Nyack Hospital contacted me to tell me that valet parking is available during regular business hours. The hospital charges $2 for parking, valet or not.

Good Samaritan Hospital quietly ended its free valet service recently. It now charges $2 for valet parking. Self-parking at the Suffern hospital is still free.

A Manhattan dialysis center is notifying patients after a patient contracted hepatitis C after undergoing dialysis there, according to the state “Department of Health”:http://www.health.state.ny.us/press/releases/2009/2009-01-14_dialysis_center_hepatitis_c.htm.

Approximately 170 patients of the Upper Manhattan Dialysis Center of Beth Israel Medical Center at 2465-67 Broadway in Manhattan are being notified that they may have been exposed to hepatitis C and possibly other bloodborne viruses while being treated, the state said.

The state investigation concluded that transmission had occurred at the dialysis center.

The Department of Health is recommending that patients who were dialyzed at the Upper Manhattan Dialysis Center since February 2007 be tested promptly. Information packets are in the process of being delivered to all at-risk patients.

There is no evidence at this time that any patient has contracted hepatitis B or HIV at the facility.

Hepatitis C is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis C virus and is spread by contact with the blood of an infected person.

A total of 17 people in New York have gotten salmonella poisoning that has been linked to peanut butter, the state Department of Health said today. No cases of food poisoning have been reported in Westchester, Rockland or Putnam.

Illness linked to the salmonella outbreak has been reported in 13 counties statewide: 3 in Onondaga; 2 in Erie; 2 in Suffolk; one each in Broome,  Cattaraugus, Madison, Monroe,  Nassau, Ontario,  St. Lawrence, Steuben, Tioga and Wyoming.

The age of the people who have contracted the illness ranges from two years to 68 years. thirty-six percent of people who have gotten sick have been hospitalized, according to the state Department of Health.

The  state is working with the “Centers for Disease Control and Prevention”:http://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/typhimurium/ to help find the source of  the outbreak, which appears to be linked to King Nut creamy peanut butter. Nearly 500 people in 43 states have been sickened in the current outbreak, the CDC says.

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ShopRite is offering a free 14-day supply of commonly prescribed generic oral antibiotics to anyone with a valid prescription.  Antibiotics included in ShopRite’s program include: amoxicillin, ampicillin, bacitracin, cephalexin, ciprofloxacin, doxycycline, erythromycin and penicillin.

Infectious disease specialists are worried that Tamiflu, a widely-used flu medicine, won’t work on most flu cases this season.

Most of the flu viruses analyzed this season are of the H1N1 strain, which has shown resistance to the drug. Doctors use Tamiflu to treat the virus in the most vulnerable patients, such as those who are at high-risk for developing pneumonia.

Flu season typically runs from November to March. Although this flu season has gotten off to a slow start, public health officials urge those in recommended groups to get the flu shot, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Pharmaceutical giant Merck wants to market its controversial cervical cancer vaccine to women ages 27-45.  Gardasil is now approved for use in females ages 9 to 26 in the hopes of preventing some viruses that cause cervical cancer.  ”Merck”:http://www.merck.com/newsroom/press_releases/product/2009_0109.html said in a statement today that the FDA has asked for more information about its application to sell the vaccine to older women.

The vaccine has been controversial, with some critics claiming that it doesn’t fully protect against the virus and others maintaining that young girls should not be forced to get the series of vacccines.

More than 400 people in 42 states have gotten sick in outbreak of salmonella poisoning.

The “Centers for Disease Control and Prevention”:http://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/ is leading the investigation but has not yet released the list of states or determined which foods were may have caused people to become sick.

It is not clear if anyone in New York has gotten sick.

Most people infected with salmonella develop diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness usually lasts four to seven days, and most people recover without treatment.

Officials say steps to protect against the illness include careful handling and preparation of raw meat, and frequent hand washing.

One of the nicest bargains in Rockland is no more. Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern quietly ended its free valet parking service a couple of weeks ago. The hospital now charges $2 for valet parking. Nyack Hospital charges $2 to park in its parking lot – no valet offered.

Helen Hayes Hospital’s adapted sports and recreation program will hold a series of adaptive skiing workshops at Belleayre Mountain in Highmount, N.Y., for people with disabilities. Instructors specializing in adaptive skiing will offer beginner, intermediate and advanced lessons. Lessons are free of charge but pre-registration is required. First time students will receive an overview of the equipment and fittings prior to getting out on the snow. Adaptive equipment will be available for skiers with disabilities. 

Adaptive Skiing Workshops are scheduled for January 18; February 8, 22; March 1, 29; April 12. Two sessions will be offered on each day: from 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. and 1p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

For additional information on the Adapted Sports & Recreation Program or the downhill skiing programs at Belleayre Mountain, or to register for one or more of the workshops, contact: Matthew Castelluccio, Adapted Sports Coordinator, 845-786-4950 or castellucciom@helenhayeshosp.org.