Allina in the News

Here's recent news featuring Allina Hospitals & Clinics, a not-for-profit family of hospitals, clinics and other care services dedicated to meeting the health care needs of communities throughout Minnesota and western Wisconsin.
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90-minute Rule Helps Save Heart Patients

[San Francisco Chronicle, November 16, 2008] Physicians throughout the United States have been working with their colleagues to provide heart attack patients lifesaving treatment in minutes rather than hours, even if they fall ill in remote parts of the state.

One of the first large areas to develop such a system was in Minnesota. Now 35 hospitals and 11 clinics throughout the state have a system in place to get heart attack patients to Minneapolis for treatment, although some patients are treated at other hospitals as well, said Dr. Tim Henry of the Minnesota Heart Institute at Abbott Northwestern Hospital. Read the full story on sfgate.com...

Red Cross Workers Demand Fair Contract in St. Paul

[Fox 9 News, November 15, 2008] American Red Cross' 68 lab workers process blood for 111 hospitals in Minnesota, western Wisconsin and eastern South Dakota. If they strike, they say several hospitals – including some operated by Allina Hospitals & Clinics – could be affected. Read the full story on myfoxtwincities.com...

Cybex Pledges to Owatonna Hospital's Expanding the Dream Capital Campaign

[Owatonna People's Press; Allina Newsroom, November 15, 2008] CYBEX International pledged an in-kind gift, valued at nearly $75,000, to Owatonna Hospital's Expanding the Dream capital campaign. CYBEX will fully equip the rehabilitation area of the new Owatonna Hospital's Center for Health & Wellness with the most advanced exercise equipment on the market.
Read the full story on owatonna.com...
Read the full story on allina.com...

David Kirby: Minneapolis and the Somali Autism Riddle

[ Huffington Post, November 14, 2008] Columnist discusses why Minnesotans recently gathered to discuss a baffling and heartbreaking riddle: Why is the reported rate of autism among children of Somali refugees so alarmingly high (now an estimated 1-in-28 schoolchildren)?

Dr. Gregory A. Plotnikoff, medical director for the Institute for Health and Healing at Abbott Northwestern Hospital, said a colleague had noticed an "exceedingly high" rate of morning sickness among pregnant Somali women in Minneapolis, often requiring hospitalizations. Read the full story on huffingtonpost.com...

Area health news

This summary of health news throughout the areas Allina serves includes links to the full articles on different Web sites. Read more headlines and news stories on Allina.com.

Endangered Species Have Home on Market Shelves

[Star Tribune, November 17, 2008] As Minnesota's immigrant communities hold onto their healing traditions, sales of illegal plant and animal products draw a federal crackdown. Read the full story on startribune.com...

Winter Wood-burning Causes Health Concerns

[The New Ulm Journal, November 17, 2008] Burning wood can be a popular way for Minnesotans to keep warm during the winter. But the fine particles and gases contained in wood smoke can be hazardous to people's health. Read the full story on nujournal.com...

The Bloom of Birth

[Star Tribune, November 16, 2008] Hoping to conceive? Pregnant? Blooma, a center with everything from prenatal yoga classes to workshops on eco-conscious baby care, offers resources and support. Read the full story on startribune.com...

No Reports of Whooping Cough in Steele County

[Owatonna People's Press, November 15, 2008] Despite an increase in the number of whooping cough cases being reported around Minnesota, no cases have been reported in Steele County. The closest outbreaks have been in Albert Lea and Dakota counties, reported Minnesota Department of Health officials. Read the full story on ...

NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL HEALTH NEWS

Read more headlines and news stories on Allina.com.

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

FDA to Open Offices in China

In an effort to improve the safety of imports destined for the United States, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will open three offices in China this week. They are the first FDA offices outside of the United States, the Associated Press reported.

"Establishing a permanent FDA presence in China will greatly enhance the speed and effectiveness of our regulatory cooperation and our efforts to protect consumers in both countries," U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt said in a news release.

Thirteen FDA staffers will be assigned to the offices in China, but Leavitt didn't specify what their duties would be, the AP reported. The offices will be located in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai. Leavitt added he'll now focus on opening FDA offices in India and Central America.

The FDA had been under increasing pressure to open offices in China because of safety issues involving a wide range of products, including food and the blood thinner heparin.

In related news, the European Union and China agreed Monday to cooperate better on consumer safety, the AP reported.

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Liver Cells Damaged by Drinking Water Levels of Arsenic

After being exposed to levels of arsenic that meet U.S. standards for drinking water, mice developed problems with liver cells that remove waste from the blood and enable nutrients to regulate metabolism.

The mice received 10 to 100 parts per billion of arsenic over a two-week period. This impaired the ability of specialized cells in the liver (sinusoidal endothelial cells) to remove damaged proteins from the blood. The cells also lost their characteristic pores, which severely limited their ability to exchange nutrients and waste, United Press International reported.

The University of Pittsburgh study was published online and in the Dec. 1 print issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

The current U.S. arsenic standard for drinking water is 10 parts per billion for sources that serve more than 20 people, UPI reported.

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Hurricane Ike's Destruction Causes Hospital Cutbacks

Hurricane Ike's devastation is still being felt, even though the storm hit Galveston Island in Texas more than two months ago. The latest fallout, the New York Times reported, is the loss of 3,800 jobs from the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston's largest employer.

Those jobs represent one-third of the medical center's work force. The use of most of John Sealey Hospital, the main branch of the medical complex, which also includes a major trauma center and defense research center, has been lost, the newspaper reported.

Ike destroyed so many of the hospital's buildings that only the maternity ward remains open, the Times reported. The idea is to cut staff now and slowly rebuild the hospital and medical school during the next six months, significantly reducing a $40 million monthly loss since the hurricane hit in early September.

Karen H. Sexton, University of Texas vice president for hospitals and clinics, told the newspaper that there has been no emergency aid money from either the state or U.S. governments. Until that money comes, she said, the staff reductions were necessary. "We are committed to getting back into the health care business," she told the Times. "We know we have to be a lot smaller right now."

Copyright © 2008 ScoutNews LLC. All rights reserved.

Published on: 11/17/2008

TODAY'S HEALTH NEWS, a compilation of local, national and international health news, comes courtesy of Allina.com.

Link broken? Links to area health news articles may change without notice. For the full text of stories, please contact the editor .

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