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Report highlights dangers aid workers face, suggests strategies to ensure their safety

Over the past decade, humanitarian aid worker casualties have tripled, rising to more than 100 deaths per year, according to a report (.pdf) released Tuesday by the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA), the Associated Press reports (Snow, 4/12).

15 Apr 2011

New maternity scheme in Queensland

Queensland Health has introduced a new maternity scheme. The expecting mothers in Dysart, Middlemount, Moranbah, Clermont and Glenden shall now have a wider variety of options to choose from when it comes to choosing how their pregnancy be managed.

11 Apr 2011

State News: N.Y. billing for disabled patients questioned

While the nation's attention has been focused on state worker battles in union strongholds such as Ohio and Wisconsin, quiet but consequential labor battles are breaking out in Kansas, Texas and other states where collective bargaining rights for public workers were weak or non-existent to begin with. The outcome of these confrontations will have a big impact.

8 Apr 2011

NCAJ launches new Web site to inform North Carolinians about workers comp bill

The North Carolina Advocates for Justice has launched a new Web site to inform North Carolinians about potential legislation that will restrict their rights if injured on the job.

8 Apr 2011

State roundup: Report urges Mass. city employees to pay more health costs

Officially, Minnesota doesn't pay for an intensive type of autism therapy. Yet it has -- but only for some families. Two years ago, a single mother in the Twin Cities asked the state Medicaid program to pay for an intensive type of autism therapy for her 2-year-old son. She was turned down. State officials said the treatment -- known as Applied Behavior Analysis, or ABA -- is "not now, and never has been,'' a covered service.

6 Apr 2011

Viewpoints: Ryan on his budget plan; Maryland, Wash. state making tough budget choices

The open-ended, blank-check nature of the Medicare subsidy threatens the solvency of this critical program and creates inexcusable levels of waste. This budget takes action where others have ducked. But because government should not force people to reorganize their lives, its reforms will not affect those in or near retirement in any way.

6 Apr 2011

Census Bureau data: 57% of immigrant households with children receive welfare

Census Bureau data show that the share of immigrant-headed households with children using at least one welfare program continues to be very high.

5 Apr 2011

Discovery of 4 new genes associated with Alzheimer's

In the largest study of its kind, researchers from a consortium led by the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine and the University of Miami identified four new genes linked to Alzheimer's disease. Each gene individually adds to the risk of having this common form of dementia later in life. These new genes offer a portal into what causes Alzheimer's disease and is a major advance in the field.

3 Apr 2011

WCRI finds higher costs per workers' compensation claim in New Jersey

The average cost per workers' compensation claim in New Jersey was 16 percent higher than the median of 16 states analyzed in a study by the Workers Compensation Research Institute.

2 Apr 2011

Study: Stress can increase risk of C section in first-time mothers

The risk of emergency caesarean section among first-time mothers increases if the mother has experienced stress, worry, or sleep disturbances during her pregnancy. This is shown in a unique study performed collaboratively between Malmö University, Skåne University Hospital, and Lund University in Sweden.

1 Apr 2011

Roundup: Minn. and Fla. weigh changes in programs for disabled, poor; Iowa lawmakers consider new abortion restrictions

Due to a shockingly large deficit, Gov. Rick Scott is planning to invoke his emergency powers and make deep cuts to the rates charged by group homes and case workers who help the developmentally disabled. Scott could announce a 15 percent rate cut as early as Thursday to close the $170 million budget gap in the Agency for Persons with Disabilities, according to lawmakers who were briefed Wednesday.

1 Apr 2011

Vanda to initiate tasimelteon Phase IIb/III clinical trial in Major Depressive Disorder

Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. today announced its plans to initiate a Phase IIb/III clinical trial of tasimelteon in patients with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). The trial is expected to begin during the second half of 2011. Tasimelteon is currently being evaluated in Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of Non-24-Hour Sleep/Wake Disorder (N24HSWD) in blind individuals without light perception.

31 Mar 2011

Surgeon presents LASIK procedure comparative study results at ASCRS Symposium

LasikPlus surgeon Dr. Lewis Groden presented results from a first-of-its-kind, comparative study at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery Symposium revealing that LASIK procedures performed with modern excimer laser technology produce excellent results and very high patient satisfaction rates.

31 Mar 2011

Patients with CRS can benefit from balloon sinus dilation procedure

Results published in the January/February, 2011 issue of International Forum of Allergy & Rhinology demonstrate that patients with chronic rhinosinusitis who receive treatment with balloon sinus dilation can experience significant improvement in work productivity.

31 Mar 2011

FXB and Merck partner to improve systems for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Botswana

The Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Center (FXB) of the University of Medicine and Dentistry (UMDNJ) School of Nursing will provide training to 150 clinicians in Botswana who will then train more than 6,000 healthcare workers thanks to a grant of nearly $375,000 from The Merck Company Foundation.

25 Mar 2011

Job prospects rosy for home health aides, visiting nurses

With the U.S. population growing grayer, job prospects for home health aides — and every worker providing health care to seniors, for that matter — are quite rosy.

23 Mar 2011

New Neurotez method can predict genetic factors responsible for AD

The new Neurotez method will allow for an elegant and rapid way to screen a large number of patient-derived samples and measure the degree of confidence in predicting a subject's risk for getting Alzheimer's disease, based on her/his TOMM40/APOE haplotype.

22 Mar 2011

First full face transplant in the U.S. on its way to success

In a first of its kind, Dallas Wiens, a 25 year old construction worker who had suffered severe burns to his head two and a half years ago and lost his face, was given a new face by transplant. Until now he had a face void of features, except for a lipless mouth and a goatee beard. Even his eye sockets were smoothed over with skin taken from other parts of his body. This was after 22 surgical procedures.

21 Mar 2011

APHA issues statement recommending improved safety for workers in adult film industry

In a newly posted position paper on its website, the American Public Health Association, the oldest and most diverse organization of public health professionals in the world representing over 50,000 health professionals and others who work to promote health, prevent disease and ensure conditions in which all can be safe and healthy, has issued a comprehensive policy statement, "Prevention and Control of Sexually Transmitted Infections and HIV among Performers in the Adult Film Industry," that includes a series of recommendations intended to foster improved safety and workplace conditions for workers in the adult film industry.

19 Mar 2011

Wash your hands? You may now approach the patient bed!

Each year patients in the U.S. get more than a million infections while in the hospital being treated for something else. The best way to prevent infection is to practice proper hand hygiene, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

17 Mar 2011