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Regulatory changes needed to protect public health from exposure to toxicants

Americans are exposed to hundreds, if not thousands, of suspected toxic substances every day, substances that affect the development and function of the brain, immune system, reproductive organs or hormones. Children are the most vulnerable. But no public health law requires product testing of most chemical compounds before they enter the marketplace.

25 Jan 2011

Health care jobs can be tough to find but primary care docs are in short supply

News outlets report on the health care workforce, including how the primary care physician supply is getting tighter as baby boomers' health needs increase.

24 Jan 2011

Nutrient 'biomarkers' may help assess nutrient status of elderly people at risk for dementia

Research is trying to determine whether Alzheimer's disease might be slowed or prevented with nutritional approaches, but a new study suggests those efforts could be improved by use of nutrient "biomarkers" to objectively assess the nutrient status of elderly people at risk for dementia.

24 Jan 2011

Eliminating sugary drinks from diet can reduce tooth decay in American Indian children

A study conducted in four American Indian communities in the Pacific Northwest presents an effective strategy to convince mothers to switch young children from drinking sweetened soda to water and shows that eliminating these sugary drinks from the diets of the youngest members of the tribe significantly decreased tooth decay.

24 Jan 2011

Tips for parents to prevent infant abduction

What can parents do to prevent an infant abduction from occurring? Here are some tips that Sharon M. Rossi, R.N.C., M.S., director of Women's and Children's Services at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, says every parent needs to know and follow.

24 Jan 2011

Medicare warnings, entitlement cuts draw attention

Meanwhile, KQED reports on efforts to coordinate coverage for baby-boomers who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid.

21 Jan 2011

Ultrasound practice accreditation is now available in Fetal Echocardiography: AUSM

The American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine announced today that ultrasound practice accreditation is now available in Fetal Echocardiography. The program sets the standard for care in fetal echocardiography and builds on the development of AIUM guidelines aimed at fostering its safe and effective use.

20 Jan 2011

OSC and RINCH offer support to speed discovery techniques of childhood diseases

Worried about her high fever and severe abdominal pain, a young couple rushed their baby daughter to the emergency department of Nationwide Children's Hospital. Physicians there found a lump in her belly, and, after examining X-rays and blood work, confirmed the parents' worst fear: their 18-month-old little girl had neuroblastoma, a rare pediatric cancer that involves the adrenal glands.

20 Jan 2011

Viewpoints: Sebelius and Vilsack on rural health; Many thoughts on repeal vote; State budget cuts

As former governors from the Heartland, we've seen firsthand how Americans in rural areas struggle to get the health care they need. Whether it's a farmer losing his health insurance because he has no good choices or a mom putting off a treatment because there aren't enough doctors nearby, rural Americans often go without critical preventive care or key procedures.

20 Jan 2011

Surgeon General issues 'Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding'

Surgeon General Regina M. Benjamin on Jan. 20 will issue "The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding," which outlines evidence-based steps that all sectors of a community can take to remove obstacles faced by women who want to breastfeed their babies.

19 Jan 2011

Mothers with resolved grief following preterm birth more likely to have securely attached infants

Having a baby prematurely can be traumatic experience for parents and is typically characterized by feelings of loss and grief that can persist for months after a baby is discharged from the hospital.

19 Jan 2011

Researchers look at potential benefits, risks of exclusive breastfeeding during first 6 months of life

A review of existing studies on breastfeeding, published Thursday online in BMJ (British Medical Journal), suggests some findings that contradict the WHO's 2001 recommendation that mothers "exclusively breastfeed for the first six months of their infants' lives," Nature News reports (Gilbert, 1/14). Researchers who conducted the most recent review "said babies fed only breast milk could suffer iron deficiency and may be more prone to allergies" and they said mothers could stop breastfeeding as early as four months, Agence France-Presse writes.

19 Jan 2011

Guardian online series explores global health worker issues

The Guardian reports, as part of an online feature about health care workforces worldwide done in association with the Global Health Workforce Alliance (GHWA), that "Africa is desperately short of doctors and nurses. So is much of Asia. In 57 countries, the situation is deemed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to be at crisis point ... But in contrast to some other developing world problems, this is an issue that really does affect all of us. The world needs an estimated 4.2 million more health workers."

19 Jan 2011

Australians urged to vaccinate babies and care givers against whooping cough

The number of cases of the deadly whooping cough in the Hume region in Victoria, including Wodonga, last year increased fivefold from those diagnosed in 2008. A total 67 cases were reported in Albury last year but across the Greater Southern region there were more than 1,000 cases. The outbreak reached its peak in September. In the last three years 1,416 West Australians contracted the disease, three of whom died.

18 Jan 2011

Roundup: Calif., Fla. differ on health law; Texas Gov. on Medicaid 'flexibility'; Ariz. mental health

While Republicans open debate Tuesday on repealing health reform, leaders in California are sitting down to a completely different discussion: how they can most aggressively implement the new law and remain among the Obama administration's model states on the reform — without stumbling over the significant challenges that stand in their way (Kliff, 1/18).

18 Jan 2011

F.N.B. Capital closes $5.0MM funding for Celtic Healthcare

F.N.B. Capital Corporation, LLC, a Pittsburgh-based merchant banking subsidiary of F.N.B. Corporation, today announced the closing of $5.0MM in funding for Celtic Healthcare, Inc., based in Mars, Pennsylvania. Celtic Healthcare is a leading regional full-continuum home healthcare and hospice services provider.

14 Jan 2011

Cataloguing microbes in gut could lead to cause of necrotizing enterocolitis

Scientists have for the first time sequenced and reconstructed the genomes of most of the microbes in the gut of a premature newborn and documented how the microbe populations changed over time.

14 Jan 2011

FRC opposes designating abortion as means of pregnancy-prevention

At a meeting today in the nation's capital of a federal advisory committee on the new health care law, Family Research Council (FRC) expressed its strong opposition to designating abortion as a means of pregnancy-prevention. The Institute of Medicine Committee on Preventive Services for Women is hearing comments about regulatory mandates for women's preventive services under Obamacare.

13 Jan 2011

Study highlights states with largest aggregate Medicaid underfunding

A new study released today finds that Medicaid programs in states across the country underfunded nursing facility care by $5.6 billion in 2010, paying on average $7.17 per hour per patient, less than the nation's current minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.

13 Jan 2011

New Down syndrome non-invasive test for ‘mums-to-be’ on the horizon

According to experts a simple DNA test for Down syndrome could save nearly all pregnant women from invasive tests like amniocentesis. Usually 3% to 5% of pregnant women in the UK or some 30,000 women have to undergo invasive tests like amniocentesis that increases the risk of miscarriage to 1%. The new DNA blood test could bring this down to 0.1%, according to a study in the British Medical Journal.

12 Jan 2011