Featuring hospital and health care headlines from the media and Web.

Iowa News

Salmonella vaccine might have prevented egg recall
Low-cost vaccines that may have helped prevent the kind of salmonella outbreak that has led to the recall of more than a half-billion eggs haven’t been given to half of the nation’s egg-laying hens. The vaccines aren’t required in the U.S., although in Great Britain, officials say vaccinations have given them the safest egg supply in Europe. (Associated Press/Sioux City Journal)

Q-C doctor raising money for Pakistani flood relief
Massive flooding in Pakistan is an unfolding tragedy that is expected to take years to recover from, but is receiving little attention in the United States, says a local doctor and native Pakistani. Dr. Ahmad Cheema, of Davenport, who has been in the United States for 13 years and practices gastroenterology in the Illinois Quad-Cities, has raised $25,000 for flood relief in his native Pakistan, but said few people know about it. (Quad-City Times)

Doctor helps patients keep their limbs
Dr. Mica Murdoch had been with Broadlawns Medical Center’s foot and ankle surgery department for about a year before being named the director of the Amputation Prevention Center earlier this summer. The center includes four doctors who use conservative and surgical treatments to help roughly 1,100 patients a year, in addition to providing education and preventative care. (Des Moines Register)

Stem cell ruling could hurt UIHC, will undermine other important research
Monday’s ruling could affect the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (UIHC), where researchers conduct embryonic and adult stem-cell research. Still, the full implications for UIHC remain unclear, UI spokesman Stephen Pradarelli said. These cells offer promising medical advancements and could help scientists cure previously deadly diseases. The injunction is undoubtedly disheartening for those who stand to benefit from future breakthroughs. (University of Iowa Daily Iowan)

County health fund grows to $1.7 million
The self-funded Woodbury County employee health insurance fund is becoming so robust that the county may have a “premium holiday” in which the county and employees wouldn’t pay into the fund. With word that the fund has grown over the last year to $1.7 million, the county supervisors on Tuesday discussed halting payments into the fund if the fund reached $2.25 million to $2.5 million. (Sioux City Journal)

U.S. News

D.C. in front of the health reform curve, officials say
As states across the country scramble to meet the requirements for national health reform, the nation’s capital is “way ahead,” according to Dr. Julie Hudman, director of the Department of Health Care Finance and a member of the city’s Health Reform Implementation Committee. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty created the panel last May to explore how best to implement federal health reform. (Kaiser Health News)

Dallas Hospital expands incentive pay plan to about 160 hospital managers
The managers will be required to meet certain objectives in their jobs. Those are likely to include safety and quality improvements, such as greater staff compliance with hand hygiene standards, cleaner patient rooms and fewer patient readmissions for heart failure and pneumonia. (Dallas Morning News)

UnitedHealth races McKesson in $11 billion health-tech hunt
UnitedHealth Group Inc., the biggest U.S. insurer, and McKesson Corp., the largest drug distributor, are vying for billions of dollars in added sales by bulking up their information-technology units. The companies are expanding beyond their core business to help insurers cope with the health overhaul, which threatens to swamp industry computer systems, said Joanne Galimi, a Boston- based analyst for technology researcher Gartner Inc. (Bloomberg)

How a small employer prepares for health care reform
Another over-40 softball season has concluded. My team performed as expected: We were 3-15. I’m feeling every inning of those 15 losses. That’s right: My body’s going to hell just as the new health care reform law is starting to take effect. Great timing. I’m not sure its provisions are going to help my sore back any time soon. They’re definitely going to affect my small business—and many others like mine—right away. Fellow business owners and over-40 softball players, are we ready? (BusinessWeek)

Haute hospital gowns
It sounds like a “Project Runway” challenge. Design a gown that fits all shapes and sizes. Don’t use buttons, zippers or Velcro – only snap buttons. The fabric should be soft, but not too warm. Unlike the universally reviled hospital gowns with its open back side, modesty is a must. (CNN)