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Enterprise, National Community Fund I closed on $22.3M NMTC transaction

Enterprise Community Investment, Inc. (Enterprise), a national leader in affordable housing and community development, and National Community Fund I, LLC, an affiliate of United Fund Advisors, LLC, recently closed on a $22.3 million New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) transaction. This will finance the new construction of the Harrison Circle Building at the Morris Heights Health Center (MHHC) in Bronx, N.Y.

20 Jan 2010

Three hospitals selected as recipients of the 2009 DVTeamCare Hospital Award

The North American Thrombosis Forum (NATF), in coordination with Eisai Inc., announced today that three hospitals have been selected as recipients of the 2009 DVTeamCare Hospital Award. This new award was established by Eisai to recognize hospitals that have made a significant commitment to preventing deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and its potentially fatal complications, including pulmonary embolism (PE).

20 Jan 2010

Use of braces in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis is still an area of controversy

The use of braces to correct excessive curvature of the spine, or scoliosis, in adolescents is still an area of controversy — and is likely to remain that way until there is better evidence, concludes a new review of published research. Although some evidence points toward a benefit from using braces, research has failed to prove definitively that they work.

20 Jan 2010

Spain complaint: Too many European retirees with expensive health problems

NPR reports: "Most countries in the European Union offer universal health coverage for their citizens. And when a citizen from one EU country travels to, or lives in another one, they also are covered. But now Spain is complaining" about the rule, "as more and more northern Europeans choose to retire along its Mediterranean coast."

20 Jan 2010

St. Jude Medical completes second interoperability testing process for Merlin.net Patient Care Network

St. Jude Medical, Inc. today announced it has successfully completed its second interoperability testing process for the company’s Merlin.net™ Patient Care Network, an Internet-based repository of patient and implantable device data.

20 Jan 2010

Officials debate merits of medical marijuana as coping tool in pain fight

As access to medical marijuana becomes more widespread, officials are debating its use as a pain-coping treatment and are easing rules for the sick to use the drug, The Wall Street Journal reports. "The U.S. Department of Justice has said it will not generally prosecute ill people under doctors' care whose use of the drug complies with state rules. New Jersey will become the 14th state to allow therapeutic use of marijuana, and the number is likely to grow. Illinois and New York, among others, are considering new laws."

20 Jan 2010

Perception of discrimination influences smoking in minority teen boys

The perception of discrimination increases the amount teenage minority boys smoke but does not increase the amount teenage minority girls smoke, according to a new study from the Indiana University School of Medicine.

20 Jan 2010

NSBA releases its 2009 Year-End Economic Report

NSBA today released its 2009 Year-End Economic Report which shows small businesses continue to struggle under the lagging economy and the ongoing credit crunch. The number of small businesses citing decreases in revenue over the past 12 months rose to its highest point since 1993, and 39 percent report they are unable to get adequate financing for their business.

20 Jan 2010

Motivational interviewing may help people to quit smoking

Addressing tobacco use without judging the user appears to help people quit, especially if a primary care physician uses a form of supportive counseling called "motivational interviewing," according to a new review of studies.

20 Jan 2010

Health IT roundup: Sharing data, tracking medical errors and revealing costs

The Wall Street Journal: The Journal's Informed Patient column reports that the "non-profit Institute for Safe Medication Practices, which is certified by the federal government to collect error reports and other information about quality breaches, and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists are launching a new National Alert Network for Serious Medication Errors."

20 Jan 2010

Obama seeks elusive health care victory by months' end

President Barack Obama has plenty of reasons to hope Congress has completed its health overhaul debate by the end of the month, including: the just-scheduled State of the Union address on Jan. 27, a Feb. 1 deadline for submitting the 2011 federal budget to Congress, and flagging poll numbers.

20 Jan 2010

Recipients of comprehensive primary care twice as likely to rate healthcare as high-quality

Chronically ill older adults who are closely supported by a nurse-physician primary care team are twice as likely to rate their health care as high-quality than those who receive usual care, according to a study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

20 Jan 2010

Republican Brown wins Massachusetts Senate seat

The Boston Globe: "Republican Scott Brown tonight pulled off one of the biggest upsets in Massachusetts political history, defeating Democrat Martha Coakley to become the state's next United States senator and potentially derailing President Obama's hopes for a health care overhaul." The

20 Jan 2010

Hoyer: Senate health bill 'clearly better than nothing'

"House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) on Tuesday said passing the Senate healthcare bill would be 'clearly better than nothing,'" The Hill reports. Though Tuesday's special election in Massachusetts could end Democrats "filibuster-proof majority" in the Senate, Hoyer said, "moving ahead on healthcare is essential" (Allen, 1/19).

20 Jan 2010

Bederra in preliminary discussions to acquire Home Healthcare Company

Bederra Corporation, a Houston, Texas-based, diversified medical services provider announced today that it is in preliminary discussions to acquire a Home Healthcare Company.

20 Jan 2010

Massachusetts' Senate election could shape health reform's endgame

"Democrat Martha Coakley's struggle to stave off a potentially devastating defeat in Tuesday's special Senate election in Massachusetts marks a critical turning point in the year-long debate about health-care reform."

20 Jan 2010

News reports question health reform provisions, forecast legal issues

News reports explore remaining issues in Congress' health overhaul negotiations.

20 Jan 2010

Media outlets examine efforts to develop malaria vaccines

Scientists have identified a group of proteins they say could form the basis of a malaria vaccine, Australia's ABC News reports. "However, they say more laboratory work and clinical trials need to be done, with a vaccine at least 10 years away," the news service reports (Macey, 1/19).

20 Jan 2010

Medicare, consumers face challenges when trying to make choices based on value

News outlets report on concerns about Medicare costs, problems with fraud in health care around the world, and the difficulties consumers face when trying to find value in their health services.

20 Jan 2010

Rescue, relief efforts continue in Haiti, 200,000 people estimated to have perished in quake

Rescue efforts continue in Haiti after a major earthquake hit the country last week, CNN reports (1/18). While teams still search for survivors under the rubble, the priority is shifting to relief for those who survived the quake, according to Nicholas Reader, spokesperson for the U.N. Offices for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, TIME reports (Newton-Small, 1/18).

20 Jan 2010