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State news highlights: Texas Senate approves Medicaid savings bill

The Senate unanimously approved Sen. Jane Nelson's bill to find extensive cost savings in Texas' Medicaid program, the primary health care provider for children, the disabled and the very poor. ... The measure expands Medicaid managed care into South Texas, where it has long been carved out — expected to save the state $290 million over the biennium.

30 Apr 2011

Harvard Medical School and BIDMC professor delivered Solomon A. Berson Distinguished Lectureship

Christos Mantzoros, MD, DSc, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, delivered the Solomon A. Berson Distinguished Lectureship at the annual meeting of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology held earlier this month in Washington, DC.

30 Apr 2011

New training program for nurses to prevent workplace violence

Most people think of hospitals as places for healing. But the threat of violence—which can take many forms—can be a daily reality for nurses and other health care workers, creating a compelling need to properly address the issue, says Kate McPhaul, PhD, MPH, RN, assistant professor and program director for the School of Nursing's Community/Public Health Nursing master's specialty.

30 Apr 2011

House Joint Resolution introduced to recognize Rural Health Day

Today, in an effort to acknowledge the vital services of rural healthcare practitioners across Colorado, State Representative Tom Massey (R-CO), will introduce a House Joint Resolution to recognize "Rural Health Day."

30 Apr 2011

Fetal exposure to crude oil chemical may increase risk of heart disease

While it may be years before the health effects of the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico are known, a new study shows that fetal exposure to a chemical found in crude oil is associated with an increased risk of congenital heart disease.

30 Apr 2011

African-Americans more likely to use 'quitlines' than white smokers

African-Americans are consistently more likely than white smokers to use telephone help lines to quit smoking, and are more responsive to mass media messages promoting the "quitline," finds a long-term California study.

30 Apr 2011

Unintentional injury deaths of young children can be prevented: Study

Patricia Schnitzer, associate professor in the MU Sinclair School of Nursing, says that most unintentional child injury deaths of young children result from inadequate supervision or failure to protect children from harm. Although injuries to children may be unintentional, they can be prevented and should not be considered accidents.

30 Apr 2011

Study finds increase in obesity prevalence among adults with arthritis

People with arthritis are significantly more likely to be obese than those without the disease and the rate among them is increasing in far more states than it is decreasing, cites new CDC data released in conjunction with National Arthritis Awareness Month in May.

29 Apr 2011

Symposium to examine bidirectional relationship between oral health and diabetes

Some 65 percent of people in the US have periodontal disease, but that rate jumps to 90 percent among individuals with diabetes. While the links between oral disease and other systemic health issues are now well known, there continues to be little to no connection between medical and dental care for diabetic patients.

29 Apr 2011

More women using ‘morning after’ pill

Figures have revealed that the rate of women using emergency contraception in 2006-08 more than doubled, compared with the rate in the previous four to six years, before the pills were approved for use without a prescription. This comes from a study from the Guttmacher Institute.

29 Apr 2011

Food poisoning costs the United States billions: Report

According to a new report published Thursday, 14 different pathogens causing food poisoning cost the United States $14 billion annually in terms of human disease. The report comes from the University of Florida Emerging Pathogens Institute that found that out of all the pathogen-food combinations they studied, campylobacter in poultry was the single worst offender, causing more than 600,000 illnesses per year, hospitalizing more than 7,000 people and costing, annually, $1.3 billion and 9,500 quality-of-life years.

29 Apr 2011

Iroko Pharmaceuticals announces acquisition of iCeutica

Iroko Pharmaceuticals, LLC today announces that it has acquired iCeutica, Inc. to further strengthen Iroko's position as the leading developer of novel, low-dose non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

29 Apr 2011

GHRI founder earns Baxter-AUPHA recognition for Health Services Research

In recognition of his significant contributions to studying how best to provide health care, Edward H. Wagner, MD, MPH, has been named the 2011 recipient of the William B. Graham Prize for Health Services Research.

From Baxter International Inc. 29 Apr 2011

UIC receives federal contract to develop antibiotics against three bacterial infections

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago's Center for Pharmaceutical Biotechnology have been awarded a federal contract for up to $13.8 million to develop antibiotics to treat anthrax, tularemia and plague.

28 Apr 2011

Viewpoints: Taking the deficit seriously; despite low numbers, high-risk pools are succeeding

The deficit debate, now fully engaged, is also an evaluation of political seriousness. House Republican leaders have passed the test, supporting a politically risky budget that changes Medicare into a premium-support program and eventually returns federal spending to sustainable levels.

28 Apr 2011

Health effects of Chernobyl nuclear crisis remain unknown 25 years after incident

Though it has been 25 years since a disastrous explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine sent radioactive material into the air, affecting Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, as well as the rest of the world, "experts are still debating the long-term health effects of the disaster," the Los Angeles Times' "Booster Shots" blog reports.

28 Apr 2011

Panel speakers to discuss hepatitis C prevention, treatment at Mayes College event

Mayes College of Healthcare Business and Policy at University of the Sciences is hosting a panel discussion on hepatitis C prevention and treatment, on Thursday, April 28, 2011, from 5 to 7 p.m.

28 Apr 2011

Legislative approaches needed to address obesity epidemic in Canada

With the increase in numbers of overweight children and young adults, Canada and other developed countries are facing an obesity epidemic and legislative approaches are required to address this issue, states an article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

28 Apr 2011

Tsetse fly mapping distribution model may help solve sleeping sickness mystery

Since before the 1300s, people living in many parts of Africa have been dying from a disease known as sleeping sickness. Despite public health campaigns that explain ways to stop infection—primarily by killing the disease-spreading tsetse fly—successful eradication has remained out of reach. That's partly because epidemiologists can't predict where cases will emerge next.

28 Apr 2011

Arthritis poses significant health and economic burden in U.S. adults

A new study reports that the health-related quality of life for U.S. adults with arthritis is much worse than for those without this condition. Both physical and mental health are affected by arthritis, which poses a significant health and economic burden as the number of those diagnosed continues to climb.

28 Apr 2011