Tags Posts tagged with "Susan Donelan"

Susan Donelan

Doctors warn against swimming in brackish water and advise wearing protective gear when handling raw shellfish, among other safety measures to guard against vibrio vulnificus. Photo from CDC

In mid-August, Suffolk County recorded its first death in seven years from vibrio vulnificus, often referred to as “flesh-eating bacteria.”

A man over the age of 55 who had underlying health conditions was admitted to a local hospital with a leg wound and chest pain in July. He died the following month due to a bacterial infection.

Dr. Susan Donelan, medical director of health care epidemiology at Stony Brook Medicine. Photo from Stony Brook Medicine/Jeanne Neville

“People that are at risk should be more aware” of an infection they can get from raw shellfish or brackish water, said Dr. Susan Donelan, medical director of health care epidemiology at Stony Brook Medicine. That includes people who have liver disease, poorly controlled diabetes, are considered immune suppressed because of a condition or are taking medication that can cause immune suppression.

At the same time, Connecticut reported that three people died from contracting the potentially deadly bacteria. Two of them died from wound infections, the third contracting the bacteria from handling raw oysters.

To be sure, most people are not vulnerable to contracting the disease or from its effects.

“The general public is not at an increased risk,” said Donelan. “In most cases, [infections] are mild or moderate.”

Those who might be vulnerable to vibrio can avoid it by not handling or eating raw or undercooked shellfish, staying away from shellfish juices, covering up wounds or not swimming in brackish waters.

People can shuck shellfish with gloves to minimize any injuries to their hands and can wash their hands before and after coming in contact with raw shellfish.

“Some people like putting raw oyster juice into different drinks,” Donelan said. “You want to avoid doing that.”

Area doctors and health officials urged people with wounds — which could include cuts, new body piercings or tattoos — to avoid swimming in brackish or salt water.

“The bacteria thrives in brackish water, where fresh water meets ocean water,” Dr. Gregson Pigott, Suffolk County health commissioner, said in an email. “It would be best to avoid those waters if you have an open wound or a chronic health condition.”

Donelan also suggested that people who go in the water with such wounds cover them up with a waterproof bandage.

Symptoms

People who contract vibrio typically develop a host of symptoms.

These can include “diarrhea, abdominal cramps, nausea and vomiting,” Pigott explained.

Dr. Gregson Pigott, commissioner of the Suffolk County Department of Health Services. File photo

Symptoms from consuming raw shellfish can start within 24 hours of a meal. A person exposed  through their skin can develop a blistering skin or soft tissue infection.

Pigott urged residents to seek help for gastrointestinal symptoms or a worsening skin infection.

Those who are unable to drink enough fluids to counterbalance the losses through the gastrointestinal tract could become dehydrated, doctors warned.

Lightheadedness and hypotensive appearances can be a warning sign that residents should seek medical help.

Wounds may become red, hot and tender with streaky marks leading away from them. These are “all concerning things” that might signal an infection, Donelan said.

People generally know how quickly cuts heal. A cut that gets visibly worse quickly, which could include blistering of the skin with a bolus that looks like murky fluid or blood beneath it should be “very concerning signs,” Donelan added.

Knowing that the bacteria is present in Long Island Sound and being aware of it could help people prevent exposure or react early to an infection.

This summer, area hospitals have not reported an unusual number of infections, according to Donelan.

Doctors said the bacteria typically lives in waters between 50 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit, which means that the longer the waters remain warm amid a hot summer and warming climate, the more likely the bacteria will be prevalent in waters around the Island.

Illness and travel

At this time of year, residents return from their seasonal travels. They sometimes bring unwanted microorganisms such as viruses or bacteria with them.

Health care professionals urged residents to notify their doctors about their travels prior to getting sick, so doctors can get an idea of where and how they might have contracted an illness.

When people return from cruises, plane trips or other travel, they should “help the emergency departments become aware of where they’ve been,” Donelan said.

Stony Brook University Hospital

Previously invisible to most of the public, the infectious disease team at Stony Brook Medicine took center stage from the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 through today as area residents have battled COVID-19 and other diseases.

With a peak of over 500 people hospitalized at Stony Brook University Hospital with COVID-19 in 2020, the combination of Drs. Bettina Fries, Susan Donelan and Sharon Nachman provided best practices to protect hospital staff and patients, gathered information about the developing virus and communicated through the media with a public desperate for information.

Working with teams of other dedicated health care professionals, these infectious disease doctors helped treat and save numerous patients.

TBR News Media is pleased to name Fries, Donelan and Nachman as People of the Year for 2022.

“Stony Brook Hospital got all kinds of kudos during the height of the pandemic,” said Dr. Jonathan Buscaglia, chief medical officer at Stony Brook University Hospital. “When you’re going through a hurricane crisis, you need somebody who has a clue about hurricanes to lead you. Those people were our leaders.”

At the time, the team of infectious disease doctors impressed their colleagues not only with their effectiveness, but also with their tireless work.

“When COVID happened, it was a calling” for these infectious disease experts, Buscaglia said.

In the beginning of the disease, little was known about the most effective treatment, which meant doctors from several departments came together to create a standard protocol.

The infectious disease faculty “contributed significantly” to develop these practices, said Dr. Vincent Yang, chair of Medicine at the Renaissance School of Medicine at SBU.

Dr. Bettina Fries. Photo from Stony Brook Medicine

Dr. Bettina Fries, the chief who served on the front lines

Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Stony Brook Medicine, Fries is a “nationally if not world-renowned physician scientist,” Buscaglia said.

As with her colleagues, Fries works directly with sick residents.

Fries “100% served on the front lines to care for all the hospitalized patients with COVID,” said Buscaglia, which included working seven days a week for weeks on end. She guided her staff and helped other physicians.

Early on, Fries was also “instrumental in getting a manufacturer of face masks to donate a significant number to the hospital,” Yang said. This was a key part of the personal protective equipment that had been scarce during the unsettled early part of the pandemic.

Yang described her as “highly motivated, energetic and forward thinking” and believes she is a “wonderful leader” who is detail oriented. Fries provides clear expectations for people who work for her and is an avid educator, Yang added.

As an expert in using monoclonal antibodies to treat various bacterial infections, Fries helped direct an effective therapy using these antibodies for COVID patients, according to Yang.

Fries and her team were also involved in consulting on patients, not just for COVID but also for secondary infections, Yang said.

Connie Kraft, emergency manager in the Emergency Management Office at SBUH, described Fries as “very personable” and appreciates how she studies scientific data to crunch the numbers.

Dr. Susan Donelan. Photo from Stony Brook Medicine

Dr. Susan Donelan, a ‘hero’ who lost sleep to help patients

Donelan, who earned her bachelor of science degree from SBU, is medical director of Healthcare Epidemiology at Stony
Brook Medicine.

In addition to caring for patients, Donelan also worked to avoid the spread of COVID at the hospital, reducing the risk to staff and to Long Islanders who came to the hospital for other medical needs.

“We don’t want patients coming in without COVID getting it while they’re here,” Buscaglia said. “It takes a special person to guide the rest of us.”

The hospital established a forward triage effort, which provided an initial assessment of COVID patients outside the hospital.

Kraft appreciated Donelan’s commitment to safety throughout the halls of the hospital.

“If you’re somebody who is walking down the corridor and your mask is hanging off your face, [Donelan] didn’t care who you are. She’s going to stop you and say, ‘Hey, pull your mask up,’” Kraft said.

As a subject-matter expert, Donelan was “our hero,” Kraft added.

Specializing in the latest treatments and symptoms, Donelan also helps faculty and staff with medical questions.

When Kraft’s grandson was sick, she asked Donelan for advice.

“She was right there, giving me support,” Kraft said, which gave “everybody a sense of calm.”

A tireless worker, Donelan often appeared on Zoom calls even during her time off.

She “doesn’t stop thinking about ways to help patients,” Buscaglia said. She “literally loses sleep about it.”

Dr. Sharon Nachman. Photo by Stony Brook Medicine

Dr. Sharon Nachman, active in front of the camera and behind the scenes

Nachman, who earned her medical degree at SBU, is chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Stony Brook Children’s.

Often visible during her appearances on local broadcast news channels and in numerous local publications, including TBR News Media, Nachman is committed to ensuring the public receives accurate information.

“Giving people information about why it’s important to wear masks, wash their hands and get vaccinated, those are the things that affect the community,” said Dr. Carolyn Milana, chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Stony Brook Children’s.

Even though Nachman is a pediatrician and works at the children’s hospital, she, like so many other doctors, helps wherever it is needed, which in the early days included caring for adults.

Nachman was “instrumental from the adult and pediatric perspective making sure we had the latest and updated information about how to treat those patients,” Milana said. “She and her team were out there [checking] on all the patients to make sure they were all cared for the same.”

In addition to helping to get COVID vaccine trials up and running at Stony Brook, she has been active in trials to treat monkeypox.

Milana appreciates Nachman’s approach to children and their parents.

“She’s super friendly with kids,” Milana said. “She’ll tell you the facts as they are. She’s straightforward with parents. She wants them to have all the information they need to make the right decisions.”