November 04, 2009 - For Immediate Release
Contact:	Perry Drake Media Relations	Anne Dillon Director, Media Relations (708) 216-8232

LOYOLA TO HOST SYMPOSIUM ON H1N1 FLU, REGULAR SEASONAL FLU

Event will focus on infection control, impact of diagnostic testing, preparedness and reporting and surveillance

MAYWOOD, Ill. -- With the looming threat of both the H1N1 flu (also known as "swine flu") and the regular seasonal flu, area health officials fear that the worst may be in store this coming flu season. To help prepare for the worst, Loyola University Medical Center will host a symposium of infectious disease researchers and physicians from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 6. The event will take place in Room 2812 of the Maguire Center on the campus of Loyola University Medical Center, 2160 S. First Ave., Maywood. Member of the media are welcome to attend. The symposium will feature infectious disease specialists from Loyola, the Cook County Department of Public Health and the John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County. Topics will include infection control, the importance of vaccines and diagnostic testing and surveillance and reporting methods. The agenda and speakers will include: * 9:30-9:45 a.m. –Welcome and opening remarks * 9:45-10:45 a.m. – Dr. Susan I. Gerber, Cook County Department of Public Health, on Novel H1N1: Infection Control Considerations * 10:45-11:45 a.m. – Paul Schreckenberger, Ph.D., Loyola University Medical Center, on Impact of Novel H1N1 Influenza on Diagnostic Testing * 11:45 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. – Lunch (provided) * 12:45-1:45 p.m. – Dr. Sharon F. Welbel, John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, on Influenza Preparedness at an Inner-City Public, Teaching Hospital * 1:45-2:45 p.m. – Megan Patel, MPH, Cook County Department of Public Health, on Influenza Testing, Reporting and Surveillance * 2:45-3 p.m. – Closing remarks Photos and interview opportunities are available. Park in the Russo parking lot or garage near the main Hospital Entrance No. 2 off First Avenue. Meet Media Service at Guard Desk in corridor after entering hospital. For more information, contact Perry Drake in the media relations division of Loyola at (708) 216-7940, on his cell phone at (708) 441-7736 or call (708) 216-9000 and have him paged.

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Based in the western suburbs of Chicago, Loyola University Health System is a quaternary care system with a 61-acre main medical center campus, the 36-acre Gottlieb Memorial Hospital campus and 28 primary and specialty care facilities in Cook, Will and DuPage counties. The medical center campus is conveniently located in Maywood, 13 miles west of the Chicago Loop and 8 miles east of Oak Brook, Ill. The heart of the medical center campus, Loyola University Hospital, is a 569-licensed-bed facility. It houses a Level 1 Trauma Center, a Burn Center and the Ronald McDonald� Childrens Hospital of Loyola University Medical Center. Also on campus are the Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, Loyola Outpatient Center, Center for Heart & Vascular Medicine and Loyola Oral Health Center as well as the LUC Stritch School of Medicine, the LUC Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing and the Loyola Center for Fitness. Loyola's Gottlieb Memorial Hospital campus in Melrose Park includes the 264-bed community hospital, the Gottlieb Center for Fitness and the Marjorie G. Weinberg Cancer Care Center.

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