MMA News
MMA Awarded Funds to Enlist Doctors in Smoke-Free Fight
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota has awarded the Minnesota Medical Association (MMA) a two-year contract to mobilize physicians around the state to advocate for tobacco prevention efforts in their communities. The MMA will use the funds to recruit, educate, and assist physicians in lobbying for their communities to adopt smoke-free workplace ordinances. The MMA will provide physicians with the latest information about the dangers of secondhand smoke and train them in advocacy tactics such as writing letters to their local newspaper editors, testifying at hearings, and lobbying lawmakers. The MMA will also develop advertisements, a Web site, and printed materials.
“We are looking forward to partnering with local physicians and medical societies to help them create smoke-free communities,” says Julian Locke Micko, MMA manager of grassroots advocacy. Several cities in Minnesota have already passed smoke-free ordinances. In many of those efforts, physicians played a crucial role in convincing lawmakers to enact bans on smoking in bars and restaurants. At the same time, the Minnesota Legislature has failed to pass a statewide ban on smoking in all public places.
“As we have faced roadblocks at the Legislature, cities and municipalities have moved forward with smoke-free policies,” says Locke Micko. “If we convince more cities to pass these ordinances, Minnesota will achieve a critical mass of smoke-free towns that will help save lives and convince lawmakers to pass a statewide ban.”
The MMA received the award after responding to a request for proposals from Prevention Minnesota, Blue Cross’s long-term health- improvement initiative that is working to tackle causes of preventable heart disease and cancer.
To participate in the MMA’s efforts or learn more, please contact Julian Locke Micko at 612/362-3745 or 800/342-5662 or at jlocke@mnmed.org.
Sponsor The Power of the Pyramid
The MMA is still seeking sponsors for performances of The Power of the Pyramid play in greater Minnesota. The play teaches children about fitness and nutrition. Contact MMA Communications Director Lorrie Holmgren at 800/ DIALMMA (800/342-5662) or lholmgren@mnmed.org.
Did you know?
Minnesota will soon have a more lax smoking policy than France, which will ban smoking in bars and restaurants January 1, 2008.
People in Duluth will no longer be able to smoke within 100 feet of hospitals or medical or dental clinics because of a recently passed ordinance.
The MMA has launched a new patient safety and quality Web site with useful links and resources. You’ll find featured links on the MMA home page (www.MMA online.net).
Dannon will reduce the amount of sugar in its Danimals yogurt cups for kids by 25 percent as part of an agreement with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, an initiative of the William J. Clinton Foundation.
Rochester Doctors Want to Derail Railroad Project
In a letter sent in October, the Minnesota Medical Association (MMA) asked the Federal Railroad Administration and Congress to halt a scheme that would allow more trains carrying coal and hazardous cargo to pass through the city of Rochester.
The action came after the 2006 MMA House of Delegates adopted a resolution calling for the MMA to join with Rochester physicians in their opposition to the plan.
The Dakota, Minnesota, and Eastern Railroad (DM&E) has proposed a $6 billion upgrade and expansion of its main line for the purpose of transporting low-sulfur coal from Wyoming to Winona, where it could then be shipped down the Mississippi River.
Under DM&E’s proposal, the number of trains that pass through Rochester each day could jump from a handful to more than 34, some of which would be a mile long.
Physicians are concerned that the additional train traffic will present a public health hazard by blocking emergency vehicles that respond to the 22,550 emergency calls each year from the city’s hospitals.
“The railroad track cuts the city in half, and there are not many crossing points,” says MMA President and Rochester surgeon G. Richard Geier, M.D. “So a train with 100-plus cars could keep vehicles from getting to the Mayo hospitals.”
The proposal would also allow unrestricted cargo, including hazardous materials, to pass through the city.
Physicians are concerned that critically ill patients would be unable to be evacuated fast enough to ensure their safety if there were a hazardous materials spill. Approximately 1,500 patients at the Mayo Clinic and two other medical centers in Rochester are close to the rail line. Another issue is the fact that the DM&E has a higher-than-average accident rate that includes numerous infractions regarding hazardous materials, leaking tank cars, and unsecured boxcars. Increasing train speed would also increase the possibility of derailments, toxic spills, release of poisonous fumes, fires, and explosions. In addition, there’s concern about vibrations from the trains affecting sensitive diagnostic devices used at the Mayo Clinic, Geier says.
The railroad has applied to the Federal Rail Administration for a $2 billion loan to help fund the project.
Health risks aside, Geier says he’s skeptical about whether the project will provide the government or the public a return commensurate with a $2 billion investment.
“In my mind, the whole thing’s kind of a boondoggle,” Geier says. “It’s bigger than the Chrysler bailout for a two-bit railroad with a bad record.” The federal government guaranteed $1 billion in loans to Chrysler in 1980.
Is Your Home Address on the BMP Web Site?
The MMA recently received an alarming phone call from a physician who noticed that his home address was posted on the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice (BMP) Web site.
The BMP recently started making more information about physicians available to the public, including physician profiles.
If you included your home address in your profile, there is a chance it may be published on the BMP site. The MMA strongly encourages physicians to check their profile.
The database can be searched by name, city, or specialty.