• The Scott County Lead Poisoning Prevention Coalition, with funding support from the Riverboat Development Authority and Scott County Regional Authority, is beginning a program that provides cleaning supplies and educational materials to families in an effort to reduce the number of lead-poisoned children in Scott County. The program is being targeted to families with children under six years of age who live or spend significant time in a Scott County dwelling built before 1978. State and local statistics indicate that there is a high incidence of childhood lead poisoning in the county. Cleaning products and instruction on cleaning methods are available at Churches United Food Pantries and other Scott County food pantries. You can learn more at Scott County's excellent Web site (http://www.scottcountyiowa.com/health/lead.html) or by calling the Scott County Health Department at (563)326-8618.
• If you've been to the hospital, your doctor's office, or even the dentist, you have run into HIPAA. It stands for Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act of 1996, and it's supposed to protect your private medical data. Designed by the Clinton Administration and ordered into effect by President Bush, HIPAA allows your medical records to be sent to third parties, such as the government, marketers, and insurance companies, without your consent. New rules only require "notification" that your records will be disclosed. You have to sign a form to say that you received a copy of the HIPAA regulations. Under those rules, if you refuse to sign the consent, your doctor could be forced to withhold treatment, or be prosecuted for treating you without the government-consent form. The Association of American Physicians & Surgeons is fighting HIPAA and has prepared a form for you to present to doctors requesting that your medical records not be released for any reason. It can be found at (http://www.aapsonline.org/confiden/patientadvisory.htm). The anti-HIPAA section of the group's Web site contains more information on the law, a lawsuit it is preparing, and a "Miranda warning" ad informing patients that everything they say can and will be used against them. See for yourself at (http://www.aapsonline.org/confiden/hipaapatients.htm).
• Taxpayers for Common Sense reports that the White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) has spent more than $1 billion on an anti-drug ad campaign whose only measurable effect has been that the ads might cause some teens to smoke more dope. Despite no evidence that the ads are effective, Congress is about to authorize nearly $1 billion more for ONDCP to burn through in the next five years. The campaign currently spends close to $8 per teenager per year to reach 90 percent of all teens at least four times a week via Internet, print, and broadcast advertising. In November 2002, a government study confirmed that the campaign failed to reduce marijuana use, and might even make some kids more likely to use drugs in the future. Repeated viewing of the ads even caused some teens to think more favorably of drugs. For more on this, see the Taxpayers for Common Sense Web site at (http://www.taxpayer.net).
• The Galena/Jo Daviess County Convention & Visitors Bureau has announced the release of its new 48-page Visitor's Planning Guide. Nearly 300 business listings for accommodations, attractions, entertainment, arts, schools, golf, recreation, restaurants, services, shopping, and weddings are found in the guide. Community descriptions and a list of tri-state attractions complement easy-to-read maps of Galena, Jo Daviess County, and the Galena Territory. Web-site addresses and business contact information found throughout the publication also make trip-planning easy. You can get your own copy of the Visitor's Planning Guide through (http://www.galena.org) or by calling (877)464-2536.
• U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) has praised passage of a Grassley-Harkin amendment to the Senate Budget Reconciliation bill to correct the disparity in Medicare payment rates between rural and urban health-care providers. The amendment was similar to one Harkin offered on the budget bill in March. That amendment narrowly failed passage. The amendment will make Medicare-formula and -payment policy changes to give rural providers and hospitals the equity they've been asking for. The cost of the changes is offset by changes to other Medicare policies. Votes on all remaining amendments and the full bill are expected by the time you read this.
• The latest health-care addition to the Walcott community is now open for business. To acquaint the community with its services, Trinity Walcott Primary Care will host an open house from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 1. Upon its opening May 5, the family medical clinic became the first doctor's office in Walcott in five years. It is the 15th Trinity clinic in the Quad Cities and surrounding area. Members of the community are invited to tour the new facility and meet the doctor and staff. Free health screenings, refreshments, and prizes will be provided. The city council will conduct a ribbon-cutting ceremony to welcome the clinic to the community at 1 p.m. Trinity Walcott Primary Care clinic is located at 790 North Main Street in a wing of the Burt Chiropractic Clinic in Walcott. Appointments can be made by calling (563)284-4043.
• Want to know more about the Friends of the Davenport Public Library? The Friends have a new Web site at (http://www.friendsofdavenportlibrary.org). It's neat and professional, and you might learn something you don't know.
• Midwest Living magazine has published in its June issue the travel survey winners for "The Best of the Midwest." Travelers voted on a number of their favorites, including restaurants, ice cream, and attractions. The Machine Shed Restaurants were named the Best Place to Eat when You Buy. Midwest Living readers made comments about The Machine Shed's reasonable prices and familiar foods. Captain's Table in Moline received Honorable Mention for the Best Place to Eat Seafood.
• If you've been to the hospital, your doctor's office, or even the dentist, you have run into HIPAA. It stands for Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act of 1996, and it's supposed to protect your private medical data. Designed by the Clinton Administration and ordered into effect by President Bush, HIPAA allows your medical records to be sent to third parties, such as the government, marketers, and insurance companies, without your consent. New rules only require "notification" that your records will be disclosed. You have to sign a form to say that you received a copy of the HIPAA regulations. Under those rules, if you refuse to sign the consent, your doctor could be forced to withhold treatment, or be prosecuted for treating you without the government-consent form. The Association of American Physicians & Surgeons is fighting HIPAA and has prepared a form for you to present to doctors requesting that your medical records not be released for any reason. It can be found at (http://www.aapsonline.org/confiden/patientadvisory.htm). The anti-HIPAA section of the group's Web site contains more information on the law, a lawsuit it is preparing, and a "Miranda warning" ad informing patients that everything they say can and will be used against them. See for yourself at (http://www.aapsonline.org/confiden/hipaapatients.htm).
• Taxpayers for Common Sense reports that the White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) has spent more than $1 billion on an anti-drug ad campaign whose only measurable effect has been that the ads might cause some teens to smoke more dope. Despite no evidence that the ads are effective, Congress is about to authorize nearly $1 billion more for ONDCP to burn through in the next five years. The campaign currently spends close to $8 per teenager per year to reach 90 percent of all teens at least four times a week via Internet, print, and broadcast advertising. In November 2002, a government study confirmed that the campaign failed to reduce marijuana use, and might even make some kids more likely to use drugs in the future. Repeated viewing of the ads even caused some teens to think more favorably of drugs. For more on this, see the Taxpayers for Common Sense Web site at (http://www.taxpayer.net).
• The Galena/Jo Daviess County Convention & Visitors Bureau has announced the release of its new 48-page Visitor's Planning Guide. Nearly 300 business listings for accommodations, attractions, entertainment, arts, schools, golf, recreation, restaurants, services, shopping, and weddings are found in the guide. Community descriptions and a list of tri-state attractions complement easy-to-read maps of Galena, Jo Daviess County, and the Galena Territory. Web-site addresses and business contact information found throughout the publication also make trip-planning easy. You can get your own copy of the Visitor's Planning Guide through (http://www.galena.org) or by calling (877)464-2536.
• U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) has praised passage of a Grassley-Harkin amendment to the Senate Budget Reconciliation bill to correct the disparity in Medicare payment rates between rural and urban health-care providers. The amendment was similar to one Harkin offered on the budget bill in March. That amendment narrowly failed passage. The amendment will make Medicare-formula and -payment policy changes to give rural providers and hospitals the equity they've been asking for. The cost of the changes is offset by changes to other Medicare policies. Votes on all remaining amendments and the full bill are expected by the time you read this.
• The latest health-care addition to the Walcott community is now open for business. To acquaint the community with its services, Trinity Walcott Primary Care will host an open house from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 1. Upon its opening May 5, the family medical clinic became the first doctor's office in Walcott in five years. It is the 15th Trinity clinic in the Quad Cities and surrounding area. Members of the community are invited to tour the new facility and meet the doctor and staff. Free health screenings, refreshments, and prizes will be provided. The city council will conduct a ribbon-cutting ceremony to welcome the clinic to the community at 1 p.m. Trinity Walcott Primary Care clinic is located at 790 North Main Street in a wing of the Burt Chiropractic Clinic in Walcott. Appointments can be made by calling (563)284-4043.
• Want to know more about the Friends of the Davenport Public Library? The Friends have a new Web site at (http://www.friendsofdavenportlibrary.org). It's neat and professional, and you might learn something you don't know.
• Midwest Living magazine has published in its June issue the travel survey winners for "The Best of the Midwest." Travelers voted on a number of their favorites, including restaurants, ice cream, and attractions. The Machine Shed Restaurants were named the Best Place to Eat when You Buy. Midwest Living readers made comments about The Machine Shed's reasonable prices and familiar foods. Captain's Table in Moline received Honorable Mention for the Best Place to Eat Seafood.
