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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Medical Explorers Investigate Careers at Kaiser

Kaiser Permanente Antelope Valley will participate in a Medical Explorers program starting in the summer, according to a statement from the nonprofit health care system. The student-led program is through Learning for Life, a career education program to help high school-age students make informed decisions about a future career. Physicians and employees for Kaiser’s Antelope Valley location volunteer their time to provide real-world experiences and practical knowledge of the medical field through activities. Students will experience hands-on presentations, community service projects, CPR training and a final educational field trip as part of the program. The Antelope Valley chapter is in its third year. The program is technically open to students ranging from age 14 to not yet 21, but advisors tend to take on juniors and seniors who are near the time to apply to college. After the application process, students elect their own officers and narrow down their top five departments they’d like to hear from. This year, Quartz Hill High School junior Valentina Costarelli is program president. “I love anything science-oriented, in particular biology. I just love studying about cells and microbiology and living beings,” said Costarelli, who participated in the program her sophomore year as well. “This is the perfect program for me – it really gave me a clear idea of what I can do with a degree in the sciences.” A team of advisors supports the class with this decision, introducing them to different health care fields they may not be aware of. Students this year chose to learn about cardiology, neurology, pediatrics, nursing and surgery. In past years, the Explorers have selected specialties including ophthalmology, gynecology, and radiology. “What helps them the most is they get exposed to the different types of careers that are available in health care, not just nurses and doctors,” explained Tamara Riley, administrator for Antelope Valley Medical Group and contact for the local Medical Explorer program. “We had set up a tour at one of our regional labs in North Hollywood. We have robots roaming around the building taking different samples to different areas. They got to see a very hi-tech laboratory and all the testing and scientists that worked there,” Riley added. FDA Approves Evenity The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Amgen Inc.’s Evenity, an osteoporosis drug, according to a statement from the Thousand Oaks company. The new drug has been priced at $1,825 a month, or $21,900 per year, based on a media report published one week after FDA approval. The U.S. list price covers a full 12-month course of injections. Other courses of therapy by rivals Radius Health Inc., headquartered in Waltham, Mass., and Eli Lilly & Co. in Indianapolis, are 34 to 74 percent more expensive and typically take longer to work, with a timeline of 18 months to two years for treatment, according to a Reuters report. Evenity, which was created to target osteoporosis in postmenopausal women, is the first of its kind to increase bone formation and reduce bone loss at the same time, Amgen said. The therapy is intended to be administered for 12 months, followed by ongoing “anti-resorptive,” or anti-bone loss therapy, to reduce the risk of fractures. “Approximately 80 percent of patients who have had one or more osteoporotic-related fractures are not being identified or treated,” said Elizabeth Thompson, chief executive of the National Osteoporosis Foundation. “This approval is great news for patients and physicians because it gives them another much needed treatment option to help reduce the risk of life changing fractures.” Analysts expect Evenity revenue to be $274 million per year by 2024. Prolia, an osteoporosis drug by Amgen that only stops bone deterioration, is expected to bring in $3.3 billion by 2024, according to data from Refinitiv. Aligned Promotes Kramer Aligned Telehealth, a behavioral health care provider, has named Miles Kramer its new chief development officer. Kramer joined the Woodland Hills company last year as executive vice president of business development. “Miles’ hands-on experience with enterprise telepsychiatry services, combined with his desire to extend access to the best quality care no matter where it is needed, are ideal characteristics for his new role,” said Dr. Nitin Nanda, chief executive of Aligned Telehealth. Prior to joining Aligned, Kramer served as vice president of operations and business development with Horizon Health for eight years. To accommodate the company’s growth, Aligned also named Nancy Lockhart as director of business development and marketing and Mike Barrett as senior vice president of business development. Staff Reporter Amy Stulick can be reached at [email protected] or at (818) 316-3121.

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