Health Commissioner Julia Sheen said today she is pleased to announce that the Department’s Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program will hold free screenings for women on Saturday, March 20, 2010 at the Al McBean Sporting Complex in Estate Tutu, St. Thomas.

Free prostate cancer screening will also be offered to men in the community.

The event, billed “Bringing Healthcare Back into Our Community”, will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. In addition to prostate, breast and cervical cancer screenings, the Department will offer free HIV testing, glucose, cholesterol and blood pressure screenings.

Residents will also receive information on nutrition and oral health and take advantage of on-site scheduling of appointments with the Dental Services Program.

In announcing the event, Commissioner Sheen said:

“After the high turnout in William’s Delight last year, I am really pleased that we can bring these services to St. Thomas. We had several men who showed up requesting prostate screening, which was not offered at the time, so I’m also happy that we can do so this time around."

Sheen added that this will be family activity with entertainment and other fun-filled activities for attendants. Light refreshments will also be served.

The event is co-sponsored by the AARP, American Cancer Society, Charlotte Kimelman Cancer Institute, Continuum Care, Inc., Office of the Governor, Rotary Club of St. Thomas II District 7020, and United Way of St. Thomas-St. John.

For details call (340) 773-1311, Ext. 3158 or 340-777-9251 ext. 2707.

This week, the Department of Health will celebrate National Women and Girls HIV Day with a special forum designed to raise awareness about the increasing impact of HIV/AIDS on women and girls in the Virgin Islands. The forum will be held this Wednesday, March 10th beginning at 6:00 pm at the Charlotte Kimelman Cancer Center on St. Thomas. 

Statistics show that nationwide, a woman tests positive every 35 minutes for HIV and that more women have become infected since the disease was first reported in the early 1980s.Today, one in four Americans living with HIV are women.

Commissioner Sheen is encouraging women to participate next week’s forum and urged them to make an appointment to get tested. She noted that the department offers free testing from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday to Friday, at clinics in both the St. Thomas-St. John and St. Croix districts.

"Our Rapid Response testing makes it easy for residents to know their status. Testing is free and results can be known in just 20 minutes," she said

STD/HIV/TB Director Gritell Martinez said that the forum is part of a nationwide celebration each year to and is being sponsored by the US Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Women’s Health. She is also urging women to get tested, adding that in In 2009, of the 29 HIV/AIDS cases reported in the Virgin Islands, 45% were women.

Educational material on HIV/AIDS will be distributed and DOH staff will be available to answer questions at the forum. Residents interested in attending should call 340-774-3168 to RSVP or to request for further details. 

Ed Note: Cross-posted from the Government House Blog

Earlier today, Governor deJongh applauded the Health Department’s progress with the Ryan White Part B Program following a site visit by federal officials, who praised the program’s turnaround. The program, which pays for HIV/AIDs medications for clients under its AIDS Drug Assistance Program and commonly referred to as ADAP, lost $400,000 in funding last year because of past compliance issues dating back to 2007. Since that time, officials with the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), which administers the grant, has held frequent meetings via conference call with the Office of the Governor and the Department of Health to ensure that compliance issues were met.

DeJongh said that, as a result of the progress, the Department of Health is eligible to apply for a variety of funds including a new grant of $1.1 million as well as supplemental funding under ADAP, Minority AIDS Initiative and Ryan White Part B, which would cover primary healthcare for AIDS patients. 

“I am extremely pleased that we were able to turn this program around as this funding is essential for residents who rely daily on critical HIV medications. As governor, I remain committed to ensuring that all programs benefitting the public remain in compliance so that we are never faced with losing grant funding over issues, that often times, can easily be rectified.”

At a site visit last month, HRSA project officers met with deJongh Administration officials and praised the fact that all mandatory reports to the federal agency were on time and the fact that the Department of Health had medical coverage for clients in both clinics. 

DeJongh said Monday that in addition to being eligible for more grant funding, HRSA has also offered technical assistance to the department to identify new patients. Health Commissioner Julia Sheen also applauded the turnaround, noting that the department was on its way to developing a model program. “Nearly a year later, in the words of the consultants and federal project officers, the Ryan White Part B Program has officially put out the fire in addressing all the compliance issues that caused the penalty,” she said.

Ed Note: Cross-posted from the Government House Blog

Last week, The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has announced grant awards to help health care providers advance the adoption and meaningful use of health information technology (HIT). One million dollars was awarded to the Virgin Islands Department of Health to help facilitate a territory-wide Health Information Exchange (HIE). This award will enable the DOH to take a leadership role in achieving HIE in the territory, developing governance structures, technical services and capabilities, and policies required to support the infrastructure necessary to the meaningful use of Electronic Health Records (EHR) by providers through information exchange.

Governor deJongh welcomed the award announcement, saying:

"I extremely excited by this opportunity to participate on the front lines of our nation’s health care technology transformation, and pleased that the Department of Health is continuing to take a leadership role in that effort. These projects, along with the Broadband Initiative currently underway to provide robust, high-speed internet access capability across the territory, will help us establish a world-class health information environment in the U.S. Virgin Islands, to the benefit of the entire territory."

Establishment of a territory level HIE is a critical step towards the goal of a nation-wide interoperable, private and secure electronic health information system. The resulting ability of all providers in the Territory to exchange health records electronically will help modernize our health care system, improve its efficiency, and improve the quality of care for everyone in the Territory. This grant award will help develop the electronic infrastructure necessary to that goal. As a first step, the Department of Health is working to appoint a Territorial HIT Coordinator, a condition of the grant. This individual will serve as the lead on the HIE project, coordinating activities among the many stakeholders and providing overall guidance under the auspices of the DOH.

The National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, Dr. David Blumenthal, said of the grant:

“I applaud each awarded entity for its dedication to the mission of improving the quality of health care and for the leadership and guidance it will provide.” 

This grant complements the $231,786 grant announced on December 8, 2009 for development of a comprehensive territorial plan for HIT and establishment of an EHR incentive program for providers. It is also part of the HIT transformation underway in the territory that started with the award of $815,760 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for the design, acquisition and implementation planning of a Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS) last October 28. 

The Department of Health Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program will host a cervical cancer symposium this Saturday aimed at heightening public awareness.

Health Commissioner Julia Sheen said Wednesday that the Department decided to hold the cervical cancer symposium following the success of a breast cancer symposium on St. Croix last October. 

“This symposium, like the first, is aimed at enhancing cervical cancer awareness in the territory as well as to provide continuing education on cervical cancer for healthcare professionals,” Sheen said. “We also look forward to seeing ordinary residents and healthcare professionals in attendance to learn more about the services that the Department is bringing back to the community through its Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program.”

Doctors Edith Ramsay-John, Martin Dukes, and Samuel Hughes will join Ms. Carlene Kehoe as panelists at this month’s daylong symposium. The symposium, entitled “Fact vs. Myth”, will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, January 30, 2010, at the Charlotte Kimelman Cancer Institute’s Bennie and Martha Benjamin Auditorium on St. Thomas. 

Interested residents can pre-register for the symposium by calling 773-1311, Ext. 3158 or 3178. There will also be on-site registration beginning at 9 a.m. on January 30, 2010.

For more information on the symposium, call (340) 773-1311, Ext. 3178.

In a joint statement today, Health Commissioner Julia Sheen and Licensing and Consumer Affairs Commissioner Wayne Biggs are urging residents to search their homes for Tylenol Arthritis Pain Caplet 100-count bottles and to stop using the product immediately because of a voluntary recall by the manufacturer.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said that McNeil Consumer Healthcare, a division of McNeil-PPC, recently expanded its voluntary recall to include all product lots of Tylenol Arthritis Pain Caplet 100 count bottles, with the distinctive red EZ-OPEN CAP. The initial recall last month included just five lots of products. The expanded list of product lots can be found here.

The FDA said that the recall was prompted after consumer reports of “unusual moldy, musty, or mildew-like odor “that was associated with nausea, stomach pain and diarrhea.

“Anyone who has these products should stop using them immediately,” Sheen said in the statement.

Biggs said consumers can contact the company for instructions on a refund or replacement by calling 888-222-6036.

The FDA said that only Tylenol Arthritis Pain Caplet 100’s with the distinctive EZ-Open Cap are affected by the recall and that all other Tylenol Arthritis pain products are safe.

H1N1 Vaccinations for the Public Scheduled
Posted by Eunice Bedminster on January 8, 2010 at 3:46 PM AST

Earlier today, Health Commissioner Julia Sheen announced that H1N1 vaccine is now available to the general public and that residents can get vaccinated during free mass vaccinations that the Department of Health will conduct territorywide between January 11-23, 2010.

Sheen said the mass vaccinations are being held to coincide with National Influenza Vaccination Week, which kicks off on Sunday and was established to highlight the importance of continuing flu vaccination after the holiday season into January and beyond.

“In order to accommodate as many persons as possible, we decided to hold mass vaccinations for those who did not fall into the initial priority groups sanctioned by the CDC,” Sheen said. “Vaccination is voluntary but we recommend that everyone get the vaccine as it is the best protection against the H1N1 virus."

To learn more and to view the schedule of vaccinations, click here.