TITANIC

Afshar Hospital, Afghanistan’s newest, has been recognized by the U.S. Department of State for its efforts to provide health care and ease the suffering of the residents of Kabul and surrounding countryside.

In a letter to Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, Richard Verma, the agency’s assistant secretary legislative affairs, called Afghanistan’s health care system “among the least effective in the world.” And he said, “The building of Afshar Hospital is an important response to this important problem and a testament to American generosity and resourcefulness.”

Verma also praised Dr. Mark Scoffield, president and CEO of American Overseas Medical Relief, which helped build and supports Afshar. He said in the letter that his agency has followed up with the U.S. Embassy in Kabul and has confirmed that a USAID technical health team “will schedule a visit in the near future to assess the needs of the hospital in order to identify potential areas of collaboration.”

Afshar, with 110 employees and 85 beds, has saved many lives since opening in 2009. About 3,000 people per month come to the hospital, which is in a badly under-served region. The facility treats everybody, but focuses on maternal and newborn care, trauma and urgent care and nutrition and other issues.

Afghanistan is a nation in shambles, and the hospital is in an area with a shortage of doctors. Some 40% of all Afghan children die before they reach 5 years old, one of every four mothers dies giving birth and 39% of all children there are malnourished.

Afshar Hospital is working to save lives, one child at a time. Contributions to American Medical Overseas Relief will be used to provide basic immunizations and medicine to children like these. Contributions can be made at http://www.amorelief.org/.

Every kind of insurance sold in Alabama is regulated by Alabama’s Department of Insurance. This means if you are having trouble finding affordable health insurance in Alabama, you can contact the Department of Insurance for assistance. The Alabama Department of Insurance can give you specific information about health insurance for adults such as the Alabama Health Insurance Plan, for children such as Allkids, and for seniors, including Medicare and Medicaid. The Alabama State Health Insurance Assistance Program, also known as SHIP, provides information about Medicare, while the Alabama Medicaid Agency can help you obtain affordable Alabama health insurance if you meet certain qualifications.

If you obtain your health insurance through your employer in the form of an employer-sponsored group health plan, your health insurance is also regulated by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration, or the EBSA. While the EBSA may not be able to help you find Alabama affordable health insurance, they can help you with any situations you may have with your current health insurance plan. Such situations may include:

o Not being offered Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, also known as COBRA, continuation health care coverage even though you believe you were eligible

o Feeling that your health insurance plan was terminated on unjust grounds

o Having general concerns about the way your employer handles the group health insurance plan offered to his or her employees

Both the Alabama Department of Insurance and the Employee Benefits Security Administration will be able to help you if you have any questions or concerns about your COBRA continuation health care coverage, as well as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, also known as HIPAA.

You can shop for affordable health insurance online, but to ensure you are getting Alabama-specific information and coverage, your first stop should be the Alabama’s Department of Insurance or the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration, depending on your situation.

When starting with a catering business you will be required to have many licenses and certifications, and must adhere to Health Department regulations. You will need to contact your local Health Department for the specific regulations, certifications, licenses, and insurance information for your area. The Health Department also usually requires an inspection of the area to be used for your catering business.

The cooks and employees need to be clearly aware of food service sanitation especially when it comes to the storage of finished or prepared food. And this knowledge affects the decision of the health department in order to approve the kitchen. Certain food items always have specific regulations and therefore if the kitchen is going to prepare those kinds of food in particular then these precise regulations should be known by the workers.

There is a legal obligation to provide information and training on health and safety to all employees who need it, including full time staff, new recruits and part-timers. Slips, trips and falls give rise to a third of all reported accidents in catering premises. Consider floor cleaning, procedures to clean up spillages, and appropriate footwear. These will be inspected by the health department officers as to what steps are taken to prevent such accidents. All precautions are therefore a necessity. It is vital to show to the officers that you are taking all necessary measures to keep your employees as well as your guests safe from all kinds of accidents including food- borne illness or fire or even a slip. Consider what causes burns and scalds. The safe use of oven cloths is to be done by keeping them dry and in good condition. Many cleaning agents can cause bad burns and eyes are particularly at risk.

You ought to clearly remind your employees that while at work they have a legal duty to take reasonable care of the health and safety of themselves, their colleagues and others with whom they come in contact as well their guests and also they ought to co-operate with their employer in complying with health and safety requirements.

The health department will check that all the equipments are in safe working order and are being correctly used, cleaned, maintained and stored and that the staff is trained in the correct use and cleaning of equipment before they are allowed to use it.

The procedures regarding the food items are to be inspected like whether the products are being correctly handled and safe procedures are followed while lifting and handling, cleaning, including proper isolation of equipment, safe use of chemicals; and use of protective clothing and equipment such as gloves and goggles if required.

Proper hygiene is to be maintained in the kitchen. When the place is inspected and the main chef is probably interviewed the health department will check the knowledge on proper hygiene before approving the kitchen. These are the most important facts to remember in order to get the approval of the state or local health department.