Health

Most schools lack dental sealant programs

By |

By CORTNEY ERNDT
Capital News Service
LANSING – Only 25 percent of Michigan’s high schools provide dental sealant programs to prevent tooth decay, according to a new report. A Pew Charitable Trust study said school-based sealant programs reduce tooth decay by 60 percent at one-third the cost of a filling. Tooth decay affects nearly 60 percent of children, Pew reported. Dental sealants are clear plastic coatings applied to permanent molars. Sealants typically last five to 10 years.

Transportation & Roads

West Michigan bridge project on track — if there's enough money

By |

By CORTNEY ERNDT
Capital News Service
LANSING – The Department of Transportation (MDOT) anticipates less traffic congestion when the M-231 bridge, forecasted to be the sixth-longest bridge in Michigan, is done in three years. The bridge will measure about 3,700 feet long and 47 feet high, MDOT said. After construction, M-231 will stretch 7 miles and connect M-45 (Lake Michigan Drive) to I-96 and M-104. MDOT Director Kirk Steudle said, “Just the crossing of the Grand River will be huge from a mobility standpoint.”
Steudle said there are currently 20 crossings of the Grand River in Kent County. MDOT Grand Region communications representative John Richard said it will be the fourth Grand River crossing in Ottawa County.

Health

Health care providers face stricter privacy requirements

By |

By CORTNEY ERNDT
Capital News Service
LANSING – Stricter health privacy laws are leading to an increase in reported violations and better training of new physicians. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said the number of health privacy cases investigated increased from 339 in 2003 to 3,898 in 2011.  About 70,259 health privacy complaints were resolved and 6,931 open complaints were made from April 14, 2003 to December 31, 2012. Michigan State Medical Society President John Bizon said, “Training for new physicians has been expanded compared to when I went to medical school before implementation of HIPPA,” the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. Grand Valley State University graduate and Michigan State University first-year medical student Alex Brenner, of Shelbyville, said patient privacy rights were addressed at his orientation into medical school, at his care-facility job and at a research orientation at Spectrum Hospital. “Health privacy is taken very seriously,” Brenner said.

Health

Higher insurance costs, weight loss programs loom for overweight workers

By |

By CORTNEY ERNDT
Capital News Service
LANSING – Obese Michigan employees can expect higher insurance premiums and thus more incentive to join weight loss programs when the Affordable Care Act, nicknamed Obamacare, is fully effective in 2014. Department of Community Health public information officer Angela Minicuci said two-thirds of Michigan adults struggle with their weight. Of those, about 31 percent are obese. Obesity is medically defined by body mass index (BMI). A BMI of 30 or more is classified as obese.

Education

Core curriculum changes deter career training

By |

By CORTNEY ERNDT
Capital News Service
LANSING – High school students are locked into a tougher core curriculum, leading to a drop in vocational program enrollment. Students have less time to leave their high school building to attend a career tech center program that provides career-oriented courses. Career tech center enrollment decreased 30 percent the first year the new Michigan Merit Curriculum became effective for the Class of 2011, Michigan Association of School Boards Deputy Director Don Wotruba said. “Students are juggling their schedules around all of these new core requirements,” Wotruba said. Wotruba said he does not foresee the Department of Education changing the requirements.