Public Health Officials Call Allocation Fair and Aimed at Most Vulnerable Americans

Working closely with public health officials nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today announced plans to distribute the remaining 10.3 million doses of Aventis Pasteur influenza vaccine to state health departments, which will then help ensure the doses reach those people at highest risk for complications from influenza. The vaccine will be distributed over several weeks through December and into January.

MedWatch – The FDA Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program FDA and Access CardioSystems, Inc. notified the public of the Class 1 recall of Access CardioSystems Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs), used for the treatment of cardiac arrest by hospitals, fire departments and emergency medical services personnel. Approximately 10,000 devices are in distribution. One or both of the following problems may occur – 1] the defibrillator may fail to deliver a shock due to a faulty circuit board, and 2] the defibrillator may turn on unexpectedly causing the “on/off” switch to become inoperative, making the device unable to defibrillate. Customers should immediately stop using the recalled devices.

News-Medical.Net
Posted By: News-Medical in Devices/Technology
Published: Monday, 16-Aug-2004

Concentric Medical, a privately held medical device company, announced today it has received clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market the Merci(R) Retriever. This is the first medical device cleared by the FDA to remove blood clots from the brain in patients experiencing an ischemic stroke.

By Paul Werfel, NREMT-P

Presentation
One spring evening dispatch sends you and your partner to a high-rise apartment building for a child with difficulty breathing. As you head to the address, you prepare for a problem that could be anything from a chest cold to an airway obstruction.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC ) President Dr. Benjamin Chu today dedicated the new Critical Care Pavilion at Bellevue Hospital Center. The new adult critical care services unit is one of the largest in the nation, measuring 56,000 square feet. The multi-specialty patient care unit will consist of 40 critical-care beds and 16 step-down beds, encompassing neurosurgery, cardiology, medicine, surgery, trauma and cardiothoracic surgery. The $27 million project was financed by bonds issued by the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York. The City is currently paying the debt service on these bonds.

“New York City’s public hospitals are second to none in providing excellent trauma care,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “The cutting-edge technology and patient-care design that is available at Bellevue Hospital’s new Critical Care Pavilion will offer the best possible care for critically ill New Yorkers, and the best possible setting for them to get healthy and resume their lives.”