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Special Needs Children Struggle to Obtain Quality Health - HealthyCal
By Rosa Ramirez
California Health Report
California children with special needs often receive less-than-adequate health care services, regardless of whether they are covered by private or public health insurance, a new analysis has found.
California was among the bottom six states in offering coordinated and family-oriented care to some of the state?s most vulnerable populations.
According to the report, 1 in 10 California children, or about one million, have special health needs.
Some key findings:
?California families are more likely than those in other states to reduce their working hours or stop working altogether to manage their child?s health care needs.
?41 percent of children with health insurance don?t obtain the services to meet their health needs.
?More than 40 percent of youngsters with complex health needs have a difficult time obtaining community-based services, such as finding doctors and scheduling appointments.
The health care they receive as children greatly impacts their ability to thrive as they grow and move through school, said Christina Bethell, lead author of the report and director of the Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative at Oregon Health and Science University. The study was sponsored by the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children?s Health. (The Foundation is also a sponsor of HealthyCal.org.)
Part of the challenge is that researchers have only started collecting national child health data since 2001. ?Even children with the least complex health conditions, the majority are not receiving the basic quality of care,? said Bethell.
In addition, a nationwide dearth of pediatricians with sub-specializations, as well as health providers who are able to care for these children as they transition to adolescence, has become worrisome.
Most pediatricians spend an additional two-to-three years on sub-specialty training, often with little economic incentives, said Edward Schor, senior vice president at the Foundation. ?It extends their life as a trainee and postpones getting out into the world and working,? Schor said.
The study found that inadequate health care services places added financial and emotional burden on parents. About a third of California families with at least one child with health care needs are forced to cut back on working to manage their children?s access to care. These caretakers often manage multiple health services, including school-related programs, doctor?s appointments, and medical emergencies, Bethell explained.
San Francisco resident Maria de Lourdes Sanchez, 38, takes her 10-year-old son, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy as an infant, to physical, speech, and occupational therapy, which keeps her from holding a full-time job.
But even outings to the Sunday mass or attending family birthday party have become rare occasions, especially now that her son is taller and stronger. Carrying him inside the family?s van is difficult for her and her husband. She?s applying to obtain a free or low-cost wheelchair ramp to make trips to her son school, medical appointments, and therapies feasible.
Echoing earlier studies, the January report found that communities of color are less likely to report their child?s special health care needs. Bethell said it could be attributed to their desire to use alternative health methods, feeling overwhelmed about having to arrange doctor?s appointments due to a language barrier, or holding jobs that do not offer them the flexibility to take time off.
With limited English skills, Sanchez recalled feeling frightened when she sought help for her son when he was months old. ?I?d take him to the doctor and say, ?My son is not breathing,?? she said in Spanish. ?The strength and courage to speak up for your children just comes out naturally.?
She now encourages other Spanish-speaking parents to ask questions, call service providers a second or third time, and show up at their offices if necessary to get health and educational services for their children. ?We have to fight for children,? she said. ?Parents are the only ones who can help them get ahead in life.?
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Source: http://www.healthycal.org/archives/10869
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GM investing $600 million to improve Fairfax paint in KCK ...
When GM?s chairman and CEO walked into the Fairfax plant on Monday, he got his first look at the place that makes the car he uses, a Buick LaCrosse.
?That?s the one I drive in Detroit as a company car, and I own one. And I get to choose anything,? Daniel Akerson said.
Akerson also came with a gift, announcing that General Motors will invest $600 million in the plant. The automaker will use the money to build and equip a 450,000-square-foot paint shop and upgrade the plant?s stamping press, among other improvements.
The investment, according to the company, ranks among the largest it has ever made in an existing plant. It will account for 40 percent of the $1.5 billion that GM plans to invest this year in its North American plants.
?This company is coming out of the gate,? Akerson said in an interview with The Star. He said the improvements would make Fairfax a ?crown jewel of our manufacturing universe.?
The investment is not expected to add jobs but is instead GM?s affirmation of a future for the plant and its workforce of 3,900 hourly and salaried employees. Akerson said the current paint shop is nearing the end of its useful life. Not replacing it would have condemned Fairfax to obsolescence.
?We would not invest $600 million in a plant that we didn?t think would be here for a long time,? he said. ?This is a statement of permanence.?
The investment is significantly higher than the $120 million in industrial revenue bonds that the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kan., had approved last summer for the project.
Mayor Joe Reardon, who in 2009 was worried that the plant would close because of GM?s bankruptcy, knew that the automaker would spend much more on the plant but just not how much until the $600 million figure was announced.
?It?s a great day for Kansas City, Kansas, to know we will retain Fairfax for the long haul,? Reardon said.
The $600 million puts the Fairfax plant on sure footing along with Ford Motor Co.?s Claycomo plant. Last year Ford completed a $1.1 billion stamping plant at Claycomo to make metal body parts for the Transit Connect. Claycomo is slated to start building the commercial van later this year.
GM?s investment also ranks among the largest of any kind made recently in the area. The huge new Honeywell complex, which will make parts for nuclear weapons, will cost $1 billion to build and equip. The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, completed in 2011, cost $400 million.
The Fairfax announcement comes at a crucial time for GM as it moves from a fight for survival to rebuilding itself and improving the vehicles it sells. The company was in a financial mess in 2009, when a government-managed bankruptcy and bailout saved it from insolvency. Critics questioned whether the bailout would fix the automaker?s problems.
On Monday, some supporters of the bailout couldn?t resist saying that it had worked and that a major industrial company had been saved. One result, they said, was that Fairfax remained a place for workers to earn enough to be part of the middle class.
?This is important not just for this state but for the country,? said Joe Ashton, a national vice president for the United Auto Workers, who spoke Monday at Fairfax. ?The middle class is what made this country.?
Gov. Sam Brownback told the roughly 500 GM employees and local and state officials who gathered Monday at the plant that the investment was a wonderful announcement.
?Manufacturing is coming back in the U.S.,? said Brownback, a Republican. ?We build great things in Kansas, and with GM?s commitment, it means we will continue to do so.?
GM, the second-largest automaker behind Toyota, has had 11 consecutive profitable quarters. Quickening the cadence of improvements, GM this year will unveil redesigns or upgrades to about 70 percent of its vehicles. The Buick LaCrosse is set for a major upgrade, and the Chevrolet Malibu, also made at Fairfax, will be refreshed with styling changes inspired by the new Chevy Impala.
The new paint shop will use 50 percent less energy per vehicle and more environmentally friendly paint. Instead of fans that blow heated air to dry the paint, the new shop will use radiant tubes patented by GM. One process will improve a vehicle?s coating to prevent rust.
Akerson said such improvements were part of GM?s efforts to make better cars and light trucks.
?We don?t want to be competitive. We want to be great,? he said.
In 2012, GM?s global sales rose about 3 percent, and Chevrolet sold a record number of vehicles. The federal government, which invested about $50 billion to help save the company, has said it will sell its remaining stake in the company within 14 months.
But the turnaround is a work in progress. The 17.9 percent share of the U.S. market that GM snagged last year was its smallest in decades. And Fairfax idled production of the Malibu in December because of ballooning stockpiles.
Akerson said the company has changed in many ways from the old GM. It now pays executive bonuses based partly on the quality of the cars produced. Labor relations also have improved, and the UAW made many contributions, including in 2011, when it agreed that GM?s hourly employees would not get pay raises in return for profit sharing.
Akerson is known as a tough executive who speaks his mind. He once called the Toyota Prius a ?geek-mobile.? In his remarks Monday at Fairfax, he noted that the Kansas City Chiefs will get the first pick in this year?s NFL Draft.
?You need it,? he said.
Akerson concluded by saying that if GM executes its plans flawlessly, it would become the world?s most valuable automaker, would be recognized as a great place to work and have loyal and enthusiastic owners, and that would ?make GM great once again.?
?Let?s make this our legacy.?
Source: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/01/28/4035496/gm-to-invest-600-million-in-fairfax.html
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Report: States force jobless to pay needless fees
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Jobless Americans are paying millions in unnecessary fees to collect unemployment benefits because of state policies encouraging them to get the money through bank-issued payment cards, according to a new report from a consumer group.
People are using the fee-heavy cards instead of getting their payments deposited directly to their bank accounts. That's because states issue bank cards automatically, require complicated paperwork or phone calls to set up direct deposit and fail to explain the card fees, according to a report issued Tuesday by the National Consumer Law Center, a nonprofit group that seeks to protect low-income Americans from unfair financial-services products. An early copy of the report was obtained by The Associated Press.
Until the past decade, states distributed unemployment compensation by mailing out paper checks. Some also allowed direct deposit. The system worked well for people who had bank accounts and could deposit the check without paying a fee.
It also cost states millions of dollars each year to print and mail the checks.
Banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co., U.S. Bancorp and Bank of America Corp. seized on government payments as a business opportunity. They pitched card programs to states as a win-win: States would save millions in overhead costs because the cards would be issued for free. And people without bank accounts would avoid the big fees charged by storefront check cashers.
However, most of the people being hit with fees already have bank accounts. The bank-state partnerships effectively shifted the cost of distributing payments from governments to individuals. The money needed to cover those costs is deducted from people's unemployment benefits in the form of fees.
Consumer advocates like NCLC are focused on ensuring access to the direct-deposit option so that people can avoid the card fees.
The trouble, the new report says, is that many states make it difficult for people to sign up for direct deposit. The rate of people using direct deposit ranges from a national high of 82 percent in Minnesota to a low of 16 percent in Arizona, the report says.
Minnesota offers direct deposit to people when they apply for benefits, and allows them to change their payment method online or over the phone, the report says.
In Arizona, by contrast, people are automatically enrolled in the card program. After they receive the card, they must find a paper form, fill it out, and submit it by mail. There is no way to change payment methods online or over the phone.
"The difference in direct-deposit rates among states seems primarily due to how hard or easy the state makes it for workers to choose direct deposit," the report says.
In five states ? California, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland and Nevada ? unemployed people aren't offered direct deposit at all. The report says that setup is illegal under a federal law that bars states from requiring benefits recipients to open an account at a particular bank.
The federal government recommended in 2009 that people with bank accounts receive payments via direct deposit. Nearly four years later, the report says, "there is no excuse for any state not to be offering direct deposit as the first choice for payment of unemployment benefits."
Banks make more money when more people use the cards. In the past, some of their deals with states prevented states from offering direct deposit, or required states to promote the card program as a first option.
To cover the cost of issuing cards and running the programs, banks charge a plethora of fees, including charges for balance inquiries, phone calls to customer support, leaving an account inactive for a period of months, or making a purchase using a personal identification number.
Many states have eliminated some fees and improved consumer protections in the two years since NCLC published its first comprehensive review of state unemployment payments. Banks no longer charge overdraft fees, which skimmed up to $20 from the benefits of card users whose spending exceeded the balance on the card.
Pennsylvania was singled out for praise in the report. Residents of that state will save $5.2 million in card fees each year because the state switched to a lower-fee card.
In part because of the recent improvements, the report says, prepaid cards often are the best option for people who don't have bank accounts. Those people would often pay even bigger fees to storefront check cashing services.
"A well-designed prepaid card is safer, cheaper and more convenient than paying to cash a paper check," said Lauren Saunders, one of the report's authors, in a prepared statement. But she said "it is no substitute for direct deposit to an account of your own choosing."
___
Daniel Wagner can be reached at www.twitter.com/wagnerreports .
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/report-states-force-jobless-pay-needless-fees-075501034.html
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Lone GOP cabinet member steps down
?It has been an honor and a privilege to lead the department, and I am grateful to President Obama for giving me such an extraordinary opportunity,? LaHood, a former seven-term Republican congressman from Illinois, wrote in a letter to his staff. LaHood said he would stay in his post until his replacement is named ?to ensure a smooth transition for the department and all the important work we still have to do.?
It had long been rumored that LaHood wouldn?t stick around for a second term. Among those who have been mentioned as possible successors are former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who played a key role in boosting last year?s federal transportation bill.
The White House declined to comment on personnel rumors.
Obama tapped LaHood for his administration in 2009 as part of an effort to show he was committed to bipartisanship in Washington. But Republicans quickly criticized LaHood as being out of step with conservative principles in part by his championing additional spending on federal transportation infrastructure they said the country couldn?t afford.
In a statement on Tuesday, Obama thanked LaHood for his ?outstanding work? and his ?friendship.?
The president added: ?Years ago, we were drawn together by a shared belief that those of us in public service owe an allegiance not to party or faction, but to the people we were elected to represent. And Ray has never wavered in that belief.?
In his letter, LaHood listed a series of accomplishments he said he was proud of, including a program to stop drivers from texting while behind the wheel. He also cited the more than $50 billion in new transportation projects passed as part of Obama?s stimulus package that he said ?helped jumpstart the economy and put our fellow Americans back to work.?
LaHood said, ?I?ve told President Obama, and I?ve told many of you, that this is the best job I?ve ever had."
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Ty's Baby Shower Anxiety: Does Accepting Gifts From People Mean ...
Ty is having an extremely difficult time about this whole ?I?m having a baby, and my friends are giving me gifts? thing. In fact, he is even unsure what to do about the baby shower. Not only does his fiance Corri have one, but she has two (or more!) of them to attend. And with every baby shower, more gifts pile on up. With every gift that the new baby receives, Ty feels more and more uncomfortable. He knows that he can afford the stroller, diapers, etc. himself, and feels like his friends shouldn?t provide these things for him!
This morning on Ty Loves NY, Ty confessed his love for his friends and how grateful he is that they are wanting to spend the money on gifts, but it doesn?t mean that he has to be comfortable about it. But what happens if they are people who are Corri?s friends, who he doesn?t really know all to well?
So with Ty being uncomfortable about even attending a baby shower, he is even more uncomfortable about his friends spending money on his new baby.Is he being a baby about it? Should he man up and just accept the fact that every baby should be given a shower, because it?s a friend/family?s right to give a new infant gifts? We took to the phones to find out!
I think Ty needs some experience in the world of baby showers, don?t you? Lulu and Lala are going to try and get Ty into some showers around the tri state! Maybe with a little experience and understanding, he?ll feel comfortable when his friend?s buy Batman (baby?s nickname) a stroller.
Do you have any wise words for Ty when dealing with this situation? Have you ever had baby shower anxiety? Are you expecting a baby and attending a shower soon as well? Sound off in the comments below!
?Bryan Carstensen, 92.3 NOW
More From Ty On 923NOW.com
Listen to Ty Loves NY mornings from 6-10AM on 92.3 NOW FM
Follow Ty, Lulu & Lala on Twitter:?@TyBentli,?@LuluyLala
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The Importance Of Branding Your Business - Graphics/Video ...
So what is branding, exactly? Branding is successfully creating a brand identity that will not only make your business more appealing in comparison to your competitors, but it will also convince consumers that in a sea of prospects, your business is the only one capable of satisfying their needs. Many different components can go into developing a brand, including eye-catching designs and a unique name; however, a brand encompasses more than just a logo. It?s what clients take away from the experience of working with you. It?s what your company stands for and is known for within your market. Coming up with a brand means coming up with what your company promises to deliver, whether that?s perfectly seasoned gourmet pizzas or impeccably tailored shirts. Branding includes the overall style of your company and the meaning it has to clients. Ideally, it would motivate people to buy your products or use your services.
If you don?t define your brand, you create the possibility that someone else will do it for you, including your competitors. Defining you brand allows you to control?or at least influence?how others perceive you. An effective brand marketing strategy minimizes your company?s chances of fading into the background and solidifies your reputation as a veritable force to be reckoned with. Strong branding demonstrates that a company aspires to something greater than just business as usual. By raising your status from a basic commodity to a brand, consumers will be willing to pay a premium for your services or products.
Ultimately, branding is perhaps most essential because it increases the chances that people will remember you, even as the battle for consumers? attention (and money) rages on. A fully-developed brand identity will push your business to the forefront of consumers? minds, making them more likely to recognize you, enlist your services, and remain loyal long after the conclusion of your professional relationship. It takes a lot of time to build (and maintain) these valuable customer relationships. Let me give you a few examples of successful branding:
-Coca Cola: The majority of people instantly recognize this brand. Their logo, the Christmas songs, TV commercials, ads and cans are a part of the Coca Cola branding strategy. This brand has been around for decades, allowing its message to go from generation to generation, and all of Coca Cola?s efforts have paid off. Wouldn?t you agree it is quite hard to imagine a world without Coca Cola?
-McDonald?s: Remember when you were a kid and going to McDonald?s was a treat? Of course you do! This is why you will probably take your (future) children to come and have a quick bite here every once in a while. McDonald?s introduced Happy Meals for children, including a small toy in every meal box. A smart move, given the fact that competitors soon offered similar deals. Furthermore, they incorporated the word ?Mac/Mc? into their product names, like ?McNuggets? or the famous ?Big Mac.? These decisions have had major influence on the way customers perceive the brand.
-Apple: Apple has found a way to become one of the most popular brands in the world by branding themselves successfully. Mac computers aren?t for just anyone, nor are the iPad or the iPhone. The late Steve Jobs was known for his way of presenting new products to the public and used his black turtleneck sweater as part of his strategy. Even the use of putting an ?i? in their product names is all part of Apple?s branding strategy. The designs of the products, the campaigns and product launches are all in sync with Apple?s style and its branding.
You can say that these companies have become experts in business branding, based on their successes. Branding could be perceived as part of marketing or as a separate component, but it is definitely closely related to marketing. Before you start diving into concepts to market your business, make sure you have determined a brand identity and are aware of all the aspects that come with brand management.
from http://www.onlineadvertisingagency.info/2012/02/27/the-importance-of-branding-for-businesses/
4 Likes
Ok.
Ok.
A business with no sign is a sign of no business. Your brand is your corporate signature in the market place. It makes you stand out.
Colors
Coming up with your brand identity begins from your choice of colors. Colors convey different meaning in the mind of the beholder. Green for instance stands for nature, renewal, health etc. It will be a good color for a pharmaceutical firm for instance
Logos
With your colors in tact, you can go ahead to create a logo.?Logos are the chief visual component of a company's overall brand identity. Logo should help convey some information about the company, or be designed in a way that gives some sense of meaning about the company or its industry
Tag line
What is the slogan you should be known with. Your tagline summarizes what you stand for in a nutshell.
others
After all these are in place you can go ahead to design your corporate stationeries and others
Below is an example of our branding project, from logo creation to business cards and other stationeries
4 Likes
a business with sign is a dumb one
finally, a front page thread that actually educates. nice one op.
me too
Very educative thread.
this is gr8.
op.
Thanks for d post. Branding is one critical success factor dat if properly done can skyrocket any business frm zero 2 cash in less than 3yrs. Our business men here in nigeria need to b taught d powers of branding to their business. Although branding is very expensive but if professionally done ll yield more profits to any business on d long run.
thats the key identity of any serious entity. just got mine and it affected my biz positively
branding in nIgeria
thanks to op, i think the only thing am missing out here is the slogan, my business is yet to have a singular slogan that will encapsulate all part/sections of what i really do. well i have to start thinking seriously about it now.
So branding also includes meeting up with customers expectation or giving users a wholesome experience. It is when a business achieves this that their customers would be proud to identify themselves with such businesses.
Same also goes for creating a wholesome online presence.
1 Like
Nice piece
Am very sure of that one. So i agree that branding is good.
Is it possible to brand an existing product? If yes, how do you rebrand a product like indomie?
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KBARBIE: Is it possible to brand an existing product? If yes, how do you rebrand a product like indomie?Yes it's possible... alot of factors need to be taken into consideration though, because an image already exists and the new image is either going to enhance or correct a negative shadow the previous image might have cast on the business.
okpara ugo: A girl will never take you serious until you give her your complimentary card, your calendar with your business name on it or a sourvenir.A good enough reason for young entrepreneurs to start branding. Lol!Am very sure of that one. So i agree that branding is good.
Op thank u very much even my lectural do not come as far as this
Op thank u very much even my lectural didn't come as far as this
Who says Indomie needs rebranding? Pls dont say that again. Indomie currently remains the leader in the world of noddles in Nigeria.
GraphicsPlus: Good thread. But u should have changed MacDonalds to Mr. Biggs or ShopRite owing to the fact that MacDonalds hasnt come to Nigeria.KBARBIE didn't mean that, she was just using indomie as a brand example to drive in the point of her question.Who says Indomie needs rebranding? Pls dont say that again. Indomie currently remains the leader in the world of noddles in Nigeria.
cr8v: The beautiful symphony of art and business has transformed many kiosk into departmental storesI'd like you to help me create a complimentary card for my business... How do I go about it and how much will it cost me?A business with no sign is a sign of no business. Your brand is your corporate signature in the market place. It makes you stand out.
Colors
Coming up with your brand identity begins from your choice of colors. Colors convey different meaning in the mind of the beholder. Green for instance stands for nature, renewal, health etc. It will be a good color for a pharmaceutical firm for instance
Logos
With your colors in tact, you can go ahead to create a logo.?Logos are the chief visual component of a company's overall brand identity. Logo should help convey some information about the company, or be designed in a way that gives some sense of meaning about the company or its industry
Tag line
What is the slogan you should be known with. Your tagline summarizes what you stand for in a nutshell.
others
After all these are in place you can go ahead to design your corporate stationeries and othersBelow is an example of our branding project, from logo creation to business cards and other stationeries
cr8v: The beautiful symphony of art and business has transformed many kiosk into departmental storesI'd like you to help me create a complimentary card for my business... How do I go about it and how much will it cost me? N.B. Subsidized rate plsA business with no sign is a sign of no business. Your brand is your corporate signature in the market place. It makes you stand out.
Colors
Coming up with your brand identity begins from your choice of colors. Colors convey different meaning in the mind of the beholder. Green for instance stands for nature, renewal, health etc. It will be a good color for a pharmaceutical firm for instance
Logos
With your colors in tact, you can go ahead to create a logo.?Logos are the chief visual component of a company's overall brand identity. Logo should help convey some information about the company, or be designed in a way that gives some sense of meaning about the company or its industry
Tag line
What is the slogan you should be known with. Your tagline summarizes what you stand for in a nutshell.
others
After all these are in place you can go ahead to design your corporate stationeries and othersBelow is an example of our branding project, from logo creation to business cards and other stationeries
KBARBIE: Is it possible to brand an existing product? If yes, how do you rebrand a product like indomie?
Tommy tommy suppose answer this question.
What is the difference b/w Tommy tommy and Indomie, I gues you know that, the vegetables inside and packing.
Do something better than that, I product must like something, your work is to fish out what it lacks and ammend urs.
This thread reminded me of what Ewen Chai taught me then.
...EHEN THIS KEDRA SPRING WHAT PRODUCT IS THAT. IT SEEMS NOT TO BE COMMON
bigfat01: branding in nIgeria
Source: http://www.nairaland.com/1177456/importance-branding-business
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