Marketing Consultants to the Overlooked Disabled Community
| Home Page |
| About Us |
| We Are Able |
| Clients |
| Did you Know? |
| What's New! |
| Self Test |
| Disorders |
| Hot Links / Sites |
| Contact Us |
|
The buck will stop there
October 2007
WASHINGTON - MedPage Today noted that on Oct. 1, 2008, Medicare will not reimburse hospitals for costs to treat injuries from eight preventable conditions.
Medicare will add three more conditions to that list next year.
The eight conditions are: patient falls, pressure ulcers, urinary tract infections, vascular catheter-tied infections, mediastinitis, air emboli, removal of objects left in the body during surgery, and injury caused by incompatible blood products.
The rule change prohibits hospitals from billing patients for "any charges associated with the hospital-acquired complication."
The change in payment policy will help assure "Medicare payments for inpatient services will be more accurate and better reflect severity of the patient's condition," said Herb Kuhn, acting deputy administrator at the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
As of Oct. 1, hospitals have to report secondary admission diagnoses to CMS; next year, CMS will begin checking admission records against discharge diagnoses.
If any of the eight conditions appear on discharge but not admission, CMS will refuse payment.
LINCOLNSHIRE, IL - Healthcare premiums of employers and workers rose by more than twice the 2007 inflation rate, and hikes will accelerate in 2008 as employees pick up more of the bill, a study by Hewitt Associates, a global human resources firm shows. The Wall Street Journal noted the cost of providing such benefits to employees rose 5.3% on average versus 7.9% in 2006 - the smallest rise in nine years. Hewitt says healthcare costs will jump 8.7% on average in 2008, bringing the average annual premium cost per employee to $8,676 from $7,982 now. Employees are likely to shoulder slightly more of the burden; Hewitt predicts employees on average will pay $1,859, or 21.4%, toward premiums versus $1,690, or a share of 21.2%, this year. In 2003, employees paid 17% of the premium. They’re expected to pay higher out-of-pocket costs via higher co-pays, annual deductibles, and co-insurance. Overall, employees are likely to pay $3,597 - or 10.1% more - in 2008 for healthcare than in 2007, and employers are likely to continue slowly shifting more costs to employees in coming years.
WASHINGTON - Monday Morning in Washington, D.C. noted George Washington University’s Dept. of Teacher Preparation and Special Education received a four-year personnel training grant from the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs for the master's degree in transition special education: emphasis in acquired brain injury. This grant supports training of teachers for initial licensure with a specialization in serving students with traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and includes a combination of on campus and distance education coursework. A specialized brain injury internship and a one semester student teaching experience are also required. The grant will provide tuition support (80%) for all accepted students and includes direct stipends for students to assist them with class-related expenses, travel for internships, and travel to professional conferences. For information, contact Zavolia Willis (Zee) at williszd@gwu.edu, or (202) 973-1082. GW is accepting applications for spring 2008.
ROCHESTER, MN - Women with dementia start losing weight at least 10 years before diagnosis, states a study in Neurology. Scientists studied records of 481 people with dementia versus 481 people of the same age and gender without dementia. The average weight was the same for those in the two groups 21-30 years before the year of diagnosis. Women who would develop dementia began losing weight up to 20 years pre-diagnosis. On average, those with dementia weighed 12 pounds less than those without it the year of diagnosis. "One explanation for weight loss is that, in very early stages of dementia, people develop apathy, loss of initiative, and loss in the sense of smell," said study author Dr. David Knopman, of the Mayo Clinic, and member of the American Academy of Neurology. "When you can't smell food, it won't have much taste, and you might be less inclined to eat it. Apathy and loss of initiative may make women less likely to prepare nutritious meals and more likely to skip meals." Men in this study who got dementia didn’t lose weight in the years before diagnosis.
WASHINGTON - Monday Morning in Washington, D.C. noted the University of Iowa College of Education debuted the R.E.A.C.H Program (Realizing Educational and Career Hopes), a two-year certificate program for young adults with multiple learning and cognitive disabilities. R.E.A.C.H, one of the first of its kind at a major public university, combines academics, career experiences, community involvement, and campus/residential life to create a dynamic collegiate experience. Via R.E.A.C.H, students are given skills to become independent and contributing members of their community. Enrollment will begin in fall 2008 and applications are being accepted until March 1; campus interviews are being held now. To learn more, go to www.education.uiowa.edu/reach.
BOSTON - A study by the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and University of Athens (Greece) Medical School (UAMS) in the Archives of Internal Medicine suggests naps are good for your heart. Midday napping cut coronary mortality by about 33% among men and women. Researchers led by Androniki Naska, UAMS hygiene and epidemiology lecturer, and senior author Dimitrios Trichopoulos, HSPH professor of cancer prevention and epidemiology, looked at 23,681 people in Greece who, at the study start had no heart disease, stroke, or cancer history. Study participants were followed an average of 6.3 years. Naps are common in the Mediterranean region and several Latin American countries, and those countries tend to have low mortality rates of heart disease. This was the first large study of individuals who were healthy at enrollment and the first to control in detail for risk factors such as diet and physical activity. Results showed people who regularly took naps, defined as at least three times per week for an average of at least 30 minutes, had a 37% lower coronary mortality than those not taking naps. The apparent protective effect of naps was particularly strong among working men and weaker among those not working, mainly retirees.
WASHINGTON - The Kaiser Foundation is accepting applications for the 2008 Barbara Jordan Health Policy Scholars Program. This is for college seniors and recent college graduates with a strong interest in addressing racial and ethnic health disparities, or who are themselves a member of a population adversely affected by racial and ethnic health disparities, to spend a summer working on health policy in Washington, D.C. congressional offices. The program honors the legacy of former U.S. Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, the first African-American elected to Congress from Texas and a much-admired member of the foundation’s Board of Trustees. The deadline is 5 p.m. EST on Friday, Dec. 14. The application and information are available at www.kff.org/minorityhealth/bjscholars/bjsapplication.cfm.
HAIFA, ISRAEL - University of Haifa School of Social Work research connected father-child relationship and the ability to have intimate relations in adulthood. Dr. Nurit Nahmani examined such quality in orphans, children of divorced parents, and children of intact families: 82% of children of married parents noted an intimate relationship; 62% of orphans and 60% of children of divorced parents did. The study had 231 women and men ages 22 to 32. Orphans surveyed lost fathers at age six to 12; children of divorced parents, lost a father in the same period. Research used various parameters of father-child relationship and capacity for intimacy shown in closeness, sexuality, and commitment to adult partners. Findings noted barriers that limited ability to have intimate dealings with partners among those whose thoughts of an absent father caused a marked rise in negative emotions and distancing. "Results showed orphans and children of divorced parents [had] different emotional connections with fathers. The orphans tended to idolize fathers, children of divorced parents tended to feel frustration, anger towards fathers," Dr. Nahmani said. "Also, 41% of participants whose father was permanently or partially absent noted a feeling of loss, often [with] fear of being abandoned a second time and reported not being involved in a relationship," Dr. Nahmani said.
LOS ANGELES - University of California scientists uncovered clues that may explain why Graves’ disease (GD) attacks the muscle tissue behind the eyes, often causing them to bulge painfully from their sockets, as in the late actor Marty Feldman. Scientists at UCLA’s Jules Stein Eye Institute and Harbor-UCLA Medical Center found defects in the infection-fighting T-cells of GD patients’ immune systems. The Journal of Immunology report may raise understanding of how GD damages the body and offer a target for treating the disfiguring disease. Earlier research found GD patients’ immune systems produce an antibody that other people don’t. Not knowing the patient thyroid as "self," the antibody mounts an attack against the organ, with inflammation and damage to the body, including eye tissue. In this study, scientists found T-cells taken from GD patients contain an abnormal surplus of the receptor targeted by this antibody. An antibody must latch to a specific receptor - like a key into a lock - to elicit a cellular response. The team tested patients’ blood for the antibody and compared findings to samples from healthy people, with about 100 subjects in each group. The new antibody was found in almost all of the GD patients’ blood.
HAIFA, ISRAEL - Research done by the University of Haifa’s Dept. of Psychology examined behavior patterns of laboratory rats found exposure to stress at a young age increases the likelihood of mood and anxiety disorders in adulthood. Research found behavior patterns of pre-adolescent rats are very similar to those of young children and adolescents. In humans and rats, brain functions that respond to stress develop relatively early in childhood and areas of the brain that regulate emotional responses and learning processes develop later. This work revealed lab rats exposed to stress in early childhood (up to age 28 days) developed symptoms related to anxiety and depression later; 37% of the rats exposed to stress developed symptoms of depression and no rats in the control group did. This research, done by Dr. Michael Tsoory under Prof. Gal Richter-Levin, exposed rats to stress in pre-adolescence and examined adult behavior patterns, capacity to learn, and biological changes in the brain of rats exposed to stress in pre-adolescence. Rats exposed to stress in pre-adolescence were less inclined to investigate their surroundings and less apt to learn "avoidance responses."
LINCOLNSHIRE, IL - Healthcare premiums of employers and workers rose by more than twice the 2007 inflation rate, and hikes will accelerate in 2008 as employees pick up more of the bill, a study by Hewitt Associates, a global human resources firm shows. The Wall Street Journal noted the cost of providing such benefits to employees rose 5.3% on average versus 7.9% in 2006 - the smallest rise in nine years. Hewitt says healthcare costs will jump 8.7% on average in 2008, bringing the average annual premium cost per employee to $8,676 from $7,982 now. Employees are likely to shoulder slightly more of the burden; Hewitt predicts employees on average will pay $1,859, or 21.4%, toward premiums versus $1,690, or a share of 21.2%, this year. In 2003, employees paid 17% of the premium. They’re expected to pay higher out-of-pocket costs via higher co-pays, annual deductibles, and co-insurance. Overall, employees are likely to pay $3,597 - or 10.1% more - in 2008 for healthcare than in 2007, and employers are likely to continue slowly shifting more costs to employees in coming years.
WASHINGTON - Monday Morning in Washington, D.C. noted George Washington University’s Dept. of Teacher Preparation and Special Education received a four-year personnel training grant from the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs for the master's degree in transition special education: emphasis in acquired brain injury. This grant supports training of teachers for initial licensure with a specialization in serving students with traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and includes a combination of on campus and distance education coursework. A specialized brain injury internship and a one semester student teaching experience are also required. The grant will provide tuition support (80%) for all accepted students and includes direct stipends for students to assist them with class-related expenses, travel for internships, and travel to professional conferences. For information, contact Zavolia Willis (Zee) at williszd@gwu.edu, or (202) 973-1082. GW is accepting applications for spring 2008.
ROCHESTER, MN - Women with dementia start losing weight at least 10 years before diagnosis, states a study in Neurology. Scientists studied records of 481 people with dementia versus 481 people of the same age and gender without dementia. The average weight was the same for those in the two groups 21-30 years before the year of diagnosis. Women who would develop dementia began losing weight up to 20 years pre-diagnosis. On average, those with dementia weighed 12 pounds less than those without it the year of diagnosis. "One explanation for weight loss is that, in very early stages of dementia, people develop apathy, loss of initiative, and loss in the sense of smell," said study author Dr. David Knopman, of the Mayo Clinic, and member of the American Academy of Neurology. "When you can't smell food, it won't have much taste, and you might be less inclined to eat it. Apathy and loss of initiative may make women less likely to prepare nutritious meals and more likely to skip meals." Men in this study who got dementia didn’t lose weight in the years before diagnosis.
WASHINGTON - Monday Morning in Washington, D.C. noted the University of Iowa College of Education debuted the R.E.A.C.H Program (Realizing Educational and Career Hopes), a two-year certificate program for young adults with multiple learning and cognitive disabilities. R.E.A.C.H, one of the first of its kind at a major public university, combines academics, career experiences, community involvement, and campus/residential life to create a dynamic collegiate experience. Via R.E.A.C.H, students are given skills to become independent and contributing members of their community. Enrollment will begin in fall 2008 and applications are being accepted until March 1; campus interviews are being held now. To learn more, go to www.education.uiowa.edu/reach.
BOSTON - A study by the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and University of Athens (Greece) Medical School (UAMS) in the Archives of Internal Medicine suggests naps are good for your heart. Midday napping cut coronary mortality by about 33% among men and women. Researchers led by Androniki Naska, UAMS hygiene and epidemiology lecturer, and senior author Dimitrios Trichopoulos, HSPH professor of cancer prevention and epidemiology, looked at 23,681 people in Greece who, at the study start had no heart disease, stroke, or cancer history. Study participants were followed an average of 6.3 years. Naps are common in the Mediterranean region and several Latin American countries, and those countries tend to have low mortality rates of heart disease. This was the first large study of individuals who were healthy at enrollment and the first to control in detail for risk factors such as diet and physical activity. Results showed people who regularly took naps, defined as at least three times per week for an average of at least 30 minutes, had a 37% lower coronary mortality than those not taking naps. The apparent protective effect of naps was particularly strong among working men and weaker among those not working, mainly retirees.
WASHINGTON - The Kaiser Foundation is accepting applications for the 2008 Barbara Jordan Health Policy Scholars Program. This is for college seniors and recent college graduates with a strong interest in addressing racial and ethnic health disparities, or who are themselves a member of a population adversely affected by racial and ethnic health disparities, to spend a summer working on health policy in Washington, D.C. congressional offices. The program honors the legacy of former U.S. Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, the first African-American elected to Congress from Texas and a much-admired member of the foundation’s Board of Trustees. The deadline is 5 p.m. EST on Friday, Dec. 14. The application and information are available at www.kff.org/minorityhealth/bjscholars/bjsapplication.cfm.
HAIFA, ISRAEL - University of Haifa School of Social Work research connected father-child relationship and the ability to have intimate relations in adulthood. Dr. Nurit Nahmani examined such quality in orphans, children of divorced parents, and children of intact families: 82% of children of married parents noted an intimate relationship; 62% of orphans and 60% of children of divorced parents did. The study had 231 women and men ages 22 to 32. Orphans surveyed lost fathers at age six to 12; children of divorced parents, lost a father in the same period. Research used various parameters of father-child relationship and capacity for intimacy shown in closeness, sexuality, and commitment to adult partners. Findings noted barriers that limited ability to have intimate dealings with partners among those whose thoughts of an absent father caused a marked rise in negative emotions and distancing. "Results showed orphans and children of divorced parents [had] different emotional connections with fathers. The orphans tended to idolize fathers, children of divorced parents tended to feel frustration, anger towards fathers," Dr. Nahmani said. "Also, 41% of participants whose father was permanently or partially absent noted a feeling of loss, often [with] fear of being abandoned a second time and reported not being involved in a relationship," Dr. Nahmani said.
LOS ANGELES - University of California scientists uncovered clues that may explain why Graves’ disease (GD) attacks the muscle tissue behind the eyes, often causing them to bulge painfully from their sockets, as in the late actor Marty Feldman. Scientists at UCLA’s Jules Stein Eye Institute and Harbor-UCLA Medical Center found defects in the infection-fighting T-cells of GD patients’ immune systems. The Journal of Immunology report may raise understanding of how GD damages the body and offer a target for treating the disfiguring disease. Earlier research found GD patients’ immune systems produce an antibody that other people don’t. Not knowing the patient thyroid as "self," the antibody mounts an attack against the organ, with inflammation and damage to the body, including eye tissue. In this study, scientists found T-cells taken from GD patients contain an abnormal surplus of the receptor targeted by this antibody. An antibody must latch to a specific receptor - like a key into a lock - to elicit a cellular response. The team tested patients’ blood for the antibody and compared findings to samples from healthy people, with about 100 subjects in each group. The new antibody was found in almost all of the GD patients’ blood.
HAIFA, ISRAEL - Research done by the University of Haifa’s Dept. of Psychology examined behavior patterns of laboratory rats found exposure to stress at a young age increases the likelihood of mood and anxiety disorders in adulthood. Research found behavior patterns of pre-adolescent rats are very similar to those of young children and adolescents. In humans and rats, brain functions that respond to stress develop relatively early in childhood and areas of the brain that regulate emotional responses and learning processes develop later. This work revealed lab rats exposed to stress in early childhood (up to age 28 days) developed symptoms related to anxiety and depression later; 37% of the rats exposed to stress developed symptoms of depression and no rats in the control group did. This research, done by Dr. Michael Tsoory under Prof. Gal Richter-Levin, exposed rats to stress in pre-adolescence and examined adult behavior patterns, capacity to learn, and biological changes in the brain of rats exposed to stress in pre-adolescence. Rats exposed to stress in pre-adolescence were less inclined to investigate their surroundings and less apt to learn "avoidance responses."