Pulse on Health by Jeff Hansel

"Fall-back" heart attack

The New England Journal of Medicine reported in 2008 that the shift to and from daylight savings time can be deadly.

"More than 1.5 billion men and women are exposed to the transitions involved in daylight saving time: turning clocks forward by an hour in the spring and backward by an hour in the autumn. These transitions can disrupt chronobiologic rhythms and influence the duration and quality of sleep, and the effect lasts for several days after the shifts," a letter to the journal from the researchers says.

In the fall, men are affected more than women.  And the opposite is true in the spring.  So watch for heart attack symptoms during the first few after this weekend, and go ahead and get a medical check if you notice any.  

According to MayoClinic.com, symptoms of heart attack include:

• Chest discomfort or pain

• Upper body pain

• Stomach pain

• Shortness of breath

• Anxiety

• Lightheadedness

• Sweating

• Nausea and vomiting

Pulse on Health

By Jeff Hansel, member Association of Health Care Journalists

Health Reporter for the Post-Bulletin newspaper, 18 1st Ave. S.E. in Rochester, Minnesota 55904

Tell uninsured families about child H1N1 vaccinations today

Know a family with uninsured kids?  Let them know about the free vaccination clinic that continues until 1 p.m. today (October 31, 2009) at the Heintz Center.  Olmsted County Public Health in Rochester, Minnesota reports that attendance is sparse.  Pubic Health started the day with 1,000 doses available.  So if your neighbor, friend, coworker or family member is uninsured and has kids in the risk groups listed below, please let them know.

H1N1 vaccination clinic

When: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday

Where: Heintz Center, 1926 Collegeview Road S.E., Rochester

Who: This clinic is for the uninsured and underinsured who are:

• 6 months to 4 years old.

• Age 5 to 18 with chronic health conditions.

Pulse on Health

By Jeff Hansel, member Association of Health Care Journalists

Health Reporter for the Post-Bulletin newspaper, 18 1st Ave. S.E. in Rochester, Minnesota 55904

Population equal to Stewartville dies of H1N1 worldwide

About as many people as live in Stewartville have died worldwide of confirmed H1N1 pandemic influenza since the pandemic started in April.

The World Health Organization reports today (10/30/09) that 5,712 people have died worldwide with confirmed H1N1.  The 12 at the end of that number equate coincidentally to the dozen people who have died in Minnesota so far.  Stewartville, Minnesota's population from the 2000 census was about 5,400.

It's important to note that the WHO says 441,661 — nearly half a million people — have been sickened with confirmed cases so far.  That means the case-fatality rate (the number of people who get sick who die) is really low, compared with what it could be.  If we are lucky, and the flu virus does not mutate, we might come through this with relatively few deaths.  This is the first pandemic for which we have had an effective vaccine.  The "swine flu" from the 1970s, I should point out, was never a pandemic.  Only a few soldiers got sick at one U.S. military base and 40 million people were vaccinated as a result.  

There are other differences with this actual pandemic (H1N1 was declared a pandemic in June by the WHO).  For example, unlike 1918, when tens of millions are believed to have died worldwide, we have antibiotics, respirators and anti-virals to combat the illness.

Most of the deaths worldwide from H1N1, though, have happened in the Americas (4,175 deaths).  So we are more strongly affected in Mexico, the U.S., Canada, Columbia, Paraguay and elsewhere in the Americas.

Pulse on Health

By Jeff Hansel, member Association of Health Care Journalists

Health Reporter for the Post-Bulletin newspaper, 18 1st Ave. S.E. in Rochester, Minnesota 55904

OMC restricts hospital visitors until April due to H1N1

Visits to Olmsted Medical Center hospital patients will be restricted until April 30, OMC announced a short time ago.

Children under age 12 will no longer be able to visit, to protect them from pandemic H1N1 influenza.  If you visit a patient, you will be required to either use hand sanitizer or thoroughly wash your hands before — and after — you enter the patient's room. 

The changes take effect Sunday (November 1, 2009).  

Visitors will be screened.  If they have flu-like symptoms or have been exposed to anyone with flu-like symptoms, they will be asked to leave the building.  Only the father (or another support person) and grandparents will be allowed to visit any BirthCenter patient.

If you visit a patient with flu-like illness, "visitors must wear OMC-provided face masks for the entire time of their visit." If you visit someone with flu-like illness, you will not be allowed to visit any other patient.

Mayo Clinic will keep previously announced restrictions for Mayo Eugenio Litta Children's Hospital and Austin Medical Center says some of the same restrictions as OMC have been in place in Austin for a couple of weeks.  But Austin has not set a specific end-date for those restrictions.

Pandemic H1N1 influenza information

If you're already sick, call the Minnesota flu hotline: 1-866-259-4655.

For general information about H1N1 and seasonal influenza, call Olmsted County Public Health's community influenza information line at 328-7500.

For more information about pandemic H1N1 go to:  http://www.flu.gov/

Pulse on Health

By Jeff Hansel, member Association of Health Care Journalists

Health Reporter for the Post-Bulletin newspaper, 18 1st Ave. S.E. in Rochester, Minnesota 55904

U.S. to lift ban on HIV entry

President Barack Obama says the United States will lift its ban on people with HIV entering the country.

A Washington Post Article say Obama "called the 22-year ban on travel and immigration by HIV-positive individuals a decision 'rooted in fear rather than fact.'"

"A 1990-1991 effort to overturn the regulatory ban failed in the face of outcry and lobbying from conservative groups and bureaucratic turf disputes. The ban was upheld in 1993 when Congress added it to U.S. immigration laws," the article says.

The Post writes that the Senate voted to overturn the ban as part of "the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, in 2008, and President Bush signed it into law on July 30 of that year."

"Until today's announcement, the U.S. was one of only 7 countries with laws that bar entry of people with HIV," AIDS research foundation amFAR was noted as saying.

Pulse on Health

By Jeff Hansel, member Association of Health Care Journalists

Health Reporter for the Post-Bulletin newspaper, 18 1st Ave. S.E. in Rochester, Minnesota 55904

Pine Island to discuss TIF for Elk Run

The regular meeting of the Pine Island City Council at 7 p.m. on Nov. 17 at the Pine Island, Minnesota City Hall will include discussion of tax increment financing for part of the Elk Run biotechnology project.

Pine Island City Administrator Abraham Algadi said this morning that the TIF would cover about 49.5 acres of land within the biotech park.  

It "entitles the developer (Tower Investments) to basically be reimbursed for the city share being paid for by the donation of the right-of-way," Algadi said.  Tower is donating land that will become part of the right-of-way at County Road 12 on U.S. 52.

State law requires TIF to include restrictions, Algadi said.  To that end, Tower must abide by the following stipulations:

• Create 182 jobs within 8 years

• Create 20 jobs within the first two years that pay at 160% of the median salary, for all industries, the area

• Construct 360,000 square feet of "qualified biotech-type buildings"

"R & D won't qualify.  It has to be an actual production facility," Algadi said.  He said "the 182 jobs goal must be met within a maximum of eight years."  And he notes that "this is only for the first 49.5 acres" of the biotech project.

On November 10, Pine Island Planning and Zoning will review the plan to make sure it fits with the city's comprehensive plan.  Then, on Nov. 17, the City Council will discuss TIF.  Nov. 24 at 6 p.m. there will be a special City Council meeting to consider municipal consent on the geometric layout. The city could have waived municipal consent, Algadi said, but chose to hold a meeting to encourage public review.

Total estimated cost of the interchange at County Road 12 is $46 to $48 million, Algadi said.  But that includes the value of land Tower Investments plans to give.  After the value of the land is subtracted, funding totals $36 million, including:

• $5 million from the district

• $2.65 million from Olmsted County

• $14.56 million from the greater Minnesota interchange fund

• $3.56 million (Pine Island's share) from the federal stimulus package

• $10 million from the statewide corridor fund

Pulse on Health

By Jeff Hansel, member Association of Health Care Journalists

Health Reporter for the Post-Bulletin newspaper, 18 1st Ave. S.E. in Rochester, Minnesota 55904

Death wish

Three times in the past week as I have walked to work there have been cars second-in-line behind someone who's turning right at a red light.  It's almost as if the person second-in-line has a 'death wish' for pedestrians.

First car: Pressing the break

Second car:  Honk!!

First car:  Inches forward, pressing on break.

Second car:  Honk!!! Honk!!! Hoooonk!!!

Pedestrian in front of first car:  Finishes walking across the street.

First car:  Pulls forward and goes around the corner.

Second car:  Driver glares.

I just shake my head.  

Pulse on Health

By Jeff Hansel, member Association of Health Care Journalists

Health Reporter for the Post-Bulletin newspaper, 18 1st Ave. S.E. in Rochester, Minnesota 55904

Mass H1N1 vaccination Saturday for uninsured kids

Olmsted County Public Health plans a mass vaccination clinic Saturday in Rochester for uninsured and underinsured children 6 months to 4 years old, and children 5 to 18 with chronic health conditions.

Time:  10 a.m. until 1 p.m. (unless vaccine runs out before 1)

Location:  Heintz Center, 1926 Collegeview Road S.E., Rochester, Minnesota

Number to be vaccinated:  approximately 1,000 "which isn't a lot," says spokeswoman Kari Etrheim.

"We hope that the vaccine will keep coming in the next couple of weeks and the next couple of months and we will continue to get the vaccine out to the public as quickly as we can," she said. 

First, all local kids with underlying health conditions must be vaccinated, once supply becomes available. Then, Etrheim said, future clinics will be opened to other risk groups, such as otherwise healthy children and young adults.  But vaccine continues to arrive by lottery randomly at public health and medical centers statewide, and it's in limited supply.

"It might be a while before we are able to cover the risk groups that we are looking at right now," she said. Parents in line will be told if vaccine begins to run short Saturday.

"We have systems in place for estimates.  We will let them know that we have reached the critical point," Etrheim said.  That way people won't have to worry about standing in line if supply runs short.

Already sick? Call the Minnesota flu hotline: 1-866-259-4655.

General information about H1N1 and seasonal influenza, call Olmsted County Public Health's community influenza information line at 328-7500.

Information about pandemic H1N1 go to:  http://www.flu.gov/

Pulse on Health

By Jeff Hansel, member Association of Health Care Journalists

Health Reporter for the Post-Bulletin newspaper, 18 1st Ave. S.E. in Rochester, Minnesota 55904

Calls to Mayo H1N1 appointment line: Twice Rochester's population

Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota took an "overwhelming" number of calls Wednesday from pregnant women and parents seeking H1N1 vaccinations for their at-risk kids — a number double the size of Rochester's population. 

"On Tuesday, Mayo Clinic announced additional H1N1 vaccination clinics for children and pregnant women, and the response has been overwhelming.  In the first two hours, more than 200,000 calls were placed to the appointment line, and there continue to be extremely heavy call volumes," says an internal Mayo communique provided to the Post-Bulletin. The population of Rochester passed 100,000 people in January of 2009.

Mayo spokesman Bryan Anderson said the calls continued to be heavy throughout Wednesday.

"We're not surprised that there has been significant demand for the H1N1 vaccine," he said, noting that other medical centers have faced similar circumstances.  

Park Nicollet in Minneapolis, for example, switched form phoned-in appointments to e-mail-only appointments this week after its phone banks were overwhelmed, multiple news source reported recently.  Park Nicollet soon had to stop taking appointments altogether.

Anderson said it's not clear what the true number of calls at Mayo Clinic was.

"A lot of people got busy signals," he said. Many people probably hung up and called back multiple times. Still, the number of calls equals more than six times the number of workers Mayo in Rochester employs — approximately 32,000.

The internal Mayo communique continues, "For those who are placed in the cue to speak to an appointment scheduler, hold times will be about 10 minutes. Additional schedulers are being brought in to help handled (sic) the call volume.  In the meantime, callers are asked to continue trying to get through or call back later in the day.  Please note that this clinic is for patients who currently have a Mayo primary care provider.  Vaccine availability for additional family members will be announced via local media and on mayoclinic.org.."

"We will schedule appointments for Mayo Clinic primary care patients who meet the criteria for this vaccination clinic until all slots are full," Anderson said.

The appointments were being scheduled at 266-0011 only for:

• Pregnant women 

• Children 6 months through 4 years old 

• Children 5 years through 18 years old, who have chronic medical conditions such as chronic heart, lung, kidney or liver disease; diabetes; HIV; weakened immune systems due to cancer or medications such as steroids, or neuromuscular disorders such as muscular dystrophy that increase the risk of aspiration

Also, Olmsted Medical Center is taking calls for appointments for vaccination clinics for its pregnant patients — by appointment only — today until 6 p.m. and Friday from 8:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. Call 288-3443 to schedule an appointment.

H1N1 resources

Already sick? Call the Minnesota flu hotline: 1-866-259-4655

General information: H1N1 and seasonal influenza, call Olmsted County Public Health community flu information line, 328-7500

Information about pandemic H1N1:  http://www.flu.gov/

Pulse on Health

By Jeff Hansel, member Association of Health Care Journalists

Health Reporter for the Post-Bulletin newspaper, 18 1st Ave. S.E. in Rochester, Minnesota 55904

Grief rebounds

The funny thing I've noticed about grief is that it comes back on its own terms.  I struggled when my dad died May 6.  But just when I thought I was kind of back to some sense of normalcy, one of my childhood neighbors died and I found myself feeling the same sense of loss, both for myself and for her family — who I remember from childhood as some of the nicest people on the planet. 

For more than a decade now, nearly every time I cross a train track, I think of my friend Corey, who (he would laugh to read the way I write this) stupidly went around the crossing arms in his car and was killed.  So the grief about him comes in brief gusts.  But other grief comes in waves.

I think to myself that I'd like to tell Dad that it's raining in Rochester today, but then I realize my old habit of gathering stories to tell about fishing, weather, fall color or whatever happened along the way has changed somehow.  My mother is interested in all of that and we still talk just about every day by telephone.  But because my dad was not able to get out and see things on his own, I felt compelled to try to find something "worthy" to tell him about the world.

It seems like life includes a constant stream of good days intermingled with the days when you're in a renewed process of healing.  

So it's always interesting when people are rude or self centered.  I walk away and I think about getting hit by a car last August, that I could easily have died, and I wonder whether those people are worthy of my time.  I think about the loss of loved ones like Dad and Corey and Cheryl, though I only knew her as "the older neighbor girl across the alley."  And I figure I need to surround myself with people who are kind.

Dealing with grief yourself?  Try calling 211 from most land-line phones in Minnesota.  211 can refer you to grief support groups and other services.

Pulse on Health

By Jeff Hansel, member Association of Health Care Journalists

Health Reporter for the Post-Bulletin newspaper, 18 1st Ave. S.E. in Rochester, Minnesota 55904