Health
UKIAH, Calif. – Mendocino College Health Awareness is hosting a free memory seminar with a well-known speaker this Thursday, Dec 1, in the Little Theatre at the Ukiah campus.
The event begins at 6:30 p.m.
Chester Santos is the 2008 United States National Memory Champion, and is one of the world’s foremost experts on memory training techniques, with appearances in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, Washington Post, USA Today, CNN and various other media around the world.
He holds an undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of California at Berkeley and a master’s degree in software engineering from Golden Gate University.
Santos has spoken for groups of chief executive officers, Fortune 500 companies and prestigious universities including the Royal University for Women in Bahrain, the Haas Graduate School of Business in Berkeley and Harvard University.
He is working on a new book about memory improvement and brain fitness due out in 2012.
His iPhone application, “Steel Trap,” was featured by Apple and became an instant worldwide bestseller.
Santos' life and memory training are the subject of an upcoming feature‐length documentary that is being narrated by Academy Award Nominee and Golden Globe winning actor, Paul Giamatti. This film is titled, “You Must Remember This.”
The Thursday event is free to everyone and will benefit all ages.
Mendocino College Women’s Basketball will provide concessions at intermission with snacks and drinks.
The memory presentation will be followed by a memory training seminar; helping boost creativity, utilize both sides of the brain, learn effective ways to memorize and cut down study time, and ultimately improve memory.
The seating is capped at 180; so it is encouraged to arrive before 6:30 p.m.
The Little Theatre is equipped with tablet arm chairs for writing down notes if need be; unless you can memorize it all.
Mendocino College Health Awareness is excited to bring this well-known speaker to the Ukiah campus this Thursday, Dec. 1.
The Little Theatre is located in the center of campus, south of McMillan Hall and to the left of the new Library construction.
Santos will take the stage at 6:30 p.m., so remember to arrive early.
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“It is very difficult to distinguish which mushrooms are dangerous and which are safe to eat. Therefore, we recommend that wild mushrooms not be eaten unless they have been carefully examined and determined to be edible by a mushroom expert,” Chapman said.
Wild mushroom poisoning continues to cause disease, hospitalization and death among California residents.
According to the California Poison Control System (CPCS), 1,748 cases of mushroom ingestion were reported statewide in 2009-2010.
Among those cases:
Two individuals died;
Ten individuals suffered a major health outcome, such as liver failure leading to coma and/or a liver transplant, or kidney failure requiring dialysis;
964 were children under six years of age. These incidents usually involved the child’s eating a small amount of a mushroom growing in yards or neighborhood parks;
948 individuals were treated at a health care facility;
19 were admitted to an intensive care unit.
The most serious illnesses and deaths have been linked primarily to mushrooms known to cause liver damage, including Amanita ocreata, or “destroying angel,” and Amanita phalloides, also known as the “death cap.” These and other poisonous mushrooms grow in some parts of California year-round, but are most commonly found during fall, late winter or spring.
Eating poisonous mushrooms can cause abdominal pain, cramping, vomiting, diarrhea, liver damage and death.
Individuals who develop symptoms after eating wild mushrooms should seek immediate medical attention. Likewise, individuals with symptoms, or their treating health care providers, should immediately contact the CPCS at 1-800-222-1222.
Local mycological societies offer educational resources about mushroom identification, and may be able to help individuals identify whether mushrooms they have picked are safe or not.
For more information about mycological societies in California, please visit http://www.namyco.org/clubs/index.html.
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“I am very disappointed that the narrowly divided vote of Insurance Commissioners elevated politics over the sound, evidence-based decision making that is expected of us as insurance regulators,” said Commissioner Jones after the close vote.
He said consumers are ill-served by the proposal to lower the percentage of premiums that insurers are now required to put into medical care versus profits and overhead.
“The specific resolution in question was never heard by a NAIC committee, nor was there a public hearing on the resolution,” he said. “It was first circulated secretly to only some commissioners as opposed to all of us. The lack of transparency, the failure to follow a process that would include committee review and a public hearing, the willful disregard of the evidence – all undermine the credibility of the NAIC's vote today.”
During a holiday week, without any opportunity for the public to be heard, the NAIC narrowly voted to support a resolution that calls on the federal Department of Health and Human Services to take action it lacks the authority to take and for the Congress to make changes to the federal law that would increase the cost of health insurance.
The resolution calls on Congress to weaken one of the most important consumer protection provisions in the Affordable Care Act – the medical loss ratio (MLR) requirement that 80 percent of every premium dollar go into providing health care in the individual and small group markets and 85 percent in the large group market.
Jones and 19 other insurance regulators from around the country voted against the resolution and five Commissioners abstained.
Earlier this year, the NAIC took a look at agent and broker commissions and the medical loss ratio provisions of the Affordable Care Act.
The Health Committee of the NAIC (the B Committee) issued a report that indicates:
“In 2011, a significant number of companies have reduced commission levels, particularly in the individual market. However, a significant number of companies have not reduced commissions in 2011.”
“The states with higher MLR requirements have not observed any problems with consumer access to insurance or to producers.”
“… adjusting the MLR calculations for producer compensation, results in an increase in the MLR by several percentage points.”
If agent and broker commissions had been removed from the MLR calculation in 2010, consumer rebates would have been reduced by more than 60%, from $1.95 billion down to $762 million.
The net result of the proposal would be to reduce consumer rebates by more than $1.1 billion. At the same time, the experience of states that had higher MLRs is that consumers still have access to agents and brokers.
Jones opposed the resolution because it would reduce rebates to consumers, increase the cost of health insurance to consumers and reduce their access to health care and on process grounds because the NAIC did not vet this resolution through any NAIC committee nor did it allow the public the opportunity to comment on the resolution prior to today's vote.
Jones pointed out that “I have been contacted by consumer organizations and thousands of individuals who have asked me to vote against this resolution. This resolution calls for actions that would allow insurers to spend more money on administrative costs and profits, while charging consumers higher premiums.”
Jones continued, “I recognize the important role that licensed health agents in my state play in assisting consumers and I will work with them to help ensure that they continue to play such a role as our nation's health care system changes and expands to cover tens of millions of additional policyholders, but rolling back the MLR requirement is not the answer. There is no guarantee that the health agents and brokers would benefit from this proposal, but the evidence shows that consumers would be harmed.”
A data call conducted by the California Department of Insurance earlier this year demonstrated that commissions paid to health insurance agents/brokers increased over 300 percent between 2003 and 2010, as commissions increased along with skyrocketing health insurance premiums.
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No illnesses have been associated with the recalled product.
Symptoms of E. coli O157:H7 infection may include abdominal cramps and diarrhea which is often bloody.
Most infected people recover within a week; however, some may develop complications that require hospitalization.
Young children and the elderly are at highest risk for a potentially life-threatening complication known as hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) which includes kidney failure.
The voluntarily recalled romaine lettuce is packaged in 9 oz., 9.25 oz., 10 oz., 10.25 oz., and 16 oz. bags under the Ready Pac, Trader Joe’s, Safeway and Dining In Classic labels. Products have a use by date of Nov. 18, 2011.
The recall was issued based on a positive finding of E.coli O157:H7 from a random surveillance sample of bagged lettuce collected and analyzed by the United States Department of Agriculture. The recalled romaine products were distributed to retail locations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Oregon, Texas and Washington.
Consumers should discard the product or return them to the place of purchase.
People who develop symptoms of E. coli O157:H7 infection after consuming Ready Pac romaine lettuce should consult their health care provider.
Consumers that observe the product being offered for sale are encouraged to report their findings to the CDPH toll free complaint line at 800-495-3232.
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