It's Not Too Late To Vaccinate Against Influenza

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We are currently in the midst of National Influenza Week.  It's not too late to vaccinate!

It is important to vaccinate against the flu now if you haven't already.  Flu activity doesn’t usually peak until January or February in the United States and can last as late as May.  Please call Passport Health at 1-888-499-PASS to make an appointment in one of our convenient locations.

First Influenza Case Reported In Maryland

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Health OfficialsReport First Influenza Case in Maryland
BALTIMORE, MD – 12/30/2011 – The flu has officially arrivedin Maryland. The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) announced todaythe first laboratory confirmed case of seasonal influenza in Maryland. Thisseason’s first confirmed case comes months later than last season’s. Officialssay last season’s first confirmed case was reported on October 14. Health officials urge the public to be vaccinated. It is nottoo late to receive this year’s seasonal vaccine. Influenza is anaturally occurring viral disease that causes respiratory infections. Symptomsmay include:

• A sudden onset of fever
• Dry cough
• Headache
• Muscle aches
• Tiredness
• Sore throat
• Nasal congestion or stuffiness.

"Reducethe chance of spreading flu and other viruses by covering your cough with atissue or your sleeve, washing your hands often and staying home if you aresick," says Fran Lessans, President and Founder of Passport Health, the largestprivate provider of travel medical services and immunizations in the UnitedStates. Founded in 1994, the Baltimore native company has expanded to 200vaccine clinics nationwide.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)recognized Passport Health in June of this year for 10 years of excellence inimproving influenza immunization uptake and reducing the health impact ofinfluenza.  Passport Health isproud to contribute to increasing immunization rates and provides onsitewellness clinics for major corporations nationwide. Customized wellnesssolutions not only include flu and pneumoniaimmunization clinics but also cholesterol and glucose screenings, physicals,drug screenings as well as travel medical services.
"It'snever too late to get vaccinated against the flu."
***TammyBroghammertammy.broghammer@passporthealthusa.com410.727.0556

January Is National Cervical Cancer Awareness Month

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Cervical cancer is caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV) and is the second most common cancer in women worldwide.  In the United States 80% of women will have an HPV infection in their lifetime. Most people infected with HPV do not develop symptoms; therefore most people who have HPV don't know they have it.  Women usually learn they have it only after the results of an abnormal Pap test.  That’s why it’s important to get routine Pap screenings even if you feel healthy.


Cervical cancer is one of the most preventable cancers; getting routine screenings and receiving the HPV vaccination are the two most important things you can do to prevent cervical cancer.  The HPV vaccine can prevent the two types of HPV that are responsible for 70% of cervical cancer cases.  The CDC now recommends the HPV vaccine for females and males.

Protect yourself!  Call Passport Health today 1-888-499-7277 to schedule an appointment for an HPV vaccination.

Swine Flu in Mexico

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Swine Flu is back in Mexico where a world pandemic started 3 years ago. An ongoing swine flu [influenza A/H1N1pdm09 virus infection] outbreak in Mexico has left at least 29 people dead and nearly 1500 others infected, health officials confirmed on Saturday January 29, 2012. Thousands more are also ill as the country faces several types of influenza this season.


The low appearance of the H1N1 virus the past two years is one reason it’s drawing so much media attention in Mexico. People have been lining up in hospitals and at school nurses for checks. A handful of private schools decided to close last week, and pharmacies reported shortages in antiviral drugs.

Health officials expect the cases to migrate north through Mexico and into the U.S., where incidents of H1N1 have increased in recent weeks, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Both the CDC and the Pan-American Health Organization also say that H1N1 cases this year are within the normal range.  Passport Health locations nationwide have the Seasonal Flu Shot (2011-2012 seasonal flu vaccine contains H1N1 component, A/California
H3N3 component, A/Victoria, B/Brisbane) available year round.  Its not too late to get vaccinated.

Passport Health Nurse goes to Ecuador with Ecuadent

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February 2012 marked Ecuadent’s 21^st year of providing medical and dental care to the most underprivileged children of Ecuador.  This year the medical team set up three operating rooms and a recovery room at a small community hospital in Salinas.  Salinas is somewhat of a resort town with wide, white beaches and marinas catering to Ecuador’s wealthier citizens.  However, if one walks just a few blocks from the Malecon (boardwalk) the living conditions are anything but luxurious.   The barrios and fishing villages, where residents eke out a meager hand-to-mouth existence, are where the Ecuadent Foundation sought out children who would otherwise have no access to medical care.

Although the foundation focuses primarily on cleft palate and cleft lip repair, the surgical needs are many and can be quite varied.  This year multiple syndactyly and frenulectomy procedures were performed.  One little boy had his right ear reconstructed---the foundation for the new ear was his own rib cartilage.  In total, 35 cases were completed.

My time was spent in the PACU where the monitors could relay only heart rate and, when functioning, oxygen saturations.  Since technology was minimal, the PACU nurses relied on assessment skills, nursing interventions, and their own intuition. The nursing experience was unlike anything at a hospital in the United States.  It focused on patient care.  This may sound strange since nursing should always be about patient care.  However, in US hospitals there is also a focus on data, documentation, and even administrative duties.  Documentation was, of course, a component but the long days at Hospital de Salinas were spent caring for, and interacting with, patients and their families.  For me this was incredibly rewarding.  It felt like a gift to be a part of someone else’s pivotal experience.  This goes without saying;  the kids were amazing—stoic, strong, and happy to be there.  And despite the lack of technology, and with only the most basic nursing protocols in place, every patient outcome was a positive one.

***By:  Kate Skovron, Travel Health Specialist - Passport Health Baltimore

Experts disagree on whether states will choose to expand Medicaid

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Experts disagree on whether states will choose to expand Medicaid, a crucial, but voluntary, part of the federal health-care reform law. Yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled the federal government could not force states to expand the system for the poor and disabled, but that the expansion itself is constitutional.

Yesterday, both Gov. Steve Beshear and Senate President David Williams both indicated they are researching how Kentucky should proceed.

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said "many states, maybe most, will decide that they simply cannot afford to choose to expand Medicaid." Though the federal government will pay for the newly eligible enrollees for several years after the law takes effect in 2014, states will eventually have to pay 10 percent of the cost.

Despite the expected cost, Sara Rosenbaum, a professor of health law and policy at George Washington University, predicts that "only a small number of states" will pass up the opportunity to expand, given the federal government's generous offer, reports Robert Pear for The New York Times.

The Medicaid expansion is central to the health care law, since about 17 million of the 30 million Americans who will newly qualify for health insurance will do so under Medicaid. In Kentucky, that translates to 280,000 more people enrolling in the program.

Senior administration officials said they feel sure states will choose to expand Medicaid, but Republican governors like Mitch Daniels in Indiana and Bob McDonnell in Virginia would not commit either way. Daniels said the expansion would cost Indiana $2 billion in the next 10 years.

And though U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., is one of the authors of the new law, he was not sure his own state would opt to expand. He did call the offer of federal assistance "a big juicy carrot." (Read more)

Kentuckians support goals of reform law, foundation head says

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While politicians say President Obama's health-care reform is not popular in Kentucky, polls show that nine out of 10 adult Kentuckians favor its goals, the president of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky noted after the law passed its final court test.

"Thursday's Supreme Court decision affirms the constitutionality of the Affordable Care law and moves the United States and Kentucky children and adults one step closer to assured access to affordable insurance and care," Susan Zepeda said. "Our Kentucky Health Issues Poll found that regardless of their views on the Affordable Care law, the vast majority . . . of Kentuckians believe that all Americans should have access to affordable, quality health care." She said Kentuckians "expressed strong support for key provisions of the law already in effect: tax breaks for small employers, no co-pay on key preventive services, access to insurance for children with pre-existing health problems."


Looking forward, "Kentucky leaders need to be sure our residents are aware of the provisions of this law," Zepeda said. "As individuals and as a state, we need to take advantage of opportunities and resources the law makes available, even as we continue to work to improve access to quality care throughout Kentucky. The Foundation stands committed to addressing the unmet health care needs of Kentuckians, informing health policy and investing in communities, to increase access to care, decrease health disparities, and advance health equity in the Commonwealth." (Read more)