Daily Archives: April 21, 2017

Why Progress Software has pivoted to take on giants like GE and PTC Boston Business Journal In January, Progress (Nasdaq: PRGS) announced it would lay off about 450 employees, about three-quarters of which were connected with a new effort called DigitalFactory, announced last May, meant to provide website development and support tools to ...

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Why Progress Software has pivoted to take on giants like GE and PTC - Boston Business Journal

At the national level, preparedness for health emergencies improved slightly, but an annual index to track progress found worrying discrepancies at the state level that create a widening gap in the years ahead, especially in low-income areas and those that are vulnerable to public health emergencies.

The National Health Security Preparedness Index (NHSPI) was released today by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), which funds the effort. Originally developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the assessment is a collaborative effort by many groups that analyzes 130 different measures. Taken together, it provides a comprehensive snapshot of national health security and preparedness.

On a 10-point scale, it gave the United States an overall score of 6.8 for 2016, up from 6.7 last year and from 6.4 in 2013, when the index began.

Alonzo Plough, PhD, MPH, chief science officer and a vice president at RWJF, said today in a news release that the data highlight strengths and gaps. "Improving health security and preparedness is important for all communities across the country. In our highly mobile country, national emergency preparedness depends on having high levels of protection in every state, city, and region."

Of six main dimensionsranging from mobilizing resources after health incidents to involving stakeholders during crisesthe nation as a whole improved except for one area: the ability to prevent health impacts from environmental or occupational hazards. That area is the only one showing decline from 2013

Anna Hoover, PhD, MA, deputy director of the index and assistant professor of preventive medicine and environmental health at the University of Kentucky, told CIDRAP News that this category reflects food and water safety and environmental monitoring and that, for example, some states' public health laboratories have scaled back air quality monitoring, and it's not clear if they've dropped their programs or transferred them to other entities.

On the other hand, an area that continues to show strong gainsup 16% since 2013is mobilizing stakeholders to work together during crisis times. "Communities are doing better with cross-sector collaboration; that's promising to see," Hoover said.

In general, the report found preparedness improvements in two thirds of US states, but the Deep South and Mountain West states lagged behind Northeast and Pacific Coast states. A 31% gap separates the highest state (Vermont) from the lowest state (Alaska). The NHSPI analysis said the states with the lower scores face elevated risks of disasters, contain disproportionate numbers of low-income residents, and have fewer community resources.

Challenges some states face include grappling with health policy uncertainties because of health insurance proposals, a situation that detracts attention and energy from other health security needs. Also, the analysis found that extreme weather events are increasing in frequency and intensity in many parts of the country, putting extra burden on food and water systems and other infrastructure areas.

Though federal aid helps reduce fiscal capacity differences across states, federal preparedness funding falls far short in eliminating the health security gaps that separate affluent from poorer states, according to the report.

The group made seven key policy recommendations to ease the gaps between states and move the nation toward better preparedness. Some focus on leveraging existing coalitions and engaging the private sector. Another involves including health insurance coverage as a health security strategy, despite uncertainties, given that expanded federal and state coverage over the past 4 years has improved the nation's health security.

Another key recommendation is developing a health security emergency response fund to quickly tackle big problems like the Zika outbreak or the Flint water crisis. There have been several recent calls for a public emergency fund, including one from Trust for America's Health.

President Trump's proposed budget, released in the middle of March, contained deep cuts for federal health departments, including emergency preparedness. Though it had few details, Trump's Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) budget proposed the creation of a Federal Emergency Response Fund that would be administered by the CDC.

Hoover said more efforts are needed to define the costs and budget processes needed to establish an equitable health security infrastructure. "We want all the boats to rise together," she added.

The NHSPI group has added new tools to enhance the usefulness of the index, including a "preparedness innovator challenge" to collect and spread best practices for using the index to boost preparedness. Users are encouraged to submit their stories by Jul 31.

"An index that just sits there isn't worth a lot," Hoover said.

The group will also host a webinar series to create opportunities for states to pull ideas and strategies from different sectors, she said.

See also:

Apr 20 NHSPI press release

Apr 20 NHSPI key findings

Apr 20 NHSPI full report

NHSPI preparedness innovator challenge page

Apr 26, 2016, CIDRAP News story "Public health index finds US fairly well prepared"

Go here to see the original:

US preparedness index finds sluggish, uneven progress - CIDRAP

JEFFERSON CITY Senators have been holding up progress on adopting Missouri's 2018 budget and many other key legislative goals by holding a series of filibusters that repeatedly bring action to a standstill.

Members from both parties have been taking advantage of Senate rules that foster open discussion, using them to block items they oppose, or in retribution against lawmakers whose actions they haven't liked.

"They're acting like sixth-graders," said Rep. Shawn Rhoads, R-West Plains.

The delays and acrimony reached new heights on Thursday, in a Senate floor confrontation involving two Republicans, including Columbia Sen. Caleb Rowden.

Senators have given prolonged, rambling speeches, read passages from books and held conversations with sympathetic colleagues. Earlier this week, senators were in the chamber until after 5 a.m. as some lawmakers halted action on a controversial proposal to end a tax break for seniors who rent their homes. Other issues that have driven delays include disagreement over managed care plans for Medicaid.

Filibustering is a time-honored Senate tradition that is often used to force compromise, buy time for behind-the-scenes deals to occur or kill bills. But many lawmakers say the tactic is being abused this session. While there is a way to stop a filibuster a tactic informally known as "the nuclear option" Senate etiquette calls for not doing so.

And with the end of the session nearing, time is of the essence. Lawmakers were given Gov. Eric Greitens' draft of a budget later than usual, and the deadline to have their final version to Greitens is May 5.

With Republicans in charge of both chambers of the General Assembly and the governor's office, early expectations were that the party would have little trouble moving legislation, but often that hasn't been the case.

Progress on passing legislation this year has been slower than the past two years. By this point in 2016, 25 bills had been sent to the governor, and in 2015 that number was 24. This year, five bills have been sent to Greitens. In each of the past two years, the budget process was completed by this time, accounting for more than half of those bills.

The Senate was mired in gridlock again on Thursday.

Sen. Rob Schaaf, a frequent user of the filibuster, read from a book "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion" to eat up time, saying his actions were being taken in retaliation to the House's rejection of legislation he supports, and comments made about him by a member of the House. Both men are Republicans.

Schaaf handed out copies of the book. "If you would like to follow along, you can," said Schaaf to a nearly empty Senate floor. The Senate was supposed to be voting on a bill creating a "Blue Alert" system that would send out public notice if a police officer is shot and the shooter is at-large.Schaaf said the delay had nothing to do with the bill itself.

He was interrupted when the sponsor pulled the bill from debate for the day.

Sen. Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, questioned Schaaf's relationship with a lobbyist. Schaaf shot back that he had done nothing wrong and warned Rowden that he would investigate all of Rowden's bills in connection with campaign donors.

Senate leadership interrupted the hostile confrontation to gavel the Senate out of session for the week.

Rhoads, a House Republican, called senators' frequent filibusters "juvenile."

Rhoads said the Senate's long filibusters delay action on state business and cost money. He noted that senators are paid per diems to cover expenses for extra meeting days.

"Were in a spot right now where the budget might not get passed on time, but yet when someone feels like they've got a microphone and a camera in their face, they want to grandstand about something else. Or read a book," Rhoads said. "Its a waste of taxpayer money, and they should be embarrassed that thats what theyre doing with taxpayer money."

Senators are given a per diem payment of $113.60 for each day that they are in session, meaning that every day that all 33 are in attendance costs taxpayers $3,748. That doesn't include costs for staff, operating the building or mileage that senators get if they must travel to the Capitol extra times (they may receive reimbursement for mileage once a week), said Anne Marie Boy, Senate Communications Director.

Sen. Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, said the amount of time being spent on speeches and filibustering exceeds anything hes seen in his three years in the Senate.

"Obviously, theres a lot of advocating for different positions, but now it seems like theres even multiple members engaged in tactics of time-killing," Schatz said. "Even the members of our own party are sometimes engaged in slowing the process down and just wasting what I call wasting time."

Schatz said the slow progress in the Senate could mean that less gets accomplished, but that there is a difference between what lawmakers hope to do and what they must do.

"Theres wants versus needs," he said. "If we get a budget done, thats what we need to get done. Im certain theres a lot of people that want to get some more things done than that, myself included. But if we can meet our constitutional obligations and pass the budget, weve done what we needed to do."

Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, D-St. Louis, said she believes the Senate has run more smoothly this year. She noted the way that lengthy filibuster that Democrats conducted over a "religious liberty" bill last year was handled. That delay lasted more than two days.

"What we're having to deal with this year is the respect for every single senator and their priorities," Chappelle-Nadal said. "In my opinion, we're doing so much better than the last two years," she said, adding, "In part of that, it's taken flexibility of Republican leadership and the entire body."

House Speaker Todd Richardson saidhe's not concerned about progress on the budget.

"It takes a while to get to an agreement between the House and the Senate on the budget," said Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff. "I'm not sure this year is really any different, so I'm still very optimistic and we'll be able to work the differences."

Similarly, he said he's satisfied with the General Assembly's progress so far.

"I'm very very pleased with the progress of the session. I think we've been able to get some really important and big things done, and I think by the time we get to the end of session on the 12th of May we'll have added several things to that list," said Richardson.

Rep. Scott Fitzpatrick oversaw the House budget process. "Its frustrating whats happening in budget (in the Senate), but its not unexpected," said Fitzpatrick, R-Shell Knob.

Fitzpatrick said that regardless of when the Senate completes its work, a conference committee will need to work out the differences between it and the House version. If it's too close to the end of regular session, "we'll call a special session," he said.

Sen. Ed Emery, R-Lamar, cautioned that the system is meant to move at a deliberate pace.

"The legislative process is designed to go slow. It's designed to be inefficient on purpose," Emery said. "Our founders knew government had a tendency to go way too fast and way too far."

Emery said the implementation of term limits seems to have led to a "much more aggressive approach to filibustering, holding the floor, holding debate instead of engaging debate." He said that "there has been a sense of almost filibustering almost everything," in part because lawmakers know they are in office for a limited time, and building relationships doesn't appear to be as important to them.

He said he believes lawmakers have made a lot of progress this year, and that while a special session is possible, he believes work can be completed without one.

And he cautioned that while it may seem like all the filibustering should be stopped, doing so breaks with history.

"There is a real reluctance on all of our parts to say let's throw out the traditions and the rules of the Senate just to move forward in this session," he said.

Isabella Alves, Lucille Sherman, John Sadler, Meg Hilling, Dylan Jackson, Sky Chadde and Miranda Moore contributed to this report.

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Stonewalling, clashes slow progress to a crawl in Missouri Senate - Columbia Missourian