Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media:
National Coverage
Medicine and 'luck' on multiple heart attack survivors' side
CNN.com
A fifth heart attack, such as the one suffered this week by former Vice President Dick Cheney, is not rare because of advances in modern medicine, cardiologists say. "It's something we see often enough that we're not surprised about it," said Dr. Cam Patterson, chief of cardiology at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, who is not involved in Cheney's care. "But it's also an indication that somebody has some luck on their side."
More evidence of a link between hospitalization and dementia (Blog)
The Los Angeles Times
Spending time in a hospital can make you crazy (in a manner of speaking). Studies have shown that older people who are hospitalized for critical illnesses often suffer from cognitive impairment. …So a group of researchers from the University of Washington and the Group Health Research Institute in Seattle and the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill decided to examine the records of 2,929 senior citizens participating in the Adult Changes in Thought study.
State and Local Coverage
Money Talks: Moral Entrepreneurship
"The State of Things" WUNC-FM
Entrepreneurs are known to drive job creation in this country. And more and more, they’re also setting new ethical standards for business. As the Obama administration looks to small businesses to lead the way out of our current economic downturn, we’ll examine the difficult choices entrepreneurs must make to stay on the moral high road in a market-driven economy. Guest host Janet Babin explores the new model of conscientious capitalism with: Jim Johnson, Kenan Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship and Strategy at UNC-Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School…
AICPA-UNC poll: CFOs don’t see quick recovery but do see signs of hope
The Triangle Business Journal
Only 4 percent of almost 1,000 CPA executives included in a new survey believe that the economy will snap back to pre-recession levels in 2010. Thirty-six percent of respondents – who are CFOs, controllers and other business CPAs– don’t expect to see pre-recession levels until after 2012. Those are two of the findings from a nationwide sampling conducted between Jan. 27 and Feb. 15 by the Durham-based American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.
Related Link:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/02/24/354824/cpas-outlook-partly-gloomy.
html?storylink=misearch
Haitian-born interpreter guides patients at UNC
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Lionel Giordani has been living a vicarious trauma for the past month. A native of Haiti, he has been tapped by the N.C. Jaycee Burn Center at UNC Hospitals to interpret the gruesome experiences of three Haitians who were severely burned in the Jan. 12 earthquake and flown to North Carolina for treatment. …Dr. Bruce Cairns, medical director of the burn center, said that establishing trust is especially crucial for burn treatments, because recovery depends on patients participating in difficult exercises. "Lionel has been wonderful in allowing us to create those connections," Cairns said.
$5.7 million will help kids with cancer
The Charlotte Observer
Experimental cancer treatments for children who have run out of other options are becoming available at Levine Children's Hospital thanks to $5.7 million in gifts from eight charities and families in Charlotte. …Unlike adults, most children with cancer are treated as part of clinical trials, where their treatment is closely supervised. Researchers collect data on outcomes and side effects so that treatments can be improved in a methodical way. "The advances we've made in pediatric oncology have come through this very careful adherence to protocol," said Dr. Ian Davis, a pediatric oncologist at UNC Chapel Hill's Lineberger Cancer Center.
Hush and drive ban debated in Chapel Hill
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Last year, the General Assembly outlawed texting while driving and banned cell-phone use by bus drivers and those under 18, but stopped short of a full ban on phoning while driving. Now, the Town of Chapel Hill may take the matter into its own hands. …It's not occupied hands but occupied minds that make cell phones dangerous, said Arthur Goodwin, a researcher with the UNC Highway Safety Research Center. "[It's] the cognitive distraction that they cause," he said.
Related Link:
http://www.chapelhillnews.com/2010/02/24/55356/council-considers-cell-phone-limits.html
Council to explore hiring more code officers
The Daily Reflector (Greenville)
The Greenville City Council on Monday voted to explore hiring additional code enforcement officers rather than pursue the Crime-Free Rental Housing program intended to combat crime across the city. …A 2004 study by students in the School of Government public administration masters program at UNC-Chapel Hill found the program did not significantly increase awareness of town codes by tenants or the ability to resolve housing problems. The study also stated that the workload involved took time away from housing code enforcement.
Carolina Jazz Fest kicks off
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
The annual Carolina Jazz Festival kicks off at UNC today. Today's events include an open rehearsal of the UNC Jazz Band with percussionist Jason Marsalis and saxophonist Ivan Renta, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., 1201 Kenan Music Building. A meet the artists session and faculty jazz jam will take place at 4 p.m. in Hill Hall Auditorium. Marsalis and Renta will perform with UNC music faculty members Jim Ketch, trumpet; Stephen Anderson, piano; Jason Foureman, bass; and Thomas Taylor, drums.
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/3312/66/
Dietary advice evolves, confusing us (Column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
News flash: "The days of saturated fat being the evildoer are numbered." One reader wrote this to me in response to last week's column about substitutes for artery-clogging cheese. She referred to a magazine article that discussed the increasing complexity of our understanding of blood cholesterol and its role in health. The science doesn't exonerate bacon, cheese and egg biscuits, but the reader touches on an issue that periodically arises in discussions about diet and health. (Suzanne Havala Hobbs is a registered dietitian and a clinical assistant professor in the department of health policy and administration in the Gillings School of Global Public Health at UNC-Chapel Hill.)
UNC Addresses Questions About Bingham Facility
WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill)
Tuesday, officials from UNC sat down with residents of the Bingham Township to answer questions about the university’s animal research facility commonly known as the Farm. …UNC Associate Vice Chancellor Bob Lowman apologized to a group of a dozen residents for both the wastewater leakages and the poor record of communicating with neighbors in the Bingham Township. The meeting gave both sides a chance to discuss not just the recent problems, but also the university’s plans to expand the facility to more than quadruple its current size.
Issues and Trends
Demanding excellence
The Chapel Hill News
Movement of Youth Inc. helps worlds collide. Last weekend Durham high school students collided with UNC college life. …Welcome to the Atrayus Goode's vision. The 24-year-old UNC graduate, who lives in Chapel Hill, is the executive director of the nonprofit Movement of Youth, which gives promising high schools students college mentors and immerses them in activities to help them not just succeed in life, but excel.
NCCU Public Health celebrates 60 years
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
…The program was the brainchild of the university’s founder, James Shepard, who was concerned with disparities in health status between black and white Americans, and the fact there were very few black public health workers, especially in the South. Since his school, then called the North Carolina College for Negroes, didn’t have an appropriate program, Shepard partnered with the School of Public Health at UNC Chapel Hill to develop a curriculum that would prepare black public health educators.
A shot in the arm (Editorial)
The News & Record (Greensboro)
…(Jim) Melvin was referring to a proposed new school of pharmacy at UNCG that could become a game-changer in the city, both educationally and economically. A team of consultants will come to Greensboro on March 5 to review UNCG's proposal. They, in turn, will share their impressions with UNC system officials. …At the same time, there is only one public pharmacy school in the state, at UNC-Chapel Hill, which typically receives several hundred applications for scarcely more than 150 slots.