The News Review:
- Alarm raised on health literacy
- Health tips to ease family travel
- Text of Gov. Crist’s State of the State address
- Uganda: Brain Drain Summit Opens
- Las Vegas Clinic Shut Down After 40,000 Exposed to Hepatitis, AIDS
- SC plan offers affordable health care access to thousands
- Why flu strikes in cold weather
Alarm raised on health literacy
Toronto Star – Mar 4, 2008
A similar trend was observed for high blood pressure, according to a February report by the Canadian Council on Learning. Rootman said the panel’s findings were drawn from a 2003 analysis of 23,000 Canadians by the Canadian Council on Learning. Participants were asked to perform different tasks related to health literacy, such as figuring out a dose of medication for a small child from a prescription label. Even though health information can be found on the Internet, Rootman said a study conducted by the University of Victoria found a minimum of Grade 11 reading skills was required to understand most Internet information in Canada, the U. "That’s much higher than the average reading level in the population," he said.
Health tips to ease family travel
WebWire – WebWire (press release) – Mar 4, 2008
He offers these health tips for families planning their next trip:
Create a travel kit. “One of the first things I think we can do as parents is to take along the essentials. You can develop a travel health kit that you can use not only to travel, but to have around the house and use for local travel,” says Park. The kit should include medicines that a child takes regularly as well as preparatory medicines for sudden ailments, such as congestion or a rash. Park recommends packing a fever reducer, an antihistamine, bandages and a topical antibiotic ointment. He does not generally recommend packing an anti-diarrhea medicine for “travelers’ diarrhea,” which is often associated with traveling overseas. Instead, he suggests consulting your regular physician to learn about antibiotics that treat bacterial infections that can cause diarrhea… “One of the first things I think we can do as parents is to take along the essentials. You can develop a travel health kit that you can use not only to travel, but to have around the house and use for local travel,” says Park. The kit should include medicines that a child takes regularly as well as preparatory medicines for sudden ailments, such as congestion or a rash. Park recommends packing a fever reducer, an antihistamine, bandages and a topical antibiotic ointment. He does not generally recommend packing an anti-diarrhea medicine for “travelers’ diarrhea,” which is often associated with traveling overseas. Instead, he suggests consulting your regular physician to learn about antibiotics that treat bacterial infections that can cause diarrhea. Park also encourages parents to consider various factors of the vacation, such as the destination’s climate, as they pack their health kit.
Text of Gov. Crist’s State of the State address
Orlando Sentinel – Mar 4, 2008
And when we dutifully cast our paper ballots this November, we will do so knowing that the integrity of this process, the very foundation of our democracy, has been protected by the actions of this body. Just 90 miles south of us in Cuba, there are those who dream of having this privilege and we must honor them by casting our ballots in November. “One of my top priorities is making certain that every child in Florida has the opportunity to live in a loving, safe and permanent home. Together, we are increasing the number of successful adoptions. Thanks to the hard work of the Office of Adoption and the Department of Children and Families — Secretary Butterworth, what an incredible advocate you are for the children of our state — and their many workers in the field, who are ensuring that more of Florida’s children find loving homes. “Homes like Vivian Wilson’s. Vivian chose to adopt three teenage sisters… It strengthens the pillars that make our state great, the pillars that must be in place for us to be strong: Healthy families, world class schools, safe neighborhoods, a vibrant economy, sustainable natural resources. These pillars must be our priorities. “The lack of health insurance is the primary barrier to accessing health care. 8 million people have no health insurance — including 650,000 children. And this barrier exists not just for the poor and disadvantaged. Florida’s hardworking families and small business owners are facing the same barrier every day — business owners like the Silvermintz family.
Uganda: Brain Drain Summit Opens
AllAfrica.com – Mar 4, 2008
The World Health Organization says a further four million doctors, nurses, midwives and other health care professionals are needed worldwide. GA_googleFillSlot(“AllAfrica_Story_Inset”);The WHO says the shortage is affecting basic services such as immunisation, child birth and treatment of diseases. There is a critical shortage of health workers in 57 countries, most of which are in Africa. Medical staff from Africa and Asia often migrate to richer countries where pay and conditions are better. On average, one in four doctors trained in Africa is working in the developed world. The conference, which is being attended by health ministers from some of the worst affected countries, aims to produce a global action plan.
Las Vegas Clinic Shut Down After 40,000 Exposed to Hepatitis, AIDS
CNN International – Mar 4, 2008
Tonight, the FBI on the case. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As many as 40,000 people who visited the hospital may have contracted the AIDS virus. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A new warning about the safety of health clinics across the country. The Centers for Disease Control is suggesting the recent outbreak of hepatitis C at a clinic in Nevada could be just the tip of the iceberg. The head of the CDC blames in outbreak on sloppy infection control practices, like nurses reusing syringes and vials, passing the infection from patient to patient. The Nevada clinic was shut down after it was learned six patients had contracted hepatitis C due to unsafe practices. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m thinking, Who`s responsible for using dirty syringes when they could have put my mother`s life in danger? It endangers not only my mother, myself, my children, but our whole family… Several minutes later, she sent the 7-year- old to bathe the toddlers. That`s when Syrius was discovered. (END VIDEO CLIP) (BEGIN AUDIO CLIP) 911 OPERATOR: What`s going on? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A baby was playing with (INAUDIBLE) 911 OPERATOR: What? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A baby was in the tub (INAUDIBLE) 911 OPERATOR: A baby was what? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A baby was in the tub and must have passed out or something. My sister`s trying to get her to breathe. We need somebody over here. Stay on the line for the ambulance.
SC plan offers affordable health care access to thousands
Charleston Post Courier – Mar 4, 2008
Nonetheless, that is the challenge of the Covering Carolina Collaborative: a group composed of the South Carolina Hospital Association, the South Carolina Medical Association, the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, and the South Carolina Alliance of Health Plans. Nearly one out of six in South Carolina is uninsured. We rank among the lowest in overall health status and have a high incidence of almost every chronic disease. Not surprisingly, access to adequate medical care is inexorably tied to these outcomes. The Collaborative met for the past year and hashed out multitudes of scenarios and potential solution sets to what many view as a conundrum ? providing affordable access to quality medical care with very finite resources. The ultimate decision was that we need to begin immediately with incremental steps aimed at improving access and eventually reducing the burden of disease and poor health for our citizens:1) Extend Medicaid coverage to parents of low-income families living below 100 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL)2) Provide tax credit subsidies to individuals and small businesses for people living between 100 percent FPL and 250 percent FPL. These credits apply toward the purchase of health insurance coverage in the private market3) Extend Medicaid coverage with state-only funds to uninsured children living between 200 percent FPL and 250 percent FPL4) Create a high-risk comprehensive safety-net pool for otherwise uninsurable low-income individualsIt may come as a surprise to many that Medicaid does not cover parents in low-income families beyond 50 percent of poverty and childless adults who are not disabled are not covered at all… The ultimate decision was that we need to begin immediately with incremental steps aimed at improving access and eventually reducing the burden of disease and poor health for our citizens:1) Extend Medicaid coverage to parents of low-income families living below 100 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL)2) Provide tax credit subsidies to individuals and small businesses for people living between 100 percent FPL and 250 percent FPL. These credits apply toward the purchase of health insurance coverage in the private market3) Extend Medicaid coverage with state-only funds to uninsured children living between 200 percent FPL and 250 percent FPL4) Create a high-risk comprehensive safety-net pool for otherwise uninsurable low-income individualsIt may come as a surprise to many that Medicaid does not cover parents in low-income families beyond 50 percent of poverty and childless adults who are not disabled are not covered at all. To place this in perspective, a single parent with one child could not earn over $7,000 a year in order for the parent to receive Medicaid. Or, if a family of four made just over $10,000 a year, the parents would not be eligible. These are troubling numbers and strike at the hearts of physicians who have devoted their professional careers to caring for others. Our first initiative could extend medical coverage to approximately 80,000 state residents. It would cost $200 million and require $60 million in state matching funds by leveraging federal Medicaid funding.
Why flu strikes in cold weather
BBC News – Mar 4, 2008
However, once inside a host the virus can only infect a target cell once the coating has melted. But this liquid phase is not tough enough to protect the virus against the elements, and so if the protective coating melts when the virus is outside the host, it dies. Detailed fingerprint
Dr Duane Alexander, director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, said: “The study results open new avenues of research for thwarting winter flu outbreaks. “Now that we understand how the flu virus protects itself so that it can spread from person to person, we can work on ways to interfere with that protective mechanism. ”
The researchers used a sophisticated magnetic resonance technique to create a detailed fingerprint of how the flu virus’s outer membranes responded to variations in temperature. "I don’t think this study provides anything like a definitive answer on the spread of the virus" Professor John OxfordQueen Mary College School of Medicine
The virus’s outer membrane is composed chiefly of molecules known as lipids, such as oils, fats and cholesterol. The researchers found that at temperatures slightly above freezing, this lipid covering solidified into a gel.
