воскресенье, 30 сентября 2012 г.

CATCHING UP; Craving to quit; In April, 10 smokers graduated from a Mayo Clinic inpatient stop-smoking program. Most of them haven't lit up, but their struggle isn't over.(VARIETY)(YOUR HEALTH) - Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)

Byline: Jill Burcum; Staff Writer

CATCHING UP // AN UPDATE ON SUBJECTS THAT WE HAVE WRITTEN ABOUT.

Danny Gwinn says cigarettes still have a hold on him eight months after he checked out of the inpatient stop-smoking program at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

He is one of 10 people who allowed the Star Tribune to report on their week of treatment last April.

Now, seven of them say they have avoided cigarettes. At least two others have relapsed after participating in the $3,200 program, one of a few nationwide to offer inpatient nicotine-dependence treatment.

'I can't count the hundreds of times I've wanted a cigarette,' Gwinn said. 'What keeps me off them is the ... the knowledge I gained at Mayo about the tobacco companies. What they do to hook people really [ticks] me off and keeps me going.'

Although Gwinn says he doesn't smoke, he still recalls how good cigarettes tasted to him and how much he liked to smoke with friends. To him, secondhand smoke is a little whiff of heaven.

Others who went through the program found their own ways to stop smoking for more than half a year - one of the first important quitter milestones. Studies of earlier graduates of the program found that 45 percent don't smoke after one year.

Everyone in Gwinn's group left the Mayo with one week as nonsmokers under their belts and optimism about staying that way. But as he was packing to leave, Russell King, a Ford dealer from Canada's remote Northwest Territories, glanced out the window with a worried look and said that the really hard work was just beginning.

Ahead of them were family obligations, stressful jobs and busy lives to be resumed outside the tobacco-free haven of the Mayo. They still needed to withdraw from nicotine, the powerfully addictive substance in cigarettes.

'It hasn't been easy,' Gwinn said in November. The six others who returned the newspaper's calls wouldn't disagree.

On the road

For King, the reality of a cigarette-free life hit soon after he checked out. He and his wife, Mary King, had driven to Rochester in their motor home from Hay River, Northwest Territories.

King once had enjoyed smoking on the road. He felt lost without the constant hand-to-mouth motions of smoking. Ahead of him was a long, boring drive and no cigarettes.

King was prepared. On his body were four nicotine patches delivering about the same amount of the chemical that he'd get during a normal day of smoking.

One of the bedrock ideas of the Mayo program is to use nicotine replacement products - such as the patch - to wean people off nicotine and minimize cravings. King wasn't a big fan of the patches. But he believed they helped on the drive back and the months that followed.

'There were a couple of times when I just about said the heck with it and got a pack of cigarettes, but it passed,' he said.

King no longer uses the patch, but he carries a nicotine inhaler that looks like a plastic cigarette. A puff offers a hit of nicotine vapor to ease cravings.

King's inhaler is empty. He just chews on the plastic when the urge to smoke strikes. That still happens at his office and in the morning when he first gets up.

'My key to success, it's stupid. I just chew on the inhaler. It's like having a pacifier for a baby,' King said.

Hank Crouse, a businessman from Nacogdoches, Texas, also grappled with cravings.

At his home airport, Crouse had to walk past the smokers' lounge, a place he'd sat in many times before plane departures. A sense of dread filled him as he drew close. Would the smoke make him crazy? Would he lose control and rush inside to light up?

The fear proved worse than the reality. Crouse says he passed the lounge with relative ease.

Like King, Crouse said he relied on stop-smoking aids and believes they helped. He wore nicotine patches through August and continued taking Zyban - an antidepressant that also curbs cravings - through September.

His company, which makes exterior door frames, didn't get easier to run, Crouse said. But the stop-smoking aids took enough of an edge off his cravings that he was able to manage.

Now, Crouse said, he goes several days without thinking about cigarettes. Cravings arise only on long car rides.

While Crouse gained about 10 pounds, his ability to breathe easier (he has emphysema) has more than offset the disappointment about the weight.

'I think you could quit without having to spend the kind of money on the program I did,' Crouse said. 'But for me, it's what I needed.'

Not everyone needed stop-smoking aids to fend off nicotine cravings. Harold Renner, a municipal employee from Bismarck, N.D., and Jay Crane, an Ohio businessman, found that their commitment to quitting got them through.

Don Simoneau, a mining company executive from Ontario, thought of the group when cigarettes beckoned during a visit with an old fishing buddy who smoked.

'If those other guys can do it, so can I,' Simoneau said.

Still struggling

Not everyone won the battle with cigarettes. Gene Cameron, a retired cargo ship captain from Florida, started smoking again in July. The remaining two group members have not returned the Mayo's regular phone checks.

Cameron doesn't know why he resumed smoking.

'I just went nuts and smoked a cigarette,' Cameron said. 'It just seemed like a real good thing to do. It's like my brain goes bananas.'

Cameron has emphysema. He smokes for a few weeks until he has trouble breathing and then stops. When he feels better, he starts again.

'I'm a nicotine addict, period,' he said. 'It's like when you want chocolate cake, you've got to have it.'

Dr. Richard Hurt, the founder of the inpatient program, said Cameron and other graduates who resume smoking can get follow-up counseling. The staff will help former patients resume nicotine-replacement therapy to fight cravings, he said.

'We'll do whatever we can,' Hurt said. 'This is just like any other medical condition. If someone had a flare of rheumatoid arthritis, they'd come back for help. This is no different.'

- Jill Burcum is at jburcum@startribune.com.

Quit smoking

Don Simoneau

Mining executive

Thunder Bay, Ontario

Simoneau wore several nicotine skin patches daily to fight off cigarette cravings. After noticing he had no chest hair left after pulling off so many patches, Simoneau decided will power was all he needed. The real test came while visiting an old fishing buddy with whom Simoneau had once enjoyed lighting up. His friend smoked a pipe. The aroma was tempting, but Simoneau says he resisted by thinking of how successful others in his Mayo group had been. 'If those other guys can do it, so can I,' Simoneau said.

Still struggling

Gene Cameron

Retired cargo ship captain

Apollo Beach, Fla.

суббота, 29 сентября 2012 г.

Employee benefits: taking a long-term view: dealing with rising costs, companies can continue to offer medical benefits, while managing the financial tradeoffs and implications for cost-saving strategies that haven't been fully utilized, in conjunction with using long-term panning.(Health Care) - Financial Executive

In the midst of an anemic economic recovery, financial executives are evaluating every budget item closely, and employee benefits are no exception. As the cost of employee medical insurance continues to increase, companies are making tough financial tradeoffs as they try to control costs with minimum disruption to the business.

According to a survey of 156 financial executives, conducted from Feb. 25 to May 31, the vast majority of companies--in order to manage over the past five years--have increased employee cost-sharing, co-pays and/or deductibles, while many have shifted to a high deductible plan. The report, Trends & Tradeoffs in Employee Medical Benefits, was produced as a result of the study conducted by Corporate Synergies Group LLC and Financial Executives Research Foundation.

Furthermore, 38 percent of the respondent companies in the survey have made the tough decision to actually reduce health benefits, such as coverage levels, while just 9 percent have reduced non-medical benefits. But, most surprisingly, one-fifth of companies have reduced or eliminated salary increases and/or bonuses in order to continue offering employee medical benefits.

These numbers suggest that an important component of employee benefits decisions--most commonly made by the executive team, board of directors, human resources department or a senior financial executive--is weighing necessary tradeoffs in an effort to maintain profitability and appropriate levels of staffing.

Options are typically evaluated on how the cuts might affect the company's competitiveness in the marketplace, attraction and retention of employees and workplace morale.

Yet it's also clear that these decisions are hitting employees hard; increased health care costs, coupled with limited raises and bonuses, have essentially reduced employees' take-home pay. And in an economy where wallets are thinner than usual, it's important for company management to understand how their decisions impact their workers--and how, in turn, employee productivity and retention may be affected.

While 60 percent of financial executives say that they have seen their employees switch to higher deductible plans and 16 percent say they have seen a drop in overall coverage as a result of increased cost-sharing over the last five years, one-quarter report that they haven't seen any specific action as a result. This may indicate that many employees have simply accepted responsibility for more of their medical insurance costs than ever before.

Long-Term, Company-Specific Strategy Needed

It's common for companies to reference benchmarks and to try to maintain the level of benefits that are standard in their industry. While that can be useful, what's missing is a long-term, company-specific strategy. Employee medical benefits are a significant line item on a balance sheet.

Indeed, 47 percent of companies say that providing employee medical benefits for the most recent fiscal year cost more than 10 percent of their total compensation costs, yet often employers lack a long-term strategy.

Many employers are in a routine of looking at their benefits plans at renewal each year and making small changes to the plans without fully stopping to realize the cumulative impact that these modifications will have on their plans and their employees. Other business decisions--such as how many employees the company hires, new market opportunities and office locations--are not often made by simply maintaining the same benefits as competitors. Employee benefits deserve, and warrant, the same consideration.

Financial executives can gain an advantage in the marketplace by viewing employee benefits as a long-term investment and planning with a distinct goal in mind,

For example, instead of deciding each year to make small changes to benefits plans to lower the cost (cutting pharmacy benefits, increasing deductibles, etc.), executives can plan to rein in medical insurance costs over the long term by instituting long-term strategies such as wellness programs and high-deductible plans coupled with Health Savings Accounts (HSA) or voluntary benefits.

LONG-TERM STRATEGY: Wellness Programs

Currently; many employers are not embracing long-term cost-saving strategies. According to the survey, one-third of financial executives have chosen not to offer any cost-reduction programs with their employee benefits. Of those that have, wellness programs are the most popular. Wellness programs work to make entire employee populations healthier by encouraging positive behaviors, under the assumption that healthier employees are less likely to incur high health care costs.

For the employer, this means long-term mitigation of the risk of their employees developing a health condition associated with high health care costs. Sixty-five percent of the companies in the survey have offered wellness programs for smoking cessation, nutritional seminars and weight-loss programs, as well as offering on-site gyms.

However, there are many financial executives who feel that the value of wellness programs is unproven--with almost one-quarter saying that they have not offered wellness initiatives because they don't want to spend the money up front to implement the program.

Of those who have offered programs, half of the companies say that they have not yet seen a return on their investment.

Yet, with wellness programs, the return on investment will be seen gradually, not overnight. Often it takes companies more than three years to see a return on investment. Should costs continue to rise, these types of investments will be one of the only ways for employers to stay ahead of the curve.

When developing a wellness program, it's key to have long-term support from the management team. These initiatives are most successful when executives are vocal stewards and active participants, as it encourages employee involvement.

In addition, employers should determine distinct goals for the program and develop a multi-year employee communication plan that offers resources, incentives and celebration of meeting those goals.

LONG-TERM STRATEGY: High-Deductible Plans and HSAs

Many companies currently offer high-deductible plans with HSAs, and others are eyeing them for potential cost savings. These plans are focused on consumer control, and offer a variety of benefits, including tax deductible contributions, the employees' ability to decide how to spend their health care dollars and workers having more control over individual health care decisions.

Many financial executives remain skeptical of high-deductible plans and HSAs, citing the need for more education about the options.

For those employers considering instituting a high-deductible plan coupled with an HSA, it's important to take into account employee demographics (these plans can be most appealing to higher-income and healthier employees), ensure that the plan structure and pricing make the option attractive to employees and place an emphasis on employee communications, both well before the plan rollout and continuing as employees begin to use the plan.

For the company to save money through these plans, enough employees need to opt in--and without careful planning and the right plan structure and education, employees may not make the leap.

LONG-TERM STRATEGY: Voluntary Benefits

Voluntary benefits, or employer-sponsored benefits, can be another option to reduce the expense of benefits to employers over the long-term, while maintaining quality coverage and often expanding available offerings. Often, employers choose to offer ancillary products through a voluntary program, such as dental, critical illness and disability insurance.

According to the survey cited earlier, 31 percent of employers have increased their voluntary benefits offerings as a way to offer a wider variety of options to employees while keeping costs down, and 12 percent have moved some products that were previously employer-paid to the voluntary benefits program.

These benefits offer several advantages, both to the company and its employees. Though employees pay the total cost of the coverage, access to group rates and ease of paying through payroll deduction make voluntary benefits very attractive to workers. It also means that they will be able to select which coverage is right for their family, and spend their money where they believe it will matter most.

And for companies, these benefits can be a win-win--employers simply offer the benefits (often at no additional or a very minimal expense), but can give their employees access to a wide range of protection products without impacting the company's bottom line.

For employers thinking of adding voluntary products to their benefits programs, it's important to again consider employee demographics and choose products that correspond with employees needs and wants.

In addition, be sure to consider the price tags associated with each benefit before choosing your company's menu of voluntary benefits to ensure that the products fall in a range that the employees would be willing to pay. Rollout and communication is also critical. For each enrollment period, it's best to add no more than two new products at a time, and communicate the modifications early and often to employees.

Most companies want to offer an attractive benefits package for their employees, but that's no easy feat as budgets tighten and heath care costs continue to rise. Financial executives' hands are tied, and almost all of them are forced to make tough financial tradeoffs as they try to control costs.

But as companies look out over the next five to 10 years, developing a long-term benefits strategy that works to control costs can help to temper the need to make tough choices in the future.

пятница, 28 сентября 2012 г.

GOV. RELL DIRECTS HEALTH DEPARTMENT TO ASSIST COURT-APPOINTED CARE MONITOR FOR HAVEN - US Fed News Service, Including US State News

Gov. M. Jodi Rell, R-Conn., issued the following press release:

Governor M. Jodi Rell today directed the Department of Public Health to work with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court's newly designated patient care monitor and to offer full assistance to him regarding the court's examination of the Haven Healthcare nursing home chain in Connecticut.

Governor Rell said the State of Connecticut would fully support the court-appointed monitor, the bankruptcy court and federal investigative authorities to ensure that nursing home residents receive high-quality care and that the integrity of public funding is protected.

'From the outset, I have emphasized that protecting the health and safety of nursing home residents is the first priority in state government's role,' the Governor said. 'I welcome the appointment of the special care consultant by the Bankruptcy Court.'

On Monday, the Departments of Public Health and Social Services reported to the Governor on patient care and financial issues at Haven Healthcare. The public health department, responsible for nursing facility licensing and care standards, gave high marks to the bankruptcy court for its action in appointing the monitor.

'The department supports the designation by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of an expert consultant to oversee the clinical operations of all Haven Health Facilities,' wrote DPH Commissioner Dr. J. Robert Galvin in the report. 'The department concurs that an independent authority is a prudent step to ensure quality and continuity of care.'

Governor Rell directed Commissioner Galvin to contact the court-appointed monitor, Brent Martin, managing partner of Healthcare MCR consulting of Cleveland, Ohio. The commissioner noted, 'DPH is reaching out to Mr. Martin today to offer our assistance, as we have important information to share based on our intense monitoring of Haven facilities. Even with this authority in place, DPH will continue to take all measures necessary to ensure patient care quality at Haven Healthcare facilities, including implementing additional regulatory remedies permitted under Connecticut state law.'

In addition, the independent state Long-Term Care Ombudsman, Nancy Shaffer, will be consulting with Martin.

In their nine-page report to the Governor with Social Services Commissioner Michael P. Starkowski, Commissioner Galvin also noted that his agency has:

* placed of daily monitors in seven of the 15 Haven nursing homes;

* issued a summary order on November 20, 2007, prohibiting admissions to the Haven facility in Waterford;

* revisited all 15 Haven facilities;

* reported that all 15 facilities have the required administrator, director of nursing, infection control nurse and assessment and care plan coordinator, as required by law; and

* reported that frequent inspections will continue to ensure the health and safety of Haven residents.

'No significant patient care issues have been identified during the current round of inspections,' Commissioner Galvin said.

The report to the Governor also recounted the Department of Social Services' financial investigation leading up to a determination that the statutory threshold for receivership proceedings could be met. In a memorandum attached to the report, DSS auditors concluded that Haven did not have the financial viability to continue as a going concern. However, Haven's sudden filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection before Thanksgiving, with the consequent oversight by the Bankruptcy Court supersedes receivership as an option at this time, according to legal review.Contact: Chris Cooper, 860/524-7313, Christopher.Cooper@ct.gov.

четверг, 27 сентября 2012 г.

Heaven and health; TV nutrition guru Amanda says home should be haven for both mind and body peek in your pad.(Features) - Sunday Mail (Glasgow, Scotland)

Byline: Laura Davidson

You'd be hard pushed to find a home healthier than Amanda Hamilton's. From the box of tempting organic veg to the mood-improving, infra-red sauna, it's a haven for the clear mind and the body beautiful.

But then, you would expect nothing less of the Scots nutritionist who's a TV healthy living expert on programmes such as GMTV, UKTV's Spa of Embarrassing Illnesses and BBC's Something For The Weekend.

Amanda said: 'I'm away with work for about a quarter of the year so it's important for me to feel I can really relax when I'm at home. I lived in Spain until two years ago and I enjoyed it, but now I've moved back to Scotland I'm really appreciating the place.

'This is a great house, it's a very sociable house. We're close to the city centre but far enough out of town for it to be really quiet.'

Amanda, 32, shares her pad in south Edinburgh with her partner Sandy Newbigging, 27, a life and business coach, daughter Jana, two, and Mogs the rescue cat.

She and Sandy rent their four-bed Victorian villa, which doubles as a work space.

Amanda added: 'We feel really lucky to have enough room at home to split the house into specific work and home areas.

'On the ground floor, we've made one of the bedrooms a client consultation room.

'If we wanted to buy this place, the cost would be astronomical, so we rent instead.

Prices in Edinburgh have gone through the roof since I moved away from Scotland.

'I do own a place in Scotland, a wee holiday cottage in the Borders, but for now it doesn't make sense for me to buy in Edinburgh.'

Amanda says she and Sandy fell in love with the house the second they came to view it.

She said: 'If I owned it I wouldn't decorate it much differently. I love older-style properties. They have such character and the period features here, like old fireplaces and gorgeous sash windows, are just fantastic. I love the stripped wooden floors as well.

'The furniture is a mix of pieces that were here and pieces of our own that we've brought with us, and they all work together well because they're mainly antiques.

'I love browsing in antique shops and I'll even pick up bits and pieces in charity shops if something in the window takes my fancy.

'I've held health retreats all over the world and I get ideas from some of the places I've visited as well. I've got tapestries, tea sets and wall hangings from places like Thailand, Mexico and Spain. If something is too big to bring on the plane home, I'll have it shipped.

'It's not as expensive as you might think and you end up with something unique.'

The couple's main living accommodation is on the first floor of the house and is dominated by a grand drawing room.

There's a coal fire with ornate surround and an eclectic mix of wooden furniture including an oak dresser, desk and sturdy sideboard.

Amanda loves original artwork and there's a colourful contemporary piece showing Adam and Eve above the fireplace by a Spanish artist she knows from her time living in Andalucia.

Next door, there's a traditional dining room painted in a sedate shade of dark green from trendy paint maker Farrow & Ball. The colour looks like dramatic black in a certain light.

Amanda said: 'To me, this is a like an oldfashioned card-playing room with the fringed lampshade over the table. We've had friends round for a few card nights.'

Leading off the dining room is the bright kitchen with an open-plan larder against one wall and plenty of worktop space for Amanda's most-used kitchen gadget, her juicer.' She explained: 'I couldn't live without it. I have all my clients drinking fresh juices and I definitely practise what I preach.

'Even I'll admit that the wheatgrass one doesn't taste very good but it's just so good for you, so I'll put up with it. I'd feel like something was missing in my day if I didn't have my juices.

'Even Jana's having them now. She wants to be just like Sandy and I, having her juice. It's very sweet. I try to be healthy at home, to practise what I preach. Our home is a healthy home but it's also a happy one.'

Amanda will be giving talks at the Vitality Show Scotland at Glasgow's SECC from this Friday to Sunday. For tickets see www.the vitalityshowscotland.co.uk or call 0870 220 3939.

Amanda and Sandy hold mind and body detox retreats in the UK, Spain and Turkey. See www.amandahamilton.co.uk and www.lifedetox.co.uk. The couple's new book, Life Detox, is out now, priced pounds 12.99.

'I love older homes. They have such character and the period features are just fantastic'

HOUSEFILE

Victorian villa in south Edinburgh

I love: The space. It's good that we can confine our working area to the downstairs so the upstairs feels like our own little haven.

I'd change: The kitchen and drawing room are on the first floor. It would be better if they were on the ground floor, with doors from the kitchen to the garden so it was easier for Jana to get out to play.

Next house: I'd love to build my own eco-friendly house beside the sea or a loch.

CAPTION(S):

среда, 26 сентября 2012 г.

RIDES TO HEALTH SERVICES CANCELED VENDORS SAY THEY HAVEN'T BEEN PAID, SO CLIENTS SCRAMBLE TO REACH MEDICAL CARE.(LOCAL) - The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA)

Byline: ELIZABETH SIMPSON THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT

People who rely on Medicaid for rides to medical and day-treatment programs found themselves stranded Thursday when a group of medical transport vendors refused to provide service.

The vendors say that a state contractor, DynTek, owes them thousands of dollars for services provided over the past several months, and that they could no longer afford to work without getting paid.

It was unclear how many people were affected, but Tammy Loney, who runs Friends Medical Transport Service in Portsmouth, said about 50 vendors agreed at a meeting earlier this week to stop service on Thursday. If that many vendors followed through on the plan, she said, it could affect more than 1,000 clients in Hampton Roads.

Loney declined to pick up 65 patients Thursday.

DynTek, the state contractor, conceded that service had been interrupted, but it could not say how many vendors had stopped driving.

``We are trying to fill the gap,'' said Linda Ford, a company spokeswoman.

Ford said DynTek is meeting the terms of its contractfor paying the transport companies. She declined to be more specific.

According to dialysis centers and Community Services Boards in the area, about 10 or 11 vendors called to say they would not provide service Thursday, leaving dozens, even hundreds, of patients and clients without rides. Some transportation vendors were continuing to work but were unable to handle the overflow.

Zachariah Santee did not get picked up to go to his day treatment program at SkillQuest, a center for mentally disabled people run by Virginia Beach Community Services Board.

The 22-year-old's father, Ray Santee, said he had to cut short his work day to take Zachariah to the program. His son, who has cerebral palsy, also missed his evening swimming lessons because he returned home later than usual.

``They called me at 7 this morning to tell me they weren't coming,'' Ray Santee said.

A spokesperson for the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services, which administers Medicaid, said the department was working with DynTek to resolve the transportation problems. Medicaid is a federal-state program for low-income and disabled people. DMAS contracts with DynTek to dispatch and pay transportation vendors to supply the services.

Vendors say that since DynTek secured the contract with DMAS last year there have been problems. Payments have gradually been reduced and take longer to arrive.

Loney said the vendors sent a letter two weeks ago to DMAS saying they would stop providing rides if they didn't get paid. ``We don't have money to pay our employees or for gas or insurance,'' Loney said. She said DynTek owes her company $20,000.

Sharon Davis, who operates Community Medical Transport in Hampton, said she, too, stopped service on Thursday. ``I had no choice,'' she said. ``I can't keep pulling money out of my own pocket.''

Medicaid recipients, their families and the people who serve them are getting frustrated with long waits for service - and sometimes no service at all.

Dave Wilber, operations manager at Eggleston Services, which provides education and training to people with disabilities, said 26 people did not show up at the company's Norfolk center on Thursday because of the transportation problem. ``Families were freaking out,'' he said. ``They were having to take off from work.''

He said his company probably lost $1,000 in charges it usually bills Medicaid for those 26 clients.

And for Wilber, the worst part is that he doesn't know when it will end. He said he has sent e-mails to DMAS, to DynTek and to legislators. So far he's heard nothing back.

``There's no way to figure out what's going to happen,'' he said.

A Norfolk dialysis social worker who didn't want to be named said she had no way to alert one of her clients, a man with no telephone, that he would not be getting his usual ride to his three-times-a-week treatment. She planned to pick him up herself on Thursday afternoon.

Some community services boards, including Chesapeake's, provide their own transportation for clients and were not affected by Thursday's problems. But Candace Waller, director of the Chesapeake board, said DynTek owes her agency about $70,000 for services.

Jerry Brickeen, a contract administrator at the Virginia Beach Community Services Board, said DynTek owes it $60,000 for services provided for August and September, and will soon owe another $30,000 for October.

He said that the boards are still serving clients, but that the small medical transport companies can't continue to operate without money.

The Virginia Beach board provides transportation to some clients but contracts with vendors to serve others. Some of those clients did not get rides Thursday, so board employees went to pick them up.

Brickeen said some of the mentally retarded clients were anxious because they had planned to celebrate Halloween at their day-treatment centers.

``Some of them were sitting there in their Halloween costumes waiting for someone to come,'' he said.

Reach Elizabeth Simpson at 446-2635 or liz@pilotonline.com

CAPTION(S):

Color photo

MORT FRYMAN/THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT

Ray Santee, left, helps his son, Zachariah, into their vehicle after the son's day program at Skillquest. Ray Santee said he had to cut short his work day to take Zachariah to the program.

Photos

MORT FRYMAN/THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT

Zachariah Santee, seated, did not get picked up to go to SkillQuest, a center for mentally disabled people. ``They called me at 7 this morning to tell me they weren't coming,'' said his father, Ray Santee, shown helping Zachariah put on his coat to head home.

L. TODD SPENCER/THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT

вторник, 25 сентября 2012 г.

Healing haven; Willowbrook Wildlife Center helps nurse animals back to health - The Sun - Naperville (IL)

Luann Lasusa, right, a Willowbrook Wildlife Center volunteer, mixes a special formula for raccoons while staff members prepare lunch for animals temporarily living under close supervision. -- Volunteer Rose Prince places stray raccoons into animal holders before cleaning out a temporary living area that houses six stray rodents at the Willowbrook Wildlife Center in Glen Ellyn. -- A stray fox is weighed after being assessed by the staff veterinarian at the Willowbrook Wildlife Center in Glen Ellyn. The fox, found injured on the side of a Naperville road, was placed in intensive care. -- Preschool students look on as a Willowbrook Wildlife animal keeper feeds a baby raccoon. -- Michele Rosado, a volunteer assistant at the Willowbrook Wildlife Center, rushes an injured duck to the intensive care unit.

For the giant snapping turtle, the laws of nature don't change just because the whims of man built a busy road between where she is and where she needs to go.Each spring, the snapping turtle needs to leave the small creek where she lives in a DuPage County forest preserve and get to a nearby riverbank where nature dictates she will lay her eggs.

Based on her size, she has been working well within nature's system for quite a few years.

But the odds were not in her favor this egg-laying season.

With single-minded purpose, the snapping turtle began to make her way to her egg-laying grounds.

But in a collision between nature's will and man's, the snapping turtle was run over by a car or a truck too busy to notice the small drama of life crossing the road.

Dazed, hurt and bleeding, the snapping turtle sat in the middle of the road until someone was alert enough -- and brave enough -- to stop to help.

A snapping turtle is not exactly the kind of animal one takes home to nurse back to health.

Grumpy during the best of times, this snapping turtle was hurt and angry.

Her head repeatedly telescoped out of her shell with alarming speed as she snapped her powerful beak at anything that moved.

Snapping turtles don't let go when they bite; this one was big enough to cause serious damage if she made contact.

But fortunately for the turtle, the person who found her knew exactly where she needed to go.

It wasn't very long between the time the snapping turtle was so rudely introduced to the damage man can cause and the time she was delivered to the very place where man could provide assistance.

The Willowbrook Wildlife Center in Glen Ellyn is the only rehabilitation center for wildlife in DuPage County.

Operated by the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, Willowbrook handles more than 4,000 animals a year.

Dealing only with native wildlife from DuPage County, Willowbrook is a haven for critters caught in the intersection of nature and man.

As people have extended their living spaces by building more roads, houses and shopping centers, the squeeze has been put on the local wildlife.

It isn't always easy, and sometimes not much of a priority, for people to learn how to live with the wildlife that still insists on acting as if the back yard or the highway or even the pond on the golf course is still home.

'This time of year is especially busy because there are so many baby animals out there now,' said Katie Brown, Willowbrook's wildlife veterinarian.

'It's warming up and everybody is outside, people and animals.

There is a lot more interaction between people and wildlife this time of year.'

Sometimes the interaction is benign: homeowners who feed the squirrels or, thinking the baby raccoons have been abandoned, decide to raise them by hand.

Sometimes, the encounters are a little less friendly: the Canada goose who ate something that appears to be killing him, birds who fly into windows, opossums hit by cars.

And often, an encounter is the last thing an angry homeowner wants to deal with.

Willowbrook Center gets plenty of calls from people who want to know how to get rid of the raccoons that prowl their yards, the opossum stuck in the window well or the skunk nesting under the porch.

'You can certainly understand their frustration,' said Willowbrook supervisor Marcy Rogge.

'You pay a lot of money for your beautiful house out in the woods and some critter makes a nuisance for you that sometimes is destroying your property.

'On the other hand, the animals don't know that your house isn't theirs.

From their point of view, it's part of nature and the wild for them.

That's why so much of what we try to do is to educate the public about wildlife and what they can do to minimize our impact on them and vice versa.'

AN EARLY START Beginning very early in the morning, the bell rings all day long at Willowbrook's back door, each chime signaling yet another human-critter crisis.

The trick for the Willowbrook staff is to minimize contact with the animals as much as possible, while at the same time trying to provide assistance.

A far more difficult trick is to try to convince the public that sometimes the best thing to be done for an animal is to let the laws of nature take effect.

'One of the most common things we see is when people think a mom has abandoned her babies or when a baby bird has fallen out of its nest,' Rogge said.

'They bring the bird in and say `It can't fly.' Well no, it can't. That's how baby birds learn: They try to fly out of the nest and they fall.

In that case, the best thing a person can do is just to pick the baby bird up and put it back in the nest.

'Everybody always thinks that birds will reject the baby because they'll smell a human on him.

But birds don't smell.

If I can get just one person to put the bird back instead of trying to `save' it, we're getting the message across.'

And most of the time, Rogge points out, baby animals aren't abandoned at all.

A parent might have been scared off or may be foraging for food.

Three years ago, Willowbrook started a program with nesting boxes.

When people bring in abandoned babies, the Willowbrook staff gives them a wooden nesting box with instructions to take the box and the babies back to the exact spot where they were found.

Usually, within 48 hours the parent returns and reclaims the babies.

If that doesn't happen, according to the Willowbrook staff, then it is generally safe to assume the parent is gone for good.

'What's hard, though, is convincing people that it's OK to let nature run its course,' Rogge said.

'Maybe a predator will get the babies or maybe they'll die after being left alone.

That's OK. That's what is supposed to happen.

Sometimes that's a very difficult thing for people to accept.'

Already on a recent morning, the center has taken in a baby grackle, two baby rabbits, a raccoon, two Canada geese and six ducklings.

They've been quickly evaluated by an intake person and then looked at by Brown, who makes the determination on whether an animal can be helped and whether the center can accept it.

For example, Willowbrook is prohibited from accepting skunks or bats because of the high chance of rabies.

Non-native birds and unprotected species such as starlings are not accepted.

The center is also beginning to restrict the number of raccoons and mallards it accepts simply because there are so many of them.

Those animals that can't be helped are either returned to the wild by the people who brought it in or taken in a back room to be euthanized.

That will eventually be the fate of a small crow that appears to be physically deformed and is unable to walk or fly.

It may also be the fate of a flock of baby mallards that someone hatched in their home a day or so ago.

'Birds are different.

They imprint in the first 48 hours,' Brown said.

'If they imprint with humans, that's what they think they are.

They will never be able to last in the wild.

But they will never be tame enough to be pets.

The best thing we can do is to put them to sleep.'

A chime at the back door brings Brown out to examine a tiny baby opossum.

Someone found it abandoned in their yard.

According to Brown, it's a common occurrence with opossums, which travel on the mother's back.

Sometimes one falls off, and sometimes one is rejected because of injury or defect that humans can't detect.

This tiny animal has an eye infection that may or may not be serious.

Brown cleans the eye and feeds the baby.

She puts it in a warming bin to wait a day or so and see how it fares.

And though the snapping turtle is very, very angry, she makes Brown very happy.

Turtles are her favorite animal and one she doesn't see very often.

With the help of an assistant, she lifts the enormous turtle onto the examination table, keeping a plastic tub over its head.

Gently, Brown cleans the crack across the turtle's shell.

It's surprising to see the wound oozing blood.

But Brown doesn't believe the injury extends into the turtle's tissue.

There may be further internal damage, but Brown will have to wait and see.

After manipulating the edges of the shell back together, she will eventually mend the crack with a fiberglass patch.

She expects the turtle will stay at the center for a week or so before being returned to the wild, hopefully near the spot where she was found.

PERMANENT RESIDENCE Though not quite a zoo and yet more than a forest preserve, Willowbrook Wildlife Center tries to walk the line between appreciating wildlife and maintaining a distance.

Education is a vital part of that process, Rogge said.

'The first thing we want to do with any animal is somehow domesticate it and turn it into a pet,' she said.

'That just doesn't work with wild animals, it's not in them.

Because even when we do think we've turned them into a pet, their true nature always comes out.

And then what becomes of the animal? That's the part that's really sad to see.'

Which is why even though Willowbrook puts a priority on getting animals in and out of their building as quickly as possible, there are a few critters that will never be able to leave.

Visitors can see 80 animals and more than 30 different species on display in Willowbrook's building or on the grounds.

A walk through the nature trail takes patrons past several large raptors, including a bald eagle, that were too injured to be returned to the wild.

Two huge raccoons that were raised as babies in someone's home were brought to Willowbrook when they grew to be too much to handle.

The animals could obviously not function on their own in the wild, so they live in a cage on the grounds where the staff brings them food.

Inside the building, there is an extremely noisy blue jay.

Unfortunately, he was so domesticated as a baby that he does not know how to make blue jay noises.

He can only produce human-sounding whistles -- and the cry of a baby.

Out in the wild, the blue jay would be a target of his own kind and perhaps of humans or other predators.

The law prohibits putting animals that are being rehabilitated on display.

However, the law doesn't apply to the dozens of abandoned infants Willowbrook hand-feeds during the year.

A long glass wall affords the public a look at the tiny animals as they sleep and play and feed in their cages.

Every couple of hours a volunteer hand-feeds the babies and makes sure they are not experiencing any problems.

But while the children watching wide-eyed at the window coo at the baby squirrel guzzling from the tiny nipple, the volunteer doesn't make a sound.

In a room full of adorable baby animals, there is not a word spoken to the animals.

No petting is allowed.

'Boy, we tell the volunteers right away to try not to talk to the animals at all,' Brown said.

'You don't want them to get acclimated to human voices and think that's a normal thing.

You don't want to get attached to the animals and you definitely don't want them to get attached to you.'

Once the babies leave the infant room, they move to an adolescent nursery that is even more isolated.

Eventually, all rehabbed animals move to an outside area where they can get re-acquainted with the weather and the smells of the world.

The staff has almost no contact with those animals, other than to bring food or clean.

There is no human hustle and bustle.

This is the final step before they are released to the wild.

'That, of course, is our ultimate goal,' Rogge said.

'We know it isn't better for them to be here than to be out where they belong.

We just try to get them to the point where they have a fighting chance.

I figure it's the least we can do.'

To keep its mission clear to the staff and public, the Willowbrook Center keeps a running total on the number of animals it sees and the number of animals released back to the wild.

Thus far this year, the center has seen 1,547 animals.

Of that number, 216 were healthy animals that were returned to the wild by the public.

Of the rest, 84 were treated at the center and eventually released.

Of the original 1,547 animals brought to the center's back door, a total of just 300 found their way back to nature.

'That doesn't seem like a very high percentage,' said Willowbrook administrative specialist Susi Pihera.

'But that's the way nature works.

And you have to remember that a lot of the animals brought here were in very dire situations.

In the case of a car meeting a rabbit, the rabbit's odds aren't real good.

'What we like to focus on is the 300 animals that might not have made it if we weren't here.'

EDUCATIONAL EFFORT Over the course of a year, the Willowbrook Center averages about 12,000 calls, and more than 60 percent are animal-related.

DuPage County residents call upset because a flock of crows are attacking cottontails.

They call because of an opossum stuck in their chimney.

They call because they want to know how to get rid of the raccoons.

Education is a vital component of the center's mission.

Upon entering the building, visitors are greeted with dozens of educational pamphlets offering such advice as 'Living with Skunks in DuPage County' and 'Nature's Limits and Willowbrook.' A life-size mockup of the front porch of a home shows how to put a cap on your chimney to keep out curious raccoons and why decals on your windows could save a bird's life.

Children can practice making animal tracks in a sandbox or put on a puppet show.

'We get a lot of calls from people who want to know how to get rid of raccoons, for example,' Pihera said.

'They want to know what kind of trap or poison they can use.

We tell them that it's illegal to trap wildlife, even if you think you're doing it humanely, and it's illegal to relocate wildlife, even in the forest preserve, unless you have a license.

In extreme cases, we can refer them to people who do that sort of thing, but that's not the solution to the actual problem.

'Our mission in the bigger picture is to learn how to coexist with wildlife.

The real solution is not to get rid of the animals, but to do the things that you can do to minimize problems.

Things like making sure your garbage is removed and cleaning the spillage from the bird feeder.

Making sure to remove the attraction is a much better solution than trying to get rid of the raccoon.

If he doesn't have a reason to come there, he won't. But that's all part of the education process in trying to get people to think about the problem in a bigger way.'

Willowbrook's education program starts at the pre-school level.

More than 500 school groups a year either visit the center or invite Willowbrook to make presentations at the school.

Several times a week, volunteer raptor educator Ron Skleney and naturalist Sandy Fejt bring a selection of raptors that live at the center to the schools.

The birds, which include a great horned owl and a red-tailed hawk, were brought to the center with injuries so severe they weren't able to fly again.

But they afford children a chance to see the animals up close.

'It's so important to reach the kids at a young age so they get an appreciation of the awesomeness of these creatures,' Fejt said.

'They are so curious.

If you can develop a love and respect for wildlife at this age, then hopefully, you can minimize the chances that they will interact negatively with wildlife as they grow older.'

Willowbrook is staffed primarily with a continually rotating group of volunteers.

Here, volunteers are given hands-on experience with the animals, and they are expected to interact with the public.

Volunteers feed the animals, clean cages, answer questions and talk people through their wildlife encounters.

There are volunteer programs for kids, for adults and even for families to work together.

'They are our unpaid staff, and we couldn't operate without them,' Rogge said.

'We have more than 120 steady volunteers a year, and they are so invaluable to what we're trying to accomplish.

Our nesting boxes, for example, were made by volunteer groups.

'It also becomes part of our educational mission because they are so passionate about what we do here that they can't help spreading the word throughout DuPage County.'

***

WILLOWBROOK'S FOUR STEPS TO CAREFUL ANIMAL RESCUE 1. Take a deep breath and say to yourself three times: 'Probably the best thing I can do for this animal is to leave it alone.'

2. Is the animal:

* Clearly injured? Call Willowbrook at (630) 942-6200.

* Sick? Call your police department or DuPage County Animal Control at (630) 682-7197.

* An injured nestling unable to move well on its own? The nest should be close by. You may return the animal to the nest or place it as close as possible to the nest.

* An older uninjured youngster? Leave it alone and leave the area.

Assume the mother is watching; you might scare her away.

3. Remember any animal brought to Willowbrook automatically has a limited chance of survival.

Letting nature take its course and leaving uninjured young alone is almost always the best action to take.

Willowbrook is for those native wild animals that have been hurt by people and will die without help.

4. When in doubt, call Willowbrook first.

To volunteer at Willowbrook, call (630) 933-7681. ***

AT A GLANCE How to volunteer Willowbrook Wildlife Center is sponsoring an open house for interested volunteers from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday.

The wildlife center is at Park Boulevard and Fawell Avenue in Glen Ellyn, just east of College of DuPage. ***

BY THE NUMBERS 1,547 Animals taken in by the Willowbrook Wildlife Center through May. Of those, 216 healthy animals were returned to the wild by the public and 84 were treated at the center and later released.

понедельник, 24 сентября 2012 г.

A real home from home at the Stables; ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: HEALTH & WELLBEING: Residential care home provides a haven of peace and tranquillity.(Features) - Coventry Evening Telegraph (England)

IF YOU'RE seeking the creme de la creme of residential care homes, look no further than The Stables.

The luxury private residential care home in Castle Road, Hartshill, Nuneaton, opened this month and is now ready to take its first residents.

Offering superb accommodation and 24-hour care, the purpose-built three bedroom bungalow will appeal to those in their advancing years who want to retain their independence but still appreciate a family atmosphere.

Enjoying a village location and glorious views of Hartshill Hayes Country Park, the small care home also boasts landscaped gardens.

A haven of peace and tranquillity, The Stables can accommodate three elderly residents.

The three single en-suite bedrooms are beautifully decorated and each have a private telephone, TV and radio.

Fitted with curtains or blinds, each bedroom has both overhead and bedside lighting, wardrobes and drawers, comfortable seating for two, a bedside table and a table to sit at, as well as lockable storage space.

Residents also have their own key to their room.

All meals are provided and mealtimes are flexible. Residents can arrange to have their meals in their own room or in the delightful dining room.

The talented cook can cater for all tastes and diets. In addition, residents are free to come and go as they please in the kitchen if they want to make a snack or a hot drink.

The elegant communal lounge has comfortable seating, while the beautiful gardens have lawns, a patio and water feature.

The grounds are safe and secure with ramps and grab rails, while mature trees provide some very welcome shade on sunny days.

For those who enjoy a leisurely amble, Hartshill offers a range of attractions including a post office, shops and three pubs.

There is also a bus route adjacent to the home with buses running every half hour in both directions.

Very much a home from home, residents are free to get up when they want. Indeed, if they want to stay in bed all day - they can!

Family and friends are free to visit them anytime and excursions and entertainment will also be provided.

There is no rigid timetable, the atmosphere is free and easy, and the staff do not wear a uniform.

The Stables offers residents an excellent quality of life, tailored to their specific needs.

воскресенье, 23 сентября 2012 г.

GOV. RELL DIRECTS HEALTH DEPARTMENT TO ACTIVATE HOTLINE FOR QUESTIONS ABOUT HAVEN HEALTH CARE FACILITIES - US Fed News Service, Including US State News

Gov. M. Jodi Rell, R-Conn., issued the following press release:

Governor M. Jodi Rell today announced that the state Department of Public Health will activate a public hotline for callers who have questions about Haven Healthcare Homes. Starting on Thursday, November 22, 2007, the public can call 1-800-830-9426 between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. to speak to a representative of the Department of Public Health.

The public should contact this number if they have questions or concerns about care provided at any of the 15 Haven Health care facilities in Connecticut.

'The health, welfare and safety of Haven residents is my foremost concern,' Governor Rell said. 'While the company's bankruptcy status should have no impact on patients, it is certainly understandable that members of the public may have questions or concerns about loved ones under Haven Health's care.

'Particularly over this holiday weekend, relatives may be visiting family members in one of the Haven facilities. The hotline will ensure that they have the opportunity to raise any issues they may have and to report any conditions that concern them.'

The Department of Public Health (DPH) has increased its ongoing onsite monitoring of all Haven homes. Yesterday, DPH issued a summary order to suspend admissions at Haven Health of Waterford. In addition, upon request by the Department of Social Services, Michael Lipnicki, Chief Financial Officer of Haven, assured that adequate funds are currently available to meet payroll obligations this week and that no new utility shutoff or vendor supply termination notices have been received.

суббота, 22 сентября 2012 г.

Neglected animals nursed to health: ; From tragedy, safe haven; Loss of siblings spurs woman to found equine rescue - Charleston Daily Mail

In January 2007, Tinia Creamer watched as an apartment buildingin Huntington burned to the ground. Her sister and two brothers wereinside.

There was nothing she could do to save them, and in the void hersiblings' loss left in her life, she turned to her lifelong love ofhorses, and saving what she could save.

Her work soon grew from simply finding a horse here and there,working to heal it body and mind as best she could, to somethinglarger.

By 2008, a mission that had started so quietly and personallybecame a collective effort with Jessie and Tony Hardesty of Kentuckyand Sonora Winds of Hamlin. The Heart of Phoenix Equine Rescue wasborn.

In 2011, Creamer was instrumental in one of the largest horseseizures in the state when dozens of starving Arabians were takenfrom a Hampshire County farm.

'When we started, I realized that our state lacked the vastnetwork of rescue groups most other states possess,' said Creamer,who lives on a farm in Huntington with her husband.

'I saw when people observed abuse or neglect, they didn't evenknow where to turn and that county humane officers had littletraining or knowledge about what to do for horses in need. Wherewere horses to go if they were seized?'

By the time the Hampshire County case unfolded, Creamer and hergroup had made sure there was a place for those horses to go, fostercare in which for them to heal, and an adoption process to guaranteesafe placement and a future.

The Heart of Phoenix Equine Rescue, one of only two horse rescuegroups in West Virginia and the closest horse rescue to theCharleston area, serves West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio.

The primary thrust of their work involves rescuing horses inneed, bringing them back to health, and placing horses in new homeswith adoption contracts. They often work with police and humaneofficers in seizure situations.

They also offer networking services to assist owners who can nolonger care for their horses and wish to voluntarily turn them overto new homes.

'Horses used to have a value and price tag that made even thosewithout concern for their well being on a humane level willing toprovide for their needs in hopes of a return on their investments,'Creamer said. 'But that isn't true today.'

Creamer points to the economy as a driving factor in rising horseneglect, abandonment, and abuse.

When she started rescuing horses, she recalls her father'ssurprise. Her father, in his early 80s at the time, grew up in a daywhen giving a horse away would have been unimaginable. He shook hishead and said, 'My, my ... must be something wrong with them then.Nobody gives a horse away.'

As she relates, in her father's day a family couldn't survivewithout at least a work mule to ride and use in the fields. Manyfamilies purchased horses on payments. Boys worked summer aftersummer to afford a horse or pony of their own. The family mule orhorse was as important then as a vehicle is today and even more sobecause they needed their animals to produce food from the fields.

The horse's role in society has changed dramatically. It'speople, says Creamer, not horses, who are at fault as people cutcosts by turning horses loose or starving them in barren fields.Horses in rescues today often have the highest quality breeding andtraining behind them.

'Horses face an even more frightening future than neglected catsand dogs,' Creamer added. 'Because of their size, they are oftenstarved to a point which cats and dogs do not typically suffer. Fewpeople are aware of the state the American horse is in at thistime.'

The plight of horses today was no more evident than in theArabian horse seizure, which was the biggest case to date in whichthe Heart of Phoenix Equine Rescue has taken part.

In the fall of 2010, Creamer was made aware of a very largeArabian breeder in the northern part of the state who had manyhorses underweight and dying from neglect and abuse. The herd wasreported to be predominately Straight Egyptian desert-bred Arabian,a bloodline comprising less than 2 percent of all Arabian horsesworldwide.

'As an owner of Straight Egyptian Arabians myself, 'Creamer said,'and a girl who grew up reading and re-reading 'The Black Stallion'by Walter Farley, something about these horses I had not even seenpulled at my heart in a special way. This tug remained with me forover a year when I logically should have given up hope of seeingthem saved.'

The person who reported the horses didn't know the farm'slocation. She had only seen photos.

Creamer went to work calling, emailing, and researching recordsin an attempt to find the farm's location, as well as speaking withthe state Humane Society of the United States director, who joinedher in trying to locate the farm.

By early 2011, with many dead ends under her belt, Creamer madeemail contact with the daughter of the farm's owner. The daughterwasn't willing to disclose the location of the farm, but she didreveal enough to establish the initial report and also offered torelease two geldings, a stallion and two bred mares from their herd.

The horses were delivered to a Heart of Phoenix rescue contact atSleepy Hollow Stables in New Martinsville.

'The daughter of the breeder dropped the starving horses offwhile driving $70,000 worth of new truck and horse trailer,' Creamersaid.

'Out of the trailer, over a few deliveries, came the five horses.The mares and one of the geldings were so emaciated they were barelyable to stand, small shadows of the proud desert horses one whoknows equines would expect in this breed. They had awful skinconditions and parasite loads so heavy that I doubted a few of themcould possibly survive.'

All of these horses survived, even thrived, in foster care. Allfound homes, some in Milton and others in Indiana. The mares bothwent on to deliver healthy fillies.

But this rescue did not end there.

Convinced there were more horses at the same farm, Creamercontinued to make inquiries in a dogged pursuit to leave no starvinghorse behind. Over a year from the time she had first heard of thecase, a young woman messaged Creamer on Facebook saying that sheknew of people who were starving their Arabian horses on a farm inHampshire County.

In a matter of days, through Creamer's unflagging nose on thetrail, the Hampshire County Animal Control seized 22 starvingArabians. Together with the state HSUS director, Summer Wyatt, andone of the board members from the Heart of Phoenix, Sonora Winds,Creamer made the six-hour trip to assist in the rescue.

Creamer described the scene: 'When we arrived and walked into thefield, we were met with swollen bellies from parasites, horrifyingskin conditions, neglected hooves, and skeletal frames. The mareswere mostly pregnant or had foaled recently. There was not a healthyhorse among the group.'

Wyatt asked Creamer to identify the horses, which were allbelieved to be registered, and to screen and place the horses.

She used old photos, markings and online records to get started,soon turning to a network of Arabian preservationists for help bothin her research and in fostering horses during their recovery andhealing. She received calls from all over the United States and theworld, some from people who had previously owned the horses. It tookthree months for all of the horses to be identified and placed inscreened homes.

While she has been involved in many rescues now, the case of theArabians is close to her heart.

'To have been a part of that rescue was a proud moment in mypersonal life,' she said.

When Creamer relates how she felt when her two brothers andsister were killed in that fire, she says, 'I was left with barebones,' describing herself in much the way she describes the horsesshe rescues. She heals herself as she heals them. She intends tokeep saving horses for the rest of her life.

President of the Heart of Phoenix Equine Rescue, Creamer notesthat 2012 started for the group with their 501(c)3 non-profit statusofficially pending. Heart of Phoenix has placed horses in almostevery state across the United States and even into Canada.

'America was built, wars were won, and families fed on the backsof horses,' Creamer said. 'They have been icons in our countrythroughout our history. Horses saw Americans through so many timesof need. We have to find a way to help them now during their time ofneed.'

While not everyone can offer a home to a horse, people can alsodonate money for feed, vaccinations and other supplies for horsesundergoing recovery or share information to build awareness.

Creamer also needs volunteers who have stable space to househorses while they recover and before they are adopted.

Visit the Heart of Phoenix Equine Rescue website atwww.equinerescue.weebly.com for more information about how to help.

CRAIG CUNNINGHAM/DAILY MAIL Tinia Creamer, co-founder of TheHeart of Phoenix Equine Rescue, was instrumental in one of thelargest horse seizures in the state last year when dozens ofstarving Arabians were taken from a Hampshire County farm. Shownhere with Snow, one of the many horses she is nursing back tohealth, Creamer lost three family members in an apartment fire in2007. In the aftermath of that tragedy, she said she turned to herlove of horses.

CRAIG CUNNINGHAM/DAILY MAIL Rescued horses graze on grass at afarm in Ashland, Ky.

Creamer holds Snows head while veterinarian Chad Brown performsdental work. A horses teeth are integral to its health. If it cantproperly chew food, it wont be able to properly digest it and willlose weight. At right, Creamer gives some love and affection toDodger, one of several horses getting a second chance at life at anAshland, Ky. farm.

Health Zone: I haven't eaten a proper meal for years 12; Jill Palmer's medical casebook AGONY OF LIFE WITH RARE ILLNESS.(Features) - The Mirror (London, England)

Byline: Jill Palmer

SALLY Poolman is in constant pain, has to be fed through a tube, and spends much of her life in hospital.

But the 33-year-old refuses to give in to the rare bowel disorder which dominates her life, and is determined to live as full a life as possible.

Sally suffers from the same horrendous condition as Danny Bond, the 20-year-old who earlier this month told doctors he wanted to die because he has suffered enough.

Like Danny she has endured hundreds of operations and has been infected by the antibiotic-resistant superbug MRSA.

But, unlike Danny, she says there is a quality of life even with the debilitating disorder.

'I was very sad when I read about Danny's decision to stop treatment and be allowed to die if he can't be cured,' says Sally from Ringwood, Hants.

'It is an awful condition and I have been through terrible times and real lows just like him.

'But any newly-diagnosed teenager reading his story would feel so negative about their illness. I want to show that life is worth living.'

Sally suffers from autonomic neuropathy of the gut, or chronic pseudo-obstruction. It means that the nerves that control the stomach, intestines and bowel do not work.

The problem started in childhood, but became worse during her teenage years and Sally endured her first bowel operation when she was 16 years old.

When she was 19 and had started her training as a nurse she underwent major surgery to remove her large bowel.

OVER the next two years she had TWELVE more major operations on her remaining intestines.

None was successful. She continued to suffer excruciating pain, her stomach was horrendously swollen, she vomited every time she tried to eat and her weight plummeted.

'It was a nightmare,' says Sally. 'I was continually accused of being anorexic because I wasn't eating. But the reason was not that I didn't want to eat but that eating was so painful.

'My stomach just did not digest the food and every time I ate even the smallest amount I would be doubled up in pain and be violently sick.

'I felt so ill and was in and out of hospital so many times that it took me five years instead of three to qualify as a nurse.'

Eventually Sally became so ill that she was admitted to hospital for intravenous tube feeding which was to become her way of life. She has been unable to eat a proper meal for the last 12 years.

Instead, a special high-calorie feed known as Parenteral Nutrition Solution is fed through a tube into the vena cava, the main vein going into the heart, and around the bloodstream.

A tiny device - the size of a thumbnail - is implanted under her skin just below her right shoulder blade, which is attached to the vena cava.

Each day she must attach the feeding machine into the device, known as a vascuport.

It then takes between ten and 12 hours, usually overnight, for Sally to be 'fed'.

Initially she was kept in hospital for six months but, determined to go home, she learnt how to attach the feeding machine herself.

'Everything has to be completely sterile so that you don't get an infection in the tube which can spread to the bloodstream and be life-threatening,' says Sally. 'It is very difficult. I've lost count of the times I have got an infection and have had to be rushed to hospital critically ill with blood poisoning.'

On top of that, the vascuport is continually going wrong and needs to be replaced.

And Sally is dogged with bowel infections which have damaged her kidneys and bladder as well as spreading into the bloodstream, nearly killing her.

The condition makes her desperately exhausted and incredibly underweight.

She needs pethidine injections up to four times a day to relieve the pain as her body cannot absorb oral painkillers.

She spends three months out of every six in hospital with numerous infections and feeding problems.

Now, because she has been infected with MRSA she has to be in isolation every time she is admitted.

Sally is also facing yet another major operation to remove part of her intestines which are continually becoming infected - but she is determined to lead as independent a life as possible.

She has her own flat - her mum lives nearby to help out when needed - and enjoys a good social life.

And, despite believing she would never find a partner, she^has fallen in love with old schoolfriend Rob Portnal, with whom she now lives. 'There was a time when I thought I could not take it any more. The vascoport had failed for the umpteenth time and I felt that enough was enough,' says Sally.

'But it didn't last long. I soon realised that although my life is restricted and I am limited in what I can do, I can still have a good quality of life.

'I am too outgoing to sit around waiting to die. You can't let the illness rule your whole life.

'I have learnt to manage it as best I can.

IDEALLY I should use the feeding machine seven days a week, but I refuse to do it at weekends because I want to go out and be normal.

'If I do too much I feel awful the next day, but I balance the pros of enjoying myself with the cons of how much I will suffer.

'I meet my friends in the pub and I can go out to restaurants although I can only manage a tiny toddler's size portion, and even then I feel as if I have eaten two three-course meals and I do get pain.

'Not being able to eat and depending on intravenous feeding is probably the most frustrating part of the illness.

'I didn't think I would ever meet anyone who would put up with all my problems, but Rob is fantastic.

'He has even learnt how to give me my pethedine injections and is learning how to attach the feeding machine. I have been offered the chance to go on the bowel transplant waiting list but have decided against it. It is very risky and has a low success rate.

Maybe in the future...

'I have been to hell and back in my life and nearly died so many times.

'Now I just live one day at a time. If I feel well I go out and enjoy myself and make the most of life.'

Sally's consultant Dr Mike Stroud, from the Institute of Human Nutrition at Southampton Hospital, explains: 'This is a very rare gut movement disorder which is at the extreme end of irritable bowel syndrome.

'It is an abnormality of the nerves that control the gut, but we don't know enough about what causes it or how to treat it.

'There are only around 50 people in the country who have it this severely and need to be fed intravenously.

'It seems to come on during teenage years and early adult life.

'It causes terrible problems. Most patients have had several operations before diagnosis which don't help as the gut sticks to the old scar tissue making problems worse.

'Bowel transplants are still very experimental, although this may be an option in the future.'

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пятница, 21 сентября 2012 г.

'I haven't time to do my job' THE HEALTH VISITOR.(News) - Sunday Mirror (London, England)

NORMA Dudley has been a health visitor for 27 years - yet she's never been so stressed.

The number of health visitors in Waltham Forest, North-East London, where she's based has fallen by 40 per cent in the last eight years - increasing her workload dramatically.

Instead of all babies having a review at eight months, it is just those in vulnerable families or on the child protection register.

Already there have been delays detecting cases of rickets, poor diet and post-natal depression.

Norma, 56, said: 'I have never felt anxiety about my work like I do now. When you do home visits, you can pick up very complex health, social and emotional family issues. But I don't have time to follow them up.'

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четверг, 20 сентября 2012 г.

States' Fiscal Struggles Haven't Led to Big Medicaid Cuts; 'Health Affairs' Article Says States Reducing Optional Benefits, Trimming Provider Payments. - Ascribe Higher Education News Service

Byline: Health Affairs

BETHESDA, Md., May 22 (AScribe Newswire) -- Squeezed by a recession and rising Medicaid costs, states are cutting spending and considering tax increases but are sparing their Medicaid and children's health insurance programs, according to a new article published on the Health Affairs Web site (www.healthaffairs.org).

An analysis of 13 states that have been part of the Urban Institute's Assessing the New Federalism project found that states, in general, have not reduced eligibility in response to budget pressures. Those pressures include declining tax revenue; increasing enrollment because of expanded eligibility, new outreach, and higher unemployment; and increasing costs because of higher provider payments, drug prices, and lower savings from managed care. The analysis says that significant cuts are unlikely, however, because of federal matching payments, minimum federal standards, and the political strength of providers and beneficiaries.

Many states expanded Medicaid benefits and eligibility and added new health insurance programs for the uninsured during the 1990s when revenue was booming, medical inflation was low, and new program dollars were flowing from Washington. This picture began to change in 2000. Although they were not advocating cuts in enrollment, several states were cutting or freezing reimbursement to providers, eliminating some optional benefits, and limiting their outreach efforts to increase enrollment. If the recession deepens or lasts longer than now expected, this could change, said the report authored by John Holahan, Joshua Wiener, and Amy Lutzky.

The authors warn that the problems that state health policy faces will not fade when the recession ends. Between rising health care costs and slow economic growth, employer coverage could decline and the number of uninsured increase. Medicaid managed care is no longer saving as much money as it did in the 1990s. Hospital, nursing home, and drug costs are likely to continue increasing. And the federal government is determined to curtail use of the questionable financing arrangements that states have engaged in. States will have difficulty maintaining current coverage commitments and will have an even harder time expanding coverage.

States covered by the report are Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin.

The article can be read at

www.healthaffairs.org/WebExclusives/Holahan_Web_Excl_ 052202.html.

At last.. a bit of FUN the health and safety killjoys haven't ruined; DAREDEVILS' THRILL AT CHEESE ROLL RACE.(News) - The Mirror (London, England)

Byline: By REBECCA EVANS

FEARLESS funlovers stuck up two fingers to the health and safety brigade yesterday to enjoy a uniquely British tradition - the annual cheese rolling hill chase.

Daredevil competitors - gleefully risking fingers, life and limb - were watched by 3,000 spectators as they threw themselves down the perilously steep slope after a 7lb cheese.

The race in Brockworth, Glos, has become such a symbol of English eccentricity that it attracts worldwide interest.

Organiser Richard Jeffries vowed: 'There are people who'd like to see it stop, but it's an ancient British tradition that's gone on for centuries and will continue.' Jason Crowther, 25, of Pembrokeshire, West Wales, won the first of the day's five races - his third victory in three years.

Clutching his Double Gloucester prize, he grinned: 'I heard something crack, which I think was my knee. But you just go for it.'

Women's event winner Jemima Bullock, 33, who flew in from Wellington, New Zealand, said: 'It's well known back home and always on the news.'

The psychologist, who suffered bloodied knees, shrugged: 'I guess you have got to be a bit mad to do this.' Japanese TV star Daisuki Miyazaw, 34, came second in one contest and groaned: 'We are strong, but it hurts so much.' He was one of 20 treated for minor injuries. The race at Cooper's Hill dates from Roman times.

Other quirky spectacles to have escaped Britain's health and safety brigade are the flaming tar barrel event in Ottery St Mary, Devon, where people race through streets with burning casks, while Marshwood in Dorset, hosts a nettle-eating contest.

rebecca.evans@mirror.co.uk

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IF you are over 65 and haven't yet had the flu vaccine, the Public Health Agency has advised that you get the jab as soon as possible. - Belfast Telegraph

IF you are over 65 and haven't yet had the flu vaccine, thePublic Health Agency has advised that you get the jab as soon aspossible.

Latest figures from the Public Health Agency show that flu caseshave increased again but the level of increase is less than thatseen in previous weeks.

GP consultation rates for influenza like illness in primary carehave increased by 45% compared with 104% in the previous week.

PHA is continuing its efforts to urge 'at-risk' groups --including the elderly and pregnant women -- to get vaccinatedagainst flu, following increasing levels of flu cases in thecommunity.

While H1N1 is the main strain of flu circulating, we are seeingcases of other flu strains which can also be prevented by theseasonal flu vaccine.

Vaccine policy is clearly set out by DHSSPS on the advice of thenational Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI)which advises all UK Health departments on immunisation policy.

The PHA is also advising the public to take extra measures toreduce the risk of catching or spreading the flu virus, particularlywhen most people have returned to work and children are back atschool after the Christmas holidays.

Dr Lorraine Doherty, Assistant Director of Public Health (HealthProtection), PHA said: 'We have seen a rise in the number ofseasonal flu cases. However, flu cases are still not as high as seenduring 2008/09 or during last winter's flu pandemic.

'Nevertheless, a number of people are ill in intensive care unitswith flu and it is thus important that every effort is made toprevent flu transmission in the community. The PHA would like toadvise the public of how everyone can play their part in preventingthe spread of this highly infectious disease.'

'If you do get flu this year, our advice is to stay at home anddon't spread your infection to others.

'Rest, drink plenty of fluids and use over-the-counter remediesif they make you feel more comfortable. GPs and hospitals are busydealing with flu cases, so I would emphasise that people should stayat home and contact their GP only if their condition worsens or ifthey are in an 'at risk' group or pregnant and not recovering.

'Do not visit relatives or friends in hospital if you aresneezing, have a cough or have other symptoms of flu-like illness,'added Dr Doherty.

She continued: 'Receiving the seasonal flu vaccine is the bestway to protect yourself and others from getting the virus. So, ifyou are in an 'at-risk' group, get the vaccine now -- it's still nottoo late.'

The public can also take simple effective measures to protectthemselves. The flu virus is spread in the small droplets of salivacoughed or sneezed into the air by an infected person.

If you breathe in these droplets, you may become infected, butthis spread can be prevented.

Use a tissue to cover your mouth and nose when coughing orsneezing, throw the tissue in the bin and wash your hands as soon asyou can. These measures can help prevent all flu and flu-likeillnesses.

среда, 19 сентября 2012 г.

Cancer drug fund would be unjust and short-sighted; Health chief: We simply haven't the cash to do it.(News) - Daily Post (Liverpool, England)

Byline: KATE FORRESTER

A HEALTH chief has spoken out about the difficulties of obtaining some drugs in Wales, after it emerged a cancer patient had to rent a flat 50 miles from her home to access treatment.

But Dr Matthew Makin, chief of staff for the Cancer Clinical Programme Group at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, said he is against setting up a fund in Wales dedicated to cancer drugs.

DAILY POST June 2, 2012 DENBIGHSHIRE & EAST By KATE FORRESTER Drastic move: Yvonne Briscoe, 57 CANCER PATIENT'S BATTLE FOR TUMOUR DRUG A CANCER patient has been forced to rent a flat in England to access treatment which could save her life. Earlier this year, health chiefs in North Wales told Yvonne Briscoe she would not be allowed to take Cetuximab, a drug which can shrink tumours, because she was not an 'exceptional case'.

The Wrexham Maelor hospital-based consultant told the Daily Post there is not enough cash available to the NHS to fund every life-prolonging treatment on the market. y The 57-year-old had asked for the opportunity to try the treatment after chemotherapy stopped having an effect on her bowel cancer. After being told the drug was not approved by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) and not routinely available in Wales, Yvonne was forced to take drastic action.

She has now rented a flat in Stockport - 53 miles from her home in Brynford - and has to spend at least one day there every week in order to register for treatment in England, where Cetuximab is more easily accessible through the Cancer Drugs Fund.

'I was left with no choice really. I need to be given the chance to try this drug and this was the only way I could apply for funding for it in England,' she said. 'I am already being treated at Christie's in Manchester and my friend said she had a flat for rent in Stockport. 'I decided to take it, so I was able to register with a Stockport doctor and receive treatment in England, where getting funding for Cetuximab is usually straightforward. 'Now I have to spend some time there every week and have been told by one of my consultants that I'm one of several patients he knows of who have had to do this. 'It isn't an ideal situation at all and Welsh patients should not have to go to these lengths - it's totally ridiculous. Battling cancer is one of the most stressful situations you could ever go through and having to do this just adds to that.' II've had to rent flat 5500 miles away in England in fight to save my life Yvonne considered launching a court battle to win the right to use the drug in Wales, a path followed by her friend and fellow bowel cancer sufferer Jane Humphreys. SHE NEEDS ADDRESS ACROSS BORDER TO RECEIVE TREATMENT will be a bit more straightforward for me now.

'I have been advised to finish the treatment I am currently receiving at Glan Clwyd hospital, which takes another two weeks, and then I can apply for funding for Cetuximab.' Bosses at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board say Cetuximab is still not recommended by NICE and is Jane, who lives in Mold and is an oncology nurse herself, was finally given the go-ahead to use Cetuximab in 2008 and has since discovered it has shrunk her tumours dramatically. The mum-of-two was first diagnosed with cancer in 2004 and had undergone countless operations and several rounds of chemotherapy. She was also initially refused funding for the treatment, which is widely used in Europe, because it was not approved by NICE. Yvonne added: 'I just couldn't face it and didn't have the time to fight a court battle like Jane did. In any case, it shouldn't be necessary. I'm hoping that things not routinely available in Wales as a result. Dr Matthew Makin, chief of staff of the Cancer Clinical Programme Group, said: 'If a drug is approved by NICE and the All Wales Medicines Strategy Group, then such drugs are used as standard treatment. We can confirm that in this case a request was considered and no clinical exceptionality was determined and thus in accordance with policy, the request was refused. 'Whilst we have every sympathy with Ms Briscoe, we have followed the process as it stands in Wales at this time.'

kate.forrester@dailypost.co.uk Breakthrough: How we told Jane Humphreys' story It follows the story reported by the Daily Post last week of Yvonne Briscoe, a bowel cancer sufferer from Brynford, who has been forced to rent a flat in Stockport in order to gain access to a How we reported Yvonne's case in Friday's paper drug which is more easily available in England, through the dedicated Cancer Drugs Fund.

The 57-year-old wanted to be given the chance to be treated with Cetuximab, a drug which can shrink tumours, but was told by North Wales doctors that she was not an 'exceptional case'.

Dr Makin says the drug is not approved by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) or the All Wales Medicine Strategy Group because it is not cost-effective.

He added: 'Cetuximab has not been approved for funding on the basis of its level of efficiency relative to its cost.

'For example, it can potentially cost tens of thousands of pounds to delay the progression of cancer only by a matter of weeks.

'What''s clear here is that in Wales it is perfectly possible for some patients to be eligible and some patients not to be eligible, depending upon their stage and genetic variant of the disease.'

Dr Makin said he and other clinicians across Wales were aware of increasing pressure from patients and other sources to set up a Welsh Cancer Drugs Fund, which would seek to fund treatments not approved by NICE.

He added: 'Prioritising NHS resources towards such a fund would be short-sighted, unjust and reckless.

POST Page 'It would in effect divert resources away from other technologies and modes of cancer care. 'These other technologies are necessary if we are to provide a world-class cancer service.

'Patients should have access to modern diagnostic procedures, the latest surgical interventions and other new techniques such as targeted radiotherapy. 'Many of these approaches have been considered clinically and cost effective by NICE, but their wider use could be threatened if funding were directed towards a separate drugs fund.'

DAILY SAYS 8 The consultant said the English Cancer Drugs Fund is set to be scrapped in 2014 in any event and that doctors across Wales have been working with the pharmaceutical industry to secure an agreement which could see more drugs made available in Wales in the future, at a lower cost.

??West Haven fire chief retires after 2 years, cites health - New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)

By Abbe Smith Register Staff

WEST HAVEN -- After more than three decades with the West ShoreFire Department, Chief Harold 'Hal' Burns has decided to retireafter two years in the top spot.

Burns has been on medical leave for about a year because of heartproblems and said his health is the reason he is choosing to stepdown. His retirement became effective Sept. 1.

Reached Wednesday at home, Burns said he had a great career andis very grateful to the citizens of the West Shore, all of thecity's firefighters and all the people who have helped him over theyears.

In his retirement letter to the Fire Commission, Burns recountssome of his memories over the 31 years he served and says beingnamed chief in 2006 was one of the 'proudest moments of my life.'

'I will truly miss the camaraderie of working with thefirefighters and the experience of working on a daily basis with theexceptional firefighters who serve the residents of West Haven,' hewrote.

Fire officials across the city expressed sadness at Burns'departure and wished him well.

'He is going to be greatly missed in the West Shore FireDepartment because his heart was in it,' said Allingtown Fire ChiefPeter Massaro, who called Burns a friend.

'He was a good chief,' Massaro added.

West Haven Fire Department Chief James P. O'Brien echoedMassaro's praise of Burns.

'He always had a tremendous passion and love for the fire serviceand I think I got to know him over the last few years very closely.We are going to certainly miss him,' he said.

Hired to the department in August 1977, Burns earned a salary ofabout $95,600 as chief and collected the same amount while onmedical leave. He will receive a yearly pension of $86,700.

Burns' decision to step down this month makes West Shore thethird fire department in West Haven in less than a year seeking tohire a new chief.

Massaro was hired in April to replace Allingtown Chief Victor J.Sampietro, and O'Brien took over the West Haven Fire Department inDecember, after the retirements of longtime Chief William S. 'Wiggy'Johnson Jr. in February 2007 and Chief William L. Abbott, who servedthe Center District for seven months.

According to the West Shore department's home-rule ordinance, theFire Commission must first consider in-house candidates for the topjob and is accepting rA(c)sumA(c)s from eligible employees.

Acting Chief David Collins said he and the department are sad tosee Burns go.

'It is unfortunate that his work was unfinished and cut short byillness,' Collins said.

The hallmark of Burns' tenure, according to Collins, was his workin getting the district to switch over to the state-run pension plancalled the Municipal Employee Retirement Fund.

Collins said the new plan, under which seven firefighters alreadyhave been hired, will save the district 'a lot of money in thefuture.'

Collins also praised Burns' dedication to both firefighters andtaxpayers. West Shore Fire Commissioner Robert Pimer said the chiefwill be sorely missed.

Commission Chairman John Biancur, who thanked Burns for his yearsof service, said Burns is the fifth retirement since July 1 andnoted that two of the retirements were not planned, which has put aburden on the department's finances.

West Shore taxpayers this year approved a budget with no taxincrease, in defiance of warnings from Collins and other fireofficials that the department will be in dire financial straits as aresult. According to Biancur, the district has enough money to covercosts right now, but 'if anybody else retires, then that wouldprobably send us into the red or change our projections.'

He added: 'I'm hopeful that we won't have any more retirementsthis year.'

Stale food code may be tossed; Health Department rules haven't been updated since 1954 - The Columbian (Vancouver, WA)

Back when the county's food service code was adopted, Dwight D.Eisenhower was president and a crab leg entree at a fancy restaurantcost maybe $2. If you paid much more than that, it was on account oftoo many of the 50-cent cocktails.

The 1954 code is decades past its pull date. Like a holidayfruitcake, it was created, looked at from time to time, andultimately left on a shelf for 52 years.

At a Wednesday work session, the county commissioners digested aone-hour briefing from Health Department employees who are wrappingup the first re-examination of the code in a Twinkie's half-life.

With input from three committees whose members include operatorsof nursing homes and restaurants, the Health Department proposes tochange everything from the penalties for non-compliance (in 1954, afine of all of $25 to $100, and up to 30 days in a facility notrenowned for its cuisine) to how often restaurants and such areinspected.

Even the name of the '54 code would change, from 'EatingEstablishments,' with its verb-like structure evoking Godzilladining on a diner, to the more accurate 'Food Establishments.'

John Wiesman, Health Department director, said the shift of thedepartment from a separate entity to the county prompted a cleanupof the long-outdated, and essentially ignored, rules.

'They are so antiquated,' he said.

Although the ordinance is still on the books in its Cadillacs-with-tail-fins form, the county already has been following staterules, or WACs. The new rules align the local code with the WACs andthe Health Department's current practices, said Jonnie Hyde, publichealth services manager.

The ptomaine reason for all this is the protection of visitors toany facility that serves food to the public, from the county fairand Vancouver Farmers Market to restaurants, schools and stores.Another, said Hyde, is to help food establishments succeed. TheHealth Department doesn't actually want to see restaurants fined; itjust wants employees to wash their hands so 300 patrons don't spenda week throwing up.

Among the other proposed changes:

n The new rules revoke those of March 3, 1954, which at the timeapplied to Clark and Skamania counties.

n In 1954, the rule said a restaurant's well was not to bepolluted; now an operator would have to prove it with yearly tests.

n The old rules say inspections are required every six monthsregardless of the type of facility. New rules would requireinspection one to three times a year, varying with the risk to thepublic as determined by types of foods served and methods ofpreparation. (For example, grocery stores and bakeries would have alow inspection frequency; nursing homes, with their 'immune-compromised' residents, would be among those in the upper category.)

n In 1954 there was no immediate consequence for refusal to allowan inspector on the premises; new rules allow immediate shutdownuntil the owner changes his mind.

n The old $25-$100 fine and jail time are dropped in favor oflanguage saying offenders would be guilty of a misdemeanor ifconvicted, and may face fines set by the Board of Health.

That board is in fact the county commissioners, who will set apublic hearing on the proposed rules in the next few weeks.

Wednesday, commissioners Marc Boldt and Betty Sue Morris quicklydigested the health officials' report, asked numerous questions and,in the casual setting of a work session, wondered out loud to thegathered experts about everything from food handling and Tupperwarecontainers to restaurant inspections and mobile food service trucks.

'I bet it's not acceptable to let a gallon of milk sit out allnight, is it?' said Morris. 'Happens at our house all the time.'

Boldt sheepishly mentioned that he had been in charge of dinnerpreparation for a number of people.

'I cooked for the fair board last night,' he said. After a pause,'I hope that wasn't a violation.'

No, it wasn't, he was told; it was for a group, but not a publicfunction. Somebody asked what was on the menu. Hamburgers.

'Did you cook them medium well?' asked Bill Barron, the countyadministrator.

'Oh, no, I didn't have time,' Boldt quipped.

Barron noted that commercial food-safety rules have always been adelicate balance between protecting the public and settingreasonable requirements.

He recalled an incident 20-some years ago when he was a deputyadministrator for an Illinois county that was hosting a PGAtournament. A food inspector had a run-in with what he determinedwas improperly stored soda and was threatening dire consequences.

New Haven, Conn., meeting to address lack of health benefits. - Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

By Maria Garriga, New Haven Register, Conn. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

Dec. 9--NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Small-business owners who are women or minorities are less likely to be able to afford to offer health care insurance to their employees, according to a survey by the Small Business Health Care Network.

The network will announce the results of its survey today at 9:45 a.m. at Sandra's restaurant, 46 Whitney Ave. The event is free and open to the public.

Four groups in the network conducted in-depth interviews with a total of 269 area small-business owners, primarily minorities and women.

The Grand Avenue Village Association, the Greater New Haven Business and Professional Association, the Spanish American Merchants Association and the Connecticut chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners all participated in the network surveys.

State Comptroller Nancy Wyman will be at the meeting to discuss her proposals to lower health care premiums for small businesses with fewer than 50 employees.

'While insurance companies are paying million-dollar bonuses to their executives, tens of thousands of hardworking people go home from their jobs every night worried because they don't have health insurance,' Wyman said.

The network surveys, conducted from March through October, show that New Haven area small businesses in the network have been struggling with health care insurance issues more than the average small business in the state.

Although numerous surveys have shown that small businesses have struggled with the double-digit rise in health insurance costs over the last few years, none have been as in depth as the one conducted by the Small Business Health Care Network, said Kate Busch, a senior program and development officer at the Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut, which started and funds the network.

The foundation is trying to develop legislative solutions to the health insurance affordability problem.

'Cost is always the No. 1 barrier,' said Michael Miller, director of health affairs for Community Catalyst, a Boston-based health care advocacy group that analyzed the network's survey results.

He noted that 14 percent of adults in Connecticut lack health insurance, and 40 percent of the business owners in the network do not offer health insurance coverage.

'How can we address racial disparity in health and economic status if you can't get people affordable health coverage?' Miller said.

To see more of New Haven Register, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.nhregister.com.