End-of-life care for gravely ill children should be improved

A new survey found that most parents who have lost a child due to illness think end-of-life care for children needs to be improved. Respondents said that caregivers must supply complete and honest information to parents and that there needs to be an improvement in coordination of care, access to physicians and respect of parent-child relationships. Click here to read more.

Editor’s Note: Please read the article to see an example of a best practice in pediatric end-of-life care.

Heath plans aim to meet veterans’ mental healthcare needs

Private insurers are looking into ways to provide mental health services for veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Some plans are bidding for three six-year government contracts to administer Tricare, and other insurers are looking into private contracts to provide care through the Veterans Affairs Department or to help troops who opt out of the VA system. Click here to read more.

Technology answers hospital translation needs

Hospitals in California are pioneering video conferencing technology that allows nurses and other healthcare staff to tap into a network of qualified translators both online and in real time. Click here to read more.

Fitness, not weight, key to longevity

A new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that people who were fit but overweight or obese had a lower mortality risk than those who had low fitness levels but were of normal weight. Click here to read more.

Emergency room visits increasing among U.S. seniors

A study found the number of seniors visiting emergency rooms in the U.S. is rising, especially among blacks, and researchers expect the overcrowding of these facilities to continue to rise “dramatically.” The findings showed a 34 percent increase in visits from 1993 to 2003 among those ages 65 to 74. Click here to read more.