Labor News and Research

RSS

Obama administration announces $1 billion in new health IT grants

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis Friday announced the release of $1 billion in stimulus funds to expand the use of electronic records and to train health care workers.

16 Feb 2010

First Edition: February 16, 2010

Today's health policy headlines cover a range of topics -- from using health savings to reduce the deficit to how tort reform fits into the current health reform negotiations.

16 Feb 2010

BioOhio awarded $5M grant to implement Ohio Bioscience Industry Workforce Preparedness project

BioOhio and partners have been awarded a $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration to implement the Ohio Bioscience Industry Workforce Preparedness project.

16 Feb 2010

U.S. Department of Labor awards $4.95M grant for BRIDGE biotechnology project

San Diego State University, BIOCOM, San Diego Workforce Partnership, and the Southern California Biotechnology Center at Miramar College today announced the award of a three-year, $4.95 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor aimed at assisting the economic growth of the San Diego region's life sciences industry. The Biotechnology Readiness, Immersion, Certification and Degrees for Gainful Employment (BRIDGE) project will provide education, training, and placement services to more than 1,000 veterans, incumbent workers and dislocated and unemployed workers within the San Diego region.

16 Feb 2010

Spectra Laboratories replaces legacy system with McKesson’s Horizon Lab LIS to improve workflow

Spectra Laboratories East (Rockleigh, N.J.), a lab division of Fresenius Medical Care North America, recently replaced its legacy system with McKesson’s Horizon Lab™ laboratory information system (LIS) to improve workflow associated with more than 30 million tests it performs annually.

16 Feb 2010

Chemed announces financial results for fourth-quarter ended December 31, 2009

Chemed Corporation, which operates VITAS Healthcare Corporation, the nation’s largest provider of end-of-life care, and Roto-Rooter, the nation’s largest commercial and residential plumbing and drain cleaning services provider, reported financial results for its fourth quarter ended December 31, 2009, versus the comparable prior-year period

15 Feb 2010

UC3M study reveals more than 900,000 people with right to public benefits in Spain

A study carried out at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) that evaluates the number of those affected by dependency and the costs associated with it in Spain, estimates that there are more than 900,000 people with a right to public benefits and that official numbers come up short in relation to initial forecasts.

15 Feb 2010

US Department of Labor announces over $225M ARRA funded health care and high growth training grants

The U.S. Department of Labor today announced more than $225 million in health care and high growth training grants funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The grants will allow community colleges, community-based organizations, state workforce agencies and other public entities to deliver training that leads to employment in a range of health care fields and other growing industries. With today's announcement, organizations in all 50 states have received a share of nearly $750 million in competitive grant funding made available through the Department of Labor.

15 Feb 2010

Obama administration to announce $975 million in health IT grants

The Obama administration is awarding $975 million in grants to help states and health care providers adopt health information technology. The grant money being announced Friday comes from the economic stimulus legislation passed by Congress last year and is part of the administration's push to get doctors, hospitals and others to move from paper to computerized record-keeping.

15 Feb 2010

Administration rejects Anthem Blue Cross' defense of premium hike

WellPoint Inc., the parent company of Anthem Blue Cross of California, is defending its rate hike for customers with individual health insurance, but critics, including the Obama administration, are dubious.

15 Feb 2010

COBRA extension out of revised Senate jobs bill

"Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is rewriting a jobs bill after Democrats complained of too many concessions to Republicans," The Hill reports. Unlike the bill unveiled hours earlier by Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., Reid's measure "does not extend unemployment and COBRA benefits that many in both parties want." Some Democrats are concerned by the change.

14 Feb 2010

Boston Scientific combines Cardiovascular Group and Cardiac Rhythm Management Group

Boston Scientific Corporation today announced a series of management changes and restructuring initiatives designed to strengthen the Company and position it for long-term success.

11 Feb 2010

DPC lauds passage of S.B. 316 dialysis care legislation

Dialysis Patient Citizens today praised the Senate Insurance and Labor Committee for unanimously passing legislation – S.B. 316 – which will increase patient access to life-saving dialysis care or transplant medications. Dialysis patients attending yesterday’s hearing encouraged lawmakers to support the bill which, if enacted, would greatly help approximately 2,000 Georgians suffering from kidney failure who are having difficulty accessing health insurance. Twenty-nine states across the country have enacted this popular legislation that is widely embraced by patients, family members and taxpayers.

11 Feb 2010

Research finds Mexican-Americans as most physically active group in U.S.

When it comes to meeting national health goals for physical activity, Mexican-Americans are the most active group in America and may benefit from exercise that researchers typically have not measured, according to research by scholars at the University of Chicago and Arizona State University.

11 Feb 2010

Fluidigm releases amplicon tagging protocol for Illumina GA II next-generation sequencer

Fluidigm Corporation today announced the release of its amplicon tagging protocol for the Illumina GA II next-generation sequencer. The 48.48 Access Array integrated fluidic circuit (IFC) allows Illumina GA II users to automatically prepare sequencing-ready libraries from 48 individual samples at a time, for as little as $7 (U.S.) per sample.

10 Feb 2010

MDS to divest remaining MDS Pharma Services Early Stage business for $45M

MDS Inc., a leading provider of products and services to the global life sciences markets, today announced that it has signed agreements to divest its remaining MDS Pharma Services Early Stage business, which provides Discovery through Phase IIa clinical trial services to biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, for $45 million and certain minority equity interests.

10 Feb 2010

Excelsior Medical receives Canadian marketing license for new, pre-filled catheter lock syringe

Excelsior Medical Corporation, one of the leading manufacturers of pre-filled catheter flush syringes, today announced that it has received a Medical Device License from Health Canada for its new, pre-filled catheter lock syringe to be sold in the Canadian marketplace.

10 Feb 2010

Health debate travails boost lobbying firms

Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., won an upset election last month that has reshaped the health debate and that new dynamic could be a boon for lobbying firms, The Philadelphia Inquirer's Law Review columnist writes. "The thousands of lobbyists on and off Capitol Hill who labor on behalf of health-industry clients can now count on at least a few more monthly retainers.

9 Feb 2010

Innovative nerve graft transplant successful in treatment and prevention of posterior pressure ulcers

The Plastic Surgery Center today announced that an innovative nerve graft transplant performed by Dr. Andrew Elkwood has proven to be successful in treating and preventing posterior pressure ulcers – one of the leading causes of mortality among paraplegics. 49-year old Tory Cavalieri, who underwent the procedure last January, has regained sensation in his posterior and is free of acute pressure sores, which had left him bedridden for years.

9 Feb 2010

Researchers study link between premature births and cerebral palsy

Cerebral palsy (CP) has increased in infants born prematurely in the United States, according to data presented by researchers from Loyola University Health System (LUHS). These findings were reported at the 30th Annual Meeting of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine in Chicago.

9 Feb 2010

Labor News and Research

Obama administration announces $1 billion in new health IT grants

First Edition: February 16, 2010

BioOhio awarded $5M grant to implement Ohio Bioscience Industry Workforce Preparedness project

U.S. Department of Labor awards $4.95M grant for BRIDGE biotechnology project

Spectra Laboratories replaces legacy system with McKesson’s Horizon Lab LIS to improve workflow

Chemed announces financial results for fourth-quarter ended December 31, 2009

UC3M study reveals more than 900,000 people with right to public benefits in Spain

US Department of Labor announces over $225M ARRA funded health care and high growth training grants

Obama administration to announce $975 million in health IT grants

Administration rejects Anthem Blue Cross' defense of premium hike

COBRA extension out of revised Senate jobs bill

Boston Scientific combines Cardiovascular Group and Cardiac Rhythm Management Group

DPC lauds passage of S.B. 316 dialysis care legislation

Research finds Mexican-Americans as most physically active group in U.S.

Fluidigm releases amplicon tagging protocol for Illumina GA II next-generation sequencer

MDS to divest remaining MDS Pharma Services Early Stage business for $45M

Excelsior Medical receives Canadian marketing license for new, pre-filled catheter lock syringe

Health debate travails boost lobbying firms

Innovative nerve graft transplant successful in treatment and prevention of posterior pressure ulcers

Researchers study link between premature births and cerebral palsy

Achieving and maintaining ISO 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

Latest News