Working while chronically ill

April 21, 2008, 7:17 pm

By Marci Alboher
Rosalind Joffe

In researching my column on how small business owners deal with health insurance, I talked to Rosalind Joffe, an executivecoach who specializes in helping people who have chronic illnesses. Ms. Joffe has suffered from multiple sclerosis and ulcerative colitis, both of which have stabilized with treatment — the removal of her colon for the colitis, and the medication, Avonex, for her MS. Prior to getting sick, Ms. Joffe had two successful careers, first as a multimedia producer and then as a professor of communications at Boston University. She became a coach because she wanted a job that she could do from home and that would be flexible enough to allow her to modify her schedule whenever she had a bad day. She credits her ability to make that career change to the fact that her husband had a good health insurance policy that could cover her as well — yet another example of health insurance affecting a career choice.

According to Ms. Joffe, and to research conducted by the National Organization on Disability, only 32 percent of Americans with disabilities (ages 18 to 64) are working, but two thirds of those unemployed would rather be working. Ms. Joffe says she encourages people with chronic illnesses to figure out how they can work rather than go on disability. Research, she says, shows that remaining employed can actually lead to better health, not to mention improving self-esteem and maintaining social contacts.

You can learn more about Ms. Joffe’s work at cicoach.com, which provides resources for people with chronic illnesses and KeepWorkingGirlfriend.com a blog that promotes a forthcoming book for women suffering from autoimmune diseases, written by Ms. Joffe and Joan Friedlander. Both the site and the blog have extensive information and links to all kinds of resources, books, blogs and support organizations.

Ms Joffe is at her best when she poses questions to think about, as in this post about how to know if self-employment is a good fit for you. If you’re hungry for more than what is on her sites, Ms. Joffe, like a smart entrepreneur, offers a lot of extra information in newsletters and pdf workbooks and in the book, “Women, Work, And Autoimmune Disease,” available for preordering on Amazon.com.

Health Groups Release 2008 Immunization Schedules

CDC Home > Media Relations > Release > January 11, 2008
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Press Release
For Immediate Release
Friday, January 11, 2008
Contact: CDC Division of Media Relations
404-639-3286


Health Groups Release 2008 Immunization Schedules
Children and Adolescents now Protected Against More Diseases than Ever Before
Updated immunization recommendations for childhood influenza and adolescent meningococcal vaccinations are included in the 2008 Childhood and Adolescent Immunization Schedules released jointly today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP).

"Although we can now protect more children against more vaccine-preventable diseases than ever before, the immunization schedules can be confusing for parents and physicians," said Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at CDC. "The updates to this year’s schedule help clarify our vaccination recommendations and, therefore, should make it easier for parents to protect their children against potentially serious diseases."

The childhood schedule expands the recommendation for the nasal spray influenza vaccine, FluMist, to include children from 2 to 4 years of age who don’t have a history of asthma or wheezing. The vaccine, which contains a weakened form of the live virus and is sprayed in the nose, had previously been limited to healthy children 5 years of age and older and healthy adults up to age 50.

"We know that vaccinating children protects them against flu," said Dr. Schuchat. "This recommendation gives parents another choice when vaccinating their children."

The new guidance also addresses vaccination against meningococcal disease. Meningococcal Conjugate Vaccine (MCV4) is now recommended for routine vaccination of children 11 – 12 years of age and of adolescents 13–18 years of age who have not been previously vaccinated and other people at increased risk of meningococcal disease, including college freshmen living in dorms, as well as military recruits.

This recommendation modifies and simplifies the previous recommendation for routine vaccination with MCV4 of children at 11–12 years of age, adolescents before high school entry (approximately 15 years of age), and other people at increased risk.

"Our goal is routine vaccination of all children beginning at age 11 years. College freshmen living in dormitories are at increased risk of meningococcal disease and should be vaccinated with MCV4 before college entry, if not previously," said Dr. Schuchat.

An estimated 1,400 to 2,800 cases of meningococcal disease occur annually in the United States. Meningococcal disease can have severe complications and can be life threatening. About 76 percent of cases of meningococcal disease among 11–19 year olds are vaccine–preventable.

The new schedule also clarifies and updates recommendations for use of pneumococcal vaccine. Healthy children 24 through 59 months of age who are incompletely vaccinated should receive one dose of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7). Children age two and older with underlying medical conditions should receive pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV).

The 2008 immunization schedule can be found at CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) at http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr or http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/recs/schedules/child-schedule.htm

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES



Content Source: Office of Enterprise Communication
Page last modified: January 11, 2008
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