FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 31, 2007
Influenza conference targets medical community
COLUMBIA - Frontline physicians and other health care workers responding to an influenza pandemic will attend a training Nov. 1 in Myrtle Beach, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control announced today.
“There is an increasing risk of a global influenza pandemic that could strike this country in the near future,” said Covia Stanley, M.D., director of DHEC’s Region 6 Public Health, which includes Horry, Georgetown and Williamsburg counties. “It’s important for healthcare providers and others to learn as much as possible about pandemic influenza. National, state and local planning activities require physician participation. Many physicians have questions regarding current planning activities, stockpiling of vaccines, antiviral medication, personal protective equipment, patient care and many other issues.”
Stanley said the half-day conference will be held at the Grand Strand Conference Center on the Myrtle Beach campus of Horry-Georgetown Technical College and will include discussions on seasonal influenza, history of pandemics and current status of H5N1 avian influenza. Attendees will also discuss the potential impact on the United States and South Carolina, planning and response activities that will include prioritization of vaccines and antiviral medication, mitigation, absenteeism, hospital and office planning, personal protective equipment and other infection control issues.
Stanley said the conference is sponsored by the S.C. Medical Association in cooperation with Horry County Medical Society, Georgetown County Medical Society, the American Red Cross Coastal S.C. Chapter and DHEC’s Region 6 Public Health. The conference is funded through the pandemic influenza grant from the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and DHEC. There is no charge to attend.
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For more information:
Tom Russo - (843) 365-3126
E-mail - russotp@dhec.sc.gov
or
Jim Beasley - (803) 898-7769
E-mail - beaslejc@dhec.sc.gov
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