Week In Review

State Capitol Week in Review

        LITTLE ROCK – Fifty Arkansas hospitals have been reviewed by the Trauma Advisory Council and been designated at their appropriate level for responding to emergencies.
        Five hospitals are Level I, four are Level II, 16 are Level III and 25 are Level IV.  The Trauma Council has completed or scheduled site surveys for several other hospitals that have not received a designation.
        The Level I hospitals are equipped to provide total care and rehabilitation to an injured patient, and is staffed to operate prevention programs.  A Level III hospital can assess, resuscitate and provide emergency surgery while arranging for transfer to a Level I or Level II, where more definitive surgical care is available.
        A Level II hospital provides screening and definitive surgical care of traumatically injured patients, regardless of the severity of the injury, but does not have an outreach program for prevention or a general surgery residency program.
        A Level IV hospital can screen and provide some care for injured patients, and is equipped to stabilize and transfer severely injured patients from remote areas where no alternative care is available to a hospital that can provide more definitive surgical care.
        The legislature established a statewide trauma system when it approved Act 393 of 2009.  The state Health Department is charged with implementing the trauma system.
        The goal of Act 393 is to save lives by making sure trauma victims are taken to the closest facility that is equipped to respond to their particular injury.  The closest facility may be well equipped and staffed to respond to a snakebite, but unable to provide the best care for more severe traumas, such as extensive burns.
         In some instances it's better for the emergency responders to pass by one hospital and continue on to a facility that is better equipped to treat the victim.
          The Trauma Council has gathered input from experts on brain injuries and spinal cord injuries.  However, it hasn't always been a smooth process - some hospitals complained that the procedure of getting designated is too cumbersome.  Physicians have disagreed on the criteria the Council should use to designate hospitals as Level I, II, III or IV.  In spite of the differences of opinion, the Council has made steady progress.
        The Health Department, working the with Department of Information Services, chose a company that provided 600 radios last year.  Installation in hospitals, fire trucks, ambulances and helicopters is expected to be complete this year.
        Before 2009 Arkansas was one of only three states without a statewide trauma system.  Physicians report that injury is the leading cause of death for Arkansans between the ages of one and 44.  Our fatality rate from injury is 30 percent higher than the national average and 70 percent higher for motor vehicle accidents, largely because of our extensive rural road network.
        Hospitals receive grant money for equipment and staff, depending on their designated trauma level.  Funding comes from a state tax on tobacco products.
        Also, at least 118 Emergency Medical Services (EMS) providers had joined the trauma system, as has the Arkansas Ambulance Association.  They are eligible for grants for training and other expenses incurred in upgrading to their appropriate trauma level.
        One critical area is the development of electronic transfer of CT scans, X-rays and MRIs, so that the appropriate medical personnel are standing by when a trauma victim arrives.   

Week In Review

State Capitol Week in Review

        LITTLE ROCK – The national "Click It or Ticket" campaign will be from May 21 through June 3, when law enforcement officers will be on the lookout for drivers who are not wearing a seat belt.
        According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), last year more than 22,000 Americans were killed in traffic accidents and more than half of them, 51 percent, were not wearing seat belts.
        Arkansas is one of 32 states with a primary enforcement seat belt law, which means a police officer may ticket a driver for failure to wear a seat belt, even when that is the only reason for pulling over the suspected driver.  Act 308 of 2009 is the Arkansas primary enforcement law.  Before 2009 Arkansas had a secondary enforcement law, meaning the police could cite drivers for failure to wear a seat belt only after they had stopped them for other traffic offenses, such as speeding.
        Since 1994, when many states began enacting mandatory seat belt laws, the use of seat belts has steadily risen and the percentage of people killed in daytime traffic accidents has steadily gone down.  The surveys defined a daytime accident as one that occurs between 4 a.m. and 9 p.m.
        In 1994, according to the NHTSA, 58 percent of passengers in motor vehicles used a seat belt.  By last year the percentage of regular seat belt users had gone up to 84 percent.
        National surveys have found that seat belt use is lower at night, in rural areas, among drivers of pickup trucks and among drivers of old vehicles.
        Click It or Ticket programs, which include a high profile publicity campaign followed by a period of stepped up enforcement,  have been effective in promoting the use of seat belts.
        During and immediately after a single Click It or Ticket campaign, seat belt use tends to go up.  However, it goes back down after a while.  With this trend in mind, North Carolina authorities committed to conducting Click It or Ticket campaigns on a regular basis for a five year period.  The use of seat belts increased and stayed at the higher levels.  North Carolina's program has been a model for most other states.
        In the 1990s, seat belt campaigns were generally known as "Buckle Up" or "Buckle Down" programs and were not conducted uniformly on a national scale.  In 2000 there was a national focus to conduct the program among all states, coordinated by the NHTSA.  By 2003, there were 45 states in the Click It or Ticket program and soon after all 50 states were participating.
        As more people wear seat belts because of more states enacting seat belt laws, the number of tickets issued for failure to wear a seat belt has steadily gone down.  Among 55 cities surveyed from 2002 to 2006, the number of citations dropped by 30 percent.

Tick-Related Diseases On the Increase

        The state Health Department reports that the number of tick-related illnesses in Arkansas has almost tripled since 2010, perhaps because of recent mild winters.
        Symptoms include headache, muscle ache, nausea, rash, vomiting and fever.  The Health Department believes that many cases go unreported.  Last year 650 cases were reported.
        In Arkansas, the four most common diseases that people get from ticks are Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Anaplasmosis, Ehrlichiosis and Tularemia.

Week In Review

State Capitol Week in Review

        LITTLE ROCK –  The state's budget for Fiscal Year 2012 will grow slightly because of moderate growth in the Arkansas economy.
        The director of the state Finance and Administration Department notified legislators that an additional $39.4 million would be available for state agencies to spend between now and the end of the fiscal year on June 30.
        The state's top budget official said the economic recovery in Arkansas is continuing at a moderate pace and that revenue growth is encouraging.  State government's tax rates have not gone up in years, therefore any increase in revenue is due to growth in economic activity.
        In spite of the encouraging trend in state revenue, the administration's change in forecast affects state spending only for the remaining two months of the current fiscal year, May and June.  The forecast for the fiscal year that begins July 1 remains unchanged, for now.
        Administration officials use the Revenue Stabilization Act, the state's balanced budget law, to authorize additional spending by state agencies.  In times of economic slumps, they rely on the same act to implement cuts in spending.
        The new and higher forecast allows state government to replenish its "rainy day fund" by $10 million.  Two years ago this month state revenue fell by $41 million, in a fiscal year marked by several major budget shortfalls.  The governor allocated about $25 million of the $40 million in the state's "rainy day fund" to prevent drastic cuts in state services, especially in state aid to public schools.
        In announcing the increase in the forecast, the governor and budget officials cited encouraging growth in individual and corporate income taxes.  That indicates more people are working and an increase in economic activity.
        The Department of Human Services, will receive about $15 million more in revenue because of the increase in the forecast.  It manages the Medicaid program, which is projected to have financial problems next year because of sharp increases in the number of people eligible and because of consistently high increases in the costs of paying for medical care.
        The Department gets more than $1 billion in state funding, much of which is matched with federal funds to pay for medical treatment, prescription drugs, hospital stays, nursing home care and long term care.  People who are eligible for Medicaid include poor people, children from low-income families, the elderly and people with disabilities.
        The state's institutions of higher education will share an additional $7 million, bringing the amount of state aid they receive to about $733 million for this year.

New Student Center at School for Math and Science

        The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts at Hot Springs will dedicate a new $17 million Student Life Complex on May 24.  The school was created by the legislature in 1991 for gifted and talented students who are in their junior and senior years of high school.
        The Student Life Complex will have dormitory space for about 250 students, a kitchen, a dining hall and a student lounge.  Future plans include the addition of a library.
        The school is one of 14 public, residential high schools in the United States that specializes in teaching students with an aptitude for math and sciences.  The director, Janet Hugo, is retiring on June 30 and the school's board has narrowed the search for her replacement to two finalists.

A Busy Saturday

My friend Kirk and I rode our bicycles over to Historic Washington and home this morning - about a 50 mile trip. The temperature warmed up very quickly - it was the first warm ride of the year. I did make it home in time to visit the Peach Blossom Festival here in Nashville.

I made four events this evening. Beginning with smoked ribs and a meet the candidate event at the masonic lodge in Historic Washington. Arriving there after it was all over, I did get to visit with the members but I didn't get a slab of ribs. Then off to Blevins for their Arkansas Children's Hospital fundraiser. Blevins has done incredible work over the years raising money for this worthy cause. Stopped and picked up Debbie and we went north to the Umpire/Athens fire department fish fry. The food was good there. Then back home to the Center Point fire department BBQ and auction. We enjoy supporting the fire departments. They always are in need of additional funding.

Whew - a long day and a warm day. I am heading home now. Good Night.

Week In Review

State Capitol Week in Review

        LITTLE ROCK –  The state revenue report for April provided signals of an improving economy in Arkansas, specifically in the number of people working.
        State government collected $718.2 million in general revenue in April.  That is generated almost entirely by state sales taxes and state income taxes.  The amount is the most ever collected in one month by Arkansas state government, and it is 5 percent more than was collected in April of last year. 
        State tax rates have not changed, therefore the increase is not due to any tax increase.  The good news is that the 5 percent increase in revenue represents growth in economic activity.
        The state's top budget official presented the revenue report to the legislature's Joint Committee on Economic and Tax Policy.  The governor noted the growth in individual income tax revenue and called it "good news" because it means that people are working more.
        On the same day the state Finance and Administration Department presented the revenue report, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released an unemployment report for April that indicates the jobless rate had improved in all seven of the metropolitan areas in Arkansas.
        There are two months remaining in the state's fiscal year.  Budget officials said that in spite of the improvement in revenue, they would not change their official forecast.  That means no changes are in store, at this time, in the amount of state aid budgeted for state agencies, school districts and institutions of higher education.
        By nature, Arkansas budget officials are cautious.  A specific reason for their caution after reviewing the April revenue report is that sales tax figures are not up to the levels that had been expected.  That is an indicator that though people are working more, they are not spending on retail items as much as forecast. 
        The state's budget director said that paying more for gasoline has had a negative effect on retail sales.  Motor fuels taxes are not part of general revenue - they are dedicated to maintaining and building highways and bridges.
        Although the April revenue report was favorable, administration budget officials tempered their remarks by saying that the Arkansas economy was not completely recovered. 
        Also, the threat of a looming financial crisis in the state Medicaid program put a damper on the favorable revenue report. 
        The state Human Services Department, which administers Medicaid, has warned legislators that the program faces a possible budget shortfall ranging from an estimated $250 million to $400 million next year.
        Medicaid is a government-subsidized program that pays for medical care for low-income families, care and treatment of people with disabilities and nursing home care for the elderly.  Addressing the financial problems of Medicaid is shaping up to be the dominant issue of the 2013 regular session.

UALR Nanotechnology

        The University of Arkansas dedicated its new $15 million Center for Integrative Nanotechnology Sciences, which will house almost 50,000 square feet of laboratory space.  Partners in the venture include 12 other universities, private businesses, federal agencies and national research facilities.
        The UALR nanotechnology research staff had been using a 7,200 square foot lab in which they were cramped, a university spokesman said.
       

Week In Review

State Capitol Week in Review

        LITTLE ROCK –  The number of state prison inmates who are released on parole is steadily going up while the number who are discharged after serving out their entire sentence is going down, according to a report compiled by prison officials for the state Board of Correction.
        In the decade from 1999 to 2008, the number of Arkansas inmates released on parole went up from 4,677 to 6,160.  Over the same ten-year period the number of inmates discharged after serving their maximum sentence went down from 643 in 1999 to 145 in 2008.
        The report is a recidivism study, which means it is an analysis of the percentage of inmates who are released and then break the law and return to prison. 
        Correction officials reported that from 1999 to 2008, the three-year recidivism rate went down from 54.6 percent to 45.6 percent.  In 1999 the Correction Department released 4,677 inmates on parole and within three years 54.6 percent of them were back in prison.  In 2008 the department released 6,160 inmates on parole and within three years 45.6 percent of them were back in prison.
        The recidivism rate is quite a bit lower for prisoners who are discharged after serving out their full sentences.  The three-year rate for those discharged in 1999 was 28.6 percent.  The rate for those discharged in 2008 was 15.9 percent.  One factor may be age.  The survey found that middle-aged and older offenders, after being released, are less likely to end up back in prison.
        Correction officials are implementing Act 570 of 2011 and paying close attention to its effect on the inmate population.  The 167-page act changes sentencing laws and puts more emphasis on parole, in part because inmates released on parole are under supervision when they return to the free world and inmates discharged after serving out a complete sentence are not supervised.
        Although the overall trends over a ten-year period have been fairly consistent, there have been a few fluctuations in the percentages from year to year that don't seem to follow the pattern.  Prison officials attribute those aberrations to differences in the kinds of inmates released within a certain period. 
        During one year many inmates who become eligible for parole may change their behavior because they are determined to stay out of trouble, but in another year there may be fewer who are willing to make those changes.
        Correction officials are keenly aware of how policy changes affect recidivism rates. For instance, they attribute a jump in the rate from 2007 to 2008 in large part to a policy change -- a new limit on the number of times a parole violator could be housed in the Omega Technical Violator Center near Malvern. 
        They are housed in the Omega center for 60 days if they violate the terms of their parole, such as failing to report to a parole officer or failing a drug test.  After three violations in one year, a hearing officer can place them back in prison and they are counted in recidivism surveys.
        Also in 2011 the legislature added 49 additional parole officers to the Department of Community Correction, which has a staff of 1,182 who supervised an active caseload of 36,705 offenders last year.  Those offenders were on probation or parole, or going through drug courts or boot camp.
        The department housed 1,230 offenders in residential facilities last year.  They had been sentenced mostly for drug crimes, theft of property or burglary.
       

Week In Review

State Capitol Week in Review         LITTLE ROCK –  About 8,000 graduating high school seniors will be eligible for the Academic Challenge Scholarship when they attend an Arkansas college or university next fall.         The Department of Higher Education has notified the seniors and several thousand have officially accepted the awards.  The deadline for all financial aid packages is June 1 for students who plan to attend an Arkansas college or university in the fall semester of 2012 and the spring semester of 2013.         Last year about 31,100 students received Academic Challenge scholarships, which are funded from the state lottery.  Students enrolled at a four-year university receive $4,500 a year if they maintain their eligibility and students at two-year colleges receive $2,250 a year.  Those amounts have been lowered since the 2010 school year, when they were $5,000 and $2,500.  A decline in lottery sales is responsible for the drop off in scholarship amounts.         Students who got $5,000 and $2,500 in 2010 will continue to receive those amounts as long as they maintain their eligibility.  Similarly, students who get $4,500 and $2,250 this year will continue to receive those amounts throughout their college career, as long as they keep up their grades.         According to a study presented to legislators, 41.6 percent of the students who got a lottery scholarship in 2010 failed to get them renewed in 2011.  Among the requirements for maintaining eligibility are to earn 15 hours in the fall and 15 hours in the spring, to successfully complete 30 hours during the year, with a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.5.         The renewal requirements are slightly lower for first-time recipients.  They have to enroll in 12 hours in their first fall semester and complete 27 hours in their first year.          In following years they must complete 30 hours.  Whether or not they are first-time recipients, they must all maintain a 2.5 cumulative grade point average.         If students have fallen behind in the current school year, they can take summer courses to complete their requirements.  A transcript of their summer courses must be turned in to the Higher Education Department by October 1, 2012.         Legislators voiced concerns that there are still high school students who are unaware of the availability of lottery scholarships.  The Lottery Commission and the Department of Higher Education are fine tuning their marketing to better reach young people.  The director of the Higher Education Department said that marketing emphasizes to young people the importance of knowing what grades they must maintain to keep the scholarships.         High school counselors are an important source of information about all types of financial aid.         In related news, the University of Arkansas will increase tuition at its four-year universities next year.  The increases range from 3.21 percent to 5.28 percent at campuses in Fayetteville, Little Rock, Fort Smith, Pine Bluff and Monticello.  Five two-year community colleges in the system will increase tuition by 1.94 percent to 3.67 percent.         In all, Arkansas has 22 two-year colleges and 11 four-year universities that are supported by tax dollars, as well as by tuition, fees, donations and licensing arrangements.  The Higher Education Department distributes about $170 million a year in financial aid programs to help students afford the cost of higher education.  Last year about $94 million of that came from lottery ticket sales.

Week In Review

State Capitol Week in Review April 13, 2012         LITTLE ROCK –  The state of Arkansas has won a judgment at the trial court level against a major pharmaceutical manufacturer and its subsidiary, winning a judgment of $1.2 billion for the state's Medicaid fund.         The drug manufacturer is Johnson and Johnson and its subsidiary is Janssen Pharmaceutica.  They are expected to appeal the fine, which was ordered by a Pulaski County circuit judge.         The attorney general, representing the state of Arkansas, filed the suit in 2007.  The trial lasted two weeks.  A jury of six men and six women deliberated for about three hours before issuing a verdict saying the pharmaceutical companies committed Medicaid fraud and used deceptive trade practices by hiding the negative side effects of a drug commonly prescribed for people with mental disorders.         The potential side effects of the drug are diabetes, hormonal changes that affect the sexual development of children, increased likelihood of strokes in elderly people and excessive weight gain in users of all ages.  Jurors were asked to determine whether the company's labeling accurately disclosed its possible side effects.  The jurors were also asked to determine if a letter to Arkansas physicians about the drug was deceptive.         The drug manufacturer has a mixed record in defending itself in similar lawsuits in other states.  According to news reports it has won on appeal in West Virginia and at the trial court level in Pennsylvania.  It lost in South Carolina and Louisiana and is appealing those verdicts, which impose fines totaling more than $327 million.  Earlier this year the drug company settled a case brought by Texas officials and agreed to pay that state $158 million.          Also, the federal government is seeking to impose a fine of $1.8 billion against the company and is in negotiations on a settlement.         The judgment in Pulaski County raised comparisons with the 1998 legal settlement with major tobacco companies, under which Arkansas is supposed to get an estimated $1.6 billion over 25 years.         The fine of $1.2 billion against the pharmaceutical manufacturer is based on the number of prescriptions that the state Medicaid program paid for over a three-and-a-half year period.  During the trial the state claimed that Arkansas Medicaid paid for 238,874 prescriptions and each one was a violation of laws against Medicaid fraud.         The company's attorneys disputed the number of violations, arguing the number of claims by the state should be 1,319 and that it was excessive to base financial penalties on more than 238,000 separate violations.          Also, the drug company claimed that no financial fraud occurred because each prescription was medically necessary, adding that no evidence was presented during trial that proved any patient suffered harm from taking the drug and arguing that no physician had complained about its side effects.         The attorney general said he was grateful to the jury for holding the drug manufacturers accountable, and that the jury confirmed that the two drug companies had lied to physicians and patients in their marketing campaign.         Last fiscal year the state Medicaid program processed more than 39 million claims from 12,300 providers, such as physicians, clinics and hospitals.  Those claims sought reimbursement for medical treatment of 770,000 Arkansans.

Week In Review

                                                  
State Capitol Week in Review

        LITTLE ROCK –  The state's medical school is taking steps to establish a dental school at its Little Rock campus.
        Foundations have donated large sums to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences for its long-range plans to expand teaching at its school of dental hygiene and oral health clinics.  It will take several years but eventually the goal is for Arkansas to have its own school of dentistry, which should go a long way toward alleviating the shortage of dental services in many parts of the state.
        The director of the UAMS Center for Dental Education said it would take at least five years of preparation to establish a dentistry program.
        Arkansas is one of 14 states without its own dental program.  Arkansas college students who wish to study dentistry must attend programs in other states.  The majority go to Tennessee.
        The availability of dental services is best in suburban areas and worst in areas of poverty.  The director of the Center for Dental Education said that there is a demand within the state for a dental program.  An Arkansas school of dentistry likely will spread out the distribution of dentists throughout the state.  Now, most dentists are clustered in the state's eight most populous counties and five rural counties in Arkansas have no dentist at all, he said.
        UAMS  plans to open a dental clinic at its Little Rock campus later this year, where patients can get dental services and faculty can teach students about dentistry and oral health.
        There is a dental hygiene program at the UAMS College of Health Related Professions in Little Rock, and since 2009 the Department of Dental Hygiene also has offered classes at the campus of Arkansas State University at Mountain Home. 
        Students at Mountain Home learn from faculty in Little Rock using interactive video.  They get clinical instruction and lab classes from faculty in Mountain Home.
        On average, the Little Rock campus enrolls 34 students a year and the Mountain Home campus five students a year.
        Arkansas has about 1,300 dentists and about 32 newly licensed dentists start practicing in the state each year.  Many are in the Baby Boom generation and are expected to retire in the next few years, so a school of dentistry at UAMS would help alleviate an expected shortage of dentists.
        UAMS has a College of Pharmacy, a College of Nursing, a College of Public Health and a Graduate School.  In addition to dental hygiene, its College of Health Related Professions has numerous programs in fields such as cytotechnology, radiation therapy, nuclear medicine imaging,  surgical technology and respiratory care.  Five years ago UAMS opened a regional campus in Fayetteville called UAMS Northwest.

Century Farm Program

        The Arkansas Agriculture Department wants to recognize families who have farmed the same land for 100 years or more, as of December 31, 2012.  Their property may have passed down in the family through children, grandchildren, nephews or nieces, marriage or adoption.  The farming operation must be at least 10 acres of the original land acquisition.
        There is no cost to apply.  Qualified applicants will receive a metal sign and a certificate.  You may call 501-225-1598 for information or get on the department's web site at www.aad.arkansas.gov and click on Century Farm Program on the left side of the front page.

Week In Review

This is my first post from my IPad - nothing to it. State Capitol Week in Review March 30, 2012         LITTLE ROCK –  The state attorney general has officially asked in federal court for an end to state payments to the three school districts in Pulaski County in a long-running desegregation case.         The state has paid more than $1 billion to the three districts since 1989, when the federal court accepted a settlement among the Pulaski County districts and state government.         The amounts paid every year by the state to the three districts mean that every other school district in Arkansas has a financial stake in the outcome of the lawsuit.  So do institutions of higher education and state government agencies that are funded with general revenue, such as the Medicaid program and prisons.          That is because payments in the desegregation settlement are made "off the top" of the state budget, in the same way that income tax refunds are taken from state revenue and sent to taxpayers.  Desegregation payments, like income tax refunds, are not counted as part of the state's net revenue available for distribution to pay for state services.         The attorney general's office, which represents the state in lawsuits, argued before the federal court that the state should be allowed to end payments because the Little Rock and North Little Rock districts have officially been declared desegregated.          The third school district that receives state payments under the settlement, the Pulaski County Special School District, has been ruled partially desegregated by a federal court.  The attorney general says that all the districts in Pulaski County have been released from their obligations to racially balance their schools, and therefore the state should be released from its obligation to pay for efforts to racially balance the three school districts.         A major issue before the federal judge is whether the state should continue to help pay for magnet schools in Pulaski County and for "majority to minority" transfers, known in shorthand as "M to M" transfers.  The transfers allow a black student to attend school in a district that is majority white, or a white student to attend in a district that is majority black.          Magnet schools in Little Rock are 50 to 55 percent black and are an important component in the efforts of Pulaski County schools to desegregate.         Another looming issue is the number of charter schools in Pulaski County that have been approved by the state Board of Education.  The Little Rock School District argues that the state has violated the desegregation settlement because the state Board of Education has approved so many open enrollment charters.          The Little Rock district contends that charter schools attract students who otherwise might attend magnet schools or who might participate in majority  to minority transfers.         There are 11 open enrollment charters in Pulaski County with more than 4,500 students.  Charters are publicly-funded schools that are allowed flexibility in their curriculum and other education standards.  The goal is to encourage innovative teaching strategies and to enable charters to better teach gifted students as well as disadvantaged students.         Little Rock's attorneys claim that the charters in Pulaski County hamper the efforts of magnet schools, which have 3,500 students, and the "M to M" transfer program, in which 1,800 students participate.  Little Rock's attorneys have asked the federal courts to put a stop to any new charters in Pulaski County.