Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–November 22, 2011.  It happens in my family every year during the December holidays: as we push our chairs back from dinner, my aunt asks if she should change her Medicare plan. “I have to do it by the end of December, you know,” she says.  This year, my[Read More…]

Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–November 22, 2011. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced today the award of $9 million from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to help Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) programs across the nation continue their work fighting Medicare fraud.  This is part of President[Read More…]

NIH study first to show effect in this age group; long-term significance unknown Bethesda, Maryland–(ENEWSPF)–November 22, 2011. Toddlers receiving anti-HIV drugs have higher cholesterol levels, on average, than do their peers who do not have HIV, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions. The researchers[Read More…]

Washington D.C.–(ENEWSPF)–November 22, 2011. United States Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin today declared Thanksgiving 2011 as the nation’s eighth annual “Family Health History Day,” when families can share information by using the My Family Health Portrait website to gather their family’s health history in one place. “An important first step[Read More…]

NEW YORK–(ENEWSPF)–21 November 2011.  Global efforts to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS are showing optimistic results, but transformative efforts are needed to accelerate progress, according to the latest reportreleased today by the United Nations agency leading the fight against the disease. The Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic 2011, produced by[Read More…]

Live healthier, longer by talking with family SPRINGFIELD–(ENEWSPF)–November 21, 2011.  Illinois Department of Public Health Acting Director, Dr. Craig Conover, is urging people to share their family health history during Thanksgiving and other holiday family gatherings to help ensure a longer, healthier future together. Since 2004, the U.S. Surgeon General[Read More…]

Safe food handling guidelines for a healthier holiday   SPRINGFIELD–(ENEWSPF)–November 21, 2011.  Avoid spending this holiday season feeling ill because of unwanted guests such as Salmonella, Listeria or E. coli (Escherichia coli O157:H7) bacteria. There are some simple things you can do to avoid foodborne illness. “Two of the most[Read More…]

Chicago–(ENEWSPF)–November 21, 2011.  Attorney General Lisa Madigan today joined doctors and consumer product safety advocates at the Illinois Poison Center to issue her annual safe shopping guide detailing this year’s recalled products and unsafe consumer items. “Unfortunately, when a recall is issued, these products don’t just vanish. They wind up[Read More…]

Yet many at risk do not talk to their doctor about symptoms Bethesda, Maryland–(ENEWSPF)–November 21, 2011. Awareness of COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), the nation’s third leading killer, continues to rise in the United States, according to the results of a Web-based survey released today by the National Heart, Lung,[Read More…]

Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–November 18, 2011.  The Council for Jewish Elderly (CJE SeniorLife) today became one of seven organizations across the country selected to test new ways to improve care for people with Medicare, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced.  “Lack of coordinated care between hospitals and caretakers[Read More…]