ALBANY — The budget New York Gov. David Paterson proposed Tuesday would cut 5 percent from school aid and add $1 billion in new taxes and fees, creating a plan that analysts mostly viewed as appropriate during hard times.
But the package Paterson said would end "the era of irresponsibility" in Albany could still be transformed in negotiations with the Legislature, which remains in deep conflict with the Democratic governor as he faces an uphill fight for election this year.
The $134 billion budget also addresses a $7.4 billion deficit. In addition to a $1.1 billion cut in school aid, Paterson wants $1 billion cut from health care spending, much of which goes to hospitals and nursing homes.
He also is proposing another reduction in spending on higher education that would cut $95 million from four-year colleges operated by the State University of New York and $47.7 million from the City University of New York.
He also would allow SUNY and CUNY to set their own regular tuition increase, which could vary by campus, without legislative approval. Supporters praise this as innovation that will allow colleges to keep more tuition revenue for education and use it more efficiently. Public and private college students would also see a $75 cut in their Tuition Assistance Program financial aid.
New York City would lose $469 million in school aid, nearly $302 million in local government assistance, $53 million in funding for social services and nearly $4 million for transportation.
"The mistakes of the past — squandering surpluses, papering over deficits, relying on irresponsible fiscal gimmicks to finance unsustainable spending increases — have led us to a financial breaking point," Paterson said. "The era of irresponsibility has ended ... we can no longer afford this spending addiction we have had for so long."
Paterson's budget, the second in a historic fiscal crisis, would increase state spending 0.6 of 1 percent, less than the inflation rate of about 2 percent. It further cuts agencies in the executive branch by $1 billion.
The Legislature is expected to strongly oppose the largest cuts, in part because lawmakers believe that reducing health care spending will harm community hospital care, and school aid cuts are likely to prompt school boards to raise local property taxes and cut programs. School aid and hospital funding also are protected by the influence of Albany's richest and most powerful special interests over lawmakers, all of whom face election this year.
"These are the largest education cuts in history," said Billy Easton of the Alliance for Quality Education, which lobbies for school aid.
"His proposal pries open the school house doors and extracts every dollar from our children's education that Albany can get its hands on," Easton said.
The Legislature traditionally adds 1 percent to 2 percent to the state budget, but few executive proposals have cut aid to levels proposed by Paterson. The current budget crafted early last year eventually included more than $4 billion in new continuing taxes and fees, the highest tax increase in state history. Paterson and lawmakers will try to agree on a budget by the April 1 start of the fiscal year.
"The governor's budget is a sensible start down the road to better fiscal condition," said Elizabeth Lynam of the independent Citizens Budget Commission. "The savings proposals are significant and the one-shots (to raise revenue) are minimal."
She and other analysts also praised freeing SUNY and CUNY to raise and use tuition revenue.
"The good news is that all the figures are less than projected inflation," said E.J. McMahon, director of the Empire Center for New York State Policy, part of the fiscally conservative Manhattan Institute. "The bad news is, given the size of the projected budget gaps, he is still proposing too large a spending increase, especially considering what the Legislature is likely to do to it."
"The state could barely pay its bills last month and it is questionable how we're going to make it through March," said state Comptroller Thomas, DiNapoli, a Democrat. "New York's budget problems won't self-correct."
Paterson's budget address got a lukewarm response from lawmakers, 45 of whom didn't show.
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver noted he wasn't briefed on the budget until midnight Monday night, although governors usually brief legislatives leaders days before the address. "There are significant tax increases including a tax on middle-class parents and higher education. ... We're very concerned about the cost of higher ed."
Also among Paterson's proposals is extending the income tax benefits of filing as a married couple to same-sex couples married in states where gay marriage is legal, increasing the cigarette tax by $1 more per pack, offsetting health care cuts with an excise tax on soft drinks, as well as extending the hours of the Quick Draw gambling game at bars.
Paterson also wants to allow wine sales in grocery stores to spur tax revenue, delay the next class of state troopers, cut $320 million in aid to cities statewide, trim hundreds of workers by attrition, and close four minimum security prisons upstate.
Source
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
Castle Connolly and Inside Jersey present top women's docs
Medical treatment of women no longer is a one-size-fits-all endeavor. And that’s a good thing. When it comes to health needs, the sexes really are different.
Inside Jersey once again has joined with Castle Connolly Medical Ltd., this time to present 190 Top Doctors in Women’s Health in New Jersey. These top physicians have been recommended by their peers as leaders within their medical specialties in the treatment of women.
Inside Jersey’s ongoing partnership with Castle Connolly provides consumers with the most authoritative and informed rating of doctors in the region.
While other magazines’ lists are compiled by polling companies that have little or no background in the practice or delivery of medical services, each member of Castle Connolly’s senior management team has 30-plus years working in various aspects of the health care world. And its survey and research process is conducted under the direction of an MD.
Castle Connolly has been helping consumers find information about quality health care for nearly 20 years.
Chairman John K. Castle is CEO and chairman of Castle Harlan Inc., and former chairman of New York Medical College, the nation’s second largest private medical college. President and CEO John J. Connolly is past president of New York Medical College. The company publishes the consumer guides “America’s Top Doctors,” “America’s Top Doctors for Cancer,” “Top Doctors: New York Metro Area,” “The Best in Senior Living & Eldercare Options” and “The ABCs of HMOs.”
Source
Inside Jersey once again has joined with Castle Connolly Medical Ltd., this time to present 190 Top Doctors in Women’s Health in New Jersey. These top physicians have been recommended by their peers as leaders within their medical specialties in the treatment of women.
Inside Jersey’s ongoing partnership with Castle Connolly provides consumers with the most authoritative and informed rating of doctors in the region.
While other magazines’ lists are compiled by polling companies that have little or no background in the practice or delivery of medical services, each member of Castle Connolly’s senior management team has 30-plus years working in various aspects of the health care world. And its survey and research process is conducted under the direction of an MD.
Castle Connolly has been helping consumers find information about quality health care for nearly 20 years.
Chairman John K. Castle is CEO and chairman of Castle Harlan Inc., and former chairman of New York Medical College, the nation’s second largest private medical college. President and CEO John J. Connolly is past president of New York Medical College. The company publishes the consumer guides “America’s Top Doctors,” “America’s Top Doctors for Cancer,” “Top Doctors: New York Metro Area,” “The Best in Senior Living & Eldercare Options” and “The ABCs of HMOs.”
Source
Monday, September 28, 2009
Medical Movers
Zubair Khan, M.D., FACC, with Lake Regional has accepted an interventional cardiology fellowship at a hospital affiliated with Cornell University's Weill Medical College in New York, one of the top-ranked clinical and medical research centers in the country.Donn Sorensen has been named vice president of ambulatory operations for Sisters of Mercy Health System.
He will lead evaluation of all facets of Mercy's physician clinic infrastructure, guiding standardization efforts and consolidation where appropriate.
Sorensen will retain his current responsibilities as executive vice president of St. John's Health System in Springfield, where he oversees St. John's Clinic operations.
St. John's is a member of Mercy Health System.
Stephen Kuehn, MD, joins the cardiology department of Ferrell-Duncan Clinic.
He is board-certified in internal medicine and cardiology and board-eligible in interventional cardiology.
Dr. Kuehn is a member of the American College of Cardiology, American Society of Echocardiology and the American Society of Nuclear Medicine.
Source
He will lead evaluation of all facets of Mercy's physician clinic infrastructure, guiding standardization efforts and consolidation where appropriate.
Sorensen will retain his current responsibilities as executive vice president of St. John's Health System in Springfield, where he oversees St. John's Clinic operations.
St. John's is a member of Mercy Health System.
Stephen Kuehn, MD, joins the cardiology department of Ferrell-Duncan Clinic.
He is board-certified in internal medicine and cardiology and board-eligible in interventional cardiology.
Dr. Kuehn is a member of the American College of Cardiology, American Society of Echocardiology and the American Society of Nuclear Medicine.
Source
Monday, July 20, 2009
AMSA teaches "LGBT Acceptance: 101" to New York Medical College
The American Medical Student Association (AMSA), the nation's largest, independent medical student organization, is outraged at the recent action by New York Medical College (NYMC) to ban a student group for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students and has organized an on-campus "teach-in" entitled, "LGBT Acceptance: 101," on Thursday, January 27, 2005.
At the start of the academic year, the LGBT student group, previously named, Student Support Group, changed its name to the "Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender People in Medicine." Due to the modification, the NYMC administration revoked the charter, taking away funding and other benefits. Dr. Ralph O'Connell, NYMC provost and dean states, "�it was clear that the organization and its leader would advocate and promote activities inconsistent with the values of NYMC."
O'Connell has not responded to formal meeting requests from AMSA or the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association.
Last week, Dr. Joshua Lipsman, Westchester County Health Commissioner and NYMC professor, resigned his faculty status at the college to protest the school's decision. Lipsman is invited to address the students at Thursday's event.
"The actions taken by NYMC are inconsistent with the goals of medical education. Instead of creating more discrimination, there needs to be awareness of the health needs of LGBT patients," says Dr. Brian Palmer, AMSA national president. "By disbanding its LGBT student group, NYMC harms both its own students and their future patients. Prospective students should seriously evaluate the quality of medical education they would receive at a school that openly discriminates."
AMSA consists of many subgroups, including a national committee for LGBT people in medicine. The organization's Student Bill of Rights includes both the right of students to organize themselves and the right to be free from discrimination based on sexual orientation, as well as race, age, religion, disability, gender, ethnicity and socioeconomic status.
"Medical education must provide opportunities that reduce bias and enhance tolerance and understanding in order to eliminate health disparities," continues Palmer.
Source
At the start of the academic year, the LGBT student group, previously named, Student Support Group, changed its name to the "Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender People in Medicine." Due to the modification, the NYMC administration revoked the charter, taking away funding and other benefits. Dr. Ralph O'Connell, NYMC provost and dean states, "�it was clear that the organization and its leader would advocate and promote activities inconsistent with the values of NYMC."
O'Connell has not responded to formal meeting requests from AMSA or the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association.
Last week, Dr. Joshua Lipsman, Westchester County Health Commissioner and NYMC professor, resigned his faculty status at the college to protest the school's decision. Lipsman is invited to address the students at Thursday's event.
"The actions taken by NYMC are inconsistent with the goals of medical education. Instead of creating more discrimination, there needs to be awareness of the health needs of LGBT patients," says Dr. Brian Palmer, AMSA national president. "By disbanding its LGBT student group, NYMC harms both its own students and their future patients. Prospective students should seriously evaluate the quality of medical education they would receive at a school that openly discriminates."
AMSA consists of many subgroups, including a national committee for LGBT people in medicine. The organization's Student Bill of Rights includes both the right of students to organize themselves and the right to be free from discrimination based on sexual orientation, as well as race, age, religion, disability, gender, ethnicity and socioeconomic status.
"Medical education must provide opportunities that reduce bias and enhance tolerance and understanding in order to eliminate health disparities," continues Palmer.
Source
Monday, July 13, 2009
New York Medical College to stop using live dogs
VALHALLA - The newest class of students at New York Medical College will study the basics of cardiology without the traditional method: They won't be opening the chest of a live dog and watching its heart beat.
Responding to appeals from humanitarian groups, the college said yesterday that it would end the practice normally used to teach 190 students in first-year physiology class. Echocardiography and simulators will replace the use of live dogs when they reach that phase of their course in early 2008.
The college attracted a mini-movement of opposition over the past two years as the only medical school in New York that apparently still used animals. Animal-rights groups, neighborhood dog lovers and politicians joined the cause.
Bob Funck, who lives in Harrison, said he began fighting the policy after hearing about it from a student. "I give the folks at the college credit for making a good, positive decision - for them and for the animals," he said.
An organization called the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is fighting the practice around the country. Just 11 medical schools still use live animals, none of them in New York state, said Dr. John J. Pippin, a Dallas cardiologist working with the organization. He said technological tools have quickly become the standard in education.
Dr. Karl Adler, president of the college in Valhalla, said that last he had heard, about seven dogs were used annually in the lab. The animals were given anesthesia during the procedure and euthanized afterward, administrators have said.
"The reason why the dogs were used in the past is that the students could actually see a beating heart, and understand the physiology of how the heart works," Adler said. "It's the only internal organ where there's actually movement that you can understand the physiology of."
Animals were once a common study aid, he said. An internist, Adler remembers learning about treatment for seizures in a medical school lab with a number of seizing dogs.
Technology has since provided alternative ways to display and simulate the heart's function. With a portable echocardiograph machine, the class will be able to attach an electrode to a student's chest and watch the heart's activity on a video monitor. Simulators with computerized models will be able to mimic things like cardiac arrest or the effect of a drug.
New York Medical College's curriculum committee was asked in July to study alternatives to the animal lab, and reported back to the dean that the alternatives were just as effective in instruction. Adler had no estimate on how much the college would spend on the technology.
"We're not teaching open-heart surgery. What we're teaching is first-year medical students to understand how the heart works," he said. "And we think that the exposure using (echocardiography) and the simulators is equivalent now to using a live dog."
Among the elected officials pressing against the practice was Assemblyman Adam Bradley, who wrote to the college dean, Dr. Ralph O'Connell, this month.
Bradley called the procedure "unjustified and unnecessary." He wrote that the practice could not have been a great benefit to graduates, given that students were already allowed to opt out.
Typically, animals in a lab are anesthetized and given a breathing tube, and students open the chest, observe the heart and give drugs intravenously to watch the effects, said Pippin, the Dallas cardiologist. Modern simulators, in the form of humans, replicate the process so well that students can become emotional when the device simulates death.
The advantage: "You get to go back and learn and do it all over again and be successful, as opposed to using a dog, where if you do make a mistake and the dog dies, you're done," he said. "The traditional notion that, 'Well, we're going to use an animal to show you this 'cause we don't know how else to do it' - that doesn't hold water anymore, because there are much better ways to do it."
Source
Responding to appeals from humanitarian groups, the college said yesterday that it would end the practice normally used to teach 190 students in first-year physiology class. Echocardiography and simulators will replace the use of live dogs when they reach that phase of their course in early 2008.
The college attracted a mini-movement of opposition over the past two years as the only medical school in New York that apparently still used animals. Animal-rights groups, neighborhood dog lovers and politicians joined the cause.
Bob Funck, who lives in Harrison, said he began fighting the policy after hearing about it from a student. "I give the folks at the college credit for making a good, positive decision - for them and for the animals," he said.
An organization called the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is fighting the practice around the country. Just 11 medical schools still use live animals, none of them in New York state, said Dr. John J. Pippin, a Dallas cardiologist working with the organization. He said technological tools have quickly become the standard in education.
Dr. Karl Adler, president of the college in Valhalla, said that last he had heard, about seven dogs were used annually in the lab. The animals were given anesthesia during the procedure and euthanized afterward, administrators have said.
"The reason why the dogs were used in the past is that the students could actually see a beating heart, and understand the physiology of how the heart works," Adler said. "It's the only internal organ where there's actually movement that you can understand the physiology of."
Animals were once a common study aid, he said. An internist, Adler remembers learning about treatment for seizures in a medical school lab with a number of seizing dogs.
Technology has since provided alternative ways to display and simulate the heart's function. With a portable echocardiograph machine, the class will be able to attach an electrode to a student's chest and watch the heart's activity on a video monitor. Simulators with computerized models will be able to mimic things like cardiac arrest or the effect of a drug.
New York Medical College's curriculum committee was asked in July to study alternatives to the animal lab, and reported back to the dean that the alternatives were just as effective in instruction. Adler had no estimate on how much the college would spend on the technology.
"We're not teaching open-heart surgery. What we're teaching is first-year medical students to understand how the heart works," he said. "And we think that the exposure using (echocardiography) and the simulators is equivalent now to using a live dog."
Among the elected officials pressing against the practice was Assemblyman Adam Bradley, who wrote to the college dean, Dr. Ralph O'Connell, this month.
Bradley called the procedure "unjustified and unnecessary." He wrote that the practice could not have been a great benefit to graduates, given that students were already allowed to opt out.
Typically, animals in a lab are anesthetized and given a breathing tube, and students open the chest, observe the heart and give drugs intravenously to watch the effects, said Pippin, the Dallas cardiologist. Modern simulators, in the form of humans, replicate the process so well that students can become emotional when the device simulates death.
The advantage: "You get to go back and learn and do it all over again and be successful, as opposed to using a dog, where if you do make a mistake and the dog dies, you're done," he said. "The traditional notion that, 'Well, we're going to use an animal to show you this 'cause we don't know how else to do it' - that doesn't hold water anymore, because there are much better ways to do it."
Source
Monday, July 6, 2009
Top School for Medical Assisting Degrees - Los Angeles, CA
Located about eight miles from Los Angeles in Monterey Park, California, East Los Angeles College offers a degree in Medical Assisting. Students may earn an Associate in Science or an Associate in Arts in Medical Assisting.
East Los Angeles College in Lost Angeles, California
East Los Angeles College is a two-year college serving the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley community. It offers courses that prepare students for admission to four-year colleges and universities and occupational programs that take two years or less to complete. The college's student body is multi-cultural and international. East Los Angeles College offers the following program in Medical Assisting:- Associate in Science or Associate in Arts in Medical Assisting: East Los Angeles College's two-year Medical Assisting program prepares students for careers in hospitals, community medical facilities and doctors' offices. Students earn an Associate in Arts or an Associate in Science, depending on the option they pursue. The program offers three options: medical assistant, community health worker or medical secretary. The medical assistant and the community health worker options lead to an Associate in Science in Medical Assisting degree. The medical secretary option leads to an Associate in Arts in Medical Assisting degree. The medical assistant option prepares students for administrative tasks such as maintaining medical records, scheduling patients, dealing with insurance issues, assisting with medical exams and taking patients' histories. The community health worker option prepares students for careers in community health, acting as liaisons between patients and hospitals, clinics and community health agencies. The medical secretary option allows students to pursue secretarial positions in doctors' offices, hospitals and medical organizations. Typical courses for all options in East Los Angeles College's Medical Assisting Program are as follows:
- Human Biology
- Medical Terminology
- Hospital Ethics and Law
- Oral Communication
Monday, June 29, 2009
Medical Pathologist: Educational Requirements for a Career in Medical Pathology
Medical Pathologist Job Description
Pathologists are physicians who specialize in body fluids and tissues. Medical, or clinical pathologists are laboratory workers who consult physicians about their patients' conditions. Pathology itself is an enormous area of study and even the sub-classification 'clinical pathology' is an umbrella term for many specializations, such as microbiology, transfusion medicine, clinical chemistry, immunology, and hematology among others. Still, all clinical pathologists aid physicians in making appropriate diagnoses about patient health and medical conditions according to the College of American Pathologists, www.cap.org.
Medical pathologists aid physicians by using special laboratory equipment and procedures. Some tests are automated, while others still need to be done completely by hand. After testing has been done, medical pathologists evaluate the results. Medical pathologists mainly work in hospitals, but clinics, laboratories, and physician offices also employ medical pathologists.
Educational Requirements for Medical Pathologists
A bachelor's degree is the minimum requirement to enter into this field. Most employers look for the prospective candidate to have completed several years of medical school and sometimes residency at a hospital or pathology facility as well. Colleges and universities around the country offer degrees in medical pathology. Some hospitals offer programs, which provide hands-on training and formal instruction. Certification is also highly sought after. The American Board of Pathology provides certification.
Source
Pathologists are physicians who specialize in body fluids and tissues. Medical, or clinical pathologists are laboratory workers who consult physicians about their patients' conditions. Pathology itself is an enormous area of study and even the sub-classification 'clinical pathology' is an umbrella term for many specializations, such as microbiology, transfusion medicine, clinical chemistry, immunology, and hematology among others. Still, all clinical pathologists aid physicians in making appropriate diagnoses about patient health and medical conditions according to the College of American Pathologists, www.cap.org.
Medical pathologists aid physicians by using special laboratory equipment and procedures. Some tests are automated, while others still need to be done completely by hand. After testing has been done, medical pathologists evaluate the results. Medical pathologists mainly work in hospitals, but clinics, laboratories, and physician offices also employ medical pathologists.
Educational Requirements for Medical Pathologists
A bachelor's degree is the minimum requirement to enter into this field. Most employers look for the prospective candidate to have completed several years of medical school and sometimes residency at a hospital or pathology facility as well. Colleges and universities around the country offer degrees in medical pathology. Some hospitals offer programs, which provide hands-on training and formal instruction. Certification is also highly sought after. The American Board of Pathology provides certification.
Source
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