To Your Health

Best hospitals, HIV testing, research opportunities

Lehigh Valley Hospital Honored

‘America’s Best’—For the 11th consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report ranks Lehigh Valley Hospital among America’s best—and this year, in eight specialty areas: cancer care, digestive disorders, endocrinology, heart care and heart surgery, kidney disease, orthopedics, respiratory disorders and urology. President and CEO Elliot Sussman, M.D., credits “our dedicated team of physicians, nurses and staff.”

Primary Stroke Center—Lehigh Valley Hospital is recertified as a Primary Stroke Center, the only one in the region and one of 247 nationwide. The hospital’s stroke team makes sure 100 percent of patients who are eligible for the clot-busting drug tPA receive it as promptly as possible, any time of day or night.

Women: Have You Had an HIV Test?

If you’re a sexually active woman, it’s important that you have an HIV test, says Erin Shay, case manager at Lehigh Valley Hospital’s AIDS Activities Office. “Of our patients, 40 percent are women, and nearly three-quarters of them contracted HIV through heterosexual contact,” she says. In some cases, women have been infected by current or past sexual partners even when they believed they were in a monogamous relationship. “If you’re sexually active, use a condom,” Shay says, “and if you’ve had unprotected sex even once, get tested.” If you’re pregnant, it’s especially important to ask your doctor for an HIV test, as medications can protect the newborn from infection. To find out about free, confidential and anonymous HIV testing at the AIDS Activities Office, call 610-402-CARE.

Research Opportunities

Post-shingles pain—If your shingles rash healed at least three months ago but you still suffer pain (post-herpetic neuralgia), you may be eligible for a clinical research study of two pain medications. Age 18 or older; participants get free physical exams and medications.

Osteoporosis prevention—If you’re a woman over age 70, a nonsmoker and you’re not on medications for bone loss, thyroid or hormone replacement, you may be eligible for this study using natural progesterone skin cream. Includes free vitamins, and bone density and
cholesterol tests.

For details and eligibility for either of these studies, call 610-402-CARE.

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