In This Issue
- Economy’s Ills Putting Local Hospitals on Life Support
- How Sweet It Is: Energy Drinks or Liquid Candy?
- Getting a Leg Up on Restless Legs Syndrome
- Estate Planning for Women
- FDA Update : November 2008
- Case Study : November 2008
- Continuing Medical Education Courses: November 2008
- Press Room: November 2008
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November 2008
Economy’s Ills Putting Local Hospitals on Life Support Abigail Jeffries
As if coping with physician shortages, rising operating costs, fluctuating public subsidies, and a large population of uninsured patients was not enough, Pioneer Valley hospitals are now slamming into the global financial crisis. Community and even large teaching hospitals are watching their operating margins shrink or go into the red, prompting reprioritization of spending, layoffs, and even the contemplation of hospital closures.» Full Article
October 2008
Promises, Promises: Can We Expect Viable Health Care Reform from Either Obama or McCain?
Abigail Jeffrie
Barack Obama and John McCain have made many campaign promises in the lead up to next month’s election, and both candidates’ health care reform proposals feature prominently in the debating arena. Both candidates say their plans will be fully portable, improve provider accountability, allow re-importation of cheaper medicines and increase the use of generic drugs, emphasize chronic disease prevention, reform the payment systems used by Medicare and Medicaid, and increase transparency in health care quality and costs» Full Article
September 2008
The Face of Private Health Care Advocacy
Abigail Jeffries
Ever wish you had a close friend or family member who was also a physician or a nurse—some one who could help you deal with an anxiety-provoking diagnosis, make a treatment decision, or untangle an insurance mess? Private health care advocacy is a nascent profession whose services are becoming increasingly available to individuals directly as well as through employers and unions. And like all valuable services, this extremely personal one comes at a price.» Full Article
August 2008
West Nile Virus in Massachusetts
In the 33 years since Lyme disease was first described in the medical literature, this deer tick–borne illness has been on the rise in Massachusetts and Connecticut. According to William J. Swiggard, MD, an infectious disease specialist at Cooley Dickinson Hospital (CDH) and Holyoke Health Center, “Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne illness (i.e., resulting from an infection transmitted to humans and other animals by bloodfeeding arthropods, such as mosquitoes, ticks, and fleas) in the United States. In the Pioneer Valley, it is ‘hyperendemic,’ meaning that it is present at all times, at high levels, in all age-groups among all ethnic and racial groups. At CDH, we have had the opportunity to see a large number of cases, manifesting in all of the different stages.”» Full Article
July 2008
Diseases Caused by Deer Ticks in Western Massachusetts and Connecticut
In the 33 years since Lyme disease was first described in the medical literature, this deer tick–borne illness has been on the rise in Massachusetts and Connecticut. According to William J. Swiggard, MD, an infectious disease specialist at Cooley Dickinson Hospital (CDH) and Holyoke Health Center, “Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne illness (i.e., resulting from an infection transmitted to humans and other animals by bloodfeeding arthropods, such as mosquitoes, ticks, and fleas) in the United States. In the Pioneer Valley, it is ‘hyperendemic,’ meaning that it is present at all times, at high levels, in all age-groups among all ethnic and racial groups. At CDH, we have had the opportunity to see a large number of cases, manifesting in all of the different stages.”» Full Article
June 2008
Maintaining the Safety Net: The Role of Skilled Nursing
Attention is often drawn to issues when an untoward event occurs. Foreclosures, layoffs, and plant closings, for example, draw attention to the problems in the present economy. In health care, untoward events, such as injury or death, spark interest in medical errors. It is not surprising, therefore, that the closing of two health care facilities in Western Massachusetts, Marathon Healthcare and Anchorage Nursing Home, brings into focus the tenuous foundation of a vital component of our health care system, extended care.» Full Article
MAY 2008
Satisfied! Patients Rank Noble Hospital #1 in Pioneer Valley
Noble Hospital’s patient satisfaction program has yielded top marks, according to the first publicly released national standardized Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey. Located in Westfield, MA, Noble came in first place among participating Pioneer Valley hospitals in nine out of ten categories of the Patients’ Hospital Experiences section of the survey, which addressed communication, pain control, environmental quality, responsiveness of staff to patient needs, recovery instructions, and overall satisfaction with the hospital in question. The initial survey results made public last month are based on data collected from October 2006 to June 2007.» Full Article
APRIL 2008
Target:Hunger: How Food Insecurity Affects Western Mass Residents
When most Americans think about poverty and hunger, visions of underfed children with swollen bellies in an arid, desolate landscape immediately come to mind. But one need not travel across continents to sub-Saharan Africa, for example, to confront hunger head on. In 2006, the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), a non-profit research organization, reported that nationwide 38.2 million people live in households where there is inadequate food; that is, people are either hungry or food insecure.» Full Article
MARCH 2008
Target:Hunger: How Food Insecurity Affects Western Mass Residents
In the past seven years since the launch of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), members of the United States military serving in multinational coalition forces have sustained and survived far greater numbers of wounds than observed in previous wars. As of August 22, 2007, the United States military reports 27,506 service members wounded while in combat.1 The survivorship of wounded servicemen is close to 90%, largely due to improvements in protective body armor, rapid evacuation, and advances in combat medicine.1 In many cases the types of wounds sustained by those who survive are severe, requiring extensive, comprehensive long-term, and perhaps lifelong medical care. Limb injury requiring amputation, traumatic brain injury (TBI), and mental illnesses such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are three categories of injury commonly reported to occur in veterans of the war in Iraq.» Full Article
February 2008
Taking the “LEAD” on Hospital Safety: Creative Partnership Aims to Protect Patients
Since Hippocrates, the warning, Primum non nocere or “first do no harm,” (Epidemics, Book I, Section V) has been a basic tenet by which all physicians practice medicine. And yet, the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) 1999 report (“To Err Is Human”) estimated that nearly 3%– 4% of hospitalizations in the United States result in adverse outcomes and perhaps 45,000–98,000 deaths.» Full Article
January 2008
Toxic Waste Disposal in Western Massachusetts: Where Do We Stand?
The disposal of toxic waste in Western Massachusetts has become an increasingly relevant issue and topic of debate over the past several years, especially proper methods for containment and disposal of industrial and nuclear toxic waste materials. Specifi cally, these discussions emphasize the potential health hazards of environmental exposure to toxic agents, including PCB (polychlorinated biphenyl), petroleum, various industrial wastes and solvents, and radioactive waste products such as tritium.» Full Article