FOUR MAJOR BANKS TAP FEDERAL RESERVE FOR FINANCING
The four biggest banks in American have each borrowed $500 million from the Federal Reserve at its newly lowered discount rate. They took this unusual step to ease the credit squeeze that has been rattling the financial system for weeks.
““Going to the discount window is like someone on the Upper East Side being seen in a Wal-Mart,” said Charles R. Geisst, a financial historian at Manhattan College. “The T-shirts may be cheap, but why would you?””
“He added: “The banks are circling the wagons. Somebody’s got a problem.””
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CONGRESSMAN HIGGINS MAKES VIRTUAL HOME CARE VISIT
State-of-the-art technology helps keep elderly and disabled at home
BUFFALO, NY—Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-27) today learned firsthand about a growing tool used in home care—telemedicine—when he visited a local home care agency today and participated in a virtual home visit. The use of technology to deliver home care is growing, especially as the price of fuel increases and the shortage of nurses continues to be a growing problem in delivering care. The Congressman participated in the demonstration at the WILLCARE facility in Buffalo which serves as headquarters for telehealth delivery to patients in Erie and Chautauqua Counties.
“The demand for home and community-based care combined with home monitoring equipment will surely increase as the need for long-term care grows,” said Higgins. “As the health care debate continues at all levels of government, elected officials must foster access to quality home care services and be proactive in supporting health care technology, leading to healthier citizens and more resources to deliver care.”
Telemedicine allows home care agencies to provide proactive and preventive care by using technology to deliver home care services and health education from afar. Telemedicine can provide a wide array of services, including the monitoring of clinical indicators, such as blood pressure, pulse, blood-oxygen levels and weight, seven days a week. Data is transmitted automatically to the home care agency where nurses review and track the results. This allows nurses to identify quickly and address changes in patient status, often preventing the need for costly trips to emergency rooms and unnecessary or avoidable hospitalization.
Providing cost-efficient and quality health care is a major concern for many New Yorkers, which is why Rep. Higgins took advantage of “Home Care Connect,” a home care visitation program sponsored by the New York State Association of Health Care Providers, Inc. (HCP). Home Care Connect provides State and Federal Legislators the opportunity to observe the benefits of home and community-based care in action.
“The demand for care is rapidly increasing, but having the human resources to provide quality care is a challenge,” said Todd Brason, CEO of WILLCARE, the home care agency that demonstrated the telehealth equipment for Higgins. “Telemedicine technology allows a nurse to monitor many patients and make actual visits when a red flag goes up in the monitoring process. Support from elected officials like Rep. Higgins is essential to preserving and expanding access to home care and telemedicine technology.”
“Telemedicine and home care are efficient and effective uses of valuable human and financial resources and they greatly improve the quality life for seniors wishing to remain in their home and out of an institution,” said Phyllis Wang, HCP President.
IRAQ WAR BRINGS DROP IN BLACK ENLISTEES
Not so long ago there was a really attractive option for people with few options growing up in impoverished, predominantly black areas. Many of them joined the Reserve Officer Training Corps. That’s no longer the situation because of the war in Iraq.
““Now, it is like, no way,” said Cornelius McMurray, who does outreach with a local church and says the young black people he works with view life in Baltimore as enough of a war. “It is a continuous fight waking up and walking the streets every day.””
“In the Bronx, Adeyefa Finch says he simply walks past the recruiters who, seeking out minority members along Fordham Road, make the case that the military can help with college financing and job placement after they serve. “I’m not really into going overseas with guns and fighting other people’s wars,” said Mr. Finch, 18, headed to college this fall to study accounting.”
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SHUTTLE GLIDES SAFELY HOME IN SPITE OF DAMAGE
After the Columbia tragedy I was one of many who watched the most recent space shuttle flight with great interest, especially when there was damage to the underside of the craft. Thankfully the ship and its crew landed safely.
“The space shuttle Endeavour glided to a safe landing here Tuesday afternoon, apparently not much worse for wear.”
“A look at the underside of the Endeavour appeared to validate the decision by mission managers not to try to repair a small but deep gouge, caused by a falling piece of foam, in two heat tiles on the underside of the right wing. The ultrahot gases streaming past the wing surface on re-entry burned a slightly larger scoop out of the gouged tiles, but the additional damage to the craft appeared to be limited.”
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MANY ELIGIBLE FOR CHILD HEALTH PLAN HAVE NO IDEA
We put up a story yesterday about health care for children of lower income families, but today the follow up shares that a study says that almost 30 percent of those children haven’t even enrolled for the state-sponsored health care.
“Despite a decade of marketing efforts by governments and private foundations, nearly 30 percent of children who are eligible for the health insurance program and are not covered by private plans have yet to enroll, according to a new government study.”
“Late last week, the Bush administration published new standards intended to prevent states from expanding eligibility for the program to cover children from middle-class families. But a more fundamental debate over the program has been raging in Washington for months: how to find and enroll the 1.7 million low-income children who are already eligible but have not signed up.”
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EDITORIAL:
DOLAN AND BOGDAN: CREATING THE NEWS FOR AMHERST READERS
The people of Amherst need to be aware of the collusion between Tom Dolan, the Buffalo News reporter covering Amherst, and his close personal friend Colleen Bogdan, who Dolan labels an ‘Amherst activist’. The problem with this arrangement is that Mr. Dolan keeps giving his friend space in the Buffalo News without checking her facts.
The partnership between Dolan and his “personal news source” has led to many stories written about Amherst politics that are not accurate. His reliance on Mrs. Bogdan’s research, taking her “facts” without doing his own legwork is like buying a ‘pig in a poke’. It’s his responsibility to check out his facts before printing anything. Mrs. Bogdan isn’t an activist for ‘the people of Amherst’, but for certain people who think like she does. They feel they must get specific candidates elected in the upcoming Amherst Primary and November elections to control Amherst they way they see fit.
Her close relationship with news reporter Tom Dolan has given her the ability to have her words printed in the Buffalo News. She seems to be able to control the material Dolan prints in his articles. This type of use of the only major paper in Buffalo is dangerous to the public. Colleen Bogdan believes her views are the right views and the only ones she will allow.
A reporter’s job is to inform the public and to report the truth, not to print the news according to Colleen Bogdan. If the Buffalo News knows this is occurring, and they certainly do now, then they are doing the residents of Amherst a great disservice. It is unethical for them to allow Dolan to continue this type of second hand reporting.
ELVIS PRESLEY’S STOLEN GUN FOUND
During a tour of Elvis Presley’s home, Graceland, one of his guns was stolen. This week the gun was turned in to the police. The man who found the gun said it was in a toilet at Graceland. The person who stole the gun wouldn’t take it out of the toilet because it was in human waste.
TOWN OF AMHERST PRESS RELEASE:
We have 65,000 trees in the Town of Amherst; approximately 11,000 of these were damaged during the October storm. A survey by an Erie County appointed arborist identified 8,000 trees that were damaged and were FEMA eligible for felling. We started to get a lot of complaints from residents about felling trees and therefore we appointed an independent arborist to reevaluate the damaged trees. Our Highway Superintendent also created a Tree Advisory Committee comprised of nine people who are regular citizens; some of these volunteers are master gardeners. They meet one Saturday per month and discuss the tree program which includes tree felling, stump grinding and replanting.
We have already felled 1,063 trees which were in the severe to high risk category. These trees were a safety hazard. We received very few complaints and site inspected each complaint. One of those trees was determined to be salvageable.
Now our newly appointed arborist, Bill Snyder has identified 1200 trees with heartwood damage. We have consulted experts and they have told us that, even though it appears that there is new/healthy growth, it is highly unlikely that these trees will survive more than one year. The program of felling these trees, with heartwood damage, was started last Friday. To date we have felled close to 300 trees without incident. We have received very few complaints and our Highway Department/Forest Division has taken care of those complaints. We would like to inform our residents of the following:
All the trees that are going to be felled have been marked with the letter ‘C’ in green paint.
To make sure that we do not make any mistakes we have requested our arborist, Mr. Bill Snyder, to reevaluate each of these trees and put an additional marking.
We are requesting that residents who detect any mistakes or if they have any questions and concerns to please call the following numbers:
Bob Anderson, Highway Superintendent or our Forestry Division can be reached by calling 631-7117. You can also email Bob Anderson at Randerson@amherst.ny.us
The Supervisor’s office can be reached by calling 631-7032 or emailing Smohan@amherst.ny.us
I hope that this phase of the program will be completed in three weeks without incident. In the meantime, you can call us with any questions or concerns.
We are currently discussing what to do about the remaining trees. I want to reassure everyone that any further felling program will not be guided by the fact that we will not be getting FEMA money after October 24th. This is not at all the focus. The focus is that all trees that have risk of falling down and injuring residents should be felled.
The next big issue will be the stump grinding. The Town is in the process of organizing this both financially and contractually. We are hoping to finish the stump grinding within the next two months. Our goal is to replace all the trees that have been felled and we hope to replant at least 500 of these trees this year. The replanting program will continue in the Spring but before winter begins we will be finishing the stump grinding and filling the stump hole with top soil. This is our plan today, and we will keep you informed of any new plans.
PLAINTIFFS FIND PAYDAY ELUSIVE IN VIOXX CASES
Two years ago Carol Ernst won $253.5 million from Merck & Company when she sued the company saying their painkiller Vioxx had caused the death of her husband Robert in 2001. So far she has received not a single penny.
“At a news conference after the verdict, Mrs. Ernst said she was pleased that jurors had punished Merck for hiding Vioxx’s heart risks. “This has been a long road,” she said. “I just know that it was a road that I had to run and I had to finish.””
“But her comfort was premature. Merck, the third-largest American drug maker, appealed the verdict — which Texas laws on punitive damages automatically reduced to $26.1 million. Until higher courts rule on the appeal, Merck is not obligated to pay. So Mrs. Ernst, 62, has yet to receive any money.”
“In fact, none of the 45,000 people who have sued Merck, contending that they or their loved ones suffered heart attacks or strokes after taking Vioxx, have received payments from the company. The lawsuits continue, for now in a state of legal limbo, with little prospect of resolution.”
“In combating the litigation, Merck has made an aggressive, and so far successful, bet that forcing plaintiffs to trial will reduce the number of Vioxx lawsuits and, ultimately, its liability.”
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RULES MAY LIMIT HEALTH PROGRAM AIDING CHILDREN
The Bush administration passed a bill that was intended to make certain children of low income families have health coverage. States have been working to expand the program but the Bush administration has adopted new standards that would make it much more difficult for New York, California and others to extend coverage to children in middle-income families.
“Administration officials outlined the new standards in a letter sent to state health officials on Friday evening, in the middle of a monthlong Congressional recess. In interviews, they said the changes were intended to return the Children’s Health Insurance Program to its original focus on low-income children and to make sure the program did not become a substitute for private health coverage.”
“After learning of the new policy, some state officials said yesterday that it could cripple their efforts to cover more children and would impose standards that could not be met.”
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