The University of Wisconsinâ??s health system denied Wednesday that it was dropping plans to offer abortions at a Madison clinic, contradicting what a state Justice Department attorney said in a letter last week. Abortion foes have vociferously opposed the plan to offer second-term abortions at the university clinic in Madison, and they were the first Wednesday to circulate the letter from the attorney generalâ??s office indicating the plans had been abandoned. But a statement from University of Wisconsin Health issued hours after the letter was made public said it was untrue.
Category: Health
Group claims victory in UW abortion fight
Pro-life advocates are claiming victory in their fight against efforts to provide certain abortion services at a UW facility in Madison.
UW Health says plans still on for late-term abortions
Late term abortions has the Wisconsin Attorney Generalâ??s Office at odds with a Madison Hospital.
University Disputes Attorney General On Abortion Plans
In February of 2009, the Madison Surgery Center announced it would offer late-term abortions. But on Wednesday, the Attorney Generalâ??s office announced those plans were off. Now, UW Health is saying those reports are false. But the AGâ??s office is standing behind its original statement.
Plan For Late-Term Abortion Services On Hold
A plan to offer second-trimester abortions at a Madison clinic has been put on hold.
University disputes attorney general on abortion (AP)
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – University of Wisconsin Health is denying that it is dropping plans to offer abortions at a Madison clinic.
A letter sent Friday from an attorney with the state Department of Justice says that UW had abandoned its controversial plan to offer second-trimester abortions at the clinic. But on Wednesday, UW Health issued a statement saying that was not true. The statement says “UW Health remains strongly committed to a comprehensive womenâ??s reproduction health service that includes this important procedure.”
The board that oversees the clinic approved a plan to begin offering abortions there back in February 2009 but the services have not begun.
AGâ??s office says plans to offer second-trimester abortions at UW are off
The attorney generalâ??s office is claiming that the UW has abandoned its plans to offer second-trimester abortions at the Madison Surgery Center.
UW Health officials would not comment verbally but have promised a written response by early afternoon Wednesday.
In an April 30 letter to Eau Claire attorney Karen Mueller, Assistant Attorney General Kevin Potter would not be pursuing a requested investigation into the surgery centerâ??s plan to offer abortions because of the facilityâ??s own change in plans.
Operation Haiti: Madison doctor is teaching Haitian nurse skills to take back home
In Haiti, after the quake, Rigan Louis was the stoic young nurse who could get the Léogâne field hospitalâ??s balky generator going again, who could find a visiting surgeon a saw and rasp in the rubble, and who had the courage and skill to amputate a little girlâ??s infected hand. But on one recent morning, Louis sits in blue scrubs in the doctorâ??s lounge at Meriter Hospital, fumbling with a milk carton. He canâ??t figure out how to open it. Milk comes in cans in Haiti. When you can get it.
His friend, Dr. Craig Dopf, the genial UW Health orthopedic surgeon hosting and training him, is gulping down chicken soup and briefing Louis on their next patient.
(Dopf is also an assistant professor of orthopedic surgery in the School of Medicine and Public Health)
UW researchers to look at ankle braces
A UW study looks at the most common injury to young athletes, and itâ??s not a concussion. In a first-of-a-kind study, University of Wisconsin researchers will examine whether using ankle braces during football practice and games will help to reduce the incidence of ankle sprains â?? which can be debilitating.
Finals stressing you out? See the ‘counseling canines’
Final exams at UW-Madison begin in less than a week on May 9, so students are cramming as much as possible this week. To take some of the pressure off, University Health Services suggests that students go to the dogs for a little bit of canine comfort.
Explicit teen tweets a clue for parents it may be time to talk sex: study
Time for that dreaded sex talk with your teenager? A new study suggests the writingâ??s on their Facebook wall.
Teens’ Facebook Sex Talk May Not Be Just Talk
Researchers report that teens who include sexual references on their Facebook profiles may very well be planning to have sex. “Parents and physicians are often seeking clues for when itâ??s time to have â??the talkâ?? about sex with a teenager,” Dr. Megan A. Moreno of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and co-author of a study on kidsâ?? posting on social networking sites, said in a news release from the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Cellular Dynamics raises another $40.6 million
Cellular Dynamics International has raised another $40.6 million in private equity financing, and Sam Zell, owner of the Chicago Tribune, is one of the investors.
Founded by UW-Madison stem cell pioneer James Thomson, CDI produces human heart cells from stem cell lines derived from skin or blood samples from adults. The heart cells are used by the pharmaceutical industry to test the effect of drug candidates on heart function.
Campus Connection: Hiring stripper gives proverbial black eye to med students
Not everyone in medical school is smart.
How else can one explain the fact that someone thought it would be a good idea to have a stripper show up at the “Black Bag Ball,” an event put on by the UWâ??s Medical Student Association and funded by the universityâ??s Medical Alumni Foundation?
“Weâ??re really disappointed,” Patrick McBride, an associate dean of students with the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, said Monday.
Burning waste outside is a health and forest fire threat
A common way for rural Wisconsin residents to get rid of trash and wood is to burn it, either in open burn piles or in barrels.
That practice is not good for health, the environment or our stateâ??s millions of acres of forests, so the UW-Extension is working with two state agencies to educate residents about the dangers of trash burning. The UW-Extension Solid and Hazardous Waste Education Center (SHWEC) has joined with the Department of Natural Resources and Department of Health Services to get the message out to reduce open burning in Wisconsin.
UW med school investigating stripper at event
Officials at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are investigating how a stripper ended up at a school-sanctioned function involving dozens of medical school students. WKOW-TV in Madison reports the annual “Black Bag Ball” was April 17 at Memorial Union. Itâ??s put on by the UW Medical Students Association with financial support from the UW School of Medicine Alumni Foundation. In attendance were about 150 students, guests and faculty members.
Autism debate focuses on question of epidemic (Lakeland Times)
Children who are diagnosed with autism are described as being “on the spectrum,” sitting along the range of neurological impairments, from mild to severe, that compose autism spectrum disorders, or ASDs, but it could be said those so diagnosed are not the only ones on an autism spectrum.In the politically-tinted scientific world, there is what might be called a spectrum of causality, a sweep of beliefs about autism yielding two opposing viewpoints – those who believe the globe is engulfed in an autism pandemic constituting a major public health crisis, and those scientists who say it is all a myth. Put UW-Madison Dr. Morton Anne Gernsbacher in the latter group.
Doyle signs bill designed to help rural hospitals
Gov. Jim Doyle has signed a bill into law that imposes a tax on rural hospitals in order to generate more federal money. Doyle says the bill he signed on Monday ensures that 59 communities across the state served by rural hospitals that are open 24 hours but have fewer than 25 inpatient beds can leverage additional resources and federal funding. It also directs the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health to create family medicine residency programs at rural hospitals.
Former pharmacist pleads guilty to stealing 300 prescription pills
Former head of the cancer pharmacy at the University of Wisconsin Hospital pled guilty Wednesday to stealing a portion of the pills from the hospital pharmacy after having charges filed against him in March.
Cross Country: Veterinarians make house calls for cow herd checks
How many of us have a doctor come to our home to check on our family health every week? Every two weeks? Every month?
Probably not a one, unless there is a specific illness that must be monitored and we canâ??t make it to a clinic or hospital. Yet many of Wisconsinâ??s top dairy herds are visited by a veterinarian (who is indeed a well-trained and skilled doctor) on a regular weekly, biweekly or monthly schedule.
Bill would require hospital-owned clinics to disclose fees before providing care
Dennis Malone made sure to consult his health insuranceâ??s provider directory before making an appointment with an ophthalmologist at UW Healthâ??s East Clinic. The physician was in his planâ??s network, so he figured all heâ??d have to pay for his visit would be the required co-pay for seeing a specialist.Then the bills came.
What’s covered? Understanding health insurance can be an expensive nightmare
“We have not necessarily simplified health care,” said Meg Gaines, director of the Center for Patient Partnerships at UW-Madison. “That was abandoned in favor of getting access for folks.”
Doug Moe: Med Flight veteran logs 18 years in the air
Mike Abernethy is chief flight physician with Med Flight, which celebrates its 25th anniversary at UW Hospital on April 22. Abernethy has been there 18 years and estimates that no physician in the country has made more medical flights.
Curing the rural doctor shortage
The words “health care crisis” are probably strung together as much these days as any three words found in the dictionary. The crisis is very real and challenging in rural places around the country. Programs such as the Wisconsin Academy for Rural Medicine, or WARM, should be supported and expanded where possible. WARM, a part of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, trains doctors in rural places around the state, with the hope that the students will find reasons to stay in those areas upon graduation.
UW home to specialized prenatal cardiac care
Angie Vitale steps into a metal vault and lies on a table. A large cylinder hanging above her fits snug against her waist. It looks as if sheâ??s boarding a spaceship, but this journey is within: The device is a magnetic detector recording the tiny, irregular beats of her fetusâ??s heart.Vitale, from Sun Prairie, is among a small but growing number of pregnant women getting what amounts to a souped-up ultrasound at UW-Madison, which has the countryâ??s leading lab for fetal scanning.
Mobile magnetic detector could be on its way
Magnetic detectors that record fetal heart rates arenâ??t available in medical clinics today. But one could be traveling by truck in a few years, thanks to a $3.2 million National Institutes of Health grant awarded last month to a company in Rice Lake. Shared Medical Technology Inc. operates mobile units housing MRI, CT and bone density scanners. The company is working on a portable version of the magnetic detector used to monitor fetal heart rhythms at UW-Madisonâ??s Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research.
Remember swine flu? State still urging residents to get vaccinated
Swine flu seems so 2009 and is hardly talked about today, but state health officials say the H1N1 virus isnâ??t gone and people should get vaccinated.
State health officer Dr. Seth Foldy said in a release on Wednesday that the lull in cases in Wisconsin may only be temporary.
“We should not be complacent,” Foldy said. “Many of us have a little extra time during school spring break, so we should take advantage of the time by getting ourselves and our families vaccinated.”
Some southern states have reported an increase in new H1N1 pandemic influenza cases, prompting the Wisconsin Department of Health Servicesâ?? call for people to get their flu shots.
Food, glorious food! UW exhibit shows obsession with eating is nothing new
Our countryâ??s obsession with food is nothing new, as a fascinating exhibit at the University of Wisconsin-Madisonâ??s Ebling Library, in the Health Science Learning Center makes clear.
â??Itâ??s Good for You,â? which closes April 6, traces the history of our food and diet fads through a thoughtful compilation of books, magazine articles and photos from university libraries and archives that both amuses and surprises.
Physician assistants provide a broad range of care
Michelle Reisen-Garvey removes moles, treats chest pain, puts casts on broken bones, makes house calls, assists in surgeries and works in the emergency room. But sheâ??s not a doctor. Sheâ??s a physician assistant at Family Health of Lafayette County, working under a doctorâ??s supervision while helping a rural area meet medical staffing needs. Reisen-Garvey graduated from UW-Madisonâ??s two-year physician assistant masterâ??s degree program, which is trying to place more graduates in rural areas, said director Virginia Snyder.
Wanted: Doctors for rural clinics
Medical student Clay Dean is a pioneer in a new program to increase the number of rural doctors in Wisconsin. Raised on a beef farm near Blue River, a town of 400 people about 65 miles west of Madison, Dean is in the first class of the Wisconsin Academy for Rural Medicine at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. The students are getting much of their training in northern Wisconsin.
Study looks at health on county-by-county basis (Jacksonville, Ill. Journal Courier)
A new study takes a look at the health of Illinois county by county and offers mixed feelings about west-central Illinois.Julie Willems Van Dijk, assistant scientist with University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, was part of the team of researchers that compiled the report. She said a similar report had been made for the past six years for Wisconsin.
Guest column: How to tackle alcohol abuse on campus
Weâ??ve got to do more to save our young people from alcohol abuse. Itâ??s a killer.
More than 1,800 college students die each year from alcohol, and 500,000 students are injured by it, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
By day, these students have curious, textured, challenging minds. By night, too many are getting black-out drunk, mixing shots with potent drugs, and randomly hooking up.
State reacts to passage of national health-care bill
Following the passage of landmark health-care legislation Sunday, groups and individuals across the state are beginning to take a look at how the bill will impact Wisconsin residents, businesses and health-care providers.
UW-Madison, state weigh in on historic health care reform bill
Reactions to the passage of a significant health care reform bill Sunday remain divided in Wisconsin, with some heralding the bill as a long-awaited insurance solution while others claim it is a dangerous move away from American ideals.
Curiosities: Why do women live longer than men?
Quoted: Richard Weindruch, a professor of medicine in the UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health and an expert on aging.
Curiosities – aging
Quoted: “Looking back over time, it is clear that women have lived longer than men in nearly all countries,â? says Richard Weindruch, a professor of medicine in the UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health and an expert on aging.
Prayer death case headed to state Supreme Court, experts say
The case of a young Wisconsin girl who died in 2008 from untreated diabetes after her parents opted for prayer rather than medical care is likely headed to the state Supreme Court, say Constitutional experts and others, with the UW-Madison Law School representing the mother in the appellate process.
Quoted: Howard Schweber, UW-Madison associate professor of political science and legal studies, and Byron Lichstein, director of the UW Law School’s Criminal Appeals Project
Arnold Harris: Train station should be close to downtown
Dear Editor: Regarding the location of the Madison station for the coming Amtrak high-speed train to Milwaukee and Chicago, I agree totally that the facility must be located as close to downtown Madison as possible. That location simultaneously serves as the center of activity of state government and is close to the UW-Madison and the great medical complex west and south of that campus.
Medical College to commit $8.2 million to stem youth violence
Money for the initiative comes from the Healthier Wisconsin Partnership Program, which is financed with income from one of two endowments set up when the former Blue Cross & Blue Shield United of Wisconsin converted to a for-profit company. One of the endowments went to the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, which announced last month that it is committing $10 million over the next five years to finance projects designed to lower infant mortality.
Madison doctor was improperly sanctioned, judge rules
The state Medical Examining Board improperly sanctioned a Madison physician last October after he was accused of fondling female patients, a Dane County judge ruled Tuesday. The board suspended Frank Salvi for 90 days and required him to undergo a mental evaluation and five years of supervision. Four female patients accused Salvi of fondling them, charges Salvi vigorously denied and successfully defended against in a peer review at his then job at UW Hospital. Salvi resigned his post as assistant professor at UW-Madison on June 30, 2007, but his attorney said Salvi is preparing to take a new position in Madison.
Madison doctor was improperly sanctioned, judge rules
The state Medical Examining Board improperly sanctioned a Madison physician last October after he was accused of fondling female patients, a Dane County judge ruled Tuesday.
The board suspended Frank Salvi for 90 days and required him to undergo a mental evaluation and five years of supervision. Four female patients accused Salvi of fondling them, charges Salvi vigorously denied and successfully defended against in a peer review at his then job at UW Hospital.
Better, faster, stronger: In search of a more natural way to run
The road ahead of you is aglow with thousands of tiny sparkling snowflakes, like diamonds in the distance. The air on your face is brisk and refreshing, but it harmonizes with the warm sun. There is bliss in these moments of winter, experienced in the solitude of a long run, where your only purpose is to continue to put one foot in front of the other.But what if you could no longer run?
Expert from Appleton Education Foundation’s ‘Brain to Five’ series: Community support vital to children’s development
Children raised in poverty face daunting challenges in their development, just by virtue of their parentsâ?? lack of income to provide opportunities and resources. But research shows a communityâ??s investment in young children and their families, including support for parents and an enriched early childhood learning environment, can help them succeed alongside their more privileged peers, an expert says.
Therapists Use Technology To Help Children Avoid Sports Injuries
A growing trend of more sports-related injuries among young athletes is prompting UW Health researchers to get in the game. Over the past two years, sports medicine experts say youth baseball injuries have increased three-fold — specifically among pitchers — who are either overdoing it or not doing it the right way.
Smokers who quit see improved artery health within year, UW study shows
Despite gaining an average of nine pounds, a large group of smokers from Wisconsin who quit had a significant improvement in the health of their arteries within a year of their last cigarette. The benefit was the equivalent of a 14% reduction in the risk of cardiovascular disease, according to the University of Wisconsin-Madison study that was presented Monday at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology.
Capitol Report: Prayer vs. medical treatment debate continues at the Capitol.
The second of two bills circulating the Capitol that deals with the right of parents to choose prayer rather than medical treatment for a sick child will be before the Assembly Committee on Children and Families Wednesday.
Among the invited speakers will be Dr. Barbara Knox, with the UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health and the American Academy of Pediatrics, and Shawn Peters, author of “When Prayer Fails: Faith Healing, Children and the Law” and a UW-Madison lecturer.
Peters will be speaking in favor of Berceau’s bill.
UW-Madison researchers look for ‘silent strokes’
UW-Madison neuroscientists are looking for ways to find “silent strokes,” a condition that is virtually unnoticed by those afflicted but can lead to mental decline.
A team of scientists at UW-Madison has received a $1.57 million federal grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disease and Stroke to see if people with unstable plaque in arteries can be identified early on, so therapy can begin sooner rather than later.
Arteries improve after smokers quit, study finds
A new study shows that smokers who quit have healthier arteries a year later and probably will have less risk of heart disease as a result. Doctors say the improvement came even though people who kicked the habit gained an average of 9 pounds. The study at the University of Wisconsin in Madison involved 1,500 smokers who were given one of five methods, such as nicotine patches or lozenges, to help them quit.
UW-Madison Study Shows Big Positives in Quitting Smoking (AP)
A year after kicking the habit, smokersâ?? arteries showed signs of reversing a problem that can set the stage for heart disease, according to the first big study to test this. “A lot of people are afraid to quit smoking because theyâ??re afraid to gain weight,” said the studyâ??s leader, Dr. James Stein, a University of Wisconsin-Madison cardiologist.
Former UW cancer pharmacy head indicted on 25 charges of prescription drug fraud
A federal grand jury indicted a former head of the cancer pharmacy at University of Wisconsin Hospital Thursday on 25 counts of prescription drug fraud.
As universities tighten ethics policies, drug firms turn to private physicians to promote products
When looking for a doctor to travel the country and tout its costly prescription fish oil pill, GlaxoSmithKline didnâ??t select a heavyweight university researcher. Instead, it wrote checks to Tara Dall, a Delafield primary-care doctor who entered private practice in 2001.
Last year, the Journal Sentinel series “Side Effects” found that there was little disclosure to patients of drug-company moonlighting among dozens of doctors at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health.
Grand jury indicts Wisconsin pharmacist
A federal grand jury has indicted a University of Wisconsin Hospital pharmacist with falsifying prescriptions so he could obtain thousands of methadone tables.
Primary care doctors dwindling as medical students opt for specialties
Elizabeth Menzel isnâ??t one for following crowds.”I love what I do,” said Menzel, who is studying family medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is a first-year resident at the UW-Fox Valley Family Medicine Residency Program in Appleton.
Dane County prepares to replace county coroner’s position with a medical examiner
Dane County is moving forward with plans to have an appointed medical examiner, rather than an elected coroner, starting next January. Dane County autopsies have been performed by UW Hospital pathologists for a cost of $165,000 a year.
Links: Hospitals, doctors and free clinics
Mentions the Wisconsin Office of Rural Health and the Wisconsin Academy for Rural Medicine.
Rural health risk factor: Staying fit can be a big challenge
Quoted: Barb Haynes, family living educator at the UW Extension office.
Teen shocked by power line, saved by sister
A McFarland-area teenager was revived by his sister Sunday afternoon after he was shocked when an aluminum roof rake came into contact with a 7,200-volt power line. The boy was taken by helicopter to UW Hospital where his condition was undisclosed Sunday afternoon.
Study researches link between asthma, rural areas (WSAU-AM, Wausau)
A researcher needs your help in learning why asthma is on the rise in rural areas. Dr. David Van Sickle, a fellow in the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, said the study will pinpoint what causes asthmatics in rural areas to have an attack using GPS monitoring technology that heâ??s invented.
UW Medical Students Provide Care To Those In Need
Some University of Wisconsin Medical School students are getting an early dose of reality and at the same time, helping those in need. Some future physicians are learning patient care through a lesson plan taking them out of the classroom into the doctorâ??s office by providing health care to those struggling to make ends meet.
UW Medical Students Provide Care To Those In Need
Some University of Wisconsin Medical School students are getting an early dose of reality and at the same time, helping those in need.
Some future physicians are learning patient care through a lesson plan taking them out of the classroom into the doctorâ??s office by providing health care to those struggling to make ends meet.
No one expects to be down on your luck and out of work. And yet when people are, getting sick or needing to see the doctor can be a nightmare. If they are unable to pay, many donâ??t get the care they need.
For nearly 20 years, UW medical students have quietly been making a difference by treating patients who would otherwise go without care at free clinics throughout Madison.