January 16, 2008

1/16/08 Update from HealthCareMaryland.org

http://www.HealthCareMaryland.org
"Health Care Delayed is Health Care Denied"

Health Care Maryland.org is a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization
which promotes research, public education and advocacy to guarantee
universal high-quality health care for all Maryland residents. We're
working with our friends and allies--other organizations, elected
officials, and concerned individuals--to bring high-quality universal
health care to Maryland in 2008. We're planning town halls, summits,
conferences, and organizing legislative efforts. Read articles at the
Health Care Maryland website. Please share with interested friends and
colleagues.


Urge Senators to Deliver Quality Indian Health Care
From FCNL -- Friends Committee on National Legislation

Senators will vote January 22 on reauthorization of the Indian Health
Care Improvement Act (S. 1200).This bill lays the foundation for program
change and addresses health crises such as diabetes, youth suicide, and
drug addiction that have escalated among native peoples in the past 15
years. Take Action


Doctors Give Massachusetts Health Reform A Failing Grade
Poor Early Outcomes Raise Red Flags, Only Private Insurers Profit
From MedicalNewsToday.com

Over 250 Massachusetts doctors have signed an open letter to the country
warning that the health reform model enacted by Massachusetts is failing
and that a single payer program is the only alternative.

"It is urgent that the rest of the country know that Massachusetts is a
living laboratory for the health care reforms being pushed in California
and by the Obama/Clinton/Edwards campaigns. Right now the Gov.
Romney/Massachusetts' plan gets a failing grade on the ground," said
Dr.Rachel Nardin, Assistant Professor of neurology at Harvard Medical
School.


Our Future Rooted in Our Past

Unprecedented change in the nation's healthcare system is looming, while
the ability to attract new nurses still is hindered by sexual and gender
stereotypes.
by Catherine Spader, RN | Nurse.com

Nurses who came of age during the baby boom generation have transformed
nursing from a role dominated by tasks and physicians' orders into a
profession of independent thinkers with their own body of knowledge. As
the baby-boom nurses begin to retire and exit the workforce in the next
20 to 30 years, they leave behind some big shoes to fill.

Generation X and Y nurses, born and raised in a fast-paced world, thrive
on technology and change--and that's a good thing because tomorrow's
healthcare system will look much different than when baby boomers
entered as young nurses starting in the early 1960s.


State Town Hall Tour to Focus on Health Care Issues

From Maryland Citizens' Health Initiative, and the Health Care for All!
campaign
A Busy Spring: As many of you might know by now, we have reconvened our
Technical Advisory Committee. This team of experts from the Johns
Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, University of MD School of
Law, Community Catalyst, and others helped draft the original Health
Care for All! plan. We have brought them back together to draw up a new
plan to represent all the things that have changed since the original
plan was written, and hope to have a newly updated Health Care for All!
plan late this spring. We have had series of stakeholder meetings
already and the wheels are in motion to get the very difficult work
completed.


CareFirst's quality initiative: Doctors to get more for providing better
care
By Karen Buckelew | Maryland Daily Record Business Writer

Maryland doctors soon will have the chance to earn higher payments from
CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield through a new initiative to improve the
quality of patient care. The new CareFirst Quality Rewards program,
which the state's largest insurer announced Tuesday, will give doctors
the chance to earn up to 7 percent increases in the standard fee
CareFirst pays physicians for services.


Casa's services mean advocacy in many languages
Nonprofit has expanded its reach to serve area's burgeoning African
population
By Agnes Jasinski | Gazette Staff Writer

For the last three years, Casa of Maryland has been a second home for
Frederic Ngongang of Cameroon. Ngongang, who left the African country
for Takoma Park in 2003, arrived on United States soil in need of
immediate employment. What he found was one of the state's largest
advocacy groups for Hispanics, but one that welcomed him as well....

Over the last year, Casa has increased efforts to reach Africans through
health care services through partnerships with nonprofits such as the
Ethiopian Community Development Council and the county's African
American Health Program, Jaramillo said.


Keeping King's dream alive--Sen. Verna L. Jones helped win an expansion
of health care
By Susan Gvozdas | Special to the Baltimore Sun

The Rev. Johnny R. Calhoun is overseeing the construction of a $3
million community center in Parole. State Sen. Verna L. Jones helped win
an expansion of health care for the poor and elderly. Business executive
James Pitts orchestrated the renovation of the Robinwood Community Center.

The three are among nine individuals and groups to be honored Friday
night at Anne Arundel County's 20th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Dinner. The event will also mark the 40th anniversary of King's
assassination....

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