THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, November 18, 1994 TAG: 9411160126
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: L1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Pam Starr
LENGTH: Long : 127 lines
``Do you want to end up in a nursing home?''
Chilling words, but Veronica Griffith doesn't believe in mincing the truth.
When the geriatric nurse practitioner visits home-bound seniors in Portsmouth, she gets straight to the point. Painfully so, at times.
``All you do is sit around and watch TV all day,'' she's been known to say. ``You get no stimulation, no exercise. Don't you know that you're responsible for your health?''
Griffith, 39 and a resident of Wesleyan Pines, has been working as a geriatric nurse practitioner for only a year and a half, but she has impressed both clients and colleagues with her unswerving dedication to the elderly. As a result, Griffith was given the 1994 Gerontological Nurse of Excellence Award by the Virginia Nurses Association. She was chosen over dozens of candidates from 13 districts across the state.
Micah Scott, family nurse practitioner at Virginia Beach Family Practice, nominated Griffith because Griffith is ``extremely devoted'' to the elderly population.
``Veronica is one of the most resourceful people I know,'' said Scott. ``She's just doing a dynamic job. If I could do half of what she does I'd be happy. Her patients do love her.''
And she loves them back. It was Griffith's responsibility, as a first-year practitioner, to develop programs for the Geriatric Assessment & Resource Center for Eastern Virginia Medical School at Portsmouth Family Medicine. Her main question when she started: What are the health needs of the seniors?
For the answer, Griffith visited social service agencies, subsidized housing complexes, recreation centers, the health department - any place where seniors are served - and talked to as many people as possible.
She conducted home visits and health fairs, produced a geriatric resource directory for the city, lectured on geriatrics to nurse practitioner students and doctors, developed conferences on aging for city personnel and provided health education at nutrition sites and senior housing complexes.
Actually, Griffith still performs these duties and much more. She somehow finds the time to serve on several professional boards and belong to numerous community organizations. Griffith also speaks at statewide conferences on Alzheimer's disease and assessment of the older adult.
As if that's not enough, the married mother of two teenagers regularly visits the elderly for the Eastern Shore Rural Elderly Wellness program through the Old Dominion University nursing department.
``I have a special love for the elderly,'' said Griffith, a native of the Philippines who graduated from nursing school in 1986 and became a family nurse practitioner in June 1993. She passed the gerontological nurse practitioner examination this summer and is still ``in shock'' about winning the award. But this is not a first for her. While working toward a master of science degree from ODU as family nurse practitioner, Griffith received the Helen Yura-Petro Award for Excellence in Nursing.
Arrogant she is not, however.
``There are a lot of good nurses in geriatrics,'' said Griffith. ``I just got lucky.
``I've always had a desire to work with the elderly,'' she added. ``There's not enough people who want to work in geriatrics.''
Maybe so, but Griffith is trying to ``spread the word'' about geriatric nursing. She takes ODU nursing student interns under her wing and wants to provide training in geriatrics for the nursing staff at the practice.
Her goal is to make the quality of health care better for seniors, by empowering them with education and information. Although Griffith is visiting seniors regularly in their homes, teaching them about prevention and wellness, she admitted that sometimes she becomes frustrated because they're ``not of the same mindset.''
``I'm working with a majority of elderly who say `yes, sir, no, sir,' '' she said. ``I want them to be able to talk to their doctors, so that they understand how to stay healthy.
``I want to be one of the people who set the pace for caring of the elderly.''
BETASERON IS THE ONLY DRUG APPROVED by the Food and Drug Administration for use in treating patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. It has been shown to reduce the severity of symptoms and the accumulation of lesions in the brain caused by the disease.
Since Betaseron is produced through genetic engineering, it takes a long time to make. When the drug was introduced in July 1993, Berlex Laboratories had to place MS patients on a waiting list because there was not enough of the drug to meet the demand. There are an estimated 350,000 Americans who live with MS.
But Berlex Laboratories has just established The Betaseron Foundation to help underinsured patients pay the more than $10,000 annual cost of Betaseron therapy. Paula Henao, MS director of Hampton Roads Chapter services, said that the foundation is now accepting applications for assistance. Eligibility will be based on financial need and participants will have to make some co-payment.
``I think this is going to be a big deal to those patients who couldn't afford Betaseron,'' said Henao. ``The sad thing is, there are so many people falling through the cracks. This is going to be good for so many people.''
Betaseron has only been approved for the relapsing-remitting MS because it slows down the progression of the disease, said Henao, and the flare-ups are less severe when they do occur. The drug is currently being studied on the chronic-progressive type of MS.
Patients must submit an application to the Betaseron Foundation by Feb. 15 to be considered for the program. Call 1-800-948-5777.
DID YOU EVER HAVE A MOUTH so dry you couldn't swallow?
Most people have experienced dry mouth, but there are some people who have it all the time. They feel like they're living in the Sahara Desert with no water in sight.
They have Sjogren's syndrome, an auto-immune disorder characterized by chronic dry mouth, severely dry eyes and vasculitis (constriction of the blood vessels). Doctors don't know what causes Sjogren's syndrome and there is no cure.
And until now, no support group in Hampton Roads served patients with this disorder. Last month Evelyn Shue founded the aptly named ``Moisture Seekers'' support group. It meets monthly.
Shue hopes to increase awareness of this rare disease, which her doctor diagnosed through a lip biopsy.
``Most of the people in the group are frustrated because our dentists, our physicians and our ophthalmologists are ignorant of the disease and are not well-informed,'' said Shue, a Virginia Beach resident. ``I'm sure there are a lot of people out there who have this.
If you would like more information on ``Moisture Seekers,'' call Shue at 523-5221 or 423-7158. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MARK MITCHELL
Veronica Griffith, a geriatric nurse practitioner, has won the 1994
Gerontological Nurse of Excellence Award.
KEYWORDS: MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS MS BETASERON by CNB