Health workers across the NHS are facing severe hardship due to the current economic crisis and the effect of a below inflation pay deal. With inflation running at a 16-year high, NHS unions have joined forces to press the Government to reopen pay talks for next year. The unions argue that the three-year pay deal agreed earlier this year is now leaving hundreds of thousands of NHS workers struggling to make ends meet.

In their evidence to the independent NHS Pay Review Body (NHSPRB), the unions argue that another cycle of boom and bust in the health labour market is just around the corner. A combination of students having to leave their courses because of financial pressures and an ageing workforce facing imminent retirement will leave the NHS with severe staff shortages and an inevitable impact on patient care.

In their bid to reopen pay talks for 2009, the unions point to evidence gathered from their members that highlights the mounting pressures on NHS workers. In nursing, more than 25 per cent of students are dropping out of their courses, record numbers of nurses are accessing help on managing debt and house repossessions and an increasing number of workers across the sector have been forced to take second jobs due to the rising costs of fuel, food and childcare.

Karen Jennings, staff side Chair, said:

“Hardworking staff across the NHS accepted a three-year pay deal six months ago believing Government and economic predictions that inflation had peaked and would start to fall. This clearly hasn’t happened, no one then could have predicted the world-wide credit crunch or that inflation would hit a 16 year high.

“NHS workers, particularly the low paid, are finding it extremely tough to make ends meet. We know significant numbers are taking second jobs just to put food on the table and pay their bills. Keeping down pay now will have serious consequences for the future of the health service. The NHS needs to be an attractive career option and that means paying workers decently. The re-opener clause was intended to be a safety net for NHS staff, they need that safety net now.”

Dr Peter Carter, Chief Executive & General Secretary of the RCN, said:

“The current economic crisis is compounded by the fact that we have an ageing NHS workforce and increasing numbers of students dropping out of their courses. All this points to a recruitment and retention crisis right around the corner.

“Hardworking NHS staff put their faith in the Government when they accepted their pay deal – now it’s time for the Government to honour the day-in day-out commitment of NHS staff by agreeing to reopen talks to secure a fairer pay deal across the health service.”

Evidence submitted to the NHSPRB from the unions shows that:

- Staff are experiencing severe hardship as a result of rising inflation. One union found that three-quarters of members needed to work overtime to meet living expenses and a fifth could not afford to heat and maintain their homes.

- Nearly three-quarters of members surveyed by one union said they were worse off than the previous year in terms of their pay and the same number had considered leaving the NHS.

- More than 200,000 nurses are aged over 50 and due to retire within the next decade. At the same time, fewer students are embarking on graduate courses and more than one in four do not complete their courses.

- Recruitment continues to be low in the NHS and for the first time in two years, there has been an increased reliance on bank and agency workers. For example, over a third of Heads of Midwifery report that recruitment and retention remains a significant problem.

As part of their submission, the staff side unions are also submitting a report commissioned from independent pay experts Income Data Services (IDS) which provides further evidence of the disparity between the current economic climate and the situation when the pay deal was agreed.

Source
RCN Media Office
rcn

The World Health Organization (WHO) today published a new assessment of the Global Burden of Disease, a study that provides a comprehensive picture of the global and regional state of health. Drawing from extensive data across the Organization, it features comparisons between deaths, diseases and injuries whether by region, age, sex or country income for the year 2004. It also provides projections of deaths and burden of disease by cause and region to the year 2030.

The study contains details of the top ten causes of death and estimates for over 130 disease and injury causes.

Striking findings include:

- Worldwide, Africa accounts for 9 out of every 10 child deaths due to malaria, for 9 out of every 10 child deaths due to HIV/AIDS, and for half of the world’s child deaths due to diarrhoeal disease and pneumonia.

- The top five causes of death in low- income countries are: pneumonia, heart disease, diarrhoea, HIV/AIDS and stroke. In high- income countries the list is topped by heart disease, followed by stroke, lung cancer, pneumonia, and asthma/bronchitis.

- Men between the ages of 15 and 60 years have much higher risks of dying than women in the same age category in every region of the world. This is mainly due to higher levels of heart diseases and injuries, including those from violence and conflict. This difference is most pronounced in Latin America, the Caribbean, the Middle -East and the Eastern European region.

- Depression is the leading cause of years lost due to disability, the burden being 50% higher for females than males. In both low- and high -income countries, the harmful use of alcohol is among the 10 leading causes of disability.

The production and dissemination of health information for action is one of WHO’s core mandated activities. The study provides Member States with key health information for health decision-making, planning and priority setting.

“It is vital that we have a global and regional picture of deaths, disease and disability”, says Colin Mathers, Coordinator for Epidemiology and Burden of Disease at WHO and lead author of the study. ” It enables policy makers and countries to identify the gaps and ensure that help and efforts are directed to those who are most in need. Countries can use the information to create strategies and cost-effective interventions aimed at improving health across the world.”

The study contains information on:

- Causes of death in the different regions of the World Health Organization
- The leading causes of death by age and sex
- The numbers of people with various diseases and disabilities
- The causes of loss of health and the actual loss of years of good health- these are measured in disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). One Daly is equivalent to the loss of one year of full health.

The Global Burden of Disease Study can be found on the web at:
http//www.who.int/healthinfo/global_burden_disease/2004_report_update/en/index.html

All WHO Fact sheets, news releases and WHO information material can be found at who.int

Source
Natalie Boudou-Jacobs, Communications officer, Information, Evidence and Research

WHO, Geneva

According to the most recent U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission statistics, there were 74,000 sledding, snow tubing, and tobogganing-related injuries treated at hospital emergency rooms, doctors’ offices and clinics in 2004. But by taking a few precautions, you can help your children make sure their sledding and snow tubing activities are both thrilling and safe.

Here are some tips from the American Academy of Pediatrics and emergency room doctors at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center:

- Make sure your child wears a helmet. Recent reports show that sleds can easily reach speeds of 20-25 mph. About 15 percent of sledding injuries treated in emergency rooms are head injuries, and 43 percent of these are brain injuries. Helmets are 85 percent effective in preventing brain injuries in children who ride bicycles; experts predict similar success rates in sleds. Hoods and hats are not as effective as a helmet would be in reducing the impact of hitting a fixed object or if thrown from the sled.

- Make sure there is constant adult supervision. According to an American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons study, 71 percent of unsupervised sledding outings ended in injuries. When adults were present to monitor the types of risks taken, however, the injury rate dropped to 29 percent.

- Find a safe spot. Look for holes, roots, tree stumps and fences that may be covered in snow. Avoid areas with trees.

- Avoid slopes that end in a street, parking lot or pond. Sleds and cars have a hard time stopping on slippery surfaces. Frozen ponds might appear solid, but might not be strong enough to hold a child’s weight. Sledding hills should have a flat run off at the end.

- Make sure your children wear sensible clothing. Bright colors are easier to spot. Dress them in layers for extra warmth, and don’t allow them to stay outside if their clothing becomes wet. Make sure that they are dressed with proper attire including gloves or mittens and a thick jacket or coat.

- Make sure your children sit face-forward. It’s easier to steer the sled.

- Be especially careful with inflatable snow tubes. They move quickly, cannot be steered and, if they hit a bump, can propel children into the air.

- Allow only one child down the hill at a time. When children are finished, tell them to move out of the way quickly. Do not allow the next sledder to begin until the previous one is safely off the hill.

- Don’t allow a child to walk up the same hill that another child is sledding down. Make sure children move out of the way of other children who are coming down the designated sledding path.

- Don’t use sled substitutes. Cafeteria trays, cardboard boxes and detached automobile hoods may seem like great makeshift sleds, but they are difficult to steer and stop, increasing the risk of injury.

- If a sled won’t stop or you think you will hit something, roll off.

– Never ride on a sled that is being pulled by a moving vehicle.

– Use a sled with a steering mechanism.

Source:

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center

NHS discounts celebrates seven years of giving NHS employees more with a brand new look for its employee benefits site.

Over the last seven years NHSdiscounts has grown to a membership of over 600,000 NHS employees by providing access to wide-ranging savings off holidays or chocolates to beds and iPods. Widely recognised as ‘the’ employee benefit that saves members’ money, the new look discounts portal has access to more exclusive deals, money saving essentials and life’s little luxuries – It offers members unique shopping and now also boasts access to an exclusive property service team.

The property service team is available to hand-hold applicants through the hassles of finding the right property – whether that be through the Government-backed HomeBuy schemes, renting or buying. Offering free advice, help and support they also have access to a range of exclusive NHS savings.

Chris Heather, CEO for NHS discounts says “With the new range of support available to the NHS we are confident that the benefits will have even greater impact for staff in the current financial climate. NHSdiscounts is bigger and better than ever and for the first time we can not only help employees shop we can now help them find and secure their own home.”

Visit nhsdiscounts/t1

- NHS Property Services is committed to helping NHS staff find the right deal. The company is able to offer exclusive mortgages for NHS employees and is an expert in shared equity schemes

- One in three of all NHS employees have signed up to the scheme, and membership is growing at a rate of 3,000 per week

Source
Simone France
NHS discounts

The NHS ballot calling for industrial action on the ‘derisory’ three-year pay deal, organised by Unite the Union, starts today (Tuesday, 28 October).

A total of 100,000 ballot papers will be landing on the doormats of Unite members, working in the NHS, from this morning. The ballot closes on Wednesday, 12 November.

Unite is asking its members whether they are prepared to take industrial action, including strike action in protest at the deal imposed unilaterally on the NHS workforce by ministers.

The three year package is worth half the current rate of inflation, which this month broke through the 5% barrier.

Unite’s National Officer for Health, David Fleming said: ‘I appreciate that we are living thorough very difficult economic times, but that is no excuse for dedicated and hard working NHS staff to be penalised by derisory pay awards as a result.’

‘Most reputable economists agree that that public sector pay is not the engine of inflation, so ministers can’t use that argument to batten down the hatches with unreasonable pay awards, at a time when household bills are going through the roof.’

‘We are expecting a high turn-out from our members. After the ballot closes, there will be a 28-day ‘window’ to take the action that the membership has voted for.’

David Fleming said that emergency cover would be maintained throughout any action and that patient safety would not be jeopardised.

‘Ideally, we would much prefer for ministers to enter into meaningful and realistic negotiations with the staff side unions. We have already written to Health Secretary, Alan Johnson and his counterparts in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland asking for such talks. Unite’s door is always open for dialogue.’

Unite’s ballot is underpinned by a 95% rejection by its members of the government’s three-year pay deal, worth in total 7.99%. It is further reinforced by a 75% vote in favour of an industrial action ballot.

Notes

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) jumped to 5.2% in September – a 16-year high. The Retail Price Index (RPI) – the most familiar domestic measure of inflation in the UK- also rose to 5.0% from 4.8%. The RPI takes into account a wider range of indices. Therefore, the 2.75% pay rise paid to NHS members this year (2008/9) is a pay cut.

Unite has already launched a national petition asking its health sector members, as well as the general public, to sign the petition which its hopes to present to Downing Street later in the year. The petition can be downloaded from unitetheunion/health

Unite is the largest union in the UK. It has seven professional sections: the Community Practitioners’ and Health Visitors’ Association, the Mental Health Nurses Association, the Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists, the Society of Sexual Health Advisers, the Medical Practitioners’ Union, College of Healthcare Chaplains, and the Hospital Physicists Association.

Unite was formed by an amalgamation of Amicus and the Transport and General Workers’ Union in May 2007.

Unite The Union

The things that people really fear aren’t all that likely to happen to them – unlike diabetes, which affects nearly 24 million people. According to a new survey by the American Diabetes Association, more people reported fear of being in a plane crash, hit by lightning, attacked by a shark, or bitten by a snake, than a fear of developing diabetes.

During American Diabetes Month®, which is observed during the month of November, the American Diabetes Association is asking the American public, “Why Should You Care About Diabetes?”

“Unfortunately, people don’t seem to take diabetes seriously and they don’t seem to realize that diabetes – if left untreated or poorly treated – can be a very scary disease,” said Ann Albright, PhD, RD, President, Health Care & Education, American Diabetes Association. “We don’t like to unnecessarily scare people, but the findings from this survey are alarming because diabetes is more deadly than these other fears and Americans are more likely to have a personal experience with diabetes than shark attacks or snake bites.”

In August, 2008, the American Diabetes Association conducted an online survey to find out what people really fear most. The survey findings showed that, among a short list of rare occurrences, 16% of respondents feared being in a plane crash, 13% feared snake bites, 5% feared being hit by lightning and 4% feared a shark attack, while only 5% reported a fear of getting an illness/disease.

Additionally, when asked specifically about diseases, 49% reported fear of cancer, and only 3% cited a fear of diabetes. Ironically, one in ten adults reports having been diagnosed with diabetes, while fewer (6%) have been diagnosed with cancer. Further, cancer and diabetes have similar rates of expected new cases each year, suggesting that levels of fear around diabetes are low. While half of adults fear cancer and many fewer fear diabetes, statistics show that in each case over 1 million new cases will be diagnosed annually.

Why Don’t You Care about Diabetes?

Of course, cancer can be a deadly disease, and people are wise to be concerned, and hopefully diligent, about lifestyle behaviors and screening interventions that can enhance prevention and treatment. But accidents and animal attacks don’t compare to diabetes. While the impact of a shark attack, lightning strike or plane crash may be more immediate, the reality is, the consequences of mismanaged diabetes can have equally severe consequences that include loss of limbs or even death. In fact, 491 deaths related to commercial aviation accidents happened in 2007 whereas diabetes contributed to 233,619 deaths in 2005.

More importantly, while people don’t have much control when it comes to plane crashes, snake bites, shark attacks or being hit by lightening, the good news is that people with diabetes can play an important role in managing and controlling their disease to prevent the onset of serious diabetes-related complications such as heart attack, stroke, kidney disease and blindness.

Diabetes is growing at an alarming rate with nearly 24 million children and adults living with this disease and another 57 million Americans at risk for developing type 2 diabetes. Since 1987, death rates due to diabetes have continued to rise, while the death rates due to heart disease, stroke and cancer have declined. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), if present trends continue, 1 in 3 children born today will develop diabetes in their lifetime.

If you have diabetes, you are at increased risk for a heart attack or stroke. People with diabetes are also at risk for developing other serious complications such kidney disease, blindness, and amputation, yet one-fourth of people who have diabetes even know it. Data from the CDC indicate:

- Heart disease and stroke – Adults with diabetes have heart disease death rates about 2 to 4 times higher than adults without diabetes.

- Kidney disease – Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure, accounting for 44% of new cases in 2005.

- Blindness – Diabetic retinopathy causes 12,000 to 24,000 new cases of blindness each year making diabetes the leading cause of new cases of blindness in adults 20-74 years of age.

- Amputations – More than 60% of nontraumatic lower-limb amputations occur in people with diabetes.

“We can no longer sit back and politely tap people on the shoulder to get their attention. The future of our country – and the future of our children – is at stake,” added Albright. “The good news is there are steps people with diabetes can take to manage their disease and prevent or delay these serious and deadly complications from developing.”

Preventing or Delaying Diabetes Complications

These steps, known as the ‘ABCs of diabetes,’ can help prevent or delay the onset of diabetes complications:

- Average Glucose – Most people with diabetes should get an estimated Average Glucose (eAG) or an A1C test every 6 months, which measures how well they are managing their diabetes over time. It is important to keep their eAG less than 154 mg/dl or A1C less than 7%.

- Blood Pressure – People with diabetes should have a target blood pressure of less than 130/80 mmHg.

- Cholesterol – LDL (bad) cholesterol should be below 100 mg/dl; HDL (healthy) cholesterol should be above 40 mg/dl for men and 50 mg/dl for women; triglycerides should be below 150 mg/dl.

Survey Methodology

This Why Don’t You Care About Diabetes? research was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of the American Diabetes Association between August 14 and August 18, 2008 among 2,424 U.S. residents aged 18 or older. No estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated; a full methodology is available.

Kiss Diabetes Goodbye

Show you care about diabetes during American Diabetes Month. Help the American Diabetes Association raise $1 million in one month to “Kiss Diabetes Goodbye.” Throughout November, “Kiss Diabetes Goodbye” will raise much needed funds for diabetes research and education programs within the community. To find out more information on how you can “Kiss Diabetes Goodbye” call 1-800-DIABETES or visit diabetes.

American Diabetes Association

The American Diabetes Association is leading the fight against the deadly consequences of diabetes and fighting for those affected by diabetes. The Association funds research to prevent, cure and manage diabetes; delivers services to hundreds of communities; provides objective and credible information; and gives voice to those denied their rights because of diabetes. Founded in 1940, our mission is to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes. For more information please call the American Diabetes Association at 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383) or visit diabetes. Information from both these sources is available in English and Spanish.

About Harris Interactive®

Harris Interactive is a global leader in custom market research. With a long and rich history in multimodal research, powered by our science and technology, we assist clients in achieving business results. Harris Interactive serves clients globally through our North American, European and Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms.

Harris Interactive

Health Literacy Month, recognized in October, promotes the importance of ensuring access to understandable health information. According to the National Assessment of Adult Literacy, only 12 percent of adults have proficient health literacy – skills needed to manage their health. Improving health literacy for at-risk populations is the focus of an ongoing study at the University of Missouri Health Communication Research Center (HCRC). Recently, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) awarded an $8.6 million grant to HCRC, in partnership with Washington University in St. Louis, to advance health communication that will improve health literacy and health outcomes for at-risk populations.

The renewal grant will fund the continuation of Ozioma (which means “good news” in Ebu), a bi-weekly news service created by MU researchers that produces localized cancer-related news releases for black communities. The researchers analyzed the effectiveness of the news service and found that providing localized cancer news to black newspapers increased cancer news coverage and, therefore, prompted changes in readers’ behaviors.

“Our goal is to build on the findings from the Ozioma study by advancing tailored communication and health public relations to improve health outcomes for at-risk and general populations,” said Jon Stemmle, HCRC assistant director. “We will develop a news information bureau that will provide locally relevant and race-specific cancer news stories to minority newspapers in predominately minority markets throughout the United States.”

The news service will provide health stories to 36 newspapers. According to the researchers, the objective is to develop a permanent news service for NCI that targets every minority newspaper service in the United States.

“Providing people with understandable health information is essential to improving their health literacy,” said Glen T. Cameron, HCRC director and MU Maxine Wilson Gregory Chair in Journalism Research. “We hope to engage media in this process through our new news service, Informing Smart Health Decisions (I-SHD). Most press releases are general in form, created for the mass media audience. I-SHD is a cutting-edge approach to media relations that localizes a general release by region, state or community. We use local quotes, graphics and data to make the story more meaningful both for the local media and their audience.”

The HCRC team consists of Cameron, Stemmle and Maria Len-Rios, assistant professor of strategic communication in the Missouri School of Journalism, and a team of HCRC graduate students. The project also will include members of the Health Communication Research Laboratory at Washington University in St. Louis.

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Health Communication Research Center Web site: hcrc.missouri.edu/

Informing Smart Health Decisions (I-SHD) Web site: i-shd.missouri.edu/

Source: Emily Smith

University of Missouri-Columbia

Elderly people who have a positive outlook, lower stress levels, moderate alcohol consumption, abstention from tobacco, moderate to higher income and no chronic health conditions are more likely to thrive in their old age, according to a study in the October issue of The Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences.

The first study of its kind, researchers from Portland State University, the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, Oregon Health & Science University, and Statistics Canada surveyed 2,432 older Canadians about their quality of life. The few who maintained excellent health over an entire decade were considered “thrivers.” Most previous studies have been based on one-time surveys and have focused on factors that contribute to poor health.

“Important predictors of ‘thriving’ were the absence of chronic illness, income over $30,000, having never smoked, and drinking alcohol in moderation,” said Mark Kaplan, DrPH, lead author and professor of community health at Portland State University. “We also found that people who had a positive outlook and lower stress levels were more likely to thrive in old age.”

“Many of these factors can be modified when you are young or middle-aged,” said David Feeny, PhD, co-author and senior investigator at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research. “While these findings may seem like common sense, now we have evidence about which factors contribute to exceptional health during retirement years.”

Study participants filled out an extensive health survey every other year, starting in 1994 and continuing through 2004. One measure, called the Health Utilities Index, asked people to rate their abilities in eight categories, including vision, hearing, speech, ambulation, dexterity, emotion, cognition, and pain. “Thrivers” were those who rated themselves as having no or only mild disability in all eight categories on at least five of the six surveys.

If respondents reported moderate or severe disability on any of the six surveys, they were classified as “non-thrivers.” Just over half (or 50.8 percent) of the respondents started out as “thrivers”, but by the end of the 10 years, only 8 percent of the respondents were considered thrivers. At the end of the study period, 47 percent of the respondents were classified as non-thrivers. Thirty-six percent had died and 9 percent were institutionalized.

“Even though the study was conducted in Canada, the findings are certainly applicable to the United States and other industrialized nations,” says Bentson McFarland, MD, PhD, co-author and professor of psychiatry, public health and preventive medicine at at Oregon Health & Science University. “Our population here in the United States is similar demographically to Canada’s, and both health care systems rely on the same underlying technologies.”

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The study was funded by a grant from the National Institute on Aging. Authors include Mark S. Kaplan, PhD, and Nathalie Huguet, PhD, from Portland State University; Heather Orpana, PhD, from Statistics Canada and the University of Ottawa; David Feeny, PhD, from the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research and Health Utilities Incorporated; Bentson H. McFarland, MD, PhD, from Oregon Health & Science University, and Nancy Ross, PhD, at McGill University in Canada.

Author David Feeny has a proprietary interest in Health Utilities Incorporated (HUInc.), Dundas, Ontario, Canada. The HUI survey instrument used in this study was developed in cooperation with the Canadian government. Neither Feeny nor HUInc. received any monetary reimbursement for use of the survey.

The Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences is a refereed publication of The Gerontological Society of America, the nation’s oldest and largest interdisciplinary organization devoted to research, education, and practice in the field of aging. The principal mission of the Society – and its 5,000+ members – is to advance the study of aging and disseminate information among scientists, decision makers, and the general public. GSA’s structure also includes a policy institute, the National Academy on an Aging Society, and an educational branch, the Association of Gerontology in Higher Education.

Kaiser Permanente’s Center for Health Research, founded in 1964, is a not-for-profit research institution dedicated to advancing knowledge to improve health. It has research sites in Portland, OR, Honolulu, HI, and Atlanta, GA.

Source: Mary Sawyers

The Gerontological Society of America

Class B biosolids are sewage sludges that have been treated to contain fewer than 2.0 x 106 fecal coliforms/dry gram. The USEPA estimates that 6.3 million tonnes of Class B biosolids are generated in the United States each year, and that by 2010, the amount generated per year will increase to 7.4 million tonnes. Biosolids produced during municipal sewage treatment are most commonly applied to land as a fertilizer at agricultural sites throughout the United States. Class B biosolids, which are the principal type of biosolids applied to land, contain a variety of enteric pathogens.

Land application of biosolids has received national attention due to the potential for off-site transport of disease-causing microorganisms through soil, water, and air. Workers face greater exposure to bioaerosols from biosolids than those not associated with the operation. A new study published in the November-December issue of Journal of Environmental Quality investigated levels of microorganisms in air immediately downwind of land application operations and estimated occupational risks from aerosolized microorganisms.

The authors report that risks of aerosol-borne infection for biosolids workers are generally low, at less than 1 or 2% per year. Overall, occupational exposure to bioaerosols from biosolids appears to be less risky than similar exposures among wastewater treatment workers.

In all, more than 300 air samples were collected downwind of biosolids application sites at various locations within the United States. Coliform bacteria, coliphages, and heterotrophic plate count (HPC) bacteria were enumerated from air and biosolids at each site. Concentrations of coliforms relative to Salmonella and concentrations of coliphage relative to enteroviruses in biosolids were used, in conjunction with levels of coliforms and coliphages measured in air during this study, to estimate exposure to Salmonella and enteroviruses in air. The HPC bacteria were ubiquitous in air near land application sites whether or not biosolids were being applied, and concentrations were positively correlated to windspeed. Coliform bacteria were detected only when biosolids were being applied to land or loaded into land applicators. Risks from aerosolized microorganisms at biosolids land application sites appear to be lower than those at wastewater treatment plants, based on previously reported literature.

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The full article is available for no charge for 30 days. View the abstract at jeq.scijournals/cgi/content/abstract/37/6/2311.

The Journal of Environmental Quality, jeq.scijournals/ is a peer-reviewed, international journal of environmental quality in natural and agricultural ecosystems published six times a year by the American Society of Agronomy (ASA), Crop Science Society of America (CSSA), and the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA). The Journal of Environmental Quality covers various aspects of anthropogenic impacts on the environment, including terrestrial, atmospheric, and aquatic systems.

The Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) is a progressive, international scientific society that fosters the transfer of knowledge and practices to sustain global soils. Based in Madison, WI, and founded in 1936, SSSA is the professional home for 6,000+ members dedicated to advancing the field of soil science. It provides information about soils in relation to crop production, environmental quality, ecosystem sustainability, bioremediation, waste management, recycling, and wise land use.

SSSA supports its members by providing quality research-based publications, educational programs, certifications, and science policy initiatives via a Washington, DC, office. For more information, visit soils/.

SSSA is the founding sponsor of an approximately 5,000-square foot exhibition, Dig It! The Secrets of Soil, which opened on July 19, 2008 at the Smithsonian’s Natural History Museum in Washington, DC.

Source: Sara Uttech

Soil Science Society of America

U.S. hospital administrators should consider shifting patients in emergency departments who already have received care to hallways as a way to reduce ED overcrowding, according to a study to be presented on Tuesday at an American College of Emergency Physicians meeting in Chicago, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports.

The study — led by Peter Viccellio, the clinical director of the ED at Stony Brook University Medical Center in New York — found that the strategy posed no danger to patients and is a way to extend emergency patient care to the whole hospital, thus alleviating the responsibility on hospitals EDs. According to a 2007 ACEP survey of about 1,500 ED physicians, 13% said they personally had experienced patients dying because they were kept in the ED even after they had been admitted to the hospital, the AP/Chronicle reports.

The new study found that fewer deaths and admissions to the intensive care unit occurred among hallway patients, compared with standard bed patients. Viccellio said the finding was not surprising because the standard practice is to allocate the first available rooms to patients in need of emergency care, but intensive care patients are not moved to the hallways.

Comments
Viccellio said, “This is yet another battle cry for hospitals to get off their duffs and stop stacking people knee-deep in the emergency department.” Kirk Jensen of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement said the key reason to consider moving admitted ED patients to the hallways is that it involves all hospital staffers in the process of allocating the patients to rooms. Jensen said, “It’s out of sight, out of mind, even if they know that patients are there in the emergency department,” adding that when patients are moved to the hallways, hospital personnel “get a lot more creative and aggressive with workflow practices” (Johnson, AP/Houston Chronicle, 10/26).

Reprinted with kind permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

© 2008 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation.В  All rights reserved.