Harrington HealthCare opens travel clinic

One of few in region that provides vaccinations.

SOUTHBRIDGE, Mass., February 20, 2012 -- Harrington HealthCare System has opened the Harrington Travel Clinic, which provides high-quality travel consultation and travel medicine-related services.

The Harrington Travel Clinic, at 164 South Street in Southbridge, one block from Harrington Hospital, serves the needs of individuals who require vaccinations and other travel-related health advice and information before traveling. The Harrington Travel Clinic can be reached at 508-765-8196 or by visiting www.harringtonhospital.org. Visits are by appointment only.

“We are extremely pleased to be able to offer a vital service that is very much needed and not currently available in this area,” said Debra Vescera, R.N., B.S.N., who is Director of the Harrington Travel Clinic as well as Harrington’s Preventive Health Coordinator. “For several years, Harrington has received a number of calls every week by individuals looking for travel advice and vaccinations.”

The Clinic will not only provide immunizations, but can also provide the traveler with information regarding food and water safety, insect repellent or other necessary pieces of travel information based on their destination.

The closest travel clinics are in Springfield and Worcester, Vescera said.

The Harrington Travel Clinic is staffed by Vescera and Nancy Johndrow, both of whom have been certified as Travel Vaccine Specialists by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the Centers for Disease Control and the International Association of Travel Medicine. The clinic provides services for individuals age 2 and over. Children under the age of two should see their pediatrician for any recommended travel vaccinations.