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Archive for the ‘Blog’ Category

SWINE FLU ESTIMATES DIFFER

Thursday, August 27th, 2009

Two leading government healthcare agencies recently presented differing opinions on the effects swine flu is likely to have this fall. One group believes it will lead to up to 90,000 deaths. The other thinks the number will be much lower. The confusion and different viewpoints aside, swine flu is a serious illness and we must work to control its spread.

The President’s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology released a report that says that over 50 percent of the population will contract swine flu this season, with up to 1.8 million ending up in the hospital for treatment and up to 90,000 actually dying from the disease.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the most respected health agency in the country – if not the world – doesn’t see such a scenario playing out. While the group withheld from stating numbers, they did say that recent statistics show any outbreaks of swine flu will be much milder than the President’s Council reported.

Swine flu is a respiratory infection that is caused by a type of influenza viruses. The outbreak of what is called swine flu involves a new strain that’s a combination of swine, bird and human influenza viruses. It can spread from human to human.  Based on its wide spread, the World Health Organization has declared the 2009 outbreak of swine flu a global pandemic.

Even though leading agencies differ on just how serious this year’s infections will be it is important that we all work to keep ourselves healthy and to stop the spread of swine flu. Following basic sanitary rules and common sense will go a long way in ensuring the disease doesn’t reach pandemic proportions this flu season.  Washing hands thoroughly and often, with soap and water using a hand sanitizer is key. Flu viruses can survive for two hours or longer on surfaces such as doorknobs.  If you do feel sick, stay home.

If you are infected with swine flu, you can give it to others starting 24 hours before you develop symptoms and for up to seven days later.  Anyone with flu-like illness should avoid other people until at least 24 hours after they are free of fever. People who work or live in spaces where there are lots of people – such as a dorm – should take extra precautions to ensure they remain healthy.

It is unfortunate that government agencies are unable to clearly estimate just how serious swine flu will be this season. But we must not let the confusion deter us from taking our health – and the health of others – seriously. Our efforts can go a long way toward preventing and outbreak.

Posted in Blog, Healthcare | No Comments »

HELP FAMILY DOCTORS

Thursday, August 20th, 2009

Family doctors work to keep adult and children healthy and away from the emergency room, controlling medical costs for families and the government alike. Yet, lost in currently heated healthcare policy discussion is the fact that there is real a shortage of family care, or primary physicians, in this country. If this issue isn’t addressed, the more than 40 million people the Obama administration intends to extend coverage to through its healthcare plan are unlikely to have a doctor available to treat them.

There are about 100,000 family physicians, which include primary care doctors and general pediatricians, in the U.S. healthcare system. In the next ten years, we will need close to 140,000 family doctors but are currently only attracting half of that number.  According to the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), the number of medical school graduates entering this field has dropped over 51% in the last two decades. There are many reasons for this: the lower pay, longer days and less prestige key among them.

The country is spending quite a bit of time discussing health care and reforming the current system. If we are to truly revamp the way health care is administered in this country, we must consider all of the needs of the patients…and that includes producing qualified doctors who can serve them.

Congress should contemplate legislation that provides incentives for those who choose to become primary care physicians. Forgiving a portion of student loans for those who do is a good start. The average medical school grad owes hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans. Providing government funded salary increases in another option. Family care physicians typically earn less than half that of a highly specialized doctor. Along the same lines, tax breaks for family care doctors, increasing the money they take home, could also be used as an incentive.

If something isn’t done, the AAFP predicts a shortage of 40,000 family physicians by 2010. We will see longer lines in doctor’s offices and more people using the emergency room for basic care, increasing medical costs for everyone and defeating the purpose of the healthcare plan the Obama administration is working to pass.

Posted in Blog, Healthcare | No Comments »

STOP CONGO SEX VIOLENCE

Thursday, August 13th, 2009

Here, in America, when we hear the word ‘rape’ we think of women being snatched off the streets by a stranger or being forced by a man they know. But in eastern Congo, located in Central Africa, rape is used as a tool of war. Women, girls and, increasingly, men are subject to this brutal act that damages both the victim’s body and spirit.

In an unprecedented move, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton visited the area and pledged $17 million dollars in support of Congo rape victims. At least $10 million of the money the U.S. has pledged will be used to train doctors who will treat rape victims. Much of what is left will be used to help prevent the sex attacks. The U.S. must not only follow through on its pledge, but it must lead the way and encourage other international powerhouses to join forces to end sex violence in the Congo.

The United Nations considers eastern Congo the rape capital of the world, having recorded close to 200,000 cases of sexual violence against girls and women in the region since 1996. The number of cases where men have been raped has risen; workers in the region theorize that the male rapes are a tool militia groups use to humiliate and break the spirits of the Congolese people.

The war in the Congo has been going on for years and is one of the longest ongoing wars in recent decades. The conflict is rooted in land disputes, a desire to control mineral resources, political corruption and tribal and ethnic pride. Rebel militia groups, the government and mining companies all wish to control and exploit the area’s rich mineral resources. Rebels fund their operations by smuggling diamonds, copper and other minerals so that they can purchase guns and fuel. Governments are forced to create military regimes in mineral rich areas so that they are protected; these military forces are often corrupt, with little respect for civilians.

The U.S. has paid little attention to the Congo over the last several years. In 1995, under the watch of former President Bill Clinton, we did little in the region when nearly a million Africans were slaughtered over the course of 90 days during a violent uprising.

Clinton’s recent visit to the Congo is a good sign; she is the first secretary of state to visit in a decade. In her role, she must also lobby the international community, asking that they too get involved. So many European countries have benefited from the Africa’s rich resources; they must begin to give back what they have taken. Millions have suffered as a result of the ongoing war in the Congo and it will take much more than the U.S. has pledge to end the violence, stabilize the government and rebuild lives.

Posted in Africa, Blog, Government, War | No Comments »

CORRUPTION BLOCKS REBUILDING EFFORTS

Thursday, August 6th, 2009

William Jefferson, a former Louisiana Congressman who represented parts of New Orleans, was recently convicted of in federal court for accepting more than $400,000 in bribes. Jefferson could be sentenced to more than 20 years in prison for his crimes. Though it only took the jury five days to deliver the verdict, it will take the state much longer to pay off the trial’s debt; a sum that includes far more than court costs.

The Gulf Coast has progressed slowly and steadily since it was hit by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. In New Orleans, however, many residents feel that more can – and should – be done. There are still nearly 66,000 unoccupied homes in the city, school enrollment is at 78 percent of its pre-Katrina levels, home sales are down 39 percent from four years ago and rents have increased by 40 percent in that same time period.

Charity Hospital, one of the city’s largest state-run hospitals, was damaged heavily by Katrina. It has not reopened and it doesn’t look it will. Many of the city’s poor and elderly were able to receive free and low cost medical services there; they are now redirected to hospitals that are much farther from their homes. Like the hospital, many local businesses – dry cleaners, car repair shops and more – didn’t reopen after the storm, resulting in a lack of services to a city that has so much need. Most importantly, elected officials from the area still cannot definitively say whether or not New Orleans’ levee system is strong enough to protect the city from a major hurricane.

Jefferson did not hold office when he was convicted – he lost his seat in a December race, after he was indicted. But his corruption case is not an isolated one. According to the FBI, Louisiana ranks third in the nation in public corruption cases. It’s maddening to think that, in the midst of all that remains to be done in both the state of Louisiana and in the city of New Orleans, local politicians will abuse their power and ignore their constituent’s needs in favor of fattening their pockets.

With Louisiana, New Orleans in particular, struggling to rebuild itself nearly four years after Hurricane Katrina hit, the local government simply doesn’t have the time or resources to continuously prosecute corrupt public officials. The state’s attorney is doing his job by cracking down on corruption. The politicians need to step up and do their part by putting the needs of the people ahead of their own greed.

Posted in Blog, Government, New Orleans, Political Corruption | 1 Comment »