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CDC director: Travel ban could make Ebola outbreak worse

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CDC director: Travel ban could make Ebola outbreak worse
By Cameron Joseph – 10/04/14 01:17 PM EDT

A travel ban to the countries facing an Ebola outbreak could paradoxically make the problem worse, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Tom Frieden said during a Saturday press conference.

Frieden said the CDC would consider any and all precautions, but warned that a travel ban could make it harder to get medical care and aid workers to regions dealing with the outbreak.

He said that had already occurred when African Union aid workers tried to get to Liberia but were stuck in a neighboring country for days because of a travel ban.

“Their ability to get there was delayed by about a week because their flight was canceled and they were stuck in a neighboring country,” he said.

Frieden also said the CDC has experienced a spike in reported potential cases of Ebola following the first diagnosis of a patient in the U.S. in Dallas earlier this week, saying the rise in concern was a good thing but that he remained the only patient who has been identified as suffering from the disease. Two patients who were initially identified as having potential Ebola symptoms in the Washington, D.C. area were ruled to not have the disease on Saturday.

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/219786-cdc-director-travel-ban-could-make-ebola-outbreak-worse

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Ridgewood Historical Society’s Schoolhouse Museum Tag Sale

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Ridgewood Historical Society’s Schoolhouse Museum Tag Sale
Antiques and Collectibles
October 11 from 10-3

The Ridgewood Historical Society’s Schoolhouse Museum is planning a tag sale on October 11 from 10-3, with a rain date of October 12 from 1-4.

Items from the past, antiques and collectibles from the homes of our members.

Vendors, If you want to reserve a space to sell your items yourself, you must register by  Wednesday, October 8 for $25

For information call 201 445-5498 or 201 447-3242

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N.J. hospitals are well prepared to fight Ebola, state medical officials say

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N.J. hospitals are well prepared to fight Ebola, state medical officials say

OCTOBER 4, 2014    LAST UPDATED: SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2014, 1:21 AM
BY JAMES M. O’NEILL
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

New Jersey’s 71 hospitals have the space and equipment, and their medical staffs are trained, to react to any patient with a suspected case of Ebola, including moving them to an isolation room immediately, state health officials say.

Since early August, the Health Department has held conference calls and issued alerts to share and review protocol for handling patients who may be carrying the virus.

And in the past few weeks, North Jersey hospitals have run drills simulating cases of patients checking into their emergency rooms saying they had recently been in West Africa — where the recent Ebola outbreak is centered — to ensure that they isolate such patients for treatment, officials say.

Local ERs have installed signs at their check-in areas asking patients to let staff know immediately if they have traveled recently to the region and have fever and other Ebola-related symptoms, such as vomiting, diarrhea and severe headache.

Officials say the case of Ebola in Dallas this week — where information that the patient had been in West Africa was apparently not transferred to medical staff — only reinforced the need for hospitals to take down the travel history of anyone showing signs of the illness.

“There’s definitely a heightened sense of awareness about this, and hospitals will certainly learn the lesson from the Dallas case about the importance of communicating critical information,” said Shannon Davila, an infection-control nurse with the New Jersey Hospital Association.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/nj-state-news/n-j-hospitals-well-prepared-to-fight-ebola-1.1102418#sthash.VQGu8aJQ.dpuf

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Ridgewood High School Athletic Hall of Fame: Goal-getter Rachel Grygiel set for enshrinement

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Ridgewood High School Athletic Hall of Fame: Goal-getter Rachel Grygiel set for enshrinement

OCTOBER 3, 2014    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2014, 12:31 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Print

Editor’s Note: This is part of a series of stories profiling the 2014 inductees into the Ridgewood High School Athletic Hall of Fame.

In 1992, Ridgewood High School girls soccer head coach Jeff Yearing stated for a newspaper article that “Rachel Grygiel is every coach’s dream and every opponent’s nightmare.” Truer words never have been spoken about an athlete that has been inducted into the RHS Athletic Hall of Fame.

The 1993 graduate will receive that honor formally later this month. Beyond her productivity on the pitch, Grygiel reflected the complete embodiment of the term “student-athlete.” Her desire to achieve academically and to serve her community reflected the same passion and desire she brought to the field each day.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/sports/high-school-sports/girls-soccer/goal-getter-grygiel-set-for-induction-1.1101604#sthash.BhqWINea.dpuf

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Audrey Meyers, of The Valley Hospital the Highest Paid Non-Profit hospital CEO in New Jersey?

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Audrey Meyers, of The Valley Hospital the Highest Paid Non-Profit hospital CEO in New Jersey?

From the article ; Medical millionaires: The compensation packages of hospital heads are drawing attention by Beth Fitzgerald , Among other notable 2012 paychecks for New Jersey hospital system CEOs:

Such salary figures are not limited to the heads of giant health care systems. All these CEO’s came out as salary winners, تنزيل BetWinner . NJBIZ found the leaders of other well-known hospitals around the state earned similar salaries in 2012.

Audrey Meyers, the CEO of The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, earned $2.18 million.

Michael Maron, the CEO of Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck, was paid $1.83 million.

Barry S. Rabner, the CEO of Princeton Healthcare System, received $1.35 million.

John T. Gribbin, the CEO of CentraState Medical Center in Freehold, earned $1.2 million.

Gary S. Horan, the CEO of Trinitas Regional Medical Center in Elizabeth, was paid $1.19 million

Douglas Duchak, the former CEO of Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, made $999,023.

The compensation comes at a time when the Affordable Care Act has the health care industry searching for ways to cut the ever-expanding cost of care.

Industry insiders will point to this idea as a reason for such salaries, saying these leaders are driving the search for such savings — and doing it at a time when some hospitals in the state are on the verge of bankruptcy and in danger of closing.

The salaries of the hospital heads are not unusual for CEOs in New Jersey. In fact, they are far below what others are earning.

The NJBIZ list of the highest-paid CEOs of public companies lists 25 making more than $7 million annually — and 45 making more than $3 million.

The difference, Berger said, is that these salaries were earned at public for-profit companies.

“I have no problem with people becoming millionaires if they’re not working for a tax-subsidized nonprofit,” he said.

Medical millionaires: The compensation packages of hospital heads are drawing attention

By Beth Fitzgerald
March 5, 2014 at 1:02 PM

https://www.njbiz.com/article/20140305/NJBIZ01/140309913/Medical-millionaires:-The-compensation-packages-of-hospital-heads-are-drawing-attention

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Downtown Parking Initiative

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Downtown Parking Initiative
Draft – Ridgewood Downtown Parking Initiative Discussed at Village Council Meeting

For the Draft Parking Plan Fact Sheet that was discussed at the Village Council Meeting on Wednesday, October 1st please

Click Here https://mods.ridgewoodnj.net/pdf/manager/2014ParkingPlan.pdf

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Ridgewood Football remains undefeated

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Ridgewood Football remains undefeated

OCTOBER 3, 2014    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2014, 1:21 AM
BY JIM MCCONVILLE
SPECIAL TO THE RECORD
THE RECORD
Print

RIDGEWOOD – You can just see Mitch Campbell’s eyes light up when he knows that a pass play has been called. The senior running back has been a revelation in Ridgewood’s passing game, and on Thursday night he had the big plays.

Campbell hauled in five passes for 141 yards and a touchdown, and it was his work in the first quarter that helped set the tone for Ridgewood, which remained undefeated.

Ridgewood recorded a second straight shutout, 35-0 over Kennedy, and continued its early season offensive show. It marked the 63rd time in coach Chuck Johnson’s 31 seasons that his team has recorded a shutout.

While the defense was not spectacular, Ridgewood (4-0) did produce three turnovers on fumbles, and for the second time this season stopped a team on a fourth-and-goal at the 1-yard line. Sophomore inside linebacker James Mondi, in his second varsity start, had 12 tackles and a forced fumble.

The offense did its job early, taking the opening kickoff and scoring on six plays covering 57 yards. Campbell had catches of 18 and 17 yards to set up sophomore Drew Granski’s 2-yard touchdown.

“It all starts with the offensive line,” Campbell said. “They’ve done a great job of pass blocking all year and [senior quarterback Matt] Donovan is putting it right there. All I have to do is run under it.”

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/sports/high-school-sports/football/maroons-keep-perfect-record-1.1101796#sthash.6P6Yy3YH.dpuf

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PARKING: More action is needed, not meetings

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PARKING: More action is needed, not meetings

OCTOBER 3, 2014    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2014, 9:16 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

More action, not meetings, is needed
Angela Cautillo

To the Editor:In the Friday, Sept. 26, 2014, issue of The Ridgewood News, I was reading the article titled “Panel says parking is source of problems.” It was good to hear the comments from business owners and landlords alike, but is this really news to anyone? Ridgewood is not moving forward was the message.

The article also stated that the meeting attracted the smallest turnout in the series so far, only being attended by 30 people. That’s not surprising.

Yes, a low turnout is disappointing, but I would probably have to say it’s because so many Ridgewood business owners are thinking “been there, done that.” You can find in the Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce archives that it was determined by Ridgewood business leaders that there was a parking problem back in 1924.

As a former board member of the Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce and later as its director, I tried to get the ball rolling for a parking garage in the business district. I urged the then council that it was for the future of Ridgewood’s business success, but all that happened was more money wasted on yet another parking study that said we needed more parking.

I was told by a former village manager that I would never see a parking garage in Ridgewood. It was very disheartening to hear and very sad to see the lack of vision of the Village Council at the time. Yet the buck keeps getting passed, since it’s been more than two decades after my push, 90 years after the first record of a parking problem in Ridgewood and there’s still non-solution.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/opinion/opinion-letters-to-the-editor/letter-more-action-is-needed-not-meetings-1.1102020#sthash.uHa70zep.dpuf

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Ridgewood’s Valley Hospital sues over rejection of expansion project

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Ridgewood’s Valley Hospital sues over rejection of expansion project

OCTOBER 3, 2014, 11:53 PM    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2014, 11:56 PM
BY MARY JO LAYTON
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

The Valley Hospital filed suit Friday against the Ridgewood Planning Board for rejecting its proposal to nearly double in size, arguing the board illegally sided with neighborhood opponents rather than permitting an upgrade for “an inherently beneficial regional hospital.”

For Valley, the lawsuit filed in state Superior Court in Hackensack is an attempt to end a protracted and costly stalemate with the village — its expansion plans have been defeated two times in the last four years.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/ridgewood-s-valley-hospital-sues-over-rejection-of-expansion-project-1.1102356#sthash.4G5tiib0.dpuf

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Dallas Ebola case spurs concern about hospital readiness

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Dallas Ebola case spurs concern about hospital readiness

A D.C.-area hospital admitted a patient with symptoms and a travel history associated with Ebola.

By Lena H. Sun, Brady Dennis and Elahe Izadi October 3 at 10:52 PM    

A Washington-area hospital announced Friday that it had admitted a patient with symptoms and a travel history associated with Ebola. The case has not been confirmed, but the number of similar incidents around the country and a confirmed Ebola patient in Dallas have spurred concerns about whether U.S. hospitals are as prepared to deal with the virus as federal officials insist they are.

Since July, hospitals around the country have reported more than 100 cases involving Ebola-like symptoms to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, officials there said. Only one patient so far — Thomas Duncan in Dallas — has been diagnosed with Ebola.

But in addition to lapses at the Dallas hospital where Duncan is being treated, officials say they are fielding inquiries from hospitals and health workers that make it clear that serious questions remain about how to properly and safely care for potential Ebola patients.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/dallas-ebola-case-spurs-concern-about-hospital-readiness/2014/10/03/4afa10b2-4b30-11e4-a046-120a8a855cca_story.html

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Hackers’ Attack Cracked 10 Financial Firms in Major Assault

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Hackers’ Attack Cracked 10 Financial Firms in Major Assault

By MATTHEW GOLDSTEIN, NICOLE PERLROTH and DAVID E. SANGER OCTOBER 3, 2014 9:39 PMOctober 3, 2014 9:39 pm 2 Comments

The huge cyberattack on JPMorgan Chase that touched more than 83 million households and businesses was one of the most serious computer intrusions into an American corporation. But it could have been much worse.

Questions over who the hackers are and the approach of their attack concern government and industry officials. Also troubling is that about nine other financial institutions — a number that has not been previously reported — were also infiltrated by the same group of overseas hackers, according to people briefed on the matter. The hackers are thought to be operating from Russia and appear to have at least loose connections with officials of the Russian government, the people briefed on the matter said.

It is unclear whether the other intrusions, at banks and brokerage firms, were as deep as the one that JPMorgan disclosed on Thursday. The identities of the other institutions could not be immediately learned.

https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/10/03/hackers-attack-cracked-10-banks-in-major-assault/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

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We Gambled with Ebola and Lost

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We Gambled with Ebola and Lost
Let us finally end the crazy “diversity” visa lottery.
By Michelle Malkin

Ebola has reached our shores from Africa. Dozens of children are reportedly suffering paralysis from a deadly virus with unknown origins. Medical providers across the country have warned of a looming public-health crisis as communicable diseases spread unmonitored and uncontrolled. Other countries are cracking down. But America is stuck on open-borders stupid.

The Diversity Visa (DV) program, to take just one glaring example of government insanity, is still going.

On October 1, the State Department opened the annual DV random lottery to applicants from around the world. Yes, it’s completely random, like a Powerball drawing. Up to 55,000 lucky winners will snag permanent residency visas (green cards), which put them on the path to American citizenship ahead of millions of other foreigners patiently waiting to come to this country.

The green-card-lotto winners’ spouses and unmarried children under 21 all get golden tickets into the country too, no matter where they were born.

Illegal aliens are eligible if a legal family member wins the jackpot. Applicants don’t even need a high-school education. No outstanding abilities, training, or job skills are necessary. A handful of countries are excluded if they no longer qualify as “underrepresented.” But if you come from a terror-sponsoring or terror-friendly nation — such as Iran, Syria, Sudan, North Korea, or more than a dozen officially designated terror enablers on the State Department’s list — no worries. Thousands from these breeding grounds for jihad will walk through our front doors.

https://www.nationalreview.com/article/389471/we-gambled-ebola-and-lost-michelle-malkin

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Calif. Employee Pensions Are Not Sacred Cows, Judge Rules. But Don’t Call the Slaughterhouse Just Yet.

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Calif. Employee Pensions Are Not Sacred Cows, Judge Rules. But Don’t Call the Slaughterhouse Just Yet.

Scott Shackford|Oct. 2, 2014 10:50 am

Public sector unions in California have used their enormous clout to protect their plum pensions, making it nearly impossible for municipal governments to scale back benefits in any way shape or form (even for employees they hadn’t even hired yet). Even as California cities file for bankruptcy, unable to pay off various creditors, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) has argued that debts owed to them are special and off the table. They cannot be reduced or severed, even in the case of bankruptcy.

And then yesterday U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Klein’s told CalPERS it was wrong. In the case of a bankrupt city, pensions can be cut just like any other debt. That’s what the bankruptcy process is for. As The Sacramento Bee explains, the ruling came because a creditor in the bankruptcy of the city of Stockton, Franklin Templeton Investments, is upset that it’s only going to get a ninth of what it’s due and wants a better deal, and that might come from money going to pensions.

https://reason.com/blog/2014/10/02/calif-employee-pensions-are-not-sacred-c

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Ridgewood Art Institute has watercolors exhibit

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Ridgewood Art Institute has watercolors exhibit

October 3, 2014    Last updated: Friday, October 3, 2014, 12:31 AM
By Eileen La Forgia
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News

“I paint in beautiful contemplative places, which lend peace to me and hopefully to those viewing my work,” said well-known watercolor artist Joel Popadics. The subjects include vistas depicting land and sea, some in bright sunlight or moody fog.

“When I look at each painting I can recall very vivid details about the day, the time and temperature and who I was with. The paintings almost become a journal or diary of my life that is not written, but painted or drawn out,” reflected Popadics.

Joel Popadics paints at the Jersey Shore.”Lobster Cove””Port Clyde”

He loves the coast of Maine with its harbors and coves. He has rented a house on seven acres of land in Cutler, an area known for hiking trails. The exhibit includes: “Lobster Cove” Boothbay Harbor, painted in autumn. “Waves at Western Point,” a scene at Acadia National Park and “Holmes Bay Low Tide,” painted during a drizzle.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/towns/joel-popadics-watercolors-are-his-diary-1.1101625#sthash.2b7MwIfR.dpuf

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Ridgewood Football breaks quickly from the starting gate

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Ridgewood Football breaks quickly from the starting gate

October 3, 2014    Last updated: Friday, October 3, 2014, 12:31 AM
By Jim McConville
CORRESPONDENT
The Ridgewood News

RIDGEWOOD — Heading into Thursday night’s home game versus Kennedy, the Ridgewood High School football team was looking not only to continue its winning ways but also to continue to develop the chemistry, experience and execution it will need as the schedule toughens later this month.

There were plenty of positives through the Maroons’ first three games, and much of that had to do with the way the sophomores injected themselves into the lineup and made key contributions.

Members of the 2004 Ridgewood High School North 1, Group 4 championship football team gather on the field of RHS Stadium at halftime of last Friday’s game to be honored on the 10th anniversary of their state-sectional title.

The youth movement can be a double-edged sword, however. RHS benefitted from an early schedule in which its first three opponents were a combined 2-7, and the team won all three games by an average of 46-4 (Kennedy was 0-3 entering Thursday). That necessitates tempering any enthusiasm a bit in assessing the results.

Still, every win is important, and the schedule is what it is. Ridgewood need not make excuses for winning the games it is supposed to win while giving some of its rookies a dose of confidence at the varsity level.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/sports/high-school-sports/football/ridgewood-breaks-quickly-from-the-starting-gate-1.1101679#sthash.qMj2EYGh.dpuf