No. 231 April 2002

ABANDONDED BABIES AND BOARDER INFANTS The Abandoned Infants Assistance Act of 1988 mandated research into the number of infants abandoned in hospitals and the current costs of their care. In response to this law, there is a 1993 report on 1992 data and a 2001 study from the Children's Bureau presenting at annual estimated numbers of boarder babies, abandoned infants and discarded infants, characteristics of boarder babies and cost of their care, and characteristics of abandoned infants. 1998 National Estimates of the Number of Boarder Babies, Abandoned Infants, and Discarded Infants, issued in 2001. 51 pages, Publication No. 21-10205. Free upon request from the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect. There is an order form on the Clearinghouse web page at http://www.calib.com/nccanch/catalog/order.cfm. Boarder babies are infants who remain hospitalized beyond medical necessity. Abandoned infants are those hospitalized but are not yet discharge ready. Parents of both groups are generally unable or unwilling to care for them at discharge or the parental home is considered unsafe. Discarded infants are those found in public places without visible supervision. The May 1998 - February 1999 data for boarder babies and abandoned babies are taken from a survey of 824 hospitals in 112 cities and counties. The discarded infants data came from a news service database and there is a state listing of the jurisdictions surveyed for the rest of the data in this report. This survey begins with 5 tables of data for all three categories of infants, has 13 charts and 1 table for boarder babies, 3 charts and 1 table for hospital costs, and 12 charts and 1 table for discarded infants. There are also comparisons to a January -February 1992 in a survey (report) Report to Congress: National Estimates on the Number of Border Babies, the Cost of Their Care, and the Number of Abandoned Infants by James Bell Associates issued in August, 1993. This 1993 publication, identifiable with OCLC No. 306165799 is found in the 1994 American Statistics Index Service under Entry number 4588-3. These reports provide data for this new area of infant abuse statistical information that resulted from the Abandoned Infants Assistance Act of 1988. 

INGESTIBLE TELEMETRIC GASTROINTESTIONAL CAPSULE IMAGING SYSTEM This is the name of the medical device that enables the medical doctor to take pictures of the inside of your lower small intestine. In the 1966 movie Fantastic Voyage, scientists traveled though the human body using a similar medical device. Once fiction but now fact, the recently designed “pill camera” and its accompanying imaging producing equipment are now officially part of the health professional’s diagnostic tools. This new medical device has been classed as a Class II (special controls) device to provide a reasonable assurance of its safety and effectiveness, so it says in the Federal Register. If you like movies, the Fantastic Voyage is available on a VHS video, more information is found in the July, 2001 issue of this Newsletter, and in the FDA regulation for this new pill camera system is found in “Medical Devices; Gastroenterology-Urology Devices; Classification of the Ingestible Telemetric Gastrointestinal Capsule Imaging System, Final Rule” Federal Register, V. 67, No. 16, January 24, 2002, pages 3431-3433 (AE 2.106:67/16). “Ingestible telemetric gastrointestinal capsule imaging system” Part 876.1300, will not appear in the Code of Federal Regulations Title 21, Part 876, 2002 edition which will be published later this year. 

HIGH RISKS/POPULATIONS Who are the people who are at risk? Firemen exemplify an obvious high-risk occupation. The health professional is a high-risk occupation in a high risk (hospital) building? Migrant workers live and work in the world of many high risk factors. To quote the website abstract which introduces Sociodemographic Data Used for Identifying Potentially Highly Exposed Populations (sometimes referred to as the Highly Exposed Populations Document) EPA/600/R-99/060, this July 1999 287 page volume presents the social and demographic data identifying and enumerating the potentially highly exposed populations.” The 10 chapters show the high risk population(s) of locations, residences, buildings, activities, occupations, behavior and culture, water and food, and the socioeconomics of high risk populations are available as pdf files in the EPA National Center For Environmental Assessment’s (NCEA) web site (http://cfpub1.epa.gov/ncea/cfm/sociodeg.cfm?ActType=default). Highly Exposed Populations is to be used with Exposure Factors Handbook (Final) Volumes I, II, III which was issued by the EPA in 1998. “The Exposure Factors Handbook provides a summary of the available statistical data on various factors used in assessing human exposure. This Handbook provides the data on standard factors used to calculate human exposure to toxic chemicals. These factors include: drinking water consumption, soil ingestion, inhalation rates, dermal factors including skin area and soil adherence factors, consumption of fruits and vegetables, fish, meats, dairy products, homegrown foods, breast milk intake, human activity factors, consumer product use, and residential characteristics.” The NCEA made this document available in 21 pdf files which are searched with the NCEA’s interactive Fact Finder CD-ROM at 23650&partner=ORD-NCEA. This CD-ROM is used to locate exposure in the Handbook and the Highly Exposed Populations. The Fact Finder CD-ROM web page is a beginning point for users of this interactive information system, which will be updated as new data become available. The EPA populations and risks publications are part of the NCEA Exposure Factor Program http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/cfm/efprog.cfm?ActType=default which lists other related risks exposure publications information. 

MEDICAL RECORDS PRIVACY REGULATIONS OF 2000, REVISED In the December 28, 2000, Federal Register, you will find the first version of the America’s medical records and health information privacy regulation for every patient, doctor, hospital, insurance provider, and pharmacy. The regulation, drafted by the Clinton’s Regulation provides new rights and protections for the patient’s and their medical records and includes civil and criminal penalties for violators. Some people liked Clinton’s version and some did not, and George W. Bush promised to revise this regulation upon his taking Office as President. Bush kept his promise and made significant changes in Clinton’s new Medical Privacy regulation. The Bush’s revised 2000 Regulation will take effect in April 2003. Whether you are a nurse, patient, doctor, parent, insurance provider, or just interested in the privacy of medical records and information, get a computer and go online to http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa/  “National Standards to Protect the Privacy of Personal Health Information”. This Privacy of Health Records web site provide links to a “Press Release” introducing the “Fact Sheet”, the Background and General Information” page, and the new “Privacy Regulation” which is a links to the texts of the December 2000 regulation and the Bush version which appears in the March 27, 2002 Federal Register. The Dept. of Health and Human Services, Office of Civil Rights has brought together the text of all the publications on these National Standards into one site; all you need is a computer and access to the Internet.

VOICE OF AMERICA’S SPECIAL ENGLISH In 1942 after Hitler declared war, the United States established the Voice of America (VOA) http://www.voa.gov/  to counter Hitler’s view of the news. Voice of America Celebrates 60 Years of Broadcasting 1942-2002. “The Voice of America is celebrating our 60th anniversary as the U.S. government's broadcaster to the world. …The first Voice of America broadcast began February 24, 1942, to Nazi Germany. ‘This is a voice from America...’ intoned announcer William Harlan Hale. ‘We shall speak to you about America and the war,’ he told the people of Europe. ‘The news may be good or bad. We shall tell you the truth.’ VOA's broadcasters have been dedicated to living up to those words ever since.” The Voice of America, Brief History issued in (but not dated) 2002 (in 24 pages) can be found at http://www.voanews.com/specialreport.cfm?objectID=D423F184-E181-4C9D-B10B65D2AB891FEE  as an html file and as a pdf file at http://www.voa.gov/voahistory/voahistory.pdf.   Since 1942, the news broadcasts were in the 53 languages of at least 53 countries. There were simultaneous English language broadcasts to English-speaking people, but comprehension was difficult. On October 19, 1959, the VOA broadcast their first Special English Program in clear and simple English communication for people whose native language is not English. VOA Special English has a limited vocabulary of 1,500 words; it is written in short, simple sentences that contain only one idea. It is spoken at a slower pace, which is about two-thirds the speed of Standard English broadcasts. Each VOA one-half hour radio Special English broadcast includes two feature stories about science, medicine, the environment, American history, culture, idioms, and important people. These broadcasts help people abroad learn about the United States and learn the English language. There are radio scripts on the VOA web site, and in This is America, VOA Voice of America, Special English. Issued in 2002, this publication is 43 pages of 22 VOA Special English scripts about topic ranging from George Washington to Yard Sales and Flea Markets (B 1.2: AM 3). Some of America’s commercial radio stations would do well to learn about Special English. 

DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME (DST): APRIL TO OCTOBER It is against the (Federal) law to not change your clock(s) to DST on the first Sunday in April, unless you live in Arizona, the Eastern time zone portion of Indiana, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. With these few exceptions, DST is observed in the United States from 2:00 a.m. on the first Sunday in April until 2:00 a.m. on the last Sunday in October. Yes, you knew that!!! But did you know that Benjamin Franklin conceived the idea of DST in 1784, to have more daylight and save candles? DST was first observed by Germany on May 1, 1916 and during World War I, Europe adopted it. DST was not formally adopted by the United States until 1918 when “An Act to preserve daylight and provide standard time for the United States” was enacted on March 19, 1918 (40 STAT 450). DST was abolished after World War I, but Theodore Roosevelt instituted DST as “War Time” on February 9, 1942. DST was re-established and legalized by the Uniform Time Act of 1966, with modifications in 1972, 1973,1974; and, in 1986, DST became what we observe today. Even though Ben Franklin’s idea did not please all the farmers, its advantages include more daylight for outdoor activities, the reduction of traffic accidents, and elimination of early morning fatalities of school age children. The National Bureau of Standards and the Department of Transportation completed studies that are identified in the Bibliography of Daylight Savings Time by Heidi G. Yacker. An information specialist at the Congressional Research Service, her August 1, 2000 (updated) 5 pages CRS Report (No. 98-99 C) is a pdf file at a web page for Short CRS Reports. The Congressional Research Publications are found through the web site of Christopher Shay, Fourth District Representative from Connecticut ( http://www.house.gov/shays/CRS/CRSProducts.htm  ). 

HARD TIMES ON THE OREGON TRAIL It was 1842 when the first wagon train of about 500 people left Independence Missouri for a 2000 mile trip to Oregon. It cost them about $800 to $1200 to be outfitted with wagon, oxen, and supplies for the trip. From 1841 to 1869, about 300,000 people attempted the trip. Some turned back, some succeeded, and about 20,000 died on the trail. While on the Trail, some starved, some died of disease, some were killed, and some froze to death. There is information about “what they wore”, “supplies (kinds, quantities, costs), and details about their wagon and livestock. A Step at a time: The Oregon Trail, is a Bureau of Land Management, May, 1993 tri-fold brochure full on information and details. The daily life and many of the “grizzly”, yet captivating and fascinating details are found in Oregon Trail Histories dated May 1993, No. 9 in the Bureau of Land Management’s Cultural Resource Series (I 53.22/10: 9). This compilation draws together several titles that reflect the trials, tribulations, and deaths of America’s 19th century pioneers. The Peoria Party by Robert G. Day, Sr., is a 68-paged text (found on pages v - 75) about the first group of pioneers who traveled the Oregon Trail from 1839-1840. Uncle Billy of the Molalla Prairie by Champ Clark Vaughn is only 16 pages (pages 76 -97). Billy Vaughn whose full name is William Hatchette Vaughn, was part of the Great Migration of 1843. He and a wagon train of approximately 1,000 persons, successfully took wagons all the way to western Oregon for the first time. The third section, The Road to Oregon: Articles about the Oregon Trail by Jim Hopkins consists of 52 articles in 87 pages of text followed by a 3 page Oregon Trail Bibliography, and a map of Washington State (pages 98-193). As Richard C. Hanes, Series editor says: “the third contribution provides a vary handy compilation and synthesis of Oregon Trail information, including the political, economic and social ramifications of this major event in United States history. It should be useful to readers for a number of purposes.” 

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