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Is there a doctor in the house?

25 Apr 2010 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In this Sunday's gospel Jesus promises to his followers that he will "give them eternal life." In the meantime medical doctors do what they can to keep our earthly lives as healthy as possible. But with the ranks of the newly insured expanding as a result of the new healthcare law, experts warn that the U.S. will soon face a severe shortage of doctors. At current graduation and training rates the nation could face a shortfall of as many as 150,000 doctors in the next 15 years, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. That shortage is predicted despite a push by teaching hospitals and medical schools to boost the number of U.S. doctors, which now totals about 954,000. The greatest demand will be for primary-care physicians. These general practitioners, internists, family physicians, and pediatricians will have a larger role under the new law, coordinating care for each patient. A shortage could lead to more limited access to health care and longer wait times for patients. The U.S. has 352,908 primary-care doctors now and the college association estimates that 45,000 more will be needed by 2020. But the number of medical school students entering family medicine fell more than a quarter between 2002 and 2007, largely because of the lower pay primary-care doctors receive relative to specialists. Proponents of the new healthcare law say it does attempt to address the physician shortage. The law offers sweeteners to encourage more people to enter medical professions and a 10-percent Medicare pay boost for primary-care doctors. But medical colleges and hospitals warn that these efforts will hit a big bottleneck: A shortage of medical resident positions. The residency is the minimum three-year period when medical school graduates train in hospitals and clinics. While doctors trained in other countries could theoretically help the primary-care shortage, they hit the same obstacle with resident slots because they must still complete a U.S. residency in order to get a license to practice medicine independently in the U.S. "It will probably take 10 years to even make a dent into the number of doctors that we need out there," said Atul Grover, the AAMC's chief advocacy officer. Source: An article by Susanne Sataline and Shirley S. Wang for the Wall Street Journal

united states doctors shortage association of american medical colleges primary care physicians medical residency atul grover
Hungering for a solution to food insecurity

11 Nov 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Hunger, thirst, and food shortages are upmost on the minds of the prophet Elijah and the widow he meets in the struggling town of Zarephath in this Sunday’s first reading. Much of southern Africa shares that concern these days, currently facing food shortages that have led to a sharp rise in food insecurity in the region.Lesotho, Malawi, and Zimbabwe are some of the countries where food insecurity is particularly high, according to a report from Food World News. Overall, more than 5.5 million people in the region have been affected."Southern Africa is facing a silent food-insecurity emergency," said Catherine Bragg, United Nations Deputy Humanitarian Chief, who visited Botswana, South Africa, and Zimbabwe recently. Bragg was in the region on a five-day visit to review the food situation to work with the governments there to come up with a feasible solution."In Lesotho, about a third of the population does not have enough food to eat or sell. In Zimbabwe, 1.6 million people are expected to be food insecure, and many families are selling their own livestock to cope with this dire situation," she said.The uptick in food insecurity is attributed to floods and droughts in key food-growing regions in Southern Africa. Moreover, while South Africa has enough to export to its neighbors, the fact that it grows genetically modified food crops makes its food exports unwelcome in several African countries. High prices of food commodities in the global market have also led to a drop in food imports.The United Nations estimates that by 2050 at least 77 million more people will be going hungry than are doing so today. Part of the problem is the dominance of agriculture for export—"cash crops"—that take away from people the richest yielding agricultural land in many parts of the world. The U.N. has urged nations to cooperate to balance market forces with the basic human need for food. Source: An article by Sharon Robinson for Food World News

zimbabwe cash crops genetically modified food food exports catherine bragg malawi lesotho southern africa food shortages food insecurity south africa food world news
Demand has saline solution sailing off shelves

02 Feb 2014 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Jesus is a new kind of high priest who rescues people from death, this Sunday’s reading from the Letter to the Hebrews says. Something as simple as saline—salt water—can also be a lifesaver when used in intravenous solutions to hydrate hospital patients, but a shortage caused by a spike in demand is complicating matters, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Tuesday.The FDA is working with the three manufacturers of intravenous saline solutions to address the shortfall. Meanwhile healthcare providers are reserving supplies of the fluids for their most seriously ill patients, and the product manufacturers—Baxter International Inc., Hospira Inc, and B. Braun Medical Inc.—have stepped up production in response, said Valerie Jensen, FDA's associate director for drug shortages."We have not heard of anyone running out of the IV solutions at this point, but we know the hospitals are not comfortable with the low supplies," Jensen said.Manufacturers first notified the FDA late last year that they expected delays in filling orders, but an increase in hospitalizations in recent weeks partly due to rising numbers of flu cases exacerbated the problem, Jensen said.To cope with the scarcity, healthcare providers are using substitute products or smaller IV saline bags with slower drip rates when appropriate, said Bona Benjamin of the American Society of Health System Pharmacists. "We have heard from our members all over the country that the shortage is serious," Benjamin said. "People are able to cobble together enough of a supply to get by day to day."Cathy Denning, a registered nurse with Novation, a supply chain company that works with hospitals and other healthcare providers, said it could be another two months before the shortfall is resolved. FDA's Jensen said the agency is also looking into alternative sources, including overseas suppliers, to help address the shortage.Homily hint: It’s easy in good health to overlook how something as simple as saline solution can save a life. But while developed countries have ways of addressing shortages, much of the world lacks the most basic of medical supplies on an ongoing basis, with no relief in sight. Pray for those who suffer without the medicines they need, and educate on what can be done to help. Source: An article by Susan Kelly for Reuters

hospitals healthcare providers shortages saline solution
The world is running dry of drinking water

04 Sep 2016 - Preaching the News for the Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

When praying to God this Sunday, the psalmist acknowledges our mortality in stark terms: “You turn man back to dust.” It appears that humanity is doing a pretty good job of its own on the dusting front, with people around the world living in increasingly dry, dusty, water-stressed cities. Water stress—where the human or ecological demand for water is not met—is caused by a variety of factors. There’s the physical scarcity of water due to lack of rainfall, the natural aridity of the area, and, increasingly, changes in climate; but poor management and investment in water infrastructure, and pollution, also play their parts. Experts say the problem affects an estimated 2.7 billion people for at least one month of every year, across every continent—and is particularly pressing in cities as the global urban population grows. At present, almost 4 billion people live in cities, with a further 2.5 billion expected to join them by 2050. As the urban population grows, so too does the number of people living in settlements that are not connected to a formal piped water supply. Currently, some 860 million people live in slums around the world; their lack of access to clean water carries enormous health consequences. As freshwater supplies dry up, many cities are engaged in a race to the bottom as they turn to groundwater—with some underground aquifers now so overexploited that water is extracted much faster than it is recharged. During the height of the recent drought in California, farms and cities were apparently drilling so deeply for groundwater that they tapped into reserves that had fallen to earth as rain 20,000 years ago. In some places, lack of rainfall has led to dusty conditions that on windy days can give rise to intense dust storms. Weather researchers call dust a deadly and underrated weather hazard. Dust storms are the third largest cause of weather fatalities in Arizona over the past 50 years, concluded a report by meteorologists with the National Weather Service and a University of Arizona atmospheric sciences researcher. In terms of injuries, dust leads the list, and the number of deaths attributed to blowing dust might be higher if researchers could quantify the correlation between episodes of blowing dust and deaths from valley fever or respiratory failure. Drought is also an ongoing problem that contributes to water stress and dust. Over the past few years, both Los Angeles and São Paulo have been hit by major droughts affecting their surrounding states. For California, 2014 and 2015 were the two hottest years in its history. In Brazil meanwhile, the main reservoir supplying São Paulo dropped to just 6 percent of its capacity and residents were hit with regular water rationing. Some were forced to move away to more water-reliable areas. While the droughts affecting Los Angeles and Sao Paulo—both of which are now said to be over—had a severe impact on these cities, neither can be placed among the world’s most water-stressed. There are many cities that never receive any significant rainfall. Lima is a particular concern, built on the Peruvian coast, one of the driest desert regions in the world. The city, with a population of around 8.5 million, receives just one centimeter of rainfall on average each year—water supply is irregular, and a fifth of the population is cut off from the drinking-water network. It doesn’t rain much in the Middle East either, and nor are there many freshwater sources. Indeed, the top five countries with the lowest renewable freshwater resources per person are all in that region: Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Qatar. A water crisis has also hit India and southern Africa. After two successive dry years, 330 million people in India, around a quarter of the population, are facing acute water shortages. A scorching summer is at its peak: Destitute farmers are committing suicide and tanks are running dry. Officials in Madhya Pradesh, in central India, have deployed armed guards to protect a fast-depleting reservoir. As for southern Africa, the United States in July announced $127 million in aid for the region, where the worst drought in decades is affecting millions of people, stunting children, and tempting some farmers to eat their grains instead of saving them as seed for the next crop. The region's most severe drought in 35 years is also a growing health crisis. One-third of the world's HIV-infected population lives in southern Africa, and the United Nations says people cannot take their treatment on an empty stomach. The number of people at risk could grow sharply during the traditional lean season that starts in October, the U.N. says. Lessons drawn from the readings The reading from the Book of Wisdom reminds us that the "deliberations of mortals are timid, and unsure are our plans.” Our reserves of fresh water are severely stressed in part because we have failed as communities and nations to pay attention to our most basic needs and to provide for a sustainable future for our descendents. Awareness is the first step, followed by being involved in the effort to find solutions to the growing shortage of clean drinking water. Final thought in light of the news In a recent report, NASA pointed out that our world is running on the brink of a freshwater shortage. Giant lakes are disappearing, and the world is heading toward a future where many countries could be water insecure. But environmental innovators are seeking ways to introduce new technology that help businesses and individuals alike cut down on their water usage without compromising their quality of life. Some of those technologies are: Solar powered water purifiers, water leakage monitors, “lifesaver” bottles that include a filter and pump that can make a bottle of dirty water fit for drinking, new shower technologies that save water, and even a skin cleaning product that proposes a “shower without water.” No one idea will solve the entire problem, but if we work together and each do our part, we will leave a legacy of living water.

clean water water shortage dust pollution water conservation
Hunger pangs persist worldwide

29 Jan 2017 - Preaching the News for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

Those who “hunger and thirst for righteousness” shall be satisfied, Jesus promises in this Sunday’s gospel featuring the revered Beatitudes. Those who hunger for food, however, too often go unsatisfied, according to recent reports. In fact, global hunger levels are at their highest level in decades with Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, and Yemen facing the risk of famine and 70 million people in need of food aid, a specialist U.S.-based agency said on Wednesday. People in 45 countries are unable to feed themselves largely because of conflict, drought, and economic instability, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) said. "The combined magnitude, severity, and geographic scope of anticipated emergency food assistance needs during 2017 is unprecedented in recent decades," FEWS NET said in a statement. In northeastern Nigeria, hit by a seven-year insurgency by Boko Haram terrorists, a study backed by U.N. and other aid agencies suggests famine occurred in 2016 and could be ongoing. In Yemen and South Sudan, persistent conflict, economic instability, and restricted humanitarian access make famine possible in 2017, FEWS NET said. In Somalia, failed 2016 rains and a forecast of poor spring rains threaten a repeat of 2011 when famine killed 260,000 people. An El Niño, or warming of the Pacific Ocean, in 2016, followed by La Niña, characterised by unusually cold temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, in 2017 are causing hardship across the Horn of Africa and southern Africa. The hunger problem doesn’t stop there. According to the newly released 2017 Global Hunger Index, across one-fourth of the globe, people aren’t getting the nutrients they need to stay healthy. In many countries, the cause isn’t a lack of food—it’s a lack of safe food, observers say. The risk of malnutrition caused by unsafe food is increasing, as human populations grow and continue to urbanize. This public health problem can be solved, not by doctors but by veterinarians. They’re crucial to safeguarding the health of animals that are the foundation of much the world’s protein supply. Unfortunately, well-trained veterinarians are in short supply worldwide. The world’s population is projected to increase by 2.6 billion by 2050. Feeding these billions of new mouths will require a 70 percent boost in food production. Increasing levels of urbanization will make it harder to meet the demand for animal protein. Seven in 10 people will live in cities by 2050. Contaminated food can quickly result in malnutrition. Veterinarians are essential to the security of the production of foods like eggs, milk, and meat. They can help ensure that animals are healthy and treated humanely throughout the food chain. Food-safety veterinarians are also critical to warding off illnesses that can kill livestock and lead to food shortages. Consider Rinderpest, or cattle plague. As recently as 20 years ago, epidemics of the disease could wipe out 95 percent of an infected herd, and thus lead to mass human starvation. In 2011, Rinderpest was declared eradicated, thanks largely to the vaccination efforts of public-health veterinarians. Unfortunately, food-animal veterinarians are in decline. Just 17 percent of U.S. veterinarians work with food animals at all—and only 2 percent do so exclusively. Seventy percent of our nation’s veterinarians specialize in dogs and cats. As the demand for food rises, this shortage could have dangerous consequences for public health, says Dr. Timothy Ogilvie, dean of St. George’s University School of Veterinary Medicine in Grenada. Lessons drawn from the readings The psalmist offers words of hope and comfort, promising that the Lord “keeps faith forever” and “gives food to the hungry.” We are called upon to act as the agents of the Lord in ministering to those in need. If the hungry people of the world are to eat their fill, we will need to do our part. Final thought in light of the news The United States falls below the average amount countries spend on giving for international aid development (0.4 percent of gross national income), and it is not close to reaching the target agreed upon within the United Nations (0.7 percent of gross national income). Let your elected representatives know that you want the U.S. to step up the aid. Without food, life does not flourish.

Hunger famine malnutrition veterinarians food safety food shortages developing countries