| Nurses' strike drags on in Appalachia
Jerry Blevins has stood for weeks on a picket line with his fellow nurses, thinking about his mortgage, his tearful wife, his four children. Pam Pace has been called names and listed on the "wall of shame" posted outside her hospital for crossing the picket line and continuing to work. Last week, her tires were slashed. "Someone's got to stay in here and take care of the patients," she said. It's been a stressful seven weeks for the 750 registered nurses at Appalachian Regional Healthcare, the region's largest hospital system, which has nine facilities in eastern Kentucky and West Virginia. Six hundred nurses have refused to cross the picket line. Some, like Blevins, have put their livelihoods on the line since Oct. 1, saying their goal is to ensure better care for patients.
LifeMasters Provides Healthy Tips for Individuals Living With Diabetes
In recognition of American Diabetes Month, LifeMasters -- a national leading provider of disease management programs and services -- encourages individuals to keep up with routine self-checks and stay active to prevent complications from diabetes. According to the American Diabetes Association, 20.8 million children and adults have diabetes, and another 54 million people have pre-diabetes. Diabetes can result in heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, blindness or lower limb amputation. "Learning to manage your diabetes is something that takes personal commitment, but it's worth your time and effort," said Mary Jane Osmick, M.D., medical director at LifeMasters. "Once you learn to better manage your blood glucose, blood pressure, cholesterol and weight by keeping them in the right ranges, you can decrease your risk of diabetes complications.
Good news, bad news
From time to time I actually try to do what's right in my dietary habits. I try to eat good foods and as many natural foods as I can. When I slip up and indulge in high fat foods loaded with preservatives (more often than I care to admit), I suffer a severe case of nutritional guilt. However, the things I've been reading in the newspaper lately certainly have put me into a nutritional tizzy. I thought I had a pretty good idea of what foods were nutritionally good and what ones were not. Now, I just don't know.
For years the good health people have been telling us to avoid chemical preservatives, especially BHA and BHT. Why? Because it was believed these nasty chemicals could cause cancer - the Big C. Now it seem that not only do the nasty chemicals not cause cancer, they may in fact, even help to prevent it.
Experts: Treat Employees Fairly
Respecting workers at all levels is the best way for workers' comp managers to reduce claims and costs. The voices were there as the best and brightest gathered Tuesday morning at McCormick Place to argue the merits and failings of workers' compensation management in the United States. Could you hear them?
By Dan Reynolds .
NEWS- Pesticide poison: Area schools behind the times in pest control
There's no question that certain health ailments have soared in frequency over the past decade. The incidence of asthma, allergies, and autism are at an all-time high in children, according to numerous medical studies, and many doctors are pointing to the link between chemical pesticides and such health problems. Nationally, some states have banned the use of pesticides in schools, and in Virginia-- at the urging of the Virginia Department of Education and the Department of Environmental Quality-- nearly two dozen school systems have adopted "integrated pest management" plans, in which pesticides are used only as a last resort. Two school systems are noticeably missing from that list, however, and environmental advocates are bugging them to change that. "Our kids are really sick today," says Jackie Lombardo, who's affiliated with both the advocacy nonprofit Friend and Advocates for Children, Teachers and Schools as well as the Piedmont branch of the Sierra Club.
Vote 2007: Guide to the Berks County general election
10 years. Salary: $153,441. Candidates were asked: All counties in the state, other than Berks, rotate judges among criminal, civil and family court. Berks judges are assigned to one of the three courts, making them specialists in one area. Explain why you think the system should remain the way it is or should change to a rotating schedule. Tim Rowley, 51, Cumru Township, cross-filed Republican who won Democratic nomination. Occupation: Attorney and managing partner, Rowley & Goodman. Education: Graduate, Muhlenberg High School, 1973; Air Force, 1974-'80; bachelor's degree, Penn State University, 1981; law degree, Golden Gate University, San Francisco, 1985. Experience: Admitted to practice law in Pennsylvania and California; 22 years courtroom experience handling all matters; 18 years as arbitrator and mediator; counsel to Berks County Chiefs of Police Association; executive committee member, Crime Alert Berks County; member, Mayor's Anti-Crime Task Force; solicitor, Washington Township and Wernersville; president, Cumru Township commissioners; board member, Western Berks Ambulance Association; and board member, Berks Municipal Partnership.
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