The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)  announced the awarding of nearly $8 million for existing Community Health Center Cooperative Agreements.

These agreements will provide additional training and technical assistance on a national, regional and state basis to community-based organizations that support community health centers. Funding for the grants is made available by the Affordable Care Act.

Health Center Cooperative Agreements support the development and operation of health centers.  Cooperative agreement organizations use training and technical assistance funds to support the following core functions related to supporting health centers:  community development, expansion planning, patient-centered medical home development, meaningful use health information technology adoption and workforce development.

“These Health Center Cooperative Agreements help build on the Affordable Care Act’s investments in community health centers,” said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “These funds will provide assistance to community health centers to help them improve access to health care services, especially for those who are uninsured, isolated or medically vulnerable.”

Community health centers serve nearly 19 million patients, about 40 percent of whom have no health insurance. Community health centers deliver preventive and primary care services at more than 7,900 service delivery sites around the country to patients, regardless of their ability to pay.  Charges for services are set according to income.

“The funding the Secretary announced today will ensure that health centers who need it have the ability to plan for their futures,” said HRSA Administrator Mary K. Wakefield, Ph.D., R.N. “Community health centers provide high quality health care to anyone who needs it, these funds make continuing that care possible.” Read the rest of this entry »


FDA Warns Consumers Not to Use Vigor-25

  • Author: Health Informer
  • Filed under: Health News
  • Date: Nov 20,2010

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says Vigor-25, a product marketed as a natural dietary supplement to enhance male sexual performance, should not be purchased or used because it contains sildenafil, the active ingredient in the prescription drug Viagra.

Sildenafil may interact with prescription drugs known as nitrates, including nitroglycerin, and can dangerously lower blood pressure. The FDA is investigating the reported death of a 26-year old man, possibly associated with the use of Vigor-25.

Vigor-25, distributed by Piston Corp., is sold on Internet sites and possibly in some retail outlets.

“This product is dangerous to consumers because it claims to contain only natural ingredients when it actually contains a prescription drug ingredient,” said Deborah M. Autor, director of the Office of Compliance in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “Tainted products place consumers at risk of injury and death, especially those consumers with underlying health conditions.”

The FDA has found many products marketed as dietary supplements for sexual enhancement during the past several years that can be harmful because they contain active ingredients in FDA-approved drugs or variations of these ingredients.  Sexual enhancement products promising rapid effects (e.g., claim to work in minutes to hours) or long-lasting effects (e.g., claim to last 24-72 hours) are likely to contain a contaminant.

The FDA advises consumers who have experienced any negative side effects from sexual enhancement products to stop using such products and consult a health care professional and to safely discard the product. The FDA urges health care professionals and consumers to report adverse events or side effects from use of Vigor-25 to the FDA’s MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program either online, by regular mail or by fax:

  • Complete and submit the report online: www.fda.gov/MedWatch/report.htm
  • Download form or call 800-332-1088 to request a reporting form, then complete and return to the address on the pre-addressed form or submit by fax to 800-FDA-0178

Consumers also are urged to report suspected criminal activity regarding sexual enhancement products, including Vigor-25, to the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations (OCI) by calling 800-551-3989 or by reporting it on the OCI website at www.fda.gov/OCI.


New Report Card Shows Little Improvement in Public Health Since 2005

  • Author: Health Informer
  • Filed under: Health News
  • Date: Nov 18,2010

A report card evaluates the critical players impacting our food choices and their contributions to our nation’s public health over the past five years.

In 2005, the National Fruit & Vegetable Alliance (NFVA) – led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH) – developed a National Action Plan, providing a new and comprehensive approach for improved public health through increased fruit and vegetable consumption. Five years later, the Alliance has released a new Report Card to evaluate progress made by schools, restaurants, supermarkets, and federal and state governments in its 2010 National Action Plan (NAP), as well as a set of forward-looking strategies to close the persistent, ongoing gap between actual and recommended consumption.

The NAP report card finds that the average American’s fruit and vegetable consumption remains far below recommended levels, despite repeated warnings from high-level federal officials about the impact of diet-related disease. In fact, only six percent of individuals achieve their recommended target for vegetables and only eight percent achieve their recommended target for fruit in an average day. And while food consumed away from home makes up about a third of the average American’s daily calories, it accounts for only 11 percent of all fruit and vegetable consumption. To put this in perspective, eight of the states with the lowest fruit and vegetable consumption are also in the top 10 states with the highest obesity rates. Read the rest of this entry »


An estimated one in seven children in California has a special health care need, yet the state ranked worst in the nation on a composite index that measures whether these children have adequate health insurance, receive basic preventive care, and receive medical care that is comprehensive, ongoing and family-centered, according to a study released today.

Children with special health care needs are those who have a chronic condition that requires health care beyond what is needed by most children. Conditions may range from mild, manageable asthma to highly complex conditions such as cerebral palsy or heart disease.

“These children are one of the most vulnerable segments of our society, and in many senses the system in California is not doing well for them,” said David Alexander, a pediatrician who is president and CEO of the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health, which commissioned the study.

Nearly all children with special health care needs in California experience some limitations in their daily lives. However, about one in four of the 1.4 million special needs children in California experiences difficulties severe enough that they are unable to do things other children their age can do. These children and their families usually have the most difficulty in finding medical and dental care, child care, transportation, educational assistance, medical equipment, consistent health insurance, and a range of other services.

“This is particularly concerning because advances in medical care mean that many children are surviving who previously would not have, and it will become increasingly difficult for our already overburdened system to care for them adequately,” Alexander said. Read the rest of this entry »


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