There has been so much discussion for the past few months about health care/insurance reform that it is almost impossible to get sucked into the debate.  We all know that where there is a debate there is also an intense struggle to separate fact from fiction.   Below there are a number of resources that highlight the facts and fallacies of the proposed health care reform.  If you are having trouble sorting through the mess, these just might help you out.

Kaiser Family Foundation
http://www.kff.org/healthreform/sidebyside.cfm
The kaiser Family Foundation is a non-profit foundation that is dedicated to providing non-partisan information about health care issues, including this most recent one.  They have an amazing tool that will allow you to compare the different proposals side by side on whatever specific issue you are interested in.

Health Affairs Press Briefing
http://www.healthaffairs.org/issue_briefings/2009_08_20_fact_vs_fiction/2009_08_20_fact_vs_fiction.php
Health Affairs is an academic, peer-reviewed journal that focuses on health policies.  They have posted a compilation of press releases on their website that address the main misconceptions about the health care debate.  It is a great source if you are a visual or auditory learner.

The New York Times (Topics: Health Care Reform)
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/health/diseasesconditionsandhealthtopics/health_insurance_and_managed_care/health_care_reform/index.html
The New York Times provides a nice compilation of their articles on the health care debate.  This is a good resource if you are looking for news coverage on the topic.  However, I would also suggest checking with other news sources as well in order to avoid any type of publication bias.

In the midst of all this debate, it is easy to forget how we got to where we are.  As with most dilemmas, an understanding of the history of a problem is important to the solution.  There are two articles that have proven to be very enlightening. They are “How American Health Care Killed my Father” by David Goldhill, and “Getting there from here.  How should Obama reform health care?” by Atul Gawande.  The first looks at how American health care has developed, and the second looks at how the rest of the world’s health care developed.  The information for both articles is listed below.

Resources

Gawande, Atul (2009). Getting there from here.  How should Obama reform health care? The New Yorker. Accessed 9/14/09 from http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/01/26/090126fa_fact_gawande?currentPage=1

Goldhill, David (2009). How American Health Care Killed my Father. The Atlantic. Accessed 9/14/09 from http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200909/health-care

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This week marks the beginning of a new school year and a new semester.  The library celebrated these events by giving away numerous small prizes on our carnival prize wheel, handing out free nachos and cheese, and encouraging students to get their library barcode.   By entering their barcode in a drawing, the students were able to win a number of great prizes.  A total of  16 students won raffle prizes which included a Flip Camera, an MP3 player, Jazzman’s mugs, and multiple gift cards and gift baskets.  A list of these winners is posted in the library lobby, but I would like to congratulate one in particular: Alexandria Maddox is a Dental Hygiene student this year and the winner of one of the Jazzman’s travel mugs.  Check out some of the pictures from welcome week and if you haven’t gotten a barcode yet, you can stop in at the the circulation desk at Maag library at any time to get one.

Have a great semester!

Paul Kobulnicky gives away a prize from the prize wheel

Bob Ault, Charmaine Walker, and Cassie Nespor hand out nachos and prizes

George Heller scoops cheese for the nacho chips

Ana Bobby helps students get their library barcodes

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Here at Maag Library we have a number of policies in place that are designed to make the library accessible to students and faculty while providing equal service in all situations.  Since it is the beginning of a new semester, I thought it might be beneficial to elaborate on some of the policies that affect the faculty and students directly.

Circulation

With OhioLink and Maag Library having different borrowing periods, it can be confusing for students to figure out how long they can have a book checked out, and how much their fines will be if they go over.  In order to alleviate confusion, we have a chart available online that explains borrowing procedures.

If you already have a book checked out, an even easier way to figure out the status would be to check your library record. By entering your name and barcode you can see the books you have checked out or requested, their status, the due dates, and even renew them right from your computer.

Library Access

Which we do not have a specific policy posted about this, it is important for students and faculty to know that student barcodes are deactivated at the end of the semester if the student is not enrolled for the next term.  This mean that if a student is given an extension past the end of the semester, the instructor must contact the library to let us know that the student’s barcode should remain active.

If you encounter this problem, simply call or email Ana Bobby or Charmaine walker to resolve the issue.  Their contact information is listed below.

Ana Bobby: 330-941-1717  ambobby@ysu.edu

Charmaine Walker: 330-941-1721 cnwalker@ysu.edu

Research Carrels

The research carrels are a quiet place for students and faculty to conduct long term research.  We get a lot of questions about who can use them, so here are the basics.

Any students or faculty of YSU that are engaged in long term research can use the carrels.

They are reserved on a first come first served basis and can only be reserved for a full semester at a time.

The research carrels must be re-reserved at the beginning of the next semester in order for a student or faculty member to keep using it.

For a more detailed list of policies you can take a look at the Research Carrel Policy on the Maag hompage.

Copyright

One of our newest policies is the one regarding copyright.  This is a very difficult and detailed subject, so we have tried to put together an easy way for students and faculty to understand what may or may not be photocopied.  To make it easier to understand, just follow these guidelines:

The use of the item being copied should fall under these guidelines:

• Purpose and character: The purpose of the copy should be for personal and educational use only. Multiple copies require permission from the author or publisher.
• Nature of copyrighted work: Whether a work is published, unpublished, or out-of-print should be taken into consideration.
• Amount used: 10% of any work is considered within fair use. We cannot copy an entire book or journal issue.
• Market effect: The copy should not impact the marketability of the work for the owner of the copyright.

This roughly translates to the following allowable amounts of any given work:

• 1 poem, short story, or essay from a collected work
• 1 article from any one journal issue or newspaper
• 1 chapter from any one book
• a chart, graph, diagram, cartoon or picture from a book, periodical or newspaper
• a short excerpt not to exceed 10% of a work without chapters or articles
  

These guidelines should make it clearer for any student who needs to photocopy information for their research.

If you have any questions about any of the policies I’ve posted here, please feel free to view the Maag Policies and Guidelines.  You can also contact me to learn more.

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I read an article this week about how premature babies comprise half of all infant deaths.  The theory that researchers developed then, was if they could reduce the number of premature births, they could reduce the infant mortality rate.  The first step was to find a way to reduce premature births.  To do this, they set up an experiment in Atlanta, Georgia where free health care was given to 29 women who had previously given birth to premature babies.  After getting regular physicals, nutritional screenings, and chronic disease management they found that there were a quarter less adverse outcomes.  This means that there were fewer ectopic pregnancies, underweight babies and stillbirths.  It seems that the largest of problems may have a simple solution: if you take care of the mother’s you take care of the babies.

This study mentions nothing about a national health care program, but it does naturally lead to questions about providing health care.  Could it be possible to raise ourselves up from 30th place in the world for our infant mortality rate?  And, if primary care is the answer, would universal health care really be such a terrible thing?

Reference:

Blue, L. (2009). Preventing Preemies. Time. Retrieved from http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1912201_1912244,00.html

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Obama announced his new choice for surgeon general today.  Dr. Regina Benjamin will take over the post in the middle of President Obama’s push for health care reform. However, former surgeon generals have traditionally distanced themselves from political agenda. In the wake of the H1N1 Swine flu and push for health care reform, Dr. Benjamin will have her work cut out for her.

Dr. Benjamin has shown her commitment to public health through her free health clinic in Bayou La Batre, Alabama.  The clinic was destroyed during Hurricane Katrina, but thanks to the Genius grant awarded to her by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the help of the community she was able to rebuild.  Her work thus far has shown strong dedication to bringing medicine to undeserved populations.  After Hurricane Katrina, Benjamin even visited her patients at home and worked to fix the health disparities between different races and population groups.

The senate will be required to vote before she can assume her responsibilities, however her exceptional record of service provides a strong basis for her appointment.

Resources:

Harris, Gardiner. (2009, July 13). Albama Physician Chosen as Surgeon General. New York Times. Retrieved from http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/13/alabama-physician-chosen-as-surgeon-general/?hp

Neergaard, Lauran. (2009, July 13).  Obama chooses Ala. doctor as next surgeon general. The Associated Press. Retrieved from http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gOPRmeqQU5CZs3Pux4kJLNZbIV3gD99DKL8G0

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The New York Times reported last week on a recommendation from the federal advisory panel to approve a ban Percocet and Vicodin.  The reasoning behind this recommendation comes from the high number of inadvertent overdoses on one of the drug’s ingredients: acetaminophen.  Both Percocet and Vicodin are a combination of narcotic pain killers and the common pain killer acetaminophen commonly found in Tylenol.  However, using these narcotic pain killers for chronic conditions often leads to increased doses over time to achieve the same amount of pain relief.  When the dose increases, so does the amount of acetaminophen which can cause liver damage.  Over 400 people die and 42,000 are hospitalized each year from overdoses on acetaminophen.

However, this ban would make the highly effective drugs inaccessible to even those who do not need increased doses.  Many doctors have cited this as a potential problem of the ban.  It will also make consumers more wary of acetaminophen in products such as Tylenol and Excedrin which could result in greater aspirin usage.  The committee also discussed banning such products as over the counter cold medicines that contain a mixture of acetaminophen and other medications.  They voted against such a ban, however, citing that over the counter usage of such products rarely resulted in overdoses. The Chicago Tribune highlighted that they did recommend that the maximum daily dosage of acetaminophen be lowered, but did not specify by how much.  Only the FDA can decide on such a ban, though, and they are not required to follow the recommendations of the panel.  It remains to be seen whether this ban will come to light.

References:

Harris, Gardiner. (2009, June 30). Ban Is Advised on 2 Top Pills for Pain Relief. New York Times.  Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/01/health/01fda.html

Jaspen, Bruce and Wayne Wong. (2009, July 1). FDA panel suggests reducing dosages of painkillers. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved from http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-wed-painkillers-jul01,0,4200307.story

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The Cleveland Clinic was in the news this week as an example of preventative care.  Time magazine focused on programs by Cleveland Clinic designed to help promote overall health and healthy living.  These programs include steps such as  creating a chief wellness officer, and a chief experience officer.  One of the most influential programs has been keeping track of patients after they leave the hospital.  They do this through technology like Google Health that allows doctors to track the progress of their patients and allows them to keep in contact digitally without follow up appointments.  This move is truly a step in the right direction for health care.  Many patients do not have the time to take off work to get to the doctors office for follow up appointments, so tracking medical progress online allows them to work without neglecting their health.

Amazingly, with programs like this and health living classes for employees, the Cleveland clinic’s costs are still well below the normal levels.  This kind of advancement makes it obvious that primary care and attention to healthy living reduces the need for such high costs in health care.  Now, these programs were a long time in the making since the administrators had to fight for 14 years before medicare would cover their program for healthy living to avoid heart disease.  However, I feel confident that as more health care professionals are willing to fight these fights, the nation will be healthier for it.

The full article is available at time.com and a photographic illustration of the programs developed by the Cleveland Clinic are available there as well.

Resources:

Gilbertson, Ashley. (2009). The Cleveland Clinic’s smarter approach to health care. Time. Retrieved 6/15/09 from http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1903618,00.html

Park, Alice. (2009). This doctor does not want to see you.  Time. Retreived 6/15/09 from http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1903873_1903925_1903787,00.html

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As a college student, I joined Facebook for fun.  However, I have recently begun to explore the world of professional Facebook.  No, it’s not a separate application or website, but for me it is very different.  The Facebook account from my college years  has a slew of pictures, videos, friends, and posts about nothing in particular.  My professional account, however has updates on the work I’ve been doing such as making instructional videos.   Some of you may have found a friend request from this alternate personality of mine and I hope that you will accept the invitation.

However, don’t think that I’m all work and no play.  There are also some pictures of my life outside of YSU and the library so that you can get to know the person behind the librarian.  I’d like to take this opportunity to invite you all to add me as a friend.  I am more than happy to answer library questions over Facebook, and I will update it regularly as I work on my own projects.  So on that note, I hope to get a friend request from you shortly!

http://www.facebook.com/people/Maria-Dastolfo/1798992098

(You’ll recognize me by the YSU health sciences penguin logo from this blog.)

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The Wall Street Journal recently reported on the next development in Health Care Reform.  A report issued by Obama’s economic advisory group focuses on  the economics of our health care system.  The aim would be to reduce spending by $2 trillion over the next 10 years which would add about 2% to the real gross domestic product.  The monetary value of such a cut would be to add $2,600 to the annual income of a family of four by 2020.   With so many Americans living at or below the poverty line, that is no small figure.

Fox Business News also reported on this subject and makes a very good point that the United States spend more money per capita on Health Care than any other developed country, but have much lower life expectancy.  They mention seven things that were listed in the report from Obama’s economic advisory group that contribute to this dilemma:

1) Misplaced provider incentives that reward quantity of care rather than quality or achieving good outcomes, in addition to defensive medicine that doesn’t improve outcomes.

2) Few consumer financial incentives, mainly meaning that consumers don’t feel much of the economic effect of their health-care decisions; they use too much care of more expensive care than they need, because they don’t have to pay most of the costs.

3) Pricing treatments, which is often done inefficiently.

4) Fragmentation, in that some patients receive care from separate and possibly competing groups, rather than from coordinated teams that are aware of each other’s efforts; in addition, the multi-payer system is estimated to cost tens of billions of dollars a year.

5) Lack of information on new treatments, which leaves providers sometimes ignorant of the best new methods and advances.

6) Lack of feedback for physicians, which means they often don’t know how their treatments worked or how their rapport was with patients or anything.

7) Lack of information for consumers, which leaves them without the proper tools needed to make the best care choices for themselves and their families.

This list covers many of the problems that have been plaguing the health care system, mainly the focus on quantity of service over quality.  Nurses and primary care physicians have statistically been declining in numbers, but a study published in Public Health Nursing states that a higher number of primary care physicians and especially nurses within a community correlate with a healthier population.  While spending is a critical concern, I think findings such as these show that the discussion on health care reform cannot focus on the economic factors alone, but must also shed light on the quality of service issues at hand.

Resources:

Bigbee, Jeri L. (2008) Relationships between nurse- and physician-to-population ratios and state health rankings.  Public Health Nursing, 25(3), 244-252.

Ossinger, Joanna. (2009, Jun 2). Advisers Make the Case for Health Reform. Fox Business.
Retrieved from http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/industries/health-care/obama-advisers-make-case-health-reform/

Pulizzi, Henry J.  (2009, Jun 2). White House Makes Economic Case For Health-Care Overhaul. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090602-703600.html

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National Nurses week is May 6th through the 12th and this year we were able to celebrate it in a very special way.  Maag Library and the Melnick Museum hosted a brunch for the professional nurses, nursing faculty, and nursing students of the surrounding community.  For the first event it was a wonderful success.

The first speaker, Linda Warino, is the Executive Director of district three of the Ohio Nurses Association.  She spoke eloquently on the role of nurses in challenges such as health care reform.  She touched on many important ways that nurses make up the backbone of health care such as making hospitals safer and more effective.  Our second speaker, Nancy Siefert, is an RN and holds her MHSA at Humility of Mary Health Partners.  She spoke about the long journey for St. Joseph and St. Elizabeth Health Centers to achieve Magnet status.  The work involved in such an undertaking is no small feat as was obvious by the four full binders of documents that comprised the application for their first Magnet award.  As two of the first Magnet hospitals in Ohio, they were leaders for the rest of the state to work towards this goal.

Between the speakers, attendees were able to tour the many exhibits of the Rose Melnick Medical Museum.  Cassandra Nespor, the Objects Curator of the museum offered guided tours to those that were interested in learning more about the museum as well.

Below are pictures from this event, and I hope that next year I will be able to post your picture as well!

The attending nurses listen to Linda Warino’s presentation.

Cassie Nespor, myself, and Linda Warino with some of the nurses in attendance.

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