About a month ago we reported that Chapel Hill, N.C. was going be to be the first town in the nation to outlaw all cell phone use, including hands free devices, while driving (Chapel Hill, N.C. Bans All Cell Phone Use While Driving). This new ordinance was supposed to take affect in June of this year. However, it seems the first challenge to this new ordinance has been filed and will put the plans on hold for now.
N.C. Nonprofit Hospitals: For Profit Or Community - Part 3
In the first two posts on nonprofit hospitals in our community, we established what nonprofit hospitals are and how the nonprofit hospitals in our community have become more focused on profits than their charitable commitment to the community. In this final section we will look at what actions can be taken to try to correct this system.
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N.C. Nonprofit Hospitals: For Profit Or Community? - Part 2
In the first part of this series we established what a nonprofit hospital is and how North Carolina's nonprofit hospitals may not be living up to their charitable commitment to the community and are instead more focused on profits. This focus leads one to wonder what exactly these hospitals are doing with their growing profits.
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N.C. Nonprofit Hospitals: For Profit Or Community? - Part 1
The Charlotte Observer ran a five part series, Prognosis: Profits, this past week. The series attempts to bring to light the difference between nonprofit and for-profit hospital systems and how North Carolina's nonprofit hospitals may be doing a disservice to North Carolina residents by focusing too much on profits and growth. We will be analyzing this expose in the next three blog posts. This post will focus on what a nonprofit hospital is and how the charlotte area hospitals may not be meeting expectations.
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Mecklenburg County Police Crack Down On Seat belt Use
State officials in North Carolina want a 90% or higher use of seat belts among drivers and passengers and it seems Mecklenburg county fell just below that mark. Mecklenburg County had an 89.6 percent usage last year and is now 1 of 8 N.C. counties that have been asked by the state to step-up seat belt use enforcement.
Should Teacher-Student Relationships On Facebook Be Prohibited?
The question of whether students and teachers should be friends on Facebook has been discussed across the nation. With the increased use of social media among today's students, the issue has become more and more prominent and many school districts have already begun to act.
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"No Need 2 Speed" Campaign Busts Over 13,000 In NC
According to the Governor's Highway Safety Program, speeding was a contributing factor in about 33 percent of auto accidents that occurred in 2011 in North Carolina. Those crashes resulted in 428 fatalities and 39,416 injuries. In an attempt to change these statistics, the safety initiative "No Need 2 Speed" was held April 2-8. State and local law enforcement focused on reducing speed-related auto accidents by increasing patrols.
Program director Becky Wallace reported that police recorded more than 39,000 traffic and criminal citations because of the stepped-up patrols during the Easter Week. Of the 39,150 citations given, 13,485 of them were for speed-related charges. Wake County led the state with more than 1,200 speeding citations given and was followed by Mecklenburg, Guilford, Onslow and Forsyth counties.
During a similar campaign last year, police cited roughly 12,500 drivers for speeding.
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Distracted Pedestrians: An Increasing Risk
The Philadelphia Mayor's Office found a fun and unique way to bring attention to the growing issue of distracted pedestrians. In an April 1, 2012 press release, Mayor Nutter announced a new pilot program for an "E-Lane," a designated sidewalk space for distracted pedestrians who are walking while using their electronic devices. Lines were painted on some sidewalks near City Hall to designate part of the pavement as "e-lanes". The new sidewalk graphics depicted a pedestrian peering down at a hand-held device.
Chapel Hill, NC Bans All Cell Phone Use While Driving
After two years of discussion, the town of Chapel Hill, NC has finally made it illegal to use cell phones while driving. It will be the first town in the nation to pass an ordinance outlawing talking on both hand-held and hands-free cell phones while driving. The ordinance will take effect on June 1, 2012.
Results from a North Carolina Poll on Key Health Care Issues
In a recent poll sponsored by the North Carolina Dental Society, North Carolina residents were asked several questions about there opinions on key health care issues. Public Policy Polling interviewed 508 people statewide March 5-7 for the survey, which has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.35 percentage points. The results were revealed during the "What the Health: Can We Survive Our Healthcare System?" forum, sponsored by talk show NC SPIN. The results of the poll showed the following trends:
On rising health care costs:
- 31 percent of respondents said insurance costs were the driving force behind rising health care costs
- 28 percent blamed higher doctor and hospital charges
- 14 percent put the onus on people's poor lifestyle choices
- 8 percent pointed the finger at prescription drug costs.
On lifestyle issues:
- more than a quarter of those surveyed said people's lack of knowledge on how to take better care of themselves leads to chronic problems like diabetes and high blood pressure
- Other respondents were fairly evenly split among people not knowing the true cost of health care, being too lazy to practice self-care or not having to pay for their own care as reasons for not leading healthier lifestyles
- 27 percent said they would change if they knew their health costs would be lower
- 16 percent said it would take punitive measures, like higher health costs to force a lifestyle change
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44 percent of respondents said they thought people would improve their lifestyles if they knew they would feel better and live longer
On end-of-life care:
- more than a third of respondents said people just don't get around to giving their families directions on how to handle those medical decisions
- 28 percent said they don't know enough to make such plans
- 16 percent admitted they were in denial and didn't want to think about dying.
On the national Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act:
- 37 percent of those surveyed said they fear government regulation and control of health care as the law takes effect
- 22 percent said they fear health costs will continue to increase under the reform law
- 14 percent said they expect the quality of care to drop
- 9 percent said they fear having less access to care
- 43 percent of respondents said they feel the so-called individual mandate is necessary
- 28 percent said having insurance should be a personal decision
- 20 percent believe this portion of the reform law is unconstitutional.
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