Health & Wellness
Healthbeat
Antibiotic awareness
focus of national effort
" The first Get Smart About Antibiotics Week, a
Rational awareness effort to coordinate efforts of the
Centers for Disease Control (CDC), will be held Oct.
6-10, and North Carolina's program is being led by
Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
Get Smart About Antibiotics Week is the first
effort to coordinate the work of the CDC's Get Smart:
Know When Antibiotics Work campaign with other
partners during a one-week observance of antibiotic
resistance and the importance of appropriate antibiot
ic use.
| The objectives for the week include increasing die
knowledge of the general public and hopefully modi
fying people's attitudes and behaviors about the
appropriate use of antibiotics. With more education,
the long-term goals are to decrease the demand for
antibiotics for upper respiratory infections, decrease
unnecessary prescribing, and decrease sharing or sav
ing of previously prescribed antibiotics.
Michelle Wallis, program manager for North
Carolina Taking Antibiotic Resistance Seriously
(NCTARS), will be speaking on this topic at
BestHealth on Monday, Oct. 6, at 10:30 am. and
again on Thursday, Oct. 9 at 6 pjn.
Every October all three of the state's pharmacy
schools participate in an effort of their choosing, edu
cating the communities within close proximity to
each university. Locally, the public will see this in
action at the Dixie Classic Fair on Saturday, Oct. 4,
from 9 arn. to 3 p.m., when pharmacology students
from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
will be on hand to offer information and counseling
about antibiotic resistance and appropriate antibiotic
use, while conducting "Operation Immunization" to
give flu shots.
DOT to drivers: Beware of deer
To help decrease the number of wildlife and auto
mobile crashes, the N.C. Department of
Transportation reminds motorists to be aware of the
increased presence of deer on North Carolina's roads
'his fall.
More than 15,500
animal-rplated crashes
are reported each year -
90 percent involving
deer. Since 2005, the
incidents have resulted
in 3,028 human injuries,
of which 17 were fatal,
and nearly $116 million
in property damage.
While a crash
involving a deer canj
\ ' happen at any time, the
majority of deer-vehicle
collisions occur between the months of October and
December, when deer activity increases due to the
mating and hunting seasons Incidents are most com
mon during the hours of 5 p.m. to 7 a.m.. when deerl
| movement increases and limited lighting makes itl
more difficult for motorists to see them on or near]
roadways
| Between 2005 and 2007, there were 52,643 ani
mal-related collisions reported throughout North
Carolina. The top five counties were Wake County
(1,076 incidents), Guilford County (590), Duplin
County (550), Rockingham County (536) and Pitt
County (502). Wake County has had the most animal
related crashes for the past 10 years.
Schwartz receives award
from State Pediatric Society
Robert P. Schwartz, M.D., a pediatrician at
Children's Hospital, part of Wake Forest
_ Baptist Medical Center, has been awarded
Outstanding Achievement Award for childhood
lity prevention from the North Carolina Pediatric
Society ??).
This award is given to a pediatrician or profes
working in pediatrics who has given excep
seiyice to improve the health and well-being of
and adolescents
hat established a statewide and national
in promoting the pediatric medical corn
's response to the epidemic of overweight and
children. NCPS acknowledged his leadership
research and clinical service to children and
r's School of Nursing
'Center of Excellence'
: School of Nursing at The University of North
at Greensboro has been selected by the
League for Nursing (NLN) as a 2008- 1 1
r of Excellence in Nursing Education.
: School of Nursing at UNCG, chosen for fos
ie teaching expertise of its faculty, is one of
nursing schools nationwide to receive the
year. The NLN also named the nursing
imong its 2005-08 Centers of Excellence.
School of Nursing's recent achievements
i 84 percent retention rate of tenure track fac
r the past seven years
1 Institutes of Health grants for two fac
iwuw*
a 86 percent satisfaction rate for undergraduate
r's level students based on end-of-program
1 has invited nursing schools to apply for the
I since 2004. Schools are evaluated bated
??w~nce in faculty development, nursing educa
i research and student learning and professional
Prostate
Cancer:
Should I get
screened?
The fTW*Y? Hnsdou Rcsea
on UhnowTY Hem,#
Wake Forest University Baptist
M I D I i \ \
Did you know that prostate cancer |
is the second leading cause of cancer
related death in men? Alarmingly, the I
prostate cancer death (mortality) rate I
among African American men is more
than twice as high as for non
Hispanic white men! The American
Cancer Society reports that approxi
mately one man out of every six will
be diagnosed with prostate cancer at
some point during his lifetime. The
good news is that prostate cancer is
treatable; only 1 man in 35 will die
from this disease.
For many years, scientists and
medical practitioners have debated
the usefulness of screening for
prostate cancer. Whether screening
via digital rectal examination (DRE)
or prostate specific antigen (PSA)
testing is actually useful in prevent
ing prostate cancer-related deaths is
still in question. Screening tests can
catch prostate cancer at early stages,
but the questioa^emains whether
catching this disease early makes a
difference in disease outcomes for all
men.
In August 2008, the U.S.
Preventive Services Task Force
(USPSTF) released new recommen
dations concerning screening for
prostate cancer. This group deter
mined that PSA testing (which is a
blood test) can detect some cases of
prostate cancer. That being said, the
researchers found that, for men under
75 years of age, they cannot tell
whether detecting the cancer early
improves health outcomes. The group
points out that there is some harm
associated with early detection and
treatment; for example, if a suspi
cious lump is detected, the biopsy
process can cause some pain or dis
comfort. Treatment for prostate can
cer can sometimes cause problems
like erectile dysfunction and urinary
incontinence. Some researchers feel
that early detection of prostate cancer
may lead to over-treatment (or treat
ment that may not be necessary) and
therefore may be harmful to the
patient.
Many other scientific groups,
however, have different recommenda
See Cincer on A13
All Hail the Princesses
Colorful breast cancer awareness fundraiser slated
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
Princesses will spring to
life from storybooks later this
month for a unique, colorful
fundraising event that will ben
efit several local breast cancer
awareness organizations.
Kernersville-based
"My Party Palace Triad" will
host the event Saturday, Oct.
11 from 9 - 10:30 a.m.
Themed "Breakfast with the
Princesses," attendees will be
entertained or, at least, amused
by the four fairytale /princess
who will host the Breakfast.
They are Cinderella; Belle
from "Beauty and the Beast;"
Ariel of "The Little Mermaid;"
and "Snow White."
Tickets for the breakfast,
which is also being sponsored
by the Courtyard Marriott, are
$22. Net proceeds will go to
Cancer Services Inc. and Co's
Hope Foundation, which was
started by the family of the late
Rev. Conita Archie Hunt who
lost her battle with the disease
three years ago.
This is the second breast
cancer fundraiser hosted by
My Party Palace Triad and
owner Kqtina Rice. Last year,
more than 40 women attended
"Breakfast with Cinderella."
My Party Palace is a
themed party planning and
hosting company that offers
customized "Diva,"
"Princess," "Spa" and "Bear
Stuffing Parties" for girls (and
women) of all ages. Rice
File Photo
Katina Rice at her My Party Palace Triad.
opened the shop a little more
than a year ago. Since then,
more than 1,000 women and
girls have come through its
doors. '
Part of the reason Rice
started the fundraisers is her
close relationship with
Willonda Thomas, one of Rev.
Hunt's daughters and a
founder of the Co's Hope
Foundation.
Rev,Conita Archie Hunt
Mr. Slim
PRNewsFoto/Jenny Craig
Move over Queen Latifah! NBA
star Baron Davis is joining the
growing list of
? celebrities endorsing weight
loss company Jenny Craig.
Davis, who plays for the Los Angeles
Clippers, is preparing to tell the world
how he lost 19 pounds by following
the Jenny Direct program, which
includes home delivery of meals.
Local doctor's research used to
stop sale of alcoholic energy drinks
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT marketplace.
Research by a Wake Forest
University School of Medicine pro
fessor is raising red flags about the
safety of alcoholic energy drinks, or
AEDs).
In fact, state attorneys general
have used a study by Dr. Mary Claire
O'Brien, an associate professor of
emergency medicine and public
health sciences, to oppose leading
manufacturers of AEDs in their
O'Britn
Twenty five attorneys general cited
O'Brien's work in a letter written
joint ly to W. Leo Kiely, the chief exec
utive officer and president of
MillerCoors that expresses concerns
that Sparks Red, the company's latest
introduction, poses "a serious health
and safety risk for America's youth."
Sparks Red "will contain as much
as 8 percent alcohol by volume - a sig
nificant increase over the alcohol con
I efforts to introduce a new beverage into the See Drinks on A1J
Blood donors could win $ 1 ,000 gift cards
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
Each time a donor gives
blood, he or she is giving the gift
of life. Now donors could be get
ting a gift1 in return.
Those who give blood and
platelets from now through Dec.
31, will be entered to win a
$1,000 gift card courtesy of the
American Red Cross. The "Give
a Little, Buy a Lot!" campaign is
aimed at increasing donations
during a season when they typi
cally dry up.
The Red Cross believes that
donations are light in the fall
because many folks are distract
ed by other things, such as their
children's school schedules and
the upcoming holiday season.
Anyone who gives blood or
platelets through the Red Cross
during the promotion period will
be automatically entered to win
4
American Red Croat
ilOCW) sttvicti
CAtonwm ntcioo
WINSTON-tAUM Com.,
one of three gift cards.
"This is a critical time of year
for blood and platelet donations."
said Robert F. Fechner. chief
executive officer of the American
Red Cross Carolinas Blood
Services Region. "In addition to
the gifts they'll give to family
and friends this holiday season,
we're asking people to also take
the time to give the gift of life.
This shopping card is one way
we can show generous donors
how much we appreciate that
gift."
The American Red Cross
Carolinas Blood Services Region
provides blood to 103 hospitals
and needs approximately 1,600
people to give blood and platelets
each weekday to meet hospitals'
demand.
Blood can be safely donated
every 56 days. Platelets can be
given safely every two weeks, up
to 24 times a year. Most healthy
people age 17 and older, who
weigh at least 110 pounds, are
eligible to donate blood and
platelets.
For more information or to
schedule an appointment to
donate, please call I -800-GIVE
UFE (448-3543) or visit red
crosshlood.org.