Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.health From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: health Mon, Jul 6 1992 Date: Mon, 6 Jul 92 05:14:18 EDT Message-ID: 07-06 0000 DECISIONLINE: Health USA TODAY Update July 6, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network HIGH CHOLESTEROL LINKED TO TV: Children who watch too much television are more likely to have higher cholesterol because of poor diets and not enough exercise, says a study published Sunday in the journal Pediatrics. Children were twice as likely to have high cholesterol levels if they watched two to four hours of television a day, and four times as likely if they watched more than four hours. STUDY SUPPORTS DIET PILL USE: Diet pills can help obese people lose weight and keep it off, suggests a study in Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics journal. The study by Dr. Michael Weintraub of the University of Rochester (N.Y.) School of Medicine tracked 121 subjects weighing an average of 200 pounds. They were given an appetite suppressant. The subjects lost and kept off an average of more than 30 pounds. NURSING SHORTAGE IS EASING: Salary increases for nurses were the lowest in three years, says a survey of salaries at 792 hospitals out Monday - suggesting the nursing shortage has become less severe. As of Jan. 1, 1992, salary increases for registered nurses of all experience levels were down, says the survey in Modern Healthcare. Raises range from less than 4% to 7%, compared to last year's 7% to 10%. CROSSTRAINING IS NEXT FRONTIER: Smaller raises for nurses this year "suggest the alarming shortage of nurses in many areas has subsided," Modern Healthcare says. The "next big frontier" in reducing labor costs, says Modern Healthcare editor Clark Bell, "is to look for ways to cross-train hospital personnel" so nurses can concentrate on patient care instead of routine tasks that could be done by orderlies. CENTER WILL TREAT COPS: A pioneering national center for stressed-out cops opens July 15 - a move that could spell relief from high rates of alcoholism, suicide and family violence among police, experts say. The GuardianCare center is based at the CareUnit Hospital of Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to treat 30 officers a day by July 1993, said founder and psychologist Howard Helwig. POLICE WORK IS STRESSFUL: GuardianCare will offer psychiatric and physcial evaluations of police who show warning signs of stress, burnout or excessive violence. It will also have in-patient treatment for alcohol and drug abuse; and counseling for depression, family problems and job stress. According to Dallas police psychologist Al Somodevilla, police work is among the most stressful jobs in the United States. PRICES TO BE POSTED: As part of the settlement in a suit brought by a hospital patient in Flordia, one chain of five hospitals agreed last week to post prices for 300 procedures. Plaintiff M. Thomas Stone of Lake Worth sued after being billed $54.30 for a sponge. Other patients had similar experiences. An asthma patient reportedly was billed $6.71 for each thiamine pill, which usually costs 4 cents. VODKA SUPPOSEDLY HANGOVER-FREE: Maurice Kanbar says his SKYY Vodka doesn't give drinkers a hangover. He says a four-step process removes headache-causing impurities called congeners that form naturally during distillation and filtration. SKYY sells in the San Francisco area for around $11.50 for a 750 millileter bottle. Experts say while impurities contribute to hangover, no one has isolated a sole cause. KANSAS NORPLANT PROGRAM ENDS: A Kansas program to provide Norplant contraceptive implants to women who can't afford them has expired. Some health workers fear that unwanted pregnancies and needless abortions could result if the program isn't revived. State officials say the program's effectiveness must be analyzed before it's funded again. DALLAS TO OPEN ADULT PROGRAM: The first public residency for severely mentally ill adults in Dallas opens this week. The 30-bed Dallas Project will focus on short-term treatment and research that will be published in professional journals nationwide. RELATIONSHIPS REDUCE STRESS: According to Dr. Blair Justice, professor of psychology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, people who have many friends and a large support system are less likely to get sick or have the need to see a doctor. According to Justice, even one good relationship can provide healthy protection. Also, a hug or pat on the back is medicine for stress. SULLIVAN TO BE ON NEW SHOW: Kathleen Sullivan, former host of ABC's "Health Show," will work on "Life Choices." It will premier in syndication on local stations Sept. 19. "It is not just a fitness or exercise program," says "Choices" host Erie Chapman. "It is about making decisions in people's lives." Chapman is the CEO of the U.S. Health Corp., which produces the program. FARIES ATTEMPTS SUICIDE: Florida prison inmate Daniel Faries, who wants his life sentence changed to death so he can donate vital organs, was hospitalized Sunday after an apparent suicide attempt. A judge ruled last month he couldn't change Faries' sentence or the method of execution. Faries, 43, says electrocution would make his organs unsuitable for transplant. Health Editor: Ed Kelleher. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. 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