Campus Life

Top News
Top news RSS feed

Children's Hospital receives grant to promote benefits of breast milk

2/23/06

Babies fed breast milk require fewer immunizations and less hospitalization than those given formula. They develop better vision and tend to have higher IQ scores from optimal brain development and growth, yet many mothers aren't able to afford costly equipment to pump and store breast milk. Matthew Winger, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) social worker, Penn State Children's Hospital, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, is eager to tell new mothers with babies in the NICU why they should consider breastfeeding and access the equipment free of charge. The Pennsylvania Department of Health recently awarded him a two-year grant to aid in the promotion of increased awareness of the nutritional value of breast milk for newborns.

Medical center reminds employees 2005 FSA deadline is March 31

2/23/06

Flexible Spending Accounts or FSAs are a way to help reduce an individual's out-of-pocket expenses for health care and some other expenses, such as child care. However, unlike dollars placed in a health savings account (HSA) or health reimbursement arrangement (HRA), money in an FSA does not roll over to the following year. Employees participating in the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center benefits plan have the option to contribute money into a FSA tax free. These funds may be used to get reimbursed for eligible health-care expenses incurred by employees or their eligible dependents and for approved child-care services. However, unlike an HSA or HRA, monies in an FSA must be used by the end of the plan year. Money in an FSA does not roll over. If the dollars are not used, employees will lose the remaining balance. The medical center benefits office is reminding employees that the deadline for submission of 2005 Health Care and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account claims by employees participating in the medical center benefits plan is March 31.

The Medical Minute: Organ donation -- the ultimate gift of life

2/22/06

A man develops a viral infection that causes his heart to fail, a woman's diabetes destroys her kidneys, a man damages his eyes in an industrial accident and is blinded, a child develops leukemia resistant to chemotherapy. Each of these people has something in common: Each will need an organ transplant. According to the latest edition of the Medical Minute, a service of Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, as of today about 26,000 organs have been transplanted in the United States, gifts from about 13,000 donors, but 91,000 people are on the waiting list for an organ. Some will die before a compatible organ is found. Where will they get these organs? Organs are usually obtained from people when they die, although a living person may donate a kidney and part of a liver. The problem is that too many people do not donate their organs. There are many reasons why. Perhaps they never thought of it. Maybe it's too macabre to think about death. It might be a perception of a religious objection. Or maybe they never got around to filling out a donor card. Whatever the reason, not enough people are willing to part with something they won't be using.

Untitled

Heard on Campus: Yolanda King at Eisenhower Auditorium

2/21/06

"In 1967, my father published a book entitled Where Do We Go From Here?: Chaos or Community ... My father captured the challenges we still are facing 38 years after they were written. A challenge made greater as the world was made smaller with new technology, that power to affirm, to acknowledge, to embrace our oneness as humanity. My father's words ring particularly, 'We have learned to fly the air like birds and swim the sea like fish, but we have not learned the simple art of living together as brothers and sisters.' ...

More than 165 teams decide 'Walking Works'

2/17/06

More than 165 teams of Penn State Hershey Medical Center and Penn State College of Medicine employees and their family members have already registered to particpate in Walking Works. Walking Works is a free event to promote physical activity and healthy eating in the medical center and College of Medicine community. People can participate as individuals, as members of a team or both.

Child safety seat checkup set for Saturday

2/17/06

Child Passenger Safety Week concludes Saturday, Feb. 18. In recognition of the occasion Safe Kids of Dauphin County, led by Penn State Children's Hospital, will hold a public child-safety seat checkup from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Saturn of Harrisburg, 13th and Paxton streets. It focuses on educating and guiding parents on correct car seat and booster seat use and when it is safe for children to graduate to a vehicles' lap-and-shoulder safety belt.

Enhanced care can improve health of people with diabetes

2/17/06

Some 21 million Americans now suffer from Type 2 diabetes and are at higher risk for other health problems, such as heart disease, kidney disease and blindness. But a recently published study by Robert A. Gabbay, associate professor of medicine, Penn State College of Medicine, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, shows they can improve their health and reduce their risk of complications when they take an active role in the management of the disease and keep regular preventative-care screening appointments.

American Academy of Pediatrics updates guidelines for stronger bones

2/17/06

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) report "Optimizing Bone Health and Calcium Intakes of Infants, Children, and Adolescents," getting enough calcium during childhood and adolescence is necessary for peak bone mass development, which may help reduce the risk of fractures and osteoporosis later in life. This is especially important during adolescence. The AAP also encourages physical activity, primarily weight-bearing exercise, as part of an overall bone-health program.

EPA recognizes Penn State as top green power purchaser

2/16/06

Penn State has made the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) list of the top 10 college and university Green Power Partners. The University is being recognized for its voluntary purchase of 17,600 megawatt-hours (MWh) of green power. Penn State purchases this green power in the form of wind-generated electricity from Community Energy, Inc. This top 10 list highlights institutions of higher education within the Green Power Partnership that have completed the largest annual voluntary green power purchases through Jan. 18, 2006. "Green power" is defined by the Partnership as electricity products that are partially or entirely generated from environmentally preferable resources, such as solar, wind, geothermal, biogas, and low-impact biomass and hydro resources. "Penn State is providing an excellent example for its students, faculty, employees and community by purchasing green power," said Blaine Collison, program director of the EPA's Green Power Partnership. "The University's actions are helping drive the development of new renewable energy sources. As more renewable energy power plants are developed, the overall air emissions associated with electricity generation will be reduced."

Untitled

Heard on Campus: Kevin Bales at the Forum

2/15/06

"We can eradicate slavery if we raise public awareness to the point that sufficient numbers of people are willing to ask their politicians to take action, if we can bring those resources to bear and if we enforce the laws already on the books. And we do that because we want to live in a world without slavery, because none of us want to live in a world with slavery. If we don't do it, what we do is give up, and allow criminals around the world to jerk the strings that tie us to slavery through our products and things we do in our lives. I think that is unacceptable to all of us.

The Medical Minute: Chocolate good for the heart

2/13/06

Valentine's Day is known for chocolate treats given to sweethearts. Over the last few years, medical studies have shown chocolate can lower blood pressure and reduce atherosclerosis. It seems too good to be true, but there is a reason for the health benefits of chocolate. Chocolate is made from cocoa beans, which technically are a fruit, from the cacao tree. Many fruits and plant products contain flavonoids, a group of diverse chemicals that help plants repair injury and inhibit bacterial growth. Flavonoids are found in strawberries, blueberries, cranberries, tea, red wine, peanuts, apples, onions, nuts, red pepper, celery, tomatoes and citrus fruits in different amounts. In chocolate, flavonoids are found in highest quantities in cocoa powder and dark chocolate and have diverse effects on humans, according to the Medical Minute, a service of Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.

Walking Works prepares for kickoff

2/9/06

With an institution-wide emphasis on health and wellness, employees at Penn State Hershey Medical Center and Penn State College of Medicine are being encouraged to participate in Walking Works, a free program that promotes living a healthy lifestyle complete with modest exercise. The 12-week challenge kicks off Feb. 24. Everyone affiliated with the campus can be an "individual participant" and/or join a team for Walking Works. Individual registration is now available through http://www.PennStateWalkingWorks.com online. Group registration is available starting Feb. 15. A conversion tool is available for nonwalking activities such as biking and other types of exercise.

Read the full story at http://live.psu.edu/story/16018

Medical center to help with appointment scheduling challenges

2/9/06

With its new health-care benefits plan active as of Jan. 1, Penn State Hershey Medical Center is attempting to educate employees who are participating in the plan about ways to access speciality clinics and physicians with patient-access challenges. While many medical center practices and specialty clinics report few if any challenges with patient access, there are some where demand is high and getting an appointment in a reasonable time frame can seem daunting. The medical center's University Physician Group Administration is providing employees with a mechanism that will help their doctor's office schedule "difficult-to-get" appointments in a shorter time frame.

Academy recommends 14 ways to show love for your child

2/9/06

Valentine's Day festivities often are reserved for couples or those attempting to spark a new romance. The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that parents and caregivers take time this holiday to think about the physical and mental well-being of the children in their lives. Since Valentine's Day falls on Feb. 14, the academy offers 14 ways for parents to show love to a child.

The Medical Minute: Women's heart health -- a valentine for life

2/9/06

What is a woman's biggest health risk? Breast cancer? Osteoporosis? Alzheimer's? Most people are surprised to hear that a woman's greatest health risk is heart disease. Consider these statistics: One in 22 American women has heart disease at any time, compared to one in 1,326 for breast cancer; one in about 11,000 for cancer of the cervix; and about one in 33 for Alzheimer's in women between age 65 and 74. A National Institutes of Health task force met in 2001 to address the problem and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health has a section on its Web page dedicated to the problem of heart disease in women. Heart attacks kill more than five times more women than breast cancer, yet many women and their physicians often do not give it the same attention it receives in men. Women do not typically get the classic symptom of angina (chest pain) that men do. According to the latest edition of the Medical Minute, a service of Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, though their symptoms may be different, controlling risk factors dramatically reduces the occurrence of heart disease in women and men.

Pages