The Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) – Office of Public Health recently awarded grants to five local communities to develop six school-based health centers.  The grants of up to $50,000 will allow schools to provide convenient, high quality health care services to students.

Awardees included:

?          Jefferson Parish Public School System (John Ehret High in

Marrero)

?          Morehouse Community Medical Centers (Morehouse Jr. High in

Bastrop)

?          Lafayette Parish School System (Carencro High in Lafayette)

?          St. Francis Medical Center (Richwood High School and Martin

Luther King Jr. Middle School in Monroe)

?          St. Charles Community Health Center (Albert Cammon Middle School

in St. Rose)

The Office of Public Health currently funds 62 school-based health centers throughout the state, providing access to health care to over 60,000 students.  In 2007, there were 125,007 student visits made to school-based health centers in Louisiana.  Services include sports physicals, immunizations, acute care for illness and injuries, management of chronic diseases such as asthma and diabetes, counseling services and wellness programs. 

 “Keeping students healthy and learning in school is paramount to their success later in life,” said DHH Secretary Alan Levine.  “We are extremely grateful to Governor Jindal and the Louisiana Legislature for their continued support of school-based health centers in our state and the increased funding this year to expand the program.”

Funding for the grants was made possible through a combination of state general funds and Maternal and Child Health Block Grant dollars.  The grants were awarded through a competitive process.

The awardees will begin planning this fall with the goal of becoming fully operational by August of 2009.

Honeybee Finals

Honeybee Finals will take place on Sunday, July 27 at 2 p.m. at the House of Blues. Doors open at 1:30 p.m.

Finals are free and open to the public, and fans of all ages are encouraged to come out and cheer on their favorite Honeybee hopefuls. There will also be a special performance by the Stingers Jr. Hip-hop team, music by the Free Agents Brass Band and an Enter-to-Win contest with an autographed Chris Paul jersey as the grand prize.

Out of the 40 Honeybee Finalists, approximately 20 will be selected to the 2008-09 Honeybee squad.

 Energy Coast

The America’s Energy Coast is unveiling THURSDAY a major policy initiative for achieving sustainable domestic energy production in an environmentally sound landscape. 
 The working Accord for Sustainability of America’s Energy Coast -- a region that produces 90% of our nation’s offshore energy supply which includes Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama — will impact the nation’s debate on energy and environmental sustainability, as it arrives at a critical time and from a region that can be viewed as America’s laboratory for energy development.
 It will be announced to the public during simulcast satellite-linked press conferences in Houston and New Orleans.  Leaders from the Gulf Coast who have been invited to participate include:
 
·         King Milling, Chairman of the America’s WETLAND Foundation
·         Randall Luthi, Director, Minerals Management Service, U.S. Department of the Interior
·         Mark Hurley, President of Shell Pipeline & Chair of the AEC Industry Council
·         Susan Kaderka, National Wildlife Federation
·         President Joel Chassion, Louisiana Senate

Video Conferencing

iLinc a provider of web and video conferencing software and online collaboration solutions, announced today that it has entered into an agreement with the state governments of Alaska and Iowa to provide statewide government organizations with a single-point solution for web conferencing and video conferencing. The new contracts bring the number of states now using iLinc to seven.

Iowa and Alaska join Arizona, Utah, South Carolina, Oregon and Louisiana in utilizing iLinc’s web conferencing suite within its state agency operations to save on rising gas costs, reduce travel time and realize substantial environmental benefits.

MedcomSoft Inc. has been selected by the Maryland Health Care Commission to participate in the Maryland Electronic Health Record (EHR) adoption acceleration program. The MHCC is an independent state regulatory agency that is committed to advancing the adoption and utilization of health information technology to improve the quality, safety, and efficiency of health care delivery. The MHCC, in collaboration with the Maryland and DC Medical Societies, received the first flagship award from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (“CMS”) for the upcoming EHR Demonstration project. MHCC selected participants from a group of 2007 Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (“CCHIT”) EHR providers who completed a stringent evaluation process.  Louisiana government is becoming more focused upon electronic medical records.

Unemployment

According to the Labor Department, first-time claims for state unemployment benefits rose to their highest level since late March.  The number of initial claims in the week ending July 19 rose 34,000 to 406,000 which is the highest level since the week ended March 29.

Ford Motor

Ford Motor Co., the posted a record quarterly loss of $8.7 billion.  It has quickened its move fuel-efficient vehicles. 

Housing

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Steve Preston Wednesday issued the following statement regarding housing legislation that is being debated by the U.S. Congress.

This legislation is a mixed bag.  The proposed legislation takes important steps to provide stability and confidence in the financial markets and in the institutions that support American's ability to gain access to affordable mortgages.  

Yet, the bill ties our hands and denies us the proper tools to help more families.  FHA has recently expanded its ability to refinance homeowners trapped in subprime adjustable rate mortgages.  As we help more struggling families, FHA has implemented a fairer, more flexible pricing structure.  

Unfortunately, this legislation would ban FHA's ability to charge differential pricing.  Now, FHA will be required to increase prices on all customers or eliminate its refinancing program for subprime borrowers at a time when they need it the most.   

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