Megan Cooley

Few medical procedures can be classified as fun. A mom's first glimpse of her unborn baby during an ultrasound exam is usually one of the exceptions. In Spokane, the ultrasound experience is getting even more exciting thanks to a growing number of places that offer 3-D and 4-D images. The pictures and videos produced by these machines give parents portraits of their babies' faces months before they're able to kiss those chubby cheeks. The images are so clear you can see a fetus sucking its thumb and sticking out its tongue to taste the amniotic fluid.

Call him the Dr. Phil of Medicare. Andrew Tartella, an outreach and education coordinator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, gave a no-bull presentation on Part D, the new prescription drug benefit, to two dozen seniors in northeast Spokane Wednesday.

Forty million. That's the number of people infected with HIV worldwide.

When the Spokane Regional Chamber of Commerce devised the "Near nature, near perfect" slogan for Spokane, could it have been thinking of the city's men? Men's Health magazine says Spokane apparently has one of the lowest rates of erectile dysfunction in the nation, earning the city an A minus and the No. 14 spot on the publication's ranking of metropolitan regions. That puts it in the company of such virile cities as San Francisco, San Diego and Miami.To determine its rankings, the magazine analyzed per-capita sales of erectile dysfunction drugs such as Cialis, Levitra and Viagra. It also considered the rates of smoking and obesity, two factors that can affect sexual potency in men. The results are published in the magazine's December edition.

Jerry Disotell can't wait to sign up for a Medicare Part D plan. Not that he's excited; he really cannot wait. Since one medication he takes costs $1,400 a month, the 70-year-old multiple sclerosis patient simply can't afford to be without prescription drug coverage.

After a humanitarian medical mission overseas, some people might check "good deed" off their to-do list. But Judy Lane's trip to the Dominican Republic in August only inspired her to do more for the people there. The Coeur d'Alene physical therapist is collecting gently used knee braces, walkers, wheelchairs, splints and other equipment that she'll either ship to the impoverished country or take herself when she returns, hopefully next summer.

Tanya Charlton has seen it happen in the grief support groups she leads through Hospice of Spokane. Participants talk about the loved ones they lost to cancer, heart disease or in accidents.

BILL LEE'S RECENT TREKS to Spokane have focused on two important missions. In September, the 72-year-old Maryland resident came to marry his college sweetheart, Joanie Rhodes. Rhodes, a Spokane resident, had broken off her relationship with Lee back in 1952 and hadn't seen him until this past June when he tracked her down. On his second visit, which should begin today, Lee's goal is to contact people who have a disease called Ataxia, like him.

Deaconess Medical Center was named one of the nation's top 100 hospitals for heart care in an annual report by Solucient, an Illinois-based research company. This was the fourth time in seven years that Deaconess has made the list. The hospital's main competitor, Sacred Heart Medical Center, hasn't received the distinction since 1999.

The outspoken head of the Spokane Regional Health District is in a familiar situation – in trouble again with one of her bosses. Spokane County Commissioner Mark Richard contends Dr. Kim Thorburn has shown a "pattern of disrespectful behavior" with some of her comments at public meetings, to the media and via e-mail.

The Spokane Regional Health District tapped into its emergency reserve fund to balance its almost $22.5 million 2006 budget, which the Board of Health adopted Thursday. About $700,000 was taken from that $2.2 million fund to ensure that public health services won't change next year.

BEEN AVOIDING A PROSTATE SCREENING, fellas? There's no excuse now because the test is coming to you. A big purple motor home will pull into town today to offer free screenings to men. It's part of a campaign by the National Prostate Cancer Coalition and Schiff Nutrition International to catch the disease in its early stages. The prostate is a reproductive gland that creates an alkaline fluid that is part of semen and helps control the flow of urine. It's wrapped around the urethra, the canal that carries semen and urine out of the body.

When Pat Bergstrom learned last year that St. Luke's Rehabilitation Institute was going to close its children's outpatient program, her options were limited. Bergstrom's 5-year-old son, Hayden, has autism and was taught to talk at St. Luke's. Her daughter, Avery, who is almost 2 years old, has a motor skill disability. They needed a facility that offered physical and occupational therapy, the services of social workers and inpatient and outpatient care. They needed a place like St. Luke's.

MORE AND MORE PEOPLE are self-employed or working for small companies. Why does that fact deserve attention in a column called Health Notes? Because smaller companies are increasingly less likely to provide employees with medical insurance. That was one finding in a report released this month by the Northwest Federation of Community Organizations.