Rain, sleet and snow didn't keep several hundred people from trying to get flu vaccinations today at County Building Number 2 in the Town of Batavia.

At one point, the line snaked outside and around the side of the building. Seniors, parents and children were waiting two or more hours for either a shot of the seasonal flu vaccine or the H1N1 nasal mist.

A winter storm of sorts started not long after the clinic doors opened, and by then the line  already stretched well outside the building.

"I was standing in the rain and snow out there a little while before and I was thinking, I'm going to get a flu shot to prevent getting sick and I'm going to get sick standing in line in the rain and the snow, so I wonder if it's really worth it," Walter Kershenski said. He also happens to be Stafford Town Clerk, and said he stood in line for more than two hours.

There were reports of people driving from Orleans, Monroe and even Chautauqua counties for the vaccinations, and apparently, nobody was being turned away for the free vaccines.

Interim Health Director Randy Garney said the Health Department was expecting to provide at least 500 doses of vaccine in two hours, but had received an extra shipment of seasonal flu and H1N1 vaccine just days ago.

"I figure, two hours, that's going to be about all we're going to be able to process, but we're going to keep the clinic open as long as there is a line," Garney said.

"With recent events that have taken place, we were expecting a large crowd," Garney said.

Rosemary Sero, of Oakfield, said all the reports of people getting sick with H1N1 and especially the death of a Pembroke student, has her feeling very cautious about taking care of her two young daughters.

"They're using a lot of hand sanitizer," she said. "They wash their hands a lot. I tell them not to touch their face."

If you haven't received a flu shot yet, you can do so today at County Building Number 2 on W. Main St. Road, Town of Batavia.

The walk-in clinic will be open from 2 to 4 p.m..

Seasonal flu vaccine is available for people 19 and older, and H1N1 vaccine is available for people 2 to 24 years of age, and for people 25 to 59 who care for or live with infants.

Vaccine supplies are limited.

People looking for extra protection against the H1N1 strain of flu -- commonly, though incorrectly, called "swine flu" -- will soon have the opportunity to be vaccinated, Randy Carney told WBTA this morning.

The first doses are expected to arrive in Genesee County later this week, the interim county health chief said.

The vaccine will be distributed through healthcare providers, but people without their own doctor will be able to receive the vaccine from the county health department.

But the supply is limited. The county will receive only about 100 to 200 doses this week, with more on the way. Federal officials assure citizens that there will be plenty of vaccine to go around.

Audio: Randy Garney talks about the vaccine (mp3).

I know a couple of people who have been pretty sick recently, and you probably do, too. The symptoms sound a lot like flu, and according Randy Garney, interim health director for Genesee County, if you have the flu this time of year, there's about a 90-percent chance it's H1N1, or "swine flu."

But, according to Garney, there have been no official cases of H1N1 reported recently in Genesee County.

Suspected flu cases are only tested, Garney said, if the sick person shows up at the hospital. 

We have a call into UMMC to see if they've been dealing with any suspected H1N1 cases and are waiting for a call back.

Garney said H1N1 is widespread throughout the Southeast, according to the National Center for Disease Control.

"At this point (outside of flu season) widespread activity is unheard of," Garney said. "To call it widespread is not normal at all."

As usual, Garney warned that people who are sick need to stay home in "social isolation" to avoid spreading the virus.

If you have a fever of 100 degrees, you probably have the flu. You should wait at least 24 hours after the fever has abated (not counting taking medications to reduce the fever) before mixing in public.

He called the virus a mild form of the flu.

"I use mild very gently because the people I’ve talked to, the epidemiologists I’ve talked to, (say) it may be mild, but you’re going to be very sick," Garney said.  "You’re going to be very achy, you’re going to be in bed, but you’re going to recover with no ramifications."

The New York Department of Health recommends:

It's that time of year -- time to start planning on flu shots.

The County Health Department issued a press release today notifying residents that flu shot clinics are in the works.

The first one is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 18.

Tentatively because only about 1/4 of the needed vaccine has been delivered to the county so far.  The remaining doses should arrive in September or October.

Full press release after the jump:

Senator Michael H. Ranzenhofer has announced that applications are available at his district office for the recently created NY Prescription $aver program (NYP$), sponsored by the State Department of Health.

The NYP$ is a free discount card that can reduce the cost of prescriptions by 30% to 60% for eligible lower-income residents.
 
Participants must be a New York State resident between the ages of 50 and 64 or a person of any age who has been determined to be disabled by the Social Security Administration. Annual household income must be below $35,000 for singles and $50,000 for married persons. Medicaid participants are not eligible for the program. 

Applications for the program are available at Senator Ranzenhofer’s District Office, 8203 Main Street – Suite 4 in Clarence.  For more information, please contact Senator Ranzenhofer’s office at (716) 631-8695. Applications are also available by calling the NYP$ Helpline at 1-800-788-6917 or by visiting http://nyprescriptionsaver.fhsc.com.

A representative of Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo will be in Batavia on Wednesday to speak with seniors about how to protect their rights and help them get health benefits they are entitled to receive.

Cathy Sheehan, assistant attorney General for Cuomo's Albany Office, will give the presentation and answer questions.

"This seminar will inform New Yorkers about how to navigate the complex health care system and offer real solutions to real problems with health care, including billing problems, failure to cover guaranteed benefits, and loss of insurance," according to a press release.
 
For more information about how the Attorney General's Health Care Bureau can help solve real health care problems, please visit the Attorney General's website at http://www.oag.state.ny.us or call 1-800-771-7755. 

"Take Action for a Healthier Life" is a FREE 6 week program designed to help individuals better manage their chronic conditions (Diabetes, Asthma, Arthritis etc.)  Program topics include:

• Managing stress
• Medication management
• Goal setting
• Communication
• Managing fatigue
• Physical activity
• And much more!

Location: Corfu Community Room- 116 East Main Street Corfu, NY 14036

Time: 4:30pm-7pm

Program dates: July 14,2009, July 21, 2009, July 28, 2009, August 4, 2009, August 11, 2009, August 18, 2009

*Participants will need to attend all 6 classes.  Please feel free to bring a snack or dinner for yourself!

Participants will have the option to purchase a book and/or relaxation CD for $20 a piece if they would like.  Family, friends and caregivers are also welcome to attend.

Registration is required.  Seating is limited so register by July 10th, 2009 by calling or emailing Christi at Lake Plains: (585)345-6110 or chayden@lakeplains.org

Genesee County is putting together an employee health plan for the 21st Century, according to County Manager Jay Gsell.

In 1996, the county switched employees to a self-funded insurance plan, but then didn't update it for more than a decade.

Gsell said today that the old plan no longer really served employees well and hadn't kept up in changes in medicine.

"Over time, we've made little changes here and there and most of them are subtle, but now we're here in the 21st Century," Gsell said. "That old plan is not very responsive to the health care needs of people here in 2009 ... and it's not very cost effective."

The new plan has been in the works for two years, with employee unions, management and a consultant participating in putting together the new plan, which even though it was implemented in January is still a work in progress.

The new plan puts a greater emphasis on wellness, well being and prevention.

The plan now covers health care screenings for men and women and preventative diagnostic tests.

"Those kinds of things are in the plan to keep people from getting really sick or avoiding visiting a doctor's office until they have to go to the emergency room," Gsell said.

Still under consideration is coverage for gym memberships.

The committee is also reviewing prescription benefits, such as allowing employees to bulk order medicines through mail order and allowing over-the-counter remedies where patents have expired and a script is no longer necessary.

The main goal of the changes is to be cost neutral, Gsell said, but over the next five or more years, the county could save from $100,000 to $200,000.

"So what we're looking at is whether this plan over the next five years will help us better provide for our employees, but also save us money."

So far, not all employees have opted into the program, but Gsell expects more workers to see the benefits of the plan.

WHAM 13 is reporting that health officials have said there is one suspected case of 'Swine Flu' in Genesee County.

We can't confirm that at this time.

Earlier today when we contacted the Genesee County Health Dept. we were told that some sort of e-mail related to 'Swine Flu' would be released to local media in the afternoon. That e-mail was never received.

We will try to get an update on this suspected case first thing in the morning.

UPDATE: Dan Fischer at WBTA is actively working on this story. Channel 2 also reported a suspected case. We'll keep you posted.

UPDATE II: It occured to me that we hadn't checked Billie's e-mail account since we left the office. At 5:03 p.m., we received an e-mail from Karen Smykowski at the health department. It reads, "Genesee County has one suspect and one possible suspect case of Swine flu. It is currently en route to Wadsworth Laboratory for further testing." Dan Fischer also spoke with Randy Garney who also said there is one possible case and one suspected case in Genesee County.

The Genesee Area Family YMCA is hosting its annual Healthy Kids Day Event
from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 18. It's free and gives families a chance to visit the YMCA and see all it has to offer children and adults. There will be a Bounce House and you can climb our rock wall, swim, prepare healthy snacks, play games and experience virtual fitness games.

The YMCA is located at 209 E. Main St. in Batavia. Phone is 344-1664.
 

Genesee County's Department of Health has released its 2009 schedule for anti-rabies immunization clinics. Please click here to download the document.

Daily News writer Paul Mrozek has a lengthy piece out today on Gov. Paterson's plans to tell parents how to raise their children -- specifically how to control their diets.

He includes all the facts from the governor's perspective, but passes over one lone skeptical voice deep in the article.  There is little focus on the propriety of New York engaging in social engineering, nor the degree to which this plan is going to create new bureaucracies and hence new expenses, whether there is any evidence such a plan will work, nor how the plan will impact businesses and create new costs that will be passed along to all consumers.

The most far-reaching of the proposals is an 18 percent sales tax on sugar-sweetened beverages such as soda. Juices from fruit such as oranges and grapes are excluded from the proposed tax.

In the past 40 years New York residents have increased their consumption of pop from an average of five 12-ounce cans or bottles per week to 11 per week. Research has shown that consumption of non-diet soft drinks is one of the primary factors that increases the risk of obesity in children and adults.

"No question about the link. We have a core fact in front of us," Daines said.

Not so fast. There is a question. A big fat question.

To blame all low-income obesity on soda pop alone is myopic. Low-income diets tend to be heavy in empty carbohydrates of all kinds, not just sugar. Children living in food insecure homes consume less healthy food. One reason there is such an abundance of empty-carb foods can be traced to farm subsidies for corn, but even that connection is a rather simplistic view of the obesity problem among poorer children.

There is also the question of proper exercise.  In too many homes, children are allowed to watch TV or play video games rather than being required to run around outside.

These are largely parental issues, not government issues.

If the government wanted to do something to help, they would restructure aid programs to make it easier to buy healthier food.  Given a choice, most parents would pick more meats, fruits and vegetables. But right now these options are beyond their budgets. 

Driving up the costs of the high-carb foods isn't going to help them afford the good foods.

The article says, "You raise prices. You provide alternatives."  But what are those alternatives. How are they paid for and provided?  If the alternatives are paid for by the tax, how does the state ensure sufficient revenue for those alternatives once consumption of the taxed items goes down?

Will taxed drinks receive some sort of stamp like alcohol and cigarettes?  If so, aren't we just creating yet another environment for potential illegal black market activities?

And one issue about the proposed tax I've not seen discussed anywhere is the impact on business: Who will levy the tax? Will retail outlets be burdened with the the expense of tracking and tallying the tax, which could include the expense of reprogramming cash registers?  And if the tax is imposed at the wholesale level, won't it just get passed along to all consumers of soft drinks and other beverages from those particular wholesalers?

What about vending machines? Will vendors be required to have two prices on drinks in their machines -- one for taxed items, and one for non-taxed? Or will us diet drinkers just pay more? Who pays for the expense of reprogramming machines or replacing machines that aren't capable of handling tiered prices on soft drinks?

Per usual, any time the government starts interfering in private lives and private enterprise, there are as many if not more problems created than solved.

Here's an appropriate and timely video from Reason Magazine.

Dr Idrees is excited to announce that he has added non suture hair transplant to the list of his many services he offers at Medical Laser Treatment Clinic.  Dr Idrees became certified to perform this procedure because the people of Batavia asked for it.  Many people suffer from Androgenetic Alopecia,known as hair loss so this is the perfect addition to his laser office.

The FUE-Matic machine is an automated safe hair transplant machine that assists the doctor in performing this procedure.  Using FUE technique is less invasive than the traditional strip method.  There is no cutting, therefore no sutiring, no visable scarring, almost immediate recovery time and very little effort.

You can visit http://www.laserbatavia.com/  or call (585) 219-4945 for more information on this procedure and on all the procedures offered at Medical Laser Treatment Clinic.

The last flu shot clinic of the season will be held by the Genesee County Health Department between 4:00 and 7:00pm at County Building Two on West Main Street Road, Batavia.

The Genesee County Legislature will meet tonight at 7:00pm in the Old County Courthouse.

From the VA Medical Center:

Additional walk-in clinics have been scheduled for veterans enrolled in VA health care at VA WNY Healthcare System, 3495 Bailey Avenue in Buffalo.  The vaccines will be available at Desk 4 located on the first floor Saturday, November 8 from 8am -1pm, Tuesday, November 11 (Veterans Day) noon – 3:30pm, Saturday, November 15, 8am – 1pm, and Sunday, November 23, 9:00am – 2pm. Enrolled veterans may also contact their primary care provider to obtain the vaccine.

There is no charge for the flu vaccine for veterans enrolled in VA health care.  Eligibility will be verified prior to administration of the vaccine.  For information regarding VA Healthcare eligibility call 1-888-823-9656.

From United Memorial Medical Center:

United Memorial Medical Center will offer free blood pressure screenings each Thursday in October, the 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd and 30th, from 1:30 to 3:00 pm at our Cardiac Rehab Department located at 215 Summit Street, Batavia. Appointments are not needed and walk-ins are welcome.

The American Heart Association claims that nearly one in three U.S. adults has high blood pressure, but because there are no symptoms, nearly one-third of these people don't know they have it. Many people have high blood pressure for years without knowing it. Uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to stroke, heart attack, heart failure or kidney failure. The only way to tell if you have high blood pressure is to have your blood pressure checked.

For additional information please contact Healthy Living, United Memorial’s Community Education and Outreach Department at (585) 344-5331.