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Free vaccine may prevent cervical cancer
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covered by their plan before receiving it.
“We felt that the vaccine was important enough to our patients that we made sure that the vaccine would continue to be covered at 100 percent when we negotiated the latest contract for SHIP this past spring,” Director of Medical Services at the Health, Wellness and Counseling Center Vince Serio said.
The Health, Wellness and Counseling Center has offered the HPV vaccine since summer 2006. In the first year, between 200-300 patients were given the vaccine and most of these patients had the SHIP.
“The college-age woman is at high risk for developing HPV-related disease because of recent initiation of sexual intercourse, and sometimes exposure to multiple partners,” Serio said.ˇ”We see hundreds of women yearly who have abnormal pap smears which require costly diagnostic procedures and sometimes treatment, including surgery.ˇWe decided to offer the vaccine because from a public health standpoint, it seemed the right thing to do.”
More information can be found on Gardasil at www.plannedparenthood.org/idaho and www.boisestate.edu/healthservices.
Tabitha Keily