Henry Schein Cares donates flu vaccine

MELVILLE, New York--Henry Schein, a provider of health care products and services to office-based practitioners, has announced a donation of 1,300 doses of flu vaccine to the 2011 American Dental Association Annual Session held in Las Vegas, Nev. The donation was made through the company's global corporate social responsibility program, Henry Schein Cares. The donated flu vaccines were offered to dental team members who participated in the Health Screening Program at the ADA annual session, which helps dentists monitor and protect their health while making their offices safer for the dental team and patients. "Henry Schein Cares is pleased to 'help health happen' by promoting the health of dental team members through our donation of flu vaccine to this year's ADA Annual Session," said Stanley M. Bergman, chairman and chief executive officer of Henry Schein, Inc. "By receiving this vaccination, dental team members not only protect their own personal health, but also the health of their patients, families and co-workers."According to the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, more than 200,000 Americans are hospitalized and about 36,000 die from influenza-related complications each year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommend that while everyone should get a flu vaccine each flu season, it is especially important that certain people get vaccinated.They include pregnant women; children younger than 5, and especially children between 6 months and 2 years of age; people 50 years of age and older; people of any age with certain chronic medical conditions; people who live in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities; and people who live with or care for those at high risk for complications from flu. This includes health-care providers, household contacts of persons at high risk for complications from the flu, and household contacts and out-of-home caregivers of children less than 6 months of age.National Museum of Dentistry launches oral health resource for parents of autistic childrenDespite the CDC's recommendation that all health-care providers get an annual flu vaccine, they remain an under-vaccinated group with fewer than half of health care workers reporting getting vaccinated. The National Influenza Vaccine Summit notes that the vaccination of health-care providers has been shown to reduce influenza infection and absenteeism among health care providers, prevent mortality in their patients, and result in financial savings to sponsoring health institutions."The ADA is grateful to Henry Schein for the company's generous donation of the flu vaccine for dental team members at our annual meeting through Henry Schein Cares," said William R. Calnon, DDS, president of the ADA. "This donation underscores the shared commitment of the ADA and Henry Schein to promoting the health and well-being of ADA's members, and the importance of vaccination of dental team members to not only their own health, but their patients as well."Henry Schein, a leading distributor of influenza vaccine, has been involved in national influenza vaccine policy efforts for more than a decade.For more information, visit the Henry Schein Web site at www.henryschein.com.To comment on this topic, go to community.pennwelldentalgroup.com/.