KEE P AU S T I N WELL
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YOUR GUIDE TO LIVING WELL EVERY DAY
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Keep Austin Well contents 80 Letter from the Editor 82 Recreational Water Illness Prevention 83 TCMS Physician Profile: C. Mark Chassay, MD 86 TAKE FIVE: Childhood And Adolescent TCMS president
Vaccines: Fact & Fiction 88 Athletic Physicals Provided By TCMS And AISD
EDITOR Stephanie Triggs CONTRIBUTING WRITERS C.Mark Chassay, md , Carole Barasch PHOTOGRAPHERS Cover photographed by Parker Deen ART DIRECTOR Daniel Ramirez
C. Mark Chassay, md in Beijing at the 2008
From TCMS Dear Readers,
Summer has just begun, but it’s not too early for back to school preparations. In addition to school supplies, students need to be up-todate on their immunizations. If your child is playing sports or marching in the band, students may also need a physical examination as determined by individual school districts. Don’t wait until the last minute. Contact your physician and make sure that your child’s immunizations are current and schedule an exam if a sports physical is needed. For information on immunization schedules, visit austintx.gov/health/immunization.htm. For information and forms for sports physicals, visit your school district’s web site or www.uil.utexas.edu/athletics/forms. Live Well Austin!
SALES INQUIRIES sales@austinlifestylemagazine.com CONTACT US keepaustinwell@austinlifestylemagazine.com ABOUT TCMS The Travis County Medical Society is a component society of the Texas Medical Association, a statewide professional organization of licensed physicians. Its more than 3,100 members include approximately ninety percent of all practicing physicians in the Greater Austin area. In addition to activities promoting high standards of medical practice, the Society provides representation and advocacy for patients and physicians at all levels of government and medicine.
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Summer Olympics.
C. Mark Chassay, md President, TCMS Vivek Mahendru, md Chair, TCMS Public Relations Committee
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Recreational Water Illness Prevention Tips for A Safe Summer In The Water
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wimming season is here and so is the potential for recreational water illnesses (RWIs). Make sure that you are armed with tips for healthy swimming so your family stays healthy throughout the summer months. The germs that cause RWIs, such as cryptosporidiosis (also known as “crypto”), are spread when you swallow, breathe in the mists from or have contact with contaminated water from pools, water parks, hot tubs, lakes, oceans, and any other type of water used for recreation. The good news is that germs causing RWIs are killed by chlorine; however, chlorine doesn’t work right away and some organisms can live in the pool for days. Even the best maintained pools could spread illness. Pool water is shared by every swimmer, so to help stay healthy every time you swim, take an active role in stopping the spread of germs by following the Six Steps for Healthy Swimming: • Don’t swim when you have diarrhea. You can spread germs in the water and make other people sick. • Don’t swallow the pool water. Avoid getting water in your mouth. • Practice good hygiene. Shower with soap before swimming and wash your hands after using the toilet or changing diapers. Germs on your body end up in the water. • Take your kids on bathroom breaks or check diapers often. Waiting to hear “I have to go” may mean that it’s too late. • Change diapers in a bathroom or a diaper-changing area and not poolside. Germs can spread in and around the pool. • Wash your child thoroughly (especially the rear end) with soap and water before swimming. Invisible amounts of fecal matter can end up in the pool. Visit the CDC’s Web site: www.cdc.gov/healthywater/swimming/ to learn more about staying healthy. For additional information on public health news, visit www.ci.austin.tx.us/health/. Carole Barasch is the Manager of Communications & Community Development for the Austin/Travis County Health and Human Services Department.
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TCMS PHYSICIAN PROFILE C. Mark Chassay, MD
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ark Chassay, MD is the current president of the Travis County Medical Society. In addition to running a successful private practice at Texas Sports & Family Medicine, he is the Head Team Physician for the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics at the University of Texas. At UT, he coordinates the multi-discipline sports health services for over 600 University of Texas student athletes and serves as medical director of the training room clinics, supervising UT team physicians and trainers. AUSTINLIFESTYLEMAGAZINE.COM 83
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Dr. Chassay graduated from the University of Texas Medical School, Houston in 1992, completed residency training at Memorial Hermann Hospital Southwest and a fellowship in primary care sports medicine with Kaiser Permanente in California. When Dr. Chassay isn’t travelling in his capacity with UT, he enjoys spending quiet time in Austin with his wife Kimberly. Describe your practice and your philosophy of medicine. My practice is comprised of motivated patients that want to get better quickly and physicians that understand those patients’ timelines. Why did you become a physician? When I was 12 years old, my grandfather was diagnosed with lymphoma. I accompanied him to many of his cancer treatments and saw physicians in action. I knew then that I wanted to be a doctor. How or why did you choose your specialty? In high school, I played baseball, basketball, and football. I thought as a physician, I would find sports medicine fulfilling. What do you find most rewarding about practicing medicine? I love the joy my patients experience when they achieve success with his or her personal and team goals especially when overcoming injury circumstances. What do you find most challenging about practicing medicine? That people don’t take enough time for themselves when they are ill. Please describe your relationship with your patients. I feel that I am a consultant in helping them navigate their medical care. I enjoy getting to know each patient’s life story. What sets your practice apart? What special or unique services do you provide? Our practice is the only practice in the State that has four physicians providing care who are board certified in both sports medicine and family medicine.
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Describe your commitment to and involvement in the community. I have always wanted to volunteer my services for my country and at the same time challenge myself to perform at a high level. I have been fortunate enough to combine my love of sports and medicine as a volunteer physician with Team USA. It’s been an incredible experience caring for US athletes at the 2005 VISA Paralympic World Cup, 2007 Pan American Games, and the 2008 Summer Olympics. What is something you would like people to know about you that they may not know? I played tackle football from 3rd grade to 12th grade and never missed one of those 102 games. What is something you would like you patients to know that they may not know about practicing medicine or about a general medical fact or perception? That just because a physician you want to see for an office visit is not on your plan, you may be surprised to know that going outside your plan is affordable.
For Information, email Kristen@austinlifestylemagazine.com
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TAKE FIVE Childhood And Adolescent Vaccines: Fact & Fiction
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Fiction My adolescent had all the shots recommended as an infant, so he or she doesn’t need any now. Fact Vaccinations are needed throughout a person’s life, from infancy through adulthood. Depending on which vaccines your child received as an infant, he or she may need to catch up on these vaccines during adolescence: hepatitis A; measles, mumps, and rubella; hepatitis B; Polio; and varicella (chickenpox). Today’s vaccines also protect against diseases many children weren’t vaccinated for as infants, such as meningitis and human papillomavirus (HPV).
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Fiction Most diseases that vaccines prevent have been eliminated or aren’t that serious. Fact Every year people die from diseases that could have been prevented if they were vaccinated. Though not as common in the U.S., measles, mumps, pertussis, and even polio and diphtheria are still common in other countries. These contagious diseases can be just one plane ride away. Each year, approximately 1,000 to 2,600 people in the U.S. get meningococcal disease (meningitis), a serious bacterial illness, and approximately 10 percent of those die from it.
V accines are one of the safest ways to protect young children and adolescents from preventable and potentially fatal diseases. Fiction Vaccines are not safe. Fact Study after study has shown the vaccines your child or adolescent receives are safe. Today’s vaccines are purer and safer than vaccines in the past. Before a vaccine can be given, it must be researched and tested to the highest level of safety. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has final responsibility for approval. Even after a vaccine is approved, it continues to be studied. Fiction It’s not safe to get multiple shots at one time. Fact Studies have shown that receiving more than one vaccine at a time is not harmful. The bacteria we fight daily in our bodies and the environment are far greater than those in vaccines. Fiction The vaccine may cause the very disease my child is being vaccinated against. Fact Most vaccines are made from dead bacteria or viruses and will not cause your child to get the disease. Some vaccines, such as chickenpox or the flu mist, are made from live, weakened viruses. While your child may have a rash after a chickenpox vaccine, this is not the disease itself. Or, with the live flu vaccine, your child may have a sniffle for a day or two, but that is not the actual flu disease that causes fever, cough, runny nose, and body aches for a week.
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For more information on immunizations, including requirements by age, visitwww.ci.austin.tx.us/health/immunization.htm Source material from Be Wise – Immunize, a joint initiative led by Texas Medical Association physicians and the Texas Medical Association Alliance.
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Athletic Physicals Provided By TCMS And AISD
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or more than ten years, the Travis County Medical Society has teamed with the Austin Independent School District’s Student Health Services to provide free athletic physicals to AISD students who have financial restrictions and other barriers to health care. Over the years, more than 7,000 exams have been completed. The students who participate are quite thankful for the opportunity to receive an exam which is required for participation in sports or band activities. For some students, this is their only opportunity to see a physician for a “well visit.” This year, more than 770 AISD high school and middle school students received exams over the course of four nights at the Burger Activity Center and the Delco Activity Center. Physician volunteers from multiple specialties were assisted by volunteer nurses, student nurses, and health educators from AISD, UT School of Nursing, Texas Tech, and Dell Children’s Medical Center. TCMS staff along with numerous volunteers from the Blood and
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Tissue Center’s Lend a Hand program helped with crowd control, snacks, and chaperoning duties. As a pilot project this year, TCMS and the Travis County Medical Alliance/ Texas Medical Association Alliance Be Wise Immunize volunteers also partnered with the AISD immunization team to provide vaccines to a number of middle school students. This coordinated effort brought students up-to-date on vaccines needed to start the school year. The Travis County Medical Society would like to thank the several members of the TCMS Friends of the Society Program for their support. Austin Brokerage Company, Austin Radiological Association, and Physician’s Resource Services made financial and in-kind donations which helped to provide healthy snacks and water for students to enjoy after their exam was completed.
The Travis County Medical Society and AISD could not continue to offer this program without the generosity of all those who volunteered their services and support.