Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) announced plans yesterday to establish a program to aid state residents in purchasing cheaper prescription drugs from Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland, marking the first time that a state-backed importation program has included drugs from countries other than Canada, the Wall Street Journal reports. A spokesperson for the governor said the program—which is slated to begin within the next month and will be accessible via the Internet and a toll-free phone line—includes “built in”…

12 migrants succumb to heat, desperation Daniel González The ArizonaRepublic Aug. 10, 2004 12:00 AM PALOMA – At least 12 undocumented immigrants have been found dead in the southern Arizona desert since Friday, including five from a single group who perished Sunday, making this past weekend among the deadliest in years, authorities said. They blamed the deaths on the extreme heat and smugglers who continue to guide migrants through some of the most treacherous areas in the country in an…

A decision under last year’s Medicare reform act to provide $1 billion in funding to hospitals offering emergency care to undocumented immigrants has been called a “breakthrough” but is drawing criticism from some hospital and civil rights groups that say a stipulation requiring hospitals to ask patients about their immigration status could discourage underserved populations from seeking care, the New York Times reports. The four-year program, which will provide $250 million annually beginning Oct. 1, seeks to offer relief to…

The Advisory Board is pleased to announce its inaugural West Coast Academy Fellowship Class. The Academy Fellowship is dedicated to assisting partner hospitals and health systems in the selection, education, and development of their highest potential leadership talent. Working with each partner, the Fellowship provides tailored, best-practice-based executive preparation education and practical project development opportunities for each selected Fellow. Across the two-year curriculum, Fellows attend six three-day sessions on a directed syllabus of intensive work devoted to health care leadership…

July 2-Experts say the nation’s nursing shortage-which already has prompted hospitals to recruit nursing staff from countries such as the Philippines and India-is now prompting a growing number of hospitals to recruit in Mexico. Although the recruitment of nurses from Mexico is still in its “early stages”-with only 58 Mexican nurses taking the U.S. nurse licensing exam in 2002-experts say the opportunity to multiply their salaries by as much as 10 times will likely lead others to pursue positions in…

WASHINGTON – Several Americans buying medication in Mexico have come back with counterfeit versions of the cholesterol drug Zocor and a generic painkiller, the Food and Drug Administration (news – web sites) warned Friday. The fake Zocor didn’t contain any of the actual cholesterol-lowering ingredient, and the counterfeit carisoprodol was far less potent than real versions of the painkiller, FDA (news – web sites) said. The agency warned that patients who use the counterfeit Zocor face serious health risks from…

A study released on Friday by the Kaiser Commission finds that nearly 145,000 poor children were “dropped” from the federal-state sponsored State Children’s Health Insurance Program in the second half of 2003, marking the first decline in enrollment since the program was launched in 1998, Reuters Health reports. Eleven states had some cuts, with Texas among those making “noteworthy” cuts and Maryland and New York each discontinuing coverage for 23,000 children. A spokesperson for the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and…

In a study published in the most recent Annals of Epidemiology, researchers in China report that inactivity now contributes to more deaths annually in Hong Kong than tobacco consumption, the Agence France Presse reports. Among individuals ages 35 years and older, a lack of physical activity was associated with 6,450 deaths in Hong Kong in 1998, while smoking was responsible for 5,270 deaths. The AFP notes that physical inactivity increases the risk of cancer-related mortality by 45% in men and…

CRISTOBAL GARCIA, RUBEN VILLALPANDO ERNESTO MARTINEZ Y LA JORNADA MICHOACAN Unos mil 500 indocumentados mexicanos son deportados diariamente por los distintos puntos fronterizos terrestres entre Sonora y Arizona, mientras vía aérea, dentro del programa de repatriación voluntaria, han sido devueltos a México poco más de 2 mil 600 connacionales desde el pasado 12 de julio, fecha del arranque de este plan binacional. El delegado regional del Instituto Nacional de Migración (INM), Jorge Luis Mireles Navarro, indicó que estos mexicanos son…

The United Kingdom decided against signing an agreement among 22 European Commonwealth countries discouraging recruitment of nurses from developing countries. Instead, the U.K.’s health secretary pledged that the government would take measures “to avoid damaging” developing countries’ health care industries. The code agreed upon by the Commonwealth nations requests that countries receiving foreign workers compensate workers’ countries of origin by providing technological devices, training, and capital for the remaining workforce. The agreement was proposed after the Royal College of Nursing…