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Sutter Health deploys surgical care team and sends medical supplies and equipment for Haiti relief efforts

A 15-member surgical care team from the Sutter Health network deployed Thursday from San Francisco International Airport to provide critical medical care to earthquake victims in Haiti. The team included general and orthopedic surgeons, anesthesiologists, pulmonary acute care specialists and operating room nurses from Sutter Health-affiliated Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, California Pacific Medical Center and Mills-Peninsula Health Services.

23 Jan 2010

Salient Management announces partnership with New York State's OMIG to provide Medicaid oversight

Salient Management, known for its success in helping organizations achieve improved results, today announced a partnership with New York State's Office of the Medicaid Inspector General (OMIG) to help eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within the Medicaid system.

23 Jan 2010

Recent releases in global health

"Picture the situation in Haiti: families living on top of sewage-contaminated rubbish dumps, with no reliable sources of food and water and virtually no access to health care. This scenario depicts the situation in Haiti before the earthquake that catapulted this impoverished and conflict-ridden country into the international headlines,"

23 Jan 2010

Poll: Most say Congress should start again on health care

"A majority of Americans say President Obama and congressional Democrats should suspend work on the health care bill that has been on the verge of passage and consider alternatives that would draw more Republican support, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds," USA Today reports.

23 Jan 2010

GOP to Dems: Slow down, start again

CQ Politics: "Fresh from his upset victory in Massachusetts, Republican Sen-elect Scott P. Brown said Thursday that he agreed with suggestions that Democrats should scrap their health care proposal and start over." Arriving at the Hill Thursday, "Brown, who will become the Senate's 41st Republican, depriving Democrats of their filibuster-proof majority — was greeted as a conquering hero by Senate Republicans" (1/21).

23 Jan 2010

Searching for consensus, Dems consider potential of paring back health reform

"Passage of a comprehensive [health] bill looked impossible after the Democrats' loss of a Senate seat in Massachusetts. As an alternative, lawmakers in both parties said, some pieces of the bills already passed by the House and the Senate could be pulled out and packaged together in a measure that would command broad support."

23 Jan 2010

Opinion: Haiti relief; WHO response to H1N1

An Economist editorial examines the relief and recovery efforts in Haiti and the "vital" importance of planning for rebuilding the country "before the world's generosity turns to cynicism. Fortunately there is a blueprint, drawn up by Haiti's government and presented to donors last year. It calls for investment to be targeted on infrastructure, basic services and combating soil erosion to make farmers more productive and the country less vulnerable to hurricanes. The pressing question is who should do it and how."

23 Jan 2010

Workers combat hospital infections

CNN reports on efforts to combat hospital-acquired infections, which affect 1.7 million people each year and kill 99,000, while adding $28 billion to the nation's overall health care bill, according to federal research. "But there are signs of improvement. Pennsylvania, which requires the most extensive reporting of hospital-acquired infections, saw the annual rate for all infections drop 8 percent, according to the most recent figures available from the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council."

22 Jan 2010

Healthcare organizations to receive Edifecs' Unified Channel vision

Edifecs, Inc., the proven leader in HIPAA 5010 and Healthcare Channel Modernization solutions, announced its "Unified Channel™" vision for healthcare organizations. The Edifecs Unified Channel™ vision is realized with three product lines – Edifecs Unified Testing™, Edifecs Unified Compliance™ and Edifecs Unified Visibility™.

22 Jan 2010

Health Policy Research: Covering young adults, Acos, wellness programs

Dependent Coverage Expansions: Estimating the Impact of Current State Policies - "With an estimated 29.3 percent of Americans age 19 to 29 lacking coverage, young adults are more likely to be uninsured than any other age group," the authors note.

22 Jan 2010

A selection of today's opinions and editorials

We will ultimately have real health care reform in this country for a very simple reason: We have no choice and both Democrats and Republicans understand that. More importantly, the American people know it (Robert Laszewski, 1/22).

22 Jan 2010

Democrats struggle to revamp health reform strategy

Efforts to save the reform effort were teetering "on the brink of collapse Thursday as House and Senate leaders struggled to coalesce around a strategy to rescue the plan," Politico reports.

22 Jan 2010

California revives bill to create single-payer health care system

The Associated Press/Los Angeles Times: "A key legislative committee in California revived a bill Thursday to create a government-run health care system in the nation's most populous state ... The legislation had been held over from last year because of the state's ongoing budget crisis. The full Senate could vote on the bill by next week. Creating a single-payer system would cost California an estimated $210 billion in its first year. That's roughly double the size of the total state budget..." (Thompson, 1/21).

22 Jan 2010

Tips to make healthy lifestyle changes

As January comes to a close, will your New Year's resolution end with it? If you find yourself struggling to keep your resolution, you're not alone, says William Manard, M.D., Saint Louis University assistant professor of family and community medicine.

22 Jan 2010

AHF/Magic Johnson ‘Testing America’ tour to conduct testing event at Albuquerque, New Mexico

AHF’s Magic Johnson ‘Testing America’ Tour, a six month, 48 state national cross country HIV testing tour, will tumble into Albuquerque, New Mexico for a testing event at El Mezquite Market from 10am to 2pm Friday January 22nd. Free testing will take place on AHF’s new, state-of-the-art ‘Testing America’ mobile HIV testing unit. AHF is working in conjunction with New Mexico AIDS Services, a respected local non-profit HIV/AIDS organization.

22 Jan 2010

First Edition: January 22, 2010

Today's news highlights the continued efforts by Democrats to plot a new health reform strategy.

22 Jan 2010

Staff and volunteers report stories of hope amongst Haiti earthquake survivors

On Jan. 20, 2010, two healthy babies, one boy and one girl, were successfully delivered at the Canadian/Norwegian Red Cross field hospital in Port-au-Prince. They were born within 90 minutes of the magnitude 6 aftershock that struck earlier that morning.

22 Jan 2010

Rise in US springtime ozone levels could impact compliance with Clean Air Act standards

Springtime ozone levels above western North America are rising primarily due to air flowing eastward from the Pacific Ocean, a trend that is largest when the air originates in Asia. These increases in ozone could make it more difficult for the United States to meet Clean Air Act standards for ozone pollution at ground level, according to a new international study.

22 Jan 2010

GSK announces new initiatives for addressing healthcare challenges in the world's poorest countries

Andrew Witty, Chief Executive of GlaxoSmithKline, today announced a series of new initiatives targeted at further transforming the company's approach to diseases that disproportionately affect the world's poorest countries. His announcements build on commitments made in 2009 to work in partnership, expand access to medicines and encourage new research into neglected tropical diseases.

22 Jan 2010

St. Luke’s Hospital & Health Network takes major steps to reduce its carbon footprint

St. Luke’s Hospital & Health Network has taken a major step towards reducing its carbon footprint. By purchasing 10 percent of its electricity from renewable energy sources, the health system will realize an annual 2,900 ton reduction of carbon dioxide, a significant component of greenhouse gas.

22 Jan 2010