The Doctor's failure to cut costs

Recent health Articles, Events, Jobs, and Resources.

CONTENTS

1. CHC News: Choosing your own food at Bread for the City's pantry
2. Article: Black youth targeted in social media push on HIV
3. Article: The doctor's failure to cut costs
4. Article: Democratic leaders working to win over abortion opponents
5. Article: Cancer society casts more doubt on prostate tests
6. Article: DC FEMS faces review in death of two-year-old girl
7. Article: Fed career expert tells how to tap into health care job market
8. Article: DC slips on most-wired cities list
9. Article: Alexandria-potential test site for Google high-speed Internet
10. Letters to Editor: WHC's unjust firings of 11 nurses
11. Letters to Editor: George Will mischaracterizes mental health issues
12. Editorial Cartoon: Obama, Republicans, and health care

ARTICLE SUMMARIES

1. CHC News: Our new pantry experiment: Choose your food
By Jeff Wankel, Bread for the City, Beyond Bread, March 4, 2010

Summary: Pre-packaged groceries at Bread for the City include canned fruit and vegetables, rice, and meat in proportion with the size of a client's family. Recently, they've overhauled their pantry menu to feature an array of more nutritious items. The results of that Nutrition Initiative were really positive: healthier diets and higher client satisfaction. Now they're experimenting with pantry innovation, enabling client choice in their pantry menu. Bread envisions a food pantry in which people can select which foods they bring home, just like at a grocery store. Clients may already have sufficient amounts of certain kinds of food, but may be in greater need of others. Some clients have special dietary needs that make certain foods especially important, and others not helpful at all. And what's most debilitating about a low-income lifestyle is lack of control. One client and community activist explains that a lack of control over food is related to the problem of low self-esteem, and the feeling that you deserve only what's given to you -- because you feel so terrible about yourself. And, when given options, clients displayed a clear preference to avoid waste, and many even took pride in leaving food behind for others. [Wankel is a former DCPCA Community HealthCorps Volunteer, originally assigned to Bread for the City to develop their award-winning gleaning program.]  |   Read blog

2. Article: Ludacris, Foxx target black youth in social media push on HIV
By Steve Sternberg, USA TODAY, March 4, 2010

Summary: Actor Jamie Foxx and recording artist Chris "Ludacris" Bridges join the ranks of celebrities who have lent their popularity to push HIV prevention as part of a social media effort targeting young African Americans. The "i know" campaign is sponsored by the CDC, which aims to draw thousands of young people into a conversation about HIV using Facebook, Twitter, text messages, and a Web site. It launched with an event at Clark Atlanta University that was Webcast to students nationwide. If it works as the CDC hopes, young African Americans will no longer be passive consumers of HIV-prevention messages. Instead, they'll become vocal advocates armed with information that will help them protect themselves and one another from HIV. The CDC's national center of HIV/AIDS prevention is trying to create a movement. The initiative is part of a five-year, $45 million effort called Act Against AIDS. The broader effort was designed to refocus attention on the HIV epidemic here at home after years of addressing the crisis in Africa and elsewhere. Public health officials say one of their biggest challenges is to shatter the complacency bred by the misconception that, thanks to effective treatment, HIV is no longer an emergency.  |  Read article

3. Article: The Doctor's Failure to Cut Costs
By Pauline W. Chen, M.D., The New York Times, March 3, 2010

Summary: Dr. Howard Brody, professor of family medicine and director of the Institute for the Medical Humanities at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, writes that the medical profession has made little effort to curtail future medical costs. Physicians aren't innocent bystanders to spiraling health care costs, but have been complicit in their failure to take an active role in curtailing them. And certain doctors' groups have gone so far as to make their support for health care reform contingent on promises that their own income would remain unaffected. If physicians seized the moral high ground, Dr. Brody writes, we just might astonish enough other people to change the entire reform debate for the better. Read five questions and answers with Dr. Brody.  |  Read article

4. Article: Democratic leaders working to win over abortion opponents for health-care reform
By Alec MacGillis (and Lori Montgomery), The Washington Post, March 5, 2010

Summary: Democratic leaders in Congress are embarking on a delicate strategy to win over abortion opponents, a gambit that could determine whether the health care legislation becomes law. The effort depends on convincing as many as a dozen antiabortion Democrats in the House that abortion language in the Senate bill is more stringent than initially portrayed. But Democratic leaders must be careful that they don't drive away abortion rights supporters who are increasingly concerned that the measure would prove severely restrictive. Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), the head of the antiabortion contingent, has repeatedly reaffirmed his opposition to the Senate terms, saying that House leaders have all but given up on his vote. But congressional leaders are still working behind the scenes to try to persuade some in the Stupak group. If the leadership loses antiabortion members, most of them Midwestern Roman Catholics who otherwise support the legislation, the only way to compensate would be to add votes from conservative Democrats who previously opposed the measure. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) expressed confidence that resistance from antiabortion members could be overcome. The leadership has two choices: It can try to revise the Senate language, which would be all but impossible under the process Democrats are using to pass a final bill, or it can try to convince some abortion opponents that the provisions are acceptable.  |  Read article

5. Article: Cancer society casts more doubt on prostate tests
By Mike Stobbe, The Associated Press, The Washington Post, March 4, 2010

Summary: The American Cancer Society is warning more explicitly than ever that regular testing for prostate cancer is of questionable value too, and can do men more harm than good. The cancer society hasn't recommended routine screening for most men since the mid-1990s, and that's not changing. But the organization is urging doctors to talk frankly with their patients about the risks and limitations of the PSA blood test when offering it. Two big studies last year suggested prostate cancer screening doesn't necessarily save lives, and any benefits can come at a high price. The widely used PSA test often spots cancers too slow-growing to be deadly. It can yield false-positive readings that result in unnecessary biopsies. And it can lead to treatments that can cause impotence and incontinence. Doctors don't know if the PSA truly saves lives the way people want it to. Some doctors and advocates are troubled by the new guidelines.  |  Read article

6. Article: D.C. EMS faces review in death of girl, 2
By Theola Labbé-DeBose, The Washington Post, March 4, 2010

Summary: DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services opened a review into the death last month of a 2-year-old District girl who was having breathing problems and wasn't immediately taken to a hospital. Emergency responders went to the 800 block of Southern Avenue SE shortly before 5 am on Feb. 10. Paramedics arrived minutes later, and the toddler was evaluated, but not taken to a hospital. About nine hours later, a 911 call was received from the same address for a child with breathing problems. The child was taken to Children's National Medical Center, where she died the next day. The inquiry was opened after a hospital social worker alerted department officials to the paramedics' earlier visit to the house. Several emergency workers who responded to the call have been placed on administrative leave while the review is underway.  |  Read article

7. Article: Expert on federal careers discusses tapping into health-care job market
By Derrick Dortch, The Washington Post, March 5, 2010

Summary: How can we anticipate which agencies will have upcoming jobs that'll come out of the health care reform bill? In terms of qualification for positions by education, do classes taken from institutions such as the graduate school help toward qualifying for these jobs? Follow the legislation and the bill as it's being written. On the Library of Congress Web site, Thomas tracks legislation. Find out the actual name of the bill that relates to health care reform and read through it. Write down what agencies are being placed in charge of specific tasks. There may be something in the legislation that discusses creating a new agency. You can also read through the Federal Register to find out what's going on. Using these tools, look at agencies and determine what's going on and what additional hiring they may be doing. If you want to target particular agencies, make a list and then on a weekly basis follow that agency and monitor what positions open up. Finding out about qualifications may be more difficult. Contact the human resources office of the agency that'll be affected by the changes and ask about positions and qualifications. Some agencies will hire only certain professionals, whether they're scientists, engineers, lawyers, program managers, program analysts, etc. (Dortch is president of the Diversa Group, a career counseling firm.)  |  Read article

8. Article: Washington slips on most-wired cities list
By Jeff Clabaugh, Washington Business Journal, March 3, 2010

Summary: The DC area slipped to No. 5 on Forbes Magazine's annual rankings of the country's most-wired cities, falling from third place last year. Raleigh, NC, ranked No. 1 this year on the list, which ranks cities based on broadband adoption, access options, and Wi-Fi hot spots. By category, the DC area ranked No. 16 on broadband adoption, or the percentage of home Internet users with high-speed access, with 66% home broadband penetration. The DC area ranked No. 10 for access options, or the number of companies providing high-speed Internet access, with 17 options counted by Forbes. It ranked No. 5 in the nation for public Wi-Fi hot spots per capita, with 4,840 public Wi-Fi locations. Raleigh's overall number one ranking was aided by Sprint's recent launch of its 4-G next-generation mobile broadband network in the city. Sprint is expected to launch 4-G Wi-Fi service in Washington, as well as Boston and New York, later this year. The rest of the top five most-wired cities were Atlanta, Seattle, and San Francisco. Baltimore ranked No. 8 overall. For more info, read: America's Most Wired Cities by Elizabeth Woyke, forbes.com, March 2, 2010.  |  Read article

9. Article: Alexandria a potential test site for Google high speed internet
By Markham Heid, The Washington Examiner, March 5, 2010

Summary: Alexandria is on the cusp of joining a nationwide bidding brawl to become one of just a handful of cities plugged into a new, supercharged form of Internet technology. Google Inc. is planning to test-drive an ultra-high-speed type of Internet connection service -- dubbed Google Fiber -- in one or possibly several cities across the country. The new technology will deliver information at speeds of one gigabit per second, or more than 100 times faster than the Internet connections most people now use in their homes or at work. Alexandria residents are pleading with city officials to respond to Google's request for information -- the first step in the bidding process. This technology could open the door to near-limitless possibilities, many of which won't be known until the service is widely available. But multimedia content such as online video that currently requires minutes to download would take mere seconds on a one-gigabit connection. Towns across the nation are clamoring for the opportunity to serve as one of the technology company's guinea pigs. Google's Web site says one or several sites will be chosen sometime this year. Between 50,000 and 500,000 people will have access to the trial service for a fee comparable to normal Internet service rates. The Alexandria City Council is scheduled to make a final decision next week in advance of Google's March 26 deadline.  |   Read article

10. Letters to Editor: Washington Hospital Center unjust firings of 11 nurses
The Washington Post, March 4, 2010

Summary: Hank Meyer (Greenbelt): What were WHC administrators thinking when they wasted little time sending pink slips to nurses who were unable to travel on snow-laden streets during our recent "Snowmageddon" ["D.C. hospital fires 11 nurses, 5 staffers for snowstorm absences"]? How many administrators failed to show up for their shifts, and how many of them were fired? I imagine that the former number bears no relation to the latter. In this era of shortages of qualified nurses across the nation, does it make sense to terminate a handful of hardworking professionals because they couldn't clean their driveways and streets of all the snow and ice? Is there something in their contracts that requires nurses to wake up five hours before their assigned shifts and start shoveling streets? // James Bort (Rockville): The solution to the firing or discipline of the 11 nurses at WHC who didn't report to work during the recent blizzards would appear to be fairly simple. The federal government should take control of the hospital, retroactively declare the nurses federal employees, give them five days off with pay at taxpayers' expense and then get them back to work. // Stuart C. Jeffrey (Gaithersburg): A letter from WHC President Harry Rider's to staff members after the February snowstorm absences insulted caring and competent nurses, some of whom have devoted decades of service to the facility. To say that these nurses didn't show the same commitment as most of their co-workers and that they're the few who turned away from their scheduled shifts and who tried -- and are still trying -- to turn the focus on themselves is a shocking attempt to justify these inappropriate firings by bad-mouthing employees. How does Rider think this'll help his hospital? What a slap in the face for these loyal nurses who tried in vain to get to work. Maybe the wrong people are being fired. Also read: " 21 District hospital workers fired for being blizzard no-shows" by Theresa Vargas, The Washington Post, March 4, 2010.  |   Read letters

11. Letters to Editor: George F. Will mischaracterizes mental health issues
The Washington Post, March 5, 2010

Summary: Scott Jakovics (Annapolis): George Will's op-ed, "Handbook suggests that deviations from 'normality' are disorders," on revisions to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, is just one more example of his crusade to discredit science. In minimizing the utility of the DSM, he denies the more than 50 years of research and debate that has provided mental health clinicians with a tool to objectify and classify mental health diagnoses. The DSM provided a common language that has led to better understanding of the psychology and treatment of mental disorders. (The writer is a licensed clinical professional counselor in Annapolis.) // E. Clarke Ross (Landover) and Mike Fitzpatrick (Arlington): Will made simplistic and inaccurate assertions about the proposed revisions to the DSM. His assertion that every character blemish is being turned into a disorder is as ridiculous as saying that every stomachache is being turned into appendicitis. The current DSM provides clear, research-based criteria that distinguish impairments from character flaws. He also questioned the diagnostic criteria and treatment for bipolar disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. He would have done better to talk about the debilitating and at times life-threatening outcomes when the two disorders go untreated. It's crucial that a newspaper's prime real estate be used to enlighten people, rather than spreading the kind of misinformation found throughout Will's column. (The writers are, respectively, chief executive of Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.)  |  Read letters

12. Editorial Cartoon: Obama, Republicans, and Health Care
By Tom Toles, The Washington Post, March 5, 2010

Summary: President Obama, as the doctor, says: "Okay, let's close." The Republican, as the physician's assistant, says: "Second opinion." |  View cartoon

EVENTS

Budget Forum: What's in Store for FY11?
Monday, March 8th, 9:30 am
(registration and coffee at 9 am)
Charles Sumner School
1201 - 17th Street NW
Mayor Fenty's proposed budget for next year will be out in less than a month. The outlook is pretty bleak, with the District facing an enormous revenue shortfall as a result of the recession. The mayor and councilmembers face very difficult decisions over how to preserve important services such as education and health care. So, just how bad is the budget shortfall? What has been cut already? What revenue increases are being considered? How can DC residents and organizations get involved to make a difference in the budget outcomes? Speakers include: Ed Lazere, executive director, DCFPI; Eric Goulet, budget director, DC Council; Fitzroy Lee, chief economist, Office of the CFO; Dawn Slonneger, chief of staff, Office of Chairman Vincent Gray; and T.J. Sutcliffe, director of advocacy and public policy, The Arc of the District of Columbia. The event is sponsored by The Arc of DC, the DC Fiscal Policy Institute, the Fair Budget Coalition, and Think Twice Before You Slice, a project of the Center for Nonprofit Advancement and the Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington. RSVP to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it at (202) 408-1080.

Mental Health System Redesign Workgroup
Tuesday, March 16th, 1 - 2:30 pm
64 New York Avenue NE, 5th Floor Training Room
For more info, contact the DMH's This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it at (202) 671-4078.

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JOBS

Grants & Contracts Manager
La Clínica del Pueblo
The grants and contracts manager supervises all grant preparation and reporting activities, and supervises staff that prepares and manages proposals for grants. BA/BS degree and three years experience in the field desired. Must demonstrate experience in successful submission of federal and state grant applications. Previous supervisory, budget, project management experience required. Bilingual-Spanish/English preferred. MS Office computer experience. Raisers Edge software, a plus. Salary: $48,249 - $51,868, plus benefits. Closing March 19, 2010. Submit writing sample with cover letter and resume to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or fax to (202) 332-0085. EOE

Health Quality Improvement Manager, DCPCA

Senior Policy Coordinator, DCPCA

Senior Grants Writer/Specialist, DCPCA

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