Blog: Coal Mine Health And Safety Act

I do have a ton of kid's books that make noise. I have never thought about the fact that they have a little battery in them. This story really helped open my eyes. I am going on a battery scavenger hunt this weekend!

FROM ABC: Parents of toddlers know children will put just about anything into their mouths, but when that something is a disc battery, the consequences can be deadly. An important warning tonight for parents. Amy Vasquez, Kaiden's mom: "He came to me crying and sticking his fingers down his throat and vomiting." One minute, Kaiden Vasquez was a happy and healthy 13 month old. The next...

Amy Vasquez, Kaiden's mom:"I didn't know what had happened. I was scared, so I immediately piled all the kids in the car and took him to the emergency room." And after spending the night at the hospital running tests. Amy Vasquez, Kaiden's mom "They sent him home and told me it was the stomach flu." Only, Kaiden did not have the stomach flu. He had a lithium disc battery stuck in his esophagus.

Kaiden had put a remote control in his mouth, and even though the battery compartment was screwed shut, the battery came loose and he swallowed it. Dr. Toby Litovitz, director, National Capital Poison Center: "These children are often brought to the pediatrician or emergency department and they're misdiagnosed because their symptoms are so typical of more common illnesses." Doctor Toby Litovitz is the Medical Director of the National Capital Poison Center and the author of this new study detailing the severity of battery ingestion accidents. She says children have been swallowing small batteries for decades.

So what's different? The battery size and voltage. Dr. Toby Litovitz/ Director, National Capital Poison Center "So what's happening with these batteries is because they're larger in diameter they're getting stuck in the esophagus of the child when the child swallows." Today, these tiny, flat batteries are 20 millimeters, between the size of a penny and nickel and carry as much as 3 volts. So when a lithium battery gets lodged, it creates an electrolysis reaction and results in a serious chemical burn that eats through tissue.

Dr. Toby Litovitz, Director, National Capital Poison Center: "And so it would be like little drops of something like a drain cleaner in your child's esophagus. The critical thing is you only have a two-hour window to get that battery out." But in Kaiden's case because he was misdiagnosed, he was back home. Amy Vasquez, Kaiden's mom: "Then progressively over a week he got worse and worse and worse." So Amy, who happens to be a registered nurse, took Kaiden to his pediatrician where this x-ray showed a circle in his esophagus.

Amy Vasquez, Kaiden's mom: "I was devastated. The battery was in his esophagus, lodged in his esophagus and burning a hole into us trachea for the whole week." Kaiden was hospitalized for two weeks, received food through an I.V. at home for months waiting for his esophagus to heal. But this story is not unique. About 35-hundred cases of battery ingestion are reported to U.S. Poison Centers each year. More than a dozen children have died. The majority of kids swallowing disc batteries?

Children younger than four years old. Dr. Toby Litovitz, Director, National Capital Poison Center: "Some of these children won't feed again normally, they won't talk again normally. They'll have breathing problems for the rest of their lives." Amy still has the battery that was lodged in Kaiden's esophagus. And she found lithium disk batteries all over her home. In her kids' books, that she now keeps out of reach unless she's reading to the kids. She also removes small batteries from things like her thermometer. Amy Vasquez/ Kaiden's mom: "Baby-proof everything. Always keep the batteries out of the way, duct tape things you can't get rid of." "You want to push the buttons?" As for Kaiden today...

Amy Vasquez, Kaiden's mom: "He is good today. He is wonderful today."

There is actually a 24-hour national battery ingestion hotline, just dial 202-625-3333 or you can call your poison center if you think your child has swallowed a battery. Doctors like Dr. Litovitz are working hard to bring awareness to the dangers of batteries. And they're recommending manufacturers redesign products to that it requires a screw and screwdriver to actually open battery compartments.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

What if you could look younger? Soderstrom Skin Institute was one of the first medical facilities to offer laser services in Central Illinois 20 years ago and today provides one of the most comprehensive laser treatment programs available. Call 674-7546 to schedule your FREE CONSULTATION today!

One of the worst parts of the current health care system is its sheer complexity. Because most of the payments are made by third parties, the paperwork burden is enormous. Co-pays, deductibles, ever-shifting networks, and so on.

Unfortunately, that complexity is about to get a lot worse because of this year’s health care bill. Check out this flow chart of what the health care system will look like once Obamacare is implemented:

You can also download a PDF version of the chart that allows you to zoom in more closely. It’s worth taking a few minutes to look at all the agencies and bureaucracies in greater detail.

This chart was released by Rep. Kevin Brady, a partisan Republican. But whatever your politics, you should be wary of any scheme as grandiose as Obamacare. This represents a re-ordering of one sixth of the American economy.And not only is the government tasked with making this flow chart flow smoothly. It is also tasked with fighting two land wars in Asia. With delivering the mail. With developing new energy technologies. With overhauling the nation’s entire financial system. No organization can do all those things and do them well. Doesn’t matter how talented and well-meaning the people behind it are. It is beyond the limits of anyone’s ability to plan.

As Dan Mitchell points out, real health care reform would have just two parties to most transactions: buyer and seller.

There are two other things I’d like to see. One is that health insurance should not be linked to your job. Under both the current system and Obamacare, if you lose your job, you lose your insurance at exactly the time you need it most. This can be done by treating employer-provided insurance exactly the same as individual insurance in the tax code. Employer-provided insurance is currently given special treatment.

Real reform would also fundamentally change the way we use health insurance. The purpose of insurance is to insure against unexpected risks. Your annual physical does not fit that description. Having insurers pay for routine, expected expenses is like using your auto insurance to pay for a tank of gas and a car wash. No wonder premiums are so high. Health insurance isn’t really insurance. It’s pre-paying for your health care. And it also has one whopper of a principal-agent problem that explains a large portion of why health costs are so shockingly high.

Requisition Number: SJ-8840 Job Title: Health Unit Coordinator

Site Overview:
St Joseph's Hospital - St. Joseph's Hospital, of downtown St. Paul, was also named a Solucient Top 100 hospital. Providing the latest technology and having outstanding recovery rates, the staff takes a team approach to providing quality and compassionate patient care. Specialties include services at the National Brain Aneurysm Center, Heart Care, and treating inoperable tumors with the revolutionary technology of the CyberKnife®. St. Joseph's recently completed an $85 million expansion that features some of the most sophisticated technology available.

Department Overview:
PCU 4000/4T

Work Location:
St. Joseph's Hospital Contract: Non-contract

Job Category:
Clerical/Office-Medical Specific Area of Interest:

City:
St Paul

Shift:
Day / Evening Rotation
Authorized Hours - Minimum Per Two Weeks: 56
Authorized Hours - Maximum Per Two Weeks:

Work Hours:
Work Hours/Schedule (For Example: 7:00am-3:30pm or Every other weekend) Variable schedule and does involve an every other weekend rotation

Primary Function & Major Responsibilities Creates an atmosphere of hospitality on the unit and contributes to efficient unit operation by carrying out all unit/clerical and receptionist activities, and transcribing physician orders Demonstrates commitment to the universal guiding principles of the patient care model in order to achieve the HealthEast Nursing Vision. Prioritizes and transcribes written doctor's orders under the supervision of the RN. Maintains the patient medical record in appropriate functional order as indicated in hospital and unit policy. Participates in activities that contribute to daily unit function. Communicates accurately and effectively with patient, family and members of the interdependent team. Complies with regulatory requirements, patient safety requirements, infection control practices, and other established practice standards, policies and procedures. Participates in the development and achievement of unit goals (i.e. safety, cost, quality, satisfaction, engagement). Achieves customer service excellence by understanding the needs of all customers (i.e. patients, families, and physicians). Understands the security requirements of medications and IV solutions.

Qualifications
Education:
Completion of hospital or vocational training in transcription/processing of physician orders.

Experience:
One year of transcribing experience or equivalent combination of education and experience. Health Unit Coordinatorinator certification preferred.

Special Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
Excellent communication and organizational skills. Knowledge of basic medical terminology. Basic computer skills. Is competent to perform skills outlined on the competency checklist. Regular/Temporary

Status: Regular

If Temporary, Start Date:

If Temporary, End Date:

Position Status: Part Time Employee

Referral Bonus Eligible: No

Sign-On Bonus: No

Nearest Major Market: Minneapolis
Job Segments: Customer Service, Customer Service Representative, Healthcare, Infection Control, Law, Legal, Medical, Part Time, Patient Care, Service

Membership Opportunity:  Global Health Council

Colleagues,

Brown University, Warren Alpert Medical School is pleased to be an organizational member of the Global Health Council, the world’s largest membership alliance dedicated to saving lives by improving health throughout the world. Our membership enables you to become an associate member of the Global Health Council at no charge. This free membership provides you with a number of benefits which are outlined here.  By signing up you will be able to keep tabs on the latest events and news in global health.

Add your voice to support improved global health. Sign up is quick and easy, so join today.

To Enroll
Go to: https://my.globalhealth.org and select First Visit.
Important: Please be sure to select Brown University, Warren Alpert Medical School in the company drop down menu to ensure you receive the complimentary membership.

Important: After you have provided basic information, you need to click on “Sign up for Individual Membership”.  This will take you to a page which reviews your details; on the bottom of this page be sure to select the button “Activate Free Associate Membership”.

You also are entitled to receive 50% off a print subscription to the magazine Global Health. This can be found at: http://www.globalhealthmagazine.com/subscribe/.

Questions? Contact the Global Health Council at membership@globalhealth.org

Job Opportunity:  Brown University Population Studies and Training Center

Assistant Director

Population Studies and Training Center (PSTC), Brown University

This position provides high-level support to the research and training missions of the PSTC; works closely with the Director to ensure the efficient operation of all of PSTC’s core functions; provides lead support to the Associate Director’s responsibilities in the training program; contributes to long-term planning and developing the vision for the Center, both internally for Brown and externally to the research community; provides project management, PSTC representation, and coordination of ongoing externally-funded research and capacity-building activities across diverse international settings; develops dissemination plans for research results and PSTC activities within and beyond Brown, and supervises staff in the production of relevant materials; provides content for institutional and individual grant applications, donor and agency reports, and the PSTC website.  Overall, this position aids the Director and Associate Director in meeting the goals and objectives of the PSTC, a dynamic interdepartmental and interdisciplinary center, which coordinates research and training programs involving the activities of nearly 40 faculty and over 50 graduate students with a substantial annual operating budget and external award portfolio.

Job Requirements:

¨       Advanced degree in related field (e.g., social science or MPH) and at least 5 years experience in a diverse academic research setting highly preferred

¨       Strong interpersonal skills for dealing with many different people from diverse cultural and personal backgrounds; enthusiasm for participation in research and scholarly activities across a variety of geographic and cultural settings

¨       Superior writing skills

¨       Ability to handle a large variety of tasks under pressure and to set priorities

To apply, visit us online at http://careers.brown.edu and reference job number F01314.

Brown University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.

Unite for Sight Conference:  First Abstract Deadline August 15

GH/Innovate 2011

Global Health & Innovation Conference Presented by Unite For Sight, 8th Annual ConferenceYale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
Saturday, April 16 – Sunday, April 17, 2011

http://www.uniteforsight.org/conference

“A Meeting of Minds”–CNN

Unite For Sight’s must-attend, thought-leading conference convenes leaders, changemakers, and participants from all fields of global health, international development, and social entrepreneurship.  The conference convenes 2,200 people from all 50 states and from 50 countries.

Conference registration is now open. Register during July to secure the lowest registration rate. The registration rate increases after July.

Interested in presenting at the conference? We have two types of presentation opportunities.

• Call For Abstracts: Do you have an abstract for oral or poster presentation?  Submit your abstract for presentation.  The first abstract deadline is August 15, 2010.  Complete details are on the conference website.
• Call For Social Enterprise Pitches: Do you have an innovative idea or a new program in development?  Submit your idea for presentation.  Social enterprise pitches are accepted on a rolling application deadline, and the first quality pitches will be accepted for oral presentation.  When the social enterprise pitch spots are filled to capacity, applications will no longer be accepted.  See social enterprise pitch instructions on the conference website.

Confirmed Keynote Speakers

Jeffrey Sachs, PhD, Director of Earth Institute at Columbia University; Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development, Professor of Health Policy and Management, Columbia University; Special Advisor to Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon

Sonia Ehrlich Sachs, MD, MPH, Director of Health, Millennium Village Project, Earth Institute at Columbia University

More keynote speakers to be announced

200 Featured Speakers, including these confirmed speakers:

“How Do You Know When You’ve Revolutionized An Industry?: Ashoka’s Approach to Assessing Impact,” Karabi Acharya, ScD, Change Leader, Ashoka

“Workshop – Social Entrepreneurs: Systems Thinking in Action,” Karabi Acharya, ScD, Change Leader, Ashoka

“Design Education in the Humanitarian Sphere: Designmatters Best Practices,” Mariana Amatullo, Vice President, Director, Designmatters Department, Art Center College of Design

“Readying Orphans For Their Community: Models For Taking Orphans Out Of Isolation,” Jane Aronson, MD, CEO and Founder of Worldwide Orphans Foundation; Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Cornell Weill Medical College and Columbia University

“Doctors as Storytellers: Using Our Stories For Social Change,” Neal Baer, MD, Institute for Photographic Empowerment at USC’s Annenberg School of Communications; Executive Producer, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit

“Workshop – New Media For Global Health,” Neal Baer, MD, Institute for Photographic Empowerment at USC’s Annenberg School of Communications; Executive Producer, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit

“Investing in Adolescent Girls — The Transition to Adulthood,” Wendy Baldwin, Vice President, Poverty, Gender and Youth, Population Council

“Singing for Life: HIV/AIDS, Music, and Health in Uganda,” Gregory Barz, PhD, Ethnomusicologist, Blair School of Music, Vanderbilt University

“High-Impact Social Entrepreneurship” Elmira Bayrasli, Policy and Outreach, Endeavor

“Workshop – Social Entrepreneurship,” Elmira Bayrasli, Policy and Outreach, Endeavor

Alan Bernstein, PhD, Executive Director, Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise

Matthew Berg, ICT Coordinator, Millennium Villages Project

Ron Bills, Chairman & CEO, Envirofit International

“Asking The Right Questions: Lessons Learned From The Cuban Health System,” Peter Bourne, MA, MD, Visiting Scholar, Oxford University; Vice Chancellor Emeritus, St. George’s University; Formerly Special Assistant to the President of the United States for Health Issues; Chair, Medical Education Cooperation with Cuba (MEDICC)

“Workshop – Improving Organizational Performance in Low-Income Settings,” Elizabeth Bradley, PhD, Professor of Public Health, Division of Health Policy & Administration; Director, Health Management Program; Director, Global Health Initiatives, Yale School of Public Health

“Doctors With Borders,” Michael Brennan, MD, American Academy of Ophthalmology Past President, Alamance Eye Center

P. Sean Brotherton, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, Yale University

“Orchestration of the Host Immune Response by Malaria Parasites,” Richard Bucala, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine, Pathology and Epidemiology and Public Health, Yale University School of Medicine

“Innovations and Technologies for Resource Constrained Settings: Opportunities and Strategies,” Thomas F. Burke, MD, Chief, Division of Global Health and Human Rights, Massachusetts General Hospital Departments of Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics, MGH Division of General Pediatrics, Children’s Hospital Boston Harvard Medical School; Associate Professor, KCA University and Victoria Institute for Science and Technology, Kisumu, Kenya

“Maternal Health and Societal Development,” Sharon Camp, President and CEO, Guttmacher Institute

“Strategies to Prevent Maternal Mortality in Latin America and the Caribbean,” Arachu Castro, PhD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Social Medicine; Academic Director, Program in Infectious Disease and Social Change, Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Partners in Health

“Challenges and Opportunities For Improving Health Care Systems,” Paul Cleary, PhD, Dean of Public Health, Chair, Epidemiology and Public Health; Anna M.R. Lauder Professor of Public Health, Yale University School of Public Health, Yale School of Medicine

“Randomized Trials in Malaria: Questions, Answers and More Questions,” Jessica Cohen, PhD, Assistant Professor of Global Health, Department of Global Health and Policy, Harvard School of Public Health

Josh Cohen, Managing Partner, City Light Capital

“Proof of Sustainable Eye Care Systems in Africa, The Only Way To V2020,” Kate Coleman, BSc, PhD, Consultant Ophthalmologist, Executive Chairman, Right To Sight

Daryl Collins, Senior Associate, Bankable Frontier Associates

Ken Cook, President, Environmental Working Group

“Fail Early, Launch Well: Why Getting it Going is More Important Than Getting It Right (At Least At First),” Cindy Cooper, Director, Social Innovation Incubator, School of Business Administration, Portland State University

Scott Corlew, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Interplast

“The Evolution of Development and Urgent Need for a Genetic Jump,” Mark Dybul, Co-Director Global Health Law Program; Distinguished Visiting Scholars, O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, Georgetown University

Michael Fairbanks, co-Founder, SEVEN

“Designing Social Impact,” Heather Fleming, Catapult Design

“Technologies for Rural Health,” Rich Fletcher, PhD, Research Scientist, MIT Media Lab

“Pediatric Vision Screening in Western Hunan Province,” Susan Forster, MD, Associate Clinical Professor, Director of Medical Studies, Yale School of Medicine; Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science Chief of Ophthalmology, Yale University Health Services

“Collaborative Development of Open Source Medical Record Systems in Developing Countries: The OpenMRS Experience,” Hamish Fraser, MBChB, MRCP, MSc, Director of Informatics and Telemedicine, Partners in Health; Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School; Associate Physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Robert Freling, Executive Director, Solar Electric Light Fund

“Rewards for Green Behavior,” Ron Gonen, Founder and CEO, Recycle Bank

Kate Grant, Executive Director, The Fistula Foundation

“Clean Off-Grid Lighting,” Gaurav Gupta, Partner, Dalberg and Founder, The Climate Project, India

“Wireless Adherence Monitoring Technology,” Jessica Haberer, MD, Research Scientist, Harvard Initiative for Global Health; Assistant in Health Decision Sciences, Massachusetts General Hospital; Instructor, Harvard Medical School

“The Effect of Cooking Stoves on Health: Evidence From A Randomized Experiment in India,” Rema Hanna, Assistant Professor of Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School

Rebecca Hardin, Associate Professor, University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment

“Authentic Corporate Engagement in Global Health,” Laura Herman, Managing Director, FSG Social Impact Advisors

“Not Everyone Cares: Marketing Your Cause in a Cluttered Marketplace,” Scott Henderson, Principal at CauseShift and Campaign Manager of WeCanEndThis.com

“Workshop – Breaking Thru The Clutter: How to Market Your Cause and Attract New Champions,” Scott Henderson, Principal at CauseShift and Campaign Manager of WeCanEndThis.com

“Global Health Education: Policies, Practices, and Innovations in Organizations and Systems,” Brian Heuser, M.T.S., Ed.D., Assistant Professor of the Practice of International Education Policy, Department of Leadership, Policy and Organizations; Peabody College, Vanderbilt University

“Proceedings From The African Glaucoma Summit,” Leon Herndon, MD, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology, Glaucoma Service, Duke University Eye Center

“Workshop – Starting a Nonprofit: Myths and Realities,” Maurice Segall and Rick Hobish, JD, Pro Bono Partnership

“Global Health: Leadership, Not Money,” Karl Hofmann, President and CEO, PSI

“Rescuing the Bottom Billion Through Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases,” Peter Hotez, MD, PhD, President of the Sabin Vaccine Institute; Distinguished Research Pressor and Walter G. Ross Professor and Chair of the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine, The George Washington University

Paul Hudnut, Global Social & Sustainable Enterprise Program, College of Business-Colorado State University; Founder and Director, Envirofit International

“Global Infertility and the Millennial Challenge of Reproductive ‘Tourism,’” Marcia Inhorn, MPH, PhD, William K. Lanman Jr. Professor of Anthropology and International Affairs Chair, Council on Middle East Studies

Jonathan Jackson, Co-Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer, Dimagi

“IQSolutions, Using Health Informatics to Make Informed Decisions,” Bobby Jefferson, Health IT Project Manager, Futures Group

“Farmers First: Scaling a Permanent and Sustainable End To Hunger,” Tony Kalm, Director, One Acre Fund

Salmaan Keshavjee, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School

Mehmood Khan, Senior Vice President, Chief Scientific Officer, PepsiCo

“Ecological Sanitation in Emergencies: Turning Wastes into Resources in Post-Earthquake Haiti,” Sasha Kramer, Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods (SOIL)

“The Road To Hell: The Ethics of Global Health Response,” Gregory Luke Larkin, MD, Professor & Chief, Section of International Emergency Medicine & Global Health, Yale School of Medicine

“How To Create a Social Venture,” Moses Lee, Managing Editor, NextBillion.net; Entrepreneurship Academic Program Manager and Lecturer in Social Entrepreneurship, University of Michigan

“Zilch: The Power of Zero in Business,” Nancy Lublin, CEO, Do Something

“Building Widespread Political Support for Newborn, Child and Maternal Health,” Charles MacCormack, CEO, Save The Children

“Agriculture, The Other Health Intervention,” Bonnie McClafferty, Head, Development & Communications, HarvestPlus

John McGoldrick, JD, Chairman, Zimmer Holdings, Inc., and Special Advisor, International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI)

“Collective Rights to HIV Prevention: Human Rights for the Public’s Health,” Benjamin Mason Meier, JD, LLM, PhD, Assistant Professor of Global Health Policy, Department of Public Policy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

“The Power of Social Entrepreneurship to Change an Industry,” Jeff Mendelsohn, CEO, New Leaf Paper

“Workshop – The Power of Social Entrepreneurship to Change an Industry,” Jeff Mendelsohn, CEO, New Leaf Paper

“The Talent Gap: A Leadership Opportunity,” Blair Miller, Talent Manager, Acumen Fund

“Architecture for the Underserved,” Michael Murphy, MASS Group

“Clean Energy — A Key to Health and Development,” Anne Murray, Senior Development Officer, E+CO

Moses Musaazi, PhD, Professor and Former Head, Electrical Engineering Department, Makerere University; Founder and Managing Director of Technology for Tomorrow; Developer of Makapad

“Photonics Based Telemedicine Technologies Toward Smart Global Health Systems,” Aydogan Ozcan, PhD, Assistant Professor, Electrical Engineering Department, NanoSystems Institute, UCLA

“Disability in the Developing World–Is There a Solution?” Ron Nabors, Chief Executive Officer, Christian Blind Mission-US

Momar Ndao, DVM, MSc, PhD, Director, National Reference Centre for Parasitology; Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases; Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre

Julia Novy-Hildesley, Executive Director, The Lemelson Foundation

“Electronic Medical Records: On Becoming a Digital Doctor,” Matthew Paul, MD, Danbury Eye Physicians and Surgeons

Ken Patterson, RESULTS Educational Fund, Global Grassroots Manager

“Building Successful Public Private Partnerships in Global Health: A Private Sector Perspective From The Malaria Community,” Steven Phillips, Medical Director, Global Issues and Projects, ExxonMobil Corporation

“Workshop – Design Global Change,” Natacha Poggio, Assistant Professor, University of Hartford

“Empowering Women to Have The Children They Want Safely,” Malcolm Potts, MB, BChir, PhD, FRCOG, Bixby Professor, School of Public Health, University of California Berkeley

“Project Firefly: Next-Generation Infant Phototherapy for Developing Countries,” Timothy Prestero, CEO, Design That Matters

“Health Systems Strengthening in Fragile States – What Do We Know? Examples From MSH Work,” Jonathan D. Quick, MD, MPH, President & CEO, Management Sciences For Health

“How Can The Global Health Community Leverage Data Online for Decisions and Impact?” Suzanne Rainey, Forum One Communications

“Bioethical Considerations in Surgical Volunteerism,” Aron Rose, MD, Associate Clinical Professor, Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences

“Microbicides for HIV Prevention: New Science, New Hope,” Zeda Rosenberg, CEO, International Partnership for Microbicides

Jennifer Ruger, PhD, MSc, Associate Professor, Division of Health Policy and Administration, Yale School of Public Health

“YOUTH ZONES: A Film and Poetry Initiative on Young People from Conflicts and Natural Disasters,” Lisa Russell, MPH, Filmmaker

Georgia Sambunaris, Senior Advisor to the Director, Office of Economic Growth, USAID

Harshad Sanghvi, Vice President and Medical Director of JHPIEGO

Simon Sinek, Sinek Partners

“WE CARE Solar – Bringing Light to Maternal Health Care,” Laura Stachel, MD, MPH, UC Berkeley School of Public Health; Co-Founder, WE CARE Solar

“Reducing Maternal Mortality: Designing Programs for Success in Developing Countries,” Mary Ellen Stanton, USAID Senior Maternal Health Advisor

Evan A. Thomas, PhD, P.E., Executive Vice President, Manna Energy Limited

“Patient Adherence to Glaucoma Medications: Current Concepts,” James C. Tsai, MD, Robert R. Young Professor and Chairman, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Yale University School of Medicine; Chief of Ophthalmology, Yale-New Haven Hospital

“Global HIV Prevention,” Sten Vermund, MD, PhD, Director, Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health

“Hearing The Unheard Cry: Strategies to Save Newborn Lives at Scale,” Steve Wall, Senior Newborn Health Research Advisor, Save The Children

“WaterCredit: Driving Financial Innovation in Water Supply & Sanitation For The Poor,” Gary White, Executive Director, Water.org

“Design Thinking For Social Innovation,” Jocelyn Wyatt, Social Innovation Lead, IDEO

“Workshop – Design Thinking,” Jocelyn Wyatt, Social Innovation Lead, IDEO

“Narrowing The Gap Between Evidence and Action in Global Health,” Gavin Yamey, MD, MA, MRCP, Lead, Evidence to Policy Initiative (E2Pi), Global Health Group

“ECOfashion: An ECOpreneur’s Journey to Transform the Global Textile Industry,” Marci Zaroff, Founder and CEO, FASE; Founder, Under the Canopy

The conference will include more than 200 speakers. More speakers to be announced.

SAVE THE DATE!  September 9-11, 2010:  AAFP Family Medicine Global Health Workshop (Hotel Deadline August 19)

7th AAFP Family Medicine Global Health Workshop
Building Capacity to Improve Health for All
www.aafp.org/intl/workshop

September 9-11, 2010
Hyatt Regency Coral Gables
Coral Gables, Florida

Connect with people, projects and places at the 7th AAFP Family Medicine Global Health Workshop. Choose from more than 45 presentations. Share your experience during interactive Q&A sessions, panel discussions and workshop special events.

You will meet with faculty, physicians and other health professionals and learn how

·        to explore options for global health involvement,

·        to develop and sustain international partnerships,

·        to provide health care and medical education in the context of scarce resources and

·        to increase the impact of global health rotations on students’ and residents’ professional development

Special Guest Speakers

Donna E. Shalala, PhD
President, University of Miami

Fitzhugh Mullan, MD
Murdock Head Professor of Medicine and Health Policy
George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services

Registration and Hotel Information:
Registration is available online – www.aafp.org/intl/workshop or call 1-800 – 272-2237.
Hotel deadline is August 19.

Questions? Contact Rebecca Janssen, AAFP International Activities Senior Program Coordinator, at rjanssen@aafp.org.

SAVE THE DATE!  September 20-21, 2010:  CUGH Conference

Libertas Post recently interviewed Paul McKeever , leader of the Freedom Party of Ontario (FPO). Founded in the 1980s and based in London, ON, it’s unlikely the FPO is going to take power any time soon. In the 2007 provincial election, the party ran 15 candidates and garnered 3,003 votes (0.1 percent percent of total ballots cast, according to Elections Ontario).

Despite their fringe status, the FPO does offer some intriguing policy prescriptions, from lower taxes and legal marijuana to getting government out of the marriage business and expanding choice in education and healthcare.

Fourty-four years-old, McKeever is married with two children and works as a employment lawyer in Oshawa, ON when not attending to party business. He favours reason, rationality and consent. Just don’t call him a libertarian.

How did you get involved with the Freedom Party of Ontario?

I was referred to the Freedom Party by a professor at the University of Western Ontario [in London, Ontario]. I was looking for something that other parties [couldn’t offer]. I got on the [FPO] mailing list ... 1995 was the first year I got really active with the party. I helped distribute flyers for then party leader Lloyd Walker. After that I was involved in [the 1999 provincial election] because the party was looking for candidates. I first ran in Toronto Centre-Rosedale, against [Liberal candidate] George Smitherman and former Toronto mayor [John Sewell]. Right after that, the party started using me as a spokeperson so I started making regular appearances on Michael Coren and Rhonda London’s [television shows]. Then in 2002, Lloyd Walker stepped down as party leader and I was appointed the new guy with the job.

Are you a disullusioned Tory?

[For the 1995 provincial election] I was living north of London in a riding that didn’t have a FPO candidate. I got pretty excited by the Common Sense Revolution (the Ontario Progressive Conservative’s campaign platform, ed. note) at the time because it was promising a lot of things that were affecting people like me. I was doing long trips to home in Oshawa and I was faced with photo radar. So getting rid of that looked like a good thing to me. It was nothing but a tax grab.

I was actually working in a restaurant at the time, washing dishes. The manager of the restaurant said ‘Guess who’s here?’ It was [Mike Harris] the leader of the Progressive Conservatives. I asked my boss, ‘Do you mind if I take five minutes and sit with him?’ So I walked out to the dining area and said, ‘Excuse me, Mr. Harris, do you mind if I talk to you for a minute?’ I said, ‘Here’s my problem. I’ve got a Masters’ degree, a year of a PhD and I’m two years into a law degree and here I am working in a restaurant in London. And this is the first job I’ve found in a year-and-a-half. I’m out of school in another year with a law degree. Why should I stay in this province?’ At the time, things were rather depressed [in Ontario] and the deficit was running high.

I had just come out of a PhD program prior to a law degree and all the white males of able body were being told, ‘Sorry there’s no jobs.’ … it was a time in which affirmative action was in full throttle. I asked Harris, ‘What about photo radar?’ He said ‘Scrap it.’ I said, ‘What about affirmative action?’ He said, ‘Scrap that.’ Then he says the PCs were going to cut taxes by a third which at the time, for anyone going into government sounded revolutionary. I thought, ‘If you’re actually going to do that you got my vote.’ … I liked that Harris was at least undoing the damage done by the NDP, but that’s all he was doing. He wasn’t making it better.

At the same time I was involved in Freedom Party provincially back in ’97, I was interested in the Reform Party federally—not because of any of their social programs which I recoil from—but they had a very strong policy with respect to obeying the division of constitutional legislative powers. They were opposed to the federal government using what is called the federal spending power. The federal spending power is how the federal government manages to spend federal money on provincial things like education, heathcare and welfare. So I supported Reform for that reason, but then they morphed into an alliance with some Conservatives called the Canadian Alliance led by a fellow (Stockwell Day, ed. note) who thought dinosaurs coexisted with humans and … everything went off the rails.

That was around 2002 when the Freedom Party said, ‘Hey Paul we want you to be the next leader.’ I said if we’re going to do that, then the party has to change. We’re not going to be advocating philosophy, we’re going to be promoting a handful of policies we think the public needs. So we became much more practical and electable rather than sort of being a libertarian philosophy club.

My problem with the [federal] Conservatives is that they are … a party that believes freedom is not the be-all and end-all. Freedom has to be ‘exercised well’, quote unquote, so that means, according to Stephen Harper, one must only be permitted to make the right decisions. Government must punish the wrong decisions … [Harper] says he’s guided by faith … this is coming across now in various panderings to the backbone of his support … people who give him money, people who drive the signs into the ground come election time. Those folks are the social conservatives. They want abortion banned, and if they can’t get that they want to make it as difficult as possible [to get an abortion]. So we see these peripheral measures … it’s reflected in foreign aid, where the Conservatives are not going to fund abortion.

Now, I don’t think [government] should be funding abortions at all. But my point is, clearly there’s a religious consideration being made … it’s being reflected in things like the gay marriage motion that was held in 2006 … they tried to put it back on the agenda. That didn’t work so it left the social conservatives looking for somebody to oppress and that left open the war on drugs. So the government decided in 2007 to plunge ahead with their anti-drug strategy.

I don’t know how religious Harper is personally, whether he is as driven as some of his social conservative supporters, but he’s certainly in bed with them.

I put out a two-part movie about [recently convicted marijuana seed seller, social activist and former Freedom Party stalwart, Marc Emery] called The Principle of Pot. The entire part one is Marc Emery advocating individual freedom but nowhere advocating marijuana. This was to demonstrate to conservatives who like to say he’s nothing but a drug pusher, that he has a broader agenda, and it’s individual freedom.

My film covered three main things he did with the Freedom Party. That was, the Sunday shopping issue, for which he went to jail for [a few] days and the strike by London city garbage workers. The Freedom Party rented a truck and went around and collected garbage. On April 21, I put out part two. That was all of Marc Emery’s cannabis-related advocacy. Marc is actually an anarchist who had been advocating for a government that defends every individual’s life, liberty and property ... but when he left [the FPO] he became just anti-government. He took the libertarian approach.

Libertarians are anti-government. The Freedom Party is pro-using government to defend life, liberty and property. So we have a very different orientation.

Government’s role is to make sure nobody is denied their life, liberty or their property without their consent. For the Freedom Party, consent is the be-all and end-all. If consent is present, government should be absent … that is our guiding philosophy in terms of politics.

In terms of epistemology, we’re advocates of reason. In terms of ethics we’re advocates of rational egoism. In terms of politics, we’re advocates of consent.

Is this an Ayn Rand influence?

Definitely. I’m an Objectivist through and through.

Have you always been an Objectivist?

No … in 1997, when I first opened my law practise I wanted to be more involved.

Which city did you open that in?

Oshawa, ON. At the time I was interested in two things: civil litigation and constitutional law which had been one of my stronger suits in law school. My interest was in Section One of the constitution. This is the section that allows the courts to say ‘Yes, you have this right or this freedom but if we abridge it by this much, that’s in keeping with a free and democratic society.’ I said to myself, ‘What is a free society? What is a democratic society?’ I discovered through legal research that the court had never defined any of those terms. Section One is largely baseless, it’s whimsical. There’s no way you can say it’s being applied consistently in a free and democratic society because the courts never defined [freedom and democracy]. It’s one of those, well ‘You’ll know it when you see it situations’. So I wasn’t satisfied with ‘You know when you see it’. I said, ‘What is freedom? What is democracy?’ That started a 13 year self-study into philosophy and politics that ultimately brought me into Objectivism because Objectivism, unlike any other philosophy actually says, ‘If you see it, that’s evidence it exists.’

[The Freedom Party platform consists of] pretty mainstream things. We don’t sit around like the libertarians and talk about seat-belt laws and nonsense like that. What are the big problems in Ontario? The problems are electricity, healthcare, education. For the most part, those are the big three.

You hear sometimes right-wingers or libertarians saying ‘Privatize it!’ We’re not like that. We say people should have a choice … let them pay directly whoever they want [for healthcare] … if they want to remain on OHIP (the Ontario Health Insurance Plan, ed. note) where it’s rationed healthcare … if they want to stay with that system they can do so. If instead they would like to pay a private insurer to buy whatever plan is available with private insurance they can do that. If you don’t want insurance at all because you’re young and happy and got lots of money, then fine, pay as you go.

So we give choice, instead of ramming ideology down anyone’s throat … maybe we’ll bring in parallel private [healthcare]. Parallel private means you still pay for the public system but if you have a lot of money, you can also buy your own healthcare.

In our platform, I will be proposing … that every individual in Ontario get a monthly report card or bill that shows how much money they paid for healthcare … then you will also have an entry on the cost of the healthcare you consumed this month.

I’m toying with also showing people what private healthcare or other healthcare arrangements would cost their family or them individually to purchase it. [I would use] examples from Germany or the United States. Most of the world gives you a choice. It’s only Canada, North Korea and Cuba that prohibit private insurance.

I think that’s the first step—educate the public. Empower them with the knowledge that they need. At that point we can start talking about what is the proper government response to that knowledge. It’s the same thing with education. The right response is to first establish for parents, what is the quality of the education? Have a report card that says if their child is failing or not. The next part on the report card should say, ‘Here’s what we’re doing about it.’

My emphasis in the next election will be on empowering parents, taxpayers and patients. Because until we can show them the problems, they’re not going to embrace any form of change. Change is a scary thing. People don’t like change—they always think it will mean something worse.

Do you have any role models for the kind of politics you’re advocating?

It’s funny. We are actually alone in this. I don’t think there’s ever been a pro-reason, pro-capitalism party [in Ontario]. There’s been libertarians since the early 1970s but those people are anti-government. They are not pro-reason.

What’s your position on gay marriage?

Get [government out of] the marriage business … there’s no real reason why anyone’s marriage needs to be recognized whether they’re gay, straight, bi-sexual, you name it. All that really needs to be done is for government to make sure that children are protected.

Does that mean you are in favour of civil unions for gay couples?

I’m in favour of people getting married in whatever way they want to get married, to whomever they want to marry and I’m in favour of the government not even getting involved in the recognition business. They don’t need to be there … there is no need for the federal government to recognize marriage

I assume you’re opposed to the federal gun registry?

Oh, yes.

Would you like to see a more American-style approach to guns in Canada?

I wouldn’t say ‘American style’. Police are the people who should be protecting us, defending our life, liberty and property. However, in a country as large as Canada, police can’t always arrive on time. If you’ve got a farm 30 minutes away from the police station and the guys are crawling up on the house right now ready to steal from you, I think it’s criminal to say you have to take it. [Gun ownership] should not be something you are punished for, you simply own a tool. That’s all what firearms are, a tool … if you fire a gun and kill someone there needs to be investigation to see if it was self-defence. Do I want kids walking around with a pistol in their pants, no way?

Rand Paul recently got in hot water talking about the public accomodations clause in the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964. He implied that people who run private businesses should be allowed to discriminate in terms of who they serve. What’s your take?

I don’t have an opinion on the ’64 Civil Rights Act.

I meant the larger issue: if you run a restaurant, hotel or store, should you be able to say ‘I’m not going to serve you because I don’t like your hair or because I don’t serve gay people’ or something like that?

In my view, it’s utterly immoral [to do that]… You have to be careful when making blanket statements about human rights, however—for the most part, they aren’t used. When was the last time anybody said, ‘We don’t serve blacks here’ or whatever. To my mind it’s not a priority.

What’s your take on the Tea Party movement in the U.S.?

Neutral. It will be a short-term shot in the arm against the Democrats, but there’s no guiding philosophy. It’s like a libertarian movement. In many ways it’s just anti-government and that’s no way to achieve anything at all.

Do you feel frustrated working in the fringes of electoral politics?

I never feel like I’m on the fringes. Frankly I feel like I’m dictating policy from time to time. A week before the HST went into play on July 1, I put out a press release that said, ‘Look, [Ontario Liberal premier Dalton] McGuinty said when he came in in 2003 that a Liberal government would not raise taxes one penny. And then within a year, he imposed a $2.9 billion a year health premium. Then he told us a year ago that the HST will be revenue neutral—it won’t increase government revenues. Then a few weeks ago he says actually it will, by about $3 billion … you didn’t keep your promise in 2003, you’re now bringing in $2.9 billion from that. You told us the HST would be revenue neutral. So why not cancel the health premium? Then the HST will in fact be revenue neutral.’

I’m not anti-HST. I’m just anti-HST being revenue positive. If we get rid of the health premium, that gets rid of a horrible tax on production and allows the HST to be revenue netrual. It’s the perfect policy solution for McGuinty.

The Freedom Party’s job as a sort of third party is to make sure that people realize that the people in the number two spot—the PC’s—are every bit as horrible as the Liberals. In fact, in my personal opinion, they are worse, more irrational and more likely to interfere with personal decision making. It’s an utter myth that Conservatives are conservative when it comes to fiscal matters. They are spending like drunken sailors.

TORONTO - Eco fees may be just the beginning.

The Dalton McGuinty government has encouraged its ministries to pursue new fees to stay on budget and to pay for additional programs, according to a 2010-11 Results-Based Planning document obtained by QMI Agency.

"Non-tax revenues (NTRs) offer an opportunity to ensure fiscal neutrality of ministry expenditure proposals," the document says. "If applicable, ministries are encouraged to propose new revenue streams to offset increased expenditures if there are no large-scale investments required, or to increase existing fees to achieve full cost recovery."

The "Other Revenue Technical Guide" reminds ministry budget crunchers that they have "an opportunity to make requests for establishing new revenue streams and/or significant redesigns to existing fees which could be considered if they assist ministries in living within their current multi-year minuted allocation."

Ministries were also told the public should be charged a "premium" for using electronic kiosks instead of traditional over-the-counter service, even though it would appear to reduce the need for costly staff.

"Particular electronic service delivery channels, such as kiosks, are considered a premium service for which an additional amount is charged to acknowledge the cost of this service above the normal delivery standard," a guide says. "This may result in the total fee charged being higher than the fee to deliver the same service over the counter."

The advice is contained in budget and revenue planning documents from the Treasury Board of Ontario that guide ministries in managing their books during a time of substantial deficits.

Finn Poschmann, of the C.D. Howe Institute, who co-authored a report arguing the Ontario Green Energy fee that took effect this spring is likely an indirect tax, said governments' post-stimulus spending will be looking at unobtrusive and uncontroversial ways to raise resources outside the traditional tax increase.

"You better believe they're looking at fees in different jurisdictions -- health fees and all kinds of things, environmental fees -- just ways to raise money to do their business," Poschmann said. "You've got to do it constitutional, legally, otherwise voters lose control over their governments."

The revenue raised through the new eco fee, added to thousands of consumer products on July 1, does not go to the provincial treasury but could offset costs that might otherwise have been spent by some level of government.

PC Leader Tim Hudak continued to push the McGuinty government to drop its eco fees Friday.

"The PC caucus has documented the marching orders that Minister (John) Gerretsen gave Stewardship Ontario to come up with this eco-tax grab on 9,000 different items," Hudak said.

The fees, which cover the cost of recycling and treating hazardous and special municipal waste, has drawn criticism from some consumers and businesses who argue some are either inappropriate or too high.

Kate Jordan, a spokesman for the ministry of environment, said Gerretsen has told Stewardship Ontario to take quick action to resolve these issues and restore consumer confidence.

antonella.artuso@sunmedia.ca