January 2nd Babies of 2014 Daybreak
TV3SocialBaby Pics shown on Daybreak Sponsored by Augusta Health Care For Women.

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January 2nd Babies of 2014 Daybreak - Video

By Brittany Holom January 1

On Nov. 30, thousands of Muscovites marched through Samotechnaya Square against planned cuts to the citys healthcare system. Photo Credit: Brittany L. Holom

The following is a guest post byBrittany Holom,a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Politics at Princeton University.

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On Nov. 30, medical personnel, activist groups, and political parties gathered in Moscow, the noise slowly growing louder as group after group joined the marching line, using loudspeakers to project their chants into the biting winter air. The demonstrators signs called for a moratorium on proposed reforms to the citys health-care system, with some demanding to know why there was money for war, but not for medicine. News agencies estimated that 5,000-6,000 people braved the days freezing temperatures to demand accessible, affordable medicine (dostupnaya meditsina). These protests against planned health-care reforms in Moscow marked the second event of its kind within the month; the first doctors meeting had taken place on Nov. 2. Another took place on Dec. 14, in combination with groups against education reforms. What are these reforms that have drawn such opposition, and why have these specific protests gained so much attention? What do they mean for the Putin regime, particularly in the context of the larger economic woes? Could widespread support for the welfare state prove to be a stumbling block for Putins popularity?

The recent protests are rooted in Moscow health reform plans that first emerged in mid-October, when Russian Medical Server, an online medical news site, leaked the details of the intended changes to the citys health care. To optimize the systems structure, it was reported, the government planned to close 28 hospitals and clinics in the city and lay off thousands of medical personnel. According to the groups of doctors and nurses gathered at the rallies, the planning process took place behind closed doors for months, with little to no consultation with those working day-to-day in the citys health-care system. Moscow officials later reported that the governments Research Institute of the Organization of Healthcare and Medical Management had authored the reforms.

While the specific characteristics and plans of the reforms in question are new, the push for change is not. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, analysts have argued that the Russian health-care system is in dire straits. It has struggled against a long history tied with alcoholism and issues of underfunding and structural imbalances linked with the legacies of the Soviet Semashko system. Nevertheless, although the goal of improvement has been constant across time and regimes in post-Soviet Russia, there has been little clear, strong direction for achieving this. Then, in his 2012 May Decrees pledges, Putin promised a full restructuring of the system to meet updated health goals. The government immediately began planning for a shift of health-care financing to single-channel funding, which will begin in 2015. In April 2014, deputies approved an update of the state program The Development of Healthcare, which laid out strategies for advancing the Russian health care system. These strategies largely followed the recommendations and goals set out by the World Health Organization (WHO). The current Moscow reforms are part of this larger drive for greater efficiency and improved health.

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Russian health-care protests continue despite Putins ...

Stocks got off to a sluggish start on the first day of trading in the New Year, ending the day mixed as a report showed that manufacturing growth slowed in December.

U.S. factory activity grew at the slowest pace in six months last month, weakened by declines in orders and production, according to the Institute for Supply Management. While the sector is still in good health, growth was slower than economists had forecast.

The stock market climbed to record levels at the end of 2014 and investors may now be reassessing the outlook for the market at the start of the year, said Brad McMillan, chief investment officer for Commonwealth Financial, an independent broker-dealer firm. While growth prospects in the U.S. look decent, in Europe and Asia they are less encouraging.

Investors are "stepping back and saying, 'now we're in the New Year, let's take a fresh look,' " said McMillan. "There's certainly some degree of, I wouldn't say pessimism, but readjustment, going on."

The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 0.70 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 2,058.20. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 9.92 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 17,832.99. The Nasdaq composite dropped 9.24 points, or 0.2 percent, to 4,726.81.

Stocks had another good year in 2014, but the rally faded in the final days of the year. The S&P 500 climbed 11.4 percent, after rising 29.6 percent in 2013. To justify those gains, company earnings will have to keep growing.

"We don't think the U.S. equity market is going to do anywhere near as well this year" as it has in recent years, said Dan Morris, global investment strategist at TIAA-CREF, an investment manager. "There's a lot more that could go wrong than could go right in the U.S."

Morris says stock investors should expect returns in the single digits this year, and should also brace themselves for higher levels of volatility as the Federal Reserve moves toward its first rate increase since 2006.

On Friday, stocks started out with solid gains, then fell back after the ISM published its manufacturing report. After drifting lower for much of the afternoon, the market recovered slightly and ended the day little changed.

U.S. crude fell after moving between losses and small gains. The price dropped 58 cents to $52.69 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the international standard, declined 91 cents to $56.42.

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US Stocks Mixed; Health Care Gains, Energy Slips

Published December 30, 2014

MONTPELIER, Vt. Gov. Peter Shumlin's administration on Tuesday released documents that led to the decision to abandon plans to make Vermont the first state in the country with a universal, publicly funded health care system.

Calling it the biggest disappointment of his political career, Shumlin announced the decision to drop the proposal on Dec. 17, saying the plan would require tax increases too big for the state to absorb.

He said Tuesday he is determined to work with legislators and state health care regulators to move from a fee-per-service payment system to one that reimburses providers for health outcomes by January 2017.

"I'm convinced that we can be the first state to get that done," Shumlin said.

Doing that will require strengthening the powers of the Green Mountain Care Board, partnering with health care providers to move toward what he called a more sensible system and examining the disparity in health care payments.

"I guess you could argue we're trying to get away from the notion that you pay for a procedure and instead move to system where we pay for keeping Vermonters healthy," he said.

Shumlin and his administration plan to discuss the documents with reporters on Wednesday.

Speaking at his weekly news conference in Montpelier, Shumlin also said he would not be campaigning in the days leading up the special Jan. 8 vote in which the Legislature picks Vermont's next governor.

Shumlin won the popular vote in a close election on Nov. 4, with 46.4 percent to 45.1 percent for Republican Scott Milne. Since neither got a majority, the race goes to the Legislature to decide.

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Vt. gov releases details on decision to abandon single ...

The New York Health Act is a bill that would create a single-payer system, in which the government, rather than health insurance companies, pay for health costs. The first of several hearings across the state was held in Syracuse Thursday. Katie Gibas explains what the plan is and what it would mean for patients, doctors and taxpayers.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- What if you didn't have to worry about insurance premiums, deductibles and co-pays when it comes to your health care? That's what some New York lawmakers are proposing with the New York Health Act.

Ellie Donnelly of Syracuse couldn't afford health insurance in the years before the Affordable Care Act, so she went without. Then she had a heart attack.

"I got a bill for $43,000 unable to pay all these bills, I almost lost my house," said Donnelly.

That's one of the reasons she's been an advocate for a single-payer health care system or one in which the government, rather than private insurance companies, pays all health care costs.

"A single-payer system has tremendous potential to eliminate much of the hassle, waste, excessive cost and needless complexity that is frustrating for all of us every day, doctors and patients alike," said Dr. Robert Ostrander, the NYS Academy of Family Physicians vice president.

State Assemblyman and Chair of the Assembly's Health Committee Democrat Richard Gottfried introduced a bill to make that system a reality in New York State. He says the Affordable Care Act has made health care more reasonably priced but its fatal flaw is that it still relies on health insurance companies.

"Virtually every problem in health and health care that we face as patients, as health care providers, as employers, as taxpayers is made worse and more expensive and harder to solve because of the fact that we have an insurance-based health care system," said Gottfried.

Under Gottfried's proposal, there would be no premiums, deductibles or co-payments. It would be funded through a payroll tax, similar to the Medicare tax. Employers would pay 80% and employees would pay 20%.

"Health care ought to be treated in New York as a human right and public good and not a commercial commodity," said Gottfried.

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Lawmakers Hold Hearing on Government-Run Health Care System

NEW YORK (TheStreet) - Which health care stocks are the best buys for 2015?

The S&P 500 Health Care Sector Index is up 24% over the past year compared to the broader S&P 500 index, which is up 11% in the same time period.

TheStreet analyzed which mid-cap health care stocks present the best opportunity for investors looking for exposure to the sector.

TheStreet Ratings, TheStreet's proprietary stock rating tool, projects a stock's total return potential over a 12-month period including both price appreciation and dividends. Based on 30 major data points, TheStreet Ratings uses a quantitative approach to rating stocks. The model is both objective, using elements such as volatility of past operating revenues, financial strength, and company cash flows, and subjective, including expected equities market returns, future interest rates, implied industry outlook, and forecasted company earnings.

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11 Best Mid-Cap Health Care Stocks Worth Targeting for 2015

BRATTLEBORO >> When the 2015 state legislative session kicks off Wednesday, many lawmakers will be thinking about three major issues property tax/education reform, budget shortfalls and health care.

But the recent closure of Vermont Yankee has local lawmakers also focused on another perennial priority economic development. The first major job cuts at the Vernon plant will happen in the legislative session's second full week, and Windham County's legislators want to ensure that state officials in Montpelier don't forget about that.

"Regardless of your position on nuclear power, the economic impact of VY's closing will be severe, and it will be felt across many sectors of our economy," said Windham County Sen. Becca Balint, a Brattleboro Democrat.

"Those high-paying jobs at VY had significant ripple effects that are just now fully being understood," Balint added, noting a recent study of the closure's impact. "There will be a substantial decrease in the amount of discretionary income being spent in our community, and this will greatly impact many individuals, local businesses and our many nonprofits. I will do everything I can within my job at the Legislature to ensure that Windham County's economy stays at the center of the statewide discussion of the plant's closing."

Balint is one of four new additions to the Windham County delegation for the 2015 session, having won one of the county's two Senate seats in November. Also, Newfane Democrat Emily Long is replacing retiring Rep. Dick Marek in the Windham 5 House District; Dover-based independent Laura Sibilia defeated Rep. John Moran in the Windham-Bennington House District; and Londonderry-based independent Oliver Olsen, who previously served in the Legislature, will step in for retiring Rep. Tim Goodwin in the Windham-Bennington-Windsor House District.

They will join 10 returning lawmakers in tacking issues such as health-care reform. But that issue will look much different following Gov. Peter Shumlin's recent announcement that, due to financial and tax concerns, he will no longer pursue adoption of a single-payer, publicly financed, universal health care model.

Shumlin's decision "changed the issue priorities significantly," said Rep. Mike Hebert, R-Vernon. "I believe that single-payer would have been the hottest issue for the biennium. I (now) believe the issue of universal coverage will remain in play but will not lead the list."

Rep. Carolyn Partridge, D-Windham, declared that "we can't continue the way we've been, because (health care) premium costs continue to skyrocket."

"I think we need to continue to find a path forward on health care," Partridge said. "I was disappointed that the governor decided to back off of it. But I also respect his judgment."

Windham County Sen. Jeanette White, D-Putney, had expressed deep disappointment at Shumlin's decision and is eager to keep working on the issue. For 2015, White said, "big on my agenda is getting universal health care coverage and moving toward a publicly financed health care system."

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Windham County legislators focus on taxes, health care, economy

Top Health Care Stocks

JNJ -0.06%

PFE +0.64%

ABT -0.51%

MRK +0.83%

AMGN +0.19%

Health care stocks were narrowly higher today with the NYSE Health Care Sector Index climbing 0.1% and shares of health care companies in the S&P 500 ahead 0.2% as a group.

In company news, Aethlon Medical Inc ( AEMD ) surged Friday after U.S. regulators approved testing of its bio-filtration device in Ebola patients after a critically ill patient in Germany who was treated using the device recovered from the deadly virus.

The device filters viruses and toxins from the blood. It currently is being tested in India for its ability to accelerate viral load depletion when used in combination with hepatitis C standard-of-care drug therapy.

Under the new U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval, up to 20 patients in this country will be treated for six to eight hours daily with the Hemopurifier until the Ebola viral load drops below 1,000 copies per milliliter.

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Health Care Sector Update for 01/02/2015: AEMD,BCLI,MDXG

Claire Lee

The Korea Herald

Publication Date : 03-01-2015

A South Korean health care worker who had been caring for Ebola patients in Sierra Leone is to be sent to a hospital in Germany after reporting worries of a possible Ebola infection, the government announced Friday.

The health professional, who had been working in the West African country since December 27, tore a protective glove while drawing blood from an Ebola patient Tuesday. The professionals exposed skin then inadvertently made contact with the needle, the Health Ministry said. The Ministry requested that the gender of the health care worker not be revealed.

To be more precise, the worker said, It felt like the needle grazed my skin, Park Jong-chul from the Health Ministry told The Korea Herald.

The workers glove became torn because the patient was moving while blood was being drawn, said Kwon Jun-wook, the director general of public health policy at the Health Ministry. The Ebola patients condition was serious, he added.

The highly contagious Ebola virus is spread by direct contact with bodily fluids of infected patients, such as blood, sweat, saliva or semen.

The health care worker, who has no symptoms of Ebola, will be sent to a hospital in Berlin on Saturday to be tested and monitored, said Oh Young-ju, the director-general for development cooperation at the Foreign Ministry. The worker will be monitored at the German hospital for at least 21 days, the incubation period of the virus, he added.

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Korean aid worker in Sierra Leone to be sent to Germany for Ebola test

Tri-State health officials are coming together to make sure you take advantage of the open enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act.

A Healthy Resolutions Fair was held at St. James Episcopal Church in Westwood Saturday.

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It was put on by the Cincinnati Healthcare Marketplace enrollment assistance center.

With a point and click, aides like Crystal Kendrick are changing lives. In some cases, enrollees have not had health care in years.

"Its been a long time since Ive seen a grown man cry. It brings joy to our office to help people who don't think they can have health insurance at all, Kendrick said.

The expansions of the national health care marketplace, along with Medicaid in Ohio, have impacted some 45 million Americans.

During this second enrollment period, counselors like Ariel Miller have assisted some who did not know how they could afford to see a doctor.

"I said, If you make less than $16,000 as a single person, it looks like you are eligible for Medicaid,'" Miller said.

Denise Hayes, of the Cincinnati Enrollment Assistance Center, believes health care should be a basic right.

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Group holds fair to help people enroll in health care coverage

New Laws In 2015 Could Fix Issues Facing Covered California
From too few doctors, to state regulators who weren #39;t enforcing the law, the set backs and successes of the state #39;s health care exchange have been the topic of many ConsumerWatch reports...

By: CBS SF Bay Area

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New Laws In 2015 Could Fix Issues Facing Covered California - Video

Community - Dr.Abeer Barkat - Health Care Management (3) - "Quality"
Subject : Community Tuesday - 30th, December 2014 Contents :- -Standards -Dimensions.

By: Kasr Al-Ainy - 4th Year (2011-2017) Channel

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Community - Dr.Abeer Barkat - Health Care Management (3) - "Quality" - Video

Overview - Using the Tree Tech Micro injection System
The Tree Tech Micro-injection System sets a new standard for economical and environmentally safe tree health care. Traditional methods of applying chemicals and pesticides are becoming less...

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Overview - Using the Tree Tech Micro injection System - Video

Meditation for New Beginnings, Anxiety, Success - How To Meditate for Beginners - BEXLIFE
21 DAYS TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE: http://bexlife.com/21mantras SIGN UP FOR FREE GOODIES: http://bit.ly/BlissNotes ------- GET MORE GOOD STUFF BELOW ------- It #39;s become somewhat of a ...

By: Rebekah Borucki

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Meditation for New Beginnings, Anxiety, Success - How To Meditate for Beginners - BEXLIFE - Video

Movie Theater - My hospital is Glacial Ridge: Who do you trust your health care to?
Have you seen this commercial before taking in a movie at Midway Cinema 9 in Alexandria or the Sauk Centre Theater? We are pleased to have such caring, experienced staff at GRHS and are ...

By: Glacial Ridge Health System

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Movie Theater - My hospital is Glacial Ridge: Who do you trust your health care to? - Video

Spreading Christmas Cheer to those in need during the Holidays
APPLETON, Wis. -- It #39;s a story of Christmas giving, that will warm your heart. A Fox Valley woman is on a mission to bring smiles to those who struggle everyday. Dawn Ristow is the President...

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Spreading Christmas Cheer to those in need during the Holidays - Video

200 staff members laid off, San Felipe Hospital Tegucigalpa
Yesterday La Prensa released an article talking about the concerning layoffs at San Felipe Hospital in Tegucigalpa. The laid off staff includes health care professionals whose careers range...

By: Sons and Daughters Of Honduras

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200 staff members laid off, San Felipe Hospital Tegucigalpa - Video

Ma #39;an Health Care

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Ma'an Health Care - Video

The Acute Frailty Unit - #JoinedUpCare in Action. North Derbyshire Joined Up Health Care Programme
Being in hospital is not always the best place for our elderly frail citizens to be. There #39;s plenty of evidence to show that making sure they get the right care, at the right time, in the...

By: 21stCentury JoinedUpCare

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The Acute Frailty Unit - #JoinedUpCare in Action. North Derbyshire Joined Up Health Care Programme - Video

The Falls Partnership - #JoinedUpCare in Action. North Derbyshire Joined Up Health Care Programme
A team of care professionals is treating people from across North Derbyshire at home after they #39;ve had a fall keeping them confident and independent, and helping to cut down unnecessary...

By: 21stCentury JoinedUpCare

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The Falls Partnership - #JoinedUpCare in Action. North Derbyshire Joined Up Health Care Programme - Video