| The CNN Wire: Tuesday, Nov. 20
Saudi pipeline fire death toll at 40 CNN) -- A gas pipeline fire in eastern Saudi Arabia killed 40 workers and injured nine others, the state oil conglomerate, Saudi Aramco, said Tuesday. Five of those killed in the Sunday incident were Saudi nationals employed by the company, while 35 were contractor employees, all but one from outside Saudi Arabia. The list of the non-Saudi workers killed included 18 Pakistanis, seven Bangladeshis, seven Indians, one South African and one Nepali, the company said. The pipeline was about 18 miles (30 km) from the Hawiyah Gas Plant, and Saudi Aramco said the fire happened "where maintenance work for new tie-ins was being conducted" by a contractor for the company on the Haradh-Uthmaniyah gas pipeline. (Posted 10:46 p.m.) Donda West's plastic surgeon walks off 'Larry King Live' LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Dr.
Nearly 80% of UAW workers ratify pact with Ford 11/18/07
United Auto Workers members have ratified a historic four-year contract with Ford Motor Co. that sets lower pay for some newly hired workers and puts the company's huge retiree health care debt into a UAW-run trust. The UAW, which represents about 54,000 workers at Ford, said Wednesday that 79 percent of those voting favored the pact. Workers at General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC already have ratified similar deals, with the contract winning at Chrysler by only a small margin. Unlike the other two automakers, there was no strike at Ford. The landmark deals have been praised by the companies and union for protecting jobs while at the same time cutting labor costs to make the struggling automakers more competitive with their Japanese rivals. UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said the union negotiated a contract with Ford that protects wages, benefits and seniority rights and provides income and secure health care for retirees.
HEALTH BENEFIT: Wellness companies find a growing market as more businesses strive to keep employees healthier
Nike Roach knows an opportunity when he sees one. Roach, the vice president of Sixth Sense Wellness Center in Winston-Salem, said he realized about two years ago that more and more companies wanted to provide wellness programs for employees. Creating a detailed health program for a large company was a sure way to grow his small nutrition business, Roach said. "The demand was out there," he said. "It didn't take a genius to figure out." Smaller businesses such as Roach's are jumping on the wellness bandwagon. With more employers willing to offer wellness programs for workers, including on-site nutrition counseling, that can be an attractive revenue stream for health counselors that provide those services. A wellness program encourages a more healthful lifestyle and can include exercise programs at work or financial incentives for employees to quit smoking or lose weight.
University Grants, California Program Seek To Address Minority Health Disparities
Meharry Medical College: Meharry's Center for Women's Health Research has received a five-year, $1 million grant from the Wal-Mart Foundation to expand its research and educational programs that target minority women, the Tennesseanreports. The center, which opened in 2006, is the first in the nation to focus exclusively on understanding and addressing the health disparities faced by minority women, according to the Tennessean (Ward, Tennessean, 11/12).
Nassau Health Care Corp.: Nassau County, N.Y., Executive Thomas Suozzi and NHCC officials on Thursday announced the development of a $6 million Institute for Health Care Disparities, which will aim to reduce health care disparities between minority and white residents, Long Island Newsday reports. Arthur Gianelli, president and CEO of NHCC, said the institute -- which will be the first in the state to specifically target underserved populations -- will focus primarily on cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, cancer, pediatric asthma and obesity.
U.S. Health System is Unprepared for Large-Scale Disaster, Warns PricewaterhouseCoopers
NEW YORK, Oct. 30, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Those on the front line in a disaster -- hospitals, medical personnel, public health officials and local emergency workers -- will be unprepared to seamlessly handle a surge of patient casualties or to orchestrate a timely, cohesive recovery effort, concludes a report issued today by PricewaterhouseCoopers' Health Research Institute on the state of the nation's health system preparedness for disaster. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, despite progress since 9/11 and nearly $8 billion in federal funding for emergency preparedness activities performed by healthcare facilities and agencies, the medical response to a natural or man-made disaster or an act of terror remains sporadic and disconnected. PricewaterhouseCoopers conducted extensive interviews with nearly 50 leading policymakers, a survey of almost 250 health care executives and practitioners and a poll of 1,000 American adults to identify gaps in the system in the event of terrorist attacks, pandemic disease or increasingly extreme weather.
|
