SPH IN THE MEDIA
A
selection of stories about the School of Public Health
August 6, 2009—October 7, 2009
Healthy San Francisco on KQED
The U.S. Supreme Court is delaying action on a lawsuit filed against the Healthy San Francisco program until after it hears President Obama's stance. At issue is whether companies with more than 20 employees should have to either provide health care, or pay into a public pot. Professor Will Dow is a panelist on Forum with Michael Krasny.
NPR (10/7/09)
Three key issues of health care reform
Dean Stephen Shortell addresses three key issues of health care reform—accessibility, affordability and sustainability—in an article published in the Daily Cal.
The Daily Cal (10/7/09)
UC launches bold initiative to revolutionize breast cancer treatment
UC Berkeley is one of six UC campuses participating in an unprecedented initiative to study and drive innovations in breast cancer prevention, screening, and treatment. The large-scale demonstration project, called the ATHENA Breast Health Network, was announced Tuesday, Sept. 29 by the University of California. Researchers at UC Berkeley's School of Public Health will contribute by developing a system for evidence-based management in the care of breast cancer patients.
UC Berkeley NewsCenter (9/29/09)
San Diego Union-Tribune (9/30/09)
La Jolla Light (9/30/09)
Rocklin and Roseville Today (9/28/09)
San Francisco Business Times (10/1/09)
Obama, SF disagree on health care reform
Although President Obama told Congress in September that his proposed renovation of health care will, "not apply to those who are here illegally," health care officials in San Francisco said that would be a mistake. Healthy San Francisco, the city's public health plan doesn't restrict coverage based on immigration status. Xóchitl Castañeda, director of the Health Initiative for the Americas, is quoted.
Mission Local (9/29/09)
Stephen Shortell named 2009 Hansen Award recipient
The University of Iowa College of Public Health recently presented its highest honor, the Richard and Barbara Hansen Leadership Award and Distinguished Lectureship, to health care scholar Dean Stephen Shortell.
ASPH Friday Letter (9/25/09)
Media Newswire (9/22/09)
Amador may partner with Berkeley
Amador's community leaders are hoping to partner up with UC Berkeley's School of Public Health so locals can find educational opportunities and careers in the health care industry. On Sept. 13, county and state officials met in Sutter Creek with Dean Stephen Shortell.
Amador Ledger-Dispatch (9/25/09)
It's become conventional wisdom that simple soap and water can protect against the flu, but the science suggests otherwise. Professor Art Reingold is quoted.
CNNHealth.com (9/24/09)
CBS5 (9/18/09)
Newsweek (9/15/09)
Letters to the editor by M.P.H. students
Students who are taking the Mass Communications and Public Health with Lecturer Lori Dorfman have had letters to the editor published in many publications.
Karen Ben-Moshe on the community effect of flu vaccines
San Francisco Chronicle (9/23/09)
Pamela Mejia on the proposed soda tax.
San Francisco Chronicle (9/18/09)
Shaddai Martinez Cuestas on health care reform
The New York Times (9/29/09)
Jennifer Tillett on the criteria behind food labeling
Los Angeles Times (10/4/09)
Lisa Peterson on the importance of environments that foster health
Los Angeles Times (10/4/09)
Study finds benefits for some to filter tap water
Even with treatment, tap water may contain small amounts of certain contaminants. Some reports suggest how even water that meets current U.S. standards may still make certain people sick. A new study done in the Bay Area not only backs that up, but adds a possible solution. Professor John Colford, lead author of the study, is quoted.
Water Technology Online (9/22/09)
Santa Rosa Press Democrat (9/21/09)
KPIX TV (9/17/09) video
CBS5 HealthWatch (9/17/09)
New census data on the uninsured
Releasing its most extensive picture ever of health insurance in America, the U.S. Census Bureau showed the wide gulf in coverage between California's affluent counties and its poorest, a checkerboard of health care haves and have-nots. Professor Helen Halpin is quoted.
San Jose Mercury News (9/21/09)
Grading the Baucus Health Plan
Health analysts and economists, including Professor Will Dow, give their reactions to the bill unveiled by Senator Max Baucus, chairman of the Finance Committee.
The New York Times (9/16/09) *requires registration
Breaking language barriers in health care
Language barriers often result in health care barriers. Research shows that language barriers contribute to inadequate patient evaluation and diagnosis, lack of appropriate and/or timely treatment, and other medical errors. The California Program on Access to Care, part of UC Berkeley's School of Public Health, recently funded a study titled California's Limited English Proficient Population and Strategies to Promote Health Care Access.
California Progress Report (9/15/09)
PhysOrg.com (9/21/09)
Kirk Smith receives Heinz Award for environmental achievement
For the strides he has made toward a more sustainable and cleaner environment, Professor Kirk Smith has received a $100,000 Heinz Award. Smith was recognized for his research exposing the relationships among air pollution, household fuel use, climate and health. The foundation noted that he was the first to recognize and quantify the magnitude of the pollution exposure resulting from cooking indoors with solid fuels, such as wood and other biomass.
UC Berkeley NewsCenter (9/15/09)
ASPH Friday Letter (9/25/09)
Philanthropy News Digest (9/18/09)
Brand X (9/17/09)
USA Today (9/15/09)
Evaluating San Francisco's universal health care model
The Healthy San Francisco Plan, the city's public health plan for the uninsured, has many of the elements currently under consideration in Washington, D.C. It was proposed as a stopgap measure until Congress moved ahead with universal coverage. Professor Will Dow gives his evaluation of the plan on NPR's Morning Edition.
NPR (9/15/09) audio
California Report (9/13/09) audio
Sleepless in Textland
Clinical professor Norm Constantine, director of UC Berkeley's Center for Research on Adolescent Health and Development, is quoted about psychological and educational problems associated with adolescent sleep deprivation and the potential role of late night texting.
San Jose Mercury News (9/13/09)
The Oakland Tribune (9/16/09)
Contra Costa Times (9/16/09)
Whither health care reform?
UC Berkeley experts, including Dean Stephen Shortell and Professor Will Dow, offer insights and predictions on the national health care reform debate.
UC Berkeley News Center (9/10/09)
New research center to study health of migrating people
Intent on improving the health conditions of migrating people in California and around the world, the University of California's Berkeley and Davis campuses are joining forces to launch a new Migration and Health Research Center. The new center's associate director, Xóchitl Castañeda is director of the Health Initiative of the Americas at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health.
UC Newsroom (9/8/09)
NNED (9/12/09)
Daily Californian (9/11/09)
Sacramento Bee (9/10/09)
Milwaukee moving toward integrated medical systems
Integrated health care systems, in which doctors work in large, multispecialty practices affiliated or closely aligned with hospitals, are being touted by health economists for their ability to coordinate care, improve quality and control costs. Dean Stephen Shortell is quoted.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (9/5/09)
Improving vaccines to trigger T cell as well as antibody response
A new study by researchers from UC Berkeley and Berkeley-based Aduro BioTech provides clues why killed and severely attenuated vaccines don't always work. It also suggests ways to engineer an attenuated vaccine to make it as potent as a live vaccine but as safe as a killed vaccine. Professor Daniel Portnov, co-author of the study, is quoted.
UC Berkeley NewsCenter (9/3/09)
Piecemeal reforms won't control health care costs, report says
Creating the proper incentives is a critical step toward controlling the nation's high health care costs, and finding a true solution will require more than a piecemeal reform plan. That message was advanced by a group of 10 health policy experts who released a report, "Bending the Curve," and outlined necessary policy steps. Dean Stephen Shortell, a member of the group, is quoted.
Kaiser Health News (9/1/09)
Swine flu update on KQED
It's back-to-school time, and that means it's also prime time for the spread of germs. The H1N1 virus commonly known as swine flu hasn't gone away, and public health officials are expecting a particularly active flu season. Professor Art Reingold discusses the vaccine and other H1N1 issues on Forum with Michael Krasny.
NPR (9/1/09) audio
Iraq veterans diagnosed with cancer after serving
Returning Iraq veterans are being diagnosed with diseases like cancer, which some attribute to chemical exposure during their terms of duty. However, Veterans Administration isn't acknowledging that these illnesses are the result of the veterans' service because the illnesses typically get diagnosed more than a year after the veterans' return home. Professor Martyn Smith discusses this issue on Insight.
Capital Public Radio, Sacramento (8/31/09) audio
Weighing health care reform
Nearly everyone agrees that the health care industry needs reform, but questions over what role the government will play and how any of it will be paid for has the nation bitterly divided. Dean Stephen Shortell helps cut through the noise and give real answers on what health care reform means, and how Central Coast residents can stay abreast of the facts and avoid the fiction.
Santa Cruz Weekly (8/27/09)
Health Reform: An Rx for Sacramento Region Businesses?
What will the proposal requiring companies with payrolls over $250,000 to provide coverage or face a tax penalty mean for Sacramento businesses in terms of their health coverage costs? The article references a UC Berkeley School of Public Health study evaluating managed-care premiums in the private and public sectors.
Examiner.com (8/23/09)
A public option that works
An op-ed co-authored by Professor Will Dow addresses two questions at the center of America's health care debate—employer funding of employees' health insurance and the public option. The answers might be found in San Francisco, where ambitious health care legislation offering near-universal coverage went into effect early last year.
The New York Times (8/22/09) *requires registration
Public health plan idea followed unlikely path
The idea of a government medical plan to compete with private insurance might have been just a footnote in an academic paper. Instead it has followed an unlikely path to center stage in the national health care debate. Professor Helen Halpin, who proposed the CHOICE plan for California in 2002 that featured a public option competing with private plans, is quoted.
Excite News (8/21/09)
ABC5 Ten at 10 (8/21/09)
Health care: Weighing options
The health care reform debate has taken a new turn, with some putting forward health insurance cooperatives as an alternative to a public option. Professor Richard Scheffler speaks with Michael Krasny on Forum.
NPR (8/19/09) audio
The ABCs of healthcare: a glossary of the key plans
A primer of three different health care options: single-payer option, a public option, and healthcare cooperatives. Professor Will Dow is quoted.
Christian Science Monitor (8/17/09)
Health care alone can't make nation healthier, experts say
Could policymakers change our medical system in ways that would make America a healthier country? Insuring everyone should help—but less than people might think, according to doctors and public health experts who've studied the issue. Dean Stephen Shortell is quoted.
Sacramento Bee (8/12/09)
InjuryBoard.com (8/17/09)
Are you drinking too much?
When it comes to alcohol, it's all too easy to put your health and your career at risk. This Forbes article spotlights the role alcohol plays in a business setting and how women are choosing to drink. Professor Genevieve Ames, an expert on occupational culture and alcohol, is quoted.
Forbes.com (8/11/09)
Special report: A school without windows
A group of teachers and students at Richmond High School have been fighting to change something that is rarely discussed in U.S. schools: indoor air quality. Only 20 of their 80 classrooms have windows, and the ventilation is poor throughout the school. Professor Katharine Hammond is quoted.
New America Media (8/7/09)
Original article in Spanish
Huge wage cost to filling gap in sub-Saharan Africa's health workforce
Hiring the nearly 800,000 workers needed to eliminate the staggering shortage of health care professionals in sub-Saharan Africa by 2015 will cost $2.6 billion a year, or 2.5 times the annual funds currently allocated for health worker wages in the region, according to a new study by researchers at UC Berkeley and collaborators from the World Health Organization and The World Bank. Professor Richard Scheffler, lead author of the study, is quoted.
UC Berkeley NewsCenter (8/6/09)