News

Monday, August 3, 2009

Hospitals must tell-all after death of senator’s son

MONTGOMERY, AL - The death of state Senator Bobby Denton's son led to the passage of a bill last week that will now require hospitals to report patient infection information, according to the Times Daily.

The senate bill passed the House by a 97-0 vote and also creates the Health Care Data Advisory Council, an agency subject to annual legislative review, the story reported.

The bill is named the “Mike Denton Infection Reporting Act,” after Denton's son, who died at age 42 of a staph infection that developed after a knee replacement.

“It means a lot to me personally and my wife; it leaves a legacy for Mike,” Denton said. “I wished it a long time.”

Click here to read the complete article.

Promising new treatment for MRSA

NEW YORK — A new drug-delivery system with an anti-microbial agent has been developed to treat Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and is showing promising results in mice, according to the United Press International.

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University infected mice with MRSA and administered treatment with the drug delivery system that uses biocompatible nanoparticles that are smaller than a grain of pollen to produce controlled and sustained amounts of nitrous oxide gas, the story stated.

According to the story, nitrous oxide, which is produced by many cells throughout the body, has several important biological functions, including killing bacteria, but its therapeutic potential has been difficult to harness.

The wounds of mice treated topically with nitrous oxide-containing nanoparticles improved significantly and had lower bacterial counts when compared to the control mice that received nitrous oxide-void nanoparticles or no treatment, the story noted.

Dr. Joel Friedman of Albert Einstein said: "The problem is that nitric oxide is very short-lived and, until now, methods to deliver it to targeted tissues in the proper dosages have proven elusive."

The results of the study were published online in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, the story added.

Click here to read the complete article.

Woman awarded $3.3 million in mold case

PHOENIX - A Scottsdale woman has been awarded $3.3 million in a lawsuit after mold in her apartment building made her sick, according to Sierra Vista Herald.

According to the story, Robin Minium, who claimed the mold left her permanently disabled, moved to the upscale apartment complex called Pillar at Scottsdale in 2000 and within two years was ill.

Click here to read the complete article.

New partnership seeks global sustainable products standards

FORT COLLINS, CO - The Alliance for Sustainable Built Environments and the Institute for Market Transformation to Sustainability (MTS) announced an educational partnership to advance global sustainable product standards, according to the Environmental Leader.

According to the story, the Alliance is a group of industry leaders who practice and are recognized for leadership in sustainability.

MTS is a nonprofit public charity of leading environmental groups, governments and companies that administers the Sustainable Materials Rating Technology (SMaRT), a consensus sustainable product standard that covers 80 percent of the world's products.

The partnership's, which is aimed at eliminating market confusion about green products and related greenwashing issues, first initiative is a marketing and educational program that defines and promotes sustainable products that are certified through life cycle assessment criteria, according to the story.

Click here to read the complete article.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Office refrigerator stench packs punch, sends seven to hospital

I'm getting ready to do my recap of green news that has happend over the last few weeks but I had to get this up here. To me it's quite funny. It just shows how nasty people are, I see this type of thing at least once a year in the buildings I oversee, but not to this degree (well it comes close).

This is off the CNN Health site:

(CNN) -- We've all been there: reached for our food in the office refrigerator, only to recoil from the stench from the crammed containers of decomposing food.

When a worker at an AT&T building in San Jose, California, took it upon herself to clean out an office refrigerator during her lunch hour Tuesday, the smell from the moldy food was so noxious that it sent seven of her co-workers to the hospital and prompted the evacuation of all 325 people in the building.

"It was like a brick wall hit you," employee Robin Leetieh told CNN affiliate KGO-TV. "Stopped you immediately."

The refrigerator had been unplugged for some time and moved into a conference room for cleaning. When the woman tried to scrub down the mess, the stench from the cleaning chemicals combined with the rotting food.

"It caused some to vomit, some to just get nauseous. And it, for us, activated a hazardous incident," Capt. Barry Stallard of the San Jose fire department told the television station.

Another office worker tried to cover up the odor -- and made matters worse.

"Someone also took some spray and tried to deodorize the air," Stallard said. "And it turned out that was spot cleaner, not a deodorant. So it made people very sick."

Firefighters set up a triage area in the building's parking lot. In all, 28 workers reported feeling sick. Seven were taken to hospitals for evaluation.

Not among them: the woman who volunteered to clean the fridge.

She suffers from allergies, firefighters said, and had had nasal surgery.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

George Maison University - Embezzlement

Virginia - Three Charged in GMU
Embezzling Scheme

University police say Jose Rosado, a supervisor with Campus Living Villages-- a company that manages the dorms at GMU-- hired as many as five ghost employees. All of them were members of his extended family.


Click here to read the complete story.

Monday, May 4, 2009

5 Schools Closed in MD due to Swine Flu

WASHINGTON - The following schools are closed while officials investigate probable cases of swine flu: