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Friday, 4 April 2014

Princess Health and Princess Health andKentuckians who ran into problems signing up for insurance on state website get a second chance through April 11.Princessiccia

Princess Health and Princess Health andKentuckians who ran into problems signing up for insurance on state website get a second chance through April 11.Princessiccia

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Kentuckians who had trouble starting or completing their application during the open enrollment period can still apply for subsidies and purchase health coverage at Kynect.ky.gov through midnight April 11.

This applies only to those who completed their applications by March 31. All individuals must select a plan by midnight April 15, with coverage beginning May 1, according to a state press release.

�This will be the last chance for most people to sign up for private health plans and possibly receive discounts until the fall open enrollment period,� Carrie Banahan, executive director of Kynect, said in the release. �We strongly encourage those who still need to select a plan to do so as soon as possible. Those who have started applications should work to complete them quickly too, to reduce possible wait times toward the end of the grace period.�

To sign up during the special enrollment period, you will be asked to attest that you attempted to complete an application by March 31, and had problems doing so. When you connect to the Kynect website, there will be a button to select when the special enrollment screen comes up.

Kentuckians who need assistance can also contact the Kynect call center at 1-855-4kynect weekdays from 7 a.m. to midnight Eastern time or from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern time Saturday and Sunday. They can also search at Kynect.ky.gov to find a Kynector or insurance agent who can assist them with enrollment, or visit a local Department for Community Based Services office.

Individuals who qualify for Medicaid can apply at any time. But only those who experience a qualifying event, such as the loss of employer-sponsored health insurance coverage, will be able to purchase private health plans.

The next open enrollment period begins Nov. 15, 2014.

More than 370,000 Kentuckians have enrolled in new health coverage through Hynect between Oct. 1 and March 31. This is more than 1 out of every 12 Kentuckians, or 8.6 percent of the state�s population, according to the release.

Princess Health and Princess Health andStudy says children who have less screen time show benefits in all areas of their lives, though not immediately.Princessiccia

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It's hard enough for parents to set expectations for children when everyone can see an immediate result, like a clean room or a grade; it is even harder to set expectations for children when it takes months to see the outcome, like the benefits that come from limiting screen time.

A study by Iowa State University, published in JAMA Pediatrics, says reducing the amount of time children spend on the computer or in front of the TV, as well as monitoring content, will help them sleep more, do better in school, behave better and lower the risk of obesity. But these results don't happen immediately, making it hard for parents and kids to buy into decreasing screen time, reports Newswise, a research-reporting service.

The study suggests parents find a healthy balance with screen time. The American Association of Pediatrics recommends that children under 2 not watch any television, and that older children have no more than one or two hours of screen time a day.

Fifty-six percent of children in Kentucky spend more than two hours a day playing video games, watching television, videos or DVDs, or on the computer, according to a 2012 survey of parents by the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky. The children in the Iowa study averaged more than 40 hours of screen time a week, not counting time spent on a computer at school.

The study analyzed the media habits of more than 1,300 school-aged children who were recruited to participate in an obesity prevention program. Students and parents were surveyed about screen time, exposure to violent media, bedtime and behavior. Teachers reported grades and commented on student behavior. School nurses measured student's height and weight. Data were collected at the start of the program and seven months later at the end of the program and collective patterns were identified.

KidsHealth.org makes these suggestions to create good TV habits in your home:
1. Limit TV-watching hours
2. Put other things to do in the TV room:  books, kids' magazines, toys, puzzles, games
3. Keep TVs and internet connections out of the bedrooms
4. Turn the TV off during meals
5. Don't allow kids to watch TV while doing homework
6. Treat TV as a privilege to be earned
7. Establish and enforce family TV viewing rules
8. Record and watch only the shows you want your kids to watch

Wednesday, 2 April 2014

Princess Health and Princess Health andState will reopen health-insurance enrollment for eight days, starting Friday, citing heavy demand.Princessiccia

Princess Health and Princess Health andState will reopen health-insurance enrollment for eight days, starting Friday, citing heavy demand.Princessiccia

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Kentucky will extend its deadline to sign up for insurance under federal health reform, citing a surge of last minute applications. Gov. Steve Beshear announced Tuesday that Kentuckians will be able to enroll from Friday, April 4 through Friday, April 11.

The official deadline had been midnight Monday, March 31 for those using the state insurance exchange, Kynect. People eligible for Medicaid can apply on the exchange at any time. The details on how this special enrollment period will work, including call center hours, will be announced Thursday, according to a news release from the governor's office.

The days between March 31 and April 4 will allow time to adjust computers for the extension, Cabinet for Health and Family Services spokeswoman Gwenda Bond told Mary Meehan of the Lexington Herald-Leader. She also said it will allow "Kynectors" to set up appointments with people in their communities to help process their applications.

Over the weekend, 21,000 people signed up, including 12,000 Monday, state officials said.

As of April 1, 370,829 Kentuckians had enrolled through the exchange; 293,802 of those signed up for Medicaid, and 77,027 signed up for private insurance. When open enrollment began Oct. 1, state officials estimated there were 640,000 uninsured in Kentucky. Some people getting coverage through the exchange were insured but their policies were canceled because they didn't comply with the reform law.

The federal government's website, HealthCare.gov, was reported to be overwhelmed with users on Monday. Bond said Kynect did not experience any "glitches" in the rush to sign up for health insurance on Monday, Meehan reports.

Princess Health and Uncovering the True Health Costs of Excess Weight. Princessiccia

Princess Health and Uncovering the True Health Costs of Excess Weight. Princessiccia

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Is excess weight hazardous to health, or can it actually be protective? This question has provoked intense debate in the academic community, in some cases even leading researchers to angrily denounce the work of others (1). There is good evidence to suggest that excess body fat increases the risk of specific diseases, including many of our major killers: diabetes, heart attack, stroke, heart failure, cancer, and kidney failure (2). Yet strangely, the studies relating excess weight to the total risk of dying-- an overall measure of health that's hard to argue with-- are inconsistent. Why?
Read more �

Tuesday, 1 April 2014

Princess Health and2014 Around the Bay.Princessiccia

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After the long grind that was the winter of 2013/14, Around the Bay finally came!  The team had a number of injuries and illnesses leading up to race day, but still walked away performing above expectations.  Here's a summary of our results:





In this race, Rob had an excellent performance.  In an extremely deep field he walked away placing 12th OA, and with a HUGE new personal best.  What was his time you ask?  Well, we have left a clue for you--->





Maria also had a great race!  With no training she ran well under 35minutes!






First in for H+P was Mike with a massive PB of 2:06!  This was about 20 minutes faster than his previous best.  








Coach Dyce was in next.  Despite a winter of minimal training, and fighting serious jetlag after flying in from Switzerland the day before, he achieved an excellent time of 2:08.







Just seconds behind Greg, also with a time of 2:08, Aaron Mailman was the next H+Per to come into the finish.  Great time? Yes.  But this is even more impressive considering the flu he was battling the entire week before.  












Just behind Mailman, Holger finished with an excellent time of 2:09. 








Graham Dunn, battling a cold, had a great run, coming in easily under 2:25.  

Coming in just after him, Vicki Z, the first female runner from H+P, had an AWESOME time of 2:28 which was a PB by about 14 minutes!




Coming off her early-season marathon, Tracy had an awesome performance of 2:36!  Emily, finishing up just her first year of racing, had an outstanding result, coming in with a time of 2:37. 


Helen, who had a very tough winter of limited training and no long runs still managed to just come in shy of her PB with an impressive time of 2:47.








In the 30K relay, new Muscle Mondays coach, Vicky Siemon and her teammate placed FIRST OA!  She finished her 15K with a time of about 57:30 (+ transition).

Coach Gill had an outstanding opening leg for her relay team with Sean.  She ran an impressive 1:02 for 15K (excluding transition) and rocked a new sub-20 5K PB!  This was good enough to put the New Balance-H+P team in 3rd place overall.









Coach Sean ran the 2nd 15K leg in 54:22...and really appreciated all of the cheering along the way from the teammates who made surprise appearances even though they were not racing!









Princess Health and New Position with Nestl�. Princessiccia

Princess Health and New Position with Nestl�. Princessiccia

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Warning -- Satire -- April Fool's Post

I'm happy to announce that I've accepted a Product Research and Development position with Nestl� Foods.  Nestl� is known for its skillful application of 'neuromarketing'-- using neuroscience to enhance product development and sales-- and the company recruited me for my background in neuroscience and food reward.

As Whole Health Source readers know well, food reward has a major impact on food selection and consumption, and therefore it has huge potential as a product development strategy.  Although product development by the food industry has always relied to some extent on a basic understanding of food reward, corporations still lag far behind the cutting edge of food reward research, and they are therefore missing out on a major opportunity to drive repeat purchase and consumption behavior and increase total sale volume.  I plan to leverage science-corporate synergy to develop food product solutions that people LOVE*.

Even more exciting, Nestl� has asked me to lead a strategic partnership initiative with Coca-Cola to utilize neuromarketing to tailor beverage product development specifically for children, who have a somewhat different set of reward criteria than adults.  We're excited to develop product solutions that kids LOVE* even more than current offerings, by scientifically designing new combinations of flavors, sweeteners, and totally safe habit-forming drugs such as caffeine.

Both companies have been very responsive to my nutritional concerns about processed foods, and so we're working together to make healthier products.  Here are some of the changes we're discussing:
  • Adding vitamin C and cod liver oil to chocolate.
  • Replacing a portion (1.7%) of the sugar in beverages with stevia across the board.
  • Stealthily decreasing the portion size of beverages.  To do this, we'll increase the thickness of the plastic bottles so the exterior of the bottle is the same size, but the actual beverage content is reduced by 0.2 oz.
  • Getting these healthy snacks and beverages back into schools where kids can enjoy them!
One of the first things we discussed is getting the advertising department at Nestl� to write guest posts for Whole Health Source.  This will be a fun way for WHS readers to stay informed of current Nestl� products and what we have coming down the pipeline!

April Fools!!!!!!


* Learned Obedience Via Eating

Monday, 31 March 2014

Princess Health and Princess Health andConsumer Reports rates hospitals on safety, puts Somerset hospital last in Kentucky; hospital blames its incomplete data.Princessiccia

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Consumer Reports magazine recently released safety rankings for hospitals across the country, compiled from government data. Miles Memorial Hospital in Damariscotta, Maine, received the best safety rating in the U.S., a 78 on a scale of 100. That was 12 points higher than the hospital labeled Kentucky's safest, Georgetown Community Hospital.

Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital in Somerset received by far the lowest rating in Kentucky, a 20. That was eight points below the next-lowest Kentucky hospital and nine points above Bolivar Medical Center in Cleveland, Miss., which was rated the nation's least safe hospital.

According to a message to the community prepared by Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital officials, "The information used to calculate the Consumer Reports scores does not provide an accurate picture of our hospital's quality and safety performance," because "We learned several years ago that we had not been submitting complete clinical information to Medicare." The hospital employed a clinical documentation improvement program that helped quality scores back into the expected ranges. Because the report featured data from 2009-2012, these improvements were not represented in the results, according to the message. Mark Brenzel, CEO of the hospital, said current information "reflects a much better score for the various quality indicators that they used." The hospital is owned by LifePoint Hospitals of Brentwood, Tenn.

The safety ratings are based on data gathered from the federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The five categories are occurrences of hospital acquired infections, unnecessary readmissions, mortality, communication about new medications, and appropriate use of scanning. Each categories counts for up to 20 points. Rankings by city, state, and county are available here. Some hospitals have not been rated because they did not have all the valid data measures needed to calculate the score.

"The average score for hospitals is just 51, and 43 hospitals got a score below 30," Consumer Reports said. John Santa, M.D., medical director of Consumer Reports Health, said "It is unacceptable that so many hospitals are doing so poorly. Especially since our ratings show that some hospitals can do a good job at keeping patients safe."

Unfortunately, approximately "440,000 hospital patients a year die at least in part because of preventable medical errors," Consumer Reports said. This figure is based on a comprehensive analysis published in the Journal of Patient Safety, a peer-reviewed medical journal. "What matter is that too many people are dying in hospitals because of medical mistakes, not enough is being done to stop it, and patients need more information," author John James said.

UPDATE, April 4: There are many forms of hospital rankings, some done with questionable business practices such as "licensing fees" they get from hospitals, notes Pia Christensen of the Association of Health Care Journalists.
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