Associates in Women's Health Care, pc

05/19/2022

Ok, who had “Monkeypox” on their 2022 Disaster Bingo card ??!😂

We’ve already received some questions, so I’ll lay out for you what we know to date, with the understanding that these things can change rather quickly.

There are only handfuls of cases so far, reported in the UK, Spain, Portugal, Montreal in Canada, and one here at Mass General in Boston, who recently travelled from Canada.

And yes, there is a vaccine for this.

Monkeypox is a genetic cousin to smallpox: both are an orthopox virus. If you were born before 1972 then you likely received a smallpox vaccination (that little dimple on your shoulder), which does confer some immunity even now, 50+ years later. There could also be a booster recommended, if it starts to spread in the general population.

It is transmitted usually through direct contact with infected droplets, so the same precautions you take for Covid ( masks, hand washing, etc) should help protect.

Is it possible that this is airborne, also? Too soon to tell, but precautions never hurt.

Symptoms are : fever, headache, muscle ache, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills, exhaustion. And of course, the pox, or little fluid filled blisters.

Incubation period is 12 days, and symptoms can last 2 to 3 weeks. Many cases are mild, especially if you’ve been vaccinated. In Africa there are studies citing a 1 to 15% case fatality rate. in Democratic Republic of Congo there was a study of 300 patients that showed a case fatality rate of 10%, with unvaccinated children doing the worst, with a mortality rate of 15 to 20%. However it seems this strain isn’t acting as virulent, and the care that can be given in the US might bring the mortality rate down to 1%.
BUT, it’s not just a rash.

So, not to worry at this point because contact tracing and ring vaccination of close contacts may bring this under control.

Continue to take the usual, careful precautions against Covid, and do not touch any skin lesions on others, unless wearing gloves and taking precautions.

The next 2 weeks will be informative, as there is a 12 day incubation period.

Also, just fyi, we can order another 8 free Covid tests from the government, at this link:

https://special.usps.com/testkits

Hopefully this will be brought under control soon!
Best,
Dr. Mac

COVID Home Tests | USPS

03/01/2022

To our patients from Ukraine:
We are all horrified at the Russian invasion of sovereign Ukraine, the bombing of a maternity hospital last night, and the murder of so many innocents.

Our hearts are broken by such evil.

Please know that we support your resistance to occupation, and we pray that leaders with wisdom and sanity work quickly to bring these atrocities to a swift end.

If we can be of assistance to you in this time of need, please reach out to us. We will do what we can to help you to get through these difficult days.

And to our Russian patients, many of whom are here now because they chose not to live under an authoritarian regime, if you have any way to spread the truth of what is happening, to people in Russia, I hope that you do what you can. The government there is keeping citizens from knowing the truth… but the truth is what they need, to stop these atrocities.

Sharon MacMillan, MD, FACOG

01/18/2022

https://special.usps.com/confirmation

Hello, all…
This is the link to get 4 free Covid tests per month, per household. Please share freely!

Best,
Dr. Mac

COVID Home Tests | USPS

01/18/2022

Our office will be closed from Tuesday, January 18, through Friday, January 21, 2022, due to a significant Covid exposure. Once everyone tests negative after the incubation period, we should be fine to be open for business on Monday, January 24, 2022.

We are very sorry for the inconvenience, however I’m sure that you understand that the health and safety of our patients, our staff, and our families, is our primary concern.

If you need to reach Dr. MacMillan, just call the office and the answering service will page her.
If you need a Covid care gift bag, also call the office and have her paged, and we will try to make arrangements to get the supplies to you.

Thank you for your patience.
Sharon MacMillan, MD, FACOG

01/14/2022

Happy Friday, all !!
We just spent an hour DEEP CLEANING the office, with cavicide wipes and an ultraviolet wand! Not that it’s not always PRISTINE, (Thanks to JoAnne, the Goddess of Clean!)…
We even cleaned the 3 air purifiers!🥳

We will be closed on Monday due to anticipated snow storm, but will be open again on Tuesday.

So many folks have Covid… we have been giving out the Covid care gift bags like crazy, but I have more!😎

The bags have N95s, Lysol spray, hand sanitizer, gloves, more ASTM 3 masks… feel free to call any morning we are open, and we will bring it down to your car. I’ve also dropped off some at patients’ homes, if they live close by.

As you know, our local numbers are about double the highest it’s ever been.

If you know a healthcare worker, reach out, do a small kindness.

Also, check in on the elderly in your circle, and your neighborhood. If they’re sick, isolated, and alone, offer to pick up an rx, arrange for a food delivery, make a pot of soup… they’re often not internet savvy, so may not know how to get home delivery. Something as little as getting them bottled water, cough drops, Tylenol… running to the pharmacy to pick up an rx when they’re too weak to accomplish this themselves.

Many medical offices are overwhelmed, and not keeping as close an eye on the elderly as they’d like. Be a good neighbor, and friend.💕

I expect the numbers will start going down, soon. Another 2 weeks and it will have burned through the population. THIS is the time of highest need, for the isolated, and the elderly.
Make your grandmother proud!💝

Have a healthy and happy new year,
Best, Dr.Mac

01/03/2022

Happy New Year to all!

Our office has transitioned to virtual-only visits, except for emergencies and absolutely necessary in-person needs, for the month of January.

As expected, this Covid wave of hospitalizations has already exceeded anything we’ve seen before, and is still trending essentially straight up.

Take a moment to send a warm thought, or a kindness, to a healthcare worker in your circle of friends. It will mean a lot…

Be sure you have good quality masks: not fabric masks, but ASTM rated masks… you can buy them on Amazon, and we are happy to give advice as we can. The masks that we have been giving out in our office are ASTM 3 masks, they’re the step just below an N95, and they’re comfortable to wear.

My grandmother always said “Buy the best mattress, and the best shoes, you can afford: cuz if you’re not in one, you’re in the other!”😂

Same thing goes with masks:good quality and the right fit and they’re comfortable, and can help protect you.

If you want to wear an N95 everywhere you go for the next month, that’s fine also! I do … many have seen me in Geissler’s, at the bank, at CVS, in my N95. It’s the best mask protection… don’t you deserve the best mask protection?
The 3M 9205+, or the 3M 1870+, are great N95s.
The 3M 1860 is more for healthcare workers, usually, and not comfortable for long wear.

For ASTM 3 masks, Cranberry, or Byrd, are great manufacturers. The silver colored Cranberry 360 fits smaller faces (that’s what JoAnn uses), I prefer the Cranberry Carbon, Tracy likes the BeeSure Vibe, and Misha wears the Cranberry Cosmo. Sandy wears a CrossTex ultra sensitive, hypoallergenic ASTM3 mask.

All of these are for sale on Amazon. There are also child size ASTM3 masks.

I’m not a big fan of the KN95 from China, as there are so many fakes for sale. The KF94 from Korea are good, I think, but again where to buy them to be sure they’re not knock offs is the issue.

This Omicron variant is very contagious, so do not take chances. Even if you’re vaccinated you can still catch it, spread it, and be miserable… but you’re much less likely to die from it.

The FDA just cleared boosters of Pfizer for all kids ages 12-15… and also for younger kids age 5 to 11 if they are high risk. They also shortened the time between boosters to 5 months, for all, so if your teen had their second shot in July or before, it’s time for that booster!

We still have some GIFT BAGS left for folks who have Covid in their home, just call the office any morning and we’ll get you one, until they’re gone. We also have loads of 3M 9205+ N95s we are giving out, just call and we will meet you in the parking lot, while our supply lasts.

We are looking forward to a brighter new year, once this wave passes… sending warm thoughts to you and yours for a healthy, new year.

Best,
Dr. Mac

12/21/2021

Happy Holidays to all !
With the rapid increase in local Covid cases, due to the highly transmissible Omicron variant, we are giving out supplies for folks who have someone isolating in their home.

Of course we have limited supplies, but have decided that we need to try to help decrease community spread.
The first graph shows that case numbers at Baystate are rising rapidly and will likely become the hardest hitting wave of the entire pandemic.

So, we have made up 30 gift bags with N95 masks, ASTM 3 masks, gloves, hand sanitizer wipes, and sanitizer liquid, and Clorox spray.
We will also have more N95s to give out as needed: I purchased a few hundred extra, for patients.

The next 4 to 6 weeks may be the peak, and then hopefully we will get a reprieve.
If you are not vaccinated, PLEASE reconsider, based on the latest information that Omicron is so highly contagious.

There are 5 Covid units at the hospital, and not one unit for complications of the vaccine. There have been 8 BILLION Covid vaccines given.

If you have not gotten your booster and you are 5+ months from second jab, go in TODAY to get it!
The booster is absolutely necessary to help prevent serious disease.

We are ALL tired of this, and it’s the holidays, and we want to just relax and finally spend time with family.
BUT, unless everyone is triple vaccinated, AND you do Covid tests right before the get together, then you should cancel it.

It’s better to miss a party, than miss a loved one for the rest of your life.

Even testing isn’t a guarantee, there could still be an infection passed around, but this strategy is the best that we have, other then canceling everything.

If you need an isolation kit, please call during office hours and we will give them out first come, first serve.
I wish I could give out hundreds…but we give what we can.🙏

Warmest wishes for a safe and happy holiday season,
Best,
Dr. Mac

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/quarantine-isolation.html

12/08/2021

Hello, all,
As we head into this holiday season, many have precaution-fatigue. Unfortunately, the Covid 19 virus is not tired of us.
This first graph represents Covid in wastewater in Boston, which always precedes hospitalizations. The second graph is the latest hospital data on Covid patients admitted to Baystate Medical.
Be smart.

Everyone who CAN be vaccinated with all 3 doses, over age 18, get that booster. It makes a huge difference in your ability to fight the virus.

Wear a mask, a GOOD mask, everywhere.

Do not take chances. Only socialize in small groups of 3-dose-fully-vaccinated folks, if possible.
Good ventilation, reasonable precautions.

If you have ANY illness, stay home… don’t infect others, and contact your P*P for advice.

We ALL want this to be over.

We are just DONE with it, with missing out on family holiday gatherings, on not going to movies, or dinners.
But facts are facts.
We are likely entering the worst wave, ever, and large parts of this country still have a majority unvaccinated.

Protect the vulnerable people that you love!
Happy Holidays to all,
Your friends at Associates in Women’s Healthcare

03/31/2021

“You don’t know the HALF of it,” a staff member laughed, responding to the patient’s comment that our office had done a lot for our local community, in regard to covid care...

And now, near the one year anniversary of the day I though I’d have to get admitted to the hospital for MY OWN covid infection, it seems an apt time to blow our own horn!🥳

On literally 1/1/2020, I started massively buying pandemic supplies... CASES of N95s, tons of Clorox wipes, Purell pumps, and so many cases of masks... I spent $25,000... by mid January, prices had already doubled, and by early February nothing was available anymore.

Then... I started giving it all out, for free. I mailed out several boxes of small size N95s to a female resident that I know at Mount Sinai, because her hospital didn’t have ANY small size, which most women need... and these kids were at ground zero for covid!

I gave several boxes of N95s to a dialysis center that had NONE.😱 We gave Clorox wipes/Purell pumps/level 3, and N95 masks, to a number of other medical and dental offices in our area... we supplied some local businesses with these, also...because they couldn’t buy them anywhere!

We dropped off boxes of level 3 masks with attached shields to the Agawam Fire Dept, along with isolation gowns, in late March, because the Chief said that was what they urgently needed...

In early April our office started calling our older patients, starting with the oldest, first... we answered questions about covid, and how to stay safe... it was all new, and overwhelming to some who had no younger family for support... we helped them get set up for home food delivery...we called EVERY PATIENT from age 97, down to age 60! AND we mailed free masks to everyone that we talked to, who wanted them... More than a thousand masks, and good quality, too!💕

In early April I stood outside Geissler’s food store during the early morning hour for seniors, and handed out hundreds of free masks, and flyers on how to properly use them...

And, we put up a poster in the waiting room, for education about the different types of protective masks.

Many will recall that we were only closed for the 2 weeks that I had covid... we were open to see patients the entire rest of the year... while other local medical offices were closed. We took strong precautions, and had adequate supplies, but we knew that we were risking getting infected, ourselves... but, that’s the job, right?

Our page had updates on covid management, and progress, to try to battle some of the misinformation that was spreading in some social media circles.

Then in October, for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we gave out cases and cases of hand sanitizer pumps and larger refills, to area businesses. They have a pink ribbon sticker on them, with our name... you might still see them on countertops at local bakeries, banks, pizza shops, and beauty parlors!🥳

Our delight was to be able to give out more than 500 Moderna vaccinations, in our office, starting January 15th, 2021! That took an incredible amount of work and planning, but to see the look of relief on so many seniors’ faces... it was totally worth everything we went through...

And honestly, even THAT is probably not the half of it!😂

Thank you all, so very much, for following CDC guidelines and preventing chains of covid transmission in our local area.
We are all in this together!🤗

Sincerely, Sharon MacMillan, MD, FACOG

03/23/2021

Hello all...

We have limited availability to give SECOND Moderna vaccinations on this Thursday, and next Thursday.

If you know anyone who missed their second Moderna vaccine shot, then please have them call the office, and we will set them up! (NOT first doses).
First come, first served.

Some folks missed their shot due to illness, travel, or whatever... we’re just trying to help them get caught up, as we finish out our own shots, ourselves.

Best wishes for a healthy and happy spring,
Dr. Mac

03/10/2021

We had a rocking’ good time at our covid vaccination clinic on Saturday!
We received enough chocolates, from thankful patients, to start our own candy shoppe !😂

Unfortunately, we are nearly finished with our second doses, and the state isn’t supplying small sites anymore, at least for a while.

The pharmacies, Stop and Shop, and the large vaccination sites are the best places to check. If the federal government increases the supplies to the states then we may be able to re-start... and we would announce that here, on our page.

We are so proud to have been able to provide more than 500 vaccinations, over the past two months, to our beloved community ... 🤗

as Shakespeare wrote...

“Though she be but little
She be fierce.”
🥳

Warmest wishes for a breathtaking Spring!

Your care team at Associates in Women’s Health Care