Cumberland Valley Rail-Trail Race, Run & Ride Announced

Sunday, April 22, 2007

The first major event to raise funds for the continued maintenance of the Cumberland Valley Rail-Trail. A day of events is planned including a race, a fun run and walk, and a bike ride.

The Race: 1 pm A flat and fast, point to point, 15K (9.3 mile) race on the Cumberland Valley Rail-Trail starting at the Newville trail head and finishing at the Shippensburg Township Park. The trail has a smooth crushed stone surface.

The Run: 12 pm An out and back 5k (3.1 mile) fun run/walk beginning and ending at the Shippensburg Township Park.

The Ride: 11 am An out and back 30K (18.6 mile) bike ride from the Shippensburg Township Park to Newville and back.

For additional details or to register, click here.

For a past North Ridge Buzz story on the Cumberland Valley Rail-Trail, click here.

With Fear of Spreading Germs High, Pennsylvanians Likely to Wash Hands Often, Finds Statewide Health Care Poll

Nearly 80 percent of Pennsylvanians participating in a recent health care poll say they’re generally concerned about the spread of germs and infections. And, possibly as a result of those fears, participants in the poll say they wash their hands often.

According to The Patient Poll by the Pennsylvania Medical Society’s Institute for Good Medicine, 78.4 percent of the polls’ 301 participants say they’re either very concerned or somewhat concerned about the spread of germs and infections.

Regarding hand washing, 46.6 percent say they wash their hands between five to ten times a day, while another 17.2 percent will wash their hands more than 11 times each day.

It may seem like the simplest of things, but proper hand hygiene is often forgotten, says Peter S. Lund, MD, who heads the Pennsylvania Medical Society’s Institute for Good Medicine.

“Hand washing is a simple habit that’s one of the best ways to avoid getting sick,” says Dr. Lund. “You can easily infect yourself by touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unclean hands, or you can spread germs by touching others or touching objects such as doorknobs that others will also touch. If you want to avoid getting the common cold, flu, and some gastrointestinal disorders, you should be washing your hands often.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, infectious diseases cost the United States $120 billion a year. More than 160,000 people die in the U.S. yearly from an infectious disease.

Pennsylvania Medical Society President Mark A. Piasio, MD, MBA, thinks those figures are staggering and that greater awareness of proper hand washing will help improve statistics, especially within health care settings.

“There’s a great deal of concern about hospital-acquired infections these days,” Dr. Piasio said. “Anyone associated with a patient – whether the person is a health care professional, hospital employee, or hospital guest – should take time to wash their hands to help fight the spread of germs and infections.” Dr. Piasio adds that hospital patients, or their loved ones, should ask everyone who enters the patient’s room and is potentially in contact with the patient whether they have washed their hands.


The Pennsylvania Medical Society’s Institute for Good Medicine recommends that you wash your hands:

• After using a bathroom (private or public)
• After changing a diaper
• After touching an animal or items associated with animals
• Before and after food preparation
• Before eating
• After blowing your nose
• After coughing or sneezing into your hands
• Before and after treating cuts and wounds
• Before and after touching a sick or injured person
• After contact with blood or body fluid
• After handling garbage
• Before inserting or removing contact lenses

In addition, the Pennsylvania Medical Society’s Institute for Good Medicine offers the following advice on how to wash your hands:

1. Wet your hands with warm, running water and apply soap.
2. Rub your hands as long as it takes to sing the “Happy Birthday” song
3. Scrub all surfaces including the backs of your hands, wrists, between fingers, and under fingernails
4. Rinse thoroughly
5. Dry hands with a clean or disposable towel
6. Turn off faucet using a towel

The Patient Poll by the Pennsylvania Medical Society’s Institute for Good Medicine was conducted on January 10 with the help of the Taylor Brand Group of Lancaster and Greenfield Online. It has a 5.67 percent margin of error and included responses from throughout the state, representing a variety of ages and income levels. Nearly 87 percent of the participants carried some type of health insurance. The Patient Poll is designed to feel the pulse of Pennsylvanians on health care issues.

The Pennsylvania Medical Society has been working to enhance the patient-doctor relationship since 1848. To learn more about the Pennsylvania Medical Society, visit its Web site at http://www.pamedsoc.org/, or to learn about Pennsylvania-specific health issues, visit the Medical Society’s consumer Web site at http://www.myfamilywellness.org/.

The Patient Poll Results

How concerned are you about the spread of germs and infections?

Very Concerned 36.8%
Somewhat Concerned 41.6%
A Little Concerned 19.3%
Not Concerned 2.4%

How often do you wash your hands on a daily basis on average?

0-2 times/day 4.1%
3-5 times/day 32.1%
5-10 times/day 46.6%
11 or more times/day 17.2%

(Source: Pennsylvania Medical Society news release)

PAWSABILITIES 2007 Details

PAWSABILTIES 2007

to benefit

SUSQUEHANNA SERVICE DOGS

Get your dog out of the house for a day of fun!! Bring the family and your dog(s) to the Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg on March 10 & 11, 2007. Or just come and watch the many exciting events going on all day from 9am-4pm. Your admission ticket is good for both days for a double dose of fun!

What is happening? There is the excitement of the DOCK DOGS, the STEPPIN' WOOFS dog dancing team, OLYMPIC GAMES for you and your dog, demonstrations, lectures, TALK TO THE TRAINERS, dog massage, fantastic VENDORS, the game of chance PAW DRAW, RALLY OBEDIENCE, breed and obedience matches, SERVICE DOGS, therapy dogs, search and rescue dogs, Canine Good Citizen and Therapy Dog testing, COSTUME CONTEST, Dog Wash, GREAT BISCUIT BITE-OFF contest, and the great end to each day- the PARADE escorted by a marching band.

Special Guest- RON HEVENER, author and artist appearing on Saturday and Sunday

Also appearing - VALERIE PRITCHETT of ABC27 news on SUNDAY and BOB RUDY on SATURDAY

Read all about it on the Paws Blog by clicking here.

For the PawsAbilities web site click

Doctors To Answer WGAL TV Viewer Calls On March 7

Physician members of the Pennsylvania Medical Society will answer questions and discuss medical concerns with local residents anonymously and free of charge on Wednesday, March 7, as part of the Medical Society’s public service program “Doctors on Call.” The program will air as a part of the News 8 broadcast from 5-6:30 pm that evening.

“Doctors on Call” draws on hundreds of physicians across the state who donate their services to help make a difference in the communities where they live and practice. Locally, Medical Society member physicians will answer health-related questions and will offer information on free- and low-cost health clinics to those without medical insurance or without access to personal physicians. While the doctors will provide guidance to callers, the phone sessions are not meant to replace office visits. Physicians answering the phones will not diagnose conditions or prescribe specific treatments.

To have your questions answered by a doctor, please tune into WGAL TV that evening. At that time, WGAL will broadcast a toll-free phone number for you to use.

“The Pennsylvania Medical Society strongly believes a good relationship between patients and doctors is essential to the healing process,” says Mark A. Piasio, MD, president of the Pennsylvania Medical Society. “The ‘Doctors on Call’ program offers a wonderful opportunity to help build connections between doctors and patients who might otherwise avoid or have no access to a physician. Last year we answered nearly 2,000 calls throughout the state and thus helped many Pennsylvania residents obtain medical guidance or find free clinics.”

The Pennsylvania Medical Society is partnering with WGAL-TV to broadcast this public service program. WGAL president and general manager, Paul Quinn, believes the program provides a much-needed community service. “For the past 5 years, viewer response to “Doctors on Call" has been overwhelmingly positive. We are proud to partner with the Pennsylvania Medical Society to offer valuable medical advice and information that can have life-changing, and maybe even lifesaving results.”

The physician volunteers of the Medical Society view the call-in show as another chance for them to help patients. “Doctors on Call is yet another way we, as physicians, can offer advice and help guide callers through a complex health care system. It’s rewarding to help a fellow human being,” adds Lancaster-based obstetrician/gynecologist Tony Castle, MD.

Local Pennsylvania Medical Society member physicians volunteering as “Doctors on Call” on March 7 are: Adams County, New Oxford, Paul Dende, DO, internal medicine; Berks County, Reading, John Dethoff, MD, orthopedics; Fredericka Heller, MD, obstetrics and gynecology; C. Eve Kimball, MD, pediatrics; Dauphin County, Camp Hill, Keith Haidet, MD, radiology; Harrisburg, John Bart, DO, family medicine; Emerson Knight, MD, urology; Hershey, Mark Boustred, MD, plastic surgery; Jennifer Goldstein, MD, internal medicine; Middletown, Bridget Berich, DO, obstetrics and gynecology; Lancaster County, Ephrata, Ann Bybel, MD, obstetrics and gynecology; Christopher Hager, MD, family medicine; Lancaster, Tony Castle, MD, obstetrics and gynecology; Jeff Chaby, DO, ophthalmology; Laura Fisher, MD, allergy; Stephanie Mackey, MD, dermatology; William Monacci, MD, neurosurgery; James Pacelli, Jr., MD, neurology; Gerald Rothacker, MD, orthopedic surgery; Thomas Westphal, MD, orthopedics; Christopher Woodard, MD, urology; Lititz, Dave Simons, DO, anesthesiology; Lebanon County, Lebanon, Musaddiq Nazeeri, MD, family medicine; York County, Hanover, Wesley Harden, MD, general surgery; Francis Kilkelly, MD, orthopedics; York, Michael Furman, MD, orthopedics; Conrad Knudson, MD, family medicine.

The patient-doctor relationship has been the priority of the Pennsylvania Medical Society since its founding in 1848. The Medical Society listens to concerns of both patients and doctors to improve the delivery of health care services. To learn more about the Pennsylvania Medical Society, visit the web site at http://www.pamedsoc.org/. Or visit our Family Health & Wellness Website at http://www.myfamilywellness.org/