Neurologist joins Helena practice

A new neurologist will begin practicing in Helena next month.

Dr. Nicole Clark will begin accepting patients in July at St. Peter's Medical Group Broadway. Clark is moving to Helena from Salt Lake City where she recently completed a fellowship in clinical electrophysiology at the University of Utah.

She earned her medical degree and a bachelor of science degree in biochemistry with honors at the University of Missouri-Columbia. She completed both an internship and neurology residency at the University of Utah.

She is a member of the American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine, American Neurologist Association, and American Medical Association.

For an appointment, call 457-4180.

Family practitioner coming this autumn

Family practice physician Diane Nowak, M.D., will join St. Peter's Medical Group Broadway in September. She is moving to Helena from Oregon where she served as a primary care physician the past five years.

Nowak has also served as the County Health Officer in Baker City, Ore., and as an independent physician providing weekend and holiday coverage in Yuma, Haxtun, and Fort Collins, Colo.

She earned her medical degree at the University of Colorado health sciences Center in Bozeman and a bachelor of science degree in biological sciences at Montana State University. She completed her residency and internship at For Collins Family Medicine in Colorado.

For an appointment with Nowak, call 447-4180

WIC 'Sesame Street' join forces for new education campaign

According to Department of Public Health and Human Services officials, the state's Women, Infants and Children is rolling out its new Sesame Street Healthy Habits education campaign this month.

To help spotlight the new options to the WIC food package coming soon, WIC staff around the state will be distributing to participants a new multimedia packet featuring Sesame Street characters.

The new campaign takes a fun approach to fighting a serious problem. "Our challenge right now is to eliminate childhood hunger," said DPHHS director Anna Whiting Sorrell. "The WIC program does a great job of helping low-income mothers get their infants and children off to a healthy start and assist those nutritionally at-risk. I'm confident the message in this multimedia campaign will resonate with children and adults alike."

The Sesame Street's "Health Habits for Life: Get Healthy Now" kit features "The Get Healthy Now Show" that consists of a DVD and storybook starring Sesame Street characters Elmo, Telly and Rosita.

"The storybook is really geared to helping children get moving, get motivated and really engage in the idea that eating well and being active are fun," said Joan Bowsher, WIC supervisor for DPHHS. "And there's also information for parents and caregivers that include hands-on activities for everyday and on the go."

The "Healthy Habits for Life" booklet includes with quick and easy activities, read-along poems and cut-out recipe cards.

The WIC program is funded by the USDA and has about a $1 million a month food budget. In Montana, the WIC program is offered through 27 local agencies with services available to over 22,000 participants in all 56 counties and seven reservations. In addition, over 225 grocery stores accept WIC checks.

The program helps low-income families who meet the program qualifications. To qualify, a woman must be pregnant, breastfeeding, or recently had a baby. Age eligibility for infants is birth to 12 months, and a child up to five years old.

For more information call Bowsher at 444-4747.

AARP launches site for avoiding Medicare 'doughnut hole'

AARP is launching a new online resource to help older Americans avoid the so-called "doughnut hole" Medicare prescription coverage gap.

According to AARP, more than one million older Americans will have fallen into the coverage gap -- which leaves individuals on the hook for all their own drug costs while still paying premiums -- by the end of this summer.

The AARP Doughnut Hole Calculator, available at www.aarp.org/

doughnuthole, guides visitors through their prescription drug options using localized information about their plans and prescriptions to determine if or when they will fall into the coverage gap.

Visitors can view a graph of their out-of-pocket spending by month, look up lower cost drugs for their conditions, create a personal medication record and print out personalized letters to their doctors to help start a conversation about safely switching prescriptions.

The calculator is powered by DestinationRx as part of a special arrangement between AARP and Medicare. The data is the same used by the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Finder, giving users the most accurate and up-to-date drug pricing information available.

For details on AARP's health reform priorities, visit www.aarp.org/

governmentwatch.