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Newspapers examine drought, famine in East Africa

According to Canada's National Post, a humanitarian coalition "warns East Africa faces 'a perfect storm of crop failures, a multi-year lack of rain, conflicts and political turmoil,' which now threatens 20 million people with severe hunger." Fighting in Somalia has driven 1.55 million people to internal camps outside the capital of Mogadishu as well as refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya, where the unsanitary conditions of one camp led Oxfam to label it "barely fit for humans."

10 Sep 2009

Democratic leaders say reform bill is progressing

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are calling for Democratic unity on health care overhaul after a meeting with President Obama yesterday that they say "re-energized" them.

10 Sep 2009

Baucus: Committee will move ahead with bill regardless of Republican support

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., "said Wednesday that he will push ahead with a comprehensive health care reform bill with — or without — Republican support and start a committee markup the week of Sept. 21," Politico reports.

10 Sep 2009

Christian right largely opposes health care reform

Conservative Christian groups are rallying to oppose health care reform and raising their concerns about abortion in reform.

10 Sep 2009

Center for Health Studies is renamed as SEATTLE-Group Health Research Institute

SEATTLE-Group Health Research Institute is the new name of Group Health Center for Health Studies. Since 1983, it has been doing research to improve health and health care for all. The Institute is the research arm of Group Health Cooperative, and it is changing its name to reflect this relationship more clearly.

10 Sep 2009

All Americans should have access to affordable and high quality health care: President of BIO

“BIO shares President Obama's goal of ensuring that all Americans have access to affordable, sustainable, high quality health care. Biotechnology plays an essential role in achieving this goal. Biotechnology expands the boundaries of science by discovering, developing, and delivering innovative and needed medical products to patients.

10 Sep 2009

WHO country representative calls for Kenyan leaders to hasten implementation of health policies

In light of the upcoming 7th Global Conference on Health Promotion to be held next month in Nairobi, Kenya, WHO country representative David Okello on Wednesday called upon government leaders to work faster to implement the policies needed to reduce the country's health burden, the Daily Nation reports.

10 Sep 2009

Contradictions between personal and systemic health issues could thwart reform

Health care reform efforts must confront a paradox, the Los Angeles Times reports: "Millions of Americans say the system they depend on for everything from routine flu shots to life-saving heart surgery is broken and needs fixing.

9 Sep 2009

Mentally ill smokers also benefit from treatment, says research paper

People with mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety are the heaviest smokers in the country, but their doctors are afraid to ask them to quit. They assume that if their patients try to quit smoking, their mental disorders will get worse.

9 Sep 2009

Baucus aims for health agreement in advance of Obama speech tonight

Democrats are promising to send President Obama a health reform plan this year as Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus continues to try to get key Republicans on board with a new proposal.

9 Sep 2009

Change to Win urges congress to implement a comprehensive health care reform

"Tonight, President Obama made the case to fix the broken health care system that has become a tremendous burden on working families and a constant threat to an already fragile economy. Congress must act now by implementing comprehensive health care reform that guarantees all Americans have high quality, affordable coverage.

9 Sep 2009

American Medical News examines clinical trials outsourcing

American Medical News examines the ethical considerations of outsourcing pharmaceutical clinical trials to developing countries. The article highlights how it is less expensive for a drug company to conduct a trial in India, where it runs about $2,000 to track a patient through a trial, compared to the cost in the U.S., which is "10 times more."

9 Sep 2009

AARP committed to health reform, but seniors remain split

AARP leaders, like Morie Smile, the association's acting director in Colorado, have been asked to help "calm the fury and correct the misinformation that has poured forth this summer and rattled so many senior citizens," the Washington Post reports.

9 Sep 2009

Health care reform should make system efficient for patients and physicians: AMA

"It is clear that the status quo is unacceptable. The AMA will continue to work for reform that makes the system work better for patients and physicians. We must seize this opportunity this year to achieve meaningful health reform for America's patients and physicians.

9 Sep 2009

News organizations offer last minute decoders for health debate

Media organizations have presented a variety of health care decoders today, in anticipation of President Obama's speech tonight. Timelines, glossaries and a list of interest groups' ambitions seek to put the debate in context.

9 Sep 2009

An examination of Medicare cost and quality issues

Chronic conditions and readmission to the ER trigger significant costs to the hospital system and Medicare while efforts are underway to save Medicare money by preventing hospital infections and falls.

9 Sep 2009

With summer jobs, med students experience health system challenges first hand

A group of University of Washington medical students had an eye-opening experience with the health care system this summer, The New York Times reports. A record number of students from the university this year participated in a summer program that sends rising second-year medical students "across the Northwest to provide primary care in rural or underserved areas."

9 Sep 2009

MyHeadLiceTreatment.com launched by ParaPRO

Just in time for peak head lice season, ParaPRO, LLC has launched MyHeadLiceTreatment.com, a free, engaging and comprehensive “one-stop shop” about head lice. Treating head lice can be an issue. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate between 6 to 12 million cases of head lice infestations will occur this year - most in children 3 to 12 years old.

9 Sep 2009

Lawsuit charged against Pfizer for illegal marketing of Geodon

Parker Waichman Alonso LLP represented a whistleblower in one of the lawsuits involved in the recent $2.3 billion Pfizer settlement. The whistleblower lawsuit alleged that Pfizer illegally promoted the off-label use of the antipsychotic medication Geodon.

9 Sep 2009

MRSA awareness event to be held at Loyola University Chicago

MRSA Survivors Network, the Chicago-based nonprofit and official organization for World MRSA Day, along with fellow MRSA activists will lift the veil of secrecy surrounding MRSA. The history making inaugural kick-off event will be held at Loyola University Chicago on October 1st. The 2009 theme is "You Can Not Change What You Do Not Acknowledge."

9 Sep 2009