Differences in culture, religion and language pose daily challenges at the West
health center, where the waiting room might find Iraqis standing next to refugees from Myanmar, or Burundis sitting alongside Somalis and Bhutanese.
On a recent snowy, bitterly cold day, 77 refugees from various countries were treated at the clinic. Among the patients seen by Dr. Gary Kaufman, the clinic's medical director, were two young sisters from Myanmar who Read the rest of this entry »

Here are some of the latest health and medical news
developments, compiled by editors of
Blood Clot Drug Causes Higher Death
Rate in Elderly Patients, Maker Says
A drug used to treat blood clots formed primarily from deep vein
thrombosis or in kidney failure increases the death rate among
elderly patients, its maker has warned physicians.
, the biotech company
Celgene Corp. has alerted doctors in a letter also posted on the
U.S. Food and Drug Read the rest of this entry »

The Apple co-founder, who is 53, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2003 but has said he was cured with surgery. As The Times reported Dec. 17, however, "Appearances over the summer, in which Jobs looked unusually thin and drawn, renewed questions about his health."
Rumors flared again this month after Apple said Jobs wouldn't deliver the keynote address at January's Macworld Conference & Expo, the venue the company has used for more than a Read the rest of this entry »

The UN has warned that Palestinians in Gaza are facing a serious health and food crisis,
as Israeli air strikes continued for a seventh straight day. The UN's chief aid co-ordinator
for the territory, Maxwell Gaylard, said the "critical emergency" comes despite an
increase in humanitarian shipments. Israel said people in Gaza were continuing to
receive sufficient food and medicines. Palestinian officials say the death toll in the fighting
has Read the rest of this entry »

The HIV test required a saliva swab and was completed in 20 minutes. Teens walked away with a T-shirt, candy or a pen. Many said they weren't sexually active, but thought it wise to get a free screening.
"It's good to get them in the habit even if they haven't been sexually active," said Regina Hampton, a case manager for Circle Family HealthCare Network, which administered the screenings. "You can get it from blood transfusions or a freak accident."
Read the rest of this entry »

December 21, 2008 - December 27, 2008
December 14, 2008 - December 20, 2008
December 7, 2008 - December 13, 2008
November 30, 2008 - December 6, 2008
November 23, 2008 - November 29, 2008
November 16, 2008 - November 22, 2008
November 9, 2008 - November 15, 2008
November 2, 2008 - November 8, 2008
October 26, 2008 - November 1, 2008
October 19, 2008 - October 25, 2008
October 12, 2008 - October 18, 2008
October 5, 2008 - October Read the rest of this entry »

Health care coverage for all West Virginians has long been the Holy Grail of health policy in the state, and if the optimism of advocates and policymakers is any guide, 2009 could see them advance closer to that goal.
With a governor pledging to find coverage for all working residents and a legislative effort to devise a "road map'' for a restructured health care system kicking off in January, the battered national economy and an uncertain Read the rest of this entry »

Part two of a three-part series on home health aides, to be published on Tuesdays in The New Old Age.
Last week Marki Flannery, the president of
, an affiliate of the
,
. This week she picks up where she left off, answering questions about the costs of home health aides, the intimate strangers who often make it possible for our parents to remain in their homes, even when they need help or supervision day and night.
Q. What does it cost to Read the rest of this entry »

Yet despite the slowdown, most health-care costs continue to rise, with consumers' out-of-pocket expenses having increased 40 percent in the last 10 years, largely due to an aging population and chronic diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes, a second report found.
.
"National health spending declined to 6.1 percent in 2007, the slowest rate of growth since 1998 and 0.6 percent lower than the 6.7 percent growth in 2006," Micah Hartman, Read the rest of this entry »

CONCORD — Several off the 546 adults who participated in a new consumer survey about the state's mental health system had positive things to report. One person said their community mental health center "changed my life by allowing me to get 'stabilized' to really begin to heal myself back to where I was before I collapsed ... ."
Others had negative experiences to report when it came quality of treatment, services, accessibility and staffing.
Read the rest of this entry »