Nationally-Recognized Program to Increase Child Immunization Rates Highlights National Infant Immunization Week April 25 - May 1

    MARSHFIELD, Wis., April 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Two Wisconsin counties are
 first in the nation to get more than 90 percent of 2-year-old children up to
 date on their immunizations, thanks to the Regional Early Childhood
 Immunization Network (RECIN), a service of Marshfield Clinic, one of the
 largest private multi-specialty clinics in the nation.
     RECIN, developed by Marshfield Clinic in 1995, securely shares
 computerized immunization information with many doctors' offices, public
 health departments and schools to prevent missed immunizations or over-
 immunization. The program can be used by communities throughout the United
 States.
     "Ensuring proper immunization rates is a challenge because children often
 go to different providers for immunizations and there is no efficient way to
 assess immunization status and identify kids who are under-immunized," said
 Edna DeVries, M.D., RECIN medical director. "This program helps parents and
 health care providers know whether immunizations are current and which ones
 are due."
     The system generates a record of every immunization a child has received
 and issues reminders for parents when an immunization is needed. Working with
 its many providers, RECIN is helping reach the federal goal of 90 percent up-
 to-date immunizations by 2010. About 95 percent of children in the United
 States begin the recommended series of immunizations, but only 70 percent
 complete the series by age two.
     RECIN was honored in 2002 with the first-ever national Protect Award from
 the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Immunization Program of
 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The award recognizes
 immunization registries as tools that help protect children from vaccine-
 preventable diseases.
     National Infant Immunization Week emphasizes immunizing infants against 12
 vaccine-preventable diseases by age two. For more information visit
 www.cdc.gov/nip .
     For more information about RECIN, visit www.recin.org or
 www.marshfieldclinic.org .
 
 

SOURCE  Marshfield Clinic