Quality and Valerie Jarrett at Families

Regions of the US with higher health care spending actually have worse health outcomes, according to Elliott Fisher from Dartmouth. Friday’s Families conference started with a fascinating plenary about the disconnect between what we spend on health care and what we get, followed by concrete guidance for providers who want to improve the quality of care they deliver. As a state based advocate, I found the workshops on exchanges, subsidies, benefit packages, and states’ roles in reform were very useful. At lunch, Valerie Jarrett, White House Senior Advisor, came to thank us for our advocacy and to urge us on.
Ellen Andrews

Why Give Up Smoking?

Beating the addiction to smoking will bring you a multitude of benefits. Not only will you lower your risk of getting various cancers, including lung cancer, you’ll also reduce your chances of suffering from heart disease,
stroke, emphysema, and other serious diseases. Also, stopping will help prevent heart disease and lung cancer in people who are subjected to your second-hand smoke.

Although there are benefits to quitting at any age, it is important to quit as early in life as possible to avoid getting one of these serious illnesses caused by smoking. Keep in mind that

• smoking kills 1,200 people every day in the United States.
• if you do not quit smoking, you have a one out of two chance of dying of a smoking-related disease.

Some people who smoke say things like “You have to die of something” or “When you’re time is up, your time is up” in order to justify continuing to think. They convince themselves that one day they are happy and well, then suddenly they are dead, but dying from a smoking-related disease is rarely like this – it is much more likely to be a slow and painful process – distressing for the smokers and for those who love him/her.

Peneliti Gila Yang Menyamar Jadi Buaya !

Peneliti "gila" ini namanya Dr. Brady Barr. Dia melakukan "tantangan bodoh" dan sangat berbahaya yakni menyamar sebagai buaya dan berkumpul langsung dengan buaya-buaya di kandang buaya.

Si dokter ini memakai pakaian buaya yang terbuat dari fiber glass, aluminium dan kevlar. Untuk menutupi bau manusianya dia luluran pakai kotoran kuda nil.