Health and Wellness News Briefs

Mammogram screenings

Women’s Way will cover screening mammograms for clients ages 40-64. Until now, North Dakota Women’s Way was able to provide screening mammograms starting at age 50, and covered women under 40 only when follow-up was recommended. These funds are provided by the CDC, or Center for Disease Control. The American Cancer Society and other medical associations recommend that breast cancer screening begin at the age of 40. This 10 year difference between “recommended screening” and “provided screening” left many women without access to early detection services.

Since 1994, Altru’s Breast Cancer Coalition fund has been providing mammograms at Altru for 40-50 year old women until they became age eligible for Women’s Way. The Altru Breast Cancer Screening program operates strictly by donations from the community. All money goes directly to the cost of providing mammograms for eligible women. Now that Women’s Way will be covering 40-64 year olds, we are able to reallocate the use of the Altru Breast Cancer Coalition funds to help even more women receive mammograms. (ABCC will continue to provide low-cost mammograms for women who are under insured.)

“These are amazing improvements to our North Dakota healthcare system because they will allow more women to detect breast cancer early. And, early detection leads to higher treatment success,” says Brenda Jo Gillund, Altru Cancer Center resource nurse.

The Women’s Way state office is sending out a memo to Health Care Providers and billing departments with some new information including these changes. At this point, the changes are based on two year funding approval from North Dakota, and are not national funds.

If you, or someone you know, has been unable to receive breast cancer screening due to uninsured or under-insured status, contact Women’s Way toll free at (800) 449-6636 or, Altru’s Mammography department at (701) 780-6152 for more information.

Health luncheon

CROOKSTON — The July RiverView Health Luncheon will feature Luke Ratchenski, pharmacy student and Jerry Lindsay, RPH from RiverView Pharmacy. The title of the talk will be “Why Am I Taking This Medication? Medication Therapy Management.”

Luke Ratchenski is a fourth-year pharmacy student at NDSU. Luke will be talking about a new program called Medication Therapy Management. It is a program where pharmacists will be consulting with patients to talk about their drug therapy. Jerry Lindsay, Pharmacy Manager at RiverView will be available to answer medication questions. Jerry has worked at RiverView since 1974 and has been manager of the pharmacy since 1993.

The luncheon is being held at RiverView in Meeting Room No. 1 on July 21 and July 23 beginning at noon. Meeting Room No. 1 is located near the new RiverView Clinic entrance on the north side of the hospital and across from the elevators on first floor.

The luncheon series is in its eleventh year of sponsorship by RiverView Health and invites all men and women interested in improving their health to attend. Each starts a few minutes past noon and luncheons are kept under one hour so those needing to return to work can attend. The presentations are free and attendees can bring their own lunches or purchase a bag lunch for $ 3. Pre-registration is required. Call (218) 281-9405 or toll free (800) 743-6551, extension 405, for additional information and to pre-register.

Dr. Jack Larson Celebrates 50 Years

Altru Clinic - Cavalier is hosting an open house to be held July 29 from 2-4 p.m. In celebrating Dr. Eric “Jack” Larson’s 50th year with Altru, we honor his contribution to the community of Cavalier and its surrounding area.

For 50 years, Dr. Larson has practiced medicine in the northeastern district of North Dakota. He was instrumental in moving the clinic from a small location on Main Street to the large, modern facility it is today. Along with the clinic, he has also supported the local hospital, nursing homes, and served as both the county health officer and county coroner for many years. He has mentored countless medical, nursing, physician assistant and nurse practitioner students. In 2008, he received the Outstanding Rural Health Provider Award at the annual Dakota Conference on Rural and Public Health. Most importantly, Dr. Larson is a dedicated and compassionate physician, providing valuable medical services to generations of rural families.

Celiac Support Group

CROOKSTON — The Celiac Support Group will meet on Monday, July 20th from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm in Meeting Room 1 at RiverView Health. The Celiac Support Group meets on the third Monday of each month, March – November, and is hosted by Dr. Basit Baig, gastroenterologist and Mary Bratrud, LPN of the RiverView Specialty Clinic. For easiest access, attendees may park in the north parking lot and enter through the north RiverView Clinic entrance near the meeting rooms.

For more information on the Celiac Support Group, please call the RiverView Specialty Clinic at (218) 281-9371 or (800) 743-6551, extension 371.

Altru receives grant

Altru Foundation has received a grant in the amount of $31,000 from Dakota Medical Foundation to support Altru’s “Mission Physician” program.

“Mission Physician” is a series of week long camps provided to introduce junior and senior high school students from rural schools to health professional careers, a major goal being to attract the next generation of family physicians. The program is directed by Altru’s Family Medicine Residency Program.

“The program has grown substantially over the years and the grant allows us to identify and encourage students who might become future family physicians,” says Dr. William Mann, residency program faculty member. “Students are amazed at what they learn, and at their own capabilities, and we are proud to be able to offer them this opportunity.”

Dakota Medical Foundation, Fargo, North Dakota, focuses its efforts on improving health and access to medical and dental care in the region, with a special emphasis on children. For more information, see www.dakmed.org.

Tags: health, features