Medical Matters Weekly Welcomes Leading Addiction Researcher on September 28
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Medical Matters Weekly Welcomes Leading Addiction Researcher on September 28

BENNINGTON, VT—September 21, 2022—The next guest on Medical Matters Weekly is Stephen T. Higgins, PhD, a national leader in addiction research and the director of the Vermont Center on Behavior & Health (VCBH) at the University of Vermont (UVM). The show airs on Facebook Live at 12 p.m. on Wednesday, September 28.

The show is produced by Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC) with cooperation from Catamount Access Television (CAT-TV). Viewers can view on facebook.com/svmedicalcenter and facebook.com/CATTVBennington. The show is also available to view or download as a podcast on svhealthcare.org/medicalmatters.

Dr. Higgins is principle investigator on multiple National Institutes of Health grants on the general topic of behavior and health, including a National Institute of General Medical Sciences’ Center for Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) award, a National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA)/Food and Drug Administration’s Tobacco Centers of Regulatory Science (TCORS) award, and a NIDA institutional training award. He is the Virginia H. Donaldson Endowed Professor of Translational Science in the departments of psychiatry and psychological science at UVM and serves as vice chair of psychiatry.

Dr. Higgins’ research centers around behavioral economics and behavioral pharmacology to investigate tobacco, substance use, and other health-related risk behaviors in vulnerable populations. His projects focus on examining mechanisms underpinning vulnerability to tobacco and other risk behaviors, treatment interventions to reduce them and improve health outcomes, and regulatory science. He is the author of more than 425 journal articles and invited book chapters and editor of a dozen volumes and therapist manuals in behavior and health.

VCBH is an interdisciplinary research center committed to investigating relationships between personal behavior patterns (i.e., lifestyle) and risk for chronic disease and premature death. Their work has historically focused on health disparities for the most vulnerable populations, particularly among the socioeconomically disadvantaged where these risk factors are overrepresented.

Medical Matters Weekly features the innovative personalities who drive positive change within health care and related professions. The show addresses all aspects of creating and maintaining a healthy lifestyle for all, including food and nutrition, housing, diversity and inclusion, groundbreaking medical care, exercise, mental health, the environment, research, and government.

The show is broadcast on Facebook Live, YouTube, and all podcast platforms. After the program, the video is available on area public access television stations CAT-TV (Comcast channel 1075) and GNAT-TV's (Comcast channel 1074), as well as on public access stations throughout the United States.

About SVHC:
Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC) is a comprehensive, preeminent, healthcare system providing exceptional, convenient, and affordable care to the communities of Bennington and Windham Counties of Vermont, eastern Rensselaer and Washington Counties of New York, and northern Berkshire County in Massachusetts. SVHC includes Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), Southwestern Vermont Regional Cancer Center, the Centers for Living and Rehabilitation, and the SVHC Foundation. SVMC includes 25 primary and specialty care practices.

Southwestern Vermont Health Care is among the most lauded small rural health systems in the nation. It is the recipient of the American Hospital Association’s 2020 Rural Hospital Leadership Award. In addition, SVMC ranked fourth nationwide for the value of care it provides by the Lown Institute Hospital Index in 2020 and is a five-time recipient of the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet® recognition for nursing excellence. The health system is fortunate to have the support of platinum-level corporate sponsor Mack, a leading supplier of contract manufacturing services and injection molded plastic parts based in Arlington, VT.

Southwestern Vermont Medical Center provides exceptional care without discriminating on the basis of an individual’s age, race, ethnicity, religion, culture, language, physical or mental disability, socioeconomic status, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression. Language assistance services, free of charge, are available at 1-800-367-9559.

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The Latest Testing Information

The world of COVID-19 testing is very complex and changing rapidly. But gratefully, unlike early on in the pandemic, tests are available for everyone who wants one, whether they have symptoms or not. Below is a list of common questions, along with answers from SVMC’s Laboratory Services Director Karen Bond and SVMC’s Director of Perioperative Services Tanya Cowder, MSN, RN, CNOR.

What are the reasons someone may get tested for COVID-19, even if they don't have symptoms? People without symptoms of COVID-19 are being tested when they are admitted to SVMC, before being discharged to other facilities, before scheduled surgeries, or because they may have been exposed to the virus. Primary care providers are also able to order a test for those who need to return to work or school or to end quarantine or isolation. And anyone can be tested through the Vermont Department of Health's Pop-Up Clinics.

What types of tests are available for detecting active cases of COVID-19? SVMC offers Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing that is processed at both outside labs and our own lab, depending on how quickly results are needed. PCR, which was pioneered by American biochemist Kary Mullis in 1983, actually amplifies and detects the presence or absence of small gene sections. In this case, it determines whether or not COVID-19 is present.

The specimen is most often taken from deep in the nose-throat passageway (nasalpharyngeal). Patients experience eye watering and a burning sensation for 30 seconds or less. The test can also be taken from inside the nose (anterior nares), depending on the patient population. The most common type of test, like those administered both at SVMC’s drive-up testing station and at the Vermont Department of Health’s Pop-Up Clinics, is greater than 90% sensitive (meaning that the test picks up the virus, if it is present) and greater than 90% specific (meaning the test detects the COVID-19 virus, as opposed to other viruses).

How do I get my results and what should I do? Results are usually provided by a primary care provider within 48 hours. Your primary care provider will share specific directions regarding what you should do next. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is sharing this table, which provides a synopsis of tests, what results mean, and guidance for what to do. If the test is positive, the Vermont Department of Health may call before the primary care provider to initiate contact tracing.

Are all of the tests sufficiently available? Yes. Anyone with an order from their primary care provider can be tested at the drive-up testing site at SVMC. Anyone can be tested at the Vermont Department of Health's Pop-Up Clinics. Visit https://humanresources.vermont.gov/popups for times, dates, and locations. Tests for inpatients at the hospital are also in adequate supply.

Important Note: Remember test results offer a snap shot of the current active viral load. A negative test result doesn’t reveal whether you have been exposed in the past or predict whether you will be infected in the future. Whether or not the result is positive, we should all continue to wash our hands frequently, wear masks when in public and in proximity to those outside of our household, and stay 6 feet from others.

What about antibody tests? Antibody tests (serology) are also available. It does not tell you if you have active disease. Antibody tests check for antibodies that appear in the blood between about 1 – 3 weeks after symptom onset and may remain as long as a lifetime. Antibody tests may be positive while a person is infected. It is not yet known whether these antibodies protect against reinfection with the COVID-19 virus. For many other similar viruses, antibodies are protective for years or longer, but we do not yet have adequate data to know for COVID-19. Patients who would like the test would get a referral from their primary care provider and come to the SVMC Lab to have blood drawn. Results are delivered by the primary care provider.

Those who receive a positive antibody test or who have recovered from COVID-19 may qualify to donate plasma with the American Red Cross. The plasma, which includes antibodies, may help those fighting the disease. Learn more at https://www.redcrossblood.org/donate-blood/dlp/plasma-donations-from-recovered-covid-19-patients.html.

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