May 19, 2016
Intalere announces Brent Johnson to retire, names Julius Heil as President and CEO
Intalere, announced the selection of global supply chain and logistics management expert Julius Heil as president and CEO effective May, 23, 2016, to lead the continuing transformation of the organization as a model professional healthcare supply chain company.
Heil succeeds Brent Johnson as president and CEO, who is retiring after more than 30 years as a recognized leader in leading and managing progressive supply chain organizations both inside and outside healthcare. Johnson will remain as a special advisor to Heil through July 1, 2016, when Johnson retires to serve a mission for his church in Mexico.
“The appointment of Julius comes at an exciting time for Intalere,” said Bert Zimmerli, Intalere board chair. “He is a proven executive in strategically leading all aspects of a multibillion dollar global corporation. Under Julius’s leadership, the Intalere organization will continue to help members transform their operations and create excellence, ultimately allowing them to provide the highest level of quality care. What is particularly impressive is his record of applying solid business acumen to achieve hundreds of millions of dollars in cost savings through technological upgrades, coaching and mentoring, business process restructuring and creating a culture that is built upon trust to deliver innovation.
“I also want to thank Brent Johnson for the passionate leadership he has brought not only to Intalere but also to the entire healthcare supply chain industry,” Zimmerli said. “Brent will be missed, and we wish him well as he now expands his service to the global community.”
Heil brings more than 30 years of experience to his role at Intalere. Over the past three years, he has served as an independent consultant advising organizations in areas including digital technology, analytics, automation, operations and supply chain strategy and global strategic sourcing/ procurement.
Prior to becoming a full-time independent consultant, Heil was with Preferred Freezer Services as Executive Vice President, Operations and Supply Chain. His leadership of the information technology group ensured strategic business systems enabled an aggressive global growth plan.
Heil has held positions of increasing responsibility in global supply chain operations management, solutions development and implementation, multi-modal transportation systems and global sourcing and procurement strategy with 3PL companies such as CHEP, TransMontaigne, GeoLogistics, Burnham and UPS in support of Fortune 500 clients.
Heil earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Transportation and Logistics from The Ohio State University, and he is or has been a member of numerous professional organizations including the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, the Warehouse Education Research Council, Institute of Industrial Engineers, the Society of Logistics Engineers, the World Packaging Organization, and the Institute of Packaging Professionals (Certified Packaging Professional Designation).
“There is a great deal of supply chain innovation that occurs outside the healthcare industry, and Julius will bring that to the table, as well as leverage Intermountain as an important part of the on-going strategy,” said Johnson. “There is no better time to build on the foundation already in place at Intalere and take it to the next level. I am extremely confident that Julius is the best leader to do that.”
Visit Intalere for the release.
Farmers suffering from Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma sue Monsanto over cancer-linked herbicide
Three Nebraska farmers and an agronomist, who have all been diagnosed with cancer, are suing the Monsanto company over its widespread herbicide, Roundup — arguing that they were misled about the chemical’s safety, and that they developed cancer because of it.
All four plaintiffs developed Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and believe that their risk of cancer increased from being exposed to the herbicide over the years. The lawsuit also states that Monsanto “concealed or systematically sought to discredit” the dangers of Roundup, according to the Lincoln Journal Star.
Roundup consists mainly of glyphosate, a chemical that effectively kills weeds, supposedly without harming the crops themselves. Roundup is typically sold in bulk alongside Roundup Ready seeds, which can be covered with the herbicide without damage.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), over 90 percent of soybeans in the U.S. are genetically engineered to handle herbicides, with Round Up monopolizing the market.
In recent years, scientists have begun questioning the safety of Roundup. In 2014, French scientists published a study finding that people exposed to glyphosate had double the risk of developing non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. And last year, the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) noted that glyphosate “probably” causes cancer, though current evidence was limited. Small amounts of the chemical have been detected in food, water, and air after spraying, and is believed to affect farmers or other agricultural workers the most.
As a dispute to the WHO report, Monsanto gathered a group of scientists to prepare a counter study on Roundup’s link to cancer, and claimed there was no association. “‘Probable’ does not mean that glyphosate causes cancer; even at 100 times the exposure that occurs during normal labeled use glyphosate is not a human health risk,” Monsanto states on its website. And even more recently, the WHO issued another report that found that given the herbicide’s current levels of exposure in the air or in food, it’s unlikely to cause cancer.
Still, the farmers who are suing the company remain stalwart in their argument that Monsanto downplayed the negative health effects of Roundup.
Visit Medical Daily for the story.
Nelson Laboratories and Healthmark have joined forces to offer a surveillance tool for testing of duodenoscopes
Nelson Laboratories and Healthmark Industries announced the introduction of an Endoscope Sampling Kit for the random testing of duodenoscopes in compliance with CDC guidelines.
Endoscope manufacturers, regulatory bodies and healthcare facilities are increasingly concerned about the spread of communicable diseases, including clinically relevant microorganisms, on reprocessed medical devices.
Healthmark Industries and Nelson Laboratories have joined forces to create an endoscope sampling kit for the purpose of monitoring and reporting objective results from clinical scopes. Everything necessary to collect and send a sample from a reprocessed endoscope for testing to determine the presence or absence of objectionable microorganisms will be provided in the kit offered by Healthmark.
The sample will be sent by the healthcare facility to Nelson Labs for independent testing of the sample for the presence of any microorganisms. If present, the organisms will be identified and quantified.
The Endoscope Sampling Kit is intended to be used as a proficiency assessment for healthcare practices and not as a safety assessment for the reprocessed scope (not a “fitness for use” test). This surveillance assessment is important to help the clinical user determine if their scope is safe for use, requires additional reprocessing, requires additional testing or should be quarantined. The kit and related tests are intended as another help to assess the adequacy of healthcare facility scope reprocessing.
The Kit will be featured at the Society of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates Convention beginning this Sunday, May 22nd in Seattle, WA. Visit booth #125 for a demonstration and to learn more.
Visit Healthmark for the release.
75 children contract chickenpox in Williamsburg outbreak, failure to inoculate cited
The New York City health department this week reported an outbreak of chickenpox in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community of the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. According to the report, 75 children have been infected by the virus since March. Also, 72% of the children who were infected had not been vaccinated. The median age of these children is 3, but the report cites victims as old as 10.
A Health Department spokesperson said that “there have been two hospitalizations, a miscarriage and a case of pneumonia as a result of this outbreak. All cases involved adults or children who were not vaccinated due to refusal or delays in vaccination.”
Normally, Chickenpox is prevented through inoculation with the Varicella vaccine given by injection just under the skin, one dose of which prevents 95% of moderate disease cases and 100% of the severe disease. Two doses of vaccine are considered more effective than one. If given to those who are not immune within five days of exposure to chickenpox, it prevents most cases of the disease.
The problem is that by reducing the number of vaccinated children, the community at large is exposed to a greater risk. Vaccinating a large portion of the population also protects those who are not vaccinated. In fact, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends routine vaccination only if a country can keep more than 80% of its people vaccinated.
Jennifer Rosen, director of Epidemiology and Surveillance at the city’s Immunization Bureau, issued a release saying, “Please ensure that your patients and staff are up to date with varicella vaccine. Infants, adolescents, adults, pregnant women, and immunocompromised persons are at risk for more severe disease and complications. Complications include pneumonia, bacterial infection of the skin and soft tissues, meningitis, encephalitis, birth defects and death.”
According to Department of Health press secretary Christopher Miller, the outbreak has been confined to Williamsburg. DOH has reached out to the Williamsburg ultra-Orthodox community with pamphlets in Yiddish it distributed at an Hatzolah health fair last Sunday, and through local Jewish schools.
Visit Jewish Press for the report.
Poll says majority of Americans prefer 'Medicare For All' healthcare
A growing number of Americans now support the idea of federally-funded healthcare, according to a new poll conducted by Gallup measuring response to each of the three remaining Presidential candidates' proposed healthcare policies.
When presented with three different scenarios for the future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), based on the candidates' positions, 58 percent of U.S. adults favored Sen. Bernie Sanders' idea of replacing the law with a single-payer, federally-funded healthcare system that provides insurance for all Americans.
For this poll, Gallup surveyed a random sample of 1,549 adults between May 6 and May 8 of this year about which of the three candidates' healthcare policies they preferred, without using any of their names. The majority expressed a preference for Sanders' proposal to replace the ACA with some form of the "Medicare for All" system, compared to Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton's proposal to maintain the ACA and presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump's proposal to repeal it.
A slight majority of those polled, 51 percent, favored repealing the ACA, as Trump proposes, and 48 percent favor keeping the ACA in place following Clinton.
Respondents could choose more than one option and many did. For example, 35 percent said they would favor keeping the ACA and also said they favored replacing it with a federally-funded healthcare system. Choosing both options was common among Democrats and those leaning Democratic, 59 percent favored both approaches. When those who chose both options were asked which they would prefer if they could only choose one, 64 percent said they would choose the federally-funded healthcare system.
Data from the poll suggests a recent shift, since a previous Gallup poll in March indicated that a majority of Americans still preferred a privately-run healthcare system to a government-run single-payer system.
Other surveys have also shown a growing trend in approval for so-called European-style government in America. In February, a Harvard University survey discovered that a majority of 18-to-29-year-olds, did not support capitalism, and preferred socialism instead.
Sanders, a self-described Democratic Socialist, has made healthcare reform and his notion of "Medicare for All" a focal point of his campaign.
Visit ABC News for the story.
PDI Healthcare announces launch of Prevantics Device Swab Strip
PDI announced the launch of its Prevantics Device Swab Strip. The new product expands on the existing Prevantics Device Swab offering by providing effective central line associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) protection where and when healthcare professionals need it most, at point-of-care.
The Prevantics Device Swab Strip contains eight swabs per strip and a hang tab. It is designed to hang from an IV pole, making it easily accessible to healthcare professionals. The product has a five second scrub and five second dry time. The convenient accessibility of the Prevantics Device Swab Strip along with the short scrub and dry time can help improve staff compliance and reduce the risk of infection transmission.
The Prevantics Device Swab contains the first and only 3.15 percent (w/v) Chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) and 70 percent (v/v) Isopropyl alcohol (IPA) solution to receive 510k clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for disinfecting needleless access sites prior to use. One comparative effectiveness study showed that a Chlorhexidine/Alcohol scrub resulted in less needleless connector contamination than alcohol alone.
The Prevantics Device Swab Strip will be fully available on June 1, 2016, and preorders are being taken now.
Visit pdihc.com/prevanticsdevicestrip.
CHRISTUS Health recognizes on-call experts
A trio of companies received some major recognition following years of collaboration with Irving, TX-based, CHRISTUS Health System. CHRISTUS, an international Catholic, faith-based, not-for-profit health system awarded its first Vendor of the Year Awards to BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), Crothall Healthcare, and Hospital Housekeeping Systems (HHS).
The CHRISTUS Health Partner Advisory Council (PAC) selected BD, Crothall Healthcare and HHS to receive the award from a group of 14 companies who work closely with CHRISTUS Health. Formed in 2013, PAC aims to support more cooperative and productive relationships with outside health vendors.
Dennis Black from BD, Dave Francoeur from Crothall and Joe Terry from HHS were also recognized for their work to increase collaboration and build relationships between CHRISTUS’ PAC and others in the CHRISTUS Health community.
This was the first year CHRISTUS Health has recognized outside agencies for their help in upholding the CHRISTUS Mission, to extend the healing ministry of Jesus Christ. The three Vendors of the Year Award recipients have now been tasked to help CHRISTUS develop a more formal selection process for future awards, including involving vendors outside the supply chain management scope.
Visit www.christushealth.org/.
Drug Safety Communication: Canagliflozin (Invokana, Invokamet) clinical trial results find increased risk of leg and foot amputations
FDA is alerting the public about interim safety results from an ongoing clinical trial that found an increase in leg and foot amputations, mostly affecting the toes, in patients treated with the diabetes medicine canagliflozin (Invokana, Invokamet). FDA has not determined whether canagliflozin increases the risk of leg and foot amputations. FDA is currently investigating this new safety issue and will update the public when we have more information.