Healthcare

June Is Alzheimer’s & Brain Awareness Month

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Alzheimer’s News:

Alzheimer’s disease is most likely to occur in people age 65 and older but, if that’s when you start thinking about the disease, you’re already too late. The changes in our brains that lead to Alzheimer’s begin 15 to 20 years before current science can diagnose it, so it’s never too early to take charge of your own brain health.

June is Alzheimer’s & Brain Awareness Month, and the Alzheimer’s Association reminds us that almost all of us will be touched by the disease at some point, whether through the disease itself or by caring for a loved one who has it. And waiting for Alzheimer’s Read More

U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján Introduces Resolution To Recognize May As Mental Health Awareness Month

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U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján

From the Office of U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján:

Washington, D.C. – This month, U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) introduced a resolution to recognize May as National Mental Health Awareness Month. Since 1949, May has been observed as National Mental Health Awareness Month, a time when advocates and activists across the country draw attention to the mental health issues that affect as many as one in four Americans.

Today, more people die from suicide in the United States than from traffic accidents or homicides, and we lose 17 veterans to suicide daily.

“Prioritizing, understanding,  Read More

Lujan, Colleagues Introduce Bill To Streamline Access To Prescription Drugs, Reduce Physician Paperwork Burden

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U.S. SENATE News:

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-Kan.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) introduced bipartisan legislation that would streamline access to prescription drugs that require a health plan’s approval.

Known as prior authorization, physicians and other clinicians must go through time-wasting administrative hurdles to get their patients the prescription medicine they need, including life-saving treatment. The current process causes delays in care and can sometimes result Read More

VA & Mescalero Apache Tribe To Host PACT Act Presumptive Claims Event For Veterans June 4

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U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs News:

WHAT: PACT Act Presumptive Claims Event: “Your Service. Our Mission: Bringing VA Benefits Home”

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Tribal Veteran Service Officers and other knowledgeable advocates will assist Veterans complete VA claim paperwork.

Staff from the Veterans Benefits Administration will review claims on-the-spot with the hope of same day approval. In addition, spouses and widows/widowers may be eligible for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) when a Veteran dies as a result of these presumptive disabilities. Read More

LAMC & Summit Garden Club Partner To Beautify Hospital

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Los Alamos Medical Center (LAMC) teamed up with the Summit Garden Club to beautify the hospital’s front parking lot with a planting event to cap off Hospital Week on May 17. The club helped identify which plants LAMC should purchase, and then Master Gardeners were on site to help hospital team members with planting. The result is beautiful! LAMC sincerely thanks Summit Garden Club for their inspiration, expertise, guidance and teamwork on this project. Courtesy/LAMC

Los Alamos Medical Center (LAMC) teamed up with the Summit Garden Club to beautify the hospital’s front parking lot with a planting Read More

Tales Of Our Times: Notorious Smogs In Donora And Desert Parks Keyed Air Research

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Tales Of Our Times

By JOHN BARTLIT
New Mexico Citizens
for Clean Air & Water, Inc.

Our citizens group learned the ways of air issues, inside and out. Large issues are part history, law, science, business, and emotions. Each of these has its own jargon, which impedes the exchange of information. Clean air made headway after events helped break these barriers. A notorious case was Donora.

Donora was a hilly town of industrious folks on a horseshoe bend in the Monongahela River 24 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. Donora and nearby Webster were home to U.S. Steel  Corporation’s Donora Zinc Works Read More

Heinrich Cosponsors Legislation To Help Veterans Access Earned Benefits & Care, Keep Their Homes

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U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich

From the Office of U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M) cosponsored three bills to improve veterans’ access to their earned Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits, strengthen the VA’s Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers, and help veterans and servicemembers keep their homes.

“New Mexico’s veterans have heroically served our nation. We owe them more than just our gratitude — we owe them the care and opportunities they earned through their service,” Heinrich said. “I’m proud to cosponsor these Read More

LAMC Welcomes More Than 220 Los Alamos Public Schools Kindergarteners To 2024 Teddy Bear Clinic

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Scene from 2024 Teddy Bear Clinic May 21 at Los Alamos Medical Center. Courtesy/LAMC

Scene from 2024 Teddy Bear Clinic May 21 at Los Alamos Medical Center. Courtesy/LAMC

Scene from 2024 Teddy Bear Clinic May 21 at Los Alamos Medical Center. Courtesy/LAMC

LAMC News:

Los Alamos Medical Center (LAMC) welcomed more than 220 Los Alamos Public Schools kindergarteners to the hospital for its annual Teddy Bear Clinic Tuesday, May 21.

These young students left the experience with hospital familiarity, medical knowledge, lasting memories and an LAMC bag full of fun — including a miniature teddy bear Read More

Rep. Vasquez Advances Billions For Military Installations, Families In Bipartisan National Defense Authorization Act

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U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez

From the Office of U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez:

          • Vasquez advocated for RECA and prioritized common-sense initiatives that improve the lives of service members and ensure New Mexico’s military installations remain at the forefront of national defense

WASHINGTON, D.C. –  On May 22, 2024, U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez (NM-02) secured major wins for New Mexico and voted to advance the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) out of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) to the House Floor for consideration.

“As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, Read More

Luján Joins Press Conference Calling For House Vote On Radiation Exposure Compensation Act

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Congressional News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) joined U.S. Reps. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.), Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.), Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), Cori Bush (D-Mo.) and Delegate James Moylan (R-Guam) and RECA advocates last Thursday for a press conference calling on House Speaker Mike Johnson to allow a vote on a bill that would strengthen the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA).

As of May 16, the House will have just two weeks remaining to act on the Senate-passed RECA. The program, which provides health screenings and compensation for people sickened Read More