H1N1 Flu Call-In Program

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Press release regarding local program...

Mountain Lake Journal to Host H1N1 Flu Call-In Program

PLATTSBURGH, NY – Mountain Lake Journal, the weekly program that reports on local news and issues affecting the North Country region, will host an hour-long call in program about the H1N1 flu on Thursday, October 22 at 8:00 p.m. Host Thom Hallock has invited Wouter Rietsema, M.D., vice-president of medical affairs at CVPH Medical Center, Nancy Smith, director of prevention services with the Clinton County Health Department and Kathleen Camelo, M.D., director of the SUNY Center for Student Health and Psychological Services, as guest panelists.

“It is vitally important for our audience to know about the H1N1 flu and necessary precautions to avoid getting ill,” stated CEO and President Alice Recore. “Mountain Lake Journal is an excellent venue for getting this information to community members, and for responding to their questions and concerns.”

Dr. Wouter Rietsema is an infectious disease specialist at CVPH, and is consulted regularly as an expert on H1N1 and seasonal flu infections, vaccine availability and pandemic flu preparation. Nancy Smith is a public health nurse with over 30 years of experience in community health services, and Dr. Kathleen Camelo has 20 years of experience as a family practice physician.

Recently the Clinton County Public Health Department stated that a patient died from the H1N1 flu at CVPH Medical Center in Plattsburgh. Due to privacy concerns, no other information about the patient was released, but knowing that the virus reached the North Country region was cause for concern among many. More than 80 people have died from the H1N1 flu in New York State so far this year.

Mountain Lake PBS presents Mountain Lake Journal on Thursdays at 8:00 p.m., plus a Business Edition during the last week of each month. Mountain Lake Journal is produced by Thom Hallock, an award-winning journalist who received two Edward R. Murrow awards and an Emmy. Hallock has also been honored with numerous Associated Press awards in both New York and Vermont.

Mountain Lake PBS reaches over 3.9 million viewers throughout northeast New York, western Vermont, southern Quebec and eastern Ontario. The station produces local programming such as Art Express, Mountain Lake Journal, Roadside Adventures and Rustic Living, and documentaries including Forgotten Wars and Dead Reckoning that are premiering in November 2009. At least eight hours of our broadcast day is devoted to programming for children from preschool through school age.

Find out more about Mountain Lake PBS at www.mountainlake.org, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/mountainlakepbs