Mecklenburg County, like the rest of North Carolina, has been buffeted by ineffective mental health reforms. But smart leadership and generous local funding have helped Mecklenburg weather the turmoil better than most counties, local mental health advocates say.

Consider:

• No other county has a broader range of services than Mecklenburg, including multiple substance abuse services and a mobile crisis unit that responds to mental health emergencies. That spectrum allows more people to get care in their own communities — a key objective of mental health reform. Mecklenburg’s urban population provides a plentiful work force to give that care.
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By SUSAN OLP
Of The Gazette Staff
Bev Reeves had a smile on her face Saturday as she danced the precise steps of the cha-cha, her arms extended in front of her, in the center court at Rimrock Mall.

The 67-year-old Lockwood woman was one of many people who took part in the “Day of Dance for Health” sponsored by St. Vincent Healthcare and Spirit of Women.

Back to dancing

But for Reeves, the moment was especially sweet. One year ago, on Feb. 23, 2007, Reeves suffered a heart attack. Now she’s back to taking private dance lessons and dancing in a group each week, and sometimes going dancing on “I love it so much,” she said, after the music ended and she came off the dance floor. “I forget all my troubles when I’m out there dancing.”
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The state Department of Natural Resources wants to return to a more traditional deer hunting schedule for southern Wisconsin.

Officials have tried all kinds of things to reduce the deer herd ever since chronic wasting disease turned up six years ago.

The strategies didn’t work, partially because many landowners refused to buy into them.

So now wildlife experts are recommending what’s done elsewhere in the state. That includes a four-day antlerless hunt in October, and the nine-day gun season in November.
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Achoo! It’s flu season, and while fevers, sore throats, muscle aches, headaches and stomach symptoms such as nausea and vomiting can be symptoms of a variety of illnesses, they can also signal the flu.

While some local principals say their schools seem pretty much unscathed by the virus this year, Principal Angelo Kidd says Northwest High School has definitely seen an increase in absences from the flu.

The school’s attendance rate is usually around 95 percent; Kidd recently said that amount dipped to about 91 percent for several days in a row. At a school with more than 2,400 students, that means about 100 more students per day have been out sick. Teachers have also been hit by various illnesses that have been going around, Kidd says. » Read the rest of the entry..

The number of states affected by influenza in the U.S. has risen from 44 at the middle of this month to 49, at the end of this week. In addition 22 pediatric deaths have been registered, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Friday.

It’s no longer a secret that this year’s flu vaccine has not been able to cover all the strains of the viruses that had been circulating throughout the United States. Moreover, some of the strains have become immune to antiviral medication: “two of the three common circulating types or subtypes [of viruses] are not as well-covered by the vaccine as an ideal match this year,” Dr. Joe Bresee, chief of the branch of epidemiology and prevention at CDC warned on February 16th. » Read the rest of the entry..

Precious samples of bird flu virus are at the centre of an extraordinary political battle in Indonesia, as arguments rage over the profits from potentially life-saving vaccines.

The Asian countries worst hit by the disease suspect that pharmaceutical giants will make millions out of vaccines derived from samples taken in affected areas. But after receiving an assurance that Jakarta would have access to affordable vaccines, Indonesia finally sent 12 samples to a World Health Organisation (WHO) laboratory last Friday after hanging on to them since August.

As the nation worst hit by bird flu, with 105 human deaths so far, it has most to fear from the disease leaping from birds into humans to become a pandemic. The most dangerous strain, H5N1, has claimed 232 lives since it re-emerged in Vietnam in 2003. However, the virus is » Read the rest of the entry..

By THOMAS WATKINS, AP

A woman who had her medical coverage canceled as she was undergoing treatment for breast cancer has been awarded more than $9 million in a case against one of California’s largest health insurers.

Patsy Bates, 52, a hairdresser from Lakewood, had been left with more than $129,000 in unpaid medical bills when Health Net Inc. canceled her policy in 2004.

On Friday, arbitration judge Sam Cianchetti ordered Health Net to repay that amount while providing $8.4 million in punitive damages and $750,000 for emotional distress. » Read the rest of the entry..

A drug to treat breast cancer received approval yesterday from the Food and Drug Administration, which went against the recommendation of its advisory panel.

Avastin is already approved for treating lung and colon cancer. The FDA gave preliminary approval to doctors’ use of the drug, made by Genentech, to treat breast cancer based on findings that it slowed tumor growth.

FDA approval for late-stage cancer treatments is usually contingent upon data showing that a drug extended patients’ lives or improved their quality. Avastin showed neither in a study, » Read the rest of the entry..

According to the findings of a recent study, regular daytime dozing among the elderly could be a signal of an increased risk of a stroke. “Dozing” is defined by the study as - unintentional falling asleep.

Researchers reported at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference 2008 that stroke risk was two to four times greater in those individuals who moderately doze.
In 2004, researchers began collecting daytime dozing data annually using the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. The Epworth scale asks people to rate their frequency of dozing off during specific situations, such as watching TV, sitting and talking to someone, sitting quietly after a lunch without alcohol and stopping briefly in traffic while driving. » Read the rest of the entry..

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