Eighty-two cases of the contagious disease were recently confirmed in Alamance County.

Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, is a bacterial disease which leads to severe coughing that can cause people to make a whooping sound as they gasp for breath.

The Tdap vaccine, which protects against tetanus, diphtheria, and whooping cough, lasts for about 10 years and is recommended for all adults, but especially for those who are around vulnerable populations such as young children and the elderly.

Weight loss surgery is not a cure for obesity.  It is, however, a powerful tool to help you jump-start your weight loss and begin your journey to improved health and fitness.  It involves commitment, support, and the determination to succeed.

Here are eight tips to help you become successful at losing weight with bariatric surgery and keeping it off, courtesy of some of our most successful patients at Wake Specialty Physicians – General Surgery Bariatric Surgery Program.

1.      Family support is key to keeping the weight off. Be clear about your weight loss goals and desire for better health and talk to your family about it. Help them help you by requesting that dinners out have several, tasty healthy options on the menu or inviting your kids to join you as you walk for exercise.

2.      Motivation is more than willpower. It’s the engine that drives you toward success. Find something that motivates you to reconnect to the purpose of your weight loss journey. It could be as simple as carrying a photo of your children in your wallet or listening to an empowering song.

3.      Start eating healthy foods before surgery. It’s tempting to wait until after surgery to incorporate healthy foods in your diet. But adding a small salad to a meal or discovering whether you like yogurt vs. cottage cheese now will help you make better food choices later.

4.      Meal planning helps you avoid the temptations that come during the day like the tray of doughnuts that magically appear in the break room or the four o’clock snack attacks. Plan ahead for small meals during the day and stick to your grocery list when shopping.

5.      Lose as much weight as possible before surgery. Some programs will require you lose weight before the surgery to demonstrate your commitment. But more importantly there is a medical reason for the pre-operative diet.  Pre-surgical weight loss reduces the amount of fat stored in the liver making surgery easier for your surgeon and safer for you.

6.      Join a support group. While the help of family and friends is essential in maintaining your weight loss, nothing beats getting together on a regular basis with people who share your experiences. Support groups offer educational information, peer support, and nutritional, fitness and medical advice.  In this comfortable forum, members have an opportunity to ask questions as well as share experiences, tips, and advice.

7.      Continue with eating habits and exercise. Remember, it’s not about the surgery. It’s about developing a healthy lifestyle that includes eating right and exercising. Doing both will ensure your success on your weight loss journey.

8.      Count the cost. If bariatric surgery is covered by your health insurance, you may only need to pay the required co-payment or deductible.  If you are paying out-of-pocket, the surgery can cost between $17,000 and $35,000 depending on the type of surgery (lap band vs. gastric bypass), geographic location of the treatment center, the bariatric surgeon’s experience, and level of post-op treatment. Make sure you have a clear picture of all of the costs and what your insurance covers before deciding to have surgery.

For more tips and information, attend the “Bariatric Challenge Breakthrough” this Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Embassy Suites at Crabtree, 4700 Creedmoor Road in Raleigh.  Interested participants can register online.  The registration fee is $59 and includes lunch and your take-home challenge kit.  This event is sponsored by Wake Specialty Physicians – General Surgery Bariatric Surgery program.

Erin Akey and the Bariatric Guru Team will motivate and educate you in addition to making you laugh and think. Working closely with others who have similar goals, you will spend a motivational day addressing important topics such as nutrition, cooking, commitment to success, and emotional considerations.

Carol F. Kunkel, BA, BSN, RN is the Bariatric Program Coordinator at Wake Specialty Physicians Bariatric Surgery.

During National Burn Awareness Week Safe Kids Wake County reminds parents of the following simple safety measure to prevent burn injuries to their children. 

Kitchen

• Keep children at least 3 feet from hot appliances, pots, pans, or food.
• Use spill-resistant mugs when drinking hot liquids around children.
• Avoid using tablecloths or anything a child can pull and cause hot food to spill.
• When cooking, use back burners, and turn pot handles towards the back of the stove.
• Always tuck appliance cords where children cannot reach them.
• Never hold a child when cooking.
• Stir all food and drink before serving children to make sure it is cool enough to eat and drink.
• Closely supervise children when they are in or near the kitchen.

Bathroom

• Always test the bath water with your hand before bathing children. (Make sure your water heater thermostat is set to no more than 120 degrees)
• When children are in or near the bath, watch them closely, and check the water temperature frequently. 
• If you are unable to control the temperature that comes out of your faucet, install special water faucets or shower heads that can shut off the flow of water when it gets too hot.

“A burn is one of the most painful injuries a child can suffer,” said Courtney Mann, MD, WakeMed Children’s Emergency Department physician. “Because young children have thinner skin than adults, their skin burns more deeply and at lower temperatures — and young children often cannot react quickly enough to escape harm. A little planning and a few simple precautions can prevent devastating injuries and even save your child’s life. ”

WakeMed Cary Hospital

Efforts included: offering more affordable healthy snacks in Points West Café; rearranging displays to make healthy snacks more accessible; expanding the Points West Café salad bar and adding menu items like whole wheat buns, turkey burgers and sugar-free ice cream; publishing nutritional information and more. Vending at Cary Hospital also now includes healthy options.

Click here to read a N.C. Prevention Partners blog about Cary Hospital’s Red Apple recognition.  You can also see the specific Red Apple criteria here.

WakeMed Raleigh Campus earned the Red Apple recognition in June 2009.

If you drove by WakeMed Raleigh Campus on New Bern Ave. today, you might have noticed an orange flag waving from the hillside at 2610 New Bern Ave just down from the hospital’s main entrance. A flag has been flying here since July 2009 to alert residents about air pollution risks for that day based on information from the NC Division of Air Quality, and today was the first high ozone day of 2010.

The air quality flags are part of a nationally recognized program and are flying in several states across the nation.  There are currently two air quality flag sites in Wake County – the other one is located at Poe Elementary School – but I hope you will soon see flags flying at local schools, libraries, fire stations and other locations in every zip code of the county.

Air quality is an important issue in Wake County because the number of children with asthma continues to grow.  It is estimated that air pollution results in 50 infant deaths and 1,500 emergency room visits for children with asthma each year in North Carolina.   When it comes to a high prevalence of asthma, Raleigh ranks among the Top 50 cities nationwide, ranking third among capital cities, and North Carolina ranks #11 among states. 

The different flag colors – green, yellow, orange and red – correspond to the Air Quality Color Code Guide and represent varying levels of air quality.  A green flag means the air quality is good, while a red flag means the air quality is unhealthy for everyone and outdoor activities should be limited.  When a yellow or orange flag is flying, air quality is less than ideal and outdoor exposure should be limited for those people most impacted by air quality, including children, elderly, and people who are extremely sick or suffer from heart and respiratory diseases such as asthma.

If you are interested in flying an air quality flag at your school or business, please contact any member of the Wake County Asthma Coalition or send an email to: asthmacoalition@wakedocs.org

To help you on the path to wellness and weight loss, we will be hosting weekly Twitter Chats, featuring weight loss experts for the next five weeks (or maybe longer depending on response). 

Mark your calendars for the following Twitter Chats and feel free to direct message questions to @WakeMed from your Twitter account in advance.

• Wednesday, January 13 at noon – Dietitian Ellen Daly will enlighten us about strategies to eat well.
• Wednesday, January 20 at noon – Exercise Specialist Marie Bagin will discuss starting a fitness routine and maintaining it.
• Wednesday, January 27 at noon – Internist Dr. John Holly with Brier Creek Internal Medicine will share the importance of knowing your numbers and how even moderate weight loss can improve your overall health.
• Wednesday, February 3 at noon – Pediatric Diabetes & Endocrinology Education Specialist Marjorie Wilson will talk with us about engaging the whole family on the track to wellness.
• Wednesday, February 10 at noon –  Psychiatrist Jeffrey Childers will help us stay on track at a time when most New Year’s Resolutions are falling by the way side.

T u e s d ay,  S e p t e m b e r  2 9

WakeMed North Healthplex

5 to 8 pm – Screenings only

T h u r s d ay,  O c t o b e r 1

WakeMed Cary Hospital

3 to 7 pm – Screenings and Seminars

Seminars

4:30 pm – Male Health: Sexual and Urological Issues

5:30 pm – Understanding Low Testosterone, BPH & Prostate Cancer

6:30 pm – Surgical Options for Treating Urological Issues

To register, go to events.wakemed.org. For more information, please call 919-350-7827.

Like the majority of the issues related to health care reform, there is a great deal of debate about the importance of prevention in the final bill.  A draft Senate bill includes $10 billion in prevention funding each year for projects that increase access to healthful eating and physical activity through projects like the construction of greenways and farmers markets. This is music to the ears of advocacy groups like Advocates for Health in Action (AHA), a 40 member community collaborative in Wake County that is working to make the healthy choice the easy choice for everyone who lives here.  AHA is in the process of creating a community assets map and is finding a lack of access to healthful foods and physical activity to be widespread across the community. There is no doubt that this is leading to increased rates of obesity and projects like those suggested in the bill will help.

According to the CDC, the United States spends $147 billion each year on obesity related diseases. This is nearly three times more than the cost of all cancers combined. In North Carolina, 66% of adults are overweight or obese and we have the 14th highest rate of childhood obesity in the country. Although many in Congress agree that prevention will reduce health care costs, they are extremely reluctant to spend money on programs that some classify as wasteful spending.  Many people struggle to connect providing resources for Americans to lead healthy, active lifestyles as an investment in health care.

Advocates for Health in Action sees it otherwise. Through projects such as the “Sports Snack Game Plan,” which encourages youth sport organizations to provide healthy snacks instead of junk food, AHA has witnessed an outpouring of support from parents and others who are looking for ways to make the environment healthier. People are seeking solutions and they are ready for change.

There is no doubt that creating a healthy lifestyle is a hot topic right now. According to a recent New York Times article, the Department of Agriculture is welcoming ideas from community groups on how to make school food healthier and more appealing to the children who eat it. There are signs that funding for school cafeterias is being increased from Washington and private providers. President Obama added an additional $1 billion for child nutrition programs in his 2010 budget proposal, and he is even pushing to host a farmer’s market outside the White House with produce from his family’s garden.

Now is the time to make changes that will improve the health of our children. Our nation needs health care reform and prevention is the key to cutting costs and improving the quality of American’s health.