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The guild took umbrage with the expanded role of the Office of Professional Accountability Review Board as unanimously legislated by City Council, and with review board members advocating for our fellow citizens who contend they had been abused by SPD officers -- and at least one who believes he got no justice from his day in court. I attended the hearing in behalf of this citizen. His case and his association with Peter Holmes was a major source of evidence and testimony from the guild. The argument between guild and the city boiled down to broad contractual agreements that if literally interpreted, nullified effective citizen oversight of police power. The guild understandably wants to protect the anonymity of its members, but its leaders have demonstrated no sympathy for the constitutional rights of a citizenry to protect itself from malfeasance perpetrated by guild members.
Illinois HomeCare Council
November is Home Care and Hospice Month in Illinois. As president of the Illinois HomeCare Council, I want to take this opportunity to commend the dedicated home care and hospice providers who are working in communities all across the state. They include home health nurses and aides; physical, occupational and speech therapists; medical social workers; and multidisciplinary hospice teams that include physicians, nursing staff, counselors and clergy. Perhaps the greatest reason home care and hospice providers are truly heroes is that they believe every patient deserves quality care. As part of this commitment, the home care industry has come together to promote a legislative initiative that was signed into law in 2005. Known as the Illinois Home Health, Home Services & Home Nursing Agency Licensing Act, it means that all home care providers are now required to comply with a minimum set of standards that ensure quality care and patient safety.
Study questions saccharin benefits
Casting doubt on the benefit of low-calorie sweeteners, new research released Sunday reported that rats on diets containing saccharin gained more weight than rats given sugary food. The study in the journal Behavioral Neuroscience found that the artificial sweetener appeared to break the physiological connection between sweet tastes and calories, driving the rats to overeat. Lyn M. Steffen, an associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Minnesota, who was not involved in the report, said the study offers a possible explanation for the unexpected association between obesity and diet soda found in recent human studies. Researchers have puzzled over whether diet soda was a marker for poor eating habits, or whether the ingredients in diet soda caused people to put on pounds, she said.
'It's time': Beloved local pediatrician retires after 32 years
If not for him, Yiorgos wouldn't be alive today. Everybody (at Louisville's Kosair Children's Hospital) told us it was Dr. Barnett's early detection that saved my son. "To see Yiorgos today, you would never even know he was ever sick. He's perfect." That's why the Hadjisavvas are saddened to learn that Barnett is retiring from his 32-year practice here as of March 31. "I tried to talk him into staying longer," Ellada said, "but I know there are things he wants to do, such as volunteering in his church." The Hadjisavvas, who live in Henderson and own the Acropolis restaurant in Evansville, point out that Barnett quickly recognized that their son's high fever and other symptoms were due to meningitis. Ellada, who is recruitment coordinator and an advisor at Murray State's campus here, said the pediatrician never attempted to dismiss her grave concerns when she called him about Yiorgos's high fever last March.
Tours aimed at helping people shop healthfully
Grocery shopping can be overwhelming and confusing to a consumer interested in healthy choices.Erika Webster, a Gundersen Lutheran registered dietitian, said shoppers have thousands of food choices and often make decisions based on impulse and temptation. Other shoppers don't know how to shop for healthy choices, she said. .
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