Press Release, Gov. Andrew Cuomo

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo last week announced an aggressive Lyme and tick-borne disease control plan to control tick populations on public lands, increase public awareness and access to available data, and create a working group to participate in a Lyme disease summit this summer.

To implement this plan, the Governor has directed the Department of Health, Department of Environmental Conservation, and the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation to collaborate in order to target priority counties and public lands with the highest risk of tick exposure and Lyme disease. Tick season has started in many areas of the state and will continue through November.

“Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses are a major threat to the health and wellbeing of New Yorkers, and we are taking aggressive actions to help stop the spread of these disease,” Governor Cuomo said. “With this control plan, New York is making a major commitment to research, awareness, and prevention of this public health crisis to keep New Yorkers safe and free of these preventable diseases.”

Tick Control Methods

Tick control methods will include strategic application of eco-friendly tick control treatments on parkland in the Hudson Valley, Capital Region, and Southern Tier where the public is at the highest risk of tick exposure and Lyme disease. Additionally, the state will expand the use of 4-Poster “tickicide” deer treatment feeding stations that help to control ticks spread by white-tailed deer. While the deer feed on corn at the station, treated rollers brush insecticide against the animal’s neck, head, and ears where many adult ticks tend to feed. The stations are already successfully in use in certain areas on Long Island, including Robert Moses State Park and Connetquot River State Park.

Due to rodents also being largely responsible for infecting ticks with Lyme disease, the state will expand use of commercial products to combat the spread of illness by rodents. This includes the deployment of tubes filled with permethrin-treated cotton balls which mice use for nesting material, which kills the ticks in their early larval stage when they attach to mice. The state will also expand its usage of the Tick Control System, a small box that attracts rodents. When an animal enters the box, it receives a low dose of fipronil, which is the active ingredient in many treatments used to eliminate ticks on dogs and cats. The state will also conduct aggressive routine maintenance of vegetation areas at these parks to minimize potential exposure of visitors to ticks.

Expanded Education and Outreach

Beginning immediately, participating agencies will develop a campaign focused on deploying information about tick-borne disease and prevention, specifically targeting high-risk groups such as hunters and hikers. DEC will expand its website to include a tick-borne disease page featuring information relevant to anglers, hunters, trappers, hikers, and those who enjoy outdoor recreation in New York. This page will also be linked with DOH’s website.

In addition, DEC will coordinate with 1,600 sporting license issuing agents across the state to distribute information and material on ticks and tick-borne diseases, and will utilize agencies’ mailing lists and electronic newsletters to keep thousands of outdoor enthusiasts informed. OPRHP will also distribute information and materials to hunters through their hunting permit program and make information available to visitors, and will continue to post metal tick warning signs on state lands and parks.

Expanded Data Access

DOH will post current and retrospective tick collection and testing results to Health Data NY, opening up the data to the public. This information was previously only shared with local health departments and state park managers to aid in their education and prevention campaigns. Given the considerable interest in this information from providers, researchers and advocates, the Department will now make this information more readily available to the general public.

Research and Evaluation

Tick-borne diseases, particularly Lyme disease, are among the fastest growing infectious diseases in the United States. However, diagnosing Lyme disease can be particularly difficult. Patients with Lyme disease can present a number of possible symptoms, which can wane over time, and be easily confused with hundreds of other diseases. The Governor has directed the Department of Health to pursue private research partnerships to develop a better diagnostic test, which can ultimately lead to more effective treatments.

Working Group and Summit

Governor Cuomo has directed the Department of Health to establish a new working group on Lyme and other tick-borne diseases comprised of representatives from professional organizations, academic institutions, and local health departments. The working group will join participating state agencies at a one-day summit, to be held this summer, to review New York State’s current initiatives and make policy recommendations on actions that New York State can take in the next one to three years to advance prevention, diagnostics, and other best practices.

New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said, “These new initiatives complement the Department’s renowned research efforts and aggressive actions to better inform and better protect New Yorkers from tick-borne illnesses. I commend Governor Cuomo for this commitment and for instituting bold new control measures to help limit the spread of these diseases and protect public health.”

Tick Prevention Tips

• While hiking, working, or spending time in wooded areas: Wear long pants and long-sleeved shirts to protect against ticks other biting insects

• Check for ticks every two to three hours while outdoors and brush off any ticks before they attach.

• Perform a full body check multiple times during the day, as well as at the end of the day to ensure that no ticks are attached.

• Consider use of repellents containing DEET, picaridin, or IR3535, following label instructions

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Press Release, Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments

Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments were recently notified each county would receive $30,500 in New York State Department of Health’s ongoing Local Health Department Performance Incentive Initiative.

This is the fourth year of the program which NYSDOH chose to focus on improving performance in chronic disease prevention for the fall 2016 to June 2017 timeframe.

Although chronic disease has surpassed communicable disease as the leading cause of death and disability in the United States, public health activities to prevent chronic disease may be less established for some local health departments.

The 2016 Performance Incentive initiative encouraged LHDs to strengthen those efforts and meet related standards established by the Public Health Accreditation Board. In addition to improving chronic disease prevention activities, this year’s Incentive Program exposed LHDs to the process of submitting documentation for full PHAB accreditation.

This incentive program is voluntary and 41 local health departments participated, completing the initiative by submitting all the required documentation during the performance period.

All participating counties received a $5,000 base award and a total of 20 LHDs received a base award and additional incentive award based on the scoring of their submission. The incentive awards ranged from $25,500 to $60,500 based on county population size. Of the 17 small counties that participated, eight were awarded the full incentive funding which included Genesee and Orleans counties.

“I am pleased with the efforts the staff in both counties put forth while participating in the Incentive Program and to be recognized by receiving the maximum award,” said Paul Pettit, director of Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments. “It also gave our staff an opportunity to see the process used to eventually apply for national accreditation in the future.

Pettit said the health departments in Genesee and Orleans are looking at options for spending the grant.

“All funds are to be spent to support costs associated with Article 6 eligible services / state aid-eligible,” he said.  “These funds will help support several different public health projects over the next year.”

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Joyce LaLonde has autoimmune condition that made her hair fall out

Photos courtesy of Joyce LaLonde: Joyce LaLonde hasn’t shied away from going bald. When she started to lose her hair, some people encouraged her to get a wig. “Societal standards of beauty are incredibly off base in many ways, and the significance of hair is one of those ways,” she writes in SELF magazine.

Joyce LaLonde has been Rapunzel during Halloween, with her flowing mane of red hair a highlight of the costume. For much of her childhood and in college, LaLonde’s red hair was a big part of her identity.

Now the Albion native, 22, is bald after losing her hair. She has alopecia, an autoimmune condition that causes hair to fall out. She started to notice the hair loss a year ago.

LaLonde graduated from Syracuse University in May 2017. She and her friends celebrated that milestone by going on a trip to Central America. On that trip she noticed a bald spot on her head. In the next three months, more bald spots appeared as her hair became thin. Finally, in August she shaved her head.

LaLonde posted a selfie on social media, letting people know she had alopecia. She said she was determined to rock the bald look. More than 1,000 people liked her post and gave her strong affirmation.

She had a hashtag about alopecia on her post, and that is how SELF found her and reached out to her.

Almost a year after her hair started to fall out, LaLonde isn’t optimistic it will come back. She has changed her diet, exercised more and made other changes for her health. In some cases, those changes have made a difference for people with alopecia.

Many people who see her assume she has cancer or some other disease. In reality, LaLonde said she may be the healthiest she’s ever been, she just doesn’t have any hair.

Joyce’s long strawberry blonde hair was a big part of her identity growing up.

This week she is one of seven women with alopecia featured by SELF magazine. Lalonde is the first of seven women profiled in the magazine.

She says society is very beauty focused and attaches too much significance to hair. She acknowledges going bald is difficult.

“I cried in the process of losing my hair,” she said.

However, when she shaved her head, “it was liberating.”

For some people with alopecia, going bald is like grieving the loss of a limb, she said.

LaLonde works at Syracuse University as a student communications specialist. She earned her bachelor’s degree there in public relations and policy studies.

Doctors don’t know why she developed alopecia. Not knowing the cause makes it difficult to treat.

LaLonde is the daughter of Steve and the late Dr. Kathy LaLonde. Dr. LaLonde also went bald, and would succumb to cancer at age 54. Joyce said she is grateful her baldness isn’t from a serious disease.

“I feel very fortunate,” she said.

And her friends and family “have all been incredible.”

LaLonde had never heard of alopecia until a year ago. Some kids get it in elementary and middle school.

“I have it easy, really,” she writes in SELF. “I made it to 22 with a head full of Rapunzel hair. I had hair through middle school.”

To see the article in SELF, click here.

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Press Release, Oak Orchard Health

ALBION/BROCKPORT – The Board of Directors of Oak Orchard Health is pleased to announce the appointment of Mary Ann Pettibon as Chief Executive Officer, effective May 7.

She succeeds Jim Cummings, who retired after serving about five years as Oak Orchard’s CEO.

Ms. Pettibon comes to Oak Orchard with outstanding qualifications. With an Executive MBA from the University of Pittsburgh, Katz School of Business, and almost 20 years of health care administration experience in Ohio and Pennsylvania – including roles as a CEO and COO in Federally Qualified Health Centers in Ohio – Ms. Pettibon has a wealth of experience on which to draw as she takes the reins of Oak Orchard Health.

Not only well versed in the management and operations of a multi-million dollar health care facility, Ms. Pettibon has also authored grants in which she secured almost $2 million in funding for her organization. Her experience includes primary medical care, dental care, and behavioral health care along with substance abuse and pharmacy operations.

Ms. Pettibon is drawn to health care in the rural setting because she knows how patients in the rural areas struggle with access to quality medical care.

“Caring for the whole person,” says Ms. Pettibon, “is critical. We have to offer integrated, coordinated care, including transportation, assistance with housing, health education … and continue to work toward breaking down barriers to quality health care that our rural population faces.”

In her spare time, Ms. Pettibon is an avid runner who also enjoys biking and hiking. An accomplished half-marathoner, she is looking forward to exploring our region’s hiking and biking trails, Lake Ontario and the Finger Lakes Wine Trail.

Oak Orchard Health is a recognized patient-centered medical home and Federally Qualified Health Center located in Brockport, Albion, Lyndonville, Hornell and Warsaw.

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Press Release, Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming Public Health Departments

Ticks can spread disease.  Not all ticks can cause disease and not all bites will make you sick, but as these diseases become more common it’s important to learn how to prevent a bite, how to remove a tick and what to do if you think you could have a tick-borne disease.

“Springtime sets the stage for a flourishing tick population, learning how to recognize ticks and know how to remove them on yourself, family and pets can help prevent illness,” said Brenden Bedard, Director of Community Health Services for Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments.

Lyme disease is the most common disease spread by ticks in New York but there are other serious diseases ticks spread including Anaplasmosis, Erhichioisis, Babesiosis, and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.

There are many different species of ticks but locally the most common is the Deer Tick. The Deer Tick is a carrier for several diseases (Lyme disease, Babesiosis, Anaplasmosis) and received the name because of its habit of living and feeding on white-tailed deer, however ticks get Lyme disease by feeding on infected mice and other small rodents.

“It is important to note that ticks are here locally and you can’t tell which are infected by disease or not,” said Paul Pettit, Genesee and Orleans Public Health Director.

According to the New York State Department of Health Bureau of Communicable Disease Control data Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming Counties have had 35 reported cases of Lyme disease between 2014- 2016, he said.

Ticks may be found in many types of settings such as woodlands, tree stumps, lawns and gardens, around stone walls, nature trails, outdoor summer camps, and playing fields. Ticks do not jump or fly, they attach to their host when a human or animal makes contact with something that a tick is on, like tall grass, shrubs, or an animal.

The risk of human infection with Lyme is greatest in late spring and summer, but ticks can be active any time the temperature is above freezing.

“The high concentration of ticks in NYS counties including Long Island, Mid-Hudson and Capital Regions leads me to believe the threat of tick-borne diseases will continue and likely increase locally in the future, this is why it is important to become aware and prepare now,” Pettit said.

Lyme can only be transmitted after being bit by an infected tick- seeing an attached tick or a tick bite does not necessarily mean Lyme has been transmitted. It generally takes between three days to one month after a tick bite for Lyme disease symptoms to develop. In 60-80 percent of Lyme cases a “bulls-eye” circular rash or solid red patch develops at or near the site of the tick bite first and steadily gets larger or spreads out. You can also get several patches of rash on your body. Early on in the disease (days to weeks post-tick bite) you may develop symptoms such as fever, chills, headaches, joint pain and/or swelling, fatigue, or facial paralysis (Bell’s Palsy), sometimes these can be very mild.

As Lyme disease progresses more severe symptoms like arthritis with severe joint pain and swelling may develop months-to-years post tick bite in 60 percent of persons who are not given antibiotic treatment. It is important to keep in mind that getting Lyme disease once does not provide protection against getting Lyme in the future, if you are bitten again at a different time you can get Lyme disease again. If you develop any of these symptoms you should call your doctor right away to inquire about getting tested and treated.

To prevent tick-borne illness exposure while outdoors you and your family can do the following:

• Wear light-colored clothing with a tight weave to spot ticks easily.

• Wear enclosed shoes, long pants and a long-sleeved shirt.  Tuck pant legs into socks or boots and shirt into pants.

• Check clothes and any exposed skin frequently while outdoors.

• Use insect repellent with 20-30% DEET.

• Stay on cleared, well-traveled trails. Avoid dense woods and busy areas.

• Avoid sitting directly on the ground or on stone walls.

• Keep long hair tied back, especially when gardening.

• Bathe or shower as soon as possible after going indoors (preferably within two hours) to wash off and more easily find ticks that may be on you.

• Do a final, full-body tick check at the end of the day (also check children and pets), and remove ticks promptly.

• Check your pets thoroughly before bringing them back in the house. Comb through their fur with your fingers to see if you feel any bumps on the skin.  Ticks can be as small as a pinhead or as big as a grape. Check your pet’s paws and between all the toes, inside and behind ear flaps, around the face / neck / shoulders, around eyelids, under the tail, around groin

Additional prevention tips for homeowners to create a tick-free zone in your backyard to keep you, your family and pets safe from tick exposure:

• Keep grass mowed, along with clearing tall grasses and brush.

• Remove brush and leave around stonewalls and wood piles.

• Keep wood piles and bird feeders away from your home.

• Keep family dogs and cats out of wooded areas to reduce ticks brought into your home.

• Place swing sets, sand boxes, decks and patios in a sunny spot away from yard edges and trees.

• Place a 3-ft wide barrier of wood chips or gravel between lawns and wooded areas and around patios and play equipment.

What you can do if you find a tick attached to you, a family member, or a pet:

• You should use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the ticks by its mouth parts, as close to the surface of the skin as you can. Carefully pull the tick straight up without twisting. Do not touch the tick. Do not squeeze the body of the tick (may increase your risk of infection). Clean your hands and the areas on your skin where the tick was. Watch the site of the bite for rash (3-30 days after bite). Removing a tick within 36 hours of attachment to the skin may lower the risk of contracting Lyme disease.

To learn more about ticks, Lyme disease and other diseases ticks can spread visit the New York State Department of Health, click here.

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Photos by Tom Rivers: A new drug take-box box was added to the lobby of Medina Memorial Hospital last Friday. Mark Cye, chief executive officer for Orleans Community Health and the hospital, is pictured with Kate Brauen, the hospital’s director of pharmacy.

MEDINA – Two new pharmaceutical take-back boxes have been added in Medina with new boxes at Medina Memorial Hospital, 200 Ohio St., and Rosenkrans Pharmacy, 526 Main St.

The State Department of Environmental Conservation in February announced the collection boxes were approved for Median Memorial and Rosenkrans, which are now among 246 sites to be funded by the DEC for the take-back effort.

“We’re very excited about it,” said Kate Brauen, director of pharmacy for Medina Memorial Hospital. “We think it’s a great community service.”

The DEC paid for the box and packaging materials to send the medication to a service where the pharmaceuticals will be incinerated.

Mark Cye, CEO of the hospital, said the box will help eliminate unneeded prescription drugs from the community.

Rosenkrans received its collection box about two weeks ago. Both Rosenkrans and Medina Memorial have the boxes available while they are open. For the hospital that is all the time, 24-7, because the box is in the lobby for the emergency department.

“Installing medication drop boxes in community pharmacies, hospitals and long-term care facilities, increases opportunities for New Yorkers to properly and easily dispose of unwanted medications,” DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said in February. “The hundreds of pharmacies and facilities participating in New York’s free drug take-back program are protecting their communities and the environment.”

Under the drug take-back program, DEC will purchase medication collection boxes and pay for the disposal of waste pharmaceuticals collected by participating facilities for two years. Implementation of this pilot program will help improve water quality, protect public health by removing medications from home medicine cabinets, and reduce potential adverse impacts to fish and aquatic organisms, Seggos said.

The statewide Pilot Pharmaceutical Take-Back Program is funded with $2 million from the state’s Environmental Protection Fund.

With technological advances in analytical techniques, it is now possible to detect low levels of drugs in surface water and groundwater. Some drugs pass largely unaltered through wastewater treatment plants and enter rivers and other waterways, the DEC said.

Flushed medications have been found in New York lakes, rivers, and streams and can negatively affect the waterways. A national study conducted in 1999 and 2000, by the U.S. Geological Survey found low levels of drugs such as antibiotics, hormones, contraceptives, and steroids in 80 percent of rivers and streams tested. Medications adversely affect fish and other aquatic wildlife and increase the development of drug-resistant bacteria.

In addition, there are concerns about unused pharmaceuticals getting into the wrong hands. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that one U.S. citizen dies every 16 minutes from a drug overdose and has declared this public health threat an epidemic.

This shows what is accepted and what isn’t at the collection boxes.

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Photo  by Tom Rivers: Mark Cye, chief executive officer for Orleans Community Health, is pictured by Medina Memorial Hospital, which is part of OCH.

MEDINA – Mark Cye is now officially the chief executive officer of Orleans Community Health. He has been serving as the interim leader since Jan. 1.

The OCH board of directors on April 24 voted to make him the CEO.

“It was a unanimous decision by the board of directors,” said Dawn Meland, president of the board. “He demonstrates professionalism and vision for OCH and was instrumental in developing the affiliation with Rochester Regional Health. Mark understands the need for our community to continue to offer quality services close to home. He is an excellent manager with a strong financial background and is highly respected by our employees as well as the medical staff.”

Last month OCH entered into an affiliation with Rochester Regional Health. Through the agreement, Orleans Community Health will contract select health care services from Rochester Regional Health and its hospital in Batavia, United Memorial Medical Center.

Orleans Community Health remains its own independent organization under the terms of this agreement.

Cye has worked 20 years in healthcare, including an earlier stint as controller for OCH from 2006 to 2008.

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Genesee, Orleans & Wyoming Public Health Column

Parents agree that feeding and sleep schedules are important to help keep their children healthy. The same goes for childhood immunizations. Vaccinating children on time is the best way to protect them against 14 serious and potentially deadly diseases before their second birthday. National Infant Immunization Week, April 21-28, is an opportunity to spread awareness and education on how important it is to vaccinate children against vaccine preventable diseases.

Before a vaccine is approved for use in the U.S., it goes through years of careful testing to make sure it is safe and effective. Highly trained scientists and doctors at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) evaluate the results of these clinical studies. Vaccines are only given to children after they have been approved by scientists, doctors, and healthcare professionals.

Vaccine side effects are almost always mild such as redness or swelling at the site of the shot, but this is minimal compared to the pain, discomfort, and risk of injury and death from the diseases these vaccines prevent. Serious side effects following vaccination, such as severe allergic reaction, are very rare. The disease-prevention benefits of getting vaccinated are much greater than the possible side effects for almost all children.

It is important to follow the recommended immunization schedule to protect infants and children by providing immunity early in life, before they encounter potentially life-threatening diseases. Vaccine preventable diseases still circulate in the United States and around the world, so continued vaccination is necessary to protect everyone from potential outbreaks. Even when diseases are rare in the U.S., they can still be common in many parts of the world and unvaccinated individuals can bring them to the U.S., putting unvaccinated people at risk.

Brenden Bedard, director of Community Health Services for the Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments, states that, “Vaccinating your baby according to the recommended immunization schedule gives your child the best protection against 14 serious childhood illnesses like measles and whooping cough before they are 2 years old. The recommended schedule is designed to protect infants and children early in life, when they are most vulnerable and before they are exposed to potentially life-threatening diseases.”

Although the number of vaccines a child needs in the first two years may seem like a lot, doctors know a great deal about the human immune system, and they know that a healthy baby’s immune system can handle getting all vaccines when they are recommended. Bedard cautions against parents delaying vaccination.

“There is no known benefit to delaying vaccination,” he said. “In fact, it puts babies at risk of getting sick because they are left vulnerable to catch serious diseases during the time they are not protected by vaccines.”

If you have questions about the childhood immunization schedule, talk with your child’s doctor or nurse. For more information about vaccines, please visit www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents.

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