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Medical Careers Students Begin Job-Site Observation Experiences
Posted Tuesday, April 11, 2000
Beginning 4-11-00, all Medical Careers students are observing medical care being delivered at various medical sites throughout the Little Falls area. Sites being visited include most departments at St. Gabriel's Hospital, Family Medical Center, Falls Court Dental Office, Little Falls Orthopedic Clinic, St. Otto's Care Center, Little Falls Anesthesia, Gold Cross Ambulance, and elementary school nurse's offices.

Little Falls Community High School extends sincere gratitude to these and other sites for their willingness to provide this valuable service to our students.

Local Students Come Away With Medals from HOSA Spring Leadership Conference
Posted Tuesday, April 11, 2000
Four students (Heather Thompson, Sarah Coleman, Tara Adams, and Lynnell Lorenz) attending this year's Health Occupations Students of America Spring Leadership Conference at Cragun's Convention Center on Gull Lake placed third out of 17 teams competing in the Creative Problem Solving event. This qualifies them to compete in this event at 'Nationals'. Plans are being made to attend the conference in Cleveland, OH in June.

See the website at the right for what the students will experience while at the National Conference.

Vaccine for Lyme Disease
Posted Tuesday, April 11, 2000
With summer (hopefully) just around the corner, here is some information from the Mayo Clinic web site (www.mayohealth.org/) on a vaccine for the prevention of Lyme Disease. For more information, see the above web site.

A Lyme disease vaccine is available that causes your body to form antibodies that can kill B. burgdorferi (the bacteria that causes Lyme Disease). The vaccine, given in three doses, has been approved for use in people ages 15 to 70 years old. The first two doses are administered 1 month apart, and the third dose is given 12 months after the first dose. You should have the second and third doses before the peak B. burgdorferi transmission season, which usually begins in April. Studies show that the vaccine is 49 percent effective after two doses and 76 percent effective after three doses. Protection may not last more than 1 year after the third dose and booster vaccinations may be required.

Since the vaccine does not totally protect you from Lyme disease, it is important to avoid tick-infested areas when possible or wear protective clothing, use insect repellents, and check your body frequently for ticks. You should talk with your doctor about risk factors for developing Lyme disease and the cost effectiveness of the vaccine before deciding to get the Lyme disease vaccine.

Camp Oz
Posted Wednesday, February 23, 2000
Camp Oz is a summer camp for children and teens with epilepsy. It "offers a chance to spend time away from home, participate in a variety of recreational activities, and make new friends." It's being held this summer from June 19-24. For more information call toll free 1-800-779-0777 or online at www.campoz.org.

Medical Careers Hold H.S. Blood Pressure Clinic
Posted Tuesday, February 15, 2000
Medical Careers Students took more than 100 blood pressures at a special "Heart Awareness" Valentine's Day clinic at the High School.

Student Contribution Helps to Make Blood Drive "Very Successful"
Posted Thursday, January 27, 2000
Sister Julian, OSF, coordinator of the recent Red Cross Blood Drive, states that the first-time donation of blood by 25 (of Mrs. Gregoire's Anatomy-Physiology) students helped to make this month's blood drive very successful. She also expressed appreciation of the Medical Careers students' contribution to the cause for their on-site volunteer time and for getting the word out to the student body at school.

Great job! Let's rise to the occasion again when the bloodmobile comes back to town in April!

Medical Careers Students to Provide Dental Health Education in Local 2nd Grade Classrooms
Posted Monday, January 24, 2000
On Monday, February 7, and Tuesday, February 8, Medical Careers students will be discussing dental health care with the 2nd grade students at Lincoln Elementary. Additional sessions with Lindbergh and Mary of Lourdes students are being planned.

Little Falls Orthopedic P.A. to Visit Medical Careers Classroom
Posted Monday, January 24, 2000
On Friday, January 28, John Carpenter, P.A., with the Little Falls Orthopedic clinic will talk with the Medical Careers students about what being a physician's assistant is like on a day-to-day basis and will share what coursework is necessary to prepare for the career. As in the past, his presentation and demonstrations are expected to be a favorite with the students.

Two More Medical Careers Students Receive NAR
Posted Thursday, January 13, 2000
Two additional students from the Medical Careers class passed the skills portion of the 'Nursing Assistant - Registered' test on Wednesday, 1-12-00 and are now qualified to work as nursing assistants or home health aids where the demand for their skills is currently very high.

Preventing Illness
Posted Thursday, January 13, 2000
With the recent flood of all manner of illnesses being seen in the nurse's office, I feel it appropriate to remind all students and staff to pay attention to the 'basics' of preventing illness. They include: eating a well-balanced diet, getting the proper amount of exercise, getting adequate rest, and frequent and thorough handwashing. Attention to these basics won't guarantee you'll be free of illness, but they will serve to optomize your immune system decreasing your chances of getting an illness. Or, should you get sick, they will shorten the length of illness. Handwashing serves to 'shortcircuit' the process of infection.

Antioxidants in Green Tea Thought to Help Protect Against Prostate Cancer
Posted Wednesday, January 12, 2000
Researchers have known for years that the incidence of prostate cancer is considerably lower in Asian countries. One possible explanation advanced by scientists is the high consumption of plant foods among Asian populations. Another is the growing number of laboratory studies indicating that green tea — the most popular tea in China, Japan and other Asian countries — has anti-tumor effects.

For more on this and other useful health information, visit the Mayo Clinic's health information web site: http://mayohealth.org/

January/February L.F. Orthopedic S.T.A.R. Schedule Posted
Posted Monday, January 10, 2000
Little Falls Orthopedic Clinic's S.T.A.R. (Sportsmedicine Training and Athletic Rehabilitation) Program staff will be at the Little Falls Community High School gym Mondays, January 10, 17, 24, and 31, and February 7, 14, 21, and 28 from about 4:45 until 5:30. Their purpose is to assess and advise on prevention and treatment of athletic injuries.

If you have questions on the service or schedule information, contact the clinic at 632-3671 and ask for Michelle.

High School Students Encouraged to Donate Blood at Local Blood Drive
Posted Friday, January 07, 2000
The American Red Cross is holding a blood drive at the St. Francis Center on Thursday, January 13th, from 1:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. and Friday, January 14th, from 8:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.

Students 17 years old or older are encouraged to donate blood during this time. As with any event a parent permission is required in order to leave the High School if students wish to donate during school hours. Students (as with anyone who donates blood) are required to have an identification card (preferrably photo ID, for example, driver's license) with them before they may donate.

You may call 631-0663 if you would like to make an appointment to donate.

You may also contact Mr. Johnson in the nurse's office afternoons if you have questions.

Hope we see a good turnout from the High School!

Medical Careers Students to Assist With Blood Drive
Posted Friday, January 07, 2000
Several students from the medical careers class are volunteering in the 'traffic control' and 'canteen' areas of the blood drive being held by the American Red Cross at the St. Francis Center on Thursday, January 13th, and Friday January 14th.

Little Falls Orthopedic Consultation Service
Posted Wednesday, December 22, 1999
Little Falls Orthopedics (S.T.A.R. Program) provides consultation services in the prevention and treatment of bone and joint injuries on a weekly basis to students in the Little Falls and surrounding school districts during the school year. Contact the clinic (632-3671) for further information and consultation dates.

Infectious Mononucleosis (Mono)
Posted Friday, December 17, 1999
A number of cases of infectious mononucleosis among students have come to the attention of the high school nurse's office over the past several weeks. Go to the link at the right to learn more about this infection.

Five Students Join the Ranks of Nursing Assistants
Posted Friday, December 17, 1999
On Wednesday, December 15, all nine of the Little Falls Community High School students who took the state nursing assistant/home health aide written test passed. Five of the nine also passed the skills demonstration portion of the test and are currently nursing assistant/home health aide registered and may work in that capacity at long term care facilities, hospitals, or home care agencies. The four who did not pass the skills portion inform me they plan to work further on their skills and retake the test in the near future. Congratulations to all of you!

Influenza Resources
Posted Monday, December 13, 1999
If you're not feeling well of late you may want to check out some of the resources listed at the HTML at the right to see if what you have may be influenza. It's a Yahoo search result of 'influenza' sites.

Judging by the recent activity in the high school nurse's office, we may be on the threshhold of this year's influenza season.

Medical Careers Class Update
Posted Tuesday, November 16, 1999
On Thursday, November 18, students and staff from the Special Education department have volunteered to have their vital signs, heights, and weights taken by the class's 'budding' health care workers (Nursing Assitant/Home Health Aides).

Clinical experiences for 12 of the 16 students in class will begin Saturday, November 27, and Friday, December 3, at St. Otto's Care Center. Their days will begin at 5:50 a.m. They will spend three 8 hour days helping the residents meet personal care and other daily activity needs.

Exercise and Susceptibility to Infection
Posted Friday, November 12, 1999
Here's a quote from the publication - School Health Alert. It's taken from an article that appeared in Physician and Sprotsmedicine, 1999; 27(6):47-71, Shephard, R.:
"Regular, moderate exercise enhances immune function. Further, epidemiologic data suggest that vigorous exercise may temporarily reduce resistance to viral infection. Persons who have systemic symptoms [editor's note - 'feel sick'] should avoid competition and heavy training."

Mayo Clinic Health Information
Posted Friday, November 12, 1999
For current and reliable health care information, check out the Mayo Clinic's internet site at the right. At the bottom of the site's homepage there is a link to subscribing to 'Housecall'. This is a weekly newsletter containing various health-related points of interest that will come to you via e-mail if you choose to subscribe. There is no cost to subscribe.