06/29/2016
11:15 am
Location
Spectrum Generations Coastal Community Center
521 Main St
Damariscotta
Event Type
LUNCH AND HEALTH
PREVENTING TICK –BORNE DISEASE WITH DR. CATHERINE CAVANAUGH SPECTRUM GENERATIONS COASTAL COMMUNITY CENTER
Spectrum Generations Coastal Community Center, 521 Main Street in Damariscotta will host its weekly lunch and learn program on Wednesday, June 29 at 11:15 a.m. Following the luncheon Dr. Catherine Cavanaugh, a physician with the Lincoln Medical Partners Internal Medicine Group at Lincoln County Healthcare will of insights regarding how community members can prevent tick-borne disease.
A generation ago, black flies and mosquitoes were the worst pests Mainers faced in the spring. Today, blacklegged or deer ticks, which first arrived in the state in the 1980s, are present in most of Maine. Deer ticks carry Lyme disease, which can cause debilitating symptoms if not caught at an early stage, and babesiosis and anaplasmosis, which can cause flu-like symptoms and potentially be deadly to the very young, the very old or people with impaired immune systems.
“It is a different world than it was when we were kids,” says Dr. Cavanaugh, “People shouldn’t modify their enjoyment of the outdoors, but they do need to be far more vigilant than they ever have been. Therefore, it is important that people be able to identify the deer tick and the symptoms of tick-borne diseases”. During her June 27 presentation Dr. Cavanaugh will discuss why each of us can do tick checks on a regular basis, how to remove ticks as quickly as one can and how to spot a tick related infection. According to Dr. Cavanaugh ticks tend to migrate to low traffic areas on the human body such as behind the knees, armpits, the groin area and the scalp. If a rash is present around a tick bite or an engorged deer tick is removed people should call their doctor immediately.
A desire to learn more about the body and how it heals led Dr. Catherine Cavanaugh to medical school after an undergraduate degree in Biomedical Science with an emphasis in Sports Medicine, but it was a desire to live in a rural community that brought her to Damariscotta.
Dr. Cavanaugh joined Dr. Catharine Cadigan and Family Nurse Practitioner Linda Brouwer at Lincoln Medical Partners Internal Medicine in august of 2015. Dr. Cavanaugh, who completed a dual residency in internal medicine and pediatrics at Maine Medical Center in Portland, will also practices pediatric medicine with Dr. Andrew Russ, Dr Joann Kaplan, and Dr. Steven Feder at Lincoln Medical Partners Pediatrics.Because she also completed a two-year fellowship in infectious diseases at Maine Medical Center, she will also be available to consult or treat patients with infectious diseases like recurring MRSA, HIV, or tick-borne illnesses and to consult with patients who are planning to travel to parts of the world where infectious diseases are a larger threat.
Luncheon Reservations are required. Please call 563-1363 by noon on Monday, June 27 to make your luncheon reservation (creamy chicken over rice). For those 60 years of age and over the suggested donation is $5.00 per person. For all other community members Coastal’s lunch and learn program is an affordable dining choice at $6.00 per person.
Can’t make it to lunch? Community members are always welcome to attend the Center’s Wednesday Learn portion of the day’s Lunch and Learn program, which will begin at noon. Developing good habits is particularly important on the Midcoast, where Lyme disease rates are among the highest in the country. Dr. Cavanaugh’s presentation on June 27 is the perfect time to learn how you can protect yourself and your family while still enjoying Maine’s great outdoors and your summer hobbies.
