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HEALTH & WELLNESS June 13, 2008 Weiman Products, makers of leading home care products, will support the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition (NOCC) and its efforts to educate and inform women about ovarian cancer risk factors and symptoms starting June 2, 2008. Weiman will make a generous corporate donation to the NOCC and implement a multi-channel campaign that supports NOCC’s mission—to raise awareness and promote education about ovarian cancer—and its commitment to improving the survival rate and quality of life for women with ovarian cancer. “We are honored to contribute substantial funding to NOCC—an organization that is fully committed to spreading awareness and conducting education about ovarian cancer,” said Carl DeMasi, Weiman Products president and CEO. “To solidify Weiman’s dedication to the cause, we will use our WEIMAN PRODUCTS TO AID FIGHT AGAINST OVARIAN CANCER product packaging, Web site, e- newsletter and additional marketing tools to increase awareness about ovarian cancer among Weiman’s national consumer and retail base.” Weiman’s awareness and education campaign will include the following elements: • Weiman will introduce teal-colored product caps on six of its top-selling products (Cook Top Wipes, Leather Wipes, Granite Wipes, E- tronic Wipes, Stainless Steel Wipes, Stainless Steel Cleaner & Polish) during September 2008 to honor and increase awareness for Ovarian Cancer Awareness month. The teal caps will appear in retailers nationwide, including Wal-Mart, Target, True Value, Kroger, Safeway, Publix and Kmart. • Product packaging for all of Weiman’s products will be updated to include an ovarian cancer awareness ribbon and NOCC Web site address to help consumers access information and facts about ovarian cancer online. • The Weiman Web site will feature an enhanced, dedicated web page with information about ovarian cancer and details about Weiman’s partnership with NOCC. • The September 2008 edition of Weiman’s e-newsletter, Weiman News, will include educational information that supports NOCC’s mission. • Weiman Products will provide opportunities and encourage employee investment and involvement in supporting the NOCC mission. The National Ovarian Cancer Coalition is a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization that provides help and hope about ovarian cancer with public education and awareness, state divisions, a tollfree Help Line, comprehensive web site, peer support, publications and special projects. The National Ovarian Cancer Coalition’s mission is to raise awareness and promote education about ovarian cancer. The Coalition is committed to improving the survival rate and quality of life for women with ovarian cancer. For more information on the “Break the Silence” campaign and to contact one of the local NOCC local divisions, visit www.ovarian.org or call 1-888-OVARIAN. Weiman Products, LLC manufactures specialty home care products that Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett recently joined the Latino Health Steering Committee of Montgomery County for the release of the “Blueprint for Latino Health in Montgomery County, Maryland 2008-2012”. The health status report outlines the most pressing issues facing the more than 120,000 Latinos living in Montgomery County and recommends strategies for improving the health of Latinos in the community. “We are concerned about the health status of all of our county residents and the Blueprint will be invaluable in providing guidance and direction in developing programs that will improve the health and human service outcomes for Latinos in our community,” said Leggett. The report found that 50 to 60 percent of Latinos in the community lack access to health care services. In a clean, protect and prolong the life of appliances and surfaces throughout the home. Weiman’s product lines include: Weiman products, Wright’s® Metal Care products and its newest product line of environmentally-friendly cleaners, Perfect Planet. Headquartered in Gurnee, Il, Weiman products are available nationwide through mass merchandisers, grocery stores, hardware stores and other retail outlets including Wal-Mart, Target, Publix, Kroger, True Value, Kmart, Ace Hardware, The Home Depot, Expo Design Center and Costco. Products are also available through Weiman’s website www. weiman.com or by phone 888-281- 6400. LEGGETT JOINS LATINO HEALTH STEERING COMMITTEE TO RELEASE BLUEPRINT FOR LATINO HEALTH REPORT 2005 Montgomery County Latino Cancer Survey, only 50 percent of the respondents indicated that they have a primary health care provider. Results from focus groups conducted among low-income Latinos reveal that the top health issues include the lack of health insurance and the cost of heath services, the limited number of bilingual and bicultural health care services staff, the limited number of early detection and prevention services, the need for a continuum of care and better coordination between services, the unavailability of adequate transportation and the limited hours of operation. Other top concerns included the lack of dental services and culturally and linguistically competent mental health services. The influx of Latinos into the county over the last two decades has trans- Continued on page 9 8 THE METRO HERALD
HEALTH & WELLNESS June 13, 2008 PHYSICIAN GAINSHARING PROGRAMS REDUCE HOSPITAL SPENDING Giving physicians cash payments for reduced hospital spending can help control costs without sacrificing quality or access to care, researchers report in a study released recently in the May/June 2008 issue of the journal Health Affairs. The issue is a thematic volume on health reform supported by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. In a five-year study of more than 220,000 patients, Arizona State University researchers showed that “gainsharing” programs, in which physicians are paid for reducing hospital spending, cut costs by 7.4 percent or $315 per patient. If these experiences are representative, nationwide use of gainsharing would cut hospital costs for coronary stent patients by about $195 million a year, the researchers say. Jonathan Ketcham and Michael Furukawa, assistant professors at the Arizona State University School of Health Management and Policy, looked at six cardiac catheterization labs that implemented gainsharing programs and compared them to 123 non-gainsharing labs in 31 states. They examined the effect that financial incentives had on the cost of devices and drugs, as well as the volume of patients per physician in each hospital. They also measured whether gainsharing programs led doctors to select healthier patients. They found that the majority of savings from gainsharing programs could be attributed to lower prices for coronary stents. The researchers found that these savings came without altering referral patterns via cherry picking, steering, or increased caseloads. They also found that the gainsharing programs did not increase the risk of inlab complications and were associated with significant decreases in three specific types of complications. “We found no evidence that gainsharing prompted physicians to avoid patients with existing health problems or pick the healthiest patients,” said Ketcham. “Gainsharing reduces costs for coronary stent patients while apparently leaving quality and access unharmed,” the authors write. Ketcham adds that analyzing gainsharing’s effects on additional quality measures and understanding how gainsharing influences physicians’ decisions would be valuable. The authors also note that widespread adoption of gainsharing could alter how device makers decide which types of products to develop and market. Other issue highlights: Study Shows No Malpractice Premium Crisis For Massachusetts Physicians. Although Massachusetts has the fourth-highest median malpractice settlement payments in the nation, and therefore should have the fourth-highest premiums, nearly all Bay State physicians paid lower inflation-adjusted malpractice premiums in 2005 than in 1990. The study—which provides the most comprehensive analysis of premiums to date—clashes with popular perceptions and assumptions underlying legislative proposals to cap damages awards. Suffolk University Law School researchers Marc Rodwin and colleagues analyzed malpractice premiums from 1975 to 2005 using data from the stateregulated mutual insurer, known as Pro-Mutual. In 2005, malpractice premiums were $17,810 for the coverage level and policy type that physicians most frequently purchased, compared with $17,907 in 1990. Despite premium increases since 1995 or 2000 for all physicians, premiums were still lower in 2005 than in 1990, when they reached a 30-year peak. Mean premiums increased only in three specialties comprising 4 percent of physicians: obstetrics, neurology, and orthopedists performing spinal surgery. The study furthermore documents increased variation among premiums paid within each practice specialty since 1990, when insurers began to adjust rates for each practice specialty by discounting low-risk physicians and surcharging those with high risks. By 2005, there was a threefold difference in premiums for physicians within OB- GYN, the highest-risk specialty, as a result of rate discounts and surcharges based on an individual physician’s risk factors. As a result, although mean OB-GYN premiums increased significantly since 1990, nearly one-third of physicians in OB-GYN paid lower premiums in 2005 than in 1990. The authors note that OB-GYN premiums are higher than for most other physicians because infants injured during birth sometimes require lifelong custodial care. They therefore recommend that patient safety and quality efforts should focus on OB-GYNs and the two other high-risk specialties to reduce injuries. When similar efforts were undertaken in anesthesiology in the 1990s, injuries fell dramatically, and premiums did as well. The authors also propose alternative means to compensate injuries. For infants injured during birth, they recommend no-fault compensation systems such as those used in Virginia and Florida. Alternatively, they suggest shifting liability from physicians to hospitals for all injuries that occur in hospitals. Both proposals would reduce the malpractice premiums for high-risk physicians while still compensating patients. Study Examines Relationship Between Health Care Spending And Physician Practice Patterns. Primary care physicians in high-spending health care regions see patients back more frequently for return visits, are more likely to recommend screening tests of uncertain benefit, and opt for more resourceintensive management strategies than physicians who practice in low-spending health care regions, a survey of more than 800 physicians found. Researcher Brenda Sirovich of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in White River Junction, Vermont, and colleagues measured local health care spending using Medicare data. They then compared the spending figures with the physicians’ survey responses about how often they typically see patients back with well-controlled hypertension; whether they routinely screen patients for three types of cancer; and how likely they are to recommend tests, referrals, or hospitalization for patients with three common clinical conditions. Primary care physicians in highspending regions were more likely to recommend discretionary treatments than were physicians in lower-spending areas, the researchers found. Compared with physicians practicing in low-spending regions, those in the highest-spending regions would recommend an additional 80 hypertension follow-up visits per year, 14 screening spiral computed tomography (CT) scans (for smokers), 25 echocardiograms (for exertional chest pain), 24 cardiac care unit admissions (for endstage congestive heart failure) and 29 gastroenterology referrals (for heartburn) per 100 patients seen. Physicians in high- and low-spending regions were equally likely to recommend guideline-supported interventions. “Current policy efforts to improve the quality of care and address disparities in spending have focused largely on fostering adherence to clinical guidelines,” the researchers write. “This study suggests that greater attention to clinical judgment—and to the local factors that are likely to influence physician practice—will be required,” they conclude. BLACK FACT On June 13, 1910, William D. Crum (1859–1912), a South Carolina physician, was appointed minister to Liberia. LEGGETT JOINS LATINO HEALTH STEERING COMMITTEE TO RELEASE BLUEPRINT FOR LATINO HEALTH REPORT Continued from page 8 formed Montgomery County into the most diverse community in Maryland. Latinos represent nearly 14 percent of the county’s population. More than 65 percent of Latinos in Montgomery County are recently arrived immigrants of Central and South American origin. According to the Community Foundation for the National Capital Area, nationally, immigrants are a net fiscal benefit to the country’s economy, pay more in taxes than they consume, contribute to the social security system and create jobs. As the Latino population continues to grow, its contributions to the county’s economic, political, social and cultural landscape will continue to increase and accordingly, County services must reflect evolving demographics and related health trends. In 2002, the Latino Health Initiative, a program of the County’s Department of Health and Human Services, released the “Blueprint for Latino Health in Montgomery County, Maryland, 2002-2006.” The report formed the basis for the development of medical care and public health systems to address basic health needs of the Latino community. The 2008 Blueprint updates the original report and reflects current concerns and needs of multiple Latino populations. “The Latino community is vibrant, young and fast growing with an enormous capacity to enrich the county and strengthen basic institutions,” said Steering Committee Member Olivia Carter-Pokras, associate professor at the University of Maryland School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. “The limited data available on the incidence and prevalence of disease among Latinos suggest that Latinos have higher rates of diseases that compromise health and quality of life, such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, HIV/ AIDS, obesity, suicide and liver disease. Higher morbidity rates among Latinos point to the need for improved chronic disease prevention, treatment and management, particularly because Latinos are disproportionately uninsured and have limited access to linguistically and culturally competent care.” The 2008-2012 Blueprint marks the culmination of an eighteen-month process that engaged more than100 members of the community, stakeholders from public and private health entities, and community-based organizations. The 2008-2012 Blueprint offers data on Latinos, identifies ongoing challenges, proposes solutions and is designed to be used as a tool to get involved and act to improve individual and community health in Montgomery County. The report outlines seven action-oriented priority areas, such as ensuring access to and quality of health care and enhancing community participation in decisions that affect the health of Latinos. For more information, contact Sonia Mora, Latino Health Initiative manager at 240-777-3221. The report is found online at http://lhiinfo.org/ english/docs/LHI_blueprint2008_ 2012.pdf. THE METRO HERALD 9
Page 1 and 2: VOLUME XVII, NUMBER 24 IN THIS ISSU
Page 3 and 4: AFRICA UPDATE June 13, 2008 ATTACK
Page 5 and 6: AROUND THE REGION June 13, 2008 MET
Page 7: AROUND THE NATION June 13, 2008 INS
Page 11 and 12: EDUCATION June 13, 2008 PITNEY BOWE
Page 13 and 14: FATHER’S DAY 2008 June 13, 2008 A
Page 15 and 16: ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT June 13, 2008
Page 17 and 18: ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT June 13, 2008
Page 19 and 20: SPORTS & RECREATION June 13, 2008 O
Page 21 and 22: CLASSIFIED ADS/BIDS & PROPOSALS Jun
Page 23: June 13, 2008 24 THE METRO HERALD

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