Health

Three people have died in the last three years in Central New York from the Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus, which can be spread from mosquitoes to  humans.

The deaths have sent scares across the region, and the health departments in Onondaga, Oswego, Madison, and Oneida Counties are taking it seriously.

“It is a rare disease, but it is a very fatal disease and I think that that is very frightening for everybody,” remarked Onondaga County Health Commissioner Cynthia Morrow.

The American Cancer Society and other health groups are pressing for a law in New York state that would ban anyone under the age of 18 from using a tanning salon. They argue the growing risk of cancer to young people is too great a threat to ignore.

New York state is hoping that a new way to join the state's organ donor registry online will mean a longer list of potential donors. Central New Yorkers, who have had to make decisions about organ donations, are encouraging New Yorkers to log on.

When state lawmakers approved the budget this week, they restored a program that's vital to many senior citizens. Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage, known as EPIC, helps low and moderate income seniors with co-pays for prescription drugs not covered by Medicare Part-D. When it was defunded last year, seniors were forced to pay 25% of the costs of prescriptions. This made necessary prescriptions unaffordable for some.

Pharmacists at drug stores like the Gifford and West Pharmacy in Syracuse ran into a lot of problems when EPIC stopped helping seniors pay for prescription drugs. Gifford pharmacist Jim McLaughlin encountered many patients who had high co-pays and were forced to pay.

"It ends up costing more. Patients go without their medications and their symptoms start to come back, or they end up being hospitalized," McLaughlin said.

Flu season is peaking this week in Onondaga county, a month behind schedule. This year's flu bug is a particularly mild one. According to federal figures, this year reports the fewest cases since the 80s.

"I think that we're peaking now, which is a late peak, but our numbers were still going up as of last week... but very, very low numbers, not anything I'm concerned about," Onondaga County Health Commissioner Dr. Cynthia Morrow said. "But it is not over yet."

Morrow tracks flu numbers every year. She says that the mild winter could have something to do with lower numbers.

Hospice groups provide care and comfort to patients facing the end of their lives. Hospice of Jefferson County has a new building – but it’s more than that, since it represents a big upgrade in the kind of care it can offer to dying patients. Joanna Richards toured the new Watertown facility with CEO Stephen Lyman and has this report.

Eileen Krupka's father has suffered from Alzheimer's Disease for the last six years.  He's like many other's with the progressive neurological disease of the brain he wanders, in fact 60-percent of Alzheimers or dementia patients wander and its a worry for the Krupka family, who live in Baldwinsville.

We have a lot of water around us. and he seems to be fascinated by the water and that's a huge concern

Once he was missing for 45 minutes, wandering about the neighborhood. Family and friends went looking to no avail and it was then that Krupka was on the verge of going to the police:

"It was getting crucial where we hadn't been able to find him.  And just as I was going back to my parent's house to call, a neighbor found him."