FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: January 17, 2007
Contact:
Ania Boer
(919) 828-1819
Media Contact:
Vivian Muzyk
(919) 828-1819
Children's Flu, Colds and Infections
Best Treated at Medical Home
Part of the medical home health education
campaign
(Raleigh, NC) - With flu season
in full swing, our vulnerable residents, children,
are catching colds, the flu and other
infections left
and right. Parents who want to put a stop to
red and
stuffy noses, sore throats or fevers, often don’t
know whom to ask for advice. That is why every child
needs a medical home.
"A medical home is a place where parents take
children for all of their health needs, including well
checks, sick visits and for flu shots," said
Dr. Herbert Clegg, president of the North Carolina
Pediatric Society, which is a state chapter of the
American Academy of Pediatrics.
A medical home can be a doctor's office, a clinic
or a local health department where the staff knows
the child, the family and his or her health history.
Medical homes function as places where caregivers can
call for advice 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The medical home staff can act quickly, tell parents
how to treat the child at home or set a doctor's
appointment when necessary.
Children with no primary health care provider or medical
home available for immediate care and consultation
often land in the Emergency Room and end up waiting
for hours. Fevers, colds, flu and ear infections are
the main non-life-threatening reasons why children
from birth to age five visit the ER, according to Community
Care of North Carolina, a program that manages care
for Medicaid recipients.
"When parents establish a medical home they
gain a place to turn to for help in caring for their
child's health needs during and after office
hours," said Janice Freedman, the North Carolina
Healthy Start Foundation executive director. "This
can save both time and money and give parents peace
of mind." Unfortunately, more than half of children
in North Carolina do not have such a medical home,
according to the 2003 National Survey of Children’s
Health. But families can call the North Carolina Family
Health Resource Line at 1-800-367-2229 for advice on
how to establish a medical home.
To help parents tackle this season'’s ailments,
the North Carolina Healthy Start Foundation, in partnership
with the North Carolina Division of Public Health,
Women's and Children's Health Section and
Community Care of North Carolina, continues a Medical
Home campaign to inform parents of what to do when
a cold, flu, fever or other infection strikes. Free
medical home 'bookmarks' in English and
Spanish are available to the public and offer advice
on how to treat children at home and when to call the
doctor.
The N.C. Healthy Start Foundation, a
nonprofit organization established in 1990, conducts
ongoing public education campaigns, advises state and
local policy makers, and provides technical assistance
and professional training focused on reducing infant
death and illness and improving the health of women
and young children in N.C.
