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Language skills are essential to a child’s ability to communicate and develop. These skills enable children to engage with other people and learn from their surroundings and in the classroom.

Abortion language in Senate health bill draws strong criticism

In the hours after the latest abortion compromise was unveiled -- resulting from an agreement reached between Senate Democratic leaders and Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb.-- news outlets have reported on the reaction.

20 Dec 2009

XSPA Profile of SAML and XSPA Profile of XACML approved as OASIS Standards for Healthcare

The OASIS international consortium today announced two new information standards that give hospitals, insurers, and others in the healthcare community much-needed mechanisms for exchanging privacy policies, evaluating consent directives, and determining authorizations.

19 Dec 2009

UCSF/SFGH project to improve health outcomes among diabetes patients honored

A UCSF/San Francisco General Hospital project that used a novel communication tool to improve health outcomes among diabetes patients was honored recently with a quality leadership award from the California Health Care Safety Net Institute.

18 Dec 2009

Health care bill "compromise" proposal on abortion morally unacceptable, says Galveston-Houston Archbishop

Responding to reports of a new "compromise" proposal on abortion in the U.S. Senate's health care reform bill, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo today reaffirmed the position of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops that the legislation will be morally unacceptable "unless and until" it complies with longstanding current laws on abortion funding such as the Hyde amendment. Cardinal DiNardo is Archbishop of Galveston-Houston and Chairman of the Conference's Committee on Pro-Life Activities.

18 Dec 2009

Senate leaders in hot pursuit of the elusive 60th vote: Ben Nelson

The Associated Press: "With just days remaining to prove that they can meet a self-imposed Christmas deadline and pass President Barack Obama's signature initiative through the Senate, Democrats seeking a rendezvous with history instead detoured to an intraparty brawl. ... All eyes were on the only known Democratic holdout, moderate Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska, whose primary concern is that abortion funding restrictions in the bill were too lax.

18 Dec 2009

Study provides new definition on dyslexia

Contrary to popular belief, some very smart, accomplished people cannot read well. This unexpected difficulty in reading in relation to intelligence, education and professional status is called dyslexia, and researchers at Yale School of Medicine and University of California Davis, have presented new data that explain how otherwise bright and intelligent people struggle to read.

18 Dec 2009

CHA's statements on ‘Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2009’

The Catholic Health Association is pleased to learn of the work being done to improve the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2009. As we understand it, the Senate intends to keep the President's commitment that no federal funds will pay for abortions and in addition, provide significant new support for pregnant women.

18 Dec 2009

Medicare expenditures less for POHs compared to non-POHs, says new study

The cost to Medicare of a patient receiving treatment at a physician owned and operated hospitals is "4.6 to 6.00% lower" than hospitals not run by physicians, according to a new study by Oxford Outcomes, an internationally respected research agency.

18 Dec 2009

Sen. Nelson rejects abortion compromise

Reuters: "Democratic hopes for passing a broad healthcare overhaul in the U.S. Senate by Christmas took a hit on Thursday when a party holdout, Ben Nelson, rejected a compromise on abortion aimed at winning his vote. ... Democrats have no margin of error -- they control exactly 60 votes and face so far unified Republican opposition.

17 Dec 2009

Landrieu and Klobuchar announce support for health bill

The (Monroe, La.) News-Star: "Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu said Wednesday she will vote for the Senate's health care reform bill, calling the latest version a 'dramatic improvement' over previous proposals. Her support is critical to passing the massive bill, a priority for Democrats and President Barack Obama. Landrieu, a moderate, was among a small group of senators who met in recent weeks to work out a compromise on major aspects of the legislation" (Berry, 12/17).

17 Dec 2009

E Cigarettes National: Special interest groups have no legitimate argument against the cigarette

Over the last few weeks there has been an increase of the amount of scare language that is used by e cigarette opposition in an attempt to scare the population concerning the electronic cigarette. Many are questioning the tactics of these groups when the evidence clearly shows that the product is indeed a safer alternative to tobacco according to several studies, lab reports and opinions from top medial and harm reduction specialist around the world.

17 Dec 2009

Michelangelo studies: Close partners sculpt one another's skills and traits to promote goal achievement

A new international review of seven papers on "the Michelangelo phenomenon" shows that when close partners affirm and support each other's ideal selves, they and the relationship benefit greatly.

17 Dec 2009

Lieberman assures Democrats of his support but ties with party are fraying

The Wall Street Journal reports that Lieberman's "use of his swing vote to help quash a proposed expansion of Medicare marked the latest act in his deteriorating relationship with the Democratic Party. Cheered nine years ago by Democrats as their vice-presidential nominee, Mr. Lieberman later left the party and now is an object of vilification among many in the party's base because of his positions on health care."

16 Dec 2009

EIS Action-Units to collate and disseminate life-saving information to disaster-hit populations

Thomson Reuters Foundation today announces the launch of a pioneering, first-of-its-kind service - The Emergency Information Service (EIS). Developed to respond to major natural disasters around the world, the new EIS will deploy expert Action-Units of journalists to scenes of major catastrophe where they will seek out, collate and disseminate life-saving information to disaster-struck populations, filling a critical gap in the chain of crisis information.

16 Dec 2009

Kidney drug plan divides transplant and dialysis supporters

The New York Times: "A Congressional proposal to help pay for drugs needed by transplant recipients to prevent rejection of donated kidneys has run into opposition from dialysis providers, drug companies and the National Kidney Foundation." The groups support extending Medicare drug coverage but say the measure would cut funding for dialysis

15 Dec 2009

Mitrionics' Accelerated Computing Platform selected by QUT for accelerating algorithms

Mitrionics AB, the technology leader in FPGA-based hybrid computing, today announced that the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) High Performance Computing group has selected the Mitrion™ Accelerated Computing Platform to explore several projects designed to accelerate algorithms in different application areas.

15 Dec 2009

Women's health becomes political issue in health care debate

"The heated Capitol Hill debate over health care coverage for mammograms has exploded onto the political scene, shaping the 2010 electoral landscape and recalibrating the battle for a crucial constituency: the women's vote," Politico reports.

15 Dec 2009

Updated clinical data from Phase 2 study evaluating oral ridaforolimus presented

ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the presentation of updated clinical data from its Phase 2 study evaluating oral ridaforolimus in combination with trastuzumab (Herceptin®) in patients with resistant, metastatic breast cancer.

15 Dec 2009

Language Line Services honored with ‘Raquel Cashman Language Access Award’

The International Medical Interpreters Association (IMIA) recently awarded Language Line Services, a leading interpretation and translation provider, with the Raquel Cashman Language Access Award at the organization's 2009 conference.

14 Dec 2009

Medipattern and OMIC team up to provide breast ultrasound imaging service

The Medipattern Corporation ("Medipattern"), a pioneer in the development of medical software solutions that help improve imaging workflow and productivity, has announced that it has partnered with Ocean Medical Imaging Center (OMIC), developed through a partnership with Lake Forest, Calif.-based InSight Health Services Holdings Corp. ("Insight Imaging") (OTCBB:ISGT), to provide the service of B-CAD® computer aided detection of breast ultrasound imaging under the B-CAD-FOR-LIFETM program.

14 Dec 2009