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Dems expect 9/11 'first responders' bill to pass today

CongressDaily: "At the urging of what one aide called 12 'pushy' New York lawmakers, House Democratic leaders plan to bring to the floor today legislation that would extend healthcare aid to 9/11 first responders. ... The $7.4 billion measure would provide health monitoring and treatment benefits to first responders and survivors of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

29 Sep 2010

Report: Workers' medical costs projected to jump next year by more than 12 percent

Health care bills for an average employee are slated to climb more than $486 next year, a 12.4 percent increase from this year, according to a study by Hewitt Associates.

28 Sep 2010

Efforts to reduce worker exposure to hazards during disaster response, cleanup

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) is awarding $36 million in grants to 20 organizations that develop safety and health training for workers involved in hazardous waste operations and transportation, environmental restoration of contaminated facilities, and chemical emergency response. These training programs can receive annual funding for up to five years.

24 Sep 2010

Health premiums rise as states consider how they'll implement reforms

Overall health insurance premiums rose 7 percent in 2009, even as the number of people with health coverage fell. "Individual premium revenues rose 15 percent while group premiums, which involve mostly employers, rose nearly 3 percent, according to the report from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, an organization whose prominence has grown following passage of the new U.S. health reform law."

18 Sep 2010

Biomedical applications of 'warrior worms' in snails

Scientists at UC Santa Barbara have discovered a caste of genetically identical "warrior worms" -- members of a parasitic fluke species that invades the California horn snail. The findings are reported in the early online version of the Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

17 Sep 2010

Opiate usage increases in workplace and ER

More American workers and job applicants are testing positive for prescription opiates, according to U.S. general workforce data in the 2009 annual Drug Testing Index™ (DTI) released today by Quest Diagnostics Incorporated, the nation's leading provider of diagnostic testing, information and services. Results from more than 5.5 million urine drug tests reveal an 18 percent jump in opiate positives in the general U.S. workforce in a single year (2008 to 2009), and a more than 40 percent climb from 2005 to 2009.

17 Sep 2010

Media reporting can reduce impact of infectious disease outbreaks

At the first sign of a disease pandemic, public health officials should begin strongly communicating about the extent of the outbreak and the steps that can be taken by the public to avoid infection. That's the recommendation of two mathematical biologists who have modified the most widely used infectious disease transmission model to account for the impact of news media coverage.

17 Sep 2010

Democrats look to strike back with health care campaigns touting new law

Democratic leaders are plotting campaigns to rally support for the health law and improve Democratic chances in the November elections. The hope is that "new insurance restrictions due to go into effect Sept. 23 and an accompanying public relations push will help turn the tide and give Democrats campaign-ready ammunition six weeks ahead of the midterm elections."

15 Sep 2010

Hunger costs developing nations $450B per year, report says

"Reduced worker productivity, poor health and lost education caused by malnourishment" is costing poor nations $450 billion a year, according to a report by the aid agency ActionAid, Agence France-Presse reports (9/13). The number is "more than 10 times the estimated amount needed to meet the United Nations Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of halving global hunger by 2015, said the report" according to the U.K. Press Association, which added that hunger also results in premature deaths (9/13).

15 Sep 2010

CSC launches new educational program to enhance lymphoma patient, physician communication

The Cancer Support Community (CSC), uniting The Wellness Community and Gilda's Club Worldwide, announced today the launch of Framing Life With Lymphoma, a new educational program designed to enhance lymphoma patient and physician communication.

14 Sep 2010

Health risk assessments

At various points in our lives, we're curious about our health risks, wondering about our susceptibility for everything from high cholesterol to a deadly inherited disease. We might want to learn more about our risks when we reach a certain age or experience a bout of bad health; when we hear about a friend or co-worker coping with a dreaded illness; or read the latest headlines about disease research.

13 Sep 2010

Sebelius calls upon AHIP to stop misinformation, false blame on premium increases on patient protections

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius wrote America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the national association of health insurers, calling on their members to stop using scare tactics and misinformation to falsely blame premium increases for 2011 on the patient protections in the Affordable Care Act.

10 Sep 2010

NICE releases new guidelines to improve cancer care

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has published a new guideline which should help to improve care for thousands of patients with advanced cancer that has spread from an unknown primary location.

10 Sep 2010

AIDS programs reach out to African immigrant community

The Seattle Times reports on educating people about AIDS in the African immigrant community in Seattle.

9 Sep 2010

Levi Strauss, Hennes & Mauritz implement global ban on sandblasting

As a commitment to the health and safety of workers across the apparel industry, Levi Strauss & Co. and Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M) today announced plans to implement a global ban on sandblasting in all of their future product lines.

8 Sep 2010

NIH to launch study on Gulf oil spill health effects

The National Institutes of Health will launch a multi-year study this fall to look at the potential health effects from the oil spill in the Gulf region. The Gulf Worker Study, announced by NIH Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., in June, is in response to the largest oil spill in U.S. history, caused by the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. Dr. Collins pledged $10 million in NIH funding for the study's initial phases.

8 Sep 2010

Companies need new, better tools for measuring employee productivity: Article

Can investing in employee health improve the bottom line by making workers more productive? To answer that question, companies need new and better tools for measuring employee productivity, according to an article in the September Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

4 Sep 2010

Survey finds modest rise in health coverage costs

The Washington Post: "Amid high unemployment and a weak economy, employers have been shifting health care costs to workers, according to a study released Thursday. The premiums that employees pay for employer-sponsored family coverage rose an average of 13.7 percent this year, while the amount that employers contribute fell by 0.9 percent, the survey found.

3 Sep 2010

Beaumont Hospital expands new multi-organ transplant program

Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak became Michigan's third liver transplant center on Aug. 31. A 59-year-old man from Royal Oak was the first patient to receive a liver transplant through Beaumont's new multi-organ transplant program.

2 Sep 2010

Mandatory influenza vaccination for healthcare personnel needed

Influenza vaccination of healthcare personnel is a professional and ethical responsibility and non-compliance with healthcare facility policies regarding vaccination should not be tolerated, according to a position paper released today by the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA).

31 Aug 2010