Rhode Island Hospital Dietitians Earn Credentials in Oncology Nutrition
(posted June 23, 2009)
PROVIDENCE, RI - Rhode Island Hospital (RIH) dietitians Karen Pasquazzi, RD, CSO, and Lisa Robinson, RD, CSO, have earned national board certification as specialists in oncology nutrition. They are the first registered dietitians in Rhode Island to earn this designation. (Read more…)
Rhode Island Hospital Foundation Raises $250,000 at Pursuit of Excellence Dinner
(posted June 23, 2009)
PROVIDENCE, RI - The Rhode Island Hospital (RIH) Foundation celebrated its inaugural fundraising event, the President’s Pursuit of Excellence Dinner, on June 10, 2009, at the Westin Hotel in Providence with more than 530 guests in attendance. The Foundation exceeded its goal, raising nearly a quarter-million dollars to support the hospital’s three-part mission of high-quality patient care, education and cutting-edge research. (Read more…)
Has The Older Population Received Enough Exposure Past H1N1 Flu Strains to Minimize Current Impact?
(posted June 19, 2009)
A letter to the editor by Rhode Island Hospital infectious diseases specialist Leonard Mermel, DO, identifies characteristics of the outbreak of H1N1 in 1977 and speculates its impact on this pandemic. His letter is published in the June 20 edition of the journal The Lancet 2009 (vol 373 p2108-09).
Mermel notes that in the late 1970s, an influenza H1N1 reappeared in humans. It had a pandemic-like spread that began in younger aged individuals. This strain, known as the “Russian flu” H1N1, was similar to H1N1 strains that circulated internationally between 1946 and 1957. The Russian flu spread rapidly across the former Soviet Union, initially affecting individuals between the ages of 14 and 20 in schools, as well as young military personnel, and later spread to preschool children. Individuals older than age 30, however, had dramatically lower attack rates and the overall mortality was low. The epidemic peaked rapidly, with a relatively short duration.
In the United States, the first outbreak of the Russian flu occurred in a Wyoming high school. The attack rate there was over 70 percent, however, it affected students only; no faculty were reported to have the illness. High attack rates were seen in schools as well as military bases throughout the United States, similar to the outbreak in Russia. There were few reports of the H1N1 strain in individuals older than age 26, and again, the mortality rate was low.
In his commentary, Mermel hypothesizes that the H1N1 strain circulating now may have enough similarity to the previously circulating H1N1 strains or the H1N1 used in past vaccines so that it may lead to protection of older individuals. He concludes by noting that the weeks ahead should help us to determine if this will be the case.
Mermel, who is the director of infection control for Rhode Island Hospital, is an infectious diseases specialist and a professor of medicine at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. He is also a physician with University Medicine Foundation and is a past president of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA).
Gary Bubly, MD, FACEP, Named Physician of the Year
(posted June 10, 2009)
Gary Bubly, MD, FACEP, associate director of The Miriam Hospital’s department of emergency medicine, has been named the recipient of the 2009 Charles C.J. Carpenter, MD, Outstanding Physician of the Year Award. (Read more…)
June 15-21 Is National Men’s Health Week
(posted June 10, 2009)
Experts from The Miriam Hospital call for more attention to men’s sexual, overall health. (Read more…)
