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HHS grants $96M to increase diversity in health workforce

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced the awarding of $96 million in grants to increase diversity in the health professions workforce and encourage nurses to choose careers as nurse educators.

2 Jul 2010

States worry they may not receive expected Medicaid money, prepare contigency plans

The Boston Globe: "Governor Deval Patrick signed a $27.6 billion spending plan yesterday for the budget year that begins today, slashing funding for services across state government, including public education, dental care for the poor, and developmental services for toddlers.

2 Jul 2010

Governors urge Congress to extend emergency Medicaid funds

At a press conference in Washington Wednesday, "10 governors said they had already cut millions from their budgets since the recession hit at the end of 2007, and that if the funds were not approved in coming weeks they would have to slash funding for services like hospice care or preschool programs," Reuters reports.

2 Jul 2010

High-risk insurance pools open to people 'locked out' of market

People who have been unable to obtain health insurance in the commercial market because of pre-existing conditions can apply for a new, federally funded high-risk insurance pool beginning Thursday, The Wall Street Journal reports. "The program is the first major plank of the health overhaul signed into law in March, and it's designed as a temporary provision to expand coverage until 2014, when a requirement kicks in that insurers accept all applicants."

2 Jul 2010

American Abroad Media examines intersection of religion and public health in Africa

American Abroad Media examines how religious groups and leaders are dealing with public health issues in Africa. The program consists of five segments.

2 Jul 2010

New York Times: AIDS drug program has growing waiting list

The New York Times: "The weak economy is crippling the government program that provides life-sustaining antiretroviral drugs to people with H.I.V. or AIDS who cannot afford them. Nearly 1,800 have been relegated to rapidly expanding waiting lists that less than three years ago had dwindled to zero. ...

2 Jul 2010

CPMC launches new innovative program to help poor families

For any parent the birth of a new child is a cause for celebration, a magical, unforgettable moment. Now parents who give birth at California Pacific Medical Center will be able to mark that moment, and help families less fortunate than themselves, through a new program called Tiny Treasure Tributes.

2 Jul 2010

Governors to Congress: Restore extra Medicaid funds

Kaiser Health News staff writer Jenny Gold caught up with Kansas Gov. Mark Parkinson, a Democrat, after a Washington press conference to discuss the current enhanced federal share of Medicaid funds set to expire at the end of the year and the devastating impact on state budgets that Congress' failure to provide additional federal Medicaid assistance could have (Gold, 6/30).

2 Jul 2010

Medical school association suggests clinical conflict-of-interest policies

The Association of American Medical Colleges has asked academic medical institutions to adopt conflict-of-interest policies for clinical care similar to those they apply to medical research, Modern Healthcare reports.

2 Jul 2010

Abortion opponents focusing legislative efforts on the fetus

NPR explores a recent flurry of state legislative efforts to restrict abortions and the new strategy by groups opposed to the procedure. "More than a dozen states passed new laws aimed at limiting abortion this year.

2 Jul 2010

NHI closes $11.5M purchase/leaseback transaction with Bickford Senior Living

National Health Investors, Inc. announced today it has closed a $11.5 million purchase/leaseback transaction with Bickford Senior Living and its affiliates involving two assisted living facilities in Iowa and one in Indiana. The assisted living communities, two of which were built in 1998 and one in 2005, total 102 units and attract 100% private payment for services. The purchase price was funded from NHI's revolving credit facility.

1 Jul 2010

IPC The Hospitalist Company acquires Austin Hospital Physicians

IPC The Hospitalist Company, Inc., a leading national hospitalist physician group practice company, announced today that it has acquired Austin Hospital Physicians, PA, (AHP) based in Austin, Texas. The acquisition represents a new market for IPC in Texas, adding to its well-established presence in the state. AHP has an annualized volume of approximately 9,000 patient encounters.

1 Jul 2010

First Edition: July 1, 2010

Today's health policy headlines highlight news about the launch of a government health insurance web site and the start of the high-risk health insurance pools mandated in the health reform law.

1 Jul 2010

Kilimani Sesame benefits Tanzanian children

There are 8.3 million children who are 5 years and younger living in Tanzania. With limited access to formal education, can media intervention make a positive and significant impact on what these children learn? Sesame Workshop, which produces Kilimani Sesame, the Tanzanian version of Sesame Street, recently commissioned researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in full collaboration with a Dar es Salaam-based research team, to examine the effects of a six-week intervention delivering Kilimani Sesame content to 223 children.

1 Jul 2010

University College London neurology professor becomes first recipient of Lord Brain Memorial Medal

Andrew Lees, Professor of Neurology at University College London, is to be the first ever recipient of the Lord Brain Memorial Medal - awarded for the scientific contributions he has made to the field of movement disorders within the UK. He will receive the medal following his delivery of the inaugural Lord Brain Memorial Lecture; "Brainwashed by the Black Stuff," at Barts and The London Medical School on June 24, 2010.

1 Jul 2010

First analyses on impact of Medicare Part D presented at UMB's 2010 Academy/Health Annual Meeting

Some of the first analyses on the impact of Medicare Part D, as well as new insights on drug adherence patterns by chronic disease patients, will be presented today and tomorrow at the 2010 Academy/Health Annual Meeting by several University of Maryland, Baltimore teams of pharmaceutical health services researchers.

1 Jul 2010

AAO-HNS releases CCS to address ambiguities, disparities in diagnosis and management of nasal valve compromise

Today, the American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) announced the release of a consensus statement to address ambiguities and disparities in the diagnosis and management of nasal valve compromise (NVC).

1 Jul 2010

Authoritative parenting style associated with frequency of family meals and healthy diet in adolescents

Investigators from the University of Minnesota have found a direct association between parenting style and the frequency of meals eaten together as a family and that an authoritative parenting style was associated with more frequent family meals. Their data further indicated that family meals have a positive influence on adolescents to eat a healthy diet. The results of the study are published in the July issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

1 Jul 2010

Lensless cell phone microscope

Cell phones are accumulating a Swiss Army Knife-esqe assortment of capabilities; substituting as cameras, providing internet access, and soon operating as medical labs if Aydogan Ozcan's plans come to fruition. This month's cover article of the journal Lab on a Chip features the latest creation by the Ozcan group, a functioning prototype of a cell phone microscope.

1 Jul 2010

A-Life Medical named winner in Red Herring 100 North America award competition

A-Life Medical, Inc., the pioneer and leading provider of computer-assisted coding (CAC) products and services to the healthcare industry, announced today it was named a winner of Red Herring's Top 100 North America award, a prestigious honor recognizing leading private companies from North America, which celebrated these startups' innovations and technologies across their respective industries.

1 Jul 2010