Free Republic

Adults in the United States are dying from colon and rectal cancers at an increasing rate about age 50, when they should just be beginning screenings, according to a new study from the American Cancer Society. Since routine screening is generally not recommended for most adults under 50, the cancers found in younger adults are often in advanced stages and more deadly, said Dr. James Church, a colorectal surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. Church, who was not involved in the new study, said he has seen this trend in death rates up close. Last year, on separate occasions,...

CLEVELAND — In the operating room at the Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Brian Fitzsimons has long relied on a decades-old drug to prevent hemorrhages in patients undergoing open-heart surgery. The drug, aminocaproic acid, is widely used, cheap and safe. “It never hurt,” he said. “It only helps.” Then manufacturing issues caused a national shortage. “We essentially did military-style triage,” said Dr. Fitzsimons, an anesthesiologist, restricting the limited supply to patients at the highest risk of bleeding complications. Those who do not get the once-standard treatment at the clinic, the nation’s largest cardiac center, are not told. “The patient is asleep,” he...

For years, Americans, especially those with high blood pressure, have been told that too much salt is bad for their health. But a growing chorus of medical and nutritional experts has begun to push back on that claim. “We have been stuck in a time warp with this advice,” said Dr. Steven Nissen, the chairman of cardiovascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. "There is no solid evidence to support the current recommendations." via Good Morning America

Northeast Ohio hospitals released the following information Wednesday night after a Dallas nurse traveled through Cleveland before being diagnosed with Ebola. “Today, we learned that Cleveland Clinic and The MetroHealth System had employees – mostly nurses – aboard the Frontier flight from Dallas to Cleveland on October 10, returning from a nursing conference in Texas. That flight included the Dallas nurse who was diagnosed with Ebola when she returned to Dallas on October 13. Both health systems have put all of our employees who were on that flight on paid leave while we will monitor their health daily. We are...

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Obama administration has approached Dr. Delos "Toby" Cosgrove about running the troubled Department of Veterans Affairs, according to the Wall Street Journal. It is unclear whether the White House is also considering others for the VA secretary's job. The job became vacant last Friday with Secretary Eric Shinseki's resignation amid the growing scandal over patient treatment delays. The VA medical system has been plagued with delays lasting weeks and even months in examining and treating veterans. The system is challenged by the number of veterans returning from the war in Afghanistan as well as those who...

Christina Lunka appeared nervous and excited as she sat in the Chinese herbal therapy center recently opened by the Cleveland Clinic. The 49-year-old had been to many doctors seeking help for ongoing issues that included joint pain and digestive problems. Now the Kirtland, Ohio, resident was hoping to find relief through herbal remedies. "Do you have something for inflammation?" Ms. Lunka asked herbalist Galina Roofener during a one-hour consultation. "Absolutely," responded Ms. Roofener. "This is for pain, for digestion, for inflammation, all of the above," she said, handing Ms. Lunka a bottle with capsules of an herbal combination called Xiao...

A leading healthcare expert poured cold water on the administration’s recent Obamacare enthusiasm, saying that three quarters of those signed up will face higher premiums than under their previous insurance. “Out of people that have signed up about three quarters will find premiums higher than previously with other insurance,” Dr. Toby Cosgrove, CEO of the Cleveland Clinic said on Fox News Sunday. “Hospitals are going to be paid less for what they do,” Cosgrove continued. “And we also know insurers are paying less too. We have to become more efficient in how we deliver care which is a big changefor...

The Cleveland Clinic, which is ranked among the top four U.S. hospitals, is making layoffs and cutting its budget more than $100 million as a direct result of the Affordable Care Act, the Daily Caller has learned. “The cuts for 2014, about half of those are related to the Affordable Care Act…We anticipate a reduction in workforce,” Cleveland Clinic executive director of communications Eileen Sheil said in an interview with TheDC.

John Kasich repeated his well-worn routine of calling billions in new federal spending “our money” and insisting the Obamacare Medicaid expansion is “what the Lord wants” during a speech this morning at the Cleveland Clinic. “It’s our money! This is not, like, somebody else’s money,” Gov. Kasich said of the Obamacare Medicaid expansion funding he seeks to spend in Ohio... this — like other talking points the Republican governor has used to justify his flight from fiscal responsibility — is not true. “Bringing our dollars back and helping these people to get their lives back is so right,” Kasich said...

About 60 percent of the hospital system’s costs are in labor, salaries and benefits, said spokeswoman Eileen Sheil, and “there’s only so much you can do with non-staff cost cutting. “Healthcare reform has really changed things, and the burden of cost is going to be falling on patients,” she said. “We want to make sure we can keep care affordable....” ...Sheil said the Clinic has not been filling vacant positions in many departments for a while, and some departments may be able to meet their targeted cuts by attrition and non-staff cuts. “Other places might have to look at reducing...

The Cleveland Clinic is owned by doctors. But thanks to Obamacare it's illegal for doctors to own hospitals. Section 6001 of the health care law effectively bans new physician-owned hospitals (POHs) from starting up, and it keeps existing ones from expanding. It has already halted the development of 24 new physician-owned hospitals and forced an additional 47 to struggle to meet the deadline to complete construction, according to the Physician Hospitals of America (PHA). You couldn't build the Cleveland Clinic today if you wanted to.

Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams is set to undergo heart surgery this week in the United States. CBC News confirmed Monday that Williams, 60, left the province earlier in the day and will have surgery later in the week. The premier's office provided few details, beyond confirming that he would have heart surgery and saying that it was not necessarily a routine procedure. Deputy Premier Kathy Dunderdale is scheduled to hold a news conference Tuesday morning. She's expected to provide more details about Williams's condition, as well as how the provincial government will function during his absence. CBC reporter...

When President Barack Obama visited the Cleveland Clinic, he used it as a platform for his national health reform efforts. The Clinic, the largest regional employer and an international health-care giant, in turn has used the visit as a springboard to lobby for its views. In a wide-ranging conversation at The Plain Dealer Wednesday, Clinic Chief Executive and President Dr. Delos "Toby" Cosgrove talked about the future of health care. He expressed frustration that policy-makers are now focusing reform efforts on access to insurance, instead of reducing costs and making Americans healthier. He also explained why he called lawmakers in...

Former Browns receiver Joe Jurevicius has filed a civil suit in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court against the Browns, the Cleveland Clinic, former team physician Dr. Anthony Miniaci and current team physician Dr. Richard Figler, for negligence and fraud that he alleges led to a staph infection that might have ended his NFL career. The suit claims that the Browns and their team physicians failed to warn Jurevicius that sterile techniques were not at all times used at the Browns training facility in Berea; that therapy devices passed among multiple individuals, including Browns players, were not properly maintained and/or cleaned,...

SAN FRANCISCO - In a surprising discovery, researchers say they have found a virus in some prostate cancer patients, a finding that opens new research avenues in the most common major cancer among men in the United States. The virus, closely related to one previously found only in mice, was found in cancerous prostates removed from men with a certain genetic defect. The researchers, with the University of California, San Francisco and the Cleveland Clinic, warn that they have not discovered any links between the virus and prostate cancer, but they were nonetheless excited about prospects for future research. "It...

Implant May Save Vision, Lives People with eye cancer face the prospect of losing their eyesight and even their lives. But a new procedure could keep them alive and their vision intact. Bill Grieb, a husband of 37 years and a grandfather of six, first noticed something wrong with his vision on the golf course. The avid golfer suddenly couldn't focus on the ball. "It looked like when someone would take a flash photo of you," said Grieb. "It was the bright flash in your eye. … And I thought it was the reflection of the sun off my glasses."...