Ticks are out in full force this summer. But on Long Island’s East End there is a new resource to address tick-borne related illnesses and prevention with Stony Brook Southampton Hospital Regional Tick-Borne Disease Center. The clinic opens on Aug. 14, treating children and adults.
Long Island experts regularly caution about exposure to ticks, and this year in no exception.
“This year is one of the worst for tick bites and tick-borne disease illnesses,” Dr. Sharon Nachman, chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital, said in a news release about the opening of the tick clinic. The children’s hospital is a study site for a pediatric study for a Phase 3 trial on a Lyme disease vaccine.
Tick-borne infections include Lyme disease, ehrlichiosis, anaplasmosis and babesiosis, according to Stony Brook.
Located inside the hospital’s Hampton Bays atrium, the center is clinically supported by a team of physicians and other infectious disease specialists from Stony Brook Medicine’s Meeting House Lane Medical Practice and Stony Brook Children’s Hospital.
The clinic is designed to diagnose and treat tick-borne related illnesses, but patients must first have an appointment. Patients will have the potential to participate in Stony Brook Medicine’s research studies. The center is next to the hospital’s lab services. The clinic also provides counseling on tick-bite prevention, tick identification, free tick removal kits and reference handbooks.
“A dedicated tick clinic is important to the health of our community and reinforces Stony Brook Medicine’s commitment to bring world-class healthcare, driven by evidence-based research, to the East End,” Nachman said.
The center’s suite was gifted for 10 years by Brian Kelly, the owner of East End Tick and Mosquito Control. The suite comprises a reception area, two exam rooms, two private offices for consults, and a nurse’s station.
Since 2015, Stony Brook Southampton Hospital’s Regional Tick-Borne Disease Resource Center has been operating a free tick help line (631) 726-TICK (8425). To date, the patient navigator, Rebecca Young, a registered nurse, has answered over 5,500 tick calls.
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