Are you up to date with your vaccines? What about your family, are they? Vaccination time can be confusing, not just for the patient. Here is a view from nurse, educator, mom Sharon Buchbinder on vaccinations and safety in the new IOM (Institute of Medicine) expert report. The IOM Report on The Childhood Immunization Schedule … Continue reading »
Have you heard of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP? Harsh Times SNAP is the new name for food stamps and now comes as an electronic card. A clear sign of harsh economic times in the U.S., 46 million people use food stamps, SNAP, to add food to their groceries each week. That’s 1 in … Continue reading »
Chemicals in Our Air How much is too much, when it comes to air pollution? For 8 dangerous chemicals, the US National Research Council (NRC) collected all the data reports out there. They did an analysis to answer this very question. Pollution levels are the focus of their 2013 publication “Acute Exposure Guidelines Levels for Selected … Continue reading »
TEDx Midatlantic presented a letter to the US President from Dr. Theo Colborn, December 10th 2012 as a TED Talk. On the day of December 21st 2012, I’m sharing her reading of this letter with you, because it is so hopeful. Even if we predicted doom, and in some ways may have created a doomsday … Continue reading »
What are the leading causes of death in the US? You may think the top killers are things like obesity and cancer, which get a lot of press. But real killers are not only our health conditions or diseases. Sometimes the cause of death for a patient in the US, in fact the 3rd most common cause, … Continue reading »
Are you up on all your shots? Are you sure? What about the family? Hard to know, and tough to keep up with the changing rules on who should be immunized when for what. The app challenge “Go Viral to Improve Health” now has a winner. The app challenge contest was set up by science … Continue reading »
What would you think if a third of the world’s population were infected with a bacterium? And if this was one that caused a deadly disease—one that was becoming resistant to all known drugs? Science fiction, maybe? In fact, a third of the world is infected with just such a thing. Two billion people are … Continue reading »
Can you ever really plan for mass fatalities? A world congress on disaster and emergency medicine met recently in Beijing China, to share experiences. The views from U.S., Japan and Haiti were as different as their recent disasters. But ethics was at the center of each discussion. An Institute of Medicine (IOM) summary of the meeting focuses on barriers to disaster … Continue reading »
When the government makes a list of the top places to put our limited funds, how do projects get prioritized? One measure always taken is the financial cost of the problem. Is it costing us enough to justify having the government step in? I wonder about the cost of peace. A recent workshop on the … Continue reading »
