Health & Travel
Flight 405: The Story of Four Passengers
They were four strangers going about the routine business of flying. They trusted that commercial aviation had become as safe as the government and the airlines could make it. They were wrong. (From, “Deadly Delays,” The Cleveland Plain Dealer)
Cheerio, Mon Ami!
Among the French, it is not South Kensington but Le Quartier de South Kensington. And for bonne raison: It is their neighborhood now. In this part of London it’s easier to sample tartes aux pommes than a pint of lager. (The Washington Post)
RelationTrips
Travel is more than destinations and activities. It’s experiences, emotions and relationships. Hence RelationTrips.com and the column, RelationTrips, in The Washington Post and other newspapers. A sampling:
Passion Takes a Holiday (July 29 2001)
Honeymoonstruck (August 1, 2001)
Deadly Waters: Milwaukee One Year Later
For all the impact of a crisis, sometimes little changes. Fouled water in Milwaukee sickened thousands and drew huge media and political attention in 1993. Time passes, people forget. Yet people kept dying and the incident dimmed prospects for children like Becky Furmann – just when her life had taken a good turn. (The Plain Dealer)
The Family Fit
Baby boomers run into reality: Now with kids and harried, they face illness and a compromised quality of life. Yet some families find ways to stay fit together. (The Washington Post)
U.S. Medical Researchers Flout Rules Around World
In Zambia, Niger and other countries, experimenal risks hidden
On nearly every continent, the U.S. government and its clinical trials partners have hidden risks and undertaken medical experiments without legally required agreements to avoid human rights abuses. (The Cleveland Plain Dealer)
In the Name of Healing
Unwitting test subjects in clinical trials often kept in the dark
Doctors infused a solvent also used as a gasoline additive into Laura Michalski’s abdomen. Within hours, she died. Eight years later, her family learned it had been an experiment. Such unwitting test subjects abound: Most of the researchers involved in clinical trials fail to clearly disclose the experimental nature of their work. Risks and alternatives are not always explained (The Cleveland Plain Dealer)
Universal Health Insurance: Not a Cure-All
Reform may offer less benefit to minorities and the poor
Many assume disadvantaged minorities, who make up most of the uninsured, would substantially benefit from universal coverage and health reform. Yet studies show better care frequently fails to improve the health of minorities, the poor or the lesser educated. (Congressional Quarterly Researcher)
Local Health Reform: How Tampa Does It
Communities slow hospital admissions and treatable complications
A community the size of Rhode Island raised sales taxes to buy medical coverage for the uninsured. Result: Fewer hospital admissions, reduced complications from treatable ailments such as diabetes and asthma, and savings in property taxes. (Congressional Quarterly Researcher)
Recurring Quest for Health Reform: First Enthusiasm, Then Failure
The usual beneficiaries? Only some of us.
Every 15 years or so, health reform arouses great enthusiasm, only to fail spectacularly. Sometimes, specific populations — the elderly, the disabled, low-income children – have benefited. Universal coverage? Elusive as the Holy Grail. (Congressional Quarterly Researcher)
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