July 5, 2001 - IT'S TIME FOR YOUR THOUGHTS, AS POSTED ON OUR SOAPBOX PAGE, ON MINNESOTA PUBLIC RADIO DOT ORG. WE ASKED WHAT YOU THOUGHT OF THE LEGISLATIVE IMPASSE, AND THE POSSIBILITY OF A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN. ANDREA WEILAND FROM ST.PAUL WRITES: " WHILE THE LEGISLATURE BICKERED OVER HOW TO SPEND A FEW MILLION DOLLARS, THEY REQUIRED STATE AGENCIES TO SPEND MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO PREPARE FOR A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN....THE DIRECT RESULT OF THE BICKERING AND RESULTING IMPASSE. THE TAXPAYERS OF MINNESOTA NEED TO BE MADE AWARE OF THIS HIDDEN COST..AND REQUIRE THEIR SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES TO LEARN TO WORK TOGETHER AND BE STATE FOCUSED RATHER THAN SINGLE ISSUE FOCUSED." LAST WEEK, MINNESOTA PUBLIC RADIO'S TOM SCHENK DID A STORY ON AN UPCOMING BUSH ADMINISTRATION DECISION ON WHETHER TO FUND STEM CELL RESEARCH. THAT PROMPTED A LOT OF COMMENTS ON OUR SOAPBOX. DANIEL OWEN FROM WASHINGTON D-C WRITES: "IT'S ABSURD TO EVEN THINK ABOUT NOT SUPPORTING EMBRYONIC STEM CELL RESEARCH. FOR BUSH, IT'S NOT A QUESTION OF ETHICS, BUT SIMPLY OF FACILE ASSPEASEMENT FOR THE SAKE OF POLITICAL SURVIVAL. MEANWHILE, MILLIONS OF PEOPLE TODAY SEE HOPE FOR A TRANSFORMATION OF THEIR LIVES WITH ADVANCES IN STEM CELL RESEARCH AND BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN HEALTH CARE COSTS COULD BE SAVED WITH MEDICAL BREAKTHROUGHS.
July 5, 2001 - South Dakota's child mortality rate is among the highest in the nation. A recent Kids Count Survey ranks South Dakota 49th for deaths among children. There were two homicides in Sioux Falls last year, both were babies shaken to death. As a way to give kids a better start in life, Governor Bill Janklow ordered a pilot program to send nurses into the homes of young women who are raising a child on their own or, without much support. Janklow says the home visits help moms improve their own health, have healthier babies and become better parents. In it's first year the Bright Start program is at capacity with 234 new moms in Sioux Falls and Rapid City. Mainstreet Radio's Cara Hetland spent the last six months following one young woman. They met for the first time, the day she became a new mom.
July 6, 2001 - The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services says it has notified Fairview Southdale Hospital in Edina that it will lose Medicare funding on July 16th. The decision comes after a Minnesota Department of Health investigation discovered that a patient entered the hospital emergency room in April complaining of chest pains but waited in the hospital lobby for three and a half hours. Officials say the problem happened nearly two months before nurses started striking at the hospital, but it may adds further financial problems to the Edina hospital. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports...
July 9, 2001 - About 1,700 bikers pedaled out of St. Paul this morning, on their way to Chicago, and to raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for AIDS related charities. The sixth annual Heartland AIDS ride will cover 530 miles in six days. Dan Pallotta is the founder of Pallotta teamworks, the company that produces the Heartland Aids ride and six others around the world. He says participation in some of the rides has slipped recently because people think new AIDS treatments have solved the problem.
July 11, 2001 - Patients with congestive heart faliure may be interested in news that a kind of treatment has been developed by Fridley-based Medtronic. The device, which has receive preliminary FDA approval, is about the size of half a dollar, and it's surgically implanted in patients, much in the same manner as a pacemaker. Dr. Jay Cohn, at the U of M Medical School, says the device, called In-Sync, appears to be a big step forward for patients who have congestive heart faliure.
July 18, 2001 - According to a newspaper report, the Minnesota Attorney General's office is calling on Allina Health System to split into two companies. The Star Tribune reports that in a confidential report to Allina's board of directors, the Attorney General called on the state's largest non-profit health care organization to separate the one million members in its HMO from its 19 hospitals and health clinics. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports...
July 20, 2001 - We expect to hear from Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch a bit later in the half hour. We asked two local Health Care experts to speculate on what split of Allina will mean for the roughly one million Medica members in Minnesota. Dave Durenberger is Senior Health Policy Fellow at the University of St Thomas. He says hes disappointed by the news:
July 20, 2001 -
July 20, 2001 - Attorney General Mike Hatch's audit and investigation of Allina Health System has prompted some concern by other non-profit health care organizations in the state and non-profit organizations overall. Under Minnesota law, the attorney general has the right to investigate any charities or non-profits that operate in the state. Legal experts say such investigations are rare, but many non-profits say Hatch's audit of Allina may change the way they do business. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports:
July 20, 2001 - Attorney General Mike Hatch's audit of Allina Health System has prompted some concern by other non-profit health care organizations in the state and non-profit organizations overall. Allina announced yesterday it will split off it's Medica HMO from its hospitals and clinics. Under Minnesota law, the attorney general has the right to investigate any charities or non-profits that operate in the state. Legal experts say such investigations are rare, but many non-profits say Hatch's audit of Allina may change the way they do business. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck reports...