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Wisconsin city was unwitting birthplace of 'death panel' myth

A Wisconsin city has a pioneering program with Medicare reimbursements, which has essentially made it the birthplace of the "death panel" myth. The Washington Post reports on La Crosse: "This city often shows up on 'best places to live' lists, but residents say it is also a good place to die -- which is how it landed in the center of a controversy that almost derailed health-care reform this summer."

5 Sep 2009

Safety net hospitals worry health reform poses threat

The Associated Press/San Jose Mercury News: "To all the knotty issues involved in health care overhaul, add one more: The proposals in Congress may threaten the funding and future of the nation's already-struggling safety net hospitals."

5 Sep 2009

Angiotensin II receptors not detectable in pregnant or preeclamptic women

A new study by researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine reveals a key component in the development of preeclampsia in pregnant women, a condition that can result in miscarriage and maternal death.

5 Sep 2009

Winner of 2009 Gerald A. Beathard Fellowship award announced

Lifeline Vascular Access(SM), the nation's leading provider of vascular access management services, today announced that Dr. Stephen Osaguona has been awarded the 2009 Gerald A. Beathard Fellowship in Interventional Nephrology.

5 Sep 2009

MSMC's revenue bonds affirmed as BB+ by Fitch Ratings

Fitch Ratings affirmed the 'BB+' rating on approximately $260 million of the City of Miami Beach Health Facilities Authority Hospital Revenue Bonds, series 1998, 2001A and 2004 issued on behalf of Mount Sinai Medical Center of Florida (MSMC). The Rating Outlook is revised to Stable from Negative.

5 Sep 2009

MRF announces winners of six 2009 research grants

The Migraine Research Foundation (MRF), the only nonprofit organization devoted solely to funding migraine research, today announced the winners of the 2009 research grants. This year's grantees will explore such important areas as pediatric migraine, the genetic association between migraine and cardiovascular events, and why opioids enhance migraine pain.

5 Sep 2009

Medline Industries signs agreement to acquire SunChoice

Medline Industries, Inc., the largest privately held manufacturer and distributor of medical supplies in the United States, announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the business and assets of healthcare distributor SunChoice Europe Limited from the Southern Cross Healthcare Group.

5 Sep 2009

New approach for understanding how drug resistance occurs in leukemia

UCSF researchers have developed a new approach to identify specific genes that influence how cancer cells respond to drugs and how they become resistant. This strategy, which involves producing diverse genetic mutations that result in leukemia and associating specific mutations with treatment outcomes, will enable researchers to better understand how drug resistance occurs in leukemia and other cancers, and has important long-term implications for the development of more effective therapies.

5 Sep 2009

nSR100 protein plays a key role in neuron development

Researchers at the University of Toronto have identified a protein which plays a key role in the development of neurons, which could enhance our understanding of how the brain works, and how diseases such as Alzheimer's occur.

5 Sep 2009

Fitch downgrades bond ratings of Valley Health System

Fitch Ratings has downgraded to 'C' from 'CC' the rating on approximately $45.5 million of bonds (listed below) issued by Valley Health System, California (VHS). In addition, Fitch has placed the bonds on Rating Watch Negative.

5 Sep 2009

Government favors hospitals' joint purchasing agreement proposal

The Department of Justice announced today that it will not challenge a proposal by Memorial Health Inc. (Memorial), and St. Joseph's/Candler Health System (St. Joseph's/Candler) to enter an exclusive joint purchasing agreement with respect to the purchase of certain medical and surgical supplies.

5 Sep 2009

Bloodstream infections can be avoided with a daily scrub solution bath

Giving critically ill hospital patients a daily bath with a mild, soapy solution of the same antibacterial agent used by surgeons to "scrub in" before an operation can dramatically cut down, by as much as 73 percent, the number of patients who develop potentially deadly bloodstream infections, according to a new study by patient safety experts at The Johns Hopkins Hospital and five other institutions.

5 Sep 2009

Study reveals elevated cTnT levels in post-CABG patients

Levels of a biomarker used in the diagnosis of heart attacks are almost universally elevated in patients who have undergone coronary-artery bypass grafting (CABG) and, when markedly elevated, are powerfully prognostic, a team of researchers from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Heart Center has found.

5 Sep 2009

Researchers discover the causes for the severity of RSV illness

Approximately one-half of all infants are infected with the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) during the first year of life, and almost all children have been infected at least once by the time they reach their second birthday. Researchers at West Virginia University have discovered what makes RSV such a severe and persistent illness.

4 Sep 2009

New protein fragments identified for anthrax vaccine development

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have identified two small protein fragments that could be developed into an anthrax vaccine that may cause fewer side effects than the current vaccine.

4 Sep 2009

Capsule parnters with Arcomed to provide connectivity between IV pumps and information systems

Arcomed AG, a global provider of IV pumps, and Capsule, the leading provider of medical device connectivity, today announced an agreement that promotes connectivity between Arcomed's IV pumps and hospital information systems using Capsule's leading vendor neutral connectivity solution.

4 Sep 2009

Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke in European hospitals is low, says study

Tobacco use is prohibited in hospitals in many European countries, although levels of compliance with this regulation differ. A study carried out by researchers from the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO) has shown for the first time that exposure to environmental tobacco smoke in European hospitals is "low", and "without any notable differences" between them.

4 Sep 2009

Children International distributes free wheelchairs to physically disabled children in Ecuador

For 10-year-old Jessica, who struggles with muscular dystrophy and epilepsy that make her life on the steep mountainside above Quito, Ecuador extremely difficult, her new wheelchair is priceless!

4 Sep 2009

Mindray DS USA announces the recent appointment of its Vice President

Mindray DS USA, a Mindray Global Company, announces the recent appointment of Michael Thompson as vice president of ultrasound sales for the U.S. Thompson brings more than 20 years of medical sales, sales force management and business development to the position.

From Mindray 4 Sep 2009

Rick Barnett appointed as senior vice president by VHA to head its West Coast regional office

VHA Inc., the national health care network, has hired Rick Barnett as senior vice president of its West Coast regional office, and it has elevated John Thomas to the post of senior vice president to lead the newly formed VHA Pacific Northwest office, VHA's 17th regional office.

4 Sep 2009