Current U.S. Blood Supply is Adequate to Handle Demands Resulting from Earthquake in Haiti

Editor's Note: Are you wanting a way to donate to assist those recently affected by disaster, but your funds are low? Think about giving a pint of blood. It just could save a life.

/PRNewswire/ -- The AABB Interorganizational Task Force on Domestic Disasters and Acts of Terrorism has determined that the current blood supply in the United States is adequate to fill any requests received to support the present needs of Haitian hospitals, though ongoing infrastructure and transportation issues in Haiti could delay receipt of those supplies to patients. To help ensure that the U.S. blood supply remains adequate, the task force recommends that people wanting to donate call their local blood donation centers to schedule an appointment for the coming weeks and months, especially eligible donors who are Type O-negative. The task force will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates if blood needs change.

"U.S. blood banks have enough blood to meet the immediate medical needs of Haiti earthquake victims," said Dale Malloy, chairman of the task force. "We are in contact with health care organizations in Haiti, and task force members are diligently working to overcome the logistical challenges to ensure that vital, yet perishable, blood products reach the patients in Haiti."

Individuals with Type O blood are "universal" donors and should schedule a blood donation appointment as soon as possible. Type O blood is the only blood type that can be safely transfused to patients with other blood types, and therefore is frequently used in emergency situations. The task force applauds those wishing to help and encourages all eligible individuals to give blood regularly, as this helps ensure that blood is readily available whenever and wherever it is needed.

Those interested in donating blood may contact the following organizations to find a local blood collection site and to schedule an appointment:

-- AABB: www.aabb.org; +1.301.215.6526
-- America's Blood Centers: www.americasblood.org; +1.888.USBLOOD
(+1.888.872.5663)
-- American Red Cross: www.redcrossblood.org; +1.800.RED CROSS
(+1.800.733.2767)
-- Armed Services Blood Program: www.militaryblood.dod.mil;
+1.703.681.8024


The task force was formed in January 2002 to help make certain that blood collection efforts resulting from domestic disasters and acts of terrorism are managed properly and to deliver clear and consistent messages to the public regarding the status of America's blood supply. The task force is composed of representatives from U.S. blood services, associations and commercial entities, as well as liaisons from governmental agencies, who work together in an effort to ensure that safe and adequate blood product inventories are in place at all times in preparation for disasters such as the recent event in Haiti. In addition, the task force operates as a mechanism to assess the need for collections and/or transportation of blood should a disaster occur.

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U.S. Department of Labor Final Rule will Expand FMLA for Military Families and Clarify Rules for Workers and Employers

PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Department of Labor will publish a final rule on Nov. 17 to update its regulations under the 15-year-old Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) -- a measure that will help workers and their employers better understand their rights and responsibilities, and speed the implementation of a new law that expands FMLA coverage for military family members.

"This final rule, for the first time, gives America's military families special job-protected leave rights to care for brave service men and women who are wounded or injured, and also helps families of members of the National Guard and Reserves manage their affairs when their service member is called up for active duty," said U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao. "At the same time, the final rule provides needed clarity about general FMLA rights and obligations for both workers and employers."

"This common sense, balanced rule is the product of a two year-long transparent process involving about 20,000 public comments and reflects the careful consideration of the views of FMLA's stakeholders," said Victoria A. Lipnic, assistant secretary for the Labor Department's Employment Standards Administration.

Provisions in the final rule call for increased notice obligations for employers so that employees will better understand their FMLA rights, while revising the employee notice rules to minimize workplace disruptions due to unscheduled FMLA absences. The final rule also contains technical changes that reflect decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court and lower courts.

Featured final rule actions implementing the statutory expansion of FMLA for military families:

Military Caregiver Leave: Implements the requirement to expand FMLA protections for family members caring for a covered service member with a serious injury or illness incurred in the line of duty on active duty. These family members are able to take up to 26 workweeks of leave in a 12-month period.

Leave for Qualifying Exigencies for Families of National Guard and Reserves: The law allows families of National Guard and Reserve personnel on active duty to take FMLA job-protected leave to manage their affairs - "qualifying exigencies." The rule defines "qualifying exigencies" as: (1) short-notice deployment (2) military events and related activities (3) childcare and school activities (4) financial and legal arrangements (5) counseling (6) rest and recuperation (7) post-deployment activities and (8) additional activities where the employer and employee agree to the leave.

ADDITIONAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS:

The Ragsdale Decision/Penalties: The updated rule contains technical changes to be consistent with the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Ragsdale v. Wolverine World Wide Inc. The court ruled that the regulation's so-called "categorical" penalty (requiring an employer to provide 12 additional weeks of FMLA-protected leave after the employee had already taken 30 weeks of leave) was inconsistent with the statutory limit of only 12 weeks of FMLA leave and contrary to the law's remedial requirement that an employee demonstrate individual harm. The new rule removes these penalties and clarifies that if an employee suffers individual harm because the employer did not follow the notification rules, the employer may be liable.

Waiver of Rights: The department has finalized its longstanding position that employees may voluntarily settle their FMLA claims without court or departmental approval. However, prospective waivers of FMLA rights will continue to be prohibited.

Serious Health Condition: While the rule retains the six individual definitions of "serious health condition," it adds guidance on some regulatory matters. First, it clarifies that if an employee is taking leave involving more than three consecutive calendar days of incapacity plus two visits to a health care provider, the two visits must occur within 30 days of the period of incapacity. Second, it defines "periodic visits to a health care provider" for chronic serious health conditions as at least two visits to a health care provider per year.

Light Duty: At least two courts have held that an employee uses up his or her 12-week FMLA leave while on a "light duty" assignment. Under the final rule, time spent in "light duty" work does not count against an employee's FMLA leave entitlement, and the employee's right to job restoration is held in abeyance during the light duty period. If an employee is voluntarily doing light duty work, he or she is not on FMLA leave.

Perfect Attendance Awards: The final rule changes how perfect attendance awards are treated to allow employers to deny a "perfect attendance" award to an employee who does not have perfect attendance because he or she took FMLA leave - but only if the employer treats employees taking non-FMLA leave in an identical way.

Employer Notice Obligations: The final rule consolidates all employer notice requirements into a "one-stop" section of the regulations to clear up some conflicting provisions and time periods. Further, the final rule clarifies and strengthens the employer notice requirements to employees in order that employers will better inform employees about their FMLA rights and obligations, and allow for a smoother exchange of information between employers and employees.

Employee Notice: The final rule modifies the current provision that had been interpreted to allow some employees to notify their employers of their need for FMLA leave up to two full business days after an absence, even if they could provide notice sooner. Under the final rule, the employee must follow the employer's normal and customary call-in procedures, unless there are unusual circumstances.

Medical Certification Process (Content and Clarification): The final rule, which is the result of significant stakeholder feedback (including a September 2007 meeting at the department on "medical certifications"), recognizes the advent of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the applicability of HIPAA's medical privacy rule to communications between employers and employees' health care providers. Responding to concerns about medical privacy, the rule adds a requirement that limits who may contact the health care provider and bans an employee's direct supervisor from making the contact.

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State Issues Certificate of Need for Ambulatory Care Center

The Georgia Department of Community Health has issued a Certificate of Need to the Medical College of Georgia Physicians Practice Group to build an ambulatory care center in Columbia County.

The Certificate of Need is a state-required license for health care services and equipment used to regulate the purchase of expensive medical equipment and control the distribution of health care resources across the state.

The planned $34 million, 65,000-square-foot facility, called MCG Medical Associates Ambulatory Care Center, would be located on Washington Road in Evans, near William Few Parkway. The proposed facility would house three operating rooms, two procedure rooms, an imaging center with a CT scanner and a clinic with 45 exam rooms. MCG specialists will provide a wide range of services from primary care to outpatient procedures and therapies, diagnostic lab tests and imaging and outpatient endoscopic and surgical procedures.

While both the state and the Physicians Practice Group acknowledged that there was not a population-based need for new ambulatory surgery operating rooms, the certificate was approved because the facility will provide an additional site for clinical service, physician training and patient-oriented research.

"This facility will exist to support the clinical, educational and research missions of the institution,” says Dr. Curt Steinhart, president and chief executive officer of Physicians Practice Group. “It will be a community-based practice, where faculty provide patient services in a setting where residents and students can learn. Exposure to both hospital and ambulatory care settings is opportune because so much of health care is moving to an ambulatory setting. We need to train our students and residents in environments like those they’ll practice in, otherwise it will be foreign to them.”

“This will be an invaluable resource as MCG looks to expand in this area,” adds Dr. D. Douglas Miller, dean of the School of Medicine and chief clinical officer at MCG. “Its completion will enable us to hire more faculty and give existing faculty more places to practice. It will also give our students and residents more opportunities for training and provide the people who receive care there access to important clinical research. As the state’s largest provider of medical education, it is important that we remain on the front line in addressing the physician shortage. This facility will be an important part of that.”

In supporting the institution’s clinical mission, the new facility will feature the newest and best technology available, Dr. Steinhart says.

“Physicians want to practice in facilities with the best equipment and facilities that create the efficiencies that make their practice as productive as possible,” he says. “And that is the type of environment patients want to come to. This ambulatory care environment will provide the type of environment that will attract the patients that will serve as the foundation for enhanced clinical service, educational opportunities for our trainees and venues for clinical research.”

The Certificate of Need process is subject to appeal over the next month, so a groundbreaking date has not been set. “However, we will continue to move forward with our planning,” Dr. Steinhart says.

By Jennifer Hilliard
Medical College of Georgia

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