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Tue, 2012-04-17 17:45 — mdmcdonald
This working group is focused on discussions about health.

The mission of this working group is to focus on discussions about health.

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Corey Watts John Girard jonber37 Kathy Gilbeaux Lisa Stelly Thomas Maeryn Obley
mdmcdonald MDMcDonald_me_com mike kraft
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$3 Million Verdict in Texas Fracking Case

Wed, 2014-04-23 22:46 — Kathy Gilbeaux

submitted by Margery Schab     

         

Bob and Lisa Parr of Decatur confer with attorneys (from left) Brad Gilde and Richard Capshaw during a break in the lawsuit trial Thursday. The Parrs are suing Aruba Petroleum over alleged toxic emissions from gas wells surrounding their home in rural Wise County. Messenger photo by Bob Buckel

dmlawfirm.com - April 22, 2014

DALLAS — Plaintiffs Bob and Lisa Parr won a $3 million jury award in the first fracking verdict in Texas April 22. The Parrs sued Aruba Petroleum in 2011 for fracking operations which fouled the family’s 40-acre ranch property, their home and quality of life, sickened them and their pets and livestock. (See the Parr – 11th Amended Petition.)

The verdict included $275,000 for the Parr’s property loss of market value and $2 million for past physical pain and suffering by Bob and Lisa Parr and their daughter,  $250,000 for future physical pain and suffering, $400,000 for past mental anguish.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Country / Region Tags: 
United States
US - South
General Topic Tags: 
Energy
Environment
Health
Pollution
Vulnerability
Water
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 
Situation Report

Killing superbugs dead with “molecular drill bits”

Mon, 2014-04-07 22:06 — Maeryn Obley

Submitted by Luis Kun

homelandsecuritynewswire.com - March 18th, 2014

Tuberculosis (TB) is a well-known, treatable disease, but resistant strains are cropping up. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that about 170,000 people died from multidrug-resistant TB in 2012. In response to drug-resistant “superbugs” that send millions of people to hospitals around the world, scientists are building tiny “molecular drill bits” which kill bacteria by bursting through their protective cell walls.

(VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE)

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United States
General Topic Tags: 
Health
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Solutions

Memo to Congress: Protect Public Health, Not Toxic Chemicals

Sat, 2014-04-05 22:04 — Kathy Gilbeaux

How much would the draft Chemicals in Commerce Act recently proposed by Illinois Rep. John Shimkus (left) protect public health? Not much.

huffingtonpost.com - by Elliott Negin - April 4, 2014

Americans have long been unwitting subjects in an uncontrolled experiment.

For decades, U.S. manufacturers -- with the federal government's blessing -- have been producing tens of thousands of untested, potentially toxic chemicals, many of which wind up in our bodies. These substances include suspected neurotoxins, carcinogens and endocrine disruptors, and thousands of other chemicals for which there is little or no information.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

STUDY - The Lancet Neurology - Neurobehavioural effects of developmental toxicity

Shimkus Unveils Discussion Draft of Chemicals in Commerce Act

Country / Region Tags: 
United States
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Health
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 
Problem
Situation Report

2014 Preparedness Summit: Looking at the Past to Improve the Future

Wed, 2014-04-02 18:14 — Kathy Gilbeaux

submitted by Mike Kraft

wjf.org - April 2, 2014

“Disasters pose questions of who [is helped] first and who...last,” said Sheri Fink, MD, PhD, a correspondent for The New York Times and Pulitzer Prize-winning author, to more than 1,000 attendees of the 2014 Preparedness Summit  in Atlanta this week. Fink is the author of Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm Ravaged Hospital, about the response by health providers, first responders, volunteers, patients and family members who rode out the storm in a hospital that lost power in the early hours of the hurricane. Fink was the headline speaker for the first plenary session of the Summit.

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Country / Region Tags: 
United States
General Topic Tags: 
Disaster Response
Emergency Management
Health
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Solutions
Problem
Situation Report

West Virginians Raise Alarm as Research Links Coal Mining to Cancer, Birth Defects

Mon, 2014-03-24 22:54 — Kathy Gilbeaux

      

A home is nearly surrounded by the Hobet mountaintop-removing coal mine in Boone County, W.V.
Photo by Vivian Stockman

Recent studies suggest that coal mining affects the health of everyone who lives nearby—not just those who work in the mines.

yesmagazine.org - by Erin L. McCoy - February 26, 2014

. . . In recent years, research has drawn new links between coal mining and health problems in the areas where that mining takes place. In response, local groups are working to support further research and boost awareness of these problems. The chemical leak that left 300,000 West Virginians without water for more than a week in January, the 108,000-gallon slurry spill on Feb. 11, and another slurry spill just days ago have brought national attention to the issue. Local advocates hope that this attention, in combination with new research, will translate into a more open dialogue on the health dangers of coal mining.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Country / Region Tags: 
United States
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Energy
Environment
Health
Pollution
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Problem
Situation Report

Precise Reason for Health Benefits of Dark Chocolate: Thank Hungry Gut Microbes

Tue, 2014-03-18 22:18 — Kathy Gilbeaux

      

The health benefits of eating dark chocolate have been extolled for centuries, but the exact reason has remained a mystery -- until now. Researchers have just reported that certain bacteria in the stomach gobble the chocolate and ferment it into anti-inflammatory compounds that are good for the heart.  Credit: © Alliance / Fotolia

sciencedaily.com - March 18, 2014

The health benefits of eating dark chocolate have been extolled for centuries, but the exact reason has remained a mystery -- until now. Researchers have just reported that certain bacteria in the stomach gobble the chocolate and ferment it into anti-inflammatory compounds that are good for the heart. . .

"We found that there are two kinds of microbes in the gut: the 'good' ones and the 'bad' ones," explained Maria Moore, an undergraduate student and one of the study's researchers.

"The good microbes, such as Bifidobacterium and lactic acid bacteria, feast on chocolate," she said. "When you eat dark chocolate, they grow and ferment it, producing compounds that are anti-inflammatory."

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Country / Region Tags: 
United States
General Topic Tags: 
Health
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Situation Report

Paying For Health Outcomes Is Focus Of New Reform System

Thu, 2014-03-13 17:01 — Kathy Gilbeaux

         

Gov. Peter Shumlin says a new payment reform system focused on accountability and collaboration is a critical piece of his overall health care vision for the state.  Credit Bob Kinzel / VPR

vpr.net - by Bob Kinzel - March 12, 2014

(Vermont) - State officials have announced a plan that they hope will control health care costs in the future by redesigning how providers are paid.

The goal of this new approach is to encourage providers to work together on a patient’s total health care needs and to improve medical outcomes by allowing the providers to be reimbursed for preventive care.

State officials are optimistic that if these changes are made, it will significantly slow down the growth rate of health care expenses.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

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United States
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Health
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Solutions
Situation Report

Citing Urgent Need, U.S. Calls on Hospitals to Hone Disaster Plans

Tue, 2014-03-11 21:13 — Kathy Gilbeaux

      

After high water from Hurricane Katrina inundated their nursing home, residents waited for assistance in New Orleans in 2005. Federal officials are trying to avoid these types of situations with new requirements for health care providers ahead of emergencies. Credit Mario Tama/Getty Images

nytimes.com - by Sheri Fink - March 11, 2014

Federal officials are proposing sweeping new requirements for American health care facilities — from large hospitals to small group homes for the mentally disabled — intended to ensure their readiness to care for patients during disasters.

Country / Region Tags: 
United States
General Topic Tags: 
Emergency Management
Health
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 
Solutions
Problem
Situation Report

Public Health Preparedness Capabilities: National Standards for State and Local Planning

Tue, 2014-03-11 18:09 — Kathy Gilbeaux

cdc.gov

One of the nation's key preparedness challenges has been determining appropriate state and local public health preparedness priorities. To assist state and local public health departments in their strategic planning, CDC developed 15 capabilities to serve as national public health preparedness standards.

CDC applied a systematic approach to developing the public health preparedness capabilities. The content is based on evidence-informed documents, relevant preparedness literature, and subject matter expertise gathered from across the federal government and the state and local practice community.

CDC's Public Health Preparedness Capabilities: National Standards for State and Local Planning now provides a guide that state and local jurisdictions can use to better organize their work, plan their priorities, and decide which capabilities they have the resources to build or sustain. The capabilities also help ensure that federal preparedness funds are directed to priority areas within individual jurisdictions.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE AND DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE DOCUMENT)

Country / Region Tags: 
United States
General Topic Tags: 
Emergency Management
Health
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 
Situation Report

Next Fracking Controversy: In the Midwest, a Storm Brews Over Frac Sand

Tue, 2014-03-11 17:24 — Kathy Gilbeaux

       

A truck dumps a load of sand at the loading terminal for Modern Transport Rail in Winona, Minn.  Andrew Link/Winona Daily News/AP/File

yahoo.com - csmonitor.com - by Richard Mertens - March 9, 2014

Sand is used in the fracking process, and there's plenty of it to be mined in the upper Midwest. As a sand-mining boom has emerged, residents are divided over whether it's lifting or ruining their communities.

. . . Sand has become a valuable – and deeply divisive – commodity in the upper Midwest. Hydraulic fracturing, a method of extraction also known as fracking that has boosted oil and natural gas production across the United States, requires sand, and there's plenty of it here. . .

. . . A big question about sand mining is the risk to public health from dust.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

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United States
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Environment
Health
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Problem

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