Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center Ranked Top Hospital in Los Angeles Metro Area.(Report) - Health & Medicine Week

The UCLA Health System's Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center has been ranked the No. 1 hospital in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, and its Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center and Orthopaedic Hospital has been ranked No. 5, in U.S. News & World Report's first-ever 'Best Hospitals' metro area rankings, available online at www.usnews.com/hospitals (see also Orthopedics).

The new rankings recognize 622 hospitals in or near major cities with a record of high performance in key medical specialties, including 132 of the 152 hospitals already identified by U.S. News as among the best in the nation. There are nearly 5,000 hospitals nationwide.

'We put the patient at the core of everything we do -- that's the ultimate standard,' said Dr. David Feinberg, CEO and associate vice chancellor of the UCLA Hospital System. 'This is a wonderful tribute to our entire health care team, who provide excellence in patient-centered care. We are grateful to our gifted and dedicated medical and support team throughout the UCLA Health System who go the extra mile every day to save lives and deliver compassionate care to patients in our community, one patient at a time.'

'The rankings reflect the growth of our Santa Monica campus into an evolving academic medical center that maintains its longstanding tradition of community care,' said Posie Carpenter, chief administrative officer at the Santa Monica facility. 'We can offer patients the best of both worlds -- the expertise of an academic medical center, combined with the personalized and patient-friendly service of a community-based hospital.'

U.S. News ranked hospitals within all of the 52 U.S. metropolitan areas with populations of 1 million or more, using existing data from the 2010-11 'Best Hospitals' rankings.

The new metro area rankings are relevant to a much wider range of health care consumers. They are aimed primarily at consumers whose care may not demand the special expertise found only at a nationally ranked best hospital. Patients and their families will have a far better chance of finding a U.S. News-ranked hospital in their health insurance network and might not have to travel to get care at the highest performing hospitals.

To be ranked in its metro area, a hospital had to score in the top 25 percent among its peers in at least one of 16 medical specialties.

'All of these hospitals provide first-rate care for the majority of patients, even those with serious conditions or who need demanding procedures,' says U.S. News health rankings editor Avery Comarow. 'The new 'Best Hospitals' metro rankings can tell you which hospitals are worth considering for most medical problems if you live in or near a major metro area.'

For the full list of metro area rankings visit www.usnews.com/hospitals.

The UCLA Health System has for more than half a century provided the best in health care and the latest in medical technology to the people of Los Angeles and the world. Comprised of Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center and Orthopaedic Hospital, the Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital at UCLA, Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA and the UCLA Medical Group, with its wide-reaching system of primary care and specialty care offices throughout the region, the UCLA Health System is among the most comprehensive and advanced health care systems in the world. For information about clinical programs or help in choosing a personal physician, call 800-UCLA-MD1 or visit www.uclahealth.org.

For more news, visit the UCLA Newsroom and follow us on Twitter.

This news release was issued on behalf of Newswise™. For more information, visit http://www.newswise.com.

SOURCE University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Health Sciences

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Health Sciences

Keywords: Hospital, Medical Technology, Orthopedics, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Health Sciences.

UCLA computers replace traditional film, speed diagnoses. (University of California at Los Angeles medical school's use of filmless imaging) (Health Care) - Communications News

The future of medical imaging is taking shape at UCLA's Medical Center, where radiologist store images in computers and display them on workstations rather than on traditional film.

In clinical settings such as intensive care, UCLA physicians report that they have improved care by viewing images on computer display stations directly. By comparing new, digitized, on-line images with a patient's previous historical records, physicians speed diagnoses.

According to Dr. H. K. Huang, professor of radiological sciences, UCLA's Picture Archiving and Communications System (PACS) is the nation's largest digital-based imaging system. Huang attributes much of UCLA PACS' success to two advancements in computer technology: high-resolution lowcost imaging Unix-based workstation and networking that enables radiologists to transmit digitized film images throughout the hospital in seconds.

'The advantages of filmless imaging are simple: we never lose images and retrieval time is fast and consistent,' says Huang. 'Once we digitize an X-ray or transmit CT scans into a digital-based system, physicians and nurses can access them over the network quickly and at any time.'

UCLA's system is one of a handful in the world operating on such a large scale. At present, 40% of the radiology department relies on PACS for image archiving. Huang predicts it will be several years before traditional film is phased out at UCLA, but he has no doubt that his department will eventually move to a completely digital-based imaging system.

'In addition to improving access to images, PACS also saves the hospital money in the long run,' says Huang. 'It's no secret that overseeing archives based on traditional film is cumbersome and costly.'

For physicians, comparing new images (such as X-rays) with older images is critical to forming a proper diagnosis. However, with traditional film accessing a patient's file of existing medical images is often a drawn-out process. At hospitals still relying on traditional film, technicians frequently must retrieve older images from a satellite film library located far from the hospital.

'Finding a patient's file at night or during the weekend is often a long shot,' Huang says. 'However, if the patient's records are tied in with PACS, physicians can count on having a set of images in their hands in less than five minutes.'

Filmless radiology

The PACS computer network consists of 35 workstations from Sun Microsystems, ranging from Sparc Station 1s to the older Sun-4 systems. They are linked via Ethernet, FDDI and UltraNet to four SparcServer 490s that store and route data throughout the hospital. PACS uses a database management package from Sybase, along with software developed in-house.

To compress images for efficient, on-line storage, Huang plans to use clinically verified lossy imaging technology, which reduces needed computer storage by a 10-to-1 ratio over traditional storage techniques. For example, a standard chest X-ray requires only 400 kilobytes of storage rather than 4 megabytes.

Huang and his colleagues currently operate eight PACS display stations located in Intensive Care Units and in the radiology department. Each display station features a Sun workstation and 1K or 2K high resolution monitors. Typically, physicians use the first monitor to examine most recent images, while the second is used to page through historical information.

For in-patients, each section typically stores a file of 40 to 50 existing patient's examinations. For out-patients, the system typically stores 600 existing images.

The archiving system automatically records which images a physician examined most closely the first time a file is accessed. The next time, the system only sends those images that are most useful to the physician.

At first, Huang says, some physicians were reluctant to use PACS because they thought the quality and reliability of a computer workstation display might be inferior to traditional film.

'Now,' Huang says, 'some physician say they can't live without the system.

Health Highlights: July 8, 2011; Medtronic Drug Pumps Can Fail Due to Battery Problem EPA Sets Tighter Emission Standards for Coal-Burning Power Plants UCLA Settles Celebrity Medical Records Case Pregnant Smokers Who Quit Can Have Normal-Weight Babies: Study.(briefs) - Consumer Health News (English)

Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

Medtronic Drug Pumps Can Fail Due to Battery Problem

A problem with SynchroMed drug pumps can cause them to lose battery power and fail, medical device maker Medtronic says.

The pumps are mostly used to treat severe pain and muscle spasticity. The sudden failure of a pump can cause serious injury and death in some spasticity patients, the Associated Press reported.

The problem can occur when a film forms on the pump's battery. The company says it has received 55 reports of such incidents involving batteries made before March 2005, the AP said.

Medtronic is not recalling the pumps and says they should not be removed unless they are failing. The company is working on a new battery design.

-----

EPA: Tighter Emission Standards for Coal-Burning Power Plants

Tighter standards for hundreds of coal-burning power plants in 28 states that take effect in 2012 will reduce emissions of soot, smog and acid rain by millions of tons, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The reductions in air pollution will prevent as many as 34,000 premature deaths, 15,000 nonfatal heart attacks, and hundreds of thousands of cases of asthma and other respiratory problems a year, The New York Times reported.

The new standards, released Thursday, will improve air quality for 240 million Americans who live in states where the pollution originates and in states downwind of coal plants, according to EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson.

'No community should have to bear the burden of another community's polluters, or be powerless to prevent air pollution that leads to asthma, heart attacks and other harmful illnesses,' Jackson said, the Times reported.

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UCLA Settles Celebrity Medical Records Case

UCLA Health System has agreed to pay $865,000 to settle potential violations of federal privacy laws in connection with hospital employees accused of peeking at the medical records of celebrity patients.

A U.S. Department of Health and Humans Services investigation found that workers repeatedly accessed such patients' electronic health records between 2005 and 2008, the Associated Press reported.

Under the settlement, UCLA Health System is not required to admit liability. The names of the celebrities targeted by the employee snooping weren't released.

Over the past three years, measures have been taken to retrain staff and strengthen computer systems, UCLA said in a statement Thursday, the AP reported. As part of the settlement, the health system will inform a federal monitor on the implementation of its plan to correct privacy issues.

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Smokers Who Quit Can Have Normal-Weight Babies: Study

A female smoker who quits when she learns she's pregnant can have a baby with a normal birth weight, according to a new study.

The findings are based on data from more than 50,000 pregnant women in Southampton, England, from 2002 to 2010. The average weight of babies born to smokers who kicked the habit when they found out they were pregnant was 33 grams (10.6 ounces) more than babies born to women who kept smoking during their pregnancy, Agence France-Presse reported.

Birth weight is an important predictor of long-term health. The study was presented this week at the annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology.

HOW WILL HEALTH REFORM AFFECT CARE FOR CHRONIC DISEASES? ASK EXPERTS AT UCLA SYMPOSIUM. - States News Service

LOS ANGELES, CA -- The following information was released by UCLA Health System:

WHAT:

How will the Obama new health care reform law affect treatment for consumers' diabetes, arthritis and heart disease? Ask the experts at a free UCLA symposium organized by students from the David Geffen School of Medicine.

The event will examine medical care for chronic disease in the era of health reform and propose action-oriented solutions. Participants will have the opportunity to network with local community clinic leaders, as well as with deans and faculty members from the UCLA schools of medicine, public health and nursing.

WHO:

Participants will include:

Dr. Nancy Greenstreet

Medical director of Physicians Medical Group in Santa Cruz, Calif.

Dr. Richard Thorpe

President and CEO of Paradise Medical Group in Paradise, Calif.

Dr. Ed Wagner

Director of the MacColl Institute for Healthcare Innovation at the Group Health Research Institute in Seattle

Dr. Michael Zimmerman

Chief medical officer for Affinity Medical Group in San Francisco

WHEN:

8 a.m.-1 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 22

WHERE:

Covel Commons at UCLA's Sunset Village

200 De Neve Dr., Los Angeles, Calif. 90095 (map)

BACKGROUND:

For speaker biographies and other details, visit www.uclahcs.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Elaine Schmidt, 310-794-2272, eschmidt@mednet.ucla.edu

PARKING:

Research from UCLA Medical Center, Department of Urology yields new findings on health and medicine. - Medical Devices & Surgical Technology Week

A report, 'Experience with 750 consecutive laparoscopic donor nephrectomies--is it time to use a standardized classification of complications,' is newly published data in The Journal of Urology. 'Laparoscopic living donor nephrectomy offers patients the benefits of decreased morbidity and improved cosmesis, while maintaining equivalent graft outcomes and complication rates similar to those of open donor surgery. With expressed concern for donor safety, using a standardized complication scale would allow combining data in a donor registry so potential donors could be adequately followed and counseled,' scientists writing in the Journal of Urology report (see also Health and Medicine).

'We present the largest series to our knowledge of laparoscopic living donor nephrectomy by a single surgeon. The institution's initial 750 laparoscopic living donor nephrectomies were included in the study, and a retrospective and prospective chart and database analysis was performed. Mean donor age was 40.5 years and average body mass index was 25.7 kg/m[superscript]2. There were 175 patients (23%) with 2 or more renal arteries while 161 (21.5%) had early arterial bifurcations. There were 3 open conversions (0.4%) and the overall complication rate was 5.46%. Median hospital stay was 1 day and the readmission rate was 1.2%. There were 5 reoperations (0.67%), none of which was for the control of bleeding. No patients required a blood transfusion and there were no mortalities. Using a modified Clavien classification of complications for living donor nephrectomy 65.8% were grade 1, 31.7% grade 2 (12.2% grade 2a, 14.6% grade 2b, 4.9% grade 2c) and 2.4% grade 3. There were no grade 4 complications. With appropriate patient selection and operative experience, laparoscopic living donor nephrectomy is a safe procedure associated with low morbidity,' wrote J.D. Harper and colleagues, UCLA Medical Center, Department of Urology.

The researchers concluded: 'The use of a standardized complication system specific for this procedure is encouraged and could aid in counseling potential donors in the future.'

Harper and colleagues published their study in the Journal of Urology (Experience with 750 consecutive laparoscopic donor nephrectomies--is it time to use a standardized classification of complications? Journal of Urology, 2010;183(5):1941-6).

Additional information can be obtained by contacting J.D. Harper, UCLA Medical Center, Dept. of Urology, Los Angeles, California 90095 USA.

Keywords: City:Los Angeles, State:California, Country:United States, Health and Medicine.

UCLA selected by Homeland Security to help establish guidelines for firefighter health and safety. - NewsRx Health & Science

The David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science have been selected by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate to help establish guidelines for the health and safety of firefighters in the field.

The UCLA team will work with a consortium of academic, industry and government partners on the agency's PHASER (Physiological Health Assessment System for Emergency Responders) program, which also draws on the expertise of Skidmore College, Zephyr Technology, a company that develops physiological-status monitoring products, and the NASA Ames Research Center, which has extensive experience with astronaut-monitoring systems.

The UCLA team will use wireless health technologies to remotely monitor firefighters in action and develop metrics to validate and interpret their findings.

The results will help researchers analyze firefighters' health risks before, during and after response operations, develop national guidelines to optimize exercise and training programs, and manage health and safety in the field to mitigate fatalities due to cardiovascular events.

'Firefighters experience heightened levels of physiological stress, such as strain on the cardiovascular and respiratory systems,' said Dr. Christopher Cooper, principal investigator for the program and a professor of medicine and physiology at the Geffen School of Medicine. 'The PHASER program will help us identify health risks and better understand challenges facing firefighters in the field.'

'We will be working closely with our partners in using the latest wireless technologies to measure and track the fitness and health status of firefighters and to help develop key interventions to improve health,' said co-investigator William J. Kaiser, a professor of electrical engineering at UCLA Engineering.

The team will initially obtain baseline measurements in the UCLA Exercise Physiology Research Laboratory and will develop protocols for firefighter assessment and exercise training, including tests to assess respiration and aerobic ability.

They will also collaborate with regional and national fire services on the project to develop risk profiles and prioritization in the work environment. This research will help individual firefighters and incident commanders recognize health and safety issues in the field early on in order to initiate preventive interventions such as exercise training, pre-hydration and active cooling methods.

In addition, the data may lead to the development of new equipment worn by firefighters in the field.

Keywords: Cardiology, Cardiovascular, Engineering, University of California - Los Angeles.

BLUE SHIELD, UC HEALTH REACH AGREEMENT; AS PART OF AGREEMENT, CONTRACT BETWEEN UCLA, BLUE SHIELD WILL BE REINSTATED AS OF SEPT. 1. - States News Service

LOS ANGELES, CA -- The following information was released by UCLA Health System:

University of California Health announced today (Aug. 13) that it has reached a contract agreement with Blue Shield of California to continue its delivery of quality care to Blue Shield members at UC's five health systems.

As part of the agreement, the contract between UCLA Health System and Blue Shield, which had been terminated Jan. 1, 2012, will be reinstated as of Sept. 1. Patients who are insured by Blue Shield will then again receive in-network care from UCLA physicians and hospitals. Blue Shield members may immediately begin scheduling appointments at UCLA for dates of service after Sept. 1.

'We are pleased to have reached a contract agreement with Blue Shield,' said Dr. John Stobo, UC Health senior vice president. 'We feel the agreement is consistent with UC's commitment to provide high-quality, safe and cost-effective care.'

About UC Health

UCLA HEART SURGEON DR. CURTIS HUNTER PARTNERS WITH SAINT JOHN'S HEALTH CENTER HEART PROGRAM AS PART OF COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP TO BENEFIT WESTSIDE PATIENTS. - States News Service

LOS ANGELES, CA -- The following information was released by UCLA Health System:

As part of their evolving community partnership, UCLA Health System, Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center and Orthopaedic Hospital, and Saint John's Health Center have announced that Dr. Curtis Hunter will partner with Saint John's heart program. In this capacity, Hunter will be part of a combined team to include Dr. John Robertson, director of cardiovascular surgery at Saint John's, to provide heart surgery to patients in Santa Monica and other West Los Angeles communities. He continues to be on staff at UCLA's hospitals in Santa Monica and Westwood.

'This agreement provides a framework to offer better health care for patients in our common service area,' said Posie Carpenter, chief administrative officer of Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center and Orthopaedic Hospital. 'UCLA's strength lies in a union of research, teaching and excellent patient care. We believe there is significant potential to collaborate with Saint John's in these areas, and this is one example of how this partnership will benefit patients in our mutual service areas.'

'Dr. Hunter's arrival helps ensure patients can count on outstanding heart surgery services without leaving Santa Monica,' said Lou Lazatin, CEO of Saint John's Health Center. 'This relationship combines the strength of our two long-standing heart programs for the well-being of our entire community.'

Hunter is board-certified in thoracic surgery and general surgery. He is an assistant clinical professor of surgery and director of cardiothoracic surgery services at Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center and Orthopaedic Hospital. In addition to cardiothoracic surgery, Hunter's clinical interests include adult acquired cardiovascular disease, thoracic aortic disease and research in optimizing outcomes in cardiac surgery.

Hunter received his undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Utah, followed by general surgery residency training at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and cardiothoracic surgery training at Boston University Medical Center. Hunter previously was at Boston Medical Center, where he served as assistant professor of cardiothoracic surgery, director of thoracic endografting and director of cardiothoracic critical care.

About Saint John's

Since its founding in 1942 by the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, Saint John's Health Center has been providing the patients and families of Santa Monica, West Los Angeles and ocean communities with breakthrough medicine and inspired healing. Saint John's provides a spectrum of treatment and diagnostic services with distinguished areas of excellence in oncology, spine, neurosurgery, orthopedics, women's health, cardiac care and specialized programs such as the internationally acclaimed John Wayne Cancer Institute. For more information, visit www.newstjohns.org.

About UCLA Health System

Study by UCLA School of Nursing Finds Cycling May Negatively Affect Male Reproductive Health. - Biotech Week

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Biotech Week -- A new study conducted by UCLA School of Nursing researchers has found that serious leisure male cyclists may experience hormonal imbalances that could affect their reproductive health. The study, 'Reproductive Hormones and Interleukin-6 in Serious Leisure Male Athletes,' was published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology (see also Sex Hormones).

To date, an extensive amount of research has been performed documenting the positive effects of long-term exercise on health. These studies have shown that while moderate exercise can lead to enhanced cardiovascular and metabolic function and reduced body fat, ultra-endurance levels of exercise can also adversely affect the neuroendocrine system and reproductive health. Although most research studying the effects of exercise on reproductive health has focused on female athletes, there are few studies that have looked at male endurance-trained athletes.

The UCLA study explored the associations between exercise intensity and circulating levels of reproductive hormones in serious leisure male athletes (triathletes and cyclists) and recreational athletes. UCLA researchers studied 107 healthy male athletes ages 18 to 60 and divided them into three groups: 16 were triathletes, 46 were cyclists and 45 were recreational athletes. Participants completed the International Physical Assessment Questionnaire to obtain an objective estimate of time spent participating in different levels of physical activity and inactivity during the previous seven days. Blood samples were then collected from each participant to measure total testosterone, estradiol, cortisol, interleukin-6 and other hormones.

'Plasma estradiol and testosterone levels were significantly elevated in serious leisure male cyclists, a finding not previously reported in any type of male athlete,' notes Leah Fitzgerald, Ph.D., FNP-BC, assistant professor at the School of Nursing and principal investigator and senior author of the study. Plasma estradiol concentrations were more than two times higher in the cyclists than in the triathlete and recreational athletes, and total testosterone levels were about 50 percent higher in cyclists than in the recreational athletes. 'These effects were accompanied by little or no compensatory shift in circulating reproductive hormone levels.'

Estradiol is a form of estrogen and, in males, is produced as an active metabolic product of testosterone. Possible conditions associated with elevated estrogen in males include gynecomastia, a condition that may result in the loss of male pubic hair and enlarged breast tissue. 'Although preliminary, these findings warrant further investigation to determine if specific types of exercise may be associated with altered sex hormone levels in men that could affect general health and reproductive well-being,' said Fitzgerald.

One of the interesting findings of the study related to the use of chamois cream. Some cyclists apply chamois cream to their perineum area to help prevent chaffing and bacterial infections related to bicycle saddle sores. However, many such commercial creams contain a variety of ingredients including lubricants, polymers and oils; and some also contain parabens, which are anti-microbial preservatives and weak estrogen agonists. In the study 48.5 percent of cyclists compared to 10 percent of triathletes reported using a paraben-containing chamois cream. The study found an association between an increase in estrogen levels and increasing years of chamois cream use, particularly for male cyclists using the cream for more than four years. At this time, however, no direct cause and effect has been found.

The study was funded by the UCLA School of Nursing, UCLA General Clinical Research Center and Kaiser Foundation. Other authors of the study included Wendie A. Robbins, also of the School of Nursing, and James S. Kesner, Division of Applied Research and Technology, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

The UCLA School of Nursing is redefining nursing through the pursuit of uncompromised excellence in research, education, practice, policy and patient advocacy. For more information, please visit nursing.ucla.edu.

Keywords for this news article include: Drugs, Cytokines, Estradiol, Estrogens, Technology, Interleukins, Sex Hormones, Topical Agents, Vaginal Agents, Gonadal Hormones, Vaginal Preparations, Testosterone Congeners, UCLA School of Nursing, Hormone Replacement Therapy.

STATE HELPS CURE KIDS' HEALTH WOES FEWER CHILDREN GOING WITHOUT INSURANCE, UCLA STUDY FINDS - Daily News (Los Angeles, CA)

SACRAMENTO - A state-funded program has sharply reduced thenumber of California children without health insurance even thoughfar fewer children received coverage through their parents, a UCLAstudy to be released today found.

In all, there were 500,000 more children with insurance last yearthan in 2001 - an improvement that came even though 300,000 fewerchildren received insurance through their parents' employers. Thedecline in employer insurance was blamed on unemployment and risingcosts of coverage.

The figures are being released as a coalition of health-caregroups launches an effort today to provide coverage for all childrenin California.

'What this demonstrates is that the Medi-Cal and Healthy Familiesprograms have really increased the coverage for these kids, andpicked up a lot of the kids who have lost employment-basedcoverage,' said report co-author E. Richard Brown, director of theUCLA Center for Health Policy Research.

But the expanded health coverage has also been expensive to statetaxpayers.

For example, the budget of the Healthy Families program hasincreased from $390 million in fiscal 2000-01 to $872 million thisyear, a result of expanded eligibility rules, according to JeanneBrode, a spokeswoman for the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board,which oversees the program.

Healthy Families provides health insurance to children who areotherwise ineligible under Medi-Cal.

Enrollment in Healthy Families jumped from about 200,000 childrenin 2000 to almost 700,000 now, Brode said.

As a result, fewer children are going without health insurance,even as insurance provided by the private sector has decreased.

The number of children without insurance dropped from 1.5 millionin 2001 to 1.1 million last year, according to the study. Accountingfor an increase in total population under 18 during those years, theactual increase in children receiving insurance is nearly 500,000.

The number of children covered by their parents' employersdropped by 6.3 percent, to 5.1 million out of 10 million children inthe state.

The number of children covered by state programs increased by23.6 percent, to 2.94 million.

Health-care advocates argue that the state should encourage moreprivate employers to provide coverage, relieving the state of itscosts.

A recent ballot measure, Proposition 72, that would have requiredmore employers to provide coverage, was narrowly defeated lastmonth.

But a coalition called Californians for Healthy Kids plans topropose legislation in January to take a three-prong approach:

--Expand the eligibility for existing public programs.

--Create a public-private partnership to allow more employers tobuy insurance for their employees' dependents.

--Overhaul the eligibility process so parents of eligiblechildren are not discouraged by the confusing application process.

The changes would likely cost the state about $250 million to$300 million annually over the long run, plus some federal matchingfunds.

'We know this year and next year look particularly tough,' saidCatherine Teare, policy director at Children Now, a coalitionmember. 'That's why we're proposing a phased-in program, with no newfunds needed in the first year and only modest amounts in lateryears.'

But fiscal conservatives are concerned that the state, stillfacing a budget crisis, cannot afford to provide more coverage, norshould it increase the burden on businesses when California is stillfacing criticism for being unfriendly to business.

Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association,said he is concerned that the state is not effective in preventingsome parents from misusing the system by dropping their privateinsurance and enrolling in a public program.

'What we really want to prevent here is families who can affordinsurance not providing it and simply relying on the state,' Coupalsaid.

He would like to see a cap on public health insurance, and wouldlike more individuals to pay for their own insurance.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger remains concerned about the growth inpublic health insurance programs and is looking for ways to limitthe growth in his next budget proposal, said H.D. Palmer, aspokesman for the Department of Finance.

Last year, Schwarzenegger proposed capping enrollment in HealthyFamilies, but later withdrew the plan after facing strong protestsfrom Democrats and health care advocates.

'Health and human service programs have seen some of the fastestgrowth in spending over the past five or so years,' Palmer said.'The challenge is to control the rate of growth of those programs,while at the same time trying to ensure that to the greatest extentpossible we can provide services to the most vulnerable populationsin California.'

Harrison Sheppard, (916) 446-6723

STATE HELPS CURE KIDS' HEALTH WOES FEWER CHILDREN GOING WITHOUT INSURANCE, UCLA STUDY FINDS.(News)(Statistical Data Included) - Daily News (Los Angeles, CA)

Byline: Harrison Sheppard Sacramento Bureau

SACRAMENTO - A state-funded program has sharply reduced the number of California children without health insurance even though far fewer children received coverage through their parents, a UCLA study to be released today found.

In all, there were 500,000 more children with insurance last year than in 2001 - an improvement that came even though 300,000 fewer children received insurance through their parents' employers. The decline in employer insurance was blamed on unemployment and rising costs of coverage.

The figures are being released as a coalition of health-care groups launches an effort today to provide coverage for all children in California.

``What this demonstrates is that the Medi-Cal and Healthy Families programs have really increased the coverage for these kids, and picked up a lot of the kids who have lost employment-based coverage,'' said report co-author E. Richard Brown, director of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.

But the expanded health coverage has also been expensive to state taxpayers.

For example, the budget of the Healthy Families program has increased from $390 million in fiscal 2000-01 to $872 million this year, a result of expanded eligibility rules, according to Jeanne Brode, a spokeswoman for the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board, which oversees the program.

Healthy Families provides health insurance to children who are otherwise ineligible under Medi-Cal.

Enrollment in Healthy Families jumped from about 200,000 children in 2000 to almost 700,000 now, Brode said.

As a result, fewer children are going without health insurance, even as insurance provided by the private sector has decreased.

The number of children without insurance dropped from 1.5 million in 2001 to 1.1 million last year, according to the study. Accounting for an increase in total population under 18 during those years, the actual increase in children receiving insurance is nearly 500,000.

The number of children covered by their parents' employers dropped by 6.3 percent, to 5.1 million out of 10 million children in the state.

The number of children covered by state programs increased by 23.6 percent, to 2.94 million.

Health-care advocates argue that the state should encourage more private employers to provide coverage, relieving the state of its costs.

A recent ballot measure, Proposition 72, that would have required more employers to provide coverage, was narrowly defeated last month.

But a coalition called Californians for Healthy Kids plans to propose legislation in January to take a three-prong approach:

--Expand the eligibility for existing public programs.

--Create a public-private partnership to allow more employers to buy insurance for their employees' dependents.

--Overhaul the eligibility process so parents of eligible children are not discouraged by the confusing application process.

The changes would likely cost the state about $250 million to $300 million annually over the long run, plus some federal matching funds.

``We know this year and next year look particularly tough,'' said Catherine Teare, policy director at Children Now, a coalition member. ``That's why we're proposing a phased-in program, with no new funds needed in the first year and only modest amounts in later years.''

But fiscal conservatives are concerned that the state, still facing a budget crisis, cannot afford to provide more coverage, nor should it increase the burden on businesses when California is still facing criticism for being unfriendly to business.

Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, said he is concerned that the state is not effective in preventing some parents from misusing the system by dropping their private insurance and enrolling in a public program.

``What we really want to prevent here is families who can afford insurance not providing it and simply relying on the state,'' Coupal said.

He would like to see a cap on public health insurance, and would like more individuals to pay for their own insurance.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger remains concerned about the growth in public health insurance programs and is looking for ways to limit the growth in his next budget proposal, said H.D. Palmer, a spokesman for the Department of Finance.

Last year, Schwarzenegger proposed capping enrollment in Healthy Families, but later withdrew the plan after facing strong protests from Democrats and health care advocates.

``Health and human service programs have seen some of the fastest growth in spending over the past five or so years,'' Palmer said. ``The challenge is to control the rate of growth of those programs, while at the same time trying to ensure that to the greatest extent possible we can provide services to the most vulnerable populations in California.''

Harrison Sheppard, (916) 446-6723

harrison.sheppard(at)dailynews.com

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HEALTH POLICY

Smoking by Nurses Creates Workplace Issues That Must Be Addressed by Health Systems, First-of-a-Kind UCLA Study Finds. - AScribe Business & Economics News Service

Byline: UCLA

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 19 (AScribe Newswire) -- Smoking by nurses can create workplace problems that must be addressed by health care systems to promote better interactions between nurses and their patients and reduce dissension among staff, according to a first-of-its-kind study by researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center.

The study, the result of information gathered from eight focus groups with 60 nurses in California, Kentucky, New Jersey and Ohio who smoke or used to smoke, appears in the Jan. 20 issue of the peer-reviewed journal Research in Nursing & Health. The study is available online at www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/jissue/109861378 .

'This study focuses on smoking as a workplace issue, not just a behavior that affects the individual,' said Linda Sarna, a Jonsson Cancer Center researcher, a professor in the UCLA School of Nursing and lead author of the study. 'Smoking among nurses affects interactions with patients. We found it also affects interactions and behaviors among staff at the workplace.'

Among the problems Sarna and fellow researchers uncovered was the perception that nurses who smoke take more breaks, spend less time with patients and are less committed to their profession because they need to smoke during their shift. Some nurses, the study found, structured their work day around such breaks because of their powerful addiction to nicotine.

'Smoking among nurses was described as an integral part of their work routine, affecting management of patient care and timing of breaks,' the study states. 'The perception that smokers take more and longer breaks, and were less available for patient care, was an important theme in discussions with both smokers and former smokers, and clearly created conflict in the work environment.'

Whether accurate or imagined, these perceptions create dissension, resulting in what one nurse in the study characterized as 'a war between the smokers and the non-smokers.'

Additionally, nurses who smoke often are reluctant or feel uncomfortable participating in smoking cessation interventions with their patients, believing they are not good role models, Sarna said. Nurses also often hide their nicotine addiction from patients and their families, brushing their teeth, washing their hands and applying scents to hide any smell of smoke after a break. They fear the stigma associated with being a health care professional who smokes and often experience enormous guilt when their smoking is discovered by patients or their family members.

Compounding these problems is the lack of smoking cessation programs to help nurses quit, Sarna said. One hospital, the study found, invested money to build a 'butt hut,' an outside structure where staff could smoke in inclement weather, but offered no in-house programs to help employees kick the habit.

'We need to have a culture shift,' Sarna said. 'While the vast majority of nurses do not smoke, those that do are struggling in the same way other smokers do when they try to quit a very, very powerful addiction. There's never been a system-wide, concerted effort to help nurses stop smoking. We need to have that.'

About 16 percent of the nation's 2.3 million nurses smoke, Sarna said, the highest rate among all health care professionals. Many began smoking before starting nursing school, became addicted and found they were unable to quit.

'Nurses are entering the profession as smokers and they aren't getting the help they need to quit during training,' Sarna said. 'Once they become nurses, they're working in a very stressful environment, making it even more difficult to quit.'

Because of the lack of cessation programs made available by health care systems, and a desire among nurses who smoke for anonymity in their cessation process, Sarna and her colleagues created a website (http://www.tobaccofreenurses.org), to help nurse quit and learn more about tobacco addiction.

Nurses who work 12-hour shifts may find they're too tired to attend cessation support group meetings after work. They also may be ashamed of smoking and afraid they'll see people they know at such meetings. The website provides 24-hour access to cessation support, a sort of one-stop shopping for nurses seeking to quit smoking, Sarna said.

Tobaccofreenurses.org provides $100 worth of cessation services free, as well as resources geared specifically to health care professionals. The site links to Nurses QuitNet, an organization that has helped tens of thousands of nurses quit smoking through an online community of smokers and ex-smokers, delivering personalized quitting plans, one-on-one counseling, intensive social support, expert advice and pharmaceutical product support to tobacco users.

'More resources than ever before are available for smoking cessation,' Sarna said. 'We believe our Internet approach, which can be used 24 hours a day, seven days a week by nurses on any shift, provides another valuable resource for those who want to quit smoking.'

The study provides 'important evidence' that supports the need to develop work-based strategies and programs to support cessation efforts.

'The benefits of supporting smoking cessation in the worksite could have an immediate positive impact on nurses' health, and might result in other positive outcomes (e.g., reduced sick time),' the study concludes. 'The benefit to patients must also be emphasized, as non-smoking clinicians are more likely to provide cessation interventions than their smoking counterparts.'

- - - -

CONTACT: Kim Irwin, UCLA Media Relations, (000)-000-0000, kirwin@mednet.ucla.edu

NOTE TO EDITORS: Sarna is available for interviews and I can provide the full study for your review as well. Please let me know if you'd like to talk to Linda.

Wireless health start-up is first to 'graduate' from UCLA's on-campus technology incubator. - Telecommunications Weekly

MediSens Wireless, which in 2009 was one of the first startup companies selected for the UCLA on-campus technology incubator at the California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI), has received funding from a strategic investor in the greater Los Angeles area. The young company, the first to 'graduate' from the incubator, will now set up its own base of operations in Northern California.

The technology incubator was established two years ago to nurture early-stage research and to help speed the commercial translation of technologies developed at UCLA. It was inspired by the success of Nano H2O, a California startup that licensed water purification technology developed by UCLA researchers and conducted proof-of-concept research at CNSI.

MediSens, which focuses on the development and manufacture of personal body-monitoring systems for medical and health applications, moved into the incubator to begin commercializing technology invented by Majid Sarrafzadeh, a professor of computer science and engineering at UCLA's Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science and co-director of the Wireless Health Institute at UCLA.

Sarrafzadeh and his team formed the startup when they created a 'smart shoe' - a shoe equipped with a device allowing it to monitored remotely, enabling health care professionals to keep track of patients with balance problems, such as those with diabetes or those starting a new medication regime. This technology will be used to develop body-monitoring systems with specific applications for diabetics with peripheral neuropathy - the loss of sensation in the foot - and those with health issues that affect their balance.

MediSens began clinical trials in 2010 on its novel Clinical Movement Assessment System (CMAS), a wireless monitoring technology for assessing muscle and neuromotor functions in the upper extremities. CMAS is designed for a wide variety of medical applications and could potentially benefit health care professionals and facilities specializing in the areas of physical medicine and rehabilitation, neurology, orthopedics, and physical and occupational therapy, among others.

It is anticipated that the system will provide clinical assessments of fine motor movement, muscle strength, hand-eye coordination and patient responses to treatment. Repeat assessments could lead to early warning and detection of deteriorating conditions.

Additionally, MediSens-patented technology is being implemented on a 'smart bedsheet' to monitor patients in bed in real-time, with quantifiably preventative objectives in mind.

According to Behrooz Yadegar, the CEO of MediSens, the company will move to Santa Clara in the Silicon Valley area, where it plans to double its staff - currently at five employees - within a year. At its new base of operations, the company plans to further product hardware and software development and begin marketing and development for its wireless technologies.

Keywords: University of California - Los Angeles.

UCLA PHYSICIAN APPOINTED DIRECTOR OF HRSA'S MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH BUREAU. - States News Service

LOS ANGELES, CA -- The following information was released by UCLA Health System:

Contact: Ali Taghavi (ataghavi@mednet.ucla.edu)

Phone: (310) 312-9078

Dr. Michael Lu, associate professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and public health at UCLA, and lead investigator of the National Children's Study in the Los Angeles-Ventura County Study Center was recently appointed director for the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

The Maternal and Child Health Bureau is the only governmental program responsible for ensuring the health and well-being of the entire population of women, infants, and children. The Bureau administers programs that serve nearly 40 million pregnant women, infants, children, and children with special healthcare needs each year. About 60 percent of U.S. women who give birth receive services through HRSA-supported programs. The largest of the Bureau's programs, the Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant, provides funding to every state in support of state and local efforts to improve the health of all mothers, children, and their families. Other vital missions include Universal Newborn Hearing Screening, Traumatic Brain Injury, Healthy Start, Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting, Family to Family Health Information Centers, Emergency Medical Services for Children, and Combating Autism Act Initiative. As Director of MCHB, Lu will oversee a staff of over 160 and an annual budget of $1.2 billion.

'I am looking forward to the opportunities to really do something about improving maternal and child health in our nation,' said Lu. 'The U.S ranks near the bottom among developed nations by most standard measures of maternal and child health. For example, we are now number 41 - not number 1, but number 41, in the world in our newborn death rate. We can do better.'

Before his appointment, Lu taught obstetrics and gynecology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and maternal and child health at the UCLA School of Public Health. He also led the NCS research at the LAVSC. The NCS is the largest, long-term observational study of children's health ever conducted in the United States and launched in L.A. County earlier this year. The NCS is a completely confidential research program that does not involve medications or treatments and that will examine the effects of environmental influences on the health and development of more than 100,000 children across the country from before birth until age 21. The goal of the study is to improve the health and well-being of children and contribute to a better understanding of the role that various factors, such as water, air quality and diet, have on health and disease.

Lu received his bachelor's degrees from Stanford University, master's degrees from UC Berkeley, medical degree from UC San Francisco, and residency training in obstetrics and gynecology from UC Irvine. He is widely recognized for his research, teaching and clinical care. He served on two Institute of Medicine Committees, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Select Panel on Preconception Care, and most recently he chaired the HHS Secretary's Advisory Committee on Infant Mortality. He has received numerous awards for his teaching, including Excellence in Teaching Awards from the Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Lu sees patients at the faculty group practice in obstetrics and gynecology at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, and has been selected as one of the Best Doctors in America since 2005.

UCLA ALZHEIMER'S AND DEMENTIA CARE PROGRAM RECEIVES $3.2M HEALTH CARE INNOVATION AWARD. - States News Service

LOS ANGELES, CA -- The following information was released by UCLA Health System:

Contact: Roxanne Moster

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today that UCLA's new Alzheimer's and Dementia Care program has been awarded $3,208,540 as part of the agency's Health Care Innovation awards program.

The awards, made by possible through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, support innovative projects nationwide aimed at saving money, delivering high-quality medical care and enhancing the health care workforce. The 26 awardees announced today are expected to help reduce health care spending costs by $254 million over the next three years.

'We can't wait to support innovative projects that will save money and make our health care system stronger,' Sebelius said. 'It's yet another way we are supporting local communities now in their efforts to provide better care and lower cost.'

The new projects include collaborations among leading hospitals, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, technology innovators, community-based organizations, patient advocacy groups and other organizations located in urban and rural areas. The Health and Human Services awards initiative allows applicants to come up with their best ideas to test how the quality and affordability of health care can be improved quickly and efficiently. The awarded projects will begin work this year to address health care issues in their local communities.

UCLA's Alzheimer's and Dementia Care program, which launched in March, provides comprehensive care, as well as resources and support, to patients and their caregivers.

'UCLA already provides outstanding geriatrics, neurology, psychiatry and primary care clinical services,' said Dr. David Reuben, chief of UCLA's geriatrics division and leader of the program. 'With the launch of this new program, we now have a comprehensive, coordinated dementia care program that spans across UCLA clinical centers and reaches into the community to meet the needs of these patients and their families. We are honored to receive this award, which will help us further our mission of caring for this ever-growing population.'

The Health Care Innovation award will allow UCLA to expand the new program to provide efficient patient- and family-centered care for approximately 1,000 Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries with Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia in Los Angeles County. By training and deploying professional and non-professional workers and unpaid volunteers, expanding a dementia registry, conducting patient-needs assessments, and creating individualized dementia care plans, the program will reduce and shorten hospital stays, reduce emergency room visits and improve patient health, caregiver health and quality of care, with an estimated savings of approximately $6.9 million.

Over the three-year award period, the UCLA Alzheimer's and Dementia Care program will train an estimated 2,500 workers. These workers will include nurse practitioners, who will be trained as dementia care managers; they, in turn, will help train primary care providers and patient caregivers in dementia care.

The awardees were chosen for their innovative solutions to the health care challenges facing their communities and for their focus on creating a well-trained health care workforce equipped to meet the need for new jobs in the 21st-century health system. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that the health care and social assistance sector will gain the most jobs between now and 2020.

The 26 Health Care Innovation awards announced today total $122.6 million. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation within the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services at HHS administers the awards through cooperative agreements.

For more information on the awards announced today, visit http://bit.ly/JnrxE4.

WIRELESS HEALTH STARTUP IS FIRST TO 'GRADUATE' FROM UCLA'S ON-CAMPUS TECHNOLOGY INCUBATOR. - States News Service

LOS ANGELES, CA -- The following information was released by UCLA Health System:

Contact: Jenifer Marcus

MediSens Wireless, which in 2009 was one of the first startup companies selected for the UCLA on-campus technology incubator at the California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI), has received funding from a strategic investor in the greater Los Angeles area. The young company, the first to 'graduate' from the incubator, will now set up its own base of operations in Northern California.

The technology incubator was established two years ago to nurture early-stage research and to help speed the commercial translation of technologies developed at UCLA. It was inspired by the success of Nano H2O, a California startup that licensed water purification technology developed by UCLA researchers and conducted proof-of-concept research at CNSI.

MediSens, which focuses on the development and manufacture of personal body-monitoring systems for medical and health applications, moved into the incubator to begin commercializing technology invented by Majid Sarrafzadeh, a professor of computer science and engineering at UCLA's Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science and co-director of the Wireless Health Institute at UCLA.

Sarrafzadeh and his team formed the startup when they created a 'smart shoe' u a shoe equipped with a device allowing it to monitored remotely, enabling health care professionals to keep track of patients with balance problems, such as those with diabetes or those starting a new medication regime. This technology will be used to develop body-monitoring systems with specific applications for diabetics with peripheral neuropathy u the loss of sensation in the foot u and those with health issues that affect their balance.

MediSens began clinical trials in 2010 on its novel Clinical Movement Assessment System (CMAS), a wireless monitoring technology for assessing muscle and neuromotor functions in the upper extremities. CMAS is designed for a wide variety of medical applications and could potentially benefit health care professionals and facilities specializing in the areas of physical medicine and rehabilitation, neurology, orthopedics, and physical and occupational therapy, among others.

It is anticipated that the system will provide clinical assessments of fine motor movement, muscle strength, hand-eye coordination and patient responses to treatment. Repeat assessments could lead to early warning and detection of deteriorating conditions.

Additionally, MediSens-patented technology is being implemented on a 'smart bedsheet' to monitor patients in bed in real-time, with quantifiably preventative objectives in mind.

According to Behrooz Yadegar, the CEO of MediSens, the company will move to Santa Clara in the Silicon Valley area, where it plans to double its staff u currently at five employees u within a year. At its new base of operations, the company plans to further product hardware and software development and begin marketing and development for its wireless technologies.

MediSens Wireless was the first spinoff from the Wireless Health Institute, which Sarrafzadeh helped create. UCLA's Wireless Health Community is made up of experts from many disciplines across campus, including engineering, law, management, medicine, nursing, public health, and theater, film and television.

UCLA School of Nursing Releases Cycling Male Reproductive Health Study. - Health & Beauty Close-Up

A new study conducted by UCLA School of Nursing researchers has found that serious leisure male cyclists may experience hormonal imbalances that could affect their reproductive health.

According to a release, the study, Reproductive Hormones and Interleukin-6 in Serious Leisure Male Athletes, was published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology.

Studies have shown that while moderate exercise can lead to enhanced cardiovascular and metabolic function and reduced body fat, ultra-endurance levels of exercise can also adversely affect the neuroendocrine system and reproductive health. Although most research studying the effects of exercise on reproductive health has focused on female athletes, there are few studies that have looked at male endurance-trained athletes.

The UCLA study explored the associations between exercise intensity and circulating levels of reproductive hormones in serious leisure male athletes (triathletes and cyclists) and recreational athletes. UCLA researchers studied 107 healthy male athletes ages 18 to 60 and divided them into three groups: 16 were triathletes, 46 were cyclists and 45 were recreational athletes.

Participants completed the International Physical Assessment Questionnaire to obtain an objective estimate of time spent participating in different levels of physical activity and inactivity during the previous seven days. Blood samples were then collected from each participant to measure total testosterone, estradiol, cortisol, interleukin-6 and other hormones.

'Plasma estradiol and testosterone levels were significantly elevated in serious leisure male cyclists, a finding not previously reported in any type of male athlete,' said Leah Fitzgerald, assistant professor at the School of Nursing and principal investigator and senior author of the study.

Plasma estradiol concentrations were more than two times higher in the cyclists than in the triathlete and recreational athletes, and total testosterone levels were about 50 percent higher in cyclists than in the recreational athletes.

'These effects were accompanied by little or no compensatory shift in circulating reproductive hormone levels,' said Fitzgerald.

Estradiol is a form of estrogen and, in males, is produced as an active metabolic product of testosterone. Possible conditions associated with elevated estrogen in males include gynecomastia, a condition that may result in the loss of male pubic hair and enlarged breast tissue.

'Although preliminary, these findings warrant further investigation to determine if specific types of exercise may be associated with altered sex hormone levels in men that could affect general health and reproductive well-being,' said Fitzgerald.

One of the interesting findings of the study related to the use of chamois cream. Some cyclists apply chamois cream to their perineum area to help prevent chaffing and bacterial infections related to bicycle saddle sores. However, many such commercial creams contain a variety of ingredients including lubricants, polymers and oils; and some also contain parabens, which are anti-microbial preservatives and weak estrogen agonists.

In the study 48.5 percent of cyclists compared to 10 percent of triathletes reported using a paraben-containing chamois cream. The study found an association between an increase in estrogen levels and increasing years of chamois cream use, particularly for male cyclists using the cream for more than four years. At this time, however, no direct cause and effect has been found.

The study was funded by the UCLA School of Nursing, UCLA General Clinical Research Center and Kaiser Foundation. Other authors of the study included Wendie Robbins, also of the School of Nursing, and James Kesner, Division of Applied Research and Technology, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

Report information:

nursing.ucla.edu.

UCLA Anderson Forecast Survey Shows Burden of Health-Care Costs Will Continue to Fall on Employees; Employers Who Altered Plans in Last Year Passed on Higher Costs to Employees. - Ascribe Higher Education News Service

Byline: UCLA

LOS ANGELES, June 19 (AScribe Newswire) -- A health-care survey conducted by the UCLA Anderson Forecast of 460 companies across the United States indicates that as health-care premiums continue to rise, employers will increasingly shift the burden of costs to their employees. The results were further explored at the quarterly UCLA Anderson Forecast Conference June 19.

Eighty-five percent of those polled in the survey have seen their health-care premiums rise by at least as much as 10 percent over the past plan year, according to Dr. Christopher Thornberg, senior economist with the UCLA Anderson Forecast. Twenty-five percent of survey respondents saw their premiums rise by more than 20 percent.

'What's interesting about these results is that companies believe that the current health-care premium increases are just the beginning of a longer trend,' Thornberg said. 'Specifically, 80 percent of the companies surveyed anticipate that premiums will continue to rise by another 10 percent, while one-quarter believe that increases next year will be more than 20 percent.'

Of those companies who responded to the survey:

- 27 percent reduced the level of benefits coverage.

- 41 percent increased premiums on coverage for dependents.

- 65.5 percent raised employee contributions to personal premiums.

- 75.5 percent raised co-payments or deductibles.

The difference between the situation now, compared to that in the late 1980s and early 1990s, is that many employers are now simply passing on the increased health-care costs to their employees, Thornberg said.

Thornberg noted that companies that altered their plans this year are more likely to transfer rising health-care costs to their employees in the future. Forty-two percent of respondents from companies that did alter their plans believe it is likely that the company will revise its plan again in the future if premiums continue to rise.

The surveys were completed by human-resources managers representing a variety of large and small businesses. Specifically, companies were asked how much their premiums rose over the past year, how the company responded to the change and what they felt the outlook was for the company's health-care benefits.

The informal survey was administered in preparation for the June conference, titled 'What Every Business Needs to Know About the Current Health-Care Crisis,' which featured a variety of participants, including doctors, health-care executives, management consultants, hospital and health-care administrators, and county and state government officials.

Keynote presentations were made by Dr. Thomas Garthwaite, director of the County of Los Angeles Department of Health Services and former undersecretary for health, U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs; and Leonard Schaeffer, chairman and CEO, WellPoint Health Networks.

Through several insightful panel sessions, the conference addressed key issues affecting the current health-care crisis including why medical costs are rising, what can be done about it and how to understand the tough health-care choices that businesses and government will need to make.

For more information on the health-care survey results, call (000)-000-0000 or visit www.uclaforecast.com.

The lead sponsor for the June forecast conference was Deloitte & Touche, and co-sponsors were HealthNet, K&R Law Group, Tenet Health Systems and WellPoint.

UCLA expert blames American values for health care crisis. - Pharma Marketletter

'To heal our ailing health care system, we need to stop thinking like Americans.' That is the message of two articles by the University of California at Los Angeles, USA's Marc Nuwer, an expert on national health care reform, published in Neurology, the journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

'Americans prize individual choice and resist limiting care,' says Dr Nuwer, a professor of clinical neurology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. 'We believe that if doctors can treat very ill patients aggressively and keep every moment of people in the last stages of life under medical care, then they should. We choose to hold these values. Consequently, we choose to have a more expensive system than Europe or Canada,' he said.

Consider these statistics:

- the USA boasts the world's most expensive health care system, yet only one-sixth of Americans are insured. Medical expenditures exceed $2,000.0 billion annually, making health care the economy's largest sector, four times bigger than national defense;

- by 2015, the US government is projected to spend $4,000.0 billion on health care, or 20% of the nation's gross domestic product;

- an aging US population will boost spending. Half of Medicare costs support very sick people in their last stages of life, and experts estimate that Medicare funds will be exhausted by 2018;

- 31% of US health care funds go toward administration. 'We push a lot of paper. We spend twice as much as Canada, which has a more streamlined health care system that demands doctors complete less paperwork,' Dr Nuwer says; and

- 10% of US expenses are spent on 'defensive medicine' - pricey tests ordered by doctors afraid of missing anything, however unlikely. 'Doctors don't want to be accused in court of a delayed diagnosis, so they bend over backwards to find something - even if it's a rare possibility - in order to cover themselves,' he adds.

Reforming the health care system in the USA, with the goal of providing universal, affordable, high-quality care will require rethinking the nation's overall values and paying greater attention to care-related expenditures, according to Dr Nuwer.

UCLA expert blames American values for health-care crisis. - NewsRx Health

To heal our ailing health care system, we need to stop thinking like Americans. That's the message of two articles by UCLA's Dr. Marc Nuwer, a leading expert on national health care reform, published this week in Neurology, the journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

'Americans prize individual choice and resist limiting care,' says Nuwer, a professor of clinical neurology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. 'We believe that if doctors can treat very ill patients aggressively and keep every moment of people in the last stages of life under medical care, then they should. We choose to hold these values. Consequently, we choose to have a more expensive system than Europe or Canada.'

Consider these statistics:

The United States boasts the world's most expensive health care system, yet only one-sixth of Americans are insured. Medical expenditures exceed $2 trillion annually, making health care the economy's largest sector, four times bigger than national defense.

By 2015, the U.S. government is projected to spend $4 trillion on health care, or 20 percent of the nation's gross domestic product.

An aging population will boost spending. Half of Medicare costs support very sick people in their last stages of life, and experts estimate that Medicare funds will be exhausted by 2018.

31 percent of U.S. health care funds go toward administration. 'We push a lot of paper,' Nuwer says. 'We spend twice as much as Canada, which has a more streamlined health care system that demands doctors complete less paperwork.'

10 percent of U.S. expenses are spent on 'defensive medicine' u pricey tests ordered by doctors afraid of missing anything, however unlikely. 'Doctors don't want to be accused in court of a delayed diagnosis, so they bend over backwards to find something u even if it's a rare possibility u in order to cover themselves,' Nuwer says.

Reforming the U.S. health care system with the goal of providing universal, affordable, high-quality care will require rethinking our overall values and paying greater attention to care-related expenditures, according to Nuwer.

Part of the current problem, he says, is that doctors are oblivious to the price tags of options they're prescribing for patients. He recommends educating physicians about the costs of care, including imaging, blood tests and specific drugs.

'Does a fancy electric wheelchair cost $500 or $50,000?' Nuwer asks. 'Most doctors have no clue. We need to give physicians feedback about the dollar signs behind their orders.'

Keywords: Aging, Health Policy, Medicare, Neurology, Urology, University of California - Los Angeles.

HOMELAND SECURITY SELECTS UCLA TO HELP ESTABLISH GUIDELINES FOR FIREFIGHTER HEALTH, SAFETY UCLA TEAM TO USE WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY TO REMOTELY MONITOR FIREFIGHTERS IN FIELD. - States News Service

LOS ANGELES -- The following information was released by the University of California Los Angeles:

The David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science have been selected by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate to help establish guidelines for the health and safety of firefighters in the field.

The UCLA team will work with a consortium of academic, industry and government partners on the agency's PHASER (Physiological Health Assessment System for Emergency Responders) program, which also draws on the expertise of Skidmore College, Zephyr Technology, a company that develops physiological-status monitoring products, and the NASA Ames Research Center, which has extensive experience with astronaut-monitoring systems.

The UCLA team will use wireless health technologies to remotely monitor firefighters in action and develop metrics to validate and interpret their findings.

The results will help researchers analyze firefighters' health risks before, during and after response operations, develop national guidelines to optimize exercise and training programs, and manage health and safety in the field to mitigate fatalities due to cardiovascular events.

'Firefighters experience heightened levels of physiological stress, such as strain on the cardiovascular and respiratory systems,' said Dr. Christopher Cooper, principal investigator for the program and a professor of medicine and physiology at the Geffen School of Medicine. 'The PHASER program will help us identify health risks and better understand challenges facing firefighters in the field.'

'We will be working closely with our partners in using the latest wireless technologies to measure and track the fitness and health status of firefighters and to help develop key interventions to improve health,' said co-investigator William J. Kaiser, a professor of electrical engineering at UCLA Engineering.

The team will initially obtain baseline measurements in the UCLA Exercise Physiology Research Laboratory and will develop protocols for firefighter assessment and exercise training, including tests to assess respiration and aerobic ability.

They will also collaborate with regional and national fire services on the project to develop risk profiles and prioritization in the work environment. This research will help individual firefighters and incident commanders recognize health and safety issues in the field early on in order to initiate preventive interventions such as exercise training, pre-hydration and active cooling methods.

UCLA to Help Establish Guidelines for Firefighter Health and Safety - Firehouse Magazine

The David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science have been selected by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate to help establish guidelines for the health and safety of firefighters.

The UCLA team will work with a consortium of academic, industry and government partners on the agency's PHASER (Physiological Health Assessment System for Emergency Responders) program, which also draws on the expertise of Skidmore College, Zephyr Technology, a company that develops physiological-status monitoring products, and the NASA Ames Research Center, which has extensive experience with astronautmonitoring systems.

The UCLA team will use wireless health technologies to remotely monitor firefighters in action and develop metrics to validate and interpret their findings. The results will help researchers analyze firefighters' health risks before, during and after response operations, develop national guidelines to optimize exercise and training programs, and manage health and safety in the field to mitigate fatalities due to cardiovascular events.

'Firefighters experience heightened levels of physiological stress, such as strain on the cardiovascular and respiratory systems,' said Dr. Christopher Cooper, principal investigator for the program and a professor of medicine and physiology at the Geffen School of Medicine. 'The PHASER program will help us identify health risks and better understand challenges facing firefighters in the field.'

Co-investigator William J. Kaiser, a professor of electrical engineering at UCLA Engineering, said, 'We will be working closely with our partners in using the latest wireless technologies to measure and track the fitness and health status of firefighters and to help develop key interventions to improve health.'

The team will initially obtain baseline measurements in the UCLA Exercise Physiology Research Laboratory and develop protocols for firefighter assessment and exercise training, including tests to assess respiration and aerobic ability. They will also collaborate with regional and national fire services on the project to develop risk profiles and prioritization in the work environment.

HOMELAND SECURITY SELECTS UCLA TO HELP ESTABLISH GUIDELINES FOR FIREFIGHTER HEALTH, SAFETY. - States News Service

LOS ANGELES, CA -- The following information was released by UCLA Health System:

The David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science have been selected by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate to help establish guidelines for the health and safety of firefighters in the field.

The UCLA team will work with a consortium of academic, industry and government partners on the agency's PHASER (Physiological Health Assessment System for Emergency Responders) program, which also draws on the expertise of Skidmore College, Zephyr Technology, a company that develops physiological-status monitoring products, and the NASA Ames Research Center, which has extensive experience with astronaut-monitoring systems.

The UCLA team will use wireless health technologies to remotely monitor firefighters in action and develop metrics to validate and interpret their findings.

The results will help researchers analyze firefighters' health risks before, during and after response operations, develop national guidelines to optimize exercise and training programs, and manage health and safety in the field to mitigate fatalities due to cardiovascular events.

'Firefighters experience heightened levels of physiological stress, such as strain on the cardiovascular and respiratory systems,' said Dr. Christopher Cooper, principal investigator for the program and a professor of medicine and physiology at the Geffen School of Medicine. 'The PHASER program will help us identify health risks and better understand challenges facing firefighters in the field.'

'We will be working closely with our partners in using the latest wireless technologies to measure and track the fitness and health status of firefighters and to help develop key interventions to improve health,' said co-investigator William J. Kaiser, a professor of electrical engineering at UCLA Engineering.

The team will initially obtain baseline measurements in the UCLA Exercise Physiology Research Laboratory and will develop protocols for firefighter assessment and exercise training, including tests to assess respiration and aerobic ability.

They will also collaborate with regional and national fire services on the project to develop risk profiles and prioritization in the work environment. This research will help individual firefighters and incident commanders recognize health and safety issues in the field early on in order to initiate preventive interventions such as exercise training, pre-hydration and active cooling methods.

In addition, the data may lead to the development of new equipment worn by firefighters in the field.

The David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA is an internationally respected leader in research, medical education and patient care. The school has more than 2,000 full-time faculty members, almost 1,300 residents, more than 750 medical students and roughly 400 Ph.D. candidates. The Geffen School is ranked ninth in the country in research funding from the National Institutes of Health and third in the United States in research dollars from total sources.

The UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, established in 1945, offers 28 academic and professional degree programs, including an interdepartmental graduate degree program in biomedical engineering. Ranked among the top 10 engineering schools at public universities nationwide, the school is home to eight multimillion-dollar interdisciplinary research centers in wireless sensor systems, nanotechnology, nanomanufacturing and nanoelectronics, all funded by federal and private agencies.

Report: More UCLA staff saw celebs' health records - AP Online

More than 120 workers at a Los Angeles hospital looked at celebrities' medical records and other personal information without permission between January 2004 and June 2006 _ nearly double the number initially reported earlier this year, according to a state report.

The report, released Monday by the California Department of Public Health, also said three staffers at the UCLA Medical Center continued to look at the confidential records of a "well-known individual" after a crackdown of record-peeking in April. The state report didn't release the name of that celebrity.

State regulators blame the hospital for not taking adequate steps to maintain patient confidentiality.

"What's startling to us is, as we get to a point where we feel we've addressed a specific complaint and a specific issue, we identify additional issues," said Kathleen Billingsley, director of the health department's Center for Healthcare Quality. "It's very disturbing to see this."

State public health officials have released five reports since the Los Angeles Times first reported UCLA employees pried into the medical records of prominent patients, including Britney Spears, Farrah Fawcett and California first lady Maria Shriver.

The latest report said 127 workers peeked into celebrities' medical records without permission, leading to several firings, suspensions and warnings. The report also detailed the case of one employee who looked at the records of about 900 patients "without any legitimate reason" and viewed Social Security numbers, health insurance information and addresses, from April 2003 to May 2007.

Previous state reports had said the woman, Lawanda Jackson, viewed about 60 patient records. The former administrative specialist faces federal criminal charges for violating Fawcett's privacy.

The report said Jackson used her supervisor's password to view the records, which officials determined by examining her workstation.

After the April violations, one nurse was fired and the two other employees received warnings, the report said.

Hospital officials said computer systems have been updated to block complete Social Security numbers and that staff is being trained on privacy and security. The hospital also said it has notified all patients whose privacy was breached by Jackson.

"We have no excuses," said Dr. David Feinberg, chief executive of the UCLA Health System, in a statement. "UCLA should have detected the violations by Ms. Jackson years ago and should have immediately initiated the process to dismiss her."

Feinberg said the medical center continues to investigate and all employees found to have breached patient confidentiality were disciplined or fired.

___

UCLA launches network to study health care disparities affecting minorities - La Prensa San Diego

Group includes distinguished faculty from universities across the nation

The UCLA Department of Family Medicine, with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has launched the Network for Multicultural Research on Health and Healthcare, a group that will study health care disparities affecting minorities with chronic diseases.

The network will also mentor and develop a new generation of researchers with an expertise in health care disparities.

The new group-to be directed by Dr. Michael Rodr�guez, associate professor of family medicine, and William Vega, professor of family medicine, both of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA - will draw on the talents of distinguished faculty from several national universities.

'Research has shown us that disparities in health care do exist for certain racial and ethnic groups in the United States,' Rodr�guez said. 'As the population of the United States becomes more and more diverse, it is increasingly important for us to understand the impact of these disparities and devise methods to reduce and eliminate them.'

The network's primary aims are to:

* Understand how social, ethnic, linguistic and economic factors affect the way health care providers serve minority populations.

* Study how personal, cultural and social factors promote or impede adequate health care and disease management.

* Examine health care system barriers to quality care for chronic conditions.

* Explore how various factors - including sources of health information, diet and exercise, self-management of chronic conditions, and levels of health literacy among patients and their families-influence minorities' health status.

The network's senior investigators are Dr. Jos� J. Escarce, Dr. Carol Mangione, Dr. Leo S. Morales and Ninez Ponce of UCLA; Margarita Alegr�a of Harvard University; Dr. Bonnie Duran of the University of Washington; Kyriakos Markides of the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston; Dr. Eliseo P�rez-Stable of the University of California, San Francisco; and Roberto Suro of the University of Southern California.

UCLA launches network to study health care disparities affecting minorities. - Health & Medicine Week

The UCLA Department of Family Medicine, with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has launched the Network for Multicultural Research on Health and Healthcare, a group that will study health care disparities affecting minorities with chronic diseases (see also University of California - Los Angeles).

The network will also mentor and develop a new generation of researchers with an expertise in health care disparities.

The new group u to be directed by Dr. Michael Rodr iguez, associate professor of family medicine, and William Vega, professor of family medicine, both of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA u will draw on the talents of distinguished faculty from several national universities.

'Research has shown us that disparities in health care do exist for certain racial and ethnic groups in the United States,' Rodr iguez said. 'As the population of the United States becomes more and more diverse, it is increasingly important for us to understand the impact of these disparities and devise methods to reduce and eliminate them.'

The network's primary aims are to:

Understand how social, ethnic, linguistic and economic factors affect the way health care providers serve minority populations. Study how personal, cultural and social factors promote or impede adequate health care and disease management. Examine health care system barriers to quality care for chronic conditions. Explore how various factors u including sources of health information, diet and exercise, self-management of chronic conditions, and levels of health literacy among patients and their families u influence minorities' health status. The network's senior investigators are Dr. Jos e J. Escarce, Dr. Carol Mangione, Dr. Leo S. Morales and Ninez Ponce of UCLA; Margarita Alegr ia of Harvard University; Dr. Bonnie Duran of the University of Washington; Kyriakos Markides of the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston; Dr. Eliseo P erez-Stable of the University of California, San Francisco; and Roberto Suro of the University of Southern California.

The project will also support five Healthcare Quality Scholars each year, who will address health issues affecting people from underserved groups, with a primary focus on diabetes and obesity, cardiovascular disease, respiratory illnesses, depression, and cancer. This work will aid in the development of successful, independent scientists and increase the pipeline of researchers addressing quality of care for the underserved.

Keywords: University of California - Los Angeles.

UCLA EVENT TO EXPLORE LINKS BETWEEN HEALTH AND LABOR TRAFFICKING, ORGAN TRAFFICKING. - States News Service

LOS ANGELES, CA -- The following information was released by UCLA Health System:

Date: 10/17/2011

Contact: Enrique Rivero

WHAT:

'Trends in Exploitation: Labor Trafficking and Organ Trafficking' is a free conference at UCLA examining the health implications of human labor trafficking and organ trafficking.

WHO:

Participants will include:

Dr. Janet Pregler

Professor of clinical medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and director of the Iris Cantor-UCLA Women's Health Center

Dr. Gabriel Danovitch

Medical director of the kidney transplant program at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA

Dr. Susie Baldwin

Chief of the health assessment unit in the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health's Office of Health Assessment and Epidemiology

Vanessa Lanza

Director of partnerships for the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking

Ima

Human trafficking survivor

WHEN:

8:30-11 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 20

WHERE:

Salon A (third floor) at UCLA's Covel Commons (map)

330 De Neve Dr.

BACKGROUND:

The event is made possible by support from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Co-sponsors include Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking; the UCLA Center for the Study of Women; the American Medical Women's Association, UCLA Chapter; the American Medical Women's Association, Undergraduate Division UCLA; the Anti-Trafficking and Human Rights Coalition at UCLA, the UCLA Health and Human Rights Law Project, the UCLA International Institute, and the UCLA Reproductive Rights Interest Group

MEDIA CONTACT:

Enrique Rivero, UCLA Health Sciences Media Relations, erivero@mednet.ucla.edu

310-794-2273 (office) | 310-597-5768 (mobile)

PARKING:

California Seniors' Health Detailed in UCLA Study. - Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

By Nancy Weaver Teichert, The Sacramento Bee, Calif. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

Nov. 10--Older Latinos and people with limited English suffer from the poorest health and a lack of preventive health care, according to the first statewide look at the well-being of people 65 and older.

The Sacramento region mirrored similar higher rates of poorer health among Latinos and also among people on the Medi-Cal program.

The well-being of older people in the Sacramento region was comparable to the statewide averages in most categories, except for slightly higher rates of smoking and asthma.

Steven P. Wallace, the main author of the study, said those factors could be related, or poor air quality in the Valley may be harder on older people.

Overall, 30 percent of the state's 3.6 million older people say they have poor or only fair health compared to 44 percent among Latinos and 46 percent among limited-English-speaking seniors.

They suffer higher rates of diabetes and emotional problems along with lower rates of health insurance coverage and screenings that can diagnose health problems before they become serious.

The first county-by-county study of California's oldest population was conducted by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research based on telephone surveys with 10,000 seniors who were part of the California Health Interview Survey of 2001.

Wallace said older people make more demands on the health care system than any other age group both statewide and locally.

'We want older people to remain healthy because that gives them a better quality of life,' said Wallace, associate director of the center and a professor of health sciences at the UCLA School of Public Health. But society also has an economic interest in their well-being.

'If we don't promote a healthier older population, we pay for it with increased costs to Medicare, Medicaid and other health services,' he said.

With state and local governments facing tough choices with how to spend limited resources, the findings can be used to focus expenditures on the biggest needs.

Surveys of people 65 and older also show that good health is a top priority contributing to their quality of life.

Older people often lack preventive health screenings that can end up costing more in both human suffering and health care costs.

One-third of older Californians don't get an annual flu shot, which is an effective low-cost measure to reduce the incidence of pneumonia and related health problems, Wallace said.

The reason may be that some are unaware of the availability of vaccinations at various clinics, or they may not be able to pay the $10 co-payment sometimes charged, the study said.

One-third of seniors don't see a dentist or dental hygienist during the year, contributing to needless suffering and more serious health complications.

The reason may be that Medicare does not cover routine dental care, so two in five seniors have no health coverage to pay for the exams, according to the study.

Older Latinos also reported lower rates of health screenings for diabetes and colon cancer -conditions that benefit from early diagnosis and treatments.

If diabetes is not adequately treated, it can lead to blindness, heart problems and circulatory problems that can result in amputations.

Diabetes is twice as common among older Latinos as among older whites, Wallace said. Commonly, the diabetes isn't diagnosed until help is sought for more serious health problems.

'They are more likely to face barriers in finding health services,' Wallace said.

Nadereh Pourat, co-author and a senior research scientist at the UCLA center, said patients who have to pay more out of pocket for care are more likely to delay going to a doctor until they have a more advanced condition.

Poverty may be a factor why older people in Tulare and Kings counties had the poorest health profiles, while older people in more affluent Marin County were the most healthy, the study found.

Poverty, inadequate health insurance and the lack of information about available health services all contribute to poorer health, the report said.

Wallace said doctors need to suggest preventive health care such as flu vaccinations and screenings for colon cancer starting at age 50.

Dr. Marc Schenker, chairman of the Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine at UC Davis Medical Center, said he reached similar conclusions in his studies of health problems in California's Latino community.

'You see more deaths from preventable causes in Latino populations,' he said. While emergency care may be more easily found, people with lower incomes run into problems finding preventive health care, Schenker said.

The new UCLA study ranks counties and regions on health behaviors such as smoking and alcohol consumption and health status such as the incidence of diabetes, arthritis and cancer and access to medical care.

The report combines statistics on race and ethnicity with health data culled from the California Health Interview Survey 2001.

The 137-page report, 'Health of Older Californians: County Data Book,' was funded with grants from the Archstone Foundation and the California Endowment and is on the Web at www.healthpolicy.ucla.edu/ pubs/files/archstone_older_ californians.pdf.

To see more of The Sacramento Bee, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.sacbee.com

CHINA'S VICE MINISTER OF HEALTH VISITS UCLA TO DISCUSS TRADITIONAL CHINESE, WESTERN MEDICINE. - States News Service

LOS ANGELES, CA -- The following information was released by UCLA Health System:

Contact: Rachel Champeau

China's vice minister of health visits UCLA to discuss traditional Chinese, Western medicine

WHAT:

Vice Minister Wang Guoqiang of the Chinese Ministry of Health and a six-person delegation will visit UCLA to learn how traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and integrative medicine are practiced in the U.S. as a new health care model. UCLA is at the forefront of integrative medicine research and education.

The group will visit with Dr. Ka-Kit Hui and his team at the UCLA Center for East-West Medicine, which is collaborating with China to develop a virtual library of integrative medicine information. Other center projects include the creation of an Internet-based multimedia resource for clinicians, educators and consumers, and research comparing the effectiveness of TCM and integrative medicine on health care.

The delegation will also meet with faculty from the UCLA Collaborative Centers for Integrative Medicine, the UCLA Division of General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research and Dr. Eugene A. Washington, vice chancellor for health sciences and dean of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

WHO:

The following individuals will be available for interviews:

Wang Guoqiang, China's vice minister of health.

Dr. Ka Kit Hui, UCLA's Wallis Annenberg Professor of Integrative East-West Medicine and director of the UCLA Center for East-West Medicine.

WHEN:

Friday, June 11 (Press availability between 1-1:30 p.m.)

WHERE:

UCLA's Jules Stein Eye Institute, Adam Room (next to Jules Stein Auditorim) (map)

R.S.V.P.:

Please R.S.V.P. to Rachel Champeau at 310-794-0777 or Sue Fan at 310-794-0712.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Rachel Champeau, UCLA Health Sciences Media Relations, 310-794-0777

rchampeau@mednet.ucla.edu

PARKING:

DR. JODY HEYMANN NAMED DEAN OF UCLA'S FIELDING SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH. - States News Service

LOS ANGELES, CA -- The following information was released by UCLA Health System:

Contact: Cynthia Lee

Dr. Jody Heymann, an internationally renowned researcher on health and social policy at McGill University in Montreal, has been appointed the new dean of the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health.

A pediatrician by training, Heymann leads the first global initiative to examine the impact of health and social policies on individuals, families and communities in all 193 countries of the United Nations.

Her appointment will take effect Jan. 1, 2013, according to an announcement made today by UCLA Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Scott Waugh. A professor of epidemiology and of political science at McGill, Heymann will succeed Linda Rosenstock, who decided to step down as dean on July 1 after nearly 12 years of leadership.

'Public health offers tremendous tools with the capacity to make a difference in the lives of people in California, in the United States and around the world,' Heymann said. 'I couldn't be more thrilled to join the faculty, students and staff at the Fielding School of Public Health as we work together with others at UCLA and across the local and global community to tackle crucial issues at home and abroad.'

Heymann holds a B.A. in history and physics from Yale University, and an M.D., M.P.P and Ph.D. in public policy from Harvard University.

She is the founding director of the Institute for Health and Social Policy at McGill and holds a Canada Research Chair in Global Health and Social Policy. She is also founding director of the WORLD Global Data Centre, where she leads an effort to analyze how health and social policies affect the ability of people in UN member countries to meet health, educational, economic and other needs.

In addition, Heymann directs McGill's Healthier Societies Initiative, a program investigating approaches to controlling health costs while improving health outcomes in the countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

At McGill, Heymann has led the development of a unique multidisciplinary undergraduate and graduate training program that bridges research and policy development, enabling students from more than 40 departments to gain experience in 28 countries.

At Harvard University (1989--2008), she chaired the Project on Global Working Families and held faculty appointments at the schools of public health and medicine u in the departments of society, human development and health; health and social behavior; social medicine; and health care policy.

Heymann has authored and edited more than 200 publications, including 'Children's Chances' (Harvard University Press, forthcoming); 'Making Equal Rights Real' (Cambridge University Press, 2012); 'Protecting Childhood in the AIDS Pandemic' (Oxford University Press, 2012); 'Lessons in Educational Equality' (Oxford University Press, 2012); and 'Profit at the Bottom of the Ladder' (Harvard Business Press, 2009).

Deeply committed to translating research into policies and programs that improve individual and population health, Heymann has worked with government leaders in North America, Europe, Africa and Latin America, as well as a wide range of intergovernmental organizations, including the World Health Organization, the International Labor Organization, UNICEF, UNESCO and the UN's Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

She has served as chair of the World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council on Education Systems and vice-chair of the Global Agenda Council on Education and Skills. Her research has been presented to heads of state and senior policymakers around the world.