Page 13 - Flathead Beacon // 4.29.15

FLATHEADBEACON.COM NEWS APRIL 29, 2015 | 13
Certain STD Cases Increase in Flathead County banking
Gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis increase from 2012 to 2014
By MOLLY PRIDDY of the Beacon
A recent increase in Montana’s cases of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) has state and local public health officials concerned, and they are urging safer sex practices to avoid contracting disease.
According to the state Department of Public Health and Human Servic- es, Montana’s rate of gonorrhea nearly doubled to 400 cases in 2014, and the number of chlamydia cases increased to more than 4,100.
Further information from DPHHS shows that Flathead County had 300 cases of chlamydia in 2014, along with eight cases of gonorrhea, and five of syphilis. The syphilis cases are the high- est number in the state.
In 2013, Flathead County saw 256 cases of chlamydia, seven of gonorrhea, and one of syphilis. Those numbers are an increase from 2012, which had 241
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cases of chlamydia, one of gonorrhea, and no reported cases of syphilis.
Many of the STDs infecting Mon- tanans are curable, according to Judy Nielsen of the DPHHS STD-HIV Pre- vention section, though prolonged and even permanent complications can oc- cur if the diseases are left undiagnosed and untreated.
“I can’t emphasize enough that these particular STDs are all preventable,” Nielsen said in a prepared statement. “In addition, STD screening and early diagnoses are essential in preventing transmission and the long-term health consequences of STDs.”
Common complications can include infertility, and herpes or gonorrhea can increase a person’s chance of contract- ingHIV.
The only way to prevent STDs is not having sex, DPHHS said, though there are ways to lower the risk of getting them.
•Being in a long-term mutually mo- nogamous relationship with a partner who has been tested and does not have STDs.
•Limiting the number of people you
have sex with if you have more than
one partner. • Using latex
condoms every time you
on our
community...
have sex.
• Getting the vaccine for human papil-
lomavirus, or HPV, which can protect you against diseases (including can- cers) caused by the human papilloma- virus.
• Talk with your health care provider about your sexual history so that he or she can provide you with the appropri- ate STD testing and prevention guid- ance. If you’re not comfortable talking with your regular health care provider, contact one of the clinics listed at the websites below about confidential and free or low-cost testing.
The Flathead City-County Health Department offers STD testing and treatment, including rapid HIV testing available at low or no cost. The family planning section of the clinic is available at 406-751-8150 or at www.flathead- health.org. Teens are welcome at the family planning clinic as well.
Information is also available at www. dphhs.mt.gov or www.getcheckedmt.org. [email protected]
Former North Valley Hospital
to be Torn Down
Riverbank Properties, owned by Whitefish philanthropist Michael Goguen, has not determined a future use of the property
By TRISTAN SCOTT of the Beacon
Riverbank Properties, LLC, which is owned by Whitefish venture capitalist and well-known philanthropist Michael Goguen, recently purchased the 12-acre property on the cor- ner of U.S. Highway 93 South and East 13th Street.
According to Dominic Cerulli, the real estate company has no immediate plans for the property other than improving the site and removing the “eyesore.”
“There are no future development plans at this point,” Ce- rulli said. “We’re just going to take down the buildings and get rid of the eyesore.”
The nearly 100,000-square-foot building has stood vacant since North Valley Hospital moved to its current location in 2007, and Cerulli said razing the building will open up valu- able green space that includes 640 feet of frontage along the Whitefish River.
The building is festooned with graffiti and is boarded up, and Cerulli said a leaking roof has caused considerable water damage.
The existing building is no longer useable. Cerulli said de- molition will begin this summer.
The abandoned North Valley Hospital in Whitefish. JUSTIN FRANZ | FLATHEAD BEACON.
and Cerulli said all of the work involving hazardous materials would be through a certified contractor with the state Depart- ment of Environmental Quality.
The Aspen Group of Scottsdale, Ariz., purchased the 11.75- acre plot of land in June of 2007 for $6.4 million. The firm had plans to build a 51-home resort-style development, but those plans never came to fruition.
In 2013, developers with River Opportunity Project En-
terprise in Whitefish purchased the property and held a series
of community discussions about the possibility of locating a
Along with the demolition, crews will remove fuel tanks,
[email protected]
four-year higher education institution at the old North Valley
Hospital site. Those plans did not materialize.
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