| Smith says Oregon vote not an argument against S-CHIP expansion
PORTLAND, Ore. The vote against a cigarette tax in Oregon isnt a good argument against a similar effort nationally to expand health insurance for children, Republican Sen. Gordon Smith says. Opponents of expanding the federal State Childrens Health Insurance Program, or S-CHIP, have pounced on the Oregon vote. They say its evidence raising the federal tobacco tax by 61 cents to insure four million more children nationally will never fly. President Bush, who vetoed the S-CHIP bill, referred to the Oregon vote in speeches and in a call to U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., the only member of the Oregon delegation to vote against the bill. Smith said Thursday he thought Bush misunderstood the Oregon vote. Oregonians were impatient that legislators hadnt handled the matter themselves, rather than putting it to a statewide vote, Smith said.
OSI's anti-cancer drug Tarceva launches in Japan next week
The anti-cancer drug Tarceva will be launched and covered under Japan's National Health Insurance starting Tuesday, the Melville-based drug maker OSI Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced Friday. The drug is now available in 83 countries, including the United States and European Union.
The Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare approved Tarceva in October for patients with some forms of lung cancer where chemotherapy has failed. "We are pleased that lung cancer patients in Japan will now have access to Tarceva, which has been proven to offer a survival benefit with a well-described side-effect profile," said Gabriel Leung, president for oncology at OSI.
OSI manufactures and distributes Tarceva through partnerships with Genentech and Roche. The drug will be marketed in Japan by Roche affiliate Chugai Pharmaceutical Co.
NHS privatisation: the ‘sicko’ firms who are after your GP surgery
Multinational firms have got their eyes on your local doctors surgery. The companies that have plundered health service budgets, forcing the NHS to buy their private services, now want to extend their reach. After the government invited the private sector to provide GPs, some of the biggest names in US health insurance are being joined by other multi-nationals, like the Virgin group, in an attempt to muscle in get contracts. GPs from across Tower Hamlets, in east London, were joined by patients in a 150-strong protest on Thursday of last week against a decision by the local primary care trust (PCT) to hand the St Pauls Way medical centre to Atos Healthcare. Atos Healthcare is a subsidiary of a French-based computer firm with only a limited experience of healthcare, much of which has been gained helping institutions "manage absenteeism".
October 2004 WMU News Archive
Tom Knific honored as 'hometown hero' (Oct. 15) Professor of music honored by Convention & Visitor's Bureau for bringing international music convention to Kalamazoo. Communication's Julie Apker wins writing award (Oct. 15) Communication faculty member earns Nursing Economics Margaret Sovie Writer's Award. Open enrollment begins for WMU employees health insurance (Oct. 15) During open enrollment, through Oct. 29, eligible employees can change plans, add dependents. Employees can sign up for Flexible Spending Accounts (Oct. 15) FSAs allow use of tax-free dollars to pay for qualified medical expenses or for dependent care expenses. Miller Auditorium goes 'Full Monty' for five shows (Oct. 14) Broadway smash hit musical makes its Kalamazoo debut for one weekend only Oct.
A voyage of discovery
Six months have passed since the opening of the Cairo Children's Cancer Hospital (CCHE), a project that epitomises Egyptians' collective effort to provide free treatment for those in need through making charitable donations. The hospital, known as "57357" after the number of its bank account to which donations can be sent, now treats some 760 patients, 40 of whom are from Arab countries. Built on half the allocated plot of land in the Sayeda Zeinab district in Cairo, leaving the other half free for gardens, the hospital's unique design stands out from its surroundings like a ship of hope. Its beauty is reflected inside the hospital, which is a comfortable place for parents, while at the same time providing high-quality treatment for children with cancer. "We are trying to make the hospital look like a big toy, or a cheerful place for children, because cancer is a very cruel disease for them," says Sherif Abul-Naga, director of Academic Affairs, Research, Training and International Outreach at the Hospital, as well as professor of paediatric hematology and oncology at the National Cancer Institute at Cairo University.
Habitat breaks ground
Eight-year-old Brianna Liegel attacked the mound of dirt in front of her with as much might as she could put into it. Even after the rest of the family and volunteers had put down their gold-covered shovels, Brianna was still going, her long blond hair hanging loosely over her unzipped purple jacket. “You got a good mountain," her dad, Dale Liegel, told her. “It's big enough," added her mom, Tabitha Liegel. Finally, Brianna put her shovel away, but not her enthusiasm. After all, in a matter of months the first home her family has ever owned will be built on that “mountain" of dirt. Habitat for Humanity of Independence County held a groundbreaking Monday afternoon on its first house. The Liegels were announced as the recipient family less than a month ago.
University of Cumbria: Can it raise ambitions and boost the economy of ...
When the author, Margaret Forster, decided on a university, she chose Oxford where she headed with an open scholarship. Her husband, the writer Hunter Davies, who was also from Carlisle, picked Durham University. Another local luminary, the writer and broadcaster Melvyn Bragg, also selected Oxford. None of them could have stayed at home, if they had wanted to, because until recently Cumbria had no university of its own. There was no higher education in the north westernmost corner of England beyond Lancaster, not even a college of higher education, though there was a teacher training college in Ambleside and an art college in Carlisle. This lack in what is a very large and beautiful county stretching from Lancashire in the south to Scotland in the north, and from the Irish Sea in the west to the Pennines in the east had a profound effect on the region.
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