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Blood services workers on strike in Michigan, Ohio

The American Red Cross is viciously attacking its workforce in the Midwest. More than 300 qualified, hardworking unionized blood services workers remain on strike over plans by Red Cross that would destabilize blood supply safety and strip workers of their collective bargaining rights.

2 May 2012

UCLA develops compact and cost-effective RDT-reading device

In the fight against emerging public health threats, early diagnosis of infectious diseases is crucial. And in poor and remote areas of the globe where conventional medical tools like microscopes and cytometers are unavailable, rapid diagnostic tests, or RDTs, are helping to make disease screening quicker and simpler.

30 Apr 2012

First Edition: April 27, 2012

Today's headlines include details of a new study finding that, as a result of the health law, consumers and businesses will receive an estimated $1.3 billion in rebates from insurance companies this year.

27 Apr 2012

Viewpoints: Ma. health law trips up even bosses offering insurance; Traumatic brain disease may be complicating veterans' recoveries

Ronn Garry is an owner of Tropical Foods, the independent Roxbury market that has anchored Dudley Square for 36 years. He has 70 employees, 45 of them full time. The 2006 health law says he has to offer those full-time employees health insurance, cover at least 33 percent of their premiums, and get a quarter of them to take up his offer. Otherwise, he must pay a fine, called a Fair Share Contribution: $295 for every worker.

27 Apr 2012

MSU report: Rate of workplace deaths in Michigan remained steady in 2011

The rate of workplace deaths in Michigan remained steady in 2011, as 141 workers died on the job compared with 145 in 2010, according to an annual report from Michigan State University.

25 Apr 2012

State roundup: Mo. bill would outlaw federal health law; Texas docs got unwarranted Medicare bonuses

The Missouri House thinks the dreaded federal health care reform law is a crime. Or at least a misdemeanor. Going even further than other state legislatures fighting the law, the Missouri state House has passed a bill declaring the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional and therefore "altogether void and of no force." Any federal worker who tries to implement it would be committing a misdemeanor.

24 Apr 2012

FDA clears Smiths Medical's ViaValve Safety I.V. Catheter

Smiths Medical, a leading global medical device manufacturer, today announced that its ViaValve Safety I.V. Catheter has been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and can be marketed in the United States.

23 Apr 2012

ACOEM releases 10 point Agenda for Change

The American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) has released its 10 point Agenda for Change - an advocacy plan intended to improve the health of America's workers and at the same time integrate workplace health more closely with the nation's overall health improvement strategies.

21 Apr 2012

First Edition: June 20, 2012

Today's headlines include reports that the Veterans' Administration will increase its mental health staffing.

20 Apr 2012

States roundup: Calif. mental health system grapples with controversy, shortage; Texas issues new stem cell rules

In 2006, the U.S. Department of Justice sued the state, alleging that it was violating patients' rights by heavily drugging and improperly restraining them and failing to provide appropriate treatment. The state settled, agreeing to an extensive court-supervised improvement plan at four hospitals with more than 4,000 patients. But a Times investigation found that the plan has failed to achieve the Justice Department's main objective: to raise the level of care so patients could control their violent tendencies and would not be institutionalized any longer than necessary.

17 Apr 2012

HHS report finds nursing homes not prepared for natural disasters

The authors suggest that the federal government mandate better planning. At the same time, many nursing home officials are arguing that as the economy improves, states should increase their funding of Medicaid.

16 Apr 2012

First Edition: April 16, 2012

Today's headlines include reports about what the future might look like when Medicare doctors' pay will be tied to quality and cost of care, as well as how consumer advocates are anxious about a key aspect of the health law.

16 Apr 2012

Report: 88 American youths died from work-related injuries in 2010

Dozens of American youth under the age of 20 die on the job each year while thousands more are injured, often due to poorly regulated work environments, according to a new report released by the Colorado School of Public Health.

10 Apr 2012

Health reform means ER use jumps in Colo.; Calif. insurance premiums rise; Ore. waits to see who wants in on coordinated care

Even people who just got health insurance use the emergency departments to access their care, according to a new study by University of Colorado School of Medicine researchers. It's not just people who lost insurance or people living long without it, the researchers note -- any change in health insurance status, whether positive or negative, tends to send people to the ER because they don't know where else to go.

3 Apr 2012

Regulatory fight could turn ugly as Congress seeks to overhaul cosmetics regulations

In response to public pressure from recent scandals including mercury in face cream, lead in lipstick and formaldehyde in hair products, the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee yesterday convened the first Congressional hearing in 30 years on the safety of cosmetics and personal care products.

29 Mar 2012

DaVita thanks nearly 1,500 renal social workers during NASW

DaVita Inc., a leading provider of kidney care services that is committed to improving the quality of life for those diagnosed with chronic kidney disease (CKD), today thanks its nearly 1,500 social workers for the value and care they provide to patients and their families.

29 Mar 2012

States continue epic struggle over what the health law means for them

Minnesota GOP lawmakers are being criticized by their Democratic governor for how they are trying to create a health insurance exchange. Elsewhere, California insurance rates are increasing as the Supreme Court hears arguments on the health law and a pair of protests targets the health law and unions in Missouri.

28 Mar 2012

Sinai coordinator chosen as one of 50 Social Work Heroes for Justice

Carine Chen-McLaughlin, coordinator of Case Management Operations at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, has been selected as one of 50 Social Work Heroes for Justice by the University of Maryland School of Social Work.

22 Mar 2012

State budget burdens, cost-cutting efforts focus on health programs

Burdened by budget deficits, states are cutting health programs to the chagrin of some. But others say the economic downturn has allowed states to take up long-term economic problems they wouldn't have addressed otherwise.

14 Mar 2012

Foreign HCWs make decisions to emigrate based on information

Michael Clemens, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development (CGD), addresses a recent New York Times article on "medical brain drain" in this CGD "Global Development: Views From The Center" blog post, saying the article's approval of "a horrific proposal to put recruiters of health workers on trial in The Hague for crimes against humanity ... is breathtakingly misguided."

14 Mar 2012