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			Tuesday, March 10, 2009 News Clipping Archives *Maryland / Regional* County pollution program stalls (Capital Gazette) Lawmakers want to fine drivers who smoke with kids in car (Baltimore Sun) 5-cent liquor tax could ease disability crisis (Annapolis Capital) Domestic violence bill could be signed into law (Salisbury Daily Times) *National / International* February was Vitamin D Deficency Month (Rockford Register Star (rrstar.com) Overshadowed, Kidney Disease Takes a Growing Toll (New York Times) HEALTH CARE REPORT: House panel OKs tobacco bill (Washington Times) Malaria Drug Is Found to Curb Deadly Infections Spread From Animals (New York Times) *Opinion* Stem Cell Questions (Washington Post) Tragedy in Plain Sight (Washington Post) Wrong solution (Baltimore Sun) *Maryland / Regional* County pollution program stalls Capital-Gazette Tueseday, March 10, 2009 State funding for upgrading aging septic systems withheld The state will not give Anne Arundel County more money to help residents upgrade failing septic systems until the county doles out $1.3 million remaining from funds it got two years ago, according to a letter obtained by The Capital. The Bay Restoration Fund money helps combat pollution from septic systems, but the county has been unable to give away nearly half of it. And the longer it goes unspent, the more pollution seeps into the Chesapeake Bay. 'I think we all expected that the county would be going gangbusters by now,' said Jenn Aiosa, Maryland senior scientist with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. 'It is a little baffling.' The money pays for residents to install pollution-reducing septic systems, which cost about $17,000 and cut in half the nitrogen the systems emit into the bay. Excess nitrogen fuels algae blooms that eventually kill underwater plants, in turn depleting oxygen levels and choking marine life. Observers blame several factors for the sluggish pace of Anne Arundel's program, from lack of resident awareness to a cumbersome and onerous application process. The lack of progress has frustrated environmentalists, who point out that the state will send Bay Restoration Funds elsewhere if they can't be spent here, where about 13,500 septic systems are less than 1,000 feet from the shoreline. 'It's really irresponsible,' said Bob Gallagher, executive director of the West/Rhode Riverkeepers. 'Everyone knows that the septic problem has to be fixed and it's going to be very expensive to do that. For the county to let that money go elsewhere when it could be used to fix the problem here is just irresponsible.' Douglas Hart, the interim director of the county Health Department, said the program is set to gather momentum after a recent public relations campaign and the elimination, at the state's suggestion, of a provision forbidding homeowners who take the money from ever expanding their homes. 'We think that we'll accelerate the pace,' Hart said. 'We think we can spend this money very quickly.' The health department has overseen 75 system installations, approved grants for another dozen, and has about 45 applications pending. If all the approved and pending applications end up with systems in the ground, the county will have spent all the money allotted by the state. Even though county health officials have not found enough residents willing to sign up for the grant money, they asked the state for another $4.6 million to spend over two years. The Maryland Department of Environment recently rejected the request until Anne Arundel changes a few provisions of its program and comes up with a plan to spend the second half of the $2.6 million it received about two years ago. Jay Prager, a deputy program manager for the Bay Restoration Fund, said Anne Arundel must make 'substantial progress' before the state will even process an application for more money. And even then, its request is too high. 'We'll negotiate down,' Prager said. 'We're not giving them $4 million.' Elin Jones, spokeswoman for the health department, said Anne Arundel intends to cut its request in half and ask to spend the money over one year instead. Bruce Melton of Progressive Septic Service is one of a handful of contractors who install the nitrogen-reducing systems in the county. He's skeptical of news of an accelerated county program. 'I can tell you their processes at the health department are so cumbersome,' Melton said. 'They were doing a good job last year when they were handling the bid proposals, but they've now put them in the hands of the homeowners. And we've argued time and time again that the homeowner is the weakest link in the process.' And while the county may be approving more applications, the work has yet to come through. 'They're sending me five or six jobs a week to bid on, but I haven't seen an install job in months,' Melton said. Copyright 2009 The Gazette. Lawmakers want to fine drivers who smoke with kids in car Associated Press Baltimore Sun Tuesday, March 10, 2009 A Maryland lawmaker hopes to pass a bill that would prohibit people from smoking while driving young children around. Montgomery County Sen. Mike Lenett is sponsoring a measure that would fine people who smoke in the car while driving children under the age of 8. Drivers would also be fined if they allow another passenger to smoke in the car while in the presence of children under the age of 8. Lenett's bill sets a $50 fine for violations. Seven senators have agreed to co-sponsor the legislation. A legislative panel will hear testimony on the measure this afternoon. A Senate committee killed similar legislation in 2007. Copyright 2009 Baltimore Sun. 5-cent liquor tax could ease disability crisis By Allison Bourg Annapolis Capital Tuesday, March 10, 2009 Five cents may not be much these days, Kate Rollason said as she passed out nickels last week to a roomful of county lawmakers. But those nickels add up, said Rollason, executive director of the Arc of the Central Chesapeake Region. If enough are collected, perhaps the state can solve the funding crisis plaguing developmental disabilities providers. Rollason and other representatives of county disabilities agencies stood before the county legislative delegation in Annapolis Friday morning, asking lawmakers to support a joint House and Senate bill to increase the state's excise tax on alcoholic beverages by five cents. The measure could raise $80 million in funding for the state Developmental Disabilities Administration, as well as alcohol- and drug-treatment programs, officials said. The bill was sponsored by Montgomery County Democrats Del. Bill Bronrott and Sen. Rich Madaleno. Dels. Ben Barnes and Joseline Pena-Melnyk, two College Park Democrats who also represent Jessup and Laurel in Anne Arundel, co-sponsored the bill. "It's a 5-cent tax on alcohol," Rollason said. "Bars aren't going to lose any money. And people probably won't even notice it." But nonprofit agencies might, she and other agency heads said. About 19,000 developmentally disabled Marylanders are on the waiting list for state-funded services. About 1,100 of those residents live in Anne Arundel County, and some have been waiting for services for years. "We all know times are tight," Rollason said. "But the underfunding was there when times were booming." Costs for agencies have also soared in recent years, while funding stays flat, said Vicki Callahan, executive director of Opportunity Builders Inc. in Millersville. Between 2002 and 2009, the state increased funding for agencies' operating expenses by 7 percent. Yet expenses such as fuel, rent and utilities went up an estimated 28 percent, she said. Three years ago the General Assembly passed a law asking the governor to include in his yearly budget a cost-of-living increase for providers. The recommended increase is set by the Community Services Reimbursement Rate Commission, but subject to state budget limitations. This year, Gov. Martin O'Malley's budget calls for a 1 percent increase, far short of the 3.58 percent recommended. One of the biggest problems is the underfunding of direct-care workers' salaries, Callahan said. "The state reimburses us at a rate of $9.13 per hour, but we can't pay people $9.13 per hour; we'd never have anyone," Callahan said. "So we make up the difference." "Where do you get the money?" Del. Steve Schuh, R-Gibson Island, asked. Callahan said OBI does as much fundraising as it can. Arnold Dordick, executive director of Annapolis-based Langton Green Inc., which works with people with developmental disabilities, said the agency copes by slashing line items from the budget. For example, the agency might wait several years to renovate one of its residential homes, he said. Dordick pointed out that Maryland ranks 43rd in the nation in funding of developmental disabilities services, even though it's one of the wealthiest states in the country. "That's pretty embarrassing," Dordick said. Mitzi Bernard, executive director of the United Cerebral Palsy of Southern Maryland, said her agency's direct-care staff has a 52 percent turnover rate. The reason? The starting salary is only $9.50 per hour, "and that's pretty tight to live here," Bernard said. Theresa Sims of Glen Burnie is one of cerebal palsy's direct-care workers. Sims told delegates she loves her job and considers her clients family. "I do have a spouse, and without him, I would not be able to stay with UCP," Sims said. "We're always short-staffed ... a lot of our staff is single parents. Some of them are working two, sometimes three, jobs." The delegates were sympathetic to the agencies' plights. Delegation Chairwoman Mary Ann Love, D-Glen Burnie, told providers the delegation would send a letter to the governor's office, outlining the struggle developmental disabilities providers face. "We would be happy to do that," she said. The Senate bill is scheduled to go the Budget and Taxation Committee on March 18. Love said after the hearing that it's hard to tell whether the proposal bill has a shot at passing the General Assembly. "It's hard to say when you're talking about taxes, even though this is a very worthy cause," Love said. "We're going to have to have some discussions about it. (The agencies) definitely need some help." Copyright 2009 Annapolis Capital. Domestic violence bill could be signed into law If endorsed, civil protective order records would be expunged Salisbury Daily Times By Sharahn D. Boykin Tuesday, March 10, 2009 SALISBURY -- Domestic violence defendants might get a chance to expunge court records related to civil protective order hearings if a proposal scheduled for a vote in the Maryland House Judiciary Committee today passes into law. But domestic violence advocacy groups are voicing opposition to the bill, calling it a bad policy decision that could put women at risk, stating that without historical information on abuse patterns women might be at risk of getting involved with a habitual abuser. "We think that history is important," said Michelle Cohen, the executive director of the Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence. "Domestic violence is a pattern of behavior." Maryland courts have held that prior abuse can be submitted as evidence, Cohen said. And when a woman gets a protective order, usually it isn't the first time the abuse has happened, Cohen added. In Maryland, individuals are eligible for a protective order if they are hurt or threatened by a current or former spouse, someone they share a child with, someone they live with, or a family member. If the bill was passed into law, courts would be forced to expunge all court records if the victim and defendant appeared for the temporary or final protective order hearing and the court finds clear and convincing evidence that the abuse didn't happen. The court would also have to find that the petition for relief from abuse was filed in "bad faith" or "without substantial justification." Typically, information in civil records is not expunged, said Wicomico County State's Attorney Davis Ruark. "If an individual is charged with a crime, it carries a greater stigma than if an individual is charged in a civil proceeding," Ruark said. Ruark suggested implementing a comprehensive review on the issue of expunging civil records as a whole instead of focusing on a specific type of civil record. Domestic violence advocates concede that without such a law, defendants falsely accused could be stuck with damaging information on their record. sboykin@dmg.gannett.com 410-845-4656 Copyright 2009 Salisbury Daily Times. *National / International* February was Vitamin D Deficency Month By Jim Sheperd Rockford Register Star (rrstar.com) Wednesday, February 25 2009 Do you know anyone with scurvy? Beriberi? Pellagra? Doubtful, as modern nutrition has virtually eliminated these once-common diseases, which were all caused by vitamin deficiencies. Most of us assume that vitamin deficiencies are a thing of the past. So it may come as a surprise, but new evidence shows that you are probably suffering from a dangerous shortage of one important nutrient, vitamin D. The UV Foundation has proclaimed February “Vitamin D Deficiency Month” in order to educate the public about the number of Americans who are alarmingly vitamin D deficient. Your body produces vitamin D in response to ultraviolet exposure, so winter’s shorter days mean less production, especially in northern latitudes. According to Harvard researchers, about 60 percent of the population — 180 million Americans — don’t get enough vitamin D. The “sunshine vitamin” plays a vital role in the prevention of many deadly illnesses, including multiple sclerosis, tuberculosis, schizophrenia, dementia and heart disease. Health officials estimate that as many as 47,000 cancer deaths could be prevented each year in America if adequate vitamin D levels were attained. Vitamin D deficiency may be the single largest threat to public health, and the cure is as simple as taking a walk in the sunshine. So why does the death toll keep rising? Despite the mounting scientific evidence, a misleading campaign to scare us out of the sun implores people to wear lotions and cosmetics with added SPF, which can block up to 100 percent of our vitamin D production. Relying on discredited statistics from outdated studies, dermatology organizations — funded by sunscreen manufacturers — relentlessly overhype the risk of sun exposure and further entrench the misguided notion that any ultraviolet exposure is cancer-causing. In recent years, several of these groups have launched smear campaigns against the sun, blurring the line between overexposure — a very real threat to heath — and any exposure at all. The sunscreen industry constantly warns the public to “cover up” before venturing outside, and to slather on a thick layer of vitamin-blocking lotion at all times. The result of all this fear-mongering is the epidemic we’re facing today. Luckily, public recognition is growing. The largest public health organization in the world, APHA, has endorsed the “Call for Education and Research into Vitamin D Deficiency/Insufficiency.” News outlets and other health services are calling it “the disorder of the decade.” Though certain foods contain small amounts of the vitamin, it’s quite difficult to get enough vitamin D through diet alone. The National Institutes of Health lists sunlight as “the most important source of vitamin D.” Our bodies produce the aptly named “sunshine vitamin” when ultraviolet rays reach our skin. In order to produce the amount that most experts now agree is the minimum daily requirement (about 1,000 to 2,000 IU), according to Dr. Michael Holick, an internationally recognized expert on vitamin D, you would need to expose 25 percent of your body for around 10 minutes, at least 3 times a week during spring, summer and early fall. Most of us don’t even come close, thanks to our indoor lifestyles and sun-phobic culture. Geography, weather, pollution and sunscreen limit the amount of UV light available. In much of the U.S., winter sunlight isn’t strong enough to stimulate vitamin D production at all, even if you were brave enough to lie out on a freezing beach. That’s one of the reasons that we have declared February as Vitamin D Deficiency Month. Vitamin D is important year-round, but when natural sunlight isn’t available, you can still take steps to reduce your health risks. Supplements help boost your levels, as can UV light from other sources. Certain populations are at higher risk of vitamin D deficiency, including the elderly, African-Americans, vegetarians and people with milk allergies. Since vitamin D deficiency is linked to so many diseases, with such dramatic risks, Americans need to make changes in their lifestyle soon to ensure that they are getting enough of this lifesaving sunshine vitamin. Jim Sheperd is the president of the UV Foundation. The UV Foundation, founded in March 2004, is a nonprofit organization that funds research projects that will lead to a better understanding of the full scope of the biologic effects of ultraviolet light. Copyright © 2009 GateHouse Media, Inc. Some Rights Reserved. Overshadowed, Kidney Disease Takes a Growing Toll Reporter's File By David Tuller New York Times Thursday, March 5, 2009 In February 2005, Rita Miller, a party organizer in Chesapeake, Va., felt exhausted from what she thought was the flu. She was stunned to learn that persistent high blood pressure had caused such severe kidney damage that her body could no longer filter waste products from her blood. “The doctor walked over to my bed and said, ‘You have kidney failure — your kidneys are like dried-up peas,’ ” recalled Ms. Miller, now 65, who had not been to a doctor or had her blood pressure checked for years. “The doctor said, ‘Get your family here right away,’ ” she said. “They were telling me I might not make it. I was in shock. I started dialysis the next day.” Ms. Miller, who has since moved to Connecticut to be with her children, was one of the millions of Americans unaware that they are suffering from chronic kidney disease, which is caused in most cases by uncontrolled hypertension (as in her case) or diabetes, and is often asymptomatic until its later stages. The number of people with the disease — often abbreviated C.K.D. — has been rising at a significant pace, thanks in large part to increased obesity and the aging of the population. An analysis of federal health data published last November in The Journal of the American Medical Association found that 13 percent of American adults — about 26 million people — have chronic kidney disease, up from 10 percent, or about 20 million people, a decade earlier. “We’ve had a marked increase in chronic kidney disease in the last 10 years, and that continues with the baby boomers coming into retirement age,” said Dr. Frederick J. Kaskel, director of pediatric nephrology at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore in the Bronx. “The burden on the health care system is enormous, and it’s going to get worse. “We won’t have enough units to dialyze these patients.” Concerned about the emerging picture, federal health officials have started pilot programs to bolster public awareness, increase epidemiologic surveillance and expand efforts to screen those most at risk — people with high blood pressure, diabetes or a family history of kidney disease. Those people, and those who already have the disease, can often be helped by the same kinds of medicine and lifestyle changes used in hypertension and diabetes. They are urged to quit smoking, lose weight, exercise regularly, restrict their diets and, if necessary, control their blood pressure and diabetes with medication. But such efforts cannot restore kidney function that has been lost. The trouble is that most people know very little about chronic kidney disease and rarely ask their doctors about kidney function. And many of those who have it feel relatively well until late in the illness, although they may experience nonspecific symptoms like muscle cramps, loss of energy and poor concentration. “When most people think of kidney disease, they think of dialysis or transplantation,” said Dr. Joseph A. Vassalotti, chief medical officer for the National Kidney Foundation, a major education and advocacy group. “They don’t understand that it encompasses a spectrum, and that the majority of patients are unaware they have the condition.” Chronic kidney disease progresses over the course of years, with its phases determined according to two criteria: the presence of protein in the urine, known as proteinuria, and how effectively the kidneys are processing waste products. Patients get dialysis or a kidney transplant only when they are in the final stage of the disease, also known as kidney failure or end-stage renal disease. But the path to kidney failure can take years. “Only a tiny percentage of patients with kidney disease need dialysis,” said Dr. Stephen Fadem, a Houston nephrologist and vice president of the American Association of Kidney Patients. Chronic kidney disease itself can damage the cardiovascular system and lead to other serious medical conditions, like anemia, vitamin D deficiencies and bone disorders. Patients are far more likely to die from heart disease than to suffer kidney failure. Because African-Americans, Latinos and other minority communities suffer disproportionately from hypertension and diabetes, they experience higher rates of kidney disease and kidney failure. Other cases are caused by genetic disorders, autoimmune ailments like systemic lupus erythematosis, prolonged use of certain medications like anti-inflammatory drugs, and a kidney inflammation called glomerulonephritis. In 2005, more than 485,000 people were living on dialysis or with a transplant, at a total cost of $32 billion. Medicare pays for much of that, because it provides coverage for patients needing dialysis or transplant even if they are not yet 65. In fact, kidney disease and kidney failure account for more than a quarter of Medicare’s annual expenditures. The National Kidney Foundation, with an annual budget of $85 million, plays a major role in education, policy, research and treatment. The organization provides free screening for adults at risk for kidney disease, publishes a leading journal in the field, lobbies on treatment and policy issues, and conducts extensive public education and outreach. But it has come under criticism on several fronts, in particular its close financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry. The agency greatly influences clinical care through the development of guidelines to advise doctors on various aspects of the illness. Critics say the guidelines have benefited drug makers, who are major contributors to the foundation. “These practice guidelines are widely disseminated and heavily influenced by industry, and they come down on the side of recommending higher levels of treatment,” said Dr. Richard Amerling, director of outpatient dialysis at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York. In 2006, the organization published new guidelines for treating anemia associated with chronic kidney disease. The guidelines were underwritten with support from Amgen, which markets a drug for anemia, and some members of the panel that developed the guidelines had financial ties to the industry. The kidney foundation guidelines called for raising red blood cell counts to levels higher than those recommended by the Food and Drug Administration, and many nephrologists criticized the guidelines as biased in favor of industry. After new clinical trials suggested that more aggressive treatment could cause an increase in deaths and heart problems, the foundation revised the guidelines. Ellie Schlam, a spokeswoman for the foundation, said the organization was vigilant “to ensure that no sponsorship funds contributed to the N.K.F.” would influence the content of any guidelines. The organization has also been criticized by advocates who support financial compensation for organ donors, which the foundation firmly opposes as unethical and unlikely to increase the availability of organs. (In contrast, the American Association of Kidney Patients supports research into how financial incentives would affect organ donation.) Even the foundation’s classification of chronic kidney disease into five distinct stages, a framework that has been widely accepted, has come under some challenge. In 2002, the organization published clinical criteria for determining each stage of the disease. But some experts say those guidelines have the effect of overstating the problem by classifying many elderly patients as having the disease when they actually have standard age-related kidney decline. The foundation replies that a reduced kidney function among the elderly should not be accepted as normal just because it is common. Because of Medicare’s role in paying for dialysis and transplantation, the federal government knows far more about the epidemiology and costs of end-stage renal disease than about chronic kidney disease over all. In recent years, Congress has directed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to fill some of these knowledge gaps. In particular, the centers are seeking to develop a comprehensive surveillance system for the disease, organizing pilot screening projects for people at high risk in California, Florida, Minnesota and New York. The agency is also studying the financial implications of the disease and the cost-effectiveness of various interventions. The National Kidney Foundation, which has worked closely with the C.D.C. and the National Institutes of Health on initiatives related to chronic kidney disease, has also focused on education and screening, particularly in minority communities. Terri Smith, the urban outreach director at the foundation’s Connecticut affiliate, says she spends a lot of her time going to black churches and community centers to talk about kidney disease, and has been surprised that so few people know anything about it. “They’re very aware of hypertension and diabetes, but it was a revelation to me that people didn’t get the connection to kidney disease,” she said. “People have no idea they should eat less than a teaspoon of salt a day. I teach them how to read labels; I give them questions they should be asking the doctor.” In Michigan, the local N.K.F. affiliate reaches out to hair stylists and other salon workers in minority communities, training them in talking to their clients about getting screened. Several years ago, after Mary Hawkins, 61, a nurse who lives in Grand Rapids, received a warning about kidney disease from a masseuse at her local salon, she made an appointment to see her doctor. Although she did not have kidney disease, she learned that her blood pressure was high. Now she takes three medications to keep it under control, exercises three times a week, takes tai chi classes, no longer smokes and attends a dance class at the same salon. “I knew kidney disease existed, but I wasn’t in tune with the risk,” she said. “You get so caught up in your own life that the last thing you think about is your health — even though it should be the first thing.” Copyright 2009 New York Times. HEALTH CARE REPORT: House panel OKs tobacco bill By Sean Lengell Washington Times Tuesday, March 10, 2009 A long-standing movement on Capitol Hill to impose tighter restrictions on tobacco products took a step closer to law last week when a House panel approved legislation to give the Food and Drug Administration the power to regulate the industry. The House Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesday voted 39-13 in favor of the bill, which now proceeds to the House floor for a full vote. A Senate committee already has approved a similar bill. The legislation would give the FDA authority to reduce nicotine levels and require larger and more informative health warnings on cigarette packs. It also would impose strict penalties on tobacco companies that market their products to minors and for making false and misleading claims. Tobacco regulation now is largely a state matter. "Regulating tobacco is the single most important thing that we can do right now to curb the deadly toll of tobacco - and FDA is the right agency to do this job," said committee Chairman Henry A. Waxman, California Democrat. The measure is expected to pass the House easily but likely will face a tougher fight in the Senate. A similar bill passed the House last year by an overwhelming bipartisan vote, 326-102, but stalled in the Senate, where senators from tobacco-producing states fought it. Opponents say that by taking on this responsibilitythe FDA would impede on its core mission of enforcing food and drug safety laws. "The FDA is the wrong agency at the wrong time to give this type of responsibility," said Rep. Joe L. Barton of Texas, the House Energy and Commerce Committee's ranking Republican." This legislation will require the FDA to take on something that is both enormous, completely outside its regulatory experience and will divert attention from its core functions." The Bush administration, using similar rationale, threatened last year to veto the bill. With no veto threat coming from the Obama administration, the measure has a greater likelihood of passing this year. The legislation was drafted as a compromise between Philip Morris USA - the nation's largest cigarette company - and a collection of health advocacy groups, including the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association and the Cancer Action Network. Democrats seek court reversal Two House Democratic leaders last week introduced legislation intended to reverse a U.S. Supreme Court decision that bars persons injured by certain medical devices from suing the manufacturer. The court last year found that such claims are barred by a pre-emption clause included in the Medical Device Amendments of 1976. The bill's sponsors - Democratic Reps. Frank Pallone Jr. of New Jersey and Henry A. Waxman of California - say the decision has left consumers without any ability to seek compensation for their injuries, medical expenses and lost wages resulting from injuries caused by defective "pre-market" approval of the devices or inadequate safety warnings. The lawmakers said the decision also removed one of the industry's most important incentives to maintain product safety after approval. "This legislation puts safety first and eliminates the blanket immunity that medical device companies currently enjoy thanks to an unfortunate Supreme Court decision last year," Mr. Pallone said. The court premised its decision on the theory that FDA approval adequately protects patients from unsafe medical devices, but the two lawmakers said that theory has been proved false time and again. They point to numerous recent stories of patients who have suffered serious injuries from defective FDA-approved devices or devices without adequate safety warnings, such as implantable cardiac defibrillators and pacemakers. A companion bill has been introduced in the Senate. Blue Dogs launch task force Several members of the fiscally conservative Democratic Blue Dog Coalition last week started the Blue Dog Health Care Task Force for the 111th Congress. Rep. Mike Ross of Arkansas, a leading member of the coalition and a member of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on health, will serve as chairman of the task force. He said it will lead Blue Dog efforts to see that Congress advances health care reform legislation that not only addresses the millions of Americans lacking access to and affordability of coverage but also puts the country back on a fiscally sustainable path. The costs of treating the uninsured in emergency rooms are being passed on to hospitals and eventually to consumers, perpetuating the cycle of rising health costs, the coalition says. Mr. Ross said the task force will play an active role in helping "to develop ideas and policies that are fiscally responsible and accountable to the American taxpayer." Sean Lengell can be reached at slengell@washingtontimes.com Copyright 2009 Washington Times. Malaria Drug Is Found to Curb Deadly Infections Spread From Animals Global Update: Viruses By Donald G. McNeil Jr. New York Times Tuesday, March 10, 2009 Scientists have discovered that an old antimalaria drug is effective against two fatal viruses that recently jumped from animals to humans. The closely related viruses, Nipah and Hendra, live in the fruit bats sometimes called flying foxes and are believed to infect animals that eat fruit contaminated with the bats’ urine or saliva. Nipah was discovered in 1999, when it was blamed for the deaths of 106 people in Malaysia and Singapore, mostly farm or slaughterhouse workers who got it from pigs. Since 2001, Nipah has killed more than 100 in Bangladesh and India. The early deaths were from brain infections, but in 2004 it also took on a respiratory form transmitted from person to person. Each small outbreak had a different death rate, but most were well over 50 percent. Hendra was discovered in 1994 in Australia, where it has killed dozens of horses and two of four humans known to have been infected by horses. Until recently, there was no known treatment. But in the last month, two teams of scientists — one at Cornell’s medical school in New York and one in France — separately discovered that chloroquine, a malaria drug invented 50 years ago, prevents both viruses from reproducing. Chloroquine has a long safety record and, in laboratory tests, appears to work at doses even lower than those used to prevent malaria. It has not yet been tested against Nipah or Hendra in humans but presumably will be during the next outbreak, scientists said. Copyright 2009 New York Times. *Opinion* Stem Cell Questions President Obama lifts the limits on federally funded research but puts off key moral questions. Washington Post Editorial Tuesday, March 10, 2009; A12 PRESIDENT OBAMA did the right thing yesterday when he reversed President George W. Bush's limitations on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. The potential for cures and treatments of debilitating diseases with these versatile cells is enormous. But this type of experimentation is thick with ethical and moral questions, many of which Mr. Obama put off answering. "We will develop strict guidelines, which we will rigorously enforce, because we cannot ever tolerate misuse or abuse," the president said yesterday at the White House. But he offered little indication of where he would draw those lines. In effect since August 2001, Mr. Bush's limits were offered as a compromise between the needs of scientists and the moral and ethical convictions of those troubled by the stem cell extraction process that destroys the embryos. Mr. Bush permitted federal funding of experimentation, but only on stem cell lines that existed at the time of his announcement. In practice, those 21 viable stem cell lines proved too few, and many scientists said the restrictions were holding back research. The breakthrough in 2007 that made human skin cells function like embryonic stem cells has great potential. But there are still questions about the efficacy of that approach. Mr. Obama says he wants all types of experimentation in this arena to be done "responsibly." Mr. Obama will allow federal funding to be used for stem cell research on lines derived from embryos since 2001 and into the future. He has directed the National Institutes of Health to devise within 120 days the guidelines that will regulate how this research is conducted. But will research be performed only on stem cell lines grown from the thousands of frozen embryos in fertility clinics that have been slated for destruction? Mr. Obama didn't say. The 1995 legislation known as the Dickey-Wicker Amendment bans federal money from being used to create or destroy human embryos for research, but not research on stem cells from such embryos once they have been created. Aside from saying, "As a person of faith, I believe we are called to care for each other and work to ease human suffering," the president has not given a hint as to where he stands on some thorny questions. Should Dickey-Wicker be repealed? He leaves it up to Congress to decide that. Where does he stand on growing human embryos for experimentation in general and using them for stem cells in particular? It's unclear. The White House said that Mr. Obama doesn't want to prejudge the NIH guidelines but that this will not be the last we'll hear from Mr. Obama on this subject. We hope not. Some of these ethical questions need to be dealt with in the political arena, and not just by scientists. Copyright 2009 Washington Post. Tragedy in Plain Sight Why didn't anyone come to the aid of Lexie Agyepong-Glover? Washington Post Editorial Tuesday, March 10, 2009; A12 ALEXIS "LEXIE" Agyepong-Glover did what she could to get help. So did the neighbors and school workers who saw signs that the 13-year-old Prince William girl was being abused and neglected. Tragically, though, the same cannot be said about the people, or the system, entrusted with guarding children from harm. The failures surrounding the death of this winsome young girl must be thoroughly investigated, with those responsible held to account and the system fixed. Alexis was found dead from drowning and exposure in an icy creek on Jan. 9, two days after Alfreedia Gregg-Glover, her adoptive mother, reported her missing. The medical examiner's report found evidence of old injuries, and Ms. Gregg-Glover was charged with murder, lying to police and child abuse. The Post's Jonathan Mummolo has recounted the girl's desperate efforts to get help. There were multiple reports from people who said they saw signs and incidents of her mistreatment, but county police and child social workers seemed unwilling or unable to do anything about them. There were reports of the girl being put into the trunk of a car and driven away, of her not being properly clothed or fed, of suspicious marks on her body. Lexie would run away, neighbors and officials said, and tell people about her mistreatment -- but again and again she was returned home. It is unclear, because of overly strict confidentiality laws that cloak the case from needed scrutiny, whether individuals made mistakes in judgment or whether there were problems with the system -- or both. Did police, social workers and school officials ever sit down to review all of the reports regarding Alexis, or did they operate in silos? Did anyone ever challenge Ms. Gregg-Glover's assertion that her daughter's mental condition was the cause of the problems? Why didn't alarm bells go off when she was pulled out of school? More also must be known about the circumstances under which Ms. Gregg-Glover was allowed to adopt the girl. Yesterday, Police Chief Charlie T. Deane called for a comprehensive review of all police actions and policies related to the case, including getting ideas for improvement from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The Virginia Department of Social Services is also conducting a legally mandated review of the county's handling of the case. It will, though, be up to the Prince William Board of County Supervisors to make all the findings known and to make sure that the cracks through which Lexie fell are closed. Copyright 2009 Washington Post. Wrong solution Suicide is not the answer for suffering. Instead, society must do more to offer compassionate care. By Paul Malley Baltimore Sun Commentary Tuesday, March 10, 2009 The recent arrest of four "Final Exit Network" members - one in Baltimore - in connection with the death of a 58-year-old Georgia man again focuses attention on the painful issue of assisted suicide. Surely we all can agree that dying with a helium-filled plastic bag tied over your head is no way to honor the human dignity in each of us. Society should be able to come up with better choices than being in pain or killing yourself. People rightly fear being seriously ill and in pain or alone in a hospital room surrounded by strangers. For too many, the uncertainty, slow physical decline and the worry of being a burden to their families lead to depression, and often hopelessness. The choice of a compassionate society should be to care for the person and to accompany him or her through the illness. It would not enlist "exit guides" or recruit medical personnel as executioners; instead, it would promote good pain management and work to see that all health care providers honor the wishes of the patient as expressed in an advance directive, or "living will." Fortunately, Maryland is one of 40 states that encourage citizens to clearly state their health care wishes in their own words and to designate the person who will make their health care decisions if they cannot speak for themselves. Officials including Gov. Martin O'Malley and former Attorney General J. Joseph Curren Jr. have promoted the use of advance directives that are easy to understand and use, and that address comfort, dignity and the personal, family and spiritual issues that people say matter most. Some 370 Maryland community organizations have become part of a growing national movement aimed at empowering health care consumers through advance directives. The overarching goal must be to improve the way we care for those with serious illness and those in the twilight and shadows of life - the elderly, the disabled, the poor and those who are very sick. This could be accomplished through expansion of home care services; earlier hospice referral for those near the end of life; more faith-based and community projects serving those who are isolated; better pain management training in medical schools; and more attention given to the needs of non-English-speaking ethnic and cultural groups. Steps like these - rather than enabling suicide - represent the truly compassionate choice. As our nation's lawmakers contemplate health care reform, we also should be mindful of the lessons learned in Oregon, where there are documented cases of efforts to control costs by funding suicide drugs instead of more costly treatment. Real health care reform would create a system that supports dignity, manages pain, provides access to quality palliative care, and unequivocally recognizes that each person in our society deserves something better than a lethal prescription. Suicide is always a symptom of a problem; it should never be the solution to one. Paul Malley is president of Aging with Dignity, a national nonprofit organization. His e-mail is p.malley@agingwithdignity.org. Copyright 2009 Baltimore Sun. BACK TO TOP


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