Sunday, February 22, 2009

News Clipping Archives

 

Maryland / Regional

Grant-funded AIDS clinic in Savage is closing (Baltimore Sun)

Elementary schools get donated defibrillators (Baltimore Sun)

Neighbors skeptical of Harford waste facility upgrade (Baltimore Sun)

Medicare gaps (Baltimore Sun)

Hospital plans Latino Health Fair (Baltimore Sun)

County's ambulance fee may never begin (Annapolis Capital)

National / International

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Opinion

Malpractice rollback a windfall for lawyers (Baltimore Sun)

 

Maryland / Regional

 

Grant-funded AIDS clinic in Savage is closing

Howard officials hope service will move to Columbia site

 

By Baltimore Sun staff reports

Baltimore Sun

Sunday, February 22, 2009

 

A grant-funded AIDS clinic in Savage operated by Johns Hopkins Hospital is to close by the end of the month, but county health officials say they hope the service will move to the Chase Brexton clinic in Columbia.

 

John M. Gerwig III, Hopkins program manager, said Hopkins officials received a call last month from the county's health officer, Dr. Peter L. Beilenson, alerting them that the program would end. Hopkins has operated an AIDS clinic in Howard County for 15 years, but only recently in Savage, Gerwig said.

 

"Rumors were flying everywhere," he said.

 

Gerwig mailed a letter to the 85 patients in the program informing them of the Savage clinic's closing. Any patients who wish to keep their doctors may continue receiving treatment at Hopkins Moore Clinic at the East Baltimore hospital campus.

 

Beilenson said the change is being driven by state budget cuts to local health offices.

 

"We're taking budget cuts midyear," he said.

 

Dawn O'Neill, Beilenson's deputy director, said the county Health Department can save up to $175,000 if Chase Brexton gets the Ryan White federal grant for the program and takes over administrative chores.

 

The county can then eliminate a program manager's job, a high-level data entry position and reassign several other department workers who spend part of their time on the twice-a-month program.

 

"It is very, very, very labor intensive," she said.

 

Patients would have access to the new clinic five days a week instead of twice a month at Savage. Transportation money for those without vehicles will also be available, Beilenson said.

 

The grant awards are expected to be announced by the end of the month, according to Ralph Brisueno, the Baltimore City Health Department official who administers the competitive bidding process. Chase Brexton, Hopkins and People's Community Health Centers are competing for the grant, he said.

 

Copyright 2009 Baltimore Sun.

 

Elementary schools get donated defibrillators

Gold's Gym helping county reach goal to have device in each school

 

By Nicole Fuller

Baltimore Sun

Sunday, February 22, 2009

 

Gold's Gym in Crofton has donated three automated external defibrillators to Anne Arundel County elementary schools this year, helping to meet the school department's self-imposed mandate to equip all of its schools with the life-saving devices.

 

Meade Heights Elementary School in Meade was the latest recipient, receiving its AED this month, bringing the total number of donated defibrillators to nine. In January, Gold's Gym donated an AED to Nantucket Elementary School in Crofton and Seven Oaks Elementary in Odenton.

 

"It's something we've sort of championed from Day One in our clubs," said Bruce Ebel, a representative for the gym's ownership group, which operates 10 Gold's Gym clubs in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and South Carolina.

 

"Basically, the schools that didn't have them were our neighbors," Ebel said. "It's always nice to do something right in our backyard."

 

Gold's Gym Crofton has purchased a total of nine AEDs for the county schools since the partnership began in 2007. The first six AEDs purchased in 2007 were for Crofton, Crofton Woods, Crofton Meadows, Four Seasons and Piney Orchard elementary schools and Crofton Middle School.

 

Diane Ferguson, a safety specialist and the AED coordinator for the county, said the donation helps to make good on its goal to outfit all of the county schools with the devices, which they hope to do by the fall. All of the county's middle and high schools have defibrillators, as state law requires.

 

Copyright 2009 Baltimore Sun.

 

Neighbors skeptical of Harford waste facility upgrade

 

By Jonathan Pitts

Baltimore Sun

Sunday, February 22, 2009

 

When Army and state officials shared the results of an environmental report with Harford County residents, they thought they were bringing good news: The proposed expansion of a waste-to-energy plant in Joppa would have no appreciable impact on neighbors or nature.

 

What they got was an earful of old-fashioned skepticism.

 

"I think your plan stinks," said Ken Anderson, 52. "We little people are just trash to you."

 

Anderson, one of a dozen or so wary neighbors who testified at last week's hearing on the report, complained that truck traffic along Magnolia Road - the only route to the plant - is already so loud it disrupts residents' sleep. The 80 additional vehicles that would arrive from Baltimore County every night would "make this mess worse," he said.

 

Others who live on the street, such as William Hollandsworth, said the facility already emits unpleasant odors, leaves a film of white ash on homes and seems to contribute to respiratory problems.

 

At issue is a major expansion of the 60,000-square-foot waste-to-energy facility near the southern entrance to Aberdeen Proving Ground. Since 1986, the Harford County Resource Recovery Facility on Magnolia Road has incinerated 360 tons of county solid waste a day, producing steam that helps heat and cool buildings on the nearby base.

 

"It's one reason Harford County is a state-of-the-art place in terms of renewable energy," says Chris Skaggs of the Northeast Maryland Waste Disposal Authority, which leases the 13 acres on which the plant sits.

 

County, Army and disposal authority officials have been working since 2006 on a plan that would boost the plant's capacity to 1,500 tons a day. Baltimore County would use about half that capacity. The site would help create electricity as well as steam for APG at a time when the base is growing rapidly because of the nationwide base realignment and closure process known as BRAC.

 

The project would cost about $400 million and take as long as six years to complete.

 

Some residents said that when the plant was first built, officials vowed the site would accept only waste from Harford County.

 

"Now look what they're doing," said Theodore Anderson, 73, shaking his head. "Just goes to show: Never trust a politician." Theodore Anderson is Ken Anderson's father and a retired General Motors worker who lives nearby.

 

Neighborhood residents said that although they doubted they could stop the plan, they are heartened by a measure proposed by Harford County Councilman Dion F. Guthrie, whose district includes the facility.

 

Guthrie says he won't support the expansion unless the county commits to building a new access road to the incinerator from Route 24 - a move that would steer truck traffic through a less-populated area.

 

"You've got $400 million to spend on this; you can spend $5 million on a new road," Ken Anderson said.

 

Army officials say the input from the public will become part of the final version of their report, which is due next month. George Mercer, an APG spokesman, said getting the public's views will be "a major part of a long process."

 

Residents may share written comments with Army engineers through Friday.

 

The Harford County Council won't vote on the measure until next month at the earliest, Guthrie said.

 

Copyright 2009 Baltimore Sun.

 

Medicare gaps

 

West Columbia Brief

Baltimore Sun

Sunday, February 22, 2009

 

The Howard County Office on Aging will offer "Medicare 102: Why Medicare Isn't Enough!" at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Bain Center, 5470 Ruth Keeton Way.

 

The free workshop will focus on gaps in Medicare coverage and how to cover them. Medigap plans and employer group coverage will be discussed; those who attend are encouraged to ask questions.

 

Information on prescription drug resources and Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage will also be available.

 

The event is sponsored by the Office on Aging's Senior Health Insurance Assistance Program.

 

Registration: 410-313-7391.

 

Copyright 2009 Baltimore Sun.

 

Hospital plans Latino Health Fair

 

West Columbia Brief

Baltimore Sun

Sunday, February 22, 2009

 

Howard County General Hospital will present its fifth Latino Health Fair from noon to 4 p.m. March 14 at the Wilde Lake Interfaith Center, 10431 Twin Rivers Road. The event is co-sponsored by Priority Partners, St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, the Howard County Health Department and Alianza de la Comunidad.

 

Blood pressure, colorectal cancer and glucose and cholesterol screenings will be available. Cardiac risk information will be distributed. Dental screenings for children, HIV testing and clinical breast exams will be offered. Information on diabetes, nutrition, physical activity and mental health will be available. Some health education materials will be available in Spanish.

 

Refreshments and giveaways are planned. Admission is free.

 

Information: 410-740-7696.

 

Copyright 2009 Baltimore Sun.

 

County's ambulance fee may never begin

Councilman moves to abolish $500 charge for emergency rides

 

By Erin Cox

Annapolis Capital

Sunday, February 22, 2009

 

A county councilman last week introduced a bill to abolish the new $500 fee for ambulance rides before it takes effect this spring.

 

"I just got a real concern about imposing the $500 fee on our residents in times of economic recession," said the measure's sponsor, Councilman Ed Middlebrooks, R-Severn. "I'm concerned that a lot of older people, regardless of what the county says, are going to get a bill and think that they have to pay it."

 

The ambulance fee was unanimously adopted by the County Council last May in part to help balance the budget. It is scheduled to take effect April 1.

 

County officials say the fee will only be charged to insurance companies, and residents without insurance will pay the fee on a sliding scale related to the resident's income.

 

"First, the overwhelming majority of Anne Arundel County residents will not have to pay for ambulance service," County Executive John R. Leopold said. "Second, no one would be denied service."

 

At least four other jurisdictions in Maryland charge for ambulance use, including Baltimore City and Montgomery, Frederick and Prince George's counties. Proponents say the program helps offset the expense of thousands of annual trips to emergency rooms. Just three months of the fee would net about $2 million for Anne Arundel County in a year when officials face a $45 million budget deficit.

 

Some health advocates fear that, no matter how well-intentioned the policy may be, it can still hurt some senior citizens who would avoid calling an ambulance because they can't afford the fee - even if they're told they won't have to pay it.

 

"As we get older, we don't always remember as clearly what the rules are, and in a crisis, seniors may think they need to pay the fee," said Laurie Lawrence, executive director of Heritage Harbour Health Group, an Annapolis nonprofit organization that helps seniors get proper health care. "I think it could delay treatment, and I think it could be detrimental to the community."

 

Already, some of the 900 seniors served by her organization have concerns they may be stuck with a $500 bill, Lawrence said. These sorts of concerns prompted Middlebrooks to seek to repeal the fee after he grudgingly voted to pass it last year.

 

"I never liked it, I still don't like it, and I don't think the government should be able to get money from every nick and corner just because we have budget problems. The people at home have budget problems, too," Middlebrooks said.

 

Other councilmen agree the fee shouldn't be charged directly to citizens, but support the fee because the bills will only be sent to insurance companies.

 

"I think the ambulance fee is reasonable, and my concern is making sure that the public is well-informed about it - particularly senior citizens," said Councilman Josh Cohen, D-Annapolis. Cohen said most insurance policies already cover the cost of an ambulance ride, and granting ambulance service free of charge is only benefiting insurance companies.

 

"I see the fee as a benefit to taxpayers, but without the fee, the county is in effect subsidizing insurance companies who already have the ability to pay for it," Cohen said.

 

Leopold said a public-information campaign will take place and that the council will receive a presentation on how the ambulance fee will work. The billing details have not been finalized, but residents whose insurance companies refuse to pay the bill will not have to cover the fee, he said.

 

Frances Jones, past president of the North County Senior Republican Club, said that she, too, had concerns about the ambulance fee until she understood Medicare would cover the costs. She organized guest speakers to talk to senior groups and spread the word.

 

"Most seniors already have access to ambulances, and it's paid for by Medicare," Jones said. "If they don't know that by now, they must be asleep. I've told all our branches about it."

 

Copyright 2009 Annapolis Capital.

 

National / International

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Opinion

 

Malpractice rollback a windfall for lawyers

 

Baltimore Sun Letter to the Editor

Monday, February 22, 2009

 

At a time when the nation's economy is slumping and the governor is proposing to mandate that Maryland hospitals and physicians provide more free care to lower-income families, it's ironic that the state House Judiciary Committee, led by trial lawyer Joseph F. Vallario Jr., is proposing legislation to roll back the reforms in the state's medical malpractice insurance policies enacted in 2004 ("Attack of the trial lawyers," editorial, Feb. 17).

 

Such a rollback would ultimately result in higher malpractice insurance rates for doctors and hospitals, higher health care costs for consumers, higher health insurance premiums for businesses and, of course, higher incomes for well-heeled trial lawyers.

 

Perhaps the "attack" of these lawyers on physicians and hospitals will only abate when enough doctors have left Maryland and enough hospitals have closed that they no longer have anyone left to sue.

 

Dr. Mark Haas

Timonium

 

Copyright 2009 Baltimore Sun.

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