Medical examiner: Flu caused Las Cruces girl’s death

LAS CRUCES – Melanie McCann knew her daughter was different, “from the minute she came out of my body.” Savannah Lynn McCann was happy, smart and artistic, having already adopted a symbol of herself – “her famous flying heart,” her mom calls it, a heart with wings that symbolized the Desert Hills Elementary third-grader’s strong will when it came to living, and all life, no matter how small. At Disneyland, Savannah spent her time taking amazing photos – of flowers….

New chronic disease education workshops help people manage diseases

LAS CRUCES – When you are diagnosed with a chronic disease like diabetes, heart disease or arthritis, the news can leave you more questions than answers about how to manage the disease and still live an active and full life. Christopher Lucero, program manager of the New Mexico Department of Health’s Arthritis Program, said the most important thing people can do to manage their disease is to learn about ways you can manage the disease and to not look at…

Yuma health program awarded $13,000 grant

Catholic Healthcare West recently awarded a $13,000 grant to the American Lung Association for training and resources for health educators in Yuma and Flagstaff. CHW is the parent organization of St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center. Every year, CHW and its hospitals support nonprofit organizations that provide care for multiple chronic health conditions in Arizona communities. This year, the organization granted $425,000 in grants to 12 Arizona organizations as part of its Community Grants Program. Marisue Garganta, director of Community…

Cholera takes a breather in Haiti, but could surge

SAINT-MARC, Haiti—The cholera epidemic that has raged across this country is claiming fewer victims, with a sharp drop in new cases everywhere from the shimmering rice fields of the Artibonite Valley to the crowded urban slums. It is a welcome development, but tinged with doubt: It’s not yet known whether the epidemic that has killed nearly 4,000 people is fading or merely taking a break, only to surge again perhaps with the onset of the next rainy season. “The general…

Rabies program for foxes, coyotes aims to create buffer zone

The best way to prevent an outbreak is to be proactive against it. That is the goal of the Oral Rabies Vaccination Program in El Paso, which is targeting area coyotes and foxes. Dr. Ken Waldrup, a zoonosis control veterinarian with the Texas Department of State Health Services, is head of the program that distributed a special bait containing a vaccine that is 75 percent effective and attractive to coyotes and foxes, last week in the El Paso area. Of…

Report: Texas, like other states, fails with anti-tobacco efforts

WASHINGTON – Most states’ anti-smoking efforts are “failing miserably” because they were underfunded last year and officials spent new cigarette-tax revenue on unrelated programs, the American Lung Association said Thursday. Tobacco-prevention programs in 40 states and the District of Columbia earned grades of “F” in a report issued by the Washington-based group because they received less than half the funding recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Texas ranked Fs in three categories of the report card: Tobacco…

Association gives Arizona failing grade for anti-smoking efforts Arizona smoking facts Arizona’s grades since 2008

PHOENIX — Though Arizona consistently earns high marks for its smoke-free air, the state’s ratings for coverage of smokers trying to quit slid to an F in the American Lung Association’s 2010 report card. In the report released last week, Arizona fell from a D in that category because it spends $2.89 per person to help smokers quit, while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends $10.53. That low grade made two Fs among the four categories. The other…

Reynosa mayor to issue distinguished visitor ‘passport’ for medical tourism

McALLEN, Jan. 21 – Restoring the confidence both of the citizenry of Reynosa and its international tourists is one of the highest priorities for the new mayor, Everardo Villarreal Salinas. Villarreal began his term of office on Jan 1. He gave an interview to the Guardian at McAllen Mayor Richard Cortez’s 2011 State of the City address at the McAllen Convention Center on Thursday. “We have had conversations with the mayors of several cities in the Rio Grande Valley,” Villarreal…

Sebelius announces new grants for health insurance exchanges

New grants are available for states to establish health insurance exchanges — a fundamental part of the Affordable Care Act the House voted on Wednesday to repeal — U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced Thursday. Her announcement came on the same day House Republicans introduced several bills aimed at revamping sections of the health care law, since the House bill on repeal is expected to die in the Senate. “The tree is rotten, so you…

Protein Blamed For Deadlier Stroke Injury In Diabetic And High Blood Sugar Patients

The reason why intracerebral hemorrhage, a common cause of stroke, has worse consequences in diabetics than in non-diabetic patients, appears to be because high blood sugar increases the ability of a protein called plasma kallikrein to stop blood from clotting near injured vessels, say US scientists who hope the discovery will lead to new treatments that control such bleeding. You can read about the study, led by the Joslin Diabetes Center, Boston, Massachusetts, in a paper published online on 23…