Upcoming Lunch and Learn
to offer two topics
PRESQUE ISLE — Attendees at TAMC’s November Lunch and Learn/Healthy Aging Luncheon will get to hear about the latest advances in two different areas in health care at this month’s event scheduled for Monday, Nov. 18 at 11 a.m. at the Presque Isle Inn and Convention Center.
Dr. Gary Wikert, a TAMC urologist, will share with attendees the latest treatment options and procedures available for addressing urologic conditions and discuss some of the warning signs. 
Since his arrival earlier this year, some procedures, new to Aroostook County, have been added at TAMC. Several of those procedures are performed in TAMC’s new urology practice office, located on the main level of the Millennium Medical Office Building on the A. R. Gould Memorial Hospital campus.
Dr. Wikert joined TAMC’s urology services alongside Robert Hunt, PA-C. He has been board certified since 1984 by the American Board of Urology.
Dr. Wikert has special interest in urinary stone disease, prostate disease, and urinary incontinence in both women and men. He performs urology surgical procedures such as vasectomy, cystoscopy and ultrasound-guided prostate biopsy that are carried out in the new procedure room located within the privacy of the office suite.
He earned his medical degree from Medical College of Georgia in Augusta. He completed his residency at Brooke Army Medical Center in Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Prior to relocating to Maine, he most recently operated his own private practice in Crossville, Tenn. for 12 years. His practice at TAMC offers both conservative and surgical treatment of most urologic conditions.
In addition to hearing from Dr. Wikert, community members will also hear about the latest efforts to address the statewide increase in cases of the bacterium that causes colitis. TAMC Infection Prevention Coordinator Jennifer Tweedie, RN will lead the presentation detailing what clostridium difficile, or C. difficile, is, how it spreads and what is being done to combat it.
The presentation will serve as the second in TAMC’s two-part Boone Lecture Series for 2013. A conference for medical providers on C. difficile was hosted by TAMC in late June. The keynote speaker at that event was Maine State Epidemiologist Dr. Stephen Sears. The upcoming presentation will be more geared toward community members. 
C. difficile is a bacterium that causes inflammation of the colon, known as colitis. The elderly population, along with individuals who have illnesses or conditions requiring long-term antibiotic use, are at great risk of acquiring this disease. C. difficile infection results from individuals contacting the bacteria on surfaces they touch, thus introducing it to their system.
C. difficile is considered a health care-associated infection (HAI) that affects the entire nation. Approximately 14,000 American deaths are linked to C. difficile infection each year. According to the Center for Disease Control, clostridium difficile spores can live outside the human body for a very long time and may be found on things in the environment such as bed linens, bed rails, bathroom fixtures and medical equipment. Infection can spread from person-to-person on contaminated equipment and on the hands of doctors, nurses other health care providers and visitors.
“C. difficile is a concern because of the growing number of cases in Aroostook County, the state, and the nation as a whole. It is an emerging hospital-acquired infection,” said Tweedie. “My goal is to provide attendees with the most up-to-date information from the state’s leading experts in the field, to inform them about what we are doing at TAMC to keep patients safe, and what patients themselves can do to prevent the spread of C. difficile.
“Though clostridium difficile is considered a health care-associated infection, it can be acquired in the community, as well. It is considered an HAI because there is a potential for patients to come into contact with this organism while in the hospital, which is commonly populated by the immunocompromised or elderly,” she said.
TAMC’s Boone Lecture Series, now in its 31st year, is dedicated in memory of the late Dr. Storer Boone, a well-known physician who served central Aroostook for many years.
In addition to the two presentations, participants will enjoy a turkey dinner prepared and served by the Presque Isle Inn and Convention Center.
Cost for the program and meal is $10 per person. Members enrolled in TAMC’s Senior Connection program only pay $5. For more information about the event, or to reserve a seat, call 768-4171.
