CARIBOU, Maine — Cary Medical Center and Pines Health Services remind the community that the hospital and health centers are ready and able to serve everyday healthcare needs.
Because people were diligent in staying home and practicing physical distancing, many cancelled their appointments for wellness checks, annual screenings and regular doctor visits. In Aroostook County, said hospital staff, physical distancing has been successful, as the number of cases remain low. However, wellness checks, vaccines, and screenings are essential to maintaining health.
Health screenings like mammograms and colonoscopies are crucial for early detection and treatment of cancers. People with chronic illnesses need to be maintaining their regularly scheduled appointments to prevent complications. Parents may have even forgone taking their children for their annual wellness check-ups where scheduled vaccines were to be administered.
“A baby may be too young to be protected by vaccination, or others may not be able to receive certain vaccinations due to severe allergies or weakened immune systems,” said Lisa Caron, chief operating officer at Pines Health Services. “To help keep them safe, it is important that you and your children who are able to get vaccinated, receive those vaccines when scheduled.”
For more information on the vaccine schedule and the importance and safety of vaccines, visit www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents/.
Even eye exams and dental exams are critical to ensuring good health. Cary and Pines have been spacing out appointments, scheduling well checks at different times and locations of sick visits, and have added other options to increase safety and comfort for patients as they return.
“As many people have delayed care during this public health crisis, we want to make sure that they know that we are ready and able to serve them, just as we always have done and will continue to do,” said Kris Doody, R.N., CEO of Cary Medical Center. “We want to let our patients and community know that even as we continue to fight COVID-19, we are still here to care for them in every way, every day.”
For more information, call Pines toll free at 1-800-371-6240 or Cary Medical Center at 207-498-3111. Learn more about locations and services by visiting www.pineshealth.org and www.carymedicalcenter.org.
Submitted by the Community Relations and Development Office of Cary Medical Center/Pines Health Services.
