Posts Tagged ‘Open’
H1N1 flu vaccine clinics scheduled Saturday and next week in the Reno area for high-risk groups will be open for the first time to people ages 65 and older who have underlying chronic health conditions, said Judy Davis, spokeswoman for the Washoe County Health District. Clinics are scheduled Saturday, Tuesday and Thursday in Building B of the county’s office complex at 1001 E. Ninth St.
The high-risk category of people 25 and older with chronic health conditions, such as asthma or diabetes, that put them at higher risk of medical complications from influenza was expanded beyond age 64. Other high-risk groups are medical personnel, household members, caregivers and day care providers who are around children younger than 6 months of age, pregnant women and people 6 months through age 24.
“We have been given permission by the state health division to expand the H1N1 clinics to those who are ages 65 and above who have underlying and ongoing health conditions,” Davis said.
The state is following guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in opening the clinics to the older population, which has not been as hard-hit by the new virus as younger people without underlying health problems, she said.
“The only people in the state right now that the vaccinations are not open to are those who are ages 25 years and older who are healthy,” Davis said. “We are waiting for guidance from the CDC or the state of Nevada Health Division about when we will be able to offer them the vaccine, and we will make that announcement when the information becomes available.”
Unlike previous health district clinics, wristbands assigning vaccination times will not be distributed, she said.
Enough H1N1 vaccine is available, so the clinics are not expected to run out, Davis said.
“If it turns out we are starting to get overwhelmed with people, then we will go to the people in line and give them the choice of staying in line or getting a wristband and a time when they can return to get their vaccinations,” she said.
Patients will be asked to complete and sign a form indicating that they are in a high-risk group or older than 64 with a chronic health problem. Adults must have photo identification to verify their age.
The Thursday clinic will be the last of the year, Davis said.
Saint Mary’s clinic
Saint Mary’s Immunization Program will offer H1N1 vaccinations Saturday to individuals ages 2 to 24, pregnant women, health care and emergency medical workers, caregivers of children 6 months of age and younger and those 25 and older with chronic health conditions, the first time Saint Mary’s has given vaccine to anyone older than 25 with chronic health conditions.
The clinic will be 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the third floor of the Saint Mary’s Center for Health and Fitness, 645 N. Arlington Ave.
The H1N1 vaccine costs $20 but is free to Saint Mary’s HealthFirst and Health Choice members who present their insurance cards.
Central Florida Health Care expects to have a primary care clinic up and running in Winter Haven by this time next year. A ground breaking took place Monday on the Winter Haven site where the 10,000-square-foot building will be. More than 60 people attended, including city and county elected officials and area residents.
Central Florida Health Care will lease the building that’s being built at First Street and Avenue O Northwest, across from the Winter Haven Post Office. The new clinic will be near a bus shelter and a senior apartment complex and the Winter Haven Police Department, said Gaye Williams, chief executive officer of Central Florida Health Care.
Construction is scheduled to start in the spring.
“It’s very exciting,” Williams said. “We’ve wanted this for a long time.”
The opening can’t come too soon for Polk Ecumenical Action Council for Empowerment, a grassroots group spearheaded by churches countywide, whose members continue pressing the Polk County Commission for five primary care centers.
This would be the second primary care center receiving funds from Polk County’s indigent care sales tax, which Polk voters approved in 2004. The other is Lakeland Primary Care, also operated by Central Florida.
Lakeland Regional Medical Center paid renovation costs for an existing building to help establish Lakeland Primary Care. Winter Haven Hospital expects to help with the Winter Haven clinic, but the details haven’t been finalized.
“We believe it will move some people who currently get their care in the emergency room to that clinic,” said WHH President Lance Anastasio, adding, “Even with our emergency department and our (hospital-run) primary care centers, there’s unmet need.”
Polk County has a shortage of primary care doctors, who are necessary to give people a “medical home” for coordinated care, he said.
The primary care center in Winter Haven will be less than a mile from the hospital and have some night and weekend hours, Anastasio said. He said he thinks those factors will encourage people to use it for regular care, reducing their need for emergency room visits.
Central Florida, which receives some federal support as a federally qualified health center, celebrated its 37th anniversary this year. It has clinics in Frostproof. Dundee, Lakeland, Wauchula and Avon Park.
As a federally qualified center, Central Florida doesn’t require patients to have health insurance. It charges uninsured patients on a sliding scale based on their income. Its percentage of uninsured patients has increased with the economic slowdown, Williams said.
You finally can get an H1N1 swine flu shot, no matter who you are.
The Pueblo City-County Health Department has scheduled two swine flu clinics for the general public, not just for people with a higher risk for the disease.
The first clinic will be held Saturday and the second will be held Dec. 12.
The health department is offering the vaccine shots and doses of nasal mist for free, according to spokeswoman Sara Bruestle. You do not need to bring identification, an insurance card or anything else. The vaccines are being paid for with federal funds given to the health department. The department has held several clinics since the H1N1 swine flu broke out this fall. But those were available only to people in high-risk groups because of the limited supply of vaccine.
That’s not a problem anymore, Bruestle said. The department can give up to 2,500 doses of the vaccine Saturday, either by shot or by nasal mist.
The department will be getting another shipment of the vaccine next week, so there will be plenty of vaccine for the Dec. 12 clinic too, she said.
Thousands of people turned out for earlier flu vaccine clinics and the health department expects large crowds for the two Saturday clinics, Bruestle said. The department has hired security and organized its paperwork and vaccination areas at the schools to keep people from being crowded together during the cold and flu season. People who want a vaccination should come to the main doors and be prepared to stand in line. There will be no seating. Anyone who needs oxygen or a wheelchair should bring those, although some wheelchairs will be available.
The average wait for a vaccination has been between 45 minutes and an hour, Bruestle said. She suggested bringing a snack or eating something before coming and to remain patient.
She cautioned people against lining up too early, saying some people have come as early as 7 a.m.
“We don’t open the doors until we are ready at 10 a.m.,” she said. “We ask that they don’t show up that early (at 7 a.m.), because it’ll be very cold.”
The lines usually have tapered off after lunch, Bruestle said, so she suggested not coming until later.
Jennifer Ludwig, head of the health department’s prevention and preparedness department, said some people have opted for the nasal mist to avoid the pain of a shot. Others have asked for a shot because of concerns that the nasal mist contains live flu virus, though it is very much weakened.
People with asthma should not have the nasal mist, she said, because it can trigger an asthma attack.
Neither vaccination is recommended for people who are ill, who have certain underlying medical conditions, who have had a live vaccine in the last 30 days or who are allergic to eggs.
The clinics would be a good time to get the second dose recommended for children 9 and younger who already have received one dose. Parents also can call and make an appointment to get a second dose at the health department’s office, 101 W. Ninth St., by calling the Public Health Flu Hotline at 583-4440 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.
Bruestle said the department will have signs at schools reinforcing the message.
The swine flu has hit children the most, but Ludwig said you should bring your children even if they’ve been sick with something this fall or winter. There have been too many varieties of colds and flu going around to know for sure if your child has had the H1N1 flu and “it won’t hurt anything to get vaccinated even if they had the flu.”
Ludwig said the flu has started to affect more older people, according to informal local and state reports. This is the first chance for those people to be vaccinated.
Above all, health officials asked people who come to be patient. There will be plenty of vaccine and the lines will move along, even if it doesn’t always feel like it.