Hamaspik Gazette Hamaspik GazetteHamaspik Gazette Hamaspik GazetteHamaspik Gazette Hamaspik GazetteNews of Hamaspik Agencies and General HealthDecember 2005 • Issue No. 24Oct. 2010 . Issue No. 76

If you’re like most parents,you’re getting your kids acclimatedto the new school year nowadays—new backpacks, binders, buses andall. Somehow we survived it all askids. Today, however, experts notethat there are ways to do even theback-to-school basics right.

Backpack safety

Is your son or daughter cominghome carrying too heavy a load?No, I don’t mean the homework. Asstrange as it may sound, packs actu-ally can be too heavy for juvenilebacks.

In early August, the MCGHealthChildren’s Medical Center inAugusta, Georgia sent out a pressrelease noting that about 6,000American kids get hurt by backpacksone way or another each year.Children’s Medical Center occupa-tional therapist Linda Rhodes has thefollowing suggestions for keepingyour kid from becoming a backpackstatistic:

• Get a backpack that doesn’tweigh much in the first place.

• A backpack with a paddedback will keep those sharp-tippedpencils or pokey-cornered rulersfrom quite literally stabbing your kidin the back. Shoulder straps shouldbe padded too.

• The right backpack shouldcover no more than three-quarters ofthe length of your child’s back.

• Load the heaviest books anditems first—they need the most bodysupport. A loaded backpack mustn’tweigh more than 15 percent of achild’s body weight.

• If Junior has to lean forward tocarry his pack, it’s too heavy.

• Use both shoulder straps!Slinging the pack over one shouldermay be more convenient when dash-ing out the door to make the bus—but it puts too much strain on oneside of the back and upper body,which can lead to more problems.

• Straps should be snug but nottoo tight.

• If a backpack has a waiststrap, use it to help better support theload.

Continued on Page E12

I N S I D EI N S I D E**

Home Care

House Calls — E2

**Hamaspik on

the Blessed Isle — E3

**Public Health and

Policy — E8, E9

**What’s Happening In

Your Health — E12

Don’t you wish it could go onforever? After all, who doesn’t likeendlessly balmy days, blue skies andthat upbeat, hopeful atmosphere?Still, summer eventually windsdown too, as seasons go. But as itdid, Hamaspik staffers ensured thattheir charges all across the agency’sgroup homes, Day Habs and otherprograms maximized the season’swaning days to their fullest.

Wannamaker Briderheim resi-dents became “WannaBAKERS”one fine summer day, joked HomeManager Moshe Tamber in an e-mailto the Gazette’s offices. Attached tothe e-mail were several photos of“his boys” decked out in profession-al kitchen get-ups, hats, aprons andall, as they measured, mixed andbaked the ingredients of what soonbecame oven-fresh honey cake, thenenjoying their personal culinaryhandiwork.

The Wannamaker residents laterwrapped up their summer with a get-away to a Catskills bungalowcolony, where they spend a few daysimbibing the fresh countryside air.

Residents at the 61st St.

Briderheim coped with the signifi-cant summer heat one hot day byenjoying a refreshing dip at a local

swimming pool. What made theswim unique was the fact thatwheelchair-bound consumers were

deftly accommodated. Using non-electric equipment, the consumerswere rolled down disabled-access

ramps into the special pool, wherethey splashed in the cool water,Direct Care Workers standing by.

Up north at Hamaspik of OrangeCounty’s Day Hab program, con-sumers thrilled to a carnival-themedafternoon at which they tried theirhands at a number of amusing gamebooths set up by ever-creative staff.Other summer activities includedstrolling among the shady trees ofWarwick State Park, creating JewishNew Year’s cards to be sent to par-ents, and even visiting the famousSam Ash music superstore, wheremore musically-inclined consumerstook up various instruments for animpromptu jam session as helpfulstore staff stood by.

The residents of the SevenSprings Shvesterheim packed awealth of activity into their summersince the Gazette’s last summer-activity report, Home Manager Mrs.Heilbrun tells the newsletter. Thesecelebrations of summer includedseveral visits to regional malls, tripsto Splashdown Water Park and Rye

Backpacks and bugsA parents’ guide to back-to-school ABCs

The Joys of SummerHamaspik wraps up sunny season with range of activities

Continued on Page E12Signs of life: Picture-perfect Grandview IRA consumers at Six Flags Wild Safari

HAMASPIK GAZETTEPublished and © Copyright Sep. 2010 by:HAMASPIK 58 Rt. 59 Suite 1 Monsey NY 10952Telephone: (845) 503-0212 / Fax (845) 503-1212

Non Profit Org.US Postage

PAIDPTEX GROUP

E2 Oct. ‘10 | Hamaspik Gazette

Alter Wagschal packed at leasttwo lifetimes into his 21 years.

Born a healthy, precocious child,young Alter grew up inWilliamsburg in wide-eyed wonderof his illustrious ancestors, extollingtheir praises even as a young boy ofseven. Then tragedy struck.

A major surgical procedure toremove a brain tumor went wrong,leaving the little boy permanentlybrain-damaged, his pleasant person-ality and probing mind foreverscarred. Things would never be thesame.

His stalwart father, the respectedLantzhuter Ruv (Yiddish for rabbi ofWilliamsburg’s Lantzhut Synagoguecommunity), as well as doting moth-er and loving family, rallied around

their son and sibling. They dideverything they could. Days turnedinto weeks, then months and eventu-ally years.

At 18, Alter was joyously andlovingly embraced by the 61st St.Briderheim, where he became a resi-dent shortly over three years ago.Home Manager David Mizrahipoints out that on the Hebrew calen-dar, his day of arrival and day ofdeparture were one and the same.We don’t know G-d’s reckonings, hesays, but Alter clearly was sent to usfor a reason.

For three years, Alter would livea better life, and arguably his thirdlife. Though he had endured over 11years of agonizing, body-wrackingresults of his condition by the time

he had arrived, there was a side toAlter that would not surrender, thatillness could never touch. His soulshone through on many an occasionand his mind would not infrequentlyburst into functional flame.

Staffers witnessed these preciousmoments mostly through Alter’sever-witty spontaneity, displays ofbracing cognition that defied stereo-types and kept his Direct CareWorkers ever alert. “He had a senseof humor,” recalls Mizrahi. No mat-ter how difficult it was, everyone feltgood working with him, he adds.“We were able to connect with him.”

An employee at Hamaspik ofKings County’s Day Hab program,which Alter had begun attending twomonths ago, once compared Alter tohoney, saying how “sweet” he was.

Despite his burdensome bodilyrestraints, Alter kept his soul aloft byregularly engaging in religious stud-ies. He knew the name of everybook in the Mishnah and could con-stantly be found bedecked withheadphones, imbibing recordedTorah study classes.

*In the wee post-midnight hours

of Sunday morning, August 15,Mizrahi got an ominous call fromthe IRA’s overnight staff.Something was happening, theysaid. Come quick.

Mizrahi showed up shortly. Thestaff nurse was already on the scene,as were members of Hatzalah, thecommunity volunteer-ambulancecorps. Alter had suffered a wither-ing heart attack.

It was 3:00 a.m. when the nursetold Mizrahi to call Rabbi and Mrs.Wagschal.

Hatzalah paramedics and EMTswere still working on Alter when

father and mother arrived. Therewas little more they could do, theysaid. Surrounding Alter’s bed, theWagschals, Hamaspik staff membersand Hatzalah volunteers—all thefamily the young man had everknown—solemnly intoned NishmasKol Chai: “the soul of every lifeshall bless Your name.” Then theystepped back.

*After the funeral, sitting at home

during the traditional Shivah mourn-ing period, a father repeatedlyexpressed gratitude for everything agroup home, and its manager, did fora son who became one of their own.

For their part, Hamaspik’s staffis “trying to recover,” says Mizrahi.“It’s very hard for us.”

Mizrahi cites the devotion ofAlter’s two assigned Direct CareWorkers, David Preisler andAvraham Horowitz, as well as the

Day Hab staffers. “They did amaz-ing things for him,” he says. “A lotof credit goes to them too.”

Word of Alter’s passing quicklyrippled across the OPWDD commu-nity, generating genuine grief inmany quarters. “We were surprisedand saddened to learn of your loss,”wrote OPWDD leaders Dr. AnnTroy, Ph.D., Dr. Jill Pettinger, Ph.D.,and Kathy Keating in a letter to61st’s staff. “You have all workedso hard, and with such dedication, togive Alter a good quality of life...Thank you for your devoted care,and your welcoming spirit.”

Alter Yitzchok Wagschal will bemost remembered for his smile andhis sense of humor, laments Mizrahi.“We called him the LantzhuterRebbe of Borough Park,” he remem-bers. “He was always asking to be.”

May his memory be a blessing.

Three Years of LifeHamaspik mourns passing of 61st St. Briderheim consumer Alter Wagschal, 21

Indefatigable Hamaspik ofKings County MSC JulieBergmann is a real trouper. She’sweathered more than her fair shareof personal adversity—which isexactly what’s behind an ever-cheerful countenance and an inde-structible drive to obliterate adver-sity in the lives of others.

So when a young adult con-sumer, a severely autistic and non-verbal student attending Boston’sfamed Higashi School, took uplodging at a Hamaspik RespiteProvider home in Brooklyn duringa school break in early August,Bergmann swung into action.

Bergmann knew that the fosterfamily, lovingly caring and atten-tively responsible though theywere, did not communicate withtheir beloved charge—simplybecause they couldn’t. And thatwas something she was determinedto change. “I want[ed] it to bemore of a relationship,” sheasserts—something that every childdeserves, and certainly a child withspecial needs.

After a single, precisely-target-ed phone call, the fabulous folks atUnited Cerebral Palsy providedBergmann a loaner communicationsdevice specifically designed forautistic individuals.

“It’s my second time dealingwith them for my kids,” the folksyMidwesterner (Bergmann is aKansas native) matter-of-factlystates. “I call my clients my kids.”

The communications device,Bergmann explains to the Gazette,is basically an electronic touch sur-face with interchangeable, clip-board-sized picture boards. Thedevice allows non-verbal autisticsto communicate by tapping sym-

bols for such common phrases like“I want,” “juice” and “please.”

“It’s a way for her to get herwants and needs across,” Bergmannexplains.

And indeed it was, facilitatingenhanced communication from theget-go. “The communication boardwas a success!!!” Bergmannbeamed in a follow-up e-mail to theGazette. “The individual recog-nized it right away and asked forcookies.”

But that’s just the beginning ofthe unstoppable MSC’s plans forher beloved young charge.

“As the school year begins, Iwill be in contact with the school tosee what other adaptive devices sheuses there and whether they will beuseful in a home setting,”Bergmann reports. “I will alsobegin the process of acquiring thecommunication board for her regu-lar home use rather than getting aloaner for the next school break.”

In the meantime, thanks to heradvocacy, Higashi will be sendingBergman the picture boards usedfor all students, including the con-sumer—items whose familiaritywill improve communicationbetween consumer and caregivers.Autistic individuals are sticklers forunchanging environments—a factthat can be used to their therapeuticadvantage. The boards include onefilled with food-related symbolsand another for recreation-relatedcommunication.

“Everyone needs to get theirneeds across,” notes Bergmann.

And everyone who must getneeds across but can’t, needs avoice—which is exactly why JulieBergmann, and Hamaspik, do whatthey do.

A Consumer’s VoiceHamaspik of Kings County staffer

speaks up for consumer who cannot

A group home grieves: The 61st St. Briderheim

Hamaspik’s comprehensive newHome Care division provides thebroadest range of home-based short-term and long-term care services toqualifying consumers.

But did you know that HomeCare can care for your home too?

The Home Care programincludes such staples as occupationaltherapy, physical therapy and all lev-els of “in-house” professional nurs-ing care—things consumers need forongoing health.

But, through Hamaspik’s part-nership with Fidelis Care, theregional managed-care insurancegiant, the agency can now also tendto things that homes need for con-

sumers’ ongoing health.After all, what good is a daily

nursing visit while one recoversfrom serious respiratory illness whena broken window admits the samedangerous draft that can re-infectvulnerable lungs?

Besides offering standard healthcare, Fidelis also provides recipientswith its wide-ranging Long-TermCare program. This in turn includesthe new Social and EnvironmentalSupports service.

Through offering the Social andEnvironmental Supports service(and the entire Fidelis Long-TermCare program), Hamaspik’s HomeCare can now perform minor home

maintenance: replacing old doors,installing handrails, fixing broken ordrafty windows or otherwise coun-teracting common signs of wear andtear—all to help maintain con-sumers’ level of mobility and com-fort in their primary residences.

The program rounds outHamaspik Home Care’s plethora ofhome-care accommodations, whichinclude, besides all the abovemen-tioned services, case management,nutrition therapy, social work andeven feeding therapy.

Hamaspik is authorized to pro-vide the Fidelis program throughoutthe Hudson Valley region.

Home Improvement,Life Improvement

Hamaspik Home Care and Fidelis team up for minorhome, and health, maintenance

E3Hamaspik Gazette | Oct. ‘10

The young man reeled andbopped to the beat, microphone inhand, all while the crowd clapped,stage lights flashed and drums thun-dered.

Then the singer resumed hisvocals.

The former was, after all, not afeatured performer but rather, one ofthe participating, and patentlythrilled, Hamaspik consumers. Andthe event in question was not justanother concert but last year’s annu-al live musical get-together for con-sumers and their families comeSukkos, long a staple of Hamaspikcommunity outreach programming.

The yearly event marks the fall-season festival of Sukkos, theBiblically-mandated “Feast ofBooths” themed with an upbeatatmosphere as much as it is withmakeshift outdoor huts.

Music is very much a part of theHamaspik consumer’s daily life,with respectable sound systems inplace, and in robust use, at mostHamaspik consumer residences andDay Hab centers. Studies have longdemonstrated the numerous mental,emotional and physical health bene-fits to individuals of all ages of theorganized audio stimulation knownas music.

Medical scrutiny notwithstand-ing, the annual concert—which hasbeen held for the past few years—isanything but a dry exercise in listen-ing. Consumers and their familiesare encouraged to sing and clapalong throughout, turning the sizableaudience into a veritable part of theperformance. Healthy, refreshedsmiles break out everywhere.

Most importantly, though, andcentral to the event’s therapeuticthrill, consumers are lovinglybrought to the stage in ones and twosby their Direct Care Workersthroughout the concert, where theyendlessly beam and exult in the cen-ter-stage limelight while lustilycheered on by family members—andperhaps even try a number or twoalong with the concert’s accommo-dating and sensitive singers. Morethan a few dance.

Community-minded performersin past years have included suchpopular folk stars as Mordechai BenDavid, Dovid Gabay, MichoelPruzansky, Lipa Schmeltzer,Michoel Schnitzler, Yosef ChaimShwekey, Berry Weber and Yeedle

Werdyger. Ageless children’s enter-tainer Uncle Moishy has lent hiseducational, uplifting presence inyears past, and the popular MiamiBoys Choir, Yeshiva Boys Choir andTemimim Boys Choirs have con-

tributed as well.Additionally, universally loved

Jewish-radio personality NachumSegal, an institution in Jewish musicfor over two decades, has emceedthe concert in years past.

The concert is scheduled forSunday, September 26, 2010 at thecentrally located New Utrecht HighSchool in central Brooklyn, whoseample and disabled-accessible audi-torium is being exclusively rented

out for the afternoon. A large,roomy sukkah will also be erectedon the premises for Hamaspik com-munity-member use.

Consumers and Direct CareWorkers will be brought to the excit-ing event in their familiar Hamaspiktransportation vehicles, while attend-ing family members will be bused inon special charter runs from theMonroe and Monsey regions.

Under the diligent eye of long-time Hamaspik Project CoordinatorBrenda Katina, last-minute prepara-tions were underway as the Gazettewent to print. As always, the rosterof performers remains a surprise—making the event’s excitement quo-tient, and therapeutic value, evenhigher.

Music’s unique qualities includeits ability to stir minds and triggermemories. At the Hamaspik concert,however, at least two more will jointhe list: the opening of hearts and thestimulation of souls—a free-flowingriver of emotion and spirit sure towarm the hearts of consumers, fami-ly members and caregivers alikewell into the winter.

Stay tuned!

Music as MedicineHamaspik’s annual consumer concert set to motivate hearts, stimulate souls

If you’ve made it to Long Island,then you’ve really made it.

In the American imagination,“the Blessed Isle” otherwise knownas Long Island is broadly perceivedas the pinnacle of success, the high-est rung in the social ladder, theplace to live.

For generations, the island hassymbolized the apex of theAmerican Dream. Its southern-coastreaches, a collection of hamletsknown as the Hamptons, are infor-mally dubbed “the playground of therich,” where sprawling estates spanendless acres. A multitude of afflu-ent suburbs speckle its lengthyexpanse.

But now, Long Island can alsobe known for an agency that, like itsfabled achievers, doesn’t settle forsecond-best: Hamaspik.

For the past year, Hamaspik ofKings County has been providing

exactingly-delivered Nursing HomeTransition/Diversion (NHTD) serv-ices to Long Island consumers innumerous communities, includingBay Shore, Jericho, Medford,Melville and Oakdale.

The NHTD program is under theauspices of the state’s Dept. ofHealth (DOH). Like the statewideOffice for People withDevelopmental Disabilities(OPWDD) and its regionalDevelopmental Disabilities ServicesOffices, or DDSOs, the DOH dele-gates its jurisdiction to RegionalResource Development Centers, orRRDCs, covering the entire state.

The goal of NHTD is to transi-tion consumers back to their ownhomes upon leaving hospitals ornursing-homes, or divert them homeand away from nursing homes in thefirst place. It does this by providingseveral basic but critical services,including EnvironmentalModification Services, or E-Mods;Moving Assistance (MA); AssistiveTechnology (AT) like motorizedwheelchairs; and CommunityTransitional Services (CTS), whichcovers first-month apartment rentand furnishing expenses for “gradu-ating” nursing-home residents.

The aforementioned four arethose provided by Hamaspik to itsLong Island consumers; the agencyis authorized to provide specificBrooklyn consumers with another

five, Hamaspik of Kings CountyExecutive Director Joel Freundinforms the Gazette.

Hamaspik’s excellent workingrelationship with the Long IslandRRDC actually began through mutu-al public-sector peers: the capableleadership of New York City’sRRDC.

The minor saga unfolded likethis: A Long Island consumer need-ed E-Mods. At the time, Hamaspikwas the sole E-Mods-providing vol-untary agency in the entire NewYork City. (Hamaspik currentlyremains the only E-Mods voluntaryprovider serving Staten Island.)Long Island RRDC staffers neededan E-Mods-provider voluntaryagency for the consumer in question.They contacted the New York CityRRDC. And the New York CityRRDC, familiar with Hamaspik andits standards of quality, referred theagency.

As a result, Long Island con-sumers have been getting the wheel-chair ramps, lifts, and other handi-capped-accessible improvementsthat are part and parcel of E-Modsfor 12 months now. Hamaspik’s E-mods program provides home con-tracting services to individuals withphysical challenges—and all withthe uncompromising Hamaspiktouch.

At the same time, Hamaspikjoined forces with a different state

entity, the OPWDD, on a differentLong Island front: providingMedicaid Service Coordination serv-ices on Long Island.

The application to provide serv-ices in the Long Island DDSOregion was begun in late 2009 andcompleted its lengthy process thispast July.

Working with the Long IslandDDSO was a pleasant experience,according to Hamaspik of KingsCounty MSC Julie Bergmann. Theywere “very accommodating to helpeverything happen,” she says.

Bergmann particularly notes theefforts of Regional CoordinatorMSC Thelma Consenstein, the offi-cial responsible for new-agencyauthorizations, as well as adminis-trator Joanne Danner, who handlesthat DDSO’s Waiver programs.“She was very helpful,” saysBergmann of Danner. “She gaveeveryone else a heads-up that Iwould be calling.” Bergmann like-wise reports an effective exchangewith now-retiring Long IslandDDSO Director Jill McGinn.

Like living on the Blessed Isleitself, Long Islanders receivingHamaspik MSC services live a bet-ter life. The same is true for LongIsland’s newest NHTD beneficiaries.Like the public programs that bene-fit them—and the voluntary agencythat serves them—they’ve all finallymade the Long Island connection.

Making the Long Island ConnectionHamaspik expertise, reputation tapped to serve Long Island DDSO consumers

The moment of the spirit: At last year’s concert, two consumers revel as Berry Weber sings

Flying high: A concert-going consumer jumps for joy

E4 Oct. ‘10 | Hamaspik Gazette

Reminiscent of the old word-association games we’d play as kids(“What word do you think when youhear the word “vacation?”), whensomeone says “seizures!” most peo-ple think “convulsions!”

But while convulsions arealways caused by seizures, seizuresdon’t always cause convulsions.

Seizures, or episodes of abnor-mal electrical activity in the brain,are the primary symptom of epilep-sy, a common brain disorder—andthey can take several forms, includ-ing some you probably never heardof: staring spells, confusion, or sim-ply passing out. Convulsions aremerely the most widely known (notto mention dramatic and dangerous)of them all.

About one in every 100Americans will have an unexplainedseizure in their lifetime, as thiswriter did in 1991. That doesn’tmake you epileptic, though—it takesat least two seizures for an officialmedical diagnosis of epilepsy.

However, with proper medica-tion-and, more importantly, properinformation-convulsions, and allsymptoms of epilepsy, can be gener-ally be brought under control oreven eliminated altogether, allowingsufferers to live as healthily, func-tionally and richly as possible. Inthe meantime, here are the basics.

Symptoms

Epilepsy is caused by abnormalelectrical activity in brain cells.Therefore, seizures can affect anybody function controlled by yourbrain. Common symptoms includetemporary confusion, staring spells,uncontrollable jerking movements ofthe arms and legs, or complete lossof consciousness.

Symptoms depend on the type ofseizure. In most cases, a person withepilepsy will tend to have the sametype of seizure each time, so thesymptoms will be similar fromepisode to episode.

Doctors classify seizures as par-tial or generalized, depending onhow the abnormal brain activitybegins. In some cases, seizures can

begin as partial and then becomegeneralized.

Partial seizuresWhen seizures seem to occur

due to abnormal activity in just onepart of the brain, they’re called par-tial (or focal) seizures. Theseseizures fall into two subcategories.

Simple partial seizures. Theseseizures don’t result in loss of con-sciousness. They may change theway things look, smell, feel, taste orsound, or alter emotions. They mayalso cause involuntary jerking ofvarious body parts, like an arm orleg, and spontaneous sensory symp-toms like tingling, vertigo and flash-ing lights.

Complex partial seizures. Theseseizures alter consciousness, causingepileptics to lose awareness for shorttime spans. Complex partialseizures often result in staring andpurposeless and/or repetitive move-ments like twitching, chewing, handrubbing, swallowing or walking incircles.

Generalized seizuresSeizures that seem to occur

because of abnormal activity acrossthe entire brain are called general-ized seizures. There are four typesof generalized seizures:

Petit mal (or absence) seizures.These seizures are characterized bystaring and subtle body movements,and can cause brief losses of con-sciousness.

Myoclonic seizures. Theseseizures usually appear as suddenjerks or twitches of arms and legs.

Atonic seizures. Also known asdrop attacks, these seizures causeloss of normal muscle tone and sud-den collapses or falls.

Grand mal (or tonic-clonic)seizures. These are most intense ofall seizures, characterized by bodystiffening, shaking and jerking, lossof consciousness, tongue biting, andloss of bladder control.

Status epilepticusStatus epilepticus refers to the

patient undergoing an unbrokenepilepsy episode lasting five minutes

or longer, or experiencing consecu-tive seizures without regaining con-sciousness between. Status epilepti-cus creates the heightened risk ofpermanent brain damage or death.

Causes

In about half of people withepilepsy, the condition has no identi-fiable cause. In the other half, thecondition may be traced to variousfactors.

Genetic influence. It’s likelythat there’s a genetic influencebecause some types of epilepsy,which are categorized by their typeof seizure, run in families. Sometypes of epilepsy have been linked tospecific genes. However, genes areonly part of the cause, because theymay make a person more susceptibleto environmental conditions thattrigger seizures.

Head trauma inflicted by a car,bicycle, motorcycle or skiing acci-dent, or other traumatic head injury,including the aftereffects of brainsurgery, can cause epilepsy.

Medical disorders like strokes orheart attacks that result in braindamage can also cause epilepsy.Risk of such diseases can be reducedby eating healthily, exercising regu-larly, not smoking and reducingalcohol intake. Up to one half ofepilepsy cases in people 65 andolder are caused by strokes.

Dementia is also a cause ofepilepsy among older adults.

Diseases like meningitis andviral encephalitis, which inflame thebrain or spinal cord, or brain tumorscan cause epilepsy. Diabetes, aswell as various infections, may alsobe associated with epilepsy.

Extended childhood seizures.High fevers in childhood can some-times be associated with extendedseizures and subsequent epilepsylater in life, especially for individu-als with epilepsy family histories.

Developmental disorders or dis-abilities. The underlying cause ofcerebral palsy in newborn children,brain damage, can also causeseizures. About 20 percent ofseizures in children are associated

w i t hcerebral palsyor other neurological abnormalities.Epilepsy can also be associated withdevelopmental disorders like Downsyndrome or autism.

Age. The onset of epilepsy ismost common during early child-hood and after age 65, but the condi-tion can occur at any age.

Gender. Men are slightly moreat risk of developing epilepsy thanare women.

Family history. If there is a his-tory of epilepsy in one’s family, aperson may be at an increased risk ofdeveloping a seizure disorder.

Diagnoses

If you or a loved one suffers aseizure for the first time, go to theemergency room immediately,where hospital staff will determinethe most appropriate course ofimmediate action, including severaltests, depending on the patient’ssymptoms and state at the time. Theemergency room is especially criti-cal for patients in whom conscious-ness or breathing does not resumeafter the seizure ends, patients whosuffer a second immediate seizure,diabetics, or patients who injuredthemselves during the seizure.

After discharge, the patient willneed to consult with a neurologist,and ideally, an epileptologist (a neu-rologist specializing in epilepsy), fora formal diagnosis and customizedplan of action.

The epileptologist or neurologistwill need to eliminate a large num-ber of variables in the patient’s lifeso as to pinpoint the cause of theseizures and treat them best. Thepatient or his/her guardians shouldtherefore come to the appointmentwith as much background informa-tion as possible, including: a detailedseizure calendar (dates/times, type,length and stress factors); list ofmedications, vitamins or supple-ments; and, of course, a list of ques-tions.

A number of tests are used todiagnose epilepsy, ranging fromstandard neurological exams to high-

t e c himag-i n gp r o c e -dures likeMRI andPET scans.

Electroencephalogram(EEG). This is the most com-mon test to diagnose epilepsy.An EEG records the brain’s electri-cal activity via electrodes attached tothe scalp. Epilepsy commonlychanges the normal pattern of brainwaves, even when one is not havinga seizure. A doctor may simultane-ously monitor the patient on videowhile conducting an EEG to seewhat kind of seizures the patient ishaving in case one occurs during thetest. Because of that, the doctor maywant to do something to trigger aseizure during the test, like havingthe patient sleep very little the nightbefore or look at flashing lights orbreathe rapidly while being tested.

Behavioral and neurologicalexams. A doctor may want to testthe patient’s motor abilities, behav-ior and intellectual capacity to seehow seizures may be affecting himor her.

Blood tests. Blood samples maybe taken to check for signs of leadpoisoning, anemia, diabetes or infec-tions, which can cause seizures.

Neuropsychological tests. Thisgroup of tests, usually done as a sec-ond round of more pinpoint testingfor seizures’ origin in the brain,includes memory and speech assess-ments and IQ tests. These tests areusually done before any epilepsysurgery, if and when called for.

In the KnowAll about… Epilepsy

6

E5Hamaspik Gazette | Oct. ‘10

An industry insider in the knowtells the Gazette that the New YorkState Department of Health’s NHTDprogram is a study in tedium, thoughone proportionately parallel to itsresulting benefits.

Qualifying criteria are rigid andnarrow, and a long line of applicantsbog down overworked Departmentof Health NHTD clerks and admin-istrators, though the same insiderreports that much of said bureaucra-cy is simply due to the program’sdaunting newness and complexity.

“They’re getting much better atit,” says the insider in sympatheticdefense of his public-sector col-leagues. He did not want to benamed.

But upon breaking the paper-work barrier, recipient consumersand provider agencies alike reporthigh levels of effectiveness and sat-isfaction—which is exactly what isdeserved by destitute seniors orseverely disabled youths over 18.

The NHTD program, conceived,debated and tweaked during thePataki administration and rolled outinto reality under Eliot Spitzer’s

chief-executive stint, serves qualify-ing members of the public with asuite of services designed to shep-herd them through the homecomingprocess after nursing-home stays—or to keep them out of nursinghomes in the first place.

Transitional services, or diver-sionary services as the case may be,include Community IntegrationCounseling (CIC), MovingAssistance (MA), AssistiveTechnology (AT), IndependentLiving Skills Training (I-LIST) andHCSS, or Home Community SupportServices. The program also suppliesenvironmental modifications (E-Mods) like wheelchair ramps andgrab bars.

The DOH program is purveyedthrough nine RRDCs, or RegionalResource Development Centers,throughout the state. Hudson Valleyconsumers are served by theWestchester Independent LivingCenter, or WILC, while KingsCounty counterparts may obtainNHTD services through the StatenIsland-based Visiting NurseAssociation.

Hamaspik provides the NHTDprogram in all three of its county-based branches.

Because of NHTD’s rigorousexactitude, Hamaspik, like mostother provider agencies, only servesa handful of qualifying NHTD con-sumers; the program is designed forquality of services provided, notquantity of consumers served.

Still, despite that relatively lownumber of beneficiaries, or perhapsbecause of it, the Department ofHealth keeps a keen watch onNHTD operations, dispatching pri-vate-sector contractors to conducton-site inspections, both announcedand unannounced, to ensure regula-tory compliance.

One such two-person teampopped in on Hamaspik of KingsCounty’s Williamsburg offices onMonday, August 16. Binders weresoon retrieved, pages were turnedand documents inspected.

The following day, the inspec-tors paid a visit to an actualBrooklyn NHTD consumer, an 18-year-old paralyzed from the neckdown since a catastrophic car crash

two summers ago.Though the inspectors have yet

to release their findings as of thiswriting, Hamaspik staffers tell theGazette that the results were notablypositive.

“They were very impressed withthe way we did it,” comments At-Home Services Director JoelBrecher. “They liked the way wekeep our books.”

Brecher also said that the twofound Hamaspik to be the firstNHTD-administering voluntaryagency they encountered thatdemonstrated complete compliancein specific program areas. “Theywant to make sure providers havethe qualifications to provide servic-es, and we did,” elaboratesHamaspik NHTD Coordinator JoelBrief. “That’s what makesHamaspik stand out.”

According to Brief, whereHamaspik scored, Hamaspik scoredbig. “They were happy to see a[compliant] grievance policy,” heproudly recounts. “They werehappy to see a good privacy policy.”

Additionally, DOH inspectors

were impressed by their visit to theconsumer’s residence. “They knowthat Hamaspik has communityresources,” says Brief, making itsexecution of the program “like afamily versus a community provid-ing services.”

“It wasn’t really an audit. Theycall it a survey,” explains Hamaspikof Kings County MSC SupervisorShloime Reichman, noting the dif-ference between state OMIG (Officeof Medicaid Inspector General)inspections, which check for fraudand abuse, and DOH visits, whichessentially serve as quality assur-ance reviews.

“They basically went throughthe entire program from beginningto end, checking records: patientrecords, agency records, seeing ifeverything is in place, [like] policiesand procedures,” he says. “Theywere very, very impressed.”

Considering how difficult theNHTD program is to administer andexecutive, that achievement is all themore impressive—and all the morereflective of Hamaspik’s completedevotion to its mission.

NHTD, Ably Moving MountainsProgram professionalism, paperwork proficiency praised at inspection

Computerized tomography (CT).Patients experiencing their firstseizure may be given a CT scan atthe emergency room. These high-tech but widely used machines canreveal brain abnormalities that mightbe causing seizures, including bleed-ing, cysts and tumors.

Magnetic resonance imaging(MRI). Like the CT scan but in fargreater detail, the MRI machine canreveal brain abnormalities that couldbe causing seizures.

Functional MRI (fMRI). Thisspecialized use of the MRI machineis typically called for before preci-sion brain surgery. It measureschanges in brain blood flow thatoccur when specific parts of thebrain are working. This identifiesexact locations of critical functions,like speech, so that surgeons don’tinjure those places while operating.

Positron emission tomography(PET). PET scans use smallamounts of low-dose radioactivematerials injected into veins to helpvisualize active areas of the brainand detect abnormalities.

Single-photon emission comput-erized tomography (SPECT). WhenEEGs, MRIs, and other tests do notpinpoint the precise brain locationwhere seizures are originating, theultra-high-tech SPECT test will beused to create a detailed, 3-D map ofthe blood flow activity in the brainduring seizures, using a smallamount of low-dose radioactivematerial injected into a vein.

Treatments

Epilepsy treatment is generallybegun with medication. Half of allnewly-diagnosed epileptics will

become seizure-free with their firstmedication. If regular medicationdoesn’t work, other solutions,including surgery, may be proposed.

MedicationMost epileptics can become

seizure-free with regular usage ofjust one anti-epileptic drug. Othermedications will not eliminateseizure but greatly decrease theirintensity and frequency. Over halfof children with medication-con-trolled epilepsy can stop taking pillsand live seizure-free lives eventual-ly. Many adults also can stop med-ication after two or more seizure-free years.

However, finding the medicationand dosage that works best can becomplex and time-consuming, span-ning months. (This writer recallsstarting on Dilantin, switching toPhenobarbitol for a short timebecause of Dilantin’s sensitive-gumsside effect, and then switching backto Dilantin because ofPhenobarbitol’s fatigue side effects.)Over 50 different drugs have beenused to treat epilepsy over the past100 years—including ten new onesintroduced in the past 20 years.Phenobarbitol has been in use since1912 and Dilantin since 1938.

Doctor will likely first prescribea single drug at a relatively lowdosage and gradually increase itsdosage until seizures are well con-trolled. Patients who try two ormore medications without successmay be recommended to use a com-bination of two drugs or even more.

All anti-seizure medicationshave some side effects, includingdizziness, fatigue, weight gain, lossof bone density, skin rashes, loss of

coordination, speech problems,depression, suicidal thoughts andbehaviors, changes in blood count orliver function, and inflammation ofthe pancreas or other organs.

For ideal seizure control: Takemedications exactly as prescribed(this writer didn’t, and had anothergrand mal seizure); never stop tak-ing medications without telling doc-tors; and always consult doctorsbefore switching to generic versionsof medications, taking other pre-scription drugs, or taking over-the-counter drugs or herbal remedies.Also, notify the doctor immediatelyif you notice new or increased feel-ings of depression, suicidal thoughtsor unusual mood or behavior.

SurgerySurgery is most commonly done

when tests show that the seizuresoriginate in a small, well-definedarea of the brain that doesn’t inter-fere with vital functions like speech,language or hearing. In such cases,surgeons will simply remove the partof the brain causing the seizures.

If the seizures originate in a partof the brain that can’t be removed,surgeons may recommend making aseries of cuts in the brain designed toprevent seizures from spreading toother parts of the brain.

Although many people continueto need some medication to help pre-vent seizures after successful sur-gery, one may be able to take fewerdrugs and reduce dosages after sur-gery. However, surgery for epilepsycan also cause serious and/or perma-nent brain damage. Talk to surgeonsabout their experiences, successrates and complication rates with theprocedures being suggested.

Another form of neurosurgery,vagus nerve stimulation, is not per-formed on the physical brain.Instead, a small device is surgicallyimplanted under the skin of thechest, and thin wires are wrappedaround a nerve in the neck called thevagus nerve. These wires connect tothe batter-powered device, whichsends small amounts of electricalsignals to the vagus nerve andbeyond to the brain. The devicecounteracts the uncontrolled electri-cal brain activity of seizures, cuttingthem down by up to 40 percent.

Still, vagus nerve stimulation isgenerally only done for severe cases,and most patients with theseimplants still need to remain on pre-scription drugs. Vagus nerve stimu-lation can also produce such sideeffects like shortness of breath,throat pain, coughing, hoarseness,tingling, and muscle pain.

Ketogenic dietBy rigorously adhering to the

high-fat, low-carb ketogenic diet,some epileptic kids have seen reduc-tions in their seizures. This dietinduces the breakdown of fats, notcarbohydrates, as the body’s sourceof energy. Some children can quitthe ketogenic diet after a few yearsand remain seizure-free. However,due to its strictures, this diet is saidto be quite difficult to maintain.

When considering the ketogenicdiet for a child, make sure he or shewon’t become malnourished-because of its nutritional make-up,this diet may cause dehydration,constipation, slowed growth andkidney stones. However, these sideeffects can be largely prevented withpainstaking supervision.

Health and sleepGood overall health is always

critical, especially for individualswith epilepsy. As mentioned, smok-ing, alcohol consumption and otherunhealthy vices are indirectly relatedto epilepsy, so reduce or eliminatethem altogether. Skipping mealsmay make a seizure more likely tooccur. Inadequate sleep is a majortrigger of seizures, so be sure youget enough sleep regularly. Also,patients should wear medical alertbracelets to inform emergency med-ical personnel how to best treat themin case of seizure.

Summary—livingwith epilepsy

Because epileptics can haveseizures at any time, especially if thecondition is not being treated withmedications or other treatments,patients are at heightened risk ofinjury or even death due to seizureswhile swimming or driving. Fallingas a result of a seizure is also a com-mon danger.

Many states will temporarilyrevoke epileptics’ driver’s licensesuntil they have been seizure-free forvarious time periods ranging fromseveral months to two years.

Bottom line? Get a good epilep-tologist and rigorously observe theprescribed medication and healthregimen, and you stand a goodchance of eliminating or at least sig-nificantly reducing the number andintensity of seizures.

Hamaspik thanks Dr. SusanPerlman, MD, Clinical Professor ofNeurology at UCLA, for criticallyreviewing this article.

E6 Oct. ‘10 | Hamaspik Gazette

Keeping up with Hamaspik, andeverything else going on throughoutthe year, will now be easy and con-venient, thanks to a special gift theagency just sent to each consumerfamily: a calendar.

The agency that’s with so manyfamilies throughout the four seasonswill now be with them in yet anotherway, as the handy fridge-mountablemagnetic calendar also prominentlyfeatures a large erasable “scratchpad” complete with marker—perfectfor jotting down numbers and othertidbits of daily life on the go.

Hamaspik regularly mails NewYear’s best wishes, and small gifts,to each consumer family come RoshHashanah, the Jewish New Year.Planning each year’s mailing beginsduring the summer.

Selection of each year’s offeringis overseen by Hamaspik ProjectCoordinator Mrs. Brenda Katina,who also sees to consumer families’morale maintenance with additionallittle gifts throughout the year atsuch junctures as Chanukah andother festive occasions.

Harmonizing with theOPWDD’s “putting people first”mission, Hamaspik likewise sendsgifts to individual consumers atbirthdays, program graduations andother major personal milestones.

Hamaspik wishes a happy,healthy and sweet New Year to allits consumers and their families, ourhardworking employees, and ourpublic- and private-sector allies andfriends. L’shanah tovah!

A Gift that KeepsGiving Year ‘Round

Hamaspik distributes JewishNew Year calendars

A new elevator shaft and stair-case may not seem like much of anexpansion. But for walking-chal-lenged consumers, and organizationsproviding their daily programminglike Hamaspik, it makes all the dif-ference in the world, according toZishe Lowy, Hamaspik of RocklandCounty’s Director of Day Services.

Now, “the entire building can beeasily accessible to people in wheel-chairs,” he says, an access that elim-inates the tedious juggling ofupstairs and downstairs consumerscheduling.

The building in question isHamaspik’s Day Hab facility at 221Rt. 59 in Spring Valley, which untilrecently housed Hamaspik ofRockland County’s entire Day Habprogram. With much of Hamaspik’sDay Hab programming now occur-

ring at 78 S. Main St., both centershave room to grow.

Previously, consumers usingwheelchairs or walkers were onlyable to access the Rt. 59 facility’sground floor via a front-entranceramp; the second floor, accessibleonly by staircase, remained out ofbounds. But now, the generous newextension puts put a broad, low-angled second staircase and a spa-cious elevator under its roof, allow-ing mobility-disabled consumersfree range throughout the center.

Actual construction began inApril 2010, preceded by the requiredpaperwork and planning. Accordingto Lowy, the elevator, which is cur-rently undergoing completion, willbe ready for use in September.

At the same time, contractorshave completed interior work todeliver a ready-to-use expansion.

With universal access to soon bea fact as concrete as the fresh stair-case cement, the Day Hab programwill be poised to accommodate moreindividuals with special needs thanever—and for Hamaspik’s special-needs consumers, that means thingsare looking up.

Hamaspik of Rockland County Day HabFacility Completing Expansion

New elevator, staircase to enhance access, programming flexibility

Extending its services: The enlargement housing the Day Hab’s new elevator and staircase

Graphically appealing: The calendar’s user-friendly design

E7Hamaspik Gazette | Oct. ‘10

E8 Oct. ‘10 | Hamaspik Gazette

ObamaCare comes toNew York State

Are you a New York State resident and alegal U.S. citizen with a preexisting condi-tion—and have not had health insurance forsix months or more? You may qualify for theNY Bridge Plan.

Gov. David Paterson officially announcedthe Empire State’s version of “ObamaCare’s”pre-existing condition coverage plans this pastMonday, August 30. Premiums are $362 amonth for upstate-county residents and $421 amonth for residents of downstate counties.

Applications are available now; enrollmentis on a first-come, first-served basis and willprovide coverage from October 1, 2010 untilJanuary 2014, when more health insurancecoverage options become available through thenew national Health Insurance Exchange, alsopart of the Affordable Care and PatientProtection Act.

In related news, New York State broughtthe federal “Get Covered. Get in the Game”children’s recruitment drive to the state inearly August. The program uses school andcommunity sports programs to sign up unin-sured kids with Medicaid or Child Health Plus.

Polls: health reformconfusion abounds

USA Today cited three recent polls inwhich large percentages of Americans said thehealth law would cut Medicare benefits, slashdoctors pay and ration health care to patients,beliefs as pervasive as they are untrue. “Forexample: The debunked idea raised by oppo-nents during congressional debate that ‘deathpanels’ could make end-of-life decisions isseen as real by nearly half of those surveyed,”the newspaper reported.

Christie signs “R-word” ban

New Jersey Governor Chris Christiesigned legislation on August 16 that removesoutdated, disrespectful terminology that refersto persons with developmental disabilitiesfrom all state statutes and regulations. Thebill, S-1982, eliminates references such as

“mental retardation,” “mentally retarded” and“feeble-minded,” replacing the terms with“intellectual disability” or "developmental dis-ability.” All future legislation will encompassthese changes.

FTC slams ObamaCare scams

Do any of these entities sound familiar?“Health Care One,” “American Eagle

Healthcare,” “Easy Life Healthcare,” “EliteHealthcare,” “Global Healthcare,” “'RepublicHealthcare,” “Americans4Healthcare” and“Citizens4Healthcare” have one thing in com-mon: They’re scams.

The Federal Trade Commission has justfiled suit in federal court against Health CareOne, the parent company of the scam opera-tion, for marketing phony, non-existent health-care plans nationwide, mostly via misleadingradio and TV commercials and most of whichprominently featured imagery and/or quotes ofPresident Obama to convey legitimacy wherethere was none.

The FTC is also working with 24 states tocrack down on sellers of “medical discountplans” that market themselves as health insur-ance that covers doctors, hospitals and otherservices. Such scams have increased in thewake of the healthcare reform law passed inMarch, said David Vladeck, director of theFTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.

“The uncertainty about the benefits thatwill be available under the new federal insur-ance program and the fact that the budgetdoesn’t kick in until 2014 is going to givescammers very fertile ground for this,”Vladeck told reporters. “They’re going to tryto capitalize on uncertainty.”

The FTC, along with several state attor-neys general, have filed lawsuits against com-panies that they say mislead consumers byselling medical discount plans that offer somesavings but marketing them as insuranceaccepted by doctors, hospitals and others.

“Health discount plans are not insurance.They don’t pay your medical bills,” saidMinnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson,who has filed three lawsuits. She added thatcontinued job losses are fueling the scamssince most Americans who have insurance get

it through their employer.So far, 54 lawsuits and other civil enforce-

ment actions have been taken by the FTC andthe states, officials said.

Man sentenced forfaking seizures

A Baltimore man has been sentenced to ayear-and-a-half in jail for faking seizures to getout of paying restaurant bills. City prosecutorssaid 43-year-old Andrew Palmer pleadedguilty to one count of theft scheme, and ajudge agreed to impose an 18-month sentence.

Prosecutors said Palmer ate and drank atseveral restaurants between April and July, andwhen he couldn’t pay, he would feign a seizurethat required medical personnel to respond.The maximum penalty for each individualoffense was 90 days in jail because the valueof each meal was less than $100.

Caregiver conceals pastcrimes, reconvicted

Hamden, Connecticut resident and regis-tered Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) StaceyLee Williams was sentenced to six months ofhouse arrest followed by two-and-a-half yearsof probation and 100 hours of communityservice after a court found her guilty of con-cealing past felonies in applying for work.Williams, who had been convicted in 2007 offraud while living in Arizona, concealed herfelonious past in successfully securing skillednursing jobs in 2008. The facilities where shegained employment provide Medicare- andMedicaid-funded services; Williams’ misrepre-sentations violated Medicare and Medicaidprovider guidelines.

WHO declares H1N1flu pandemic over

The World Health Organization declaredthe H1N1 flu pandemic officially over, monthsafter many nations’ authorities began cancelingvaccine orders and shutting down hotlines asthe disease ebbed from the headlines.

WHO Director-General Margaret Chansaid the organization’s emergency committee

of top flu experts advised her that the pan-demic had “largely run its course” and theworld is no longer in Phase Six, the highestinfluenza alert level. The virus has nowentered the “post-pandemic” phase, meaningdisease activity around the world has returnedto levels usually seen for seasonal influenza,she said.

At least 18,449 people have died world-wide since the outbreak began in April 2009.WHO, which received at least $170 millionfrom member states to deal with the pandem-ic, said last week that the true death toll islikely to be higher.

Governments in Europe and NorthAmerica started dumping vaccines earlier thisyear after finding their stocks were full ofunused and expiring supplies.

The United States stopped classifyingH1N1 flu as a public health emergency inJune, while health authorities in Britain shutdown their pandemic flu hot line in Februaryand later canceled vaccine a third of vaccineorders as it became clear the pandemic strainwould be less dangerous than feared. Worst-case scenarios had predicted up to 65,000deaths in Britain. In the end there were 457confirmed deaths.

AT&T to settle disability lawsuit

AT&T will pay a former employee$60,000 to settle a disability discrimination

lawsuit brought by the U.S. EqualEmployment Opportunity Commission(EEOC). The EEOC’s suit in the U.S. DistrictCourt for the Western District of Texas inAustin charged that AT&T violated theAmericans with Disabilities Act by failing tohire a cable splicer technician only because ofhis insulin use for Type 2 diabetes.

September: National InfantMortality Awareness Month

National Infant Mortality Awarenessmonth, created by a 2006 Congressional reso-lution, sees several organizations, governmentagencies and communities raising awarenesson infant mortality, promoting effective pro-grams and efforts that reduce infant deaths,low-birth weight, pre-term births and dispari-ties in perinatal outcomes. This year’s themeis “Healthy Families=Healthy Babies.”

In related news, as the Gazette went toprint, President Obam asigned a presidentialproclamation designating September 2010 as“National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month.”

Disabled advocateLongmore dies

Paul Longmore, one of America’s topscholars on disability history, passed away onMonday, August 8. He was 64. Longmore,unable to use his hands after contracting polioat age seven, wrote his first book, TheInvention of George Washington, by holding apen in his mouth and using it to punch his key-board. He went on to a distinguished career,writing books on disability history and joiningthe faculty of San Francisco State Universityin 1992.

Study: medical errorscost $19.5 billion

Medical errors and the problems they cancause—including bed sores, post-op infectionsand implant or device complications—cost theU.S. economy $19.5 billion in 2008, accordingto a study commissioned by the Society ofActuaries and carried out by the actuarial andconsulting firm Milliman. The cost estimate

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E9Hamaspik Gazette | Oct. ‘10

includes medical costs, costs associated withincreased mortality rate and lost productivity,and covers what the authors describe as a con-servative estimate of 1.5 million measurableerrors. The report estimates the errors causedmore than 2,500 avoidable deaths and over 10million lost days of work.

Bed sores—which in 95 percent of casesare considered to be the results of errors—pro-duced the largest annual cost, at almost $3.9billion, followed by post-op infections ($3.7billion), device complications ($1.1 billion),complications from failed spinal surgery ($1.1billion) and hemorrhages ($960 million). Tocome up with those figures, researchers foundthe total cost of a given type of injury and esti-mated how often it was caused by an error.

VA declares finalAgent Orange policy

Under a final rule published Tuesday,September 1, 2010 in the Federal Register,U.S. military veterans exposed to AgentOrange and other herbicides while serving inVietnam and other areas will find it easier toaccess quality health care and qualify for dis-ability compensation. The new rule addsParkinson’s disease, ischemic heart diseaseand all chronic B cell leukemias to the list ofhealth problems the VA presumes to be relatedto exposures to the herbicides.

AirTran fined fordisabilities violations

On August 30, the U.S. Department ofTransportation (DOT) assessed a civil penaltyof $500,000 against AirTran Airways for vio-lating rules protecting air travelers with dis-abilities. “People with disabilities have theright to expect fair treatment when they fly,and we will continue to take enforcementaction when their rights are violated,” saidU.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

Blazing danger: burn pits

Several studies, reports and even class-action lawsuits point to a cause-and-effect linkbetween the military’s continued use of open-air, jet-fuel-soaked burn pits for waste disposaland hundreds of unexplained illnesses, virtual-ly all among service members and civilianemployees of the military. After years ofdenial, and recent Congressional action, thePentagon has now officially ruled that expo-sure to burn pits causes medical problems.

Visually-impaired materialat Library of Congress

The Library of Congress, in an attempt toremain on accessibility’s cutting edge,renewed its exemption ruling of the DigitalMillenium Copyright Act, which would havebarred its electronic readers from offeringprint-copyrighted materials to the visually-dis-abled general public.

In at-risk soldiers’ boots

In a national first, substance abuse profes-sionals from 19 states and five tribal organiza-tions spent three days living on a Tennesseemilitary base August 30-September 1, engag-ing in minimal basic training exercises andotherwise getting steeped in military culture.The concept of the Operation Immersion pro-gram, jointly hosted by four state and federalentities, is to give mental-health caregiversfirst-hand knowledge of military life, the betterto treat soldiers’ PTSD and substance-abuseproblems.

Disabled vet winsbureaucracy war

Because a data-entry error recorded him asdeceased, U.S. Army veteran John Paul Scottwas accidentally stripped of his military healthbenefits, denying him his disability claim.Facing crippling debt and possible eviction,Scott finally had his benefits restored after twomonths of battling various VA bureaucracies.

Russia burns, Moscow chokes

On Friday, August 6, close to 560 wildfireswere burning across central Russia as theworst heat wave in 130 years, and its resultingcloud of smoke, gripped the country with nosigns of abating. The BBC reported that streetvisibility in Moscow, itself surrounded byclose to 40 forest fires, was less than one cityblock, and that the public was being warned toremain indoors. City mortality rates were upto 700 a day the following Monday, with poi-sonous pollution levels exceeding safety limitby nearly seven times. And seven forest areasknown to be contaminated by 1986 Chernobylfallout were reported burning on Tuesday, rais-ing fears of radioactive smog.

Obama signs Adjustment Act

The Independent Living Centers TechnicalAdjustment Act, recently signed by PresidentObama, makes a technical adjustment to fund-ing for independent living centers under theRehabilitation Act of 1973 to ensure stabilityand funding for independent living centers.The new law ensures that independent livingcenters have enough funding to continue serv-ing people with disabilities.

Paterson votesagainst disability laws

New York State disabled-advocacy groupsexpressed disappointment at Gov. DavidPaterson’s recent vetoing of three bills thatwould have ostensibly improved the lives ofindividuals with special needs. Two wouldhave made it illegal for landlords to discrimi-nate against tenants paying rents with theNHTD or TBI Medicaid waiver program.

“The Medicaid waiver programs, whichprovide housing subsidies, continue to bestymied in their effort to place people in stableand safe housing in the community while land-lords have the ability to refuse to accept thehousing subsidies provided under the NursingHome Transition and Diversion (NHTD) andtraumatic brain injury (TBI) waivers,” saidMelanie Shaw, executive director of the NewYork Association on Independent Living.

September 25: EKS Day

Sept. 25 is an annual celebration of EuniceKennedy Shriver’s life and a global call tocommit actions of inclusion, acceptance andunity for and with individuals with intellectualdisabilities.

Big, beefy E. coli recall

About one million pounds (around 454tons if you do the math) of ground beef pattiesand bulk ground beef were recalled in Augustby the Modesto, California-based Valley MeatCompany. The beefy recall was orderedbecause the meat was linked to seven illnessesfrom the E. coli 0157:H7 bacteria, the U.S.Dept. of Agriculture said.

The products, produced between Oct. 2,2009 and Jan. 12, 2010, bear the establishmentnumber “EST. 8268” and production codes

27509 through 01210. They were distributedin California, Texas, Oregon, Arizona, andinternationally.

E. coli O157:H7 is a potentially deadlybacterium that can cause bloody diarrhea,dehydration, and in the most severe cases, kid-ney failure. The very young, seniors and per-sons with weak immune systems are the mostsusceptible to foodborne illness.

In related news, Purdue University foodscientist Lisa Mauer, using infrared spec-troscopy, took only an hour to find harmful E.coli bacteria in ground beef. The discoverycould cut days off investigations of outbreaks,the university said in a statement on Monday,August 30. Current detection systems takeabout 48 hours to identify the bacteria.

The spectroscopy method can also differ-entiate the harder-to-detect E. coli 0157:H7strain, meaning outbreaks could be trackedmore effectively and quickly. Current tests forE. coli 0157:H7 use multiple steps and takealmost a week to get results.

Taking the wrong(lemonade) stand

County health inspectors in northeastPortland shut down a girl’s makeshift lemon-ade stand at a monthly county fair because theseven-year-old didn’t have a $120 standlicense. Multnomah County Chairman JeffCogen later apologized to Julie Murphy’s momfor the overzealousness.

Show Me State “Shows” Obama

Voters in Missouri passed Proposition C by71.1 percent in the Show Me State’s August 3primary election. The Proposition, which haslittle if any legal power, would block theAffordable Care Act’s federal IndividualMandate, which requires everyone to buyhealth insurance, from applying to the state’scitizens.

You get what you pay for

A review of 546 drug studies by Children’sHospital Boston researchers, including trialson such popular pharmaceuticals like choles-terol-lowering medicines, antidepressants,antipsychotics, proton-pump inhibitors, andvasodilators, found that 85 percent of drug-industry-funded studies contained positiveresults. In contrast, only 50 percent of govern-ment-funded trials, and 72 percent of non-profit or non-government-funded trials,returned positive reports.

Calorie menu displays:health boon or Big Brother?

The Gazette mentioned it a few times—butnow it’s actually moving forward, for better orfor worse: under “ObamaCare,” certain restau-rant menus, and vending machines, will needto display calories for each item respectivelyoffered or sold.

Section 4205 of the Affordable Care Actrequires restaurants and similar retail foodestablishments with 20 or more locations to listcalorie content information for standard menuitems on restaurant menus and menu boards,including drive-through menu boards.

The Act also requires vending machineoperators who own or operate 20 or morevending machines to disclose calorie contentfor certain items.

While the FDA has until March 23, 2011to say exactly how it will implement the law,the federal agency began accepting the pub-lic’s ideas on the calorie-display law on August25, 2010.

Second federal fraudsummit in LA

The second in a series of daylong summitsdesigned to highlight the government’s crack-down on Medicare and Medicaid fraud, one ofthe hottest and most lucrative forms of organ-ized white-collar crime, was held August 26,2010 in Los Angeles, with U.S. AttorneyGeneral Eric Holder and HHS SecretaryKathleen Sebelius in attendance. The first ofthe seven summits was held July 16, 2010, inMiami, widely considered the “Ground Zero”of Medicare fraud due to Florida’s high popu-lation of beneficiary seniors.

Early Retiree ReinsuranceProgram launched

In another one of the Affordable CareAct’s ongoing roll-outs, the HHS announcedthe first round of applicants accepted into theEarly Retiree Reinsurance Program atAugust’s end.

The close to 2,000 employers and unionsapproved for the new program will receivefunding from the $5 billion allocated by thereform bill to help pay health benefit claimsfor retirees too young to qualify for Medicare,which kicks in only at 65.

The government subsidy amounts to 80percent of medical claims between $15,000and $90,000—significant assistance to helpcover high-cost retirees and eligible familymembers. Interestingly enough, of the 16states already approved for ERRP funding,seven are participating in the national lawsuitagainst the Affordable Care Act’s “IndividualMandate.”

The ERRP is designed to serve as a bridgeto 2014, when another one of the plan’s main-stays, the “Health Insurance Exchanges,” willbe launched.

Poor country, poormalaria protection

An August 9 report in U.S. military news-paper Stars and Stripes mentions a 25-percentrise over last year in malaria hitting SouthKorean citizens and U.S. troops adjacent to theDemilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating Northand South Korea.

But while the spike’s cause—North Koreanot participating in yearly joint pesticidesprayings—is mentioned, the regime’s reasonfor reticence, near-economic collapse, is not.

The Red Cross, the international humani-tarian organization, did not have any data onmalaria levels in North Korea, a senior staffertold the Gazette.

Whether Communist North Korea, amongthe world’s poorest countries, finds the cashnow to spend on relatively inexpensive spray-ing against the mosquitoes that carry the dis-ease—or has to spend billions later on counter-acting a full-blown malaria outbreak among itsalready-suffering, suppressed population—remains to be seen.

NIH Director decriesstem-cell injunction

After a court-issued injunction barred gov-ernment funding of further human embryonicstem-cell research, National Institutes ofHealth Director Francis S. Collins, M.D.,Ph.D., said, “The recent court ruling … couldcause irreparable damage and delay potentialbreakthroughs to improve care for people liv-ing with serious diseases and conditions suchas spinal cord injury, diabetes, or Parkinson’sdisease.”

E10 Oct. ‘10 | Hamaspik Gazette

Scam alert: Acai berries

At the FTC’s request, a U.S. dis-trict court has ordered the marketersof acai (pronounced “ah-sah-EE”)berry weight-loss supplements,“colon cleansers,” and other prod-ucts to temporarily halt a blatantlydeceptive sales scheme that alleged-ly scammed consumers out of $30million or more in 2009 alonethrough false advertising and unfairand aggressive billing practices.

Since 2007, over 2,800 com-plaints against AcaiPure andColoPure, both sold by CentralCoast Nutraceuticals and affiliatesiLife Health and Wellness, SimplyNaturals, Health and BeautySolutions and Fit for Life, werereported by law enforcement agen-cies and the Better Business Bureau.The companies made dramatic, andfalse, claims that the productswould, respectively, trigger rapidweight loss and purge cancerous tox-ins from the digestive system.

Acai berry supplements, derivedfrom acai palm trees that are nativeto Central and South America, havebecome popular in recent years.Last year, the Better BusinessBureau named fake “free” trialoffers—including those for acai sup-plements offered by the defendantsin this case—as one of the “Top 10Scams and Rip Offs of 2009.”

Youngest students’ADHD misdiagnosed

Nearly one million children mayhave been misdiagnosed with atten-tion deficit hyperactivity disorder(ADHD) because they’re theyoungest kids in their kindergartenclass, Michigan State Universityresearchers said in a new study, andnot because they have real behaviorproblems. According to the study,students who are the youngest intheir grades are 60% more likely tobe diagnosed with ADHD.

AED batterypacks recalled

If you’re an EMT, you mightwant to check your AED gear.

The Lifeline and ReviveRbrands of automatic external defib-rillators (AEDs), manufactured byDefibtech, are recalling certain bat-tery packs because they may causethe AED to inappropriately cancelthe charge and be unable to delivertherapy. The company has receivedfour malfunction reports from AEDusers.

The recall only affects DBP-2800 battery packs shipped beforeJune 4, 2007. The affected packshave serial numbers between202001005 and 202005916 orbetween 206001001 and 206009871.

If you have a Lifeline orReviveR AED, check the batterypack’s serial number and contact thecompany if it is affected by the

recall. Defibtech will be sendingcorrective software to users whohave affected battery packs.

However, Defibtech says theAED can still be used until you getyour software update card—as longas you have a backup battery pack ora backup AED available.

If your Lifeline or ReviveR AEDcancels a shock during a rescue andshuts down with Service Code 1003,replace the battery pack and contin-ue with the rescue.

Moving to Japan? LeaveBaby (monitor) home

American baby monitors—thedevices that essentially put a mike inBaby’s crib and a speaker elsewhereso you can hear him cry—use 900mhz radio signals from the mike unitto the speaker unit.

Trouble is, cell phones, emer-gency, taxi and trucking communica-tions also use the 900-mhz frequen-cy—in Japan, at least.

U.S. military families living onmassive American bases in Japan arenow being advised to turn off babymonitors they brought with them orordered via mail from the Statesbecause they use frequencies thatcan disrupt radio and cell phone traf-fic. The problem surges each sum-mer when about a third of militaryfamilies are replaced by newcomersunfamiliar with the country.

Poor Mommy’sdepression hurts Baby

According to a new study, overhalf of low-income mothers ofbabies suffer from some level ofdepression.

Researcher Olivia Golden of theUrban Institute found that evensevere depression goes largelyuntreated among low-income moth-ers of infants, with just 30 percentspeaking to a professional abouttheir mental health. With at least 70percent needing help, the problem issignificant and “we should focus onclosing that gap,” Golden said. “Amom who is too sad to get up in themorning won’t be able to take careof all of her child’s practical needs.If she is not able to take joy in herchild, talk baby talk, play with thechild—those are features of parent-ing that brain development researchhas told us contribute to babies’ andtoddlers’ successful development.”

Largest-evernational egg recall

Major U.S. egg producer anddistributor Trafficanda Egg Ranch isvoluntarily recalling thousands ofspecific egg cartons due to possibleSalmonella contamination.

How to tell if your eggs havebeen recalled? Check if they havethe letter P, followed by certain four-digit plant numbers and certainthree-digit Julian dates, stamped on

the sides of their cartons.Recalled egg cartons are

stamped with plant numbers 1026,1413, 1720, 1942 or 1946 and Juliandates 136 to 229. Thus, for example,“P-1413-177” would be recalled.

“Consumers who believe theyhave purchased these shell eggsshould not eat them but should eitherdestroy or return them to the storewhere they were purchased for a fullrefund,” said Trafficanda in a pressrelease.

National whoopingcough update

Pertussis, commonly calledwhooping cough for its violent,noisy coughs, continues to spread,primarily in California, where thecurrent wave began and where over3,000 cases have been confirmed.

Infants and children are at themost risk for pertussis, even thosealready vaccinated. More than halfof babies younger than 1 year oldwho contract the virus require hospi-talization.

With 595 cases and one death,an infant, reported statewide sinceJanuary, Michigan health officialsurged child care workers mid-August to get the Tdap pertussisbooster vaccine.

Why is pertussis returning afterits near-eradication by the 1970s?Probably due to weakening immuni-ty in adults decades after vaccina-tion. Infected and mildly affectedadults then pass the virus on to vul-nerable, unimmunized children.Also, because it begins as a regularcough and only worsens later,patients may have spread the virus toothers by the time they get treat-ment.

The virus goes largely undetect-ed in adults because its symptomsare similar to those of the commoncold.

Outbreaks were also reported inPennsylvania, upstate New York andSouth Carolina.

Where there’s (cigarette)smoke, there’s…

cell damage

Looking into lung airway cellsof 121 nonsmokers, active smokersor low-exposure smokers based onsystem nicotine levels, Dr. RonaldCrystal of NewYork-PresbyterianHospital/Weill Cornell and his teamfound that even low levels of smokeexposure can cause irreparable dam-age to cells essential to breathing.The initial damage, while not usual-ly severe, can be cumulative, withprolonged exposure to tobaccosmoke possibly leading to chronicobstructive pulmonary disease(COPD) and even lung cancer.“There is no level of cigarette smok-ing or exposure to cigarette smokethat does not make the cells in yourlungs sick,” concluded Dr. Crystal.

Religious doctorshasten death less

Doctors who are atheist oragnostic are twice as likely to makedecisions that could end the lives oftheir terminally ill patients, com-pared to doctors who are very reli-gious, according to a new study inBritain.

A random mail survey of over3,700 British doctors found that doc-tors who described themselves as“extremely” or “very nonreligious”were nearly twice as likely to reporthaving made decisions like provid-ing continuous deep sedation, whichcould accelerate a patient’s death.Doctors who were religious weremuch less likely to have talked aboutend of life treatment decisions withtheir patients.

Virtual colonoscopy findsnon-colon problems

Medicine’s least-invasive colon-problem-screening test, the virtualcolonoscopy, has another major ben-efit outside its intended purpose,according to a new study: findingcancers, growths and other problemselsewhere besides the colon.

The American College ofRadiology/American Roentgen RaySociety study of 2,277 virtualcolonoscopy patients found that can-cers and lesions outside the colon,including 240 significant findings inthe pelvis, abdomen and otherregions, were identified in 1,037 ofthem.

Health highest inmountains

Altitudes aren’t the only thingway up there in America’s mountain-ous regions—so are health rates.According to a new governmentreport, the Mountain states region ofthe United States had the lowestaverage rate of potentially avoidablehospitalization for heart failure in2006.

Conversely, the highest rateswere in the East South Centralregion, comprised of Alabama,Mississippi (which is also the mostobese state), Tennessee andKentucky.

“Superbug” traced toIndia, Dehli rejects report

In the aftermath of an August 11report in the Lancet InfectiousDiseases Journal, the respectedBritish medical publication, India’smedical establishment and govern-ment health bodies roundly defendedtheir country’s booming medicaltourism industry, with some saying itsmacks of a conspiracy to scare offforeigners. According to the report,poor infection control in Indian hos-pitals has fostered the developmentof the so-called NDM-1 antibiotic-resistant gene that can make ordi-

nary bacteria lethally infectious.The superbug gene has so far

been identified in 37 people whoreturned to the U.K. after undergo-ing surgery in India or Pakistan.The resistant gene has also beendetected in Australia, Canada, theU.S., the Netherlands and Sweden.The researchers say since manyAmericans and Europeans travel toIndia and Pakistan for elective pro-cedures like cosmetic surgery, it waslikely the superbug gene wouldspread worldwide.

More brain “spindles,”more sleep

People who can sleep throughthunderous, bothersome loud noiseshave brains that produce moresound-negating “spindles,” a newstudy of 12 volunteers has found.The brain’s thalamus, which regu-lates auditory and visual input,remains alert during sleep, generat-ing bursts of brain activity called“spindles” that shield the rest of thebrain from loud external noises.The more spindles their brains regu-larly produced, the better volunteersslept through noises, the studyfound.

Never inhale a pea

Brewster, Massachusetts resi-dent Ron Sveden had some peas afew months ago. Trouble was, oneof them got into a lung, where itactually started sprouting roots. Hiscoughing for several months leftdoctors stymied until the pea wasdetected and surgically removed inearly August.

Long-term contact lenses,long-term dangers

Based on more than a millionpeople in northern California,researchers found that contact lenswearers were about nine times morelikely to develop corneal ulcers com-pared to non-wearers. “As new con-tact lens innovations become avail-able, and people hear that they canwear these contact lenses for weeksor a month without taking them off,they do just that,” said Dr. DavidGritz of New York’s MontefioreMedical Center. “They don’t realizethe dramatic increase in risk it caus-es them. Our eyes do need breaksfrom contact lens wear.”

Fructose failings:a mini-report

As the Gazette reported in lastmonth’s Health News, higher fruc-tose levels were recently associatedwith higher blood pressure levels.Now, scientists at the University ofCalifornia at Los Angeles (UCLA)have found that fructose, a naturalsugar mainly found in high fructosecorn syrup, powers pancreatic can-cer cells to divide and proliferate.

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E11Hamaspik Gazette | Oct. ‘10

The discovery defies the con-ventional wisdom that all sugarsbenefit all tumor cells equally; previ-ous studies had linked fructoseintake with pancreatic cancer buthad not isolated why.

Americans take in large amountsof high fructose corn syrup in softdrinks, bread and a range of otherfoods. According to the AmericanHeart Association, too much sugarof any kind not only adds pounds,but is also a key culprit in diabetes,heart disease and stroke. In 2004,researchers reported in the AmericanJournal of Clinical Nutrition thatU.S. consumption of high fructosecorn syrup rose 1,000 percentbetween 1970 and 1990.

The UCLA scientists are nowhoping to develop a drug that mightstop tumor cells from making use offructose.

Arthritis pain?Exercise away!

The World Health Organization(WHO) counts osteoarthritis (OA)among the developed world’s tenmost disabling conditions, estimat-ing that 80 percent of OA patientshave movement limitations and 25percent cannot engage in normaldaily living routines, for which theyare typically prescribed physicaltherapy.

Now, a Dutch five-year study of150 knee or hip OA patients foundthat the more moderate or intensephysical activity the patient did, themore his or her pain decreased—andthe more physical activity, the morephysical function and performanceimproved. Also, the more the OApatients adhered to their self-direct-ed therapy, the more positive theythemselves felt about their conditionand its prognosis.

However, just over 44 percent ofpatients were doing the strength-building exercises 15 months out,and only 30 percent of the patientswere keeping up their home exerciseroutines at the end of the half-decadestudy.

Diabetes goesto your head?

A small study of 36 obese teens,18 with Type 2 diabetes and 18 with-out, found that the teen diabetics didworse on attention, memory andplanning, and IQ tests. Type 2 dia-betes is often caused by excessweight and primarily affects theeyes, kidneys and feet. However,according to study co-author Dr.Antonio Convit at New YorkUniversity Langone Medical Center,the good news is that it appears theseeffects fade once Type 2 diabetesdisappears. The study appears in thejournal Diabetologia.

In related news, a study of 93diabetics with disease-caused footulcers found that patients withdepression and/or “confrontational,”

or control-oriented, stress copingskills healed at significantly slowerrates.

Are kids getting morekidney stones?

Numbers of children treated forkidney stones at some U.S. hospitalshave been rising over the past tenyears. The reasons, however, are notclear. Children’s Hospital Bostonresearcher Dr. Jonathan C. Routhnotes that more kids may simply begetting treatment for stones at hospi-tals than in past generations. On theother hand, rising obesity rates couldbe to blame.

Quality life? Quality kids

A University of Colorado studyin the August issue of the Archives ofPediatrics & Adolescent Medicinesuggests that mentoring and relation-ship skills programs can improve themental health of foster children.“Children who have been maltreatedand placed in foster care are at riskfor significant mental health prob-lems,” said researchers Heather N.Taussig and Sara E. Culhane. Themonths-long study of 156 maltreatedchildren found that the group of 79receiving regular skills developmentand one-on-one mentoring by gradu-ate students had fewer mental healthproblems, fewer symptoms of disso-ciation, better quality of life, andappeared less likely to report symp-toms of post-traumatic stress thanthe other 77.

Eat broccoli, thwartCrohn’s Disease

Fibers from broccoli and plan-tain plants may block a key stage inthe development of Crohn’s disease,a new study finds. Researchers inEurope found that broccoli and plan-tain fibers reduced movement of theE. coli bacteria across bowel cells bybetween 45% and 82%. Crohn’s isan inflammatory bowel disorder thataffects about seven of every 100,000people in North America.

Most Down parentsbounce back up

A nine-month joint survey ofover 500 national Down syndromeparents by Kansas State Universityand Texas Tech University foundthat negative feelings upon chil-dren’s initial diagnoses turned to joyand resilience in most cases.

CT scan safety big news

Computerized tomography (CT)scans’ safety is big news nowa-days—the radiation-producingmachines used commonly in hospi-tals are not adequately regulated toprevent excess radiation. Though theFDA recently released new guide-lines, improvement is needed.

Salmonella goneto the dogs

A new government report on the2006-2008 Salmonella outbreak in21 mostly eastern states has nowtraced the bacteria to dry pet foodfrom a Pennsylvania plant, making itthe first time an outbreak was linkednot to animals but to what they eat.Interestingly, no pets fell ill.

Snail venom base forpowerful new pain pill

“Feeling sluggish” might have apositive new meaning now.

University of Queenslandchemist David Craik created anunstable painkiller from proteins inthe cone snail’s venom, then stabi-lized it with amino acids, creating asynthetic new drug 100 times morepowerful than morphine in lab tests.The drug also worked in doses 100times smaller than typical doses ofgabapentin, a common nervous-sys-tem painkiller.

Significantly, the venom-baseddrug is stable enough for pill form;previous venom-based pain drugshad to be injected directly into thespine so as not to be broken down bythe body first. Craik is seekingfunding for further research anddevelopment.

Unsafe safe smokes?

A study of tobacco-free ciga-rettes in the journal Cell Cycle foundevidence their smoke damaged DNAin ways that could be expected tolead to cancer. Though such ciga-rettes do not contain tobacco andnicotine, their DNA damage in cellswas found to be even greater thanthat caused by standard cigarettes.

Guts for obesity, allergies

A small Italian study of Italianand African children in theProceedings of the NationalAcademy of Sciences found the twogroups had different diets, and dif-ferent healthy stomach microbes—indicating that common Westernconditions not present in Africa maybe due to the bacteria.

Psychosomatic sneakers?

Why do recent studies disputethe benefits of unstable-heeled ton-ing shoes, a new national fad?Psychosomas, probably. Mind-caused body symptoms—thinkstress backaches—seem to havemade many feel the fancy sneakershelp when studies show they’re nobetter than regular ones.

In related mind-power news,“pho-knee” Chinese acupuncture forknee osteoarthritis was just as goodas the real thing, researchers at theM.D. Anderson Cancer Center inHouston found. Study participants

were given either real or fakeacupuncture treatments, with bothgroups reporting similar reductionsin osteoarthritis knee pain.

Brains self-dope forsub-absolute loot

The ancients taught that as longas you’ve got it (whatever “it” is),you devalue it—but the more you’vealmost got it, the more you crave it.Now a Canadian study proves it:Researchers found heightened braindopamine levels in patients given a75% chance of getting pills—but not100%.

Common meds mayskew cancer tests

A drug-effects study of 1,864men showed that those taking bothcholesterol-lowering statins andwater-reducing diuterics for fiveconsecutive years had 36-percentlower PSA levels. Prostate-specificantigen (PSA) screening is the mostcommon prostate cancer test.

Autism signs mayshow in early infancy

A small study of 28 prematurely-born babies who later developedautism found that over half hadabnormal arm muscle tone at 1month. Published in the Sept. issueof Pediatrics, the study may lead toincluding muscle tone checks infuture autism evaluations.

Knee? Be careful!

In an August 2 news release,orthopedic surgeon Dr. William J.Bryan of Houston’s MethodistCenter for Sports Medicine advisesthat maintaining proper weight,keeping strong “core” (abs, back andpelvis) muscles and wearingorthotics decrease knee strain andhence may prevent arthritis and kneereplacement later in life.

Podiatric consultationsreduce amputations

A Rosalind Franklin Universitystudy of nearly 29,000 diabetics hasfound that patients seeing podiatristsat least once before getting footulcer diagnoses had almost 17 per-cent less hospitalization risk and 15percent less amputation risk.Diabetes-related complications areAmerica’s leading cause of non-trau-matic lower limb amputation.

Desire dementiadiminishment?

Maximize mental muscle

Want to lower your chances ofdeveloping dementia later in life?Start reading! A French study pointsto education and literacy as signifi-cant factors in reducing the likeli-hood of developing the mental con-

dition. The seven-year study of over1,433 people also noted the value ofeliminating depression and diabetes,and consuming more fruit and veg-etables, as dementia-reduction tools.

Gov’t develops, testingdengue vaccine

After over a decade of develop-ment, a first-ever vaccine against themosquito-borne dengue virus beganhuman clinical testing in earlyAugust. The vaccine was developedat the National Institute of Allergyand Infectious Diseases (NIAID)and is now undergoing clinicalstudy. About 2.5 billion people inover 100 countries worldwide are atrisk of dengue infection—including,most recently, south Florida, whichis currently weathering a rare out-break. Dengue fever accounts for25,000 global deaths annually, mostof them in children.

Stresslessness:key to life, happiness

Stanford University biologistRobert Sapolsky’s lifetime of stressresearch, and a number of relatedstudies, was scrutinized in a lengthyarticle in the August 2010 issue ofWired magazine. The key points?Stress directly causes or worsens allmajor health problems, shortens lifeby years, and depends not on life’scircumstances but on how muchfrustration one feels over them. Keysuggestions include richly socializ-ing and modeling positive, healthyattitudes for your kids.

Don’t feed badfood habits

An August 3 report in theJournal of Adolescent Health notedthat college students living in din-ing-hall-equipped dormitories weremore likely to eat more than thosewithout. The year-long studyrecorded mild weight gain and exer-cise lack in the former group.

Kids’ cleaning-productpoisonings down

A study in the September issueof Pediatrics found that of the267,000 children 5 and under treatedfor household cleaning product acci-dents between 1990 and 2006, 72percent were between 1 and 3,bleach was the most common associ-ated product, and spray bottles werethe most common container type.The good news is that accidentalpoisonings have dropped by almosthalf since 1990. Parents who sus-pect their child has come in contactwith a poison should immediatelycontact the Poison Center at 1-800-222-1222, which will direct callersto their local Poison Center. If achild is unconscious, not breathing,or having seizures, call 911.

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E12 Oct. ‘10 | Hamaspik Gazette

Playland, a pleasant lunch at aMonsey restaurant and a cama-raderie-building backyard barbequedinner.

Consumers at the Hamaspik of

Rockland County After-SchoolRespite Program enjoyed shape-themed mini-sessions throughout thesummer’s remainder, with the spe-cial-needs children engaging inactivities variously associated withcircles, squares or triangles eachweek. During “circle week,” forexample, consumers baked pizza-styles round cakes on Monday,played outdoor games around around “parachute” canvas onTuesday, made circular doughnutson Wednesday and blew sphericalbubbles on Thursday.

In other Hamaspik of RocklandCounty summer news, that organiza-tion’s new Day Hab facility onSpring Valley’s South Main Streetput up its finishing touches bymounting both catchy, bold letteringon the center’s upper façade and the

traditional mezuzos, or sacred tradi-tional scrolls, on every door post.

Consumers of the Day Hab pro-gram also spent a rollicking day inearly August at The Castle, a populararea “fun center” frequented byHamaspik in the warm months. The“Day Habbers” also traveled all theway to Manhattan, where theysavored a round trip on the StatenIsland Ferry.

Arcadian Briderheim HomeManager Shlomo Lebowitz swungby the Gazette’s offices in person toupload a collection of digital photos

“harvested” from the IRA’s field ofsummertime activities in recentweeks. These activities includedconsumers having a “splash” at theNew York Aquarium, where theywere fascinated by their encounterwith live sea life.

Arcadian residents also had funmaneuvering go-carts around anindoor track at Sport Time USA, anindoor amusement park, where theyalso had fun with the center’s addi-tional rides, games and activities.

Later in the summer, a fabulousand quite literally in-house birthdayparty was thrown for an Arcadianconsumer, with immediate familymembers appearing in the home’sfestively-decorated dining room toshare songs, games and, of course,an irresistible birthday cake with theecstatic birthday boy and his friends.

Making their group-home livesas family-like as possible, Arcadianconsumers were taken by staff to alocal convalescent home for newmothers and their newborns, wherethey said hello to the newest mem-ber of their family: a weekend staffmember’s brand-new baby son.

Capping it all off, Arcadian“Briderheimers” joined consumersfrom the Grandview Briderheim,61st St. Briderheim, South 9thShvesterheim and 38th St.Shvesterheim, as well as Hamaspikof Kings County Day Hab con-sumers, for a grand trip to the SixFlags Great Adventure Wild Safariin Jackson, New Jersey. Underbeautiful blue skies, the Hamaspikvans wended their way among live

bison, elephants, giraffes, lions,tigers, zebras and other exotic ani-mals from all over the world as con-sumers oohed and aahed to each.

Speaking (well, writing) of zoos,the highlight of the summer’s secondhalf for Forshay Briderheim con-sumers was their daylong trip to theexciting Discovery Zoo, where theycame face-to-face with a colorful

variety of G-d’s amazing creatures.A daily theme was the order of

the day almost every day at CampNeshomah, Hamaspik of OrangeCounty’s summertime After-SchoolRespite program, headed up by thecapable, hard-working Mrs. RivkyFreund. A real-life public safetypatrol car—manned by a real-lifeofficer—was the central feature ofCamp Neshomah’s “Police Day,” onwhich the children fashioned anddonned their own hand-made offi-cer’s caps. Other such themes, andassociated activities, featured equal-ly real-life bus drivers, bakers andphotographers.

The Grandview Briderheim’sconsumers took in a summer get-away at a Hilton Homewood Suitesresort center in New Jersey, which,

in the course of three action-packeddays, comprised horseback riding,evening barbeques, private after-hours swimming, a pizza lunch inadjacent Lakewood, and exhilaratingvisits to the nearby Six Flags GreatAdventure and Wild Safari.

Grandview consumers also visit-ed the legendary West Point MilitaryAcademy, where they snapped fabu-

lous photos of the historic militaryinstallation and its elite cadets.

In healthy contrast, ConcordIRA residents took the “less is more”approach this summer, soaking inthe rustic natural surroundings whilestaying for a few days at a secluded,cozy cabin retreat center in the ruralNew Hampshire woods.

Hamaspik of Kings County DayHab consumers, for their part, tookin a range of fun-filled outings overthe second half of summer. Theseincluded a “Water Carnival” day inJuly during which consumers frol-icked under garden-hose spray andenjoyed water games, as well as aforay into the fascinating under-ground world of Howe Caverns inupstate New York.

And in other Kings County sum-mer happenings, residents of theSouth 9th Shvesterheim took in anentire week at the relaxing PinewoodEstates bungalow colony in upstateSouth Fallsburg, from which theymade daily jaunts to such area ven-ues as petting farms, roller rinks,bowling alleys, rowing, horsebackriding, bumper-boating and go-cart-ing.

As August turned intoSeptember and children and youngadults began their annual return toschool, Hamaspik consumersengaged in a ritual of a differentcut—gearing up for the New Yearfilled with the optimism and energythat can only come from a summerdone right.

The Joys of SummerContinued from Page 1

Serving others: The carnival’s wpopcorn stand in action

Getting into it: A “WannaBAKER” consumer’s face says it all

Rolling along: Staff watch as consumer enjoys thew carnival

Tell bacteria to bug off

For generations, kids havingbeen coming home sick because theycaught the flu or a cold from a class-mate. But with a few basic tips, pur-veyed to your precious offspringaround the dinner table or as a briefaddition to your bedtime routine,that’s one family tradition you cangladly break.

“Consider this common sce-nario—a child who has a coldcoughs or sneezes in the classroom,”write Mayo Clinic staffers in arecent newsletter. “The children sit-ting nearby inhale the infected respi-ratory droplets and the cold spreads.Or perhaps a child who has diarrheauses the toilet and returns to theclassroom without washing his orher hands. Illness-causing germsmight spread from anything the sickchild touches to other children whotouch the same object and then puttheir fingers in their mouths.”

To eliminate any such scenario,stress washing hands with soap andwater frequently, including beforeeating and after using the facilities,blowing the nose, or playing outside.

How to make hand washing andsoaping fun? Tell your son or

daughter to sing “Happy Birthday toYou” while lathering up. If they fin-ish the song (and remind them not tocheat by singing fast!) before they’redone, they didn’t soap up enough,the Clinic suggests.

Of course, it goes without sayingthat kids have to be reminded tocover mouths and noses—with theirsleeved elbows, not bare hands!—when coughing or sneezing and notissues are around.

Also, avoid anyone who’s sick:Remind your child that sitting nextto or playing with someone who’s

sick could lead to his or her own ill-ness.

Finally, the Mayo Clinic remindsparents of back-to-school kids that“it’s also important for your child toeat a healthy diet, get plenty of sleepand stay current on his or her immu-nizations—including a yearly fluvaccine.” And don’t forget to leadby example—make sure you and allother family members also washtheir hands like you tell your kids to,the article concludes.

It’ll be October before you knowit—the leaves will be blowing in thewind and your kids, like mine, willbe well settled into their school rou-tines. But with this information,sore backs and sniffly noses won’tbe part of it.

Backpacks and bugs

Hamaspik Gazette© ‘03-‘10 All Rights ReservedPublished Monthly by “Hamaspik”Distributed freeUSPS Presorted Non-profit MailPostmaster: Return service requested

President Executive Director Editor Writers and Editors

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