January 31, 2012: Norovirus • The Lake County Health Department is encouraging residents to practice health measures to avoid viral acute gastroenteritis, often caused by norovirus.
Nine outbreaks were reported in Lake County in January, including eight outbreaks in long-term care facilities and one in a day care facility. There were 16 similar outbreaks in 2011, 25 in 2010 and 16 in 2009.
If you would like additional information on norovirus, please call the Health Department's Communicable Disease Program at: (847) 377-8130, or visit this online link.
Our New Year's Resolution
LCMS is developing a new online referral system to make it easier for community members to find members of the Society who work in different specialty areas. We already give referrals to people who call our office dozens of times each week, so this new system will help boost those efforts.
Because we are not affiliated with any hospital, we can objectively expose our membership list to the public.
Local community members will be able to click on Physician Referrals from our website and seek doctors by specialty and location. Only member physicians will be visible, of course.
Watch for more details to come.
LCMS News Briefs
• Workers' Comp Impairment Evaluation Seminars The Illinois State Medical Society, in conjunction with SafeWorks Illinois, is hosting seminars across the state to provide a unique understanding of the multiple components used in evaluating and assessing disability in workers' comp cases. Physicians and their staff are encouraged to attend. CME credits are available; CE credits have been applied for. Click here for all of the details.
• Have something to sell? Need some office equipment? Want to hire a new staff member? Members and non-members now have the opportunity to advertise on the LCMS web site. Member rates: $30 for 60 words Non-members/businesses: $60 for 30 words. All ads will run for 60 days on the website and in one edition of our e-newsletter. Click here to review the LCMS Ad Policy.
• The AMA Interim Meeting was held November 12-15 in New Orleans. Physicians from every state and specialty gathered to set policy on issues of most importance to the nation's doctors and their patients. Issues addressed included national drug shortages, prescription drug abuse, campaign to pass private contracting bill, new scope-of-practice policies, stopping the implementation of ICD-10 code set, and guidelines for health insurance exchanges. For all details of these actions and more, click here.
• From ISMS, this reminder: "Face Time" Required to Certify Home Health Care/Hospice — In accordance with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services modified certification and recertification guidelines for home health care and hospice services in April 2011. The new regulations require "face-to-face" encounters between physician and patient for certifying and recertifying home health/hospice services on or after January 1, 2011. Get more information in the October Illinois Medicine EXPRESS.
From Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science... The Resuscitation Institute Announces Lecture Series
On Resuscitation Topics; CME Available
The Resuscitation Institute at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, 3333 Green Bay Road, North Chicago, IL, is pleased to announce the start of a lecture series focused on resuscitation topics with special emphasis on basic, translational and clinical research. We expect to host 4 to 6 lectures annually featuring promising young investigators or established leaders in the field of resuscitation with national and international recognition. Each lecture will offer category 1 CME credit to attending physicians.
The first lecture, entitled "Harnessing the Thoracic Pump to Treat Patients in Cardiac Arrest: From 1960 to the Present", will be given by Dr. Tom Aufderheide, MD, on March 12, 2012 at Rosalind Franklin University. Dr. Aufderheide is Professor of Emergency Medicine, Associate Chair of Research Affairs, and Director of the Resuscitation Research Center in the Department of Emergency Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin. He is internationally recognized as a leader in emergency cardiac care and resuscitation research and has published over 100 original research papers in the peer-reviewed literature, 37 textbooks related to emergency cardiac care, and 22 book chapters. Dr. Aufderheide is currently Principal Investigator of a number of NIH-funded clinical trials.
From the Lake County Health Department Free Healthcare Provider Training
On Tobacco Use, Women's Health (Earn CME/CE Credit)
Do you provide healthcare for women? Whether you are a physician, nurse, case manager, or social worker, the Lake County Health Department/Community Health Center's Tobacco Free Lake County program invites you to the Effects of Tobacco Use Throughout a Woman's Lifetime healthcare provider training on Thursday evening, February 9, 2012. Doctors and nurses can earn up to 2.5 hours of CME/CE.
Dr. Eve C. Feinberg, board-certified in both obstetrics and gynecology as well as reproductive endocrinology and infertility, will cover the relationship between tobacco use and women's health, from adolescence through adulthood, including sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy, infertility, cervical cancer, heart disease and menopause. Participants will also gain knowledge and tools to assist their patients in tobacco treatment.
This free training will be held from 6 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. on Thursday, February 9, 2012 at the White Deer Run Golf Club in Vernon Hills. Dinner and continuing medical education credits will be provided. This is a free training opportunity, but pre-registration is required. Participants may register by calling Tobacco Free Lake County at (847) 377-8090 by Friday, February 3, 2012.
The State of Illinois is enforcing some new, more stringent rules for licensure and renewal of licenses for many professionals and health care workers. Read items received from the Secretary of State very carefully. Licensure for registered nurses will require 20 hours of Continuing Education credit effective with the renewal period following the 2010-2012 two year renewal. All licensed nurses will be required to obtain proof of 20 hours worth of CE after June 1, 2010, and prior to May 31, 2012 in order to renew their licenses in 2012. CE taken before June 1, 2010 cannot be used to satisfy this requirement.
Visit the web site, www.nursing.illinois.gov/NursingCE.asp for more information. Advanced Practice Nurses holding an RN license should check with the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) website for CE requirements. There are many options for qualifying courses, including some online education choices.
Volunteer for the Lake County Medical Reserve Corps.
In response to the outpouring of volunteer support in the days following September 11, 2001, the Citizen Corps. was created by the President. Citizen Corps volunteers work to make sure their families, homes, and communities are prepared in the event of terrorism, crime, and disasters of all kinds. One specialized component of this effort is the Medical Reserve Corps. [Get complete details!]
DISCLAIMER: The links on this web site are provided only for the convenience of LCMS site visitors. LCMS has no interest in, responsibility for, or control over some linked sites. LCMS makes no promise or warranties of any kind, express or implied, including those of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, as to the content of the linked sites. In no event shall LCMS be liable for damages resulting from the use of linked sites.
Rebecca Bergman, MD
President
Scott Cooper, MD
Vice President
Illinois State
Medical Society
James Milam, MD
District 1 Trustee
Illinois State
Medical Society
Jane R. Stein,
Executive Director
House of Delegates meeting, 2009
Dr. Foosaner and Dr. Hill with Gale Gand at the Annual Doctor/Lawyer Dinner, March 2011.
