With enemies like John Boehner, a president hardly needs friends.
“Our drive to stop the train wreck that is the president’s health care law will continue,” the House Speaker blustered Wednesday night after failing yet again to derail, defund or even delay the Affordable Care Act. With their latest assault on Obamacare, Boehner’s House Republicans have not only emasculated their own party but boosted public support for health care reform. With the shutdown and the threat of a default now behind us for the moment, the greatest expansion of the social safety net in a half century is set to proceed on schedule.
Making the business case for cardiac rehab programs
Public release date: 17-Oct-2013 [
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Contact: Jane Diane Fraser jfraser@hsf.ca 613-569-4361 x273 Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada
Life-saving programs significantly reduce hospital readmissions and deaths -- and more than pay for themselves
Montreal − You know the saying: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. When it comes to cardiac rehabilitation, a study presented today at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress has the numbers to prove it.
"We found that cardiac rehabilitation programs have a financial 'return on investment' of about seven per cent," says author Dr. Dennis Humen, a professor of medicine at Western University. "Not only is cardiac rehab the pillar of preventing a second cardiac event; it also makes good business sense."
The study also revealed that, for patients, the 'return on investment' (ROI) for participating in these programs also makes good heart sense: cardiac rehab (CR) leads to a 31 per cent reduction in hospital readmission and a 26 per cent drop in cardiovascular mortality.
"There are more than 60,000 hospitalizations for heart attacks in Canada each year and another 160,000 due to coronary heart disease," says Dr. Humen.
"This opens a huge window of potential: if we could provide intensive cardiac rehab services to just 60,000 individuals, there could be a reduction in healthcare costs for this group of about $8.5 million per year."
If CR reduces cardiac events, mortality and hospital readmission rates, why isn't it funded more broadly?
Governments often cite high costs as a barrier to funding comprehensive CR, which combines regular exercise with intensive education around lifestyle changes. Yet the Western University study shows that on a financial basis the investment is more than offset by the ensuing cost savings.
Partly due to a lack of resources, a minority of patients take CR following a cardiac event. With funding an issue, the researchers wanted to test the business model.
The study started with a review of outcomes from 47 randomized trials that included 10,794 patients who had gone through CR.
This analysis was projected over two years of follow up. To create a model, the team assumed a hypothetical scenario where CR programs would be available to all 3,500 patients who suffer cardiac events yearly in southwestern Ontario. Then they enlisted colleagues at the university's Ivey Business School to analyze the data, for their skills in assessing business investments, and for what Dr. Humen calls their 'independent scrutiny.'
The number crunching revealed that costs for 3,500 patients enrolled in a comprehensive CR program and followed for two years would be about $5.4 million.
If this same population was not managed in a CR program, the estimated treatment costs due to cardiac events and hospital readmissions (many resulting in death) would be more than $5.8 million.
That's a cost savings of nearly $400,000 due to CR an ROI of about seven per cent over two years.
To Dr. Humen, it's critical to make the business case like this. "We have to be vigilant of whether we're getting good value for healthcare investments," he says. "If we're going to have a formula for appropriateness, it has to extend beyond what's medically appropriate to what's financially appropriate."
He notes that the costs incurred in one area of healthcare delivery could be offset by subsequent savings, but those might happen in an entirely separate area. That can make big picture planning difficult. Too many silos 'paralyze' forward-thinking decisions, says Dr. Humen.
"Cardiac rehabilitation helps patients living with heart disease to integrate lifestyle changes, with powerful results," says Heart and Stroke Foundation spokesperson Dr. Beth Abramson. "Beyond reducing health costs, the cost savings related to avoiding future cardiac events would be more than enough to offset the costs of these programs."
"We know that people are often under-referred to these programs," she says. "If you or a loved one is living with heart disease, make sure you are referred to one of these life-saving programs."
###
The Canadian Cardiovascular Congress is co-hosted by the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society.
Statements and conclusions of study authors are solely those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect Vascular 2013 host organizations' policy or position. They make no representation or warranty as to their accuracy or reliability.
The Heart and Stroke Foundation's mission is to prevent disease, save lives and promote recovery. A volunteer-based health charity, we strive to tangibly improve the health of every Canadian family, every day. 'Healthy lives free of heart disease and stroke. Together we will make it happen.' Heartandstroke.ca
HSF spokesperson Beth Abramson is the author of the newly released book Heart Health for Canadians.
Vascular 2013 is a unique, one-time Canadian event bringing four separate scientific meetings together under one roof: the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress, the Canadian Diabetes Association/Canadian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism Professional Conference, the Canadian Stroke Congress and the Canadian Hypertension Congress. vascular2013.ca
It is a joint initiative of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society, Canadian Diabetes Association/Canadian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism, the Canadian Stroke Network, the Heart and Stroke Foundation, and Hypertension Canada.
For more information and/or interviews, contact the
VASCULAR 2013 MEDIA OFFICE AT 514-789-3402 (Oct 17-20)
OR
Massy Forget Langlois Public Relations
Christian Ahuet, Consultant
514-842-2455, ext. 29 / Cell. 514-994-7496
Congress information and media registration is at http://www.vascular2013.ca
After October 20, 2013 contact:
Jane-Diane Fraser
Heart and Stroke Foundation
jfraser@hsf.ca
613-569-4361x273
[
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| Share
]
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Making the business case for cardiac rehab programs
Public release date: 17-Oct-2013 [
| E-mail
| Share
]
Contact: Jane Diane Fraser jfraser@hsf.ca 613-569-4361 x273 Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada
Life-saving programs significantly reduce hospital readmissions and deaths -- and more than pay for themselves
Montreal − You know the saying: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. When it comes to cardiac rehabilitation, a study presented today at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress has the numbers to prove it.
"We found that cardiac rehabilitation programs have a financial 'return on investment' of about seven per cent," says author Dr. Dennis Humen, a professor of medicine at Western University. "Not only is cardiac rehab the pillar of preventing a second cardiac event; it also makes good business sense."
The study also revealed that, for patients, the 'return on investment' (ROI) for participating in these programs also makes good heart sense: cardiac rehab (CR) leads to a 31 per cent reduction in hospital readmission and a 26 per cent drop in cardiovascular mortality.
"There are more than 60,000 hospitalizations for heart attacks in Canada each year and another 160,000 due to coronary heart disease," says Dr. Humen.
"This opens a huge window of potential: if we could provide intensive cardiac rehab services to just 60,000 individuals, there could be a reduction in healthcare costs for this group of about $8.5 million per year."
If CR reduces cardiac events, mortality and hospital readmission rates, why isn't it funded more broadly?
Governments often cite high costs as a barrier to funding comprehensive CR, which combines regular exercise with intensive education around lifestyle changes. Yet the Western University study shows that on a financial basis the investment is more than offset by the ensuing cost savings.
Partly due to a lack of resources, a minority of patients take CR following a cardiac event. With funding an issue, the researchers wanted to test the business model.
The study started with a review of outcomes from 47 randomized trials that included 10,794 patients who had gone through CR.
This analysis was projected over two years of follow up. To create a model, the team assumed a hypothetical scenario where CR programs would be available to all 3,500 patients who suffer cardiac events yearly in southwestern Ontario. Then they enlisted colleagues at the university's Ivey Business School to analyze the data, for their skills in assessing business investments, and for what Dr. Humen calls their 'independent scrutiny.'
The number crunching revealed that costs for 3,500 patients enrolled in a comprehensive CR program and followed for two years would be about $5.4 million.
If this same population was not managed in a CR program, the estimated treatment costs due to cardiac events and hospital readmissions (many resulting in death) would be more than $5.8 million.
That's a cost savings of nearly $400,000 due to CR an ROI of about seven per cent over two years.
To Dr. Humen, it's critical to make the business case like this. "We have to be vigilant of whether we're getting good value for healthcare investments," he says. "If we're going to have a formula for appropriateness, it has to extend beyond what's medically appropriate to what's financially appropriate."
He notes that the costs incurred in one area of healthcare delivery could be offset by subsequent savings, but those might happen in an entirely separate area. That can make big picture planning difficult. Too many silos 'paralyze' forward-thinking decisions, says Dr. Humen.
"Cardiac rehabilitation helps patients living with heart disease to integrate lifestyle changes, with powerful results," says Heart and Stroke Foundation spokesperson Dr. Beth Abramson. "Beyond reducing health costs, the cost savings related to avoiding future cardiac events would be more than enough to offset the costs of these programs."
"We know that people are often under-referred to these programs," she says. "If you or a loved one is living with heart disease, make sure you are referred to one of these life-saving programs."
###
The Canadian Cardiovascular Congress is co-hosted by the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society.
Statements and conclusions of study authors are solely those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect Vascular 2013 host organizations' policy or position. They make no representation or warranty as to their accuracy or reliability.
The Heart and Stroke Foundation's mission is to prevent disease, save lives and promote recovery. A volunteer-based health charity, we strive to tangibly improve the health of every Canadian family, every day. 'Healthy lives free of heart disease and stroke. Together we will make it happen.' Heartandstroke.ca
HSF spokesperson Beth Abramson is the author of the newly released book Heart Health for Canadians.
Vascular 2013 is a unique, one-time Canadian event bringing four separate scientific meetings together under one roof: the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress, the Canadian Diabetes Association/Canadian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism Professional Conference, the Canadian Stroke Congress and the Canadian Hypertension Congress. vascular2013.ca
It is a joint initiative of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society, Canadian Diabetes Association/Canadian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism, the Canadian Stroke Network, the Heart and Stroke Foundation, and Hypertension Canada.
For more information and/or interviews, contact the
VASCULAR 2013 MEDIA OFFICE AT 514-789-3402 (Oct 17-20)
OR
Massy Forget Langlois Public Relations
Christian Ahuet, Consultant
514-842-2455, ext. 29 / Cell. 514-994-7496
Congress information and media registration is at http://www.vascular2013.ca
After October 20, 2013 contact:
Jane-Diane Fraser
Heart and Stroke Foundation
jfraser@hsf.ca
613-569-4361x273
[
| E-mail
| Share
]
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ford's Theatre will reopen its doors and resume performances Wednesday, using private funding, even though the government shutdown has continued into a third week.
Theater officials announced Tuesday that the national historic site and performance space will reopen Wednesday. Theater trustee Ronald O. Perelman, the chairman and CEO of MacAndrews and Forbes Holdings Inc., donated $25,000 in emergency funding to pay for the theater's operations for the next eight days.
Ford's Theatre, where President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, is a National Park Service site. A private group runs the theater's programming.
On Wednesday, the theater will resume performances of "The Laramie Project," which is part of the theater's Lincoln Legacy Project focusing on diversity and equality. The production marks 15 years since Matthew Shepard, a gay college student, was abducted and killed in Laramie, Wyo. Remaining tickets are $25 each.
The Ford's Theatre Society has been losing about $100,000 in revenue per week since the theater went dark at the start of the highly anticipated "Laramie Project" production due to the government shutdown, said spokeswoman Lauren Beyea. The show will run through Oct. 27, but will not be extended because the actors have other commitments.
An agreement was made to reopen Ford's Theatre after several states agreed to provide funding to reopen national parks in other areas. The National Park Service agreed to a similar arrangement for the theater.
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Members of the U.S. Coast Gard examine a small white boat, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2013 at the U.S. Coast Guard Station Miami Beach, in Miami Beach, Fla. Four women died and 10 people were taken into custody after the boat with more than a dozen people aboard, including Haitian and Jamaican nationals, capsized early Wednesday in the waters off South Florida. It was overloaded and lacked lifejackets, according to the Coast Guard. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
Members of the U.S. Coast Gard examine a small white boat, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2013 at the U.S. Coast Guard Station Miami Beach, in Miami Beach, Fla. Four women died and 10 people were taken into custody after the boat with more than a dozen people aboard, including Haitian and Jamaican nationals, capsized early Wednesday in the waters off South Florida. It was overloaded and lacked lifejackets, according to the Coast Guard. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
A small white boat with its center console missing sits on the dock after authorities lifted it out of the water, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2013 at the U.S. Coast Guard Station Miami Beach, in Miami Beach, Fla. Four women died and 10 people were taken into custody after the boat with more than a dozen people aboard, including Haitian and Jamaican nationals, capsized early Wednesday in the waters off South Florida. It was overloaded and lacked lifejackets, according to the Coast Guard. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Four women died and 11 people were taken into custody after a boat with more than a dozen people aboard — including Haitians and Jamaicans — capsized early Wednesday in the waters off South Florida.
The U.S. Coast Guard responded around 1 a.m. after one of the survivors called 911 to report that the small vessel had capsized seven miles east of Miami.
"Sadly, and tragically, we did find four females, adults, underneath the boat that had perished," said Cmdr. Darren Caprara.
Most of the survivors were found clinging to the hull, and another was found in an air pocket beneath the boat, officials said.
One survivor was taken by boat to Miami Beach, where he was treated at a hospital and released to federal law enforcement, Barney said.
The rest of the survivors were in good condition and were taken into custody aboard a Coast Guard vessel while authorities investigated whether they were part of a human smuggling operation. It was not immediately clear whether they would be brought to the U.S. or repatriated to their home countries.
"Well, obviously, 15 people on a boat, transiting in the middle of the night with no life jackets is a very, very unsafe condition," Caprara said.
Caprara said that authorities were working to confirm that the people on the boat were Haitian and Jamaican.
"That's still a lengthy process that involves contacting other countries and doing some investigatory research," Caprara said.
Images of the vessel show a small white recreational boat with its center console missing. It was overloaded and lacked lifejackets, Caprara said.
Migrants from Haiti, Cuba and other Caribbean countries routinely attempt to illegally enter the U.S. by reaching Florida's coast in overloaded or unseaworthy vessels.
In the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, the Coast Guard picked up 508 Haitians and 1,357 Cubans at sea. Since the new fiscal year began Oct. 1, the Coast Guard has reported picking up 93 Haitians and 117 Cubans.
The number of migrants who die in the crossing or disappear into the community after successfully reaching shore is unknown.
Cubans who arrive in the U.S. are generally allowed to stay under the "wet foot, dry foot" policy, while those stopped at sea are usually returned home. Other immigrants who make it to land don't receive the same treatment.
A lack of focus and an excessive padding of philosophical and political undertones veers the film away from its potential of becoming an engaging rite-of-passage drama.
Venue
Tokyo International Film Festival
Director
Koji Fukuda
With its focus on a youthful rite of romantic passage on the seaside, the abundance of tracking shots of cycling characters, and intellectuals putting on a façade to obscure their messy past and present relationships, Koji Fukuda's second feature certainly takes after EricRohmer's A Summer's Tale – a resemblance made obvious by the film's French-language title itself ("Goodbye to the Summer"). While Au revoir l'ete -- which premiered on Oct. 19 on home turf as a competition entry at the Tokyo International Film Festival -- has flashes of the late French auteur's comic flair and sporadic interesting probing of confused lovelorn minds, Fukuda's fourth feature never comes across with a coherent narrative and a focused perspective.
Adding to his failed attempt to locate all this with some kind of a topical backdrop – the Fukushima nuclear plant meltdown, for example, is given a really superficial treatment here – and Fukuda could certainly bid adieu to hopes of Au revoir repeating the success of his previous (and comparatively effective social drama) hospitalite, a multiple award winner at Asian festivals in 2011 and a home-video release in the U.S. through the indie label Film Movement.
And hospitality seemed to be in great supply as Au revoir begins, when high-school student Sakuko (Fumi Nikaido) and her aunt Mikie (Mayu Tsuruta) return to their hometown and settle into the villa they borrowed from a family friend for a short break in late August. The teenager is supposed to be studying for her university entrance exams, while her adult companion has brought along her work translating books about Indonesia as part of her career as a development studies expert; inevitably, neighbors drop by to say hello and gossip, while longtime friends also visit to reminisce about the past.
Being young, listless and blooming, Sakuko hardly touches her books. Instead she begins learning more about her aunt and her mother – step-sisters who actually share the same name, and rivals while growing up – and also their links with the people who keep popping up. The jaded Ukuchi (Kanji Futurachi), for example, has put her shady hoodlum past behind – along, seemingly, his love for either or both Mikies – and toil away as the manager of a local motel; his daughter, Tatsuko (Kiki Sugino, who also co-produces the film), is a university student entangled in a love-hate relationship with her father.
Complicating matters is the arrival of Nishida (Tadashi Otake), a visiting married academic whose straight veneer conceals a lewd, selfish character – as seen in his conversations with Tatsuko (which begins with him acting all aloof and dignified and ends with him inviting the young woman to "have a rest" with him) and also the childish tantrums he threw in a row with Mikie (with whom he might be conducting an affair).
Some of Fukuda's diversion into these threads are somewhat distracting: it's obvious Sakuko is supposed to be the center of the narrative, and it would have been best if Au revoir has stuck to her perspective, so as to see the young woman growing into adulthood as she tries to make sense of the messy social maelstroms whirling around her. After all, this is a young adult in bloom, but at the same time unfortunate enough to find herself surrounded by attractive women whose charm have mesmerized by men who seemingly couldn't really handle their emotions well – a difficult place to learn the trick of leading a mature existence.
And one of those fumbling men is Ukuchi's nephew Takashi (Taiga), a gauche young man who couldn't engage with others well: he is working alongside Ukuchi after he dropped out of school, doesn't really react to Sakuko's subtle acts of affection, and diverts all talk away from discussions about his family. And it will take Fukushima to finally move of Sakuko and Takashi's stilted bond forward – the radiation-leak catastrophe, which leads to Takashi becoming part of the internally exiled trying to escape the fallout – has become, indeed, just a plot point to bring him and Sakuko together.
The twist is moot, however: nothing much has changed for Sakuko, with her week by the waterside never really leaving much impact on her bar the odd insight into how brutal and violent ordinary-looking people could stoop to – and how the past, such as Ukuchi's and Mikie's, could not be easily shaken off.
Appearances deceive, she acknowledges in the non-chalant manner which defines her throughout the film; ironically, the same could be said of Au revoir in general, as both the style (which itself is undermined by a few off-focused tracking shots) and substance (all those lines about philosophy, art and all do not really add more layers of meanings to the story) are found wanting. It's exactly like a scene in one of the film's final third, as the pair of uncertain young friends end the night in a club where a mime artist perform comic routines to the sound of Indonesian gamelan music – it's yet another ill-fitting episode to a shapeless film.
Competition, Tokyo International Film Festival Production Company: Wa Entertainment Inc Director: Koji Fukada Cast: Fumi Nikaido, Mayu Tsuruta, Taiga, Kanji Futurachi, Kiki Sugino Producer: Kiki Sugino, Koji Fukuda Executive Producers: Kousuke Ono, Makoto Adachi, Mikiyo Miyata Screenwriter: Koji Fukuda Director of Photography: Kenichi Negishi Editor: Koji Fukada Music Director/Sound Designer: Jo Keita International Sales: Wa Entertainment Inc In Japanese 125 minutes
We had to move Moby's Morning Becomes Eclectic live set to the Village Studios in order to fit all of his singers, band members and special guests like Damien Jurado and Skylar Grey. Moby is now a proud LA resident and his recent album "Innocents" is a reflection of that, with an almost playful approach of incorporating new musical elements. Watch Moby perform "The Perfect Life" live on KCRW.
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