An Important Message to All Registrants - Weather and Atlanta

The CME/CE Symposium, Adolescent Immunization: A New Focus on the Next Generation, will proceed as planned, Tuesday, March 18th at the Georgia Aquarium, Oceans Ballroom, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM. Shuttle service is available for attendees to and from the Hilton Atlanta and the Georgia Aquarium. Pick-up at the Hilton Atlanta will begin at 5:30 PM from the Harris Street entrance of the hotel, corner of Courtland and Harris Streets. We look forward to your participation!

PLACE

Georgia Aquarium, Oceans Ballroom
225 Baker Street
Atlanta, Georgia

DATE and TIME

Tuesday, March 18, 2008
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

 

 

Program Description
Adolescent Immunization: A New Focus on the Next Generation will educate attendees about recommendations for combating vaccine-preventable disease in adolescents and discuss practical and effective measures for achieving compliance with those recommendations. This program will cover recent changes to the adolescent immunization schedule from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; the morbidity and mortality caused by meningitis, pertussis, human papillomavirus, and other diseases; the role unvaccinated adolescents play in disease transmission; obstacles to immunizing adolescents; and specific strategies and resources that can be used to increase vaccination coverage rates in this age-group.

Program Moderator
Joseph Domachowske, MD
Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Microbiology
  and Immunology
SUNY Upstate Medical University
Syracuse, New York 		Activity Director
Ira M. Leviton, MD, FACP
Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Attending Physician
Division of Infectious Diseases
Montefiore Medical Center
Bronx, New York
Faculty
Thad R. Wilson, APRN, PhD
Associate Dean and Associate Professor
University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Nursing
Kansas City, Missouri 		Consulting Faculty
Clemencia Wong, RNC, MEd
Division of Education and Organizational Development
Montefiore Medical Center
Bronx, New York

INTENDED Audience
The intended audience will include physicians and nurse practitioners, as well as local, state, federal, and private-sector immunization specialists.

Learning Objectives
At the conclusion of this activity, participants should be able to:

  • Describe at least 3 vaccine-preventable diseases that cause significant morbidity in the adolescent population
  • Explain the role of adolescents in transmission of disease to other sectors of the population
  • List 3 vaccines added to the adolescent immunization schedule since 2005 and discuss optimal timing for their administration
  • Identify 4 or more barriers to immunizing adolescents
  • Discuss at least 4 specific strategies for improving immunization rates among adolescents

    AGENDA
    6:00 – 6:55 PM            Registration and Dinner
    6:55 – 7:00 PM            Welcome and Introduction
    7:00 – 7:25 PM            Adolescents and Vaccine-Preventable Disease: Vulnerable Vectors - Joseph Domachowske, MD
    7:25 – 7:45 PM            Improving Adolescent Immunization Rates: Overcoming Obstacles - Thad R. Wilson, APRN, PhD
    7:45 – 8:00 PM            Question-and-Answer Session

    REGISTRATION INFORMATION
    If you have questions regarding registration for this symposium, please contact the registration hotline at 800.636.1668.


    TRANSPORTATION INFORMATION
    Shuttle service will be available for attendees to and from the Hilton Atlanta and the Georgia Aquarium. Pick-up at the Hilton Atlanta will begin at 5:30 PM from the Harris Street entrance of the hotel, corner of Courtland and Harris Streets.  Dispatchers will be on-site to provide assistance.

    Participants’ Special Needs: Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center fully intend to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. If you require special assistance, please submit your request in writing thirty (30) days in advance of the activity to Gina Domanico, c/o Haymarket Medical Education LP at 25 Philips Parkway, Suite 105, Montvale, NJ 07645.  If you require any special dietary accommodations, please contact our representatives at 800.636.1668, ext. 101.

    NEEDS STATEMENT
    Adolescence is a time of heightened risk for vaccine-preventable disease. Immunity from childhood pertussis immunization may be waning; new behaviors increase the likelihood of exposure to human papillomavirus (HPV) and hepatitis; and dormitory life makes college students particularly vulnerable to meningococcal meningitis. Morbidity caused by these and other vaccine-preventable diseases—including influenza and varicella—is significant.

    In the case of meningococcal disease, for example, 20% of the 1,400 to 2,800 cases that occur annually in the United States are among people 14 to 24 years of age.1 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that up to 19% of patients of any age who survive this infection have permanent sequelae, such as limb loss, hearing loss, and neurologic disability.2 A study of cases in Maryland found an unexpectedly high case-fatality ratio among adolescents and young adults: nearly a quarter of patients 15 through 24 years of age with meningococcal disease died of the infection.3

    Immunization of adolescents not only prevents deaths and lifelong complications of disease but also reduces transmission of infection to vulnerable populations at both ends of the age spectrum—young infants and the elderly alike. Ensuring compliance with the adolescent immunization schedule can be a challenge, however, especially with the addition of several new vaccines to the the schedule in recent years. According to estimates for 2006, only 11% of adolescents aged 13-17 years had received a dose of tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid and acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine, and just 12% had received a dose of meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MCV4).4 Barriers to adolescent immunization are numerous and include fewer well visits during the teenage years, lack of time and transportation, and issues related to parental consent.

    Clinicians and those working in public health need to fully understand the impact of vaccine-preventable disease in adolescents and the latest CDC immunization recommendations, as well as obstacles to compliance and ways to overcome them. Knowing the range of strategies that can be used to improve immunization coverage in adolescents can help move communities toward the Healthy People 2010 goal of a 90% immunization rate for this age group.

    References
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Factsheet Meningococcal Disease and Meningococcal Vaccines (April 2005). Available at: www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/mening/vac-mening-fs.htm. Accessed Nov. 29, 2007.
    2. CDC. Prevention and control of meningococcal disease. Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). MMWR. 2005;54(RR-7):1-21.
    3. Harrison LH, Pass MA, Mendelsohn AB, et al. Invasive meningococcal disease in adolescents and young adults. JAMA. 2001;286:694-699.
    4. CDC. National vaccination coverage among adolescents aged 13-17 years—United States, 2006. MMWR. 2007;56(34):885-888.

    Physician accreditation
    The activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and Policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through joint sponsorship of Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, and Haymarket Medical Education LP. Albert Einstein College of Medicine is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

    Albert Einstein College of Medicine designates this educational activity for a maximum of one (1) AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)TM. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

    nursing accreditation
    This educational activity has been approved by the Montefiore Medical Center, Division of Education and Organizational Development, an approved provider of continuing nursing education by the New York State Nurses Association, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.

    It has been assigned approval code 6T5LUE-PRV-101.

    CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT
    The “Conflict of Interest Disclosure Policy” of Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center requires that faculty participating in any CME/CE activity disclose to the audience any relationship(s) with a pharmaceutical or equipment company. Any presenters whose disclosed relationships prove to create a conflict of interest with regard to their contribution to the activity will not be permitted to present.

    The Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center also require that faculty participating in any CME/CE activity disclose to the audience when discussing any unlabeled or investigational use of any commercial product or device not yet approved for use in the United States.

      Sponsored by Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center  

    This activity is made possible by an unrestricted educational grant from Sanofi Pasteur Inc.

    Coordinated by Haymarket Medical Education LP