On the theme of time travel, one prime example of the backward motion of public health in the United States was the appointment of W. David Hager, MD, in December 2002, to the Food and Drug Administration’s Advisory Committee for Reproductive Health Drugs. A Bush appointee to a committee whose job it is to evaluate data and make recommendations on the safety and effectiveness of marketed and experimental drugs for use in obstetrics, gynecology, and related specialties can’t be good news. They also make decisions regarding hormone therapy, contraception, treatment for infertility, and medical alternatives to surgical procedures for sterilization and pregnancy termination—it really can’t be good news.

Well, I take that back. Bush’s original idea was to make Dr. Hager the chairman of the committee, but that proposal was met with such outrage, that instead, Bush relented and just stuck him on the committee instead.

So what exactly is wrong with Dr. Hager? Well, nothing, if you happen to be living in the year 1400. At first glance, Dr. Hager, who is a part-time professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University Kentucky College of Medicine and a well-known specialist on gynecologic infections seems like he might be good for an FDA committee. A knowledgeable doctor, an expert…

But on closer look, we learn that he is vehemently anti-choice, and has played a vigorous role in the campaign to get the FDA to withdraw its approval of mifepristone (RU-486), better known as the abortion pill. That in itself sends up warning signs, because many anti-choice folks also have a disdain for contraceptives in general, and come with a whole bag of morals which do not suit the job in question. And indeed, it seems that the man does fit the bill. Dr. Hager is the author of a number of books in which he’s advocated prayer and the reading of the Scriptures as cures for medical ills.

I actually think that prayer can be helpful when one is ill, distressed, or whatever. But I hardly find it a good substitute for birth control. The good doctor has said that his beliefs won’t compromise his judgment, but they already have. He wants to get rid of the RU486. He refuses to prescribe contraceptives to unmarried women in his practice. Which is his right, of course, but one would think he should be commending them for having the sense to use birth control, instead of dealing with an unwanted pregnancy.

Dr. Hager is also the author of “As Jesus Cared for Women: Restoring Women Then and Now.” The book blends biblical accounts of Christ healing Women with case studies from Hager’s practice. In another book entitled “Stress and the Woman’s Body,” he suggests that women who suffer from premenstrual syndrome should seek help from reading the bible and praying. As an editor and contributing author of “The Reproduction Revolution: A Christian Appraisal of Sexuality Reproductive Technologies and the Family,” Dr. Hager appears to have endorsed the medically inaccurate assertion that the common birth control pill is an abortifacient.

So this is who Bush thinks would make a good chairman of a committee that reviews reproductive technology. In June 2004, he was reappointed to the committee for a further year.

Miracles Do Happen

But perhaps if do what Dr. Hager says, and we sit down and pray, there will be a miracle. And indeed, sometimes miracles do happen. Such was the case with C. Everett Koop, the Surgeon General under Ronald Reagan, who are an archconservative, and seemed to be a perfect fit. That is, until he decided that as a physician and surgeon general, he had a moral and ethical responsibility to the people of the United States, and decided to end the silence on AIDS.

Reagan was content to ignore the flourishing epidemic, and in fact, it was about five or six years into the epidemic when he first mentioned it publicly. But Koop put his career on the line and bucked the system, advocating the use of condoms, the need for sex education to begin in schools in the early grades, and the need to take immediate action against this virus. He acted when most of the nation still believed that they were immune, that this was a virus sent from God to kill infidels such as homosexuals and drug users. Koop however, knew that it was only a matter of time before it began to creep beyond the status quo. It would not be long before HIV, an equal opportunity killer, would find its way into the bloodstream of white, middle class republicans living in the heartland.

If Koop hadn’t acted, and been such a great embarrassment to the Reaganites…well, I shudder to think how far it may have spread. I have the utmost respect and admiration for Koop. He is a hero in my book. I think the Reagan and his cronies, and indeed, many of the very conservative people living in the US, were totally shocked by his outspokenness about AIDS.

So maybe Dr. Hager will surprise us. Maybe he will be an embarrassment to Bush, and be able to behave as a true physician and do what is best for the women of this nation, and be able to put his personal beliefs aside.

Perhaps we should pray for another miracle!

This Week in Health History

Actually, it has been an interesting week, for those of us interested in obscure and not so obscure events, that have been relegated to a dusty history book. Or in this case, a dusty website.

November 1, 1815. Dr. Crawford Williamson Long was born. Great, you’re thinking, who the hell is he? Well, anyone who has ever had surgery should appreciate the efforts of this doctor. Although Dr. William Morton is usually associated with ether, Long was the first to actually use it as an anesthetic. On March 30, 1842, Dr. Long painlessly removed a tumor from the patient’s neck.

November 3, 1915. Dr. George Miller Sternberg died on this date. Another unknown name, you may think. Well, Dr. Sternberg began his career as an assistant surgeon in the Union army and was even captured during the Civil War. From there, he went on to become a leading bacteriologist, participating in the Havana Yellow Fever Commission in 1879. He identified the malaria plasmodium; and discovering pneumococcus, a nasty little pathogen that can cause a form of pneumonia. He also became surgeon general of the US in 1893, and was instrumental in establishing the Army Medical School in 1893, the Typhoid Fever Board in 1898, the Army nurse corps and the Army dental corps. Quite a career if you ask me.

November 6, 1861. Dr. James A. Naismith is born, and anyone who loves basketball knows who this guy is. A Canadian physician and physical education teacher, Naismith is credited with creating the game of basketball.

November 7, 1867. Marya Sklodowska, better known as Marie Curie, was born. Most people, I assume, have heard of her. The first person to win two Nobel prizes, and perhaps still the only woman to ever win two. She is best known for isolating the elements radium and polonium, and ironically, it was her exposure to radiation that eventually killed her. Her work eventually led to the development of X-rays and and isotope techniques for both the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. And another relatively unknown nugget of information–she was the first woman in Europe to receive a PhD.

And today in history, in 1821, a date pharmacists should be familiar with. A group of apothecaries met at Carpenters’ Hall in Philadelphia, with the goal of establishing better scientific standards training for apothecary students and apprentices. A year later, the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy opened its doors, the first such college in the United States.

Time Travel

Check out Kas Log where you can learn how to travel backwards in time. Yes, it’s true, time travel is possible. We are moving backwards right at this moment, right as I type this note. Bush is taking us backwards in time. Right now we are circa 1950, and if he has his way, we may end up back in the dark ages. Imagine that. Bloodletting for sickness will be back in vogue, leaches will suck our blood, and surgery performed without anesthesia. We will believe that the world is flat, that the sun orbits the earth, and that anyone who relieves the pain of a woman in childbirth is a witch.

Florida is a strange place. The amount of wildlife living in the grass, bushes, trees, waterways, and even inside of your house, is astounding. When I take my early morning walks here, I pass by egrets nibbling in the grass, apparently finding all kinds of delectable insects to munch on. Tiny salamanders poke in and out of the brush, and again, always looking for a tasty meal of a protein-rich insect. Despite the heavy duty spraying and dousing of insecticides to keep bug life under control, the place would be overrun with crawly critters if not for the birds, amphibians and lizards.

But as nice and green as the lawns looks, I wouldn’t step on them unless my feet are completely encased in closed shoes. Some of those crawly things are less than friendly, namely the fire ants. One of my mother’s neighbors died from fire ant bites several years ago. I don’t know how many times he was bitten, but they can be very painful, even if they don’t make you ill. I’m not sure what else is living in the grass, but I don’t really want to find out.

The difference in health dangers in interesting, when I compare it to Seattle. I used to live in Florida, and my cats had fleas all year round. Considering that they didn’t even go out, and considering the fact that I lived in a high rise condo down by the beach, surrounded primarily by sand, sea and concrete, there were still fleas that managed to make their way into my apartment. And not only did they There have also been several cases of homegrown malaria here in Florida, which shouldn’t be too surprising since malaria has made a huge comeback and was once endemic in this region. And global warming is accelerating the movement of mosquitoes, and at some point, we may be seeing all kinds of tropical diseases showing up in places where they’ve never been recorded before.

Oh, I forgot, global warming doesn’t exit, at least according to Bush science. Well, I guess if brother Jeb gets bitten in the butt by some blood thirsty critter, and ends up with yellow fever, then maybe Bush will reconsider. Then again, there have been several cases of hemorrhagic dengue fever in Texas. Now that is one nasty illness. The mosquitoes are coming up from Mexico, and they’re not really all that concerned about border checks, or having the right kind of visa. They’re here, and again, if Bush spots them in Crawford, maybe he’ll have some kind of revelation.

Since I am temporarily on dial-up, my blog will be sans photos until I return home to DSL. They just take too long to load. I am, I am spoiled.

I’m still in Florida, visiting family and trying to do an enormous amount of work which had to come along with me. Bottom line—if I don’t complete the work and meet my deadlines, I don’t get paid. So the blog has moved down to a lower priority.

Most people in the vicinity of my parents’ home did not vote for Bush. And why would they? They are older people, on Medicare, and Bush had done nothing but screw them over. One person told me that, incredulously enough, a few of the rabbis from some of the area congregations were telling people to “vote for Bush because he supports Israel.” Astonishing. The man has done everything he can to ignite the flames of continuing war, death and destruction in the Middle East, and has taken no steps to keep his “roadmap” on schedule. In fact, Bush’s stupidity and ignorance of the Middle East is leading Israel from the frying pan into the fire.

However, Israel is less of a priority for many of the residents in this area. They are more concerned about the here and now, and what they need for survival. They don’t live in Israel, and Israel isn’t going to pay for their medications, lab tests, surgery, physical therapy, and other medical needs.

My parents are fortunate in that they can afford supplemental insurance, so Bush’s policies don’t have as much of an impact on them as others. But many older people are suffering, because the medications they need are beyond their financial ability to pay for, and Bush’s plan merely helps line the pockets of pharm companies. The vast majority of older people will not benefit in any real way from his highly touted discount plan. But the Christmas bonuses for pharm executives may be bigger, however.

Anyway, I’m in Palm Beach County, and most traces of hurricanes Jeanne and Frances are gone. They didn’t get hit too badly here, compared to other parts of the state. The weather has been cloudy and cool, really nice actually. I prefer it this way, rather than having the hot sun baking down. Went to the beach yesterday and walked a few miles along the shore. The sea was incredibly quiet, with almost no waves, and you could actually see fish swimming close to shore. Really nice.

I didn’t make an entry yesterday because I was in transit most of the day. From Seattle to Florida. Heard about Bush’s final victory while at the airport in Houston, aptly named George Bush International, although named for the father and not the son.

I can’t say the news of Bush’s reelection brought a smile to my face. I just think of the continued number of women and children who will die needlessly, due to his inane policies of withholding vital money from the United Nations Population Fund. And ironically, withholding the money dramatically increases the number of abortions performed. I guess Bush, who fancies himself as a crusader for the fetus, never considered that. The $34 million that the US is withholding would be used, in part, to provide contraceptives and birth control information to women in developing nations. But instead, now they resort to abortion as the only means of birth control available to them. And most of these abortions are illegal, or semi-legal, and done under less than sterile conditions. So in addition to aborting their unwanted baby, they themselves, face complications from the procedure or even death.

So how does this scenario fit in with Bush morals and politics? Beats me.

Anyway, I don’t expect any positive changes in our health care system over the next four years. But maybe, a miracle will occur and I’ll be proved wrong.

It’s still early, polls are still open in all states. But the suspense! Should I be terrifed or elated? I went out to Whole Foods earlier, and despite the rainy weather, the main thoroughfares that I drove through were thick with Kerry supporters–all out in their parkas, waving their Kerry/Edwards signs, and cars honking in solidarity as they drove past. This is not a city where Bush is welcome, that’s for sure.

Anyway, there’s no need to reiterate all of Bush’s lovely policies. So since my little blog is primarily about healthcare in all of its forms, I will say that Bush’s record on health has been dismal. A disaster. His Medicare drug discount plan, designed to fill the pharm company coffers with gold and little else. No real plan to to help older Americans pay for the soaring rates of pharmaceuticals in this country.

Bush science is another one. Trying to remove the fact that condoms protect against AIDS and other STDS. His abstinence until marriage sex education policies, which he is also trying to force on the rest of the world in exchange for AIDS dollars. Like that’s going to over well for the multitudes of women who work as prostitutes in developing nations, in order to be able to survive. Sigh…

Let’s see, nothing to change the amount of Americans who are uninsured or underinsured. Bush’s scheme are medical savings accounts, which really don’t apply to the vast majority of low wage earners who barely make enough to put food on the table, let alone put some aside for a possible medical emergency.

Not a Ladies Man, That’s for Sure

For the past three years (FY 2002-4), President Bush has refused to release the funds that Congress has appropriated for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)—the world’s largest family planning and reproductive health provider for women. Citing unsubstantiated claims by an anti-family planning group that the agency supported coerced abortion and sterilization in China, the President in FY 2002 denied UNFPA $34 million, which is 12 percent of its annual operating budget. Four separate investigative teams—including one dispatched by the U.S. State Department—have found the charges to be groundless, but that’s not good enough for Bush.

Global Gag

This Reagan-era policy, reinstated by President Bush on January 22, 2001, requires that in exchange for U.S. assistance for family planning services, foreign nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) receiving money through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) must withhold information from women about the option of legal abortion and where to obtain safe abortion services—even if they use only their own funds to do so. Additionally, the groups cannot engage in any public debate or disseminate any information regarding the health hazards of unsafe abortion, express support for any existing laws that support safe abortion, or provide legal abortion services with non-U.S. funding. Astounding, considering that abortion is legal in this country, yet I suppose that Bush feels that if he can’t ban it here, he sure as hell is going to try elsewhere.

The U.S. Now Looks Like a Ship of Fools

U.S. delegations, since Bush took office, have embarrassed themselves at every world health conference they’ve attended, trying to push Bush’s pseudo-Christian morals on the rest of the world. The US basically stands alone.

One recent example is the regional planning meeting of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in March 2004, the United States was the only one of 38 country delegations to oppose a declaration to ensure greater access to reproductive health services, greater efforts at HIV/AIDS prevention, and the protection of reproductive rights for all. We were basically laughed out of the conference.

At the Fifth Asian and Pacific Population Conference, held in Bangkok in December 2002—the Bush administration refused to reaffirm the importance of progress on women’s health and rights. It incorrectly claimed the terms “reproductive health services” and “reproductive rights” “promote abortion.” Adhering to a narrow and unproven “abstinence-only until marriage” policy, it also tried to remove all language citing “consistent condom use” as a viable way of preventing HIV infection. In the end, the U.S. position was resoundedly defeated by a vote of 32-1.

Strange Bedfellows

The Bush administration, in an alliance with Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, Syria, and the Vatican–now talk about a weird partnership–tried to block consensus on quality sexuality education at the UN General Assembly Special Session on Children in May 2002. The U.S. supported preventing young people under 18 from receiving information about sexual abuse , birth control, condoms, and reproductive health services, including HIV/AIDS prevention. Bush again, obsessed with his abstinence-only approach, has no clue as what is going on in the lives of the billions who inhabit the planet. He opposes giving comprehensive information and services for the millions of adolescents worldwide, many of whom are already sexually active, including through arranged early marriage or forced sexual relationships. Information which could save their lives. Look at who the US allied with. Any other democratic nation think it’s okay for teens to die of AIDS, or be forced to have children that they don’t want by denying information about birth control? Nope, not a one. Even some of the most conservative nations in Latin America, Africa and the Middle East thought we had lost it. The US stood alone with some rather strange bedfellows.

Anyway, I could write a book on Bush’s war against sensible science and health policies. I don’t know how Kerry will do, but I can’t imagine that he can possibly do anything worse to the women and children of the world. Right now, at this moment, a woman has probably died in childbirth, directly related to Bush’s withholding of money from the United Nations Fund. A woman has had an abortion for the same reason. And a newborn infant has died, one that was never meant to be, whose mother was too malnourished and anemic. Thanks to the compassionate conservatism of Bush, this scenario will repeat itself many times over.

Happy Election Day. Vote with your conscience.

Beautiful British Columbia is just a hop, skip and jump away from Seattle, and indeed, the ideal place to get that highly coveted flu shot. Spurred on by both the vaccine shortage and the hysteria fanned by the media, Americans are heading to both our Northern and Southern borders to get that jab in the arm.

From Seattle, it is a no-brainer to get to Canada. We’re practically right on the border, give or take a few hours. The Victoria Clipper cashed in by offering discounted “flu cruises” where you sailed to Victoria, got a shot in the ferry terminal, and a cheaper rate. Such a deal

But now spurred on by the phenomenal success of the Victoria Clipper, other venues also seek to make their fortune. Kenmore Air and the Hesselgrave International charter-bus company have announced that they too, will offer desperate Americans “flu packages” that include not only a painful shot, but lunch as well.

The deal from cost $205 (American, not Canadian, sorry…) and takes you on a roundtrip excursion by seaplane from Lake Union in Seattle to Victoria. There you get your shot and then lunch at Kipling’s Restaurant in the Empress Hotel. Actually, that’s a pretty nice place for lunch. They’ve got a great buffet.

For the more economy minded, Hesselgrave charges $65 for a round trip bus ride to Vancouver. It makes several stops between Tacoma and Seattle to pick up passengers, and then drops them at a clinic in Vancouver. This deal only gets you a box lunch.

As far as the Victoria Clipper, they have ended their discounted flu cruise, and while no longer taking new reservations, are still honoring the ones that have already been made. It seems that clinics in Canada normally don’t start giving flu vaccines until November, so some have not even received their allotted doses. The Clipper service will resume when the vaccine supply can be guaranteed with the Victoria clinic who partnered with them.

So how popular are these Canadian trysts? This past weekend, almost 400 people sailed on the Clipper for a flu shot.

The media is certainly milking this for all its worth, fanning the flames of hysteria and convincing people that they somehow need this shot. It should be noted that the flu vaccine is only about 6%-60% effective, and last year they totally miscalculated which would be the dominant strain to protect against. So the flu shots were really almost worthless.

While people at high risk should consider getting one, I think that the actual “crisis” has been blown way out of proportion. The real story is about the infrastructure of our healthcare system, and how not only vaccines but a number of drugs also tend to be in chronic short supply.