Healthcare Traveler - December 2008 - (Page 6)

N E W S T R AV E L E R S C A N U S E In A Flash Obama to act on health issues A Legislative Corner States enact violence prevention programs Legislation adopted as of midNovember brings the number of states that have enacted legislation to address violence in the healthcare workplace to 14. These include Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, and West Virginia. Approaches to the issue vary. New Jersey and Oregon, for example, have addressed workplace violence comprehensively, with measures such as requiring healthcare entities to create a violence prevention committee, perform an annual security and safety assessment, and develop a written violence prevention plan with specific methods of reducing identified risks. Other states have enacted legislation to strengthen or increase penalties for acts of violence committed against nurses or other healthcare professionals. mong the issues President-Elect Barack Obama is expected to address soon after his inauguration are two of particular interest to healthcare workers: expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and ending current restrictions on federally funded stem cell research. A 2007 bill to expand SCHIP’s enrollment from about 6.6 million to more than 10 million children was passed by both the House and Senate with unusual bipartisan support. The legislation, which would have provided $60 billion over 5 years (an increase of $35 billion over current spending), was vetoed by President Bush, who said it represented a dangerous step toward government-run healthcare, steering the program away from providing insurance for poor children. Obama wants to see similar legislation adopted quickly. In 1994, President Bill Clinton blocked federal funding for the creation of embryos for stem cell research. President Bush issued an executive order in 2001 banning federal funding of research on embryonic stem cell lines created after August 9 of that year. The ban confined all federally funded work to the 61 stem cell lines already in existence at that time. A 2006 bill, which had wide bipartisan support, lifted that ban, but President Bush vetoed it. Obama has said that, as president, he would rescind the ban with his own executive order. The American Nurses Association, which supported the Obama/Biden ticket, noted Obama “has been a consistent champion of America’s nurses,” promising to work toward limiting mandatory overtime, improving nurse-to-patient ratios, providing additional support to training and incentive programs, and continuing to recognize and support nurses’ right to organize. Healthcare travelers can keep up with the administration’s progress in meeting these and other goals by checking www. change.gov, a website the Obama transition team rolled out within 24 hours of his election as a source for news, events, and announcements. —Marian Freedman Gear & Gadgets The MovieStick™, a miniature camera and recorder produced by Swann Communications, saves video and still images on a removable 2GB Micro SD card (purchased separately), making it a snap to transfer. Its lithium battery is rechargeable, via a USB port. Weighing less than 1 ounce, the MovieStick™ is about the size of a pack of gum, and will retail at $119.99 when it hits stores and online resellers soon. Visit www.swannsecurity.com for details. Did You Know… The Top 3 U.S. Aquariums are: 1. Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies, Gatlinburg, TN 2. Tennessee Aquarium, Chattanooga, TN 3. Monterey Bay Aquarium, Monterey, CA Source: TripAdvisor.com. (2008, August 7). TripAdvisor’s call of the wild: Top 10 U.S. aquariums and zoos. Retrieved August 21, 2008, from http://media. prnewswire.com/en/jsp/includes/contents/ printable.jsp?resourceid=3793118. » VIDEO ON A STICK C L E V E R TO O L S T H AT SI M P L I F Y T H E T R AV E L L I F E S T Y L E »JUICE PACK FOR iPHONE 3G A must-have for travelers who want to stay connected, the mophie juice pack 3G™ is a form-fitting battery extender and case in one. Get up to 350, 28, and 6 additional hours of standby, audio playback, and talk time on your iPhone 3G with the juice pack’s lithium polymer battery. USB cable included. Available for $99.95 in stores and online at www.mophie.com/products/juice-pack-iphone-3g. Healthcare Traveler December 2008 6 www.healthcaretraveler.com http://www.change.gov http://www.change.gov http://www.swannsecurity.com http://www.TripAdvisor.com http://www.mediaprnewswire.com/en/jsp/includes/contents/printable.jsp?resourceid=379311B http://www.mediaprnewswire.com/en/jsp/includes/contents/printable.jsp?resourceid=379311B http://www.mediaprnewswire.com/en/jsp/includes/contents/printable.jsp?resourceid=379311B http://www.mophie.com/products/juice-pack-iphone-3g http://www.healthcaretraveler.com

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Healthcare Traveler - December 2008

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