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Texas Lawmakers Divert Millions From Family Planning Clinics To Community Health Centers
Specialty clinics that provide family planning services in Texas have seen a significant decrease in state funding over the past four years because lawmakers have redirected millions of dollars to expand family planning at community health centers, the Dallas Morning News reports. The funding changes began in 2005, when lawmakers said they were shifting funding to community health centers because they offered more comprehensive health care to low-income patients. Advocates for the family planning clinics argue that the policy is an attempt by antiabortion-rights advocates to shut the clinics down. Although clinics that receive state funding are prohibited from offering abortion services, some conservative lawmakers believe that limiting the funding will hurt groups like Planned Parenthood, which offers abortion services at other locations, according to some family planning advocates. The Morning News reports that state lawmakers might return some of the funding to the specialty clinics during the current legislative session; however, the funding only would equal any money left unused by the community health centers.The most significant funding change occurred in 2005, when almost 25% of the state"s $45 million annual family planning budget was set aside for "federally qualified health centers" -- community health centers that offer services to uninsured and underserved people. Advocates for family planning clinics say that the number of patients receiving state-funded reproductive services declined by nearly 22%, from 326,000 patients in 2005 to 255,000 in the last fiscal year. They also note that the community health centers have an unused surplus of more than $11.5 million since 2005, which they say the family planning clinics could have used.According to the Morning News, many public health experts believe that specialty clinics that have family planning services offer more efficient and effective reproductive care than community health centers. David Warner, a health care finance and policy expert at the University of Texas Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, said the specialty clinics are "very targeted" and "don"t have a lot of overhead," whereas the community clinics have "limited enrollment and can be a lot less accessible." He added, "Continuing to starve those clinics means that you"re not going to be reaching the number of people you could be reaching with family planning services." Family planning clinics in Texas offer more than a dozen services ranging from birth control prescriptions to breast and cervical cancer screening and sexually transmitted infection testing. However, reproductive health advocates say many people often associate the clinics with abortion services, which gives antiabortion-rights lawmakers an incentive to shut down the clinics by withholding funding. Fran Hagerty, CEO of the Women"s Health and Family Planning Association of Texas, said, "Some lawmakers believe if they can prevent Planned Parenthood from participating in the state"s family planning program, then they"ve accomplished their goal."Supporters of community health centers say that billing issues and other administrative problems have distorted their data on how many reproductive health patients they are treating. Many women receive care at the community centers for family planning services along with treatment of other health problems, so they often are not recorded as reproductive health patients, according to the centers (Ramshaw, Dallas Morning News, 5/22).
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Body And Weight Checking May Signify An Eating Disorder
Everyone checks their body to some extent, but many people with eating disorders repeatedly check their body and often in a way that"s unusual.
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E-health Enables More Personalized Medicine; Group Fights For Digital Patient Rights
Tonia Odom, a 35-year-old patient with rheumatoid arthritis, a sick father and a young son, each of whom has multiple health problems, has found some relief to the problems of managing her families" array of illnesses in at a Duke University clinic that"s a model of the "medical home" approach to medicine, the New York Times reports. "As President Obama and Congress try to create a national system that provides better care for more people at lower cost, you are likely to hear a lot more about this idea. The term, coined by the American Academy of Pediatrics in 1967, is admittedly confusing. It does not mean a return to house calls. Nor need it apply only to people with complex health problems like those of the Odom family."
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Minor League Hockey Players Unable To Identify Concussion Symptoms, Study Says

When Chicago Blackhawk"s leading scorer Martin Havlat returned to the ice for game four of the Western Conference Final after sustaining a concussion only two days earlier, questions were raised surrounding his swift return. According to a new study by St. Michael"s Hospital neurosurgeon Dr. Michael Cusimano, similar questions were raised by 25% of minor league hockey players who did not know if an athlete with symptoms of a concussion should continue to play hockey. Nearly a majority of these players were also unable to identify a concussion or its related symptoms. The findings are part of a study by Dr. Cusimano that analyzed the concussion knowledge of 142 adults (coaches, trainers and parents) and 267 players from GTA Atom (10-years-old), Bantam (14-years-old), AA (highly competitive) and house league divisions. The study is published in the May edition of the Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences. "Serious misconceptions exist among minor league hockey players, athletes, coaches and parents when it comes to understanding the signs and symptoms of a concussion and its treatment," said Dr. Cusimano, a professor of neurosurgery, education and public health at the University of Toronto and vice-president of ThinkFirst Canada, a national injury prevention organization. "While many can identify how a concussion may occur, most cannot identify the symptoms and are under the impression that concussions can be treated with physician-prescribed medication or physical therapy. Many also believe it"s okay to return to play before they have fully recovered from such a brain injury. This is troublesome since repeated brain injuries can lead to long term effects in functions such as memory, behaviour, mood, social relations and school or work performance." Key findings of the study include: * Up to two thirds of players had the mistaken impression that a player does not have to lose consciousness to have suffered a concussion * A quarter of adults and up to half of children could not identify any symptoms of a concussion or could name only one symptom of a concussion. * About one-half of players and a fifth of adults mistakenly believed concussions are treated with medication or physical therapy * About a quarter of all players did not know if an athlete experiencing symptoms of a concussion should continue playing * About 4 in 10 of younger players and 3 in 10 of the older players thought a concussed athlete could return to play when feeling "90% better" or "while experiencing a mild headache for the next game as long as it"s at least two days later." In Canada, ice hockey is the main cause of sports-related traumatic brain injury. Statistics suggest youth 5-17 have about 2.8 concussions per 1,000 player-hours of ice hockey while university and elite amateur players sustain rates of 4.2 and 6.6 concussions per 1,000 player hours. Concussions have forced many NHL players like Brett Lindros and Pat LaFontaine to retire early and others like Eric Lindros and goalie Mike Richter to stay off the ice for an extended time because of repeated head injuries. Concussions can have cumulative and lasting effects on memory, judgment, social conduct, reflexes, speech, balance and co-ordination. Key to preventing repeated injuries is to recognize the symptoms of concussion when they occur and knowing how to deal with their effects. "Motivation to win, the wish to advance in their sport and earning the acceptance of their team-mates often outweigh an athletes" decision, or their parents" or coaches" decision, to play safe. This mind-set, coupled with the influence of media and behaviour of some parents, coaches and officials, unfortunately send a clear message that it is more important to continue to play injured than take someone out of the game," said Dr. Cusimano. "This "win at all costs" attitude places added responsibility on parents, coaches and medical professionals to recognize symptoms of a concussion and take all necessary steps to ensure a culture of healthy attitudes and behaviours among players and in leagues." Changes in rules such as removing fighting and body checking, proper use of helmets, softer shoulder and elbow pads, improved enforcement of rules, educational efforts and recognizing the critical role that professionals and the media have in shaping the culture of the sport would be beneficial, he added. Julie Saccone St. Michael"s Hospital


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