How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
Health
- Details
- Written by: Editor
WASHINGTON – On May 23, the House of Representatives passed a HR 2429, a bill to help physicians maintain their medical practices at home while serving their country overseas in the Guard or the Armed Forces Reserve.
The bill, introduced by Reps. Mike Thompson (D-CA) and Sam Johnson (R-TX), fixes a limitation in Medicare law, which restricts to 60 days the amount of time a physician can fill in for another physician who is on a leave of absence.
This limit does not work for physicians in the Armed Forces Reserve and the Guard, who are absent from their practices for much longer than 60 days when they are called up for active duty.
"When these physicians are deployed, they leave behind families and jobs just like any other person in the Reserve or Guard," said Vietnam veteran Congressman Mike Thompson. "But they also leave behind their patients. Doctors who are taking care of our troops overseas shouldn't have to worry that their patients aren't being cared for here at home."
Thompson's Washington spokesperson, Anne Warden, reported that Thompson's office conducted a survey and found at least 3,000 doctors who are members of the Army Reserve or National Guard.
That number includes Dr. Brad Clair, a Lakeport doctor about to return overseas for a third tour of duty.
"This bill is just common-sense and eliminates red-tape for those serving our country – and their communities. It's time we helped our weekend warriors – who happen to be doctors – to keep their patients and their practice," said the 29-year Air Force veteran and former Vietnam prisoner of war Congressman Sam Johnson. "This bill is a slam dunk!"
Medicare currently allows physicians to enter reciprocal billing arrangements, whereby replacement physicians can care for the absent physician's patients and bill Medicare accordingly. However, these arrangements cannot last longer than a 60-day period. After 60 days, a second replacement must be found. Securing replacement physicians is an expensive and difficult process, especially for practices in remote and rural areas.
Physicians who cannot secure multiple replacements during their absence can either lose their patients to other practices or their patients must go without care. HR 2429 suspends the 60-day cap for physicians filling in for Reserve and Guard members called for duty through the rest of the calendar year.
"Passage of this bill provides an immediate fix for physicians serving right now," said Thompson. "It will help thousands of physicians protect their patients and practices when they're called to duty and away serving our country. But, we need to make sure that this problem is permanently fixed. Representative Johnson and I are planning to introduce legislation that will do that and we are optimistic that it will receive equally strong support."
This bill has been endorsed by the American Medical Association.
{mos_sb_discuss:2}
- Details
- Written by: Editor
LAKEPORT – Keeping children safe in our evolving society becomes more difficult each day. Parents and other caretakers are faced with constant challenges when trying to keep their children safe in this fast-paced world. Newspapers are filled each day with stories of crimes committed against children by people they trust.
A free new workshop, “What Parents Need to Know About Keeping Kids Safe,” will be provided on May 31 by Lake Family Resource Center in Lakeport. Caregivers will learn the skills needed to teach children “how to be safe.”
Traditionally, children have been taught to stay away from “strangers” because strangers are dangerous. We now know this isn’t always true. Sometimes the perpetrator of violence on a child is someone the child knows.
Participants will learn how to build a child’s confidence and how to teach them to be alert to certain behaviors in people instead of thinking strangers are the only danger to their wellbeing.
“What Parents Need to Know” will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, May 31, at Lake Family Resource Center, 896 Lakeport Blvd, Lakeport.
Space is limited for this free workshop. Register, or receive further information, by calling Lake Family Resource Center, 262-1611 or 1-888-775-8336.
{mos_sb_discuss:2}
- Details
- Written by: Editor
LAKE COUNTY – Dr. Masaru Emoto’s message was clear … positive words promote healing.
His special California appearance to a sold-out crowd on Tuesday night at the Konocti Harbor Resort and Spa was an important event for Lake County residents as well as those from surrounding counties.
Using beautiful visual documentation of his scientific process of collecting, freezing and photographing water molecules, Dr. Emoto stunned his Lake County audience with his comparisons of lake water molecules collected from around the world, including Clear Lake and Bartlett Springs.
The Clear Lake frozen water crystal was breathtaking in comparison. An intricate jewel-like image, the Clear Lake crystal was described by Dr. Emoto as an extraordinarily complex structure.
He hypothesized that its complexity and beauty was most likely connected to the fact that Clear Lake may be one of the oldest lakes in the world. Lakes have existed at the site of Clear Lake for at least two and a half million years.
Dr. Emoto emphasized that vibrations, such as sound, directly impact the shape of water crystals. He shared with the audience experiments he conducted exposing water crystals to classical music.
The Lake County audience was amazed by his photographic imagery documenting the resulting changes. The fractal-like structures morphed like budding flowers.
Vibrations, Dr. Emoto explained, are the same as resonance vibrations used in MRI machines (medical resonance imagery).
These same vibrations emitted by music and MRI machines are also emitted by human beings. His documentation points to important evidence that the quality of our tone of voice and the intention behind our words greatly affect the structure of water crystals. In other words, it is important for people to cultivate positive thoughts and feelings, and to communicate with one another using kind words.
Dr. Emoto’s research directly supports the wellness concepts and programs offered by Sutter Lakeside Hospital and Center For Health.
“Cultivating healthy thoughts and feelings in our community directly affect health and wellness. Let’s start the process of cultivating positivity right here in Lake County by learning appreciation for this amazing lake that exists in our own backyard,” said Kelly Mather, CEO of Sutter Lakeside Hospital and Center For Health.
“Let’s be mindful of the wisdom of our lake,” Mather added. “Let’s visualize greater connectedness with this special body of water, and enjoy the consequences of greater health and wellness in the process.”
{mos_sb_discuss:2}
- Details
- Written by: Editor
ST. HELENA – St. Helena Hospital's Cardiovascular Center has acquired a revolutionary diagnostic device for heart disease that can capture high-resolution images of the heart and coronary arteries so quickly that it freeze-frames the heart while it's beating.
The new technology, a Toshiba Aquilion 64-slice CFX scanner, allows doctors to visualize the heart in less than 10 seconds, revealing blockages in blood vessels and other heart problems that are sometimes not easily detectable with other tests.
St. Helena Hospital is the first provider in Napa and Lake counties to offer this new diagnostic tool to the community.
"The hospital's scanner is so fast it can synchronize with the patient's heart rhythm and capture images between beats," said David Racker, M.D. radiologist at St. Helena Hospital. "This new diagnostic tool dramatically changes the way we diagnose coronary artery disease."
In the past, cardiovascular disease was best diagnosed by cardiac catheterization, an invasive procedure that takes at least an hour to perform and several more hours for recovery.
With the heart scan, the need for cardiac catheterization can be eliminated for many patients. The new procedure is less invasive and requires no preparation except an intravenous injection of contrast solution. The patient lies on a bed that moves into the camera lens and stops at the chest area.
"The patient's head and legs are unencumbered," said Medical Imaging Director Chuck Adams. "After the test is over, patients can immediately go on their way. There is no recovery time."
In a matter of seconds the scan produces three-dimensional images of the heart – painlessly – allowing physicians to detect the narrowing of arteries that can cause heart attack. "These images are so detailed that doctors can catch arteriosclerosis early, reducing the risk of strokes and heart attack," said Adams.
Physicians at St. Helena Hospital's Cardiovascular Center use advanced workstations to generate the three-dimensional images and read the exam. The results are usually ready for the patient's doctor the same day.
"With this test, we are able to get unique information on the biology of the vessel walls to see if disease is present," said Dr. Racker. "We even have potential to see plaque inside the wall, something that coronary angiography can't reveal."
Added Adams, “The bottom line is, the earlier we can diagnose heart disease, the better the chance we have to treat it successfully. Now, with the 64-slice CT scan at St. Helena Hospital, doctors have significantly improved diagnostic support tools to support early detection."
St. Helena Hospital received two grants totaling $1 million from the Napa Valley Vintners Auction Napa Valley and another contribution of $100,000 from a private donor to purchase the new heart scan.
For more information on the Cardiovascular Center, go to www.myheartcare.org.
{mos_sb_discuss:2}