Residents are invited to bring their cats, dogs and ferrets to a free Rabies Vaccination Clinic at the Animal Hospital of Kent, 1242 Route 52, Carmel on July 19, from 2 to 4 p.m. Participants must bring proof of Putnam County residency and proof of prior rabies vaccination, tags are not acceptable.

For more information, call the Putnam County Department of Health at 845-278-6130, ext. 2127.

First it was salmonella in tomatoes, now it’s E. coli in beef. The USDA has announced that Nebraska beef is recalling nearly 600,000 pounds of ground beef that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.
That strain originates in the intestines of cows and is passed to humans through meat contaminated by cow feces.
It can cause inflammation of intestines, abdominal pain and severe cramps and diarrhea. Although most people recover, 5 percent to 10 percent of victims develop hemolytic uremic syndrome, a life-threatening complication recognized as the most common cause of kidney failure in childhood.
E. coli and other food-borne pathogens cause an estimated 76 million cases of human illness annually in the United States. More than 325,000 people are hospitalized each year and there are up to 5,000 deaths – mostly children and the elderly, according to the CDC.

New York State Health Commissioner Richard F. Daines, M.D., and Insurance Superintendent Eric Dinallo today invited public comments on instructions that will guide the modeling of proposals to expand health insurance coverage in New York State.

The Partnership for Coverage is a state initiative to develop a strategy for achieving affordable universal coverage in New York State. The 2007-2008 state budget authorized funding for a consultant to assist in the modeling of proposals for universal coverage.

In March the state finalized a contract with the Urban Institute to model proposals for health insurance coverage, which will provide quantitative analysis to anticipate the cost and coverage implications of various health reform approaches.

Send written comments to: partnership4coverage@health.state.ny.us.

Individuals may also submit written comments to the New York State Insurance Department, Partnership for Coverage, Suite 1700, One Commerce Plaza, Albany, New York, 12257, or New York State Department of Health, Partnership for Coverage, Empire State Plaza, Corning Tower, Room 2001, Albany, New York, 12237. Comments must be received by July 21, 2008.

People with chronic health problems like diabetes, asthma, arthritis and other conditions can learn ways of coping with their disease at a new workshop being offered by the Rockland Department of Health.
The Living Well Program is a workshop given two and a half hours, once a week, for six weeks.
Workshops are facilitated by two trained leaders, one or both of whom are living with a chronic disease.
Participants will learn:
• Techniques to deal with problems such as frustration, fatigue, pain and depression
• Appropriate exercise for maintaining and improving strength, flexibility, and endurance
• Appropriate use of medications
• Communicating effectively with family, friends, and health professionals
• Nutrition
• How to evaluate new treatments
Each participant in the workshop will receive a free copy of the companion book, Living a Healthy Life With Chronic Conditions, 3rd Edition, and an audio relaxation CD, A Time for Healing.
Registration is required and space is limited. For more information or to register, contact
Melanie Shefchik at the Department of Health at 845-364-3786.

The Westchester County Department of Health is offering free HIV testing as part of the National Association of People with AIDS 14th Annual National HIV Testing Day on Friday.

Here’s the schedule,

Friday, June 27:
•    Children’s Village, the Mount Vernon Neighborhood Health Center and Planned Parenthood will offer free HIV tests from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Pathmark on Third Avenue at Third Street.
•    AIDS Related Community Services will provide free tests at Mosaic, 137 South Fourth Avenue, from
•    9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
•    Mount Vernon Hospital will offer free tests at Cimmeron Café, 156 South Fourth Avenue, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
•    New York State Department of Health will offer free tests at the MLK Center, 95 Lincoln Ave., New Rochelle, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Saturday, June 28:
•    Mount Vernon Neighborhood Health Center will offer free tests at Memorial Field located on the corners of Garden Avenue & East Sandford Boulevard in Mount Vernon from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Sunday, June 29:
•    New York State Department of Health, Children’s Village, Ossining Open Door and the Westchester County Medical Center will all offer free tests at African American Heritage Day at the Kensico Dam in Valhalla, from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m.

“The earlier a person learns that he or she is infected with HIV, the sooner he or she can begin life-extending medical care, treatment and support that can lead to a better quality of life,’’ said Dr. Joshua Lipsman, the Westchester County Health Commissioner.

For more information on National HIV Testing Day, or to find a testing site near your home, call the Westchester County Department of Health at 914-813-5256 or 914-995-9595 or visit www.westchestergov.com/health.

New Yorkers had the second-highest number of assisted reproductive technology treatments in the nation, according to a new CDC report. California was tops with 18,655; New York had 12,032; Illinois, 9,449; New Jersey, 9,325; and Massachusetts had 8,571.
In 2005, a total of 134,260 procedures, including in vitro fertilization and related procedures were reported to CDC. These procedures resulted in 38,910 live-birth deliveries and 52,041 infants.
Overall, 42 percent of assisted reproductive technology treatments resulted in a pregnancy, and 35 percent resulted in a live-birth delivery. The highest live-birth rates were observed among procedures that used freshly fertilized embryos from donor eggs (52 percent).

I’m probably going to live until I’m 95 years old, according to the online life expectancy calculator developed by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania.

I filled out a form and it calculated the approximate number of years I’m expected to live based on my answers. At best, I’ll make it to 105. At worst, 93.1 years old, according to the calculator. (I can deal with 95, though).

I’ve seen similar calculators, but this one seems to be particularly extensive with questions about family history and personal lifestyle. (It even asks about the number of sexual partners you’ve had in the last 12 months!)

Not only does it ask you whether you smoke or whether a parent had cancer, but it also asks questions about income and education. The more educated and wealthy you are, the longer you’ll live, apparently.

I started thinking about this after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said recently that the average life expectancy is 78.

To try it yourself, click HERE. Next, I’ll need to find a calculator that will figure out how I’ll pay my bills until I’m 95!

The New York state Senate has passed a proposal to prohibit mandatory overtime for nurses in hospitals and other health care facilities, including State-operated facilities. The proposed law would ban health care facilities from requiring nurses to work more than their regularly scheduled work hours. It does not put a cap on the number of hours that can be worked per day or per week. The ban on mandatory overtime would not apply in the following circumstances:
• natural or other types of disasters that increase the need for nursing services
• a federal, state or county declaration of emergency
• a nurse engaged in an ongoing medical or surgical procedure
• when necessary to provide safe patient care where no other alternative staffing is available
• when nurse voluntarily agrees to work overtime. Rockland state Senator Thomas Morahan was a sponsor of the senate legislation. The proposal will now go to the state Assembly for a vote. If it is signed into law, the bill would take effect in one year in order to give health care employers time to plan.

Nearly 400 people nationwide, including nine in New York, have gotten sick from eating raw tomatoes. Public health investigators throughout the nation are still trying to figure out which tomatoes are causes the outbreak of salmonella. The food-borne illness is marked by diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps 12-72 hours after infection. For the latest on the investigation go to the Food and Drug Administration web site.

With more hospital and doctor surveys out there than before, seems like its only natural for nursing homes to get rated too.

Today, the Bush administration announced that it will be evaluating the country’s nursing homes by the end of the year, using a star rating system (yes, just like hotels).

Read a story by Associated Press writer Kevin Freking by clicking HERE.