Penobscot Community Dental Clinic

BANGOR – The Penobscot Community Dental Clinic, 1012 Union St., is taking calls for appointments. The clinic, open to all Penobscot County residents, seeks to increase access to dental care. It accepts MaineCare and private medical insurance, and has a sliding fee scale for those who qualify.

The clinic provides urgent, emergency and restorative dental care, and case management services.

A collaborative relationship with the Dental Hygiene School at University College of Bangor enables the clinic to provide routine dental hygiene and assessment services.

The clinic is accepting calls for appointments at 992-2152.

Blood drive

The Acadia Hospital semiannual blood drive collected 41 pints Aug. 30. The goal was 40 pints.

Seminar on older adults

BANGOR – St. Joseph Healthcare will sponsor “Medical Advances in Treatment of the Older Adult,” a daylong program, Thursday, Oct. 17, at the Spectacular Event Center, 395 Griffin Road.

The medical educational program, geared for physicians and nurses, will focus on medical issues concerning older adults.

Topics such as dementia and delirium, incontinence and the use of pain medication are on the agenda. Discussions regarding how to identify signs and symptoms of depression, along with treatment options, will also take place throughout the day. Physicians with a certificate of added qualification in geriatric medicine will staff this program.

To register, call the St. Joseph Healthcare Education Department at 262-1730.

The program is sponsored by St. Joseph Healthcare through educational grants from Pfizer, Pharmacia, Purdue Pharma, Roche Pharmaceuticals, SmithKline Beecham and Wyeth-Ayerst.

Flu vaccine clinic

BANGOR – St. Joseph Hospital, Community Health and Counseling Services and Spectacular Event Center are teaming up to offer influenza vaccine to adult high-risk individuals in the community 8 a.m-6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 5, and Wednesday, Nov. 6, at Spectacular Event Center, 395 Griffin Road.

Individuals who provide proof of Medicare Part B coverage will receive the vaccine at no cost. Medicaid recipients who bring their cards also will receive the vaccine at no cost, thanks to the generosity of St. Joseph Healthcare. All others are asked to pay $12 to help defray the cost of the vaccine.

The flu is a highly contagious viral infection of the nose, throat and lungs, and is spread easily from person to person primarily by sneezing and coughing, officials explained. An estimated 10 to 20 percent of the population contract the flu every year. Some common symptoms of the flu are fever, chills, dry cough, head and muscle aches.

A person who is experiencing these symptoms may be sick for several days to a week or more. The best way to be protected from the flu is the annual flu shot. The vaccine is recommended for anyone 50 years or older, especially those with medical conditions such as diabetes, heart disease or respiratory conditions, which place them at high risk for complications from influenza.

More information is available on St. Joseph Hospital’s flu clinic hotline at 262-6441.

Health care quality

Healthcare Quality Week is being observed at The Acadia Hospital Oct. 13-19. Storyboards in the cafeteria detail some of the hospital’s cafeteria quality improvement activities.

In vitro fertilization

BANGOR – Dr. Michael Alper, medical director of Boston IVF in Waltham, Mass., is now seeing patients in the Webber Building, adjacent to Eastern Maine Medical Center.

Families working with Dr. Alper are able to have preliminary visits here in Bangor, rather than traveling to the Boston area. The in vitro procedure and some other services still must be done in Boston.

Alper is an assistant clinical professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive biology at Harvard Medical School. He is a member of the Society of Reproductive Endocrinologists, the Boston Fertility Society, and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. He has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals and books, and is a recognized authority in the field of reproductive medicine.

Those interested in the services of Dr. Alper and Boston IVF should talk to their doctors. For information, visit www.bostonivf.com or call Boston IVF at (888) 718-3717.

Bioterrorism preparations

Bangor’s ability to respond to an act of bioterrorism is increasing significantly, local officials said last week. Eastern Maine Medical Center and St. Joseph Hospital are each receiving a decontamination unit, which would be used to treat people in the event of chemical, biological or nuclear disaster.

The decontamination units are special tents that offer heat, hot water and three treatment rooms. There are three “lanes,” one for women, one for men, and one area to accommodate patients on stretchers. Patients would need to be decontaminated before entering the hospital. That could involve showering, scrubbing, flushing of the eyes and mouth, and containment of contaminated water.

When it comes to being ready for a disaster, health care professionals at St. Joseph Hospital and Eastern Maine Medical Center said, they have a great working relationship.

“We need each other, and since Sept. 11 it has become even more essential that we function as one community because the threat is more real,” says Kathy Knight, registered nurse, staff developer, and disaster planner for EMMC’s Emergency Department. “We all have family and friends here and we all want what is best in times of disaster. What’s mine and what’s yours goes out the window and it becomes ours. We need to work together.”

According to Barbara Hildreth, registered nurse and emergency management coordinator for St. Joseph Hospital, “This decontamination equipment will also be available to the Bangor Fire Department and the regional HazMat team for any event – such as a chemical spill – which might happen within the community.” Hildreth noted that the new equipment will augment the existing decontamination room that is already available at St. Joseph Hospital’s Emergency Department.

The two hospitals also cooperate on delivery of the large packages. Affiliated Healthcare Services, which is a member of Eastern Maine Healthcare, transported the units to Bangor last Thursday. EMMC and St. Joseph Hospital are sharing the delivery costs.

The decontamination units were purchased through the Maine Emergency Management Agency. The goal is for every hospital in Maine to have one of the units on site and be prepared in the event of a bioterrorist attack. So far eight Maine hospitals have the units.

Staff at each hospital will be trained on how to use the decontamination units later this month.