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Parents Should Remove Ipecac From Homes
Baton Rouge — The American Academy of Pediatrics has swallowed its longtime stance on ipecac syrup, now recommending that parents avoid having the drug in their homes.
LDH News
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State To Begin Construction of New Bio-Lab
Baton Rouge --- After more than 15 years of funding requests, the Department of Health and Hospitals has obtained the money to begin construction of a new DHH Office of Public Health laboratory. DHH received $2.8 million in the Capital Outlay Bill to begin construction of a new facility in April 2004.
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Gov. Foster Declares January Early Steps Month
Baton Rouge --- Children born with physical or mental conditions that eventually could lead to a developmental disability need a little extra support during their formative years. Fortunately, the Department of Health and Hospitals’ Early Steps Program is there to offer assistance to these children and their families.
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Health Office Expands Second Hand Smoke Campaign
NEW ORLEANS -- Seven weeks after the launch of a statewide secondhand smoke education and awareness campaign, the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals’ Tobacco Control Program is taking its message to Louisiana’s newspaper readers through a print advertising campaign and renewing its commitment to listen to Louisiana residents about secondhand smoke issues.
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DHH Report Shows Improved Health Care for More Citizens
Baton Rouge—A report issued today by the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals shows a eight-year trend of Medicaid spending at or below the U.S. growth rate. Cost controls in the program have saved Louisiana taxpayers more than $6 billion since 1996, while Medicaid has nearly doubled the number of children covered and improved both access to health care and quality of services.
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Medicaid Providing Better Services for Fewer Dollars
Baton Rouge—A report issued today by the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals shows a nine-year trend of Medicaid spending at or below the U.S. growth rate. Cost controls in the program have saved Louisiana taxpayers more than $6 billion since 1996, while Medicaid has nearly doubled the number of children covered and improved both access to health care and quality of services.
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Health Department Publishes Bioterrorism Guide
Baton Rouge – The Department of Health and Hospitals has published a Family Readiness Guide to assist citizens with making proper decisions in the event of a natural or man-made emergency or a bioterrorism threat. The guide is being first distributed in the New Orleans metropolitan area as an insert in Saturday’s Times-Picayune. About 200,000 copies will be distributed Saturday, and additional printings will result in a total of 3 million guides that will be distributed as newspaper inserts throughout the remainder of the state in early 2004.
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DHH Opens Vital Records Branch in Hammond
Baton Rouge – With the opening of a Vital Records Registry branch in Hammond, citizens in the Florida Parishes now will have an easier time getting birth and death certificates.
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DHH Opens Vital Records Branch in Thibodaux
Baton Rouge – With the opening of a Vital Records Registry branch in Thibodaux, citizens in the Houma-Thibodaux area now will have an easier time getting birth and death certificates.
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CDC Report Shows La. Highest for Gonorrhea, 4th Highest for Chlamydia
New Orleans -- The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s most recent report on sexually transmitted diseases shows Louisiana with 11,396 reported cases of gonorrhea and 18,451 reported cases of chlamydia during 2002. This ranks the state first and fourth, respectively, for the rates of these two sexually transmitted diseases. In addition, Louisiana’s syphilis rate ranked eighth among states.
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Seven New West Nile Cases Confirmed
Baton Rouge --- After three weeks of West Nile inactivity, the Department of Health and Hospitals today reports seven additional West Nile virus cases. These are the first new cases confirmed in December. Also, an 87-year-old female from Bossier Parish who died in September is being reported as a West Nile-related death.
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Give the Gift of Good Health this Holiday Season
NEW ORLEANS – Louisiana smokers looking for an easy and thoughtful gift to offer to their loved ones this holiday season need only look as far as their back porch. In addition to fighting mall traffic, spending hundreds of dollars on expensive jewelry and fighting crowds for that perfect last-minute item, tobacco users can give the greatest gift of all: The gift of good health.