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5/10/2018
Out of date Lyme data
PA State Rep. Jonathan Fritz recently posted in a newsletter... "Weekly Roundup Friday, May 4, 2018 Prevent Lyme: Check for Ticks Pennsylvania has led the nation in confirmed cases of Lyme disease for three straight years and for the first time deer ticks have been found in each of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties. The 2014 Lyme disease report released last year by the Department of Health showed 7,400 cases of Lyme disease reported in the Commonwealth. In an effort to address this issue, Department of Health recently launched “Don’t Let a Tick Make You Sick,” a campaign aimed at raising Lyme-disease awareness." I would like to point out this data is from 2014!! The CDC has published 2016 data which is old at this point as well. The 2016 Data also shows PA continuing to lead the nation in confirmed cases of Lyme disease. That is 5 years as of 2016! We need to do better. We need to publish current information to help the public realize how bad this epidemic is. In 2016 the CDC reported 11443 new "reported" cases of Lyme disease in Pa. That's approx. 2000 new cases in each of the last 3 reported years alone, and the cases in Susquehanna County in 2016 were only 85. Our LDC, Inc. received information from two local facilities each reporting close to 200 cases by October of 2017. That's close to 400 from only two facilities, and roughly 300 new reported cases over what was reported in 2016 right here in Susquehanna County. For Prevention Tips please use the link "Prevention" tab. https://lymediseasecoalition.weebly.com/prevention-tips.html
4/13/2018
May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month!May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month!
Thursday April 26th, the Susquehanna County Commissioners are set to proclaim May as Lyme Disease Awareness Month again this year. If you can attend this meeting to show your appreciation please do! Saturday May 12th, 2018 1:00 PM Lyme Disease Coalition, Inc. will have a tent set up on the green with information and awareness items. A group of concerned citizens will be walking a short walk (due to many patients limitations) from the bottom of Public Avenue in Montrose, PA to the top Courthouse stairs to help raise awareness. This will be our first year of what we hope to be an annual event. Interest is growing and we hope to include other organizations related to the conditions caused by Lyme and associated diseases. Updates as the date grows closer will be posted on the website calendar, as well as facebook page. Please follow and share the event to encourage a large turnout. Wear green or something Lyme Awareness related to show your support. If you'd like to volunteer to help with organizing or get involved in meetings, make a donation etc... email: [email protected] http://lymediseasecoalition.org (Events tab) https://www.facebook.com/LymeDiseaseCoalitionInc/
4/4/2018
Recent Events![]() Lyme Disease Coalition, Inc. was recently asked to be a part of two local events, the Susquehanna County Resource Day and the Endless Mountains Empowerment Summit for Women on March 24th, 2018. Thanks to the community and it's support of funding along with materials and supplies we were able to participate at both events with an estimate of approx. 200 attendees at each. These events each contribute to the area with information beneficial to the residents of not only Susquehanna County but also several surrounding counties. Gift baskets were awarded to those who attended in raffles throughout the day. Lyme Disease Coalition, Inc. gave away a free tick kit at each event and free Sawyer Products as well as Butler Home Product. We thank these sponsors for their contribution to our "Target the Ticks" campaign. The young ladies from Susquehanna Rocks painted a rock for us to help raise awareness too. The rock was left somewhere in Choconut and is to be found then replaced in another location for someone else to do the same. Once the rock is found the finder should post on their profile or that of one of the organizations and share to the other so we can follow the progress. We hope with each "find" someone will be made aware of the dangers of ticks and the diseases they carry. Dr.Mather demonstrates one of his tests for infection. While Colleen Schake gives prevention tips to a captive audience. Hundreds attended this informative event, where many asked for us to give presentations to their groups. Others were excited to possibly be trained to give more presentations to the groups they serve. Networking with others to #worktogether to help patients. It was a pleasure to have time to talk with Dr.Mather a bit and learn some of what his practice does. We have a great start for a good thing and hope to serve many more in this long journey combating the effects of Lyme and associated diseases. This was a FREE event to our county organized by Commissions Warren & Hall. It was a very nice turn out. Thank you for your service and to all those who attended! Several Representatives attended and several more introduced themselves as running for offices in the next election. This shows just how important FREE events such as these are. Congratulations on a job well done ![]() Karen Mitchell and Susie Simpson tend the table @ the women's empowerment, with a line waiting to talk with them. Awesome ladies! Thank you so much for your hard work!! (Unfortunately there was not a photo taken of the "tick kit" winner at this event. Be sure to use the link above to check the calendar of events for upcoming public events.
Use the contact us link to schedule an event for us to attend or to give a presentation to your group.
3/23/2018
Columbia University Quoted Article"INFECTIOUS DISEASE Feb. 16 2018
3/23/2018
Stop the Silence!Lyme disease, Opioid addiction, Suicide~ What to the three have to do with one another? Hopelessness… Let’s take a look at three major increasing risks here in Pennsylvania. While all are on the rise, opioid addiction and suicide are being taken seriously. Many in both the medical community and the local government are all backing funding for anything to support a decrease, yet Lyme disease is still pushed off to other areas. How do you combat these critical issues? Just one thought since anyone with a chronic illness suffers with decisions on all of the above… Suicide often thought of while living with increasing pain and the inability to get relief, feelings of being alone with no “support team”. Does this Sound familiar? It does to anyone living with a chronic illness, especially if that illness is not well known or understood. Let’s also look at why and how people get addicted to opioids…. Does it start out with a prescription for pain? The kind of pain that doesn’t seem to go away? The kind caused by an incurable disease the medical community would like to ignore? People need the ability to function. When you live with pain on a non-stop basis, your muscles spasm, nerves get damaged in ways that leave a permanent pain in many cases. Some may come from an injury; others come from viruses or bacteria such as Lyme disease that invade your body. MS, lupus type illnesses caused by unknown sources. Although Lyme disease is getting more recognition and showing possibly to be linked to many of these other conditions, it leaves many untreated, undertreated and left on their own defenses. The reasons appear to be a disagreement in the medical community in treatment. Otherwise call "Lyme Wars". Many scientists for years have searched for and studied antibiotics that will cure this disease with no one certain treatment being successful. Others do not believe extended courses of an antibiotic will help withholding further treatment for the bacteria, while issuing either painkillers or some kind of psychiatric drug to alter how the brain deals with pain. That brings us to the opioid addiction. Many of our citizens’ once active healthy contributing members of society cecum to a life of isolation caused by the pain they suffer. While many can’t see how they suffer due to pain that can’t be seen, they then ridicule the patient due to their lack of work and contribution to society of which they once were very active with. The majority of those now suffering in pain were for many years, not only performing a normal job, but several side jobs, or volunteers at events including sporting events for their children. Their work ethics and history overlooked once they fell sick with either pain or inability to think. Scorned by the very people who were supposed to “love” them. This is isolation and another kind of pain. Painkillers or brain altering kind of drugs the medical community will prescribe become the only relief insurance will cover. Therapies such as physical therapy, chiropractic care, acupuncture and even natural herbal remedies all shown in studies to help elevate or illuminate pain along with talk therapy (counseling) are not covered enough by insurances. One patient can be taking a pharmaceutical that costs over $200, multiply that by the several being taken by just one patient $600 let’s say, just for a light figure. This cost for one month would more than cover a months’ worth of either of the other “therapies” mentioned previously but are billed as a co-payment of at least $40 each visit. This type of treatment also calls for a “referral” (script) from their PCP. If this type of therapy, any combination of therapies, were to be covered to the extent the pharmaceuticals are, common since shows not only a decrees in the financial obligations, a decrees for the need in pain meds, improving the quality of life. Improve the quality of life and reduce the risk of addiction and suicide. When scientific studies show effectiveness of alternative therapies for pain and our insurance companies won’t pay at the same rate as a pharmaceutical drug there is something wrong with our system and changes need to be made. This inability to cover the larger co-payment drives patients to the less expensive alternative. This is a start to reducing all three of these critical conditions. It does not cover all the problems with any of the three but it does address part of all three of these issues and is not something we can do alone, “we the people” need the help of those who pass legislation to insure proper care to our citizens. Fair treatment means the therapies that have shown to be effective in studies to reduce pain, also reducing the effects of chronic conditions all get fair and equal insurance coverage to make it affordable to those who might otherwise turn to the “drugs” or “suicidal” relief. Join in the fight against all of these diseases to help reduce the future increase in fatal outcomes. Write your representatives and make a small donation be it in-kind or monetary, every small contribution adds up and shows those suffering they are not “isolated” or alone. Lyme Disease Coalition, Inc. – 570-500-LYME (5963) [email protected] “STOP THE SILENCE”! Update on Subcommittee Membership (posted March 2, 2018) The Department of Health and Human Services announces changes to the composition of three of the six subcommittees of the Tick-Borne Disease Working Group (Working Group). The changes were made in response to three members who did not accept the invitations they received to be a part of a subcommittee. New members were selected from the list of existing nominees by the Co-Chairs of the affected subcommittees. The Chair and Vice-Chair of the Working Group provided input and approved the final changes. Robert Bransfield, MD, a private practice physician and Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Rutgers-RWJ Medical School, has replaced Susan Green, JD, on the Access to Care and Support to Patients subcommittee. After careful consideration, Ms. Green withdrew her name. David Roth, JD, has accepted a Co-Chair position on the Testing and Diagnostics Subcommittee, of which he is an existing member. Vanilla Singh, MD, was not able to accept the invitation to serve as Co-Chair because of additional duties she has been asked to perform in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health. Dr. Singh remains a federal member of the Tick-Borne Disease Working Group. Holly Ahern, MS, Associate Professor of Microbiology at SUNY Adirondack, has accepted a position on the Testing and Diagnostics Subcommittee. David Walker, MD, who was selected for the Vaccine and Therapeutics subcommittee, withdrew his name for personal reasons. The subcommittee will proceed with the existing members.
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AuthorColleen Schake Archives
November 2019
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