14 THE BALTIMORE SUN | NEWS | MONDAY, JULY 20, 2009

HEALTH

Ashley Jones was set on becoming aprofessional soccer player. But by the endof a local summer health camp for teens,she was chasing a career in nursing.

Jones, now 21, participated in the firstannual Camp ECHO (Exploring Careers inHealthcare Organization), a five-day sum-mer immersion program — now in itssixth year at St. Agnes Hospital — thatexposes state high school students to themany sides of the health care professions.

Participants — seven girls this year —spend five hours a day peeking in onsurgeries in the operating room, trainingfor adult and child CPR certification orshadowing physicians and nurses, dieti-cians and radiologists, and other staff.

Jones, who is one year shy of earningher bachelor’s degree in communityhealth from Hofstra University on LongIsland, N.Y., liked the camp so much she isback to help while she is interning thissummer in St. Agnes’ administrativedepartment. “I’d always thought aboutbeing a nurse, helping people and givingback to the community,” she said “Thisprogram sealed it for me.”

Each year, the program accepts the first12 applicants. Eighty dollars covers meals,materials, a medical scrub top and theCPR registration fee. Applicants, whocome from all over the state, are asked towrite a short essay about why they want tobe in the program.

“In our initial planning stages there wasa contest in the nursing department toname the camp,” said Michelle Slafkosky,the camp’s co-founder — with formercolleague Deborah Mello — and the hospi-tal’s manager of volunteer services. “Sincewe want students to see all the careers in ahospital, we didn’t want it to sound like anursing camp.”

Like the rest of her peers at lastTuesday’s intensive CPR training, 15-year-old Rebecca Rose, a home-schooled sopho-more from Baltimore, was dressed in ablue scrub top and beige khaki pants —attire similar to what health care profes-sionals wear everyday on the job.

Rose’s aunt and uncle work as a pediat-ric nurse and an anesthesiologist, respec-tively. Growing up around them inspiredher to consider a career in health care. ButCamp ECHO, she said, also opened hereyes to some of what she considers themore gruesome realities of the profession.

“The O.R. is cool, but I don’t think I wantto work there,” said Rose while taking ashort break from her CPR training. “Ican’t deal with all the blood. It’s just not forme.” She enjoyed visiting the orthopedicfloor during another group tour of thehospital, she said.

For Sade Handy, 15, nursing seems torun in the family. “Some of my aunts arenurses,” said Handy, a sophomore at ReachPartnership in Baltimore. “I like being inthe camp. It’s fun going to the differentunits, learning different things. I haven’tseen anything that I don’t like or that isn’tinteresting.”

Shannon Cummins’ mother is a cardiacnurse at St. Agnes. The 17-year-old Arun-del High School senior is seriously consid-ering becoming an emergency roomnurse. “I like the idea of caring for people Idon’t even know, and just helping people,”Cummins said.

Many of this year’s participants have yetto declare a college major, but the pro-gram’s directors and volunteers said oneof the goals is to lure students into thehealth care field early by showing themthe rewards and challenges of working onbehalf of others — and to steer sometoward a different profession better suitedto their talents and interests.

“We had one student who saw the O.R.room and decided she never wanted to stepfoot in there again,” said Joyce Hall with achuckle. A longtime registered nurse andthe hospital’s patient relations coordina-tor, Hall has worked with the camp since2004 and now coordinates the programwith Slafkosky. “That student went on tobecome a social worker.

“Everything we do here is optional,”

said Hall, adding that participants canchoose not to witness a live birth, viewin-progress knee surgeries or visit themorgue — activities offered at past camps.Hall prepares the curriculum, arrangeshospital tours and chooses guest present-ers such as Vonda Barber, last Tuesday’sCPR instructor from Health Quest Inc.

“I use the same lessons with these highschoolers that I use with adults,” saidBarber between drills, which involvedperforming procedures on a T-shirtedrubber dummy. Campers learned how toproperly pump its chest, perform mouth-to-mouth and check for consciousness byshaking its shoulders and shouting, “Areyou OK?” using real-life scenarios.

“What’s the first thing you need to dowhen deciding whether to do CPR onsomeone?” Barber asked the group duringone of their drills. Although they gave thecorrect answer — to check that “the sceneis safe” — they sounded like whisperingangels, and needed to be told by NyumaHarrison, an ER nurse at St. Agnes andprogram volunteer, to speak up.

“You have to say it!” said Harrison fromthe side of the room. Harrison teachesclinical skills courses at the CatholicUniversity of America in Washington andbrought her lesson plan to the camperslast Friday.

“You usually hear kids say they want tobe a surgeon or a pediatrician becausethat’s what they see on TV,” said Harrison.“It was good for them to see the food servicearea where we prepare patients’ meals.Every job at a hospital is important.”

Since 2004, 43 students have completedthe program. Slafkosky said she plans tocontact past campers to see how manychose the health care profession, one offew industries still thriving since therecession hit in late 2007.

“It was very beneficial for me,”saidJones, who plans to return to school for asecond degree in nursing.

Becky Rose, a 15-year-old from Baltimore County, practices compressions during her CPR course at Camp ECHO, which was held atSt. Agnes Hospital. For a week in July, high school students learn more about the various aspects of the health care profession.

TASHA TREADWELL/BALTIMORE SUN PHOTOS

CarevaluesCarevalues

At this camp, teenslearn the daily lives ofhealth professionals

Instructor Vonda Barber, above, explainsthe proper way to do CPR as high schoolstudents at Camp ECHO practice ondummies. At left, Shannon Cummins, 17,of Arundel High School practices using amask.

By Angela J. Bass ANGELA.BASS@BALTSUN.COM

■ The Lupus Foundation of Ameri-ca Greater Washington Chapter willhost a kickoff party from 4 p.m. to 8p.m. Saturday at Della Rose’s Tav-ern, 1501 S. Clinton St., Baltimore.Proceeds will benefit Baltimore’ssecond annual Walk for Lupus Now,to be held in September. Tickets are$15 per adult and $9 per child; $5 and$4 per ticket will benefit the up-coming walk. Go to baltimorelupuswalk.org.■ Laurel Regional Hospital and theLaurel Lions Club will hold a blooddrive in conjunction with theAmerican Red Cross from 2 p.m. to 8p.m. Aug. 4 in the hospital’s J.R.Jones Conference Room at 7300 VanDusen Road, Laurel. Appointmentscan be scheduled by calling 301-497-7914 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.Monday through Friday. Walk-insare welcome, but scheduled appoint-ments will be given priority.

EVENTS

Coxsackieviruses can cause manyclinical syndromes that overlap withother viruses, including common coldsymptoms, fever, sore throat, rashes, eyeinfections and diarrhea, says Dr. RobertAncona, chief of pediatrics at St. JosephMedical Center.

He writes that the three most identifi-able syndromes caused by coxsackievi-ruses are: acute hemorrhagic conjuncti-vitis, herpangina and hand, foot andmouth disease.■ Preschool-age children, especiallythose 1½ to 3 years old, are most at risk tocatch these viruses, though any age groupcan be affected, especially with acutehemorrhagic conjunctivitis. These vi-ruses are often passed around by afecal-to-mouth route or direct contactwith infected secretions from the mouthor eyes. Therefore, good hand washing, aswith many infectious illnesses, is ex-tremely important in preventing infec-

tions.■ The symptoms ofacute hemorrhagicconjunctivitis are pain-ful red eyes, tearing andswelling of the eyelids,usually within one tothree days of swimmingin a communal pool.Outbreaks with numer-ous cases usually occur.

Symptoms can last a week to 10 days.■ Herpangina usually produces a highfever (101 to 104 degrees), irritability,decreased appetite and multiple blistersor ulcers in the back of the throat.Younger children often drool more thannormal and their symptoms can last up toseven days, though older children mayrecover in three days.

Hand, foot and mouth disease hassimilar symptoms, plus a blistering rashon the hands, feet, and/or buttocks,

usually below the skin’s surface andwhich may begin as papules. The blistersare usually not painful.■ There is no specific treatment for any ofthe coxsackie syndromes. But the symp-toms can be treated, for example, withanalgesics for fever and pain and withfluids, especially cool ones, that mayrelieve throat pain. For conjunctivitis, trycool compresses for relief.■ Complications from these infectionsare uncommon, but for younger infantswho refuse to drink due to blisters in theirthroats, dehydration is a risk, so properfluids are very important. In rare cases,the abrupt onset of high fever can triggera febrile seizure in those who are suscep-tible. Most importantly, children arecontagious throughout the entire illnessand must not be in a school or communalsetting until all symptoms go away, whichcan be as long as a week.

Ancona

ASK THE EXPERT DR. ROBERT ANCONA, ST. JOSEPH MEDICAL CENTER

Syndromes of coxsackieviruses

Baltimore City health officials say fullhealth coverage is just an application awayfor nearly half of the city’s 100,000 unin-sured residents. But a surprising numberof them are not applying.

“Many people just don’t know about it,”said Kathleen Westcoat, president and chiefexecutive officer of Baltimore HealthCareAccess Inc., a city health agency connectingeligible families, singles and kids to sevenfree or low-cost managed care plans housedunder the Medicaid roof.

The agency enrolled 9,074 residents of itstarget 10,000 in one of its Medical Assist-ance for Families programs by the end ofJune, not counting those enrolled in itsother programs, for which the agency saidit does not have figures.

Because of the recession, the agencycan’t always afford the kind of advertisingit needs to attract more applicants. Usinggrant money, agency officials adopted anaggressive ad campaign, with an eyetoward Greenmount East, Druid Heights,Sandtown-Winchester and other neigh-borhoods that have been ravaged by pre-ventable diseases and infant mortality, andwhose residents have little to no access tomanaged care.

Agency officials hired Jeff Rasmussen,owner of In-Motion Advertising, to add afew “guerrilla marketing tactics” to itsmore traditional billboards approach. Ras-mussen said the tactics are meant to “reachpeople while they’re sitting on their stoop,walking to work and living their lives,”adding that billboards on the sides ofbuildings don’t mean as much to peoplefrom urban areas, where billboards areeverywhere.

“If that’s what it takes in this media-saturated society we live in, then that’swhat we’ll do,” Rasmussen said. “It’s my jobto get them to this point.”

Agency outreach workers reached thou-sands in the targeted neighborhoods withinformational door hangers shaped likeBand-Aids, inviting people to attend aninsurance enrollment health fair insideLexington Market last month. Others sawRasmussen’s canary yellow trucks flankedby giant scrolling ads roving the busiestblocks of their community. And someresidents simply found the fair whileshopping for groceries, with staffers fromradio station 92Q Jams enticing shopperswith free prizes. Hospital workers were alsoon hand, screening for high blood pressure,diabetes and prostate cancer, among othercommon ailments.

“Everyone has to grocery shop,” saidTherese McIntyre, the agency’s director ofcommunications and legislative affairs.“We were reaching people who wouldn’tnecessarily be in health settings.” A secondfair was held in the parking lot of Santoni’sSuper Market two weeks later.

Charles Lowther, 44, showed up at theLexington Market fair after outreach work-ers he met on the street handed him one ofthe door hangers. The Baltimore native waslaid off in October from his job as alumberyard forklift driver, leaving himwithout health coverage and easy access totreatment for the acid reflux disease hesuffers from. He’s training to become acertified mechanic in hopes of getting a jobwith benefits. “Honestly, I’m the type thatdon’t like handouts,” said the single fatherof two daughters in their 20s and an8-year-old son. “I like to earn what I have.”

June marked Lowther’s second attempt,however, to apply for the Primary AdultCare program, which covers prescriptions,mental health care and dental services.Enrollment in all programs — includingthe Medical Assistance for Families Pro-gram and the Maryland Children’s HealthProgram — is free.

With Lowther’s first attempt, he neverpaid the $12 fee to obtain a copy of his birthcertificate, one of the few documents agen-cy staffers need to determine eligibility.

For more information on insuranceplans and health fairs, call BaltimoreHealthCare Access at 410-649-0500 or 311.

Health teams go to peopleon their stoops, at markets By Angela BassANGELA.BASS@BALTSUN.COM

Reachingout to cityuninsured

14 THE BALTIMORE SUN | NEWS | MONDAY, JULY 20, 2009

HEALTH

Ashley Jones was set on becoming aprofessional soccer player. But by the endof a local summer health camp for teens,she was chasing a career in nursing.

Jones, now 21, participated in the firstannual Camp ECHO (Exploring Careers inHealthcare Organization), a five-day sum-mer immersion program — now in itssixth year at St. Agnes Hospital — thatexposes state high school students to themany sides of the health care professions.

Participants — seven girls this year —spend five hours a day peeking in onsurgeries in the operating room, trainingfor adult and child CPR certification orshadowing physicians and nurses, dieti-cians and radiologists, and other staff.

Jones, who is one year shy of earningher bachelor’s degree in communityhealth from Hofstra University on LongIsland, N.Y., liked the camp so much she isback to help while she is interning thissummer in St. Agnes’ administrativedepartment. “I’d always thought aboutbeing a nurse, helping people and givingback to the community,” she said “Thisprogram sealed it for me.”

Each year, the program accepts the first12 applicants. Eighty dollars covers meals,materials, a medical scrub top and theCPR registration fee. Applicants, whocome from all over the state, are asked towrite a short essay about why they want tobe in the program.

“In our initial planning stages there wasa contest in the nursing department toname the camp,” said Michelle Slafkosky,the camp’s co-founder — with formercolleague Deborah Mello — and the hospi-tal’s manager of volunteer services. “Sincewe want students to see all the careers in ahospital, we didn’t want it to sound like anursing camp.”

Like the rest of her peers at lastTuesday’s intensive CPR training, 15-year-old Rebecca Rose, a home-schooled sopho-more from Baltimore, was dressed in ablue scrub top and beige khaki pants —attire similar to what health care profes-sionals wear everyday on the job.

Rose’s aunt and uncle work as a pediat-ric nurse and an anesthesiologist, respec-tively. Growing up around them inspiredher to consider a career in health care. ButCamp ECHO, she said, also opened hereyes to some of what she considers themore gruesome realities of the profession.

“The O.R. is cool, but I don’t think I wantto work there,” said Rose while taking ashort break from her CPR training. “Ican’t deal with all the blood. It’s just not forme.” She enjoyed visiting the orthopedicfloor during another group tour of thehospital, she said.

For Sade Handy, 15, nursing seems torun in the family. “Some of my aunts arenurses,” said Handy, a sophomore at ReachPartnership in Baltimore. “I like being inthe camp. It’s fun going to the differentunits, learning different things. I haven’tseen anything that I don’t like or that isn’tinteresting.”

Shannon Cummins’ mother is a cardiacnurse at St. Agnes. The 17-year-old Arun-del High School senior is seriously consid-ering becoming an emergency roomnurse. “I like the idea of caring for people Idon’t even know, and just helping people,”Cummins said.

Many of this year’s participants have yetto declare a college major, but the pro-gram’s directors and volunteers said oneof the goals is to lure students into thehealth care field early by showing themthe rewards and challenges of working onbehalf of others — and to steer sometoward a different profession better suitedto their talents and interests.

“We had one student who saw the O.R.room and decided she never wanted to stepfoot in there again,” said Joyce Hall with achuckle. A longtime registered nurse andthe hospital’s patient relations coordina-tor, Hall has worked with the camp since2004 and now coordinates the programwith Slafkosky. “That student went on tobecome a social worker.

“Everything we do here is optional,”

said Hall, adding that participants canchoose not to witness a live birth, viewin-progress knee surgeries or visit themorgue — activities offered at past camps.Hall prepares the curriculum, arrangeshospital tours and chooses guest present-ers such as Vonda Barber, last Tuesday’sCPR instructor from Health Quest Inc.

“I use the same lessons with these highschoolers that I use with adults,” saidBarber between drills, which involvedperforming procedures on a T-shirtedrubber dummy. Campers learned how toproperly pump its chest, perform mouth-to-mouth and check for consciousness byshaking its shoulders and shouting, “Areyou OK?” using real-life scenarios.

“What’s the first thing you need to dowhen deciding whether to do CPR onsomeone?” Barber asked the group duringone of their drills. Although they gave thecorrect answer — to check that “the sceneis safe” — they sounded like whisperingangels, and needed to be told by NyumaHarrison, an ER nurse at St. Agnes andprogram volunteer, to speak up.

“You have to say it!” said Harrison fromthe side of the room. Harrison teachesclinical skills courses at the CatholicUniversity of America in Washington andbrought her lesson plan to the camperslast Friday.

“You usually hear kids say they want tobe a surgeon or a pediatrician becausethat’s what they see on TV,” said Harrison.“It was good for them to see the food servicearea where we prepare patients’ meals.Every job at a hospital is important.”

Since 2004, 43 students have completedthe program. Slafkosky said she plans tocontact past campers to see how manychose the health care profession, one offew industries still thriving since therecession hit in late 2007.

“It was very beneficial for me,”saidJones, who plans to return to school for asecond degree in nursing.

Becky Rose, a 15-year-old from Baltimore County, practices compressions during her CPR course at Camp ECHO, which was held atSt. Agnes Hospital. For a week in July, high school students learn more about the various aspects of the health care profession.

TASHA TREADWELL/BALTIMORE SUN PHOTOS

CarevaluesCarevalues

At this camp, teenslearn the daily lives ofhealth professionals

Instructor Vonda Barber, above, explainsthe proper way to do CPR as high schoolstudents at Camp ECHO practice ondummies. At left, Shannon Cummins, 17,of Arundel High School practices using amask.

By Angela J. Bass ANGELA.BASS@BALTSUN.COM

■ The Lupus Foundation of Ameri-ca Greater Washington Chapter willhost a kickoff party from 4 p.m. to 8p.m. Saturday at Della Rose’s Tav-ern, 1501 S. Clinton St., Baltimore.Proceeds will benefit Baltimore’ssecond annual Walk for Lupus Now,to be held in September. Tickets are$15 per adult and $9 per child; $5 and$4 per ticket will benefit the up-coming walk. Go to baltimorelupuswalk.org.■ Laurel Regional Hospital and theLaurel Lions Club will hold a blooddrive in conjunction with theAmerican Red Cross from 2 p.m. to 8p.m. Aug. 4 in the hospital’s J.R.Jones Conference Room at 7300 VanDusen Road, Laurel. Appointmentscan be scheduled by calling 301-497-7914 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.Monday through Friday. Walk-insare welcome, but scheduled appoint-ments will be given priority.

EVENTS

Coxsackieviruses can cause manyclinical syndromes that overlap withother viruses, including common coldsymptoms, fever, sore throat, rashes, eyeinfections and diarrhea, says Dr. RobertAncona, chief of pediatrics at St. JosephMedical Center.

He writes that the three most identifi-able syndromes caused by coxsackievi-ruses are: acute hemorrhagic conjuncti-vitis, herpangina and hand, foot andmouth disease.■ Preschool-age children, especiallythose 1½ to 3 years old, are most at risk tocatch these viruses, though any age groupcan be affected, especially with acutehemorrhagic conjunctivitis. These vi-ruses are often passed around by afecal-to-mouth route or direct contactwith infected secretions from the mouthor eyes. Therefore, good hand washing, aswith many infectious illnesses, is ex-tremely important in preventing infec-

tions.■ The symptoms ofacute hemorrhagicconjunctivitis are pain-ful red eyes, tearing andswelling of the eyelids,usually within one tothree days of swimmingin a communal pool.Outbreaks with numer-ous cases usually occur.

Symptoms can last a week to 10 days.■ Herpangina usually produces a highfever (101 to 104 degrees), irritability,decreased appetite and multiple blistersor ulcers in the back of the throat.Younger children often drool more thannormal and their symptoms can last up toseven days, though older children mayrecover in three days.

Hand, foot and mouth disease hassimilar symptoms, plus a blistering rashon the hands, feet, and/or buttocks,

usually below the skin’s surface andwhich may begin as papules. The blistersare usually not painful.■ There is no specific treatment for any ofthe coxsackie syndromes. But the symp-toms can be treated, for example, withanalgesics for fever and pain and withfluids, especially cool ones, that mayrelieve throat pain. For conjunctivitis, trycool compresses for relief.■ Complications from these infectionsare uncommon, but for younger infantswho refuse to drink due to blisters in theirthroats, dehydration is a risk, so properfluids are very important. In rare cases,the abrupt onset of high fever can triggera febrile seizure in those who are suscep-tible. Most importantly, children arecontagious throughout the entire illnessand must not be in a school or communalsetting until all symptoms go away, whichcan be as long as a week.

Ancona

ASK THE EXPERT DR. ROBERT ANCONA, ST. JOSEPH MEDICAL CENTER

Syndromes of coxsackieviruses

Baltimore City health officials say fullhealth coverage is just an application awayfor nearly half of the city’s 100,000 unin-sured residents. But a surprising numberof them are not applying.

“Many people just don’t know about it,”said Kathleen Westcoat, president and chiefexecutive officer of Baltimore HealthCareAccess Inc., a city health agency connectingeligible families, singles and kids to sevenfree or low-cost managed care plans housedunder the Medicaid roof.

The agency enrolled 9,074 residents of itstarget 10,000 in one of its Medical Assist-ance for Families programs by the end ofJune, not counting those enrolled in itsother programs, for which the agency saidit does not have figures.

Because of the recession, the agencycan’t always afford the kind of advertisingit needs to attract more applicants. Usinggrant money, agency officials adopted anaggressive ad campaign, with an eyetoward Greenmount East, Druid Heights,Sandtown-Winchester and other neigh-borhoods that have been ravaged by pre-ventable diseases and infant mortality, andwhose residents have little to no access tomanaged care.

Agency officials hired Jeff Rasmussen,owner of In-Motion Advertising, to add afew “guerrilla marketing tactics” to itsmore traditional billboards approach. Ras-mussen said the tactics are meant to “reachpeople while they’re sitting on their stoop,walking to work and living their lives,”adding that billboards on the sides ofbuildings don’t mean as much to peoplefrom urban areas, where billboards areeverywhere.

“If that’s what it takes in this media-saturated society we live in, then that’swhat we’ll do,” Rasmussen said. “It’s my jobto get them to this point.”

Agency outreach workers reached thou-sands in the targeted neighborhoods withinformational door hangers shaped likeBand-Aids, inviting people to attend aninsurance enrollment health fair insideLexington Market last month. Others sawRasmussen’s canary yellow trucks flankedby giant scrolling ads roving the busiestblocks of their community. And someresidents simply found the fair whileshopping for groceries, with staffers fromradio station 92Q Jams enticing shopperswith free prizes. Hospital workers were alsoon hand, screening for high blood pressure,diabetes and prostate cancer, among othercommon ailments.

“Everyone has to grocery shop,” saidTherese McIntyre, the agency’s director ofcommunications and legislative affairs.“We were reaching people who wouldn’tnecessarily be in health settings.” A secondfair was held in the parking lot of Santoni’sSuper Market two weeks later.

Charles Lowther, 44, showed up at theLexington Market fair after outreach work-ers he met on the street handed him one ofthe door hangers. The Baltimore native waslaid off in October from his job as alumberyard forklift driver, leaving himwithout health coverage and easy access totreatment for the acid reflux disease hesuffers from. He’s training to become acertified mechanic in hopes of getting a jobwith benefits. “Honestly, I’m the type thatdon’t like handouts,” said the single fatherof two daughters in their 20s and an8-year-old son. “I like to earn what I have.”

June marked Lowther’s second attempt,however, to apply for the Primary AdultCare program, which covers prescriptions,mental health care and dental services.Enrollment in all programs — includingthe Medical Assistance for Families Pro-gram and the Maryland Children’s HealthProgram — is free.

With Lowther’s first attempt, he neverpaid the $12 fee to obtain a copy of his birthcertificate, one of the few documents agen-cy staffers need to determine eligibility.

For more information on insuranceplans and health fairs, call BaltimoreHealthCare Access at 410-649-0500 or 311.

Health teams go to peopleon their stoops, at markets By Angela BassANGELA.BASS@BALTSUN.COM

Reachingout to cityuninsured

14 THE BALTIMORE SUN | NEWS | MONDAY, JULY 20, 2009

HEALTH

Ashley Jones was set on becoming aprofessional soccer player. But by the endof a local summer health camp for teens,she was chasing a career in nursing.

Jones, now 21, participated in the firstannual Camp ECHO (Exploring Careers inHealthcare Organization), a five-day sum-mer immersion program — now in itssixth year at St. Agnes Hospital — thatexposes state high school students to themany sides of the health care professions.

Participants — seven girls this year —spend five hours a day peeking in onsurgeries in the operating room, trainingfor adult and child CPR certification orshadowing physicians and nurses, dieti-cians and radiologists, and other staff.

Jones, who is one year shy of earningher bachelor’s degree in communityhealth from Hofstra University on LongIsland, N.Y., liked the camp so much she isback to help while she is interning thissummer in St. Agnes’ administrativedepartment. “I’d always thought aboutbeing a nurse, helping people and givingback to the community,” she said “Thisprogram sealed it for me.”

Each year, the program accepts the first12 applicants. Eighty dollars covers meals,materials, a medical scrub top and theCPR registration fee. Applicants, whocome from all over the state, are asked towrite a short essay about why they want tobe in the program.

“In our initial planning stages there wasa contest in the nursing department toname the camp,” said Michelle Slafkosky,the camp’s co-founder — with formercolleague Deborah Mello — and the hospi-tal’s manager of volunteer services. “Sincewe want students to see all the careers in ahospital, we didn’t want it to sound like anursing camp.”

Like the rest of her peers at lastTuesday’s intensive CPR training, 15-year-old Rebecca Rose, a home-schooled sopho-more from Baltimore, was dressed in ablue scrub top and beige khaki pants —attire similar to what health care profes-sionals wear everyday on the job.

Rose’s aunt and uncle work as a pediat-ric nurse and an anesthesiologist, respec-tively. Growing up around them inspiredher to consider a career in health care. ButCamp ECHO, she said, also opened hereyes to some of what she considers themore gruesome realities of the profession.

“The O.R. is cool, but I don’t think I wantto work there,” said Rose while taking ashort break from her CPR training. “Ican’t deal with all the blood. It’s just not forme.” She enjoyed visiting the orthopedicfloor during another group tour of thehospital, she said.

For Sade Handy, 15, nursing seems torun in the family. “Some of my aunts arenurses,” said Handy, a sophomore at ReachPartnership in Baltimore. “I like being inthe camp. It’s fun going to the differentunits, learning different things. I haven’tseen anything that I don’t like or that isn’tinteresting.”

Shannon Cummins’ mother is a cardiacnurse at St. Agnes. The 17-year-old Arun-del High School senior is seriously consid-ering becoming an emergency roomnurse. “I like the idea of caring for people Idon’t even know, and just helping people,”Cummins said.

Many of this year’s participants have yetto declare a college major, but the pro-gram’s directors and volunteers said oneof the goals is to lure students into thehealth care field early by showing themthe rewards and challenges of working onbehalf of others — and to steer sometoward a different profession better suitedto their talents and interests.

“We had one student who saw the O.R.room and decided she never wanted to stepfoot in there again,” said Joyce Hall with achuckle. A longtime registered nurse andthe hospital’s patient relations coordina-tor, Hall has worked with the camp since2004 and now coordinates the programwith Slafkosky. “That student went on tobecome a social worker.

“Everything we do here is optional,”

said Hall, adding that participants canchoose not to witness a live birth, viewin-progress knee surgeries or visit themorgue — activities offered at past camps.Hall prepares the curriculum, arrangeshospital tours and chooses guest present-ers such as Vonda Barber, last Tuesday’sCPR instructor from Health Quest Inc.

“I use the same lessons with these highschoolers that I use with adults,” saidBarber between drills, which involvedperforming procedures on a T-shirtedrubber dummy. Campers learned how toproperly pump its chest, perform mouth-to-mouth and check for consciousness byshaking its shoulders and shouting, “Areyou OK?” using real-life scenarios.

“What’s the first thing you need to dowhen deciding whether to do CPR onsomeone?” Barber asked the group duringone of their drills. Although they gave thecorrect answer — to check that “the sceneis safe” — they sounded like whisperingangels, and needed to be told by NyumaHarrison, an ER nurse at St. Agnes andprogram volunteer, to speak up.

“You have to say it!” said Harrison fromthe side of the room. Harrison teachesclinical skills courses at the CatholicUniversity of America in Washington andbrought her lesson plan to the camperslast Friday.

“You usually hear kids say they want tobe a surgeon or a pediatrician becausethat’s what they see on TV,” said Harrison.“It was good for them to see the food servicearea where we prepare patients’ meals.Every job at a hospital is important.”

Since 2004, 43 students have completedthe program. Slafkosky said she plans tocontact past campers to see how manychose the health care profession, one offew industries still thriving since therecession hit in late 2007.

“It was very beneficial for me,”saidJones, who plans to return to school for asecond degree in nursing.

Becky Rose, a 15-year-old from Baltimore County, practices compressions during her CPR course at Camp ECHO, which was held atSt. Agnes Hospital. For a week in July, high school students learn more about the various aspects of the health care profession.

TASHA TREADWELL/BALTIMORE SUN PHOTOS

CarevaluesCarevalues

At this camp, teenslearn the daily lives ofhealth professionals

Instructor Vonda Barber, above, explainsthe proper way to do CPR as high schoolstudents at Camp ECHO practice ondummies. At left, Shannon Cummins, 17,of Arundel High School practices using amask.

By Angela J. Bass ANGELA.BASS@BALTSUN.COM

■ The Lupus Foundation of Ameri-ca Greater Washington Chapter willhost a kickoff party from 4 p.m. to 8p.m. Saturday at Della Rose’s Tav-ern, 1501 S. Clinton St., Baltimore.Proceeds will benefit Baltimore’ssecond annual Walk for Lupus Now,to be held in September. Tickets are$15 per adult and $9 per child; $5 and$4 per ticket will benefit the up-coming walk. Go to baltimorelupuswalk.org.■ Laurel Regional Hospital and theLaurel Lions Club will hold a blooddrive in conjunction with theAmerican Red Cross from 2 p.m. to 8p.m. Aug. 4 in the hospital’s J.R.Jones Conference Room at 7300 VanDusen Road, Laurel. Appointmentscan be scheduled by calling 301-497-7914 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.Monday through Friday. Walk-insare welcome, but scheduled appoint-ments will be given priority.

EVENTS

Coxsackieviruses can cause manyclinical syndromes that overlap withother viruses, including common coldsymptoms, fever, sore throat, rashes, eyeinfections and diarrhea, says Dr. RobertAncona, chief of pediatrics at St. JosephMedical Center.

He writes that the three most identifi-able syndromes caused by coxsackievi-ruses are: acute hemorrhagic conjuncti-vitis, herpangina and hand, foot andmouth disease.■ Preschool-age children, especiallythose 1½ to 3 years old, are most at risk tocatch these viruses, though any age groupcan be affected, especially with acutehemorrhagic conjunctivitis. These vi-ruses are often passed around by afecal-to-mouth route or direct contactwith infected secretions from the mouthor eyes. Therefore, good hand washing, aswith many infectious illnesses, is ex-tremely important in preventing infec-

tions.■ The symptoms ofacute hemorrhagicconjunctivitis are pain-ful red eyes, tearing andswelling of the eyelids,usually within one tothree days of swimmingin a communal pool.Outbreaks with numer-ous cases usually occur.

Symptoms can last a week to 10 days.■ Herpangina usually produces a highfever (101 to 104 degrees), irritability,decreased appetite and multiple blistersor ulcers in the back of the throat.Younger children often drool more thannormal and their symptoms can last up toseven days, though older children mayrecover in three days.

Hand, foot and mouth disease hassimilar symptoms, plus a blistering rashon the hands, feet, and/or buttocks,

usually below the skin’s surface andwhich may begin as papules. The blistersare usually not painful.■ There is no specific treatment for any ofthe coxsackie syndromes. But the symp-toms can be treated, for example, withanalgesics for fever and pain and withfluids, especially cool ones, that mayrelieve throat pain. For conjunctivitis, trycool compresses for relief.■ Complications from these infectionsare uncommon, but for younger infantswho refuse to drink due to blisters in theirthroats, dehydration is a risk, so properfluids are very important. In rare cases,the abrupt onset of high fever can triggera febrile seizure in those who are suscep-tible. Most importantly, children arecontagious throughout the entire illnessand must not be in a school or communalsetting until all symptoms go away, whichcan be as long as a week.

Ancona

ASK THE EXPERT DR. ROBERT ANCONA, ST. JOSEPH MEDICAL CENTER

Syndromes of coxsackieviruses

Baltimore City health officials say fullhealth coverage is just an application awayfor nearly half of the city’s 100,000 unin-sured residents. But a surprising numberof them are not applying.

“Many people just don’t know about it,”said Kathleen Westcoat, president and chiefexecutive officer of Baltimore HealthCareAccess Inc., a city health agency connectingeligible families, singles and kids to sevenfree or low-cost managed care plans housedunder the Medicaid roof.

The agency enrolled 9,074 residents of itstarget 10,000 in one of its Medical Assist-ance for Families programs by the end ofJune, not counting those enrolled in itsother programs, for which the agency saidit does not have figures.

Because of the recession, the agencycan’t always afford the kind of advertisingit needs to attract more applicants. Usinggrant money, agency officials adopted anaggressive ad campaign, with an eyetoward Greenmount East, Druid Heights,Sandtown-Winchester and other neigh-borhoods that have been ravaged by pre-ventable diseases and infant mortality, andwhose residents have little to no access tomanaged care.

Agency officials hired Jeff Rasmussen,owner of In-Motion Advertising, to add afew “guerrilla marketing tactics” to itsmore traditional billboards approach. Ras-mussen said the tactics are meant to “reachpeople while they’re sitting on their stoop,walking to work and living their lives,”adding that billboards on the sides ofbuildings don’t mean as much to peoplefrom urban areas, where billboards areeverywhere.

“If that’s what it takes in this media-saturated society we live in, then that’swhat we’ll do,” Rasmussen said. “It’s my jobto get them to this point.”

Agency outreach workers reached thou-sands in the targeted neighborhoods withinformational door hangers shaped likeBand-Aids, inviting people to attend aninsurance enrollment health fair insideLexington Market last month. Others sawRasmussen’s canary yellow trucks flankedby giant scrolling ads roving the busiestblocks of their community. And someresidents simply found the fair whileshopping for groceries, with staffers fromradio station 92Q Jams enticing shopperswith free prizes. Hospital workers were alsoon hand, screening for high blood pressure,diabetes and prostate cancer, among othercommon ailments.

“Everyone has to grocery shop,” saidTherese McIntyre, the agency’s director ofcommunications and legislative affairs.“We were reaching people who wouldn’tnecessarily be in health settings.” A secondfair was held in the parking lot of Santoni’sSuper Market two weeks later.

Charles Lowther, 44, showed up at theLexington Market fair after outreach work-ers he met on the street handed him one ofthe door hangers. The Baltimore native waslaid off in October from his job as alumberyard forklift driver, leaving himwithout health coverage and easy access totreatment for the acid reflux disease hesuffers from. He’s training to become acertified mechanic in hopes of getting a jobwith benefits. “Honestly, I’m the type thatdon’t like handouts,” said the single fatherof two daughters in their 20s and an8-year-old son. “I like to earn what I have.”

June marked Lowther’s second attempt,however, to apply for the Primary AdultCare program, which covers prescriptions,mental health care and dental services.Enrollment in all programs — includingthe Medical Assistance for Families Pro-gram and the Maryland Children’s HealthProgram — is free.

With Lowther’s first attempt, he neverpaid the $12 fee to obtain a copy of his birthcertificate, one of the few documents agen-cy staffers need to determine eligibility.

For more information on insuranceplans and health fairs, call BaltimoreHealthCare Access at 410-649-0500 or 311.

Health teams go to peopleon their stoops, at markets By Angela BassANGELA.BASS@BALTSUN.COM

Reachingout to cityuninsured

14 THE BALTIMORE SUN | NEWS | MONDAY, JULY 20, 2009

HEALTH

Ashley Jones was set on becoming aprofessional soccer player. But by the endof a local summer health camp for teens,she was chasing a career in nursing.

Jones, now 21, participated in the firstannual Camp ECHO (Exploring Careers inHealthcare Organization), a five-day sum-mer immersion program — now in itssixth year at St. Agnes Hospital — thatexposes state high school students to themany sides of the health care professions.

Participants — seven girls this year —spend five hours a day peeking in onsurgeries in the operating room, trainingfor adult and child CPR certification orshadowing physicians and nurses, dieti-cians and radiologists, and other staff.

Jones, who is one year shy of earningher bachelor’s degree in communityhealth from Hofstra University on LongIsland, N.Y., liked the camp so much she isback to help while she is interning thissummer in St. Agnes’ administrativedepartment. “I’d always thought aboutbeing a nurse, helping people and givingback to the community,” she said “Thisprogram sealed it for me.”

Each year, the program accepts the first12 applicants. Eighty dollars covers meals,materials, a medical scrub top and theCPR registration fee. Applicants, whocome from all over the state, are asked towrite a short essay about why they want tobe in the program.

“In our initial planning stages there wasa contest in the nursing department toname the camp,” said Michelle Slafkosky,the camp’s co-founder — with formercolleague Deborah Mello — and the hospi-tal’s manager of volunteer services. “Sincewe want students to see all the careers in ahospital, we didn’t want it to sound like anursing camp.”

Like the rest of her peers at lastTuesday’s intensive CPR training, 15-year-old Rebecca Rose, a home-schooled sopho-more from Baltimore, was dressed in ablue scrub top and beige khaki pants —attire similar to what health care profes-sionals wear everyday on the job.

Rose’s aunt and uncle work as a pediat-ric nurse and an anesthesiologist, respec-tively. Growing up around them inspiredher to consider a career in health care. ButCamp ECHO, she said, also opened hereyes to some of what she considers themore gruesome realities of the profession.

“The O.R. is cool, but I don’t think I wantto work there,” said Rose while taking ashort break from her CPR training. “Ican’t deal with all the blood. It’s just not forme.” She enjoyed visiting the orthopedicfloor during another group tour of thehospital, she said.

For Sade Handy, 15, nursing seems torun in the family. “Some of my aunts arenurses,” said Handy, a sophomore at ReachPartnership in Baltimore. “I like being inthe camp. It’s fun going to the differentunits, learning different things. I haven’tseen anything that I don’t like or that isn’tinteresting.”

Shannon Cummins’ mother is a cardiacnurse at St. Agnes. The 17-year-old Arun-del High School senior is seriously consid-ering becoming an emergency roomnurse. “I like the idea of caring for people Idon’t even know, and just helping people,”Cummins said.

Many of this year’s participants have yetto declare a college major, but the pro-gram’s directors and volunteers said oneof the goals is to lure students into thehealth care field early by showing themthe rewards and challenges of working onbehalf of others — and to steer sometoward a different profession better suitedto their talents and interests.

“We had one student who saw the O.R.room and decided she never wanted to stepfoot in there again,” said Joyce Hall with achuckle. A longtime registered nurse andthe hospital’s patient relations coordina-tor, Hall has worked with the camp since2004 and now coordinates the programwith Slafkosky. “That student went on tobecome a social worker.

“Everything we do here is optional,”

said Hall, adding that participants canchoose not to witness a live birth, viewin-progress knee surgeries or visit themorgue — activities offered at past camps.Hall prepares the curriculum, arrangeshospital tours and chooses guest present-ers such as Vonda Barber, last Tuesday’sCPR instructor from Health Quest Inc.

“I use the same lessons with these highschoolers that I use with adults,” saidBarber between drills, which involvedperforming procedures on a T-shirtedrubber dummy. Campers learned how toproperly pump its chest, perform mouth-to-mouth and check for consciousness byshaking its shoulders and shouting, “Areyou OK?” using real-life scenarios.

“What’s the first thing you need to dowhen deciding whether to do CPR onsomeone?” Barber asked the group duringone of their drills. Although they gave thecorrect answer — to check that “the sceneis safe” — they sounded like whisperingangels, and needed to be told by NyumaHarrison, an ER nurse at St. Agnes andprogram volunteer, to speak up.

“You have to say it!” said Harrison fromthe side of the room. Harrison teachesclinical skills courses at the CatholicUniversity of America in Washington andbrought her lesson plan to the camperslast Friday.

“You usually hear kids say they want tobe a surgeon or a pediatrician becausethat’s what they see on TV,” said Harrison.“It was good for them to see the food servicearea where we prepare patients’ meals.Every job at a hospital is important.”

Since 2004, 43 students have completedthe program. Slafkosky said she plans tocontact past campers to see how manychose the health care profession, one offew industries still thriving since therecession hit in late 2007.

“It was very beneficial for me,”saidJones, who plans to return to school for asecond degree in nursing.

Becky Rose, a 15-year-old from Baltimore County, practices compressions during her CPR course at Camp ECHO, which was held atSt. Agnes Hospital. For a week in July, high school students learn more about the various aspects of the health care profession.

TASHA TREADWELL/BALTIMORE SUN PHOTOS

CarevaluesCarevalues

At this camp, teenslearn the daily lives ofhealth professionals

Instructor Vonda Barber, above, explainsthe proper way to do CPR as high schoolstudents at Camp ECHO practice ondummies. At left, Shannon Cummins, 17,of Arundel High School practices using amask.

By Angela J. Bass ANGELA.BASS@BALTSUN.COM

■ The Lupus Foundation of Ameri-ca Greater Washington Chapter willhost a kickoff party from 4 p.m. to 8p.m. Saturday at Della Rose’s Tav-ern, 1501 S. Clinton St., Baltimore.Proceeds will benefit Baltimore’ssecond annual Walk for Lupus Now,to be held in September. Tickets are$15 per adult and $9 per child; $5 and$4 per ticket will benefit the up-coming walk. Go to baltimorelupuswalk.org.■ Laurel Regional Hospital and theLaurel Lions Club will hold a blooddrive in conjunction with theAmerican Red Cross from 2 p.m. to 8p.m. Aug. 4 in the hospital’s J.R.Jones Conference Room at 7300 VanDusen Road, Laurel. Appointmentscan be scheduled by calling 301-497-7914 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.Monday through Friday. Walk-insare welcome, but scheduled appoint-ments will be given priority.

EVENTS

Coxsackieviruses can cause manyclinical syndromes that overlap withother viruses, including common coldsymptoms, fever, sore throat, rashes, eyeinfections and diarrhea, says Dr. RobertAncona, chief of pediatrics at St. JosephMedical Center.

He writes that the three most identifi-able syndromes caused by coxsackievi-ruses are: acute hemorrhagic conjuncti-vitis, herpangina and hand, foot andmouth disease.■ Preschool-age children, especiallythose 1½ to 3 years old, are most at risk tocatch these viruses, though any age groupcan be affected, especially with acutehemorrhagic conjunctivitis. These vi-ruses are often passed around by afecal-to-mouth route or direct contactwith infected secretions from the mouthor eyes. Therefore, good hand washing, aswith many infectious illnesses, is ex-tremely important in preventing infec-

tions.■ The symptoms ofacute hemorrhagicconjunctivitis are pain-ful red eyes, tearing andswelling of the eyelids,usually within one tothree days of swimmingin a communal pool.Outbreaks with numer-ous cases usually occur.

Symptoms can last a week to 10 days.■ Herpangina usually produces a highfever (101 to 104 degrees), irritability,decreased appetite and multiple blistersor ulcers in the back of the throat.Younger children often drool more thannormal and their symptoms can last up toseven days, though older children mayrecover in three days.

Hand, foot and mouth disease hassimilar symptoms, plus a blistering rashon the hands, feet, and/or buttocks,

usually below the skin’s surface andwhich may begin as papules. The blistersare usually not painful.■ There is no specific treatment for any ofthe coxsackie syndromes. But the symp-toms can be treated, for example, withanalgesics for fever and pain and withfluids, especially cool ones, that mayrelieve throat pain. For conjunctivitis, trycool compresses for relief.■ Complications from these infectionsare uncommon, but for younger infantswho refuse to drink due to blisters in theirthroats, dehydration is a risk, so properfluids are very important. In rare cases,the abrupt onset of high fever can triggera febrile seizure in those who are suscep-tible. Most importantly, children arecontagious throughout the entire illnessand must not be in a school or communalsetting until all symptoms go away, whichcan be as long as a week.

Ancona

ASK THE EXPERT DR. ROBERT ANCONA, ST. JOSEPH MEDICAL CENTER

Syndromes of coxsackieviruses

Baltimore City health officials say fullhealth coverage is just an application awayfor nearly half of the city’s 100,000 unin-sured residents. But a surprising numberof them are not applying.

“Many people just don’t know about it,”said Kathleen Westcoat, president and chiefexecutive officer of Baltimore HealthCareAccess Inc., a city health agency connectingeligible families, singles and kids to sevenfree or low-cost managed care plans housedunder the Medicaid roof.

The agency enrolled 9,074 residents of itstarget 10,000 in one of its Medical Assist-ance for Families programs by the end ofJune, not counting those enrolled in itsother programs, for which the agency saidit does not have figures.

Because of the recession, the agencycan’t always afford the kind of advertisingit needs to attract more applicants. Usinggrant money, agency officials adopted anaggressive ad campaign, with an eyetoward Greenmount East, Druid Heights,Sandtown-Winchester and other neigh-borhoods that have been ravaged by pre-ventable diseases and infant mortality, andwhose residents have little to no access tomanaged care.

Agency officials hired Jeff Rasmussen,owner of In-Motion Advertising, to add afew “guerrilla marketing tactics” to itsmore traditional billboards approach. Ras-mussen said the tactics are meant to “reachpeople while they’re sitting on their stoop,walking to work and living their lives,”adding that billboards on the sides ofbuildings don’t mean as much to peoplefrom urban areas, where billboards areeverywhere.

“If that’s what it takes in this media-saturated society we live in, then that’swhat we’ll do,” Rasmussen said. “It’s my jobto get them to this point.”

Agency outreach workers reached thou-sands in the targeted neighborhoods withinformational door hangers shaped likeBand-Aids, inviting people to attend aninsurance enrollment health fair insideLexington Market last month. Others sawRasmussen’s canary yellow trucks flankedby giant scrolling ads roving the busiestblocks of their community. And someresidents simply found the fair whileshopping for groceries, with staffers fromradio station 92Q Jams enticing shopperswith free prizes. Hospital workers were alsoon hand, screening for high blood pressure,diabetes and prostate cancer, among othercommon ailments.

“Everyone has to grocery shop,” saidTherese McIntyre, the agency’s director ofcommunications and legislative affairs.“We were reaching people who wouldn’tnecessarily be in health settings.” A secondfair was held in the parking lot of Santoni’sSuper Market two weeks later.

Charles Lowther, 44, showed up at theLexington Market fair after outreach work-ers he met on the street handed him one ofthe door hangers. The Baltimore native waslaid off in October from his job as alumberyard forklift driver, leaving himwithout health coverage and easy access totreatment for the acid reflux disease hesuffers from. He’s training to become acertified mechanic in hopes of getting a jobwith benefits. “Honestly, I’m the type thatdon’t like handouts,” said the single fatherof two daughters in their 20s and an8-year-old son. “I like to earn what I have.”

June marked Lowther’s second attempt,however, to apply for the Primary AdultCare program, which covers prescriptions,mental health care and dental services.Enrollment in all programs — includingthe Medical Assistance for Families Pro-gram and the Maryland Children’s HealthProgram — is free.

With Lowther’s first attempt, he neverpaid the $12 fee to obtain a copy of his birthcertificate, one of the few documents agen-cy staffers need to determine eligibility.

For more information on insuranceplans and health fairs, call BaltimoreHealthCare Access at 410-649-0500 or 311.

Health teams go to peopleon their stoops, at markets By Angela BassANGELA.BASS@BALTSUN.COM

Reachingout to cityuninsured

CARE VALUES by Angela J. Bass I received a press release directly from a PR group about this health care camp for high school students. After tackling several tough stories, this one was a welcome change of pace. I was able to attend one of the camp days (CPR training day) at Saint Agnes Hospital and meet the instructors and participants. My greatest challenge was trying to encourage the seven female campers, all in their mid-teens, not to feel shy about talking to a newspaper reporter, as they took a while to come around and really start answering my questions. I also had the chance to take photos, though the staff photographer’s photos were the only ones published. Still, it was a great experience being able to consider the visual elements of my story and to try capturing that on location. The article was fun to write, and was probably my most quickly written feature (reported and written in a span of three days), so I’m most proud of that, being that I come from a long form magazine writing background. This article, which originally ran on July 20, 2009, has been reproduced in its entirety on our website with permission from The Baltimore Sun.