News RSS

Rising Rates of Pertussis in Washington State

Jillian Hopewell — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 17:31:39 -0500

The State of Washington Department of Health has issued the following message for health care providers regarding pertussis in the state.

Dear Colleague:

Pertussis (whooping cough) is reaching epidemic levels in our state. So far in 2012 more than 600 cases have been reported, compared to fewer than 100 cases in the same time period in 2011. This puts us on track to have the highest number of cases in decades.

How One Hospital Entices Doctors To Work In Rural America

Jillian Hopewell — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:11:33 -0600

Recruiting doctors to live and work in rural America is a chronic problem. Most health centers try to attract workers with big salaries and expensive homes.

One center in Maine was trying to lure medical students to the countryside for their final two years with the hope that they stick around. The Ashland Health Clinic, a tiny hospital in southwest Kansas, is trying a different tack — a reverse-recruitment model. It's called mission-focused medicine, and it's based on serving problems most commonly found in third-world countries.

A Dozen Cases Of Tuberculosis That Resists All Drugs Found In India : NPR

Admin Guy — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 13:51:02 -0600

A Dozen Cases Of Tuberculosis That Resists All Drugs Found In India by Richard Knox. Published January 11, 2012.

Infectious disease specialists say there will surely be more cases of totally drug-resistant tuberculosis in India and other countries where cases of TB that don't respond to some drugs are being inadequately treated.

Migrant clinician shares personal experience of caring for farm workers

Admin Guy — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:12:43 -0600

The DO published Q&A: Eye-opening turn treating farm workers forges new DO’s career path
Posted Jan. 5, 2012

By Carolyn Schierhorn / Staff Editor

Summary: Adam S. Hoverman, DO, describes his expreience becoming a National Health Service Corps scholar and discovering the profound health care disparities that exist and are largely ignored.

Immigration Upended: Migrants' New Paths Reshaping Latin America

Admin Guy — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 17:26:53 -0600

Immigration Upended: Migrants' New Paths Reshaping Latin America
By DAMIEN CAVE

Congress passes bill to fund Health Center Programs

Admin Guy — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 12:44:10 -0600

FY2012 Omnibus Appropriations Act Allows for Expansion of Community Health Centers to Meet Pressing Need Around the Country

CDC Releases New Treatment Regimen for Latent Tuberculosis Infection

Jillian Hopewell — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 15:49:04 -0600

On December 9, 2011 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released recommendations on the use of a new treatment regimen for latent tuberculosis (TB) infection. CDC’s recommendations are a result of a recent large randomized control trial which found the 12-dose regimen to be as effective for preventing TB as other regimens. The new regimen is also more likely to be completed than the current U.S.

Shattered Families: The Perilous Intersection of Immigration Enforcement and the Child Welfare System

Admin Guy — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 13:05:45 -0500

The Applied Research Center released this report offering the first national data available on the perilous intersection of immigration enforcement and the child welfare system. ARC's Investigative Research package includes a poignant video and Colorlines.com articles which bring to life the story of one family trying desperately to stay together.

Download report here

Prison inmates helping harvest Washington apples

Admin Guy — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 16:48:41 -0500

Some prison inmates are now helping harvest Washington's apple crop, as growers take unusual steps to deal with a labor shortage.

Oxnard march highlights plight of female farm workers

Admin Guy — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 13:19:57 -0500

This article, in the Ventura County Star, covers a recent event staged by Lideres Campesinas to raise awareness about IPV and farmworker women.

ACLU releases documents alleging sexual abuse of female detainees

Admin Guy — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 15:20:17 -0500

The American Civil Liberties Union released government documents Oct. 19 showing 185 allegations of sexual abuse against female immigration detainees in federal detention centers since 2007, The Los Angeles Times reported Oct. 18.

PBS FRONTLINE: Lost in Detention

Admin Guy — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 15:18:12 -0500

PBS, FRONTLINE: Lost in Detention

October 18, 2011

FRONTLINE and the Investigative Reporting Workshop examine the Obama administration’s controversial get-tough immigration policy.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/lost-in-detention

GlobalMed ‘Likes’ to Help Migrant Clinicians Network

Jillian Hopewell — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 15:18:44 -0500

Telemedicine solutions company will donate a TotalExam Camera in Facebook campaign.

Scottsdale, Arizona (September 26, 2011) – GlobalMed – the leading telemedicine design, manufacturing and marketing company headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona – has come up with a novel way to introduce one of its new Facebook pages by giving the general public the opportunity to help it donate a TotalExam™2 Examination Camera to a worthy cause.

The Toll of the Great Recession--Childhood Poverty Among Hispanics Sets Record, Leads Nation

Jillian Hopewell — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 14:48:38 -0500

The spread of poverty across the United States that began at the onset of the Great Recession of 2007-2009 and accelerated last year hit one fast-growing demographic group especially hard: Latino children.

More Latino children are living in poverty----6.1 million in 2010----than children of any other racial or ethnic group. This marks the first time in U.S. history that the single largest group of poor children is not white.

Release of the 5th edition of the Core Curriculum on Tuberculosis: What the Clinician Should Know

Jillian Hopewell — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 15:05:23 -0500

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Division of Tuberculosis Elimination (DTBE) is pleased to announce the release of the 5^th edition of the Core Curriculum on Tuberculosis: What the Clinician Should Know.

Yakima Valley Farm Workers Entitled To Nearly $2 Million, Says Court

Jillian Hopewell — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 15:56:16 -0500

-- A federal appeals court awarded nearly $2 million on Wednesday to more than 600 Latino farm workers who accused a farm labor contractor and two Washington state growers of violating federal labor laws.

The Yakima Valley farm workers claimed that Valley Fruit Orchards and Green Acre Farms illegally and intentionally displaced them by hiring Los Angeles-based Global Horizons to bring in foreign workers in 2004.

U.S. District Judge Robert Whaley in Yakima awarded $237,000 in statutory damages to the workers in 2009, which was to be paid by Global Horizons.

US Labor Department launches national outreach campaign to protect workers from heat-related illnesses

Jillian Hopewell — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 14:57:39 -0500

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today will announce, from Anaheim, Calif., a national outreach initiative by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration to educate workers and their employers about the hazards of working outdoors in the heat and steps needed to prevent heat-related illnesses.

Update: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) Regarding Use of CSL Seasonal Influenza Vacci

Admin Guy — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 17:07:39 -0500

This update from the CDC offers reommendations by the Advisory Committee on immunization practices (ACIP) regarding use of CSL seasonal influenza Vaccine in the United States During 2010-11. [Learn More]

Health Alert: Mercury Poisoning Linked to Use of Face Lightening Cream

Admin Guy — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 17:42:49 -0500

The California Department of Public Health, Division of Environmental and Occupational Disease Control has identified several cases of mercury toxicity linked to the use of adulterated, unlabelled face creams in the Latino community. For healthcare provider information and patient materials click here.

Do Pesticides and Allergens Cause ADHD?

Admin Guy — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 17:40:31 -0500

"In the United States alone, an estimated 4.5 million children ages 5 to 17 have been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and rates of diagnosis have risen 3 percent a year between 1997 and 2006. Yet it is unclear what is causing this increase. New research is investigating many avenues.

EPA Moves to Terminate All Uses of Insecticide Endosulfan To Protect Health of Farmworkers and Wildlife

Admin Guy — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 11:03:33 -0500

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking action to end all uses of the insecticide endosulfan in the United States. Endosulfan, which is used on vegetables, fruits, and cotton, can pose unacceptable neurological and reproductive risks to farmworkers and wildlife and can persist in the environment.

New data generated in response to the agency’s 2002 decision have shown that risks faced by workers are greater than previously known. Read the full story.

Trafficking Human Lives Researchers combat hidden crime that forces women, men and children into labor, sex industries

Admin Guy — Mon, 03 May 2010 01:49:32 -0500

A Salvadoran woman is promised a good job as a child care worker and ends up as a brothel worker or unpaid domestic servant. An American child runs away from an abusive home and is prostituted for sex by a pimp. Dr. Noël Busch-Armendariz, associate professor of social work, says human trafficking — selling people for sex and labor — has emerged as a major criminal and social justice issue in the United States and around the world.

HRSA Study Finds Nursing Workforce is Growing and More Diverse

Admin Guy — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 17:16:23 -0500

The number of licensed registered nurses (RNs) in the United States grew to a new high of 3.1 million between 2004 and 2008 according to a report released today by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). This increase of more than 5 percent also reflects growing diversity in the backgrounds of nurses in the United States. [Read more]

Why the U.S. Census Matters

Admin Guy — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 03:16:54 -0500

Article by Ann Besson from the blog Open Society- It was a beautiful day in the Las Milpas colonia, our fourth stop on a day of site visits in the Rio Grande Valley. The women served us ice-cold Coca-Colas and slices of homemade choco-flan, a local specialty. We sat on the patio with our chairs in a circle, and listened to the challenges they face in this neglected region of the country. A dog lounged under a pick-up truck nearby and birds chirped loudly all around us.

Immigrant Workers: Immigrants Disproportionately Employed In Most Dangerous Jobs, Report Finds

Admin Guy — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 11:55:19 -0600

Reproduced with permission from Occupational Safety & Health Daily 222 [OHD-Bul] Nov. 20, 2009.
Copyright 2009 by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. (800-372-1033) <http://www.bna.com>
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY & HEALTH DAILY
November 20, 2009

The jobs and industries in which immigrants tend to be employed are more dangerous than those of workers born in the United States, new research shows. [Read full article]

MCN Receives New Funding!

Jillian Hopewell — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:04:21 -0500

MCN is very pleased to announce the receipt of four new funding opportunities that will enable us to expand our reach and better serve you. Find out more here.

HHS Announces $13.4 Million in Financial Assistance to Support Nurses

Admin Guy — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 01:31:11 -0500

HHS Deputy Secretary Bill Corr today announced the release of $13.4 million for loan repayments to nurses who agree to practice in facilities with critical shortages and for schools of nursing to provide loans to students who will become nurse faculty. The funds were made available by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), signed Feb. 17, 2009, by President Obama.

[Read more]

Migrant Workers Sending Less Money to Latin America

Jillian Hopewell — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 16:45:37 -0500

The Wall Street Journal reports that funds sent by overseas workers back to Latin America and the Caribbean are expected to drop steeply in 2009, shrinking a crucial source of cash for many families in the region. Read More

New Recommendation Supporting High-Intensity Behavioral Counseling to Prevent STIs

Jillian Hopewell — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 13:30:21 -0500

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force released a new recommendation supporting high-intensity behavioral counseling to prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Counseling may be delivered in primary care settings or in other areas of the health system and may be greatly improved by strong linkages between the primary care setting and the community. The recommendation and materials for clinicians are available on the AHRQ Web site.

Justice Group Underscores Need for Primary Care Infrastructure

Admin Guy — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 04:28:05 -0600

The nation's inability to build and sustain a primary care infrastructure has led to a disjointed and fragmented health care system that is incapable of addressing the nation's growing health care needs. That's according to former Surgeon General David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D., and other speakers who addressed a press briefing convened by the National Summit of Clinicians for Healthcare Justice here on Oct. 23.[Read More]

National Summit for Healthcare Justice in the News

Jillian Hopewell — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 15:15:21 -0500

The National Summit of Clinicians for Healthcare Justice was recently featured in the Health Examiner.

USA: Jump in Fatalities of Latino Workers, Reports New AFL–CIO Death on the Job Study

Admin Guy — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:02:47 -0500

New Report Released to Mark 20th Workers Memorial Day, April 28. Workplace fatalities have increased sharply for Latino and immigrant workers, reports the new AFL–CIO annual study: Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect. In 2006, fatal injuries among Latino workers increased by seven percent over 2005, with 990 fatalities among this group of workers, the highest number ever reported.

Project LAUNCH (Linking Actions for Unmet Needs in Children's Health)

Admin Guy — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 13:00:42 -0500

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is soliciting applications for Project LAUNCH (Linking Actions for Unmet Needs in Children’s Health), a new grant program designed to promote the physical, emotional, social, and behavioral health of young children, birth to 8 years of age.

Ag-Mart settles in Carlitos case

Admin Guy — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 12:59:00 -0500

Florida firm to pay former pickers who say son was born without limbs due to pesticide misuse. Read more on Palm Beach Post's page on Farmworkers and Pesticides. There you will find the article about the Agmart settlement for an undisclosed amount and other pertinent articles. You will also find amazing images in the slide shows. Highly recommend is the audio slide show, “Laboring in the Fields While Carrying a Child.”

Clinics expand, but some struggle amid provider shortage

Admin Guy — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 12:55:42 -0500

The Bush administration has helped open or expand more than 500 community health centers since 2001, but the administration has done little to address the problem of a chronic provider shortage at the centers to help Americans in underserved communities, community health officials say. The number of health professionals employed by the centers has increased by 41%, but many have struggled to find the primary care doctors needed to match the centers' caseload, health experts add. Washington Post, The

Risk Communication Advisory Committee Request for Nominations for Voting Members

Admin Guy — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 12:57:43 -0500

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is requesting nominations for members to serve on the Risk Communication Advisory Committee in the Office of Planning, Office of the Commissioner. Elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register, FDA is publishing a document announcing the establishment of this committee.
http://www.fda.gov/oc/advisory/OCRCACCFN060407.htm

Komen Study Profiles Eight Communities Nationwide 'Most Affected' by Breast Cancer

Admin Guy — Wed, 02 May 2007 12:48:46 -0500

Susan G. Komen for the Cure on Thursday released a report that profiles eight communities "most affected" by breast cancer and launched a campaign that aims to curb disparities and remove gaps in breast cancer-related care, the Washington Post reports.

EPA Applauds Victory in Case Against Puerto Rican Company for Pesticide Worker Safety Violations

Admin Guy — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 17:41:17 -0600

The company has been ordered to pay a total penalty of $92,620, which is the second highest penalty ever assessed under EPA's worker protection standard, which is authorized by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). Learn More.

The National Healthcare Quality Report: Summary From AHRQ

Admin Guy — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 11:53:16 -0600

The following document has been adapted from the fourth annual National Healthcare Quality Report (NHQR), released in January 2007 by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) on behalf of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and in collaboration with an HHS-wide Interagency Work Group. Like previous reports, the 2006 NHQR also received significant guidance from AHRQ leadership and AHRQ's National Advisory Committee.

EPA Phases Out Pesticide AZM

Admin Guy — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 11:47:40 -0600

EPA is issuing its final decision to phase out the 10 remaining uses of the organophosphate insecticide azinphos-methyl (AZM) over the next few years. This phase-out will encourage and facilitate transition to safer alternatives and reduce risks to farm workers, pesticide applicators, and aquatic ecosystems. Learn More