February 12, 2004

Center aids traveling patients

Travel Medicine & Immunization Center serves patients on or returning from trips abroad

The Northwestern Medical Faculty Foundation has opened a Travel Medicine & Immuni-zation Center that specializes in the prevention of travel-related and vaccine-preventable illnesses.

“The center’s mission is to help patients stay healthy while traveling abroad through individualized consultation with experienced travel experts,” said Teresa Zembower, M.D., medical director of the center.

“The center also provides consultations and medical referrals if illnesses arise after the traveler returns home,” Zembower said.

There are more than 40 countries that can pose serious health risks for travelers, according to the U.S. State Department. From malaria to the common flu bug, the risk of becoming ill with an infectious disease increases during travel.

The Travel Medicine & Immunization Center specializes in the prevention of illnesses including typhoid, hepatitis (A and B) and tetanus/diphtheria. The center is also a certified yellow fever vaccine center.

Education, customized health care plans, immunizations and medication recommendations tailored to the traveler’s itinerary can minimize the risk of commonly encountered health problems that may occur during travel, Zembower said. A comprehensive traveler’s health handbook is distributed to all travelers seen at the center.

The center provides consultations and medical referrals to infectious disease specialists if illnesses arise after the traveler returns home.

The center has developed a Web site at www.nmff.org/travelmedicine, to assist travelers in researching the required and recommended immunizations for their destinations before embarking on international travel. The site has a link to the division of infectious diseases at the Feinberg School of Medicine, whose board-certified faculty provide medical direction to the center.

Visitors to the site will have access to a pre-screening questionnaire that will help identify their individual pre-travel medical needs.

Michele Till, M.D., serves as associate medical director of the center. Karen Carson and Roberta Al-Khatib comprise the nursing staff with a combined experience of more than 22 years in travel health education and immunization administration.

For information on the Travel Medicine & Immuni-zation Center, call (312) 695-1888 or visit www.nmff.org/travelmedicine.

The Northwestern Medical Faculty Foundation is the faculty group medical practice of the Feinberg School of Medicine.