Health

 By Steve Cooke— Roberto Darroca, MD, is the immediate past president of the ISMA. INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.– The Indiana State Medical Association (ISMA) elected its officers and American Medical Association (AMA) delegation members at its 172nd Annual Convention, held Sept. 10-12, 2021. The event was held virtually for the second year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.  Elizabeth Struble, MD, North Manchester, was sworn in as ISMA president for 2021-2022. Pardeep Kumar, MD, Terre Haute, was sworn in as ISMA president-elect.  Other ISMA officers sworn in include the following: Speaker of the House of Delegates, Andrew Trobridge, MD, Fishers; vice speaker of…

By Kadee Klafka, RN, Cardiac Intensive Care, IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital— From a nurse’s eyes. I’ve been surrounded by a lot of different views of the global pandemic. I am entirely full of anger; I’ll do my best to keep all the emotions I’m personally dealing with out of these experiences and thoughts I’m about to share. In the beginning of the pandemic, we were all scared. We didn’t know what this virus was. We didn’t know how it would affect our lives. I vividly remember the first case we thought we had in our ICU because the chest x-ray…

By Suzanne Clem— MUNCIE, Ind. – Open Door Health Services has launched a new no-cost COVID-19 testing program in Muncie. Testing takes place drive-through style on the site of Open Door Urgent Care, located at 1651 E. 29th St. Monday, Sept. 13 marked the first day for the program, which is contracted through the Indiana Department of Health. As a community testing site, anyone in the community is welcome to seek testing through the program. Both rapid and PCR tests are available. PCR tests generally take 2-5 days for results. Appointments are required and can be scheduled at www.opendoorhs.org/testing. Anyone not able…

By Courtney Schmoll— MUNCIE, Ind.—As COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations continue to surge, IU Health will temporarily suspend 100% of all inpatient elective surgeries and procedures throughout the system, beginning Monday, Sept.6. The surge of COVID-19 patient volumes has continued to accelerate at a rapid pace, and this temporary change is needed to further relieve pressure on our care teams and to free up space for critically ill patients. Elective surgery patients (non-emergent, non-urgent) are being notified now. This suspension will be continuously monitored and extended as needed on a rolling basis for two-week periods.    

By FDA Press Office— WASHINGTON—Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine has been known as the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, and will now be marketed as Comirnaty (koe-mir’-na-tee), for the prevention of COVID-19 disease in individuals 16 years of age and older. The vaccine also continues to be available under emergency use authorization (EUA), including for individuals 12 through 15 years of age and for the administration of a third dose in certain immunocompromised individuals. “The FDA’s approval of this vaccine is a milestone as we continue to battle the COVID-19 pandemic. While this…

By Center for Disease Control and Prevention— ATLANTA. Georgia—Public health and medical experts from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have released the following statement on the Administration’s plan for COVID-19 booster shots for the American people. The statement is attributable to Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); Dr. Janet Woodcock, Acting Commissioner, Food and Drug Administration (FDA); Dr. Vivek Murthy, U.S. Surgeon General; Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH); Dr. Anthony Fauci, Chief Medical Advisor to President Joe Biden and Director of the National Institute…

By Mary Ippel— MUNCIE, Ind.—My name is Mary Ippel.  I am almost 69 years old. I am the wife of Bruce Ippel.  I am the mother of ten wonderful children, seven in-law children, and grandmother to 15 grandchildren, as well as several other children I love as my own.  I love the Lord and, as a Purdue Master Gardener in Delaware county, I love to garden. Six years ago I suddenly became very ill while we were visiting my daughter and her family in Williamsburg VA.  I was rushed to the hospital at the end of May and was not…

By Lauren Schregardus— Events statewide on July 24 will feature free health screenings, offer wellness resources and affordable immunizations at Walmart pharmacies Indianapolis, IN– Walmart is inviting customers to take control of their health at Walmart Wellness Day, a free event on Saturday, July 24, where they can get health screenings and wellness resources at pharmacies statewide, as well as immunizations in one easy location. The goal of Walmart Wellness Day is to help customers get back on track with preventive health measures they may have missed over the past year, especially as many families prepare for in-person work and school…

By Chris Davis, Network Indiana— STATE WIDE–Indiana could be susceptible to another wave of coronavirus, given the way the Delta variant spreads, says an infectious disease expert who is urging people to get educated about the COVID vaccine. Indiana’s vaccination rate is 54.3 percent. That number represents people who are eligible and are fully vaccinated, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control. “I think we all hoped it would be higher at this stage in the pandemic because our goal has always been to get to that point of potential herd immunity. But, we are not there yet,”…