulin you need to
take to lower your blood sugar
level. It is common for people
with Type 1 to have moments
See Diabetes on A9