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Illinois Updates

 

Illinois Emergency Management Agency Inspecting Mammography Equipment

 

The Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) is taking steps to ensure that women are receiving high-quality mammograms. Each year, IEMA thoroughly inspects mammography equipment to ensure every machine is operating properly and women are getting accurate results. The Governor is taking this opportunity once again to encourage every woman to get screened just a few weeks after he expanded the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program (IBCCP), making Illinois the first and only state in the nation to offer every uninsured woman access to cancer screenings and treatment.

Illinois is one of only three states in the nation approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to certify mammography facilities under the Mammography Quality Standards Act (MQSA) States as Certifiers Program. Illinois began conducting MQSA mammography equipment inspections in 1995 through a contract with FDA, and became a certifying state in 1998. Besides Illinois, only Iowa and South Carolina are part of the MQSA State Certifying Agency Program. IEMA has 11 state inspectors who personally inspect each of the nearly 400 mammography units in the state every year. The FDA recently commended the state’s mammography inspection program for its performance following an annual evaluation.

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SB 509 Signed into Law:  Improve Consumer Services at Illinois Pharmacies  

Governor Rod R. Blagojevich today signed a new law that completely overhauls the pharmacy regulations for all Illinois pharmacies and pharmacists, and improves consumer services. Senate Bill 509, re-writes the Pharmacy Practice Act which has remained relatively unchanged since 1987. The changes reflect the growing importance of the role pharmacists play in providing care to Illinois families. The bill was sponsored by State Senator Terry Link (D-Lake Bluff) and State Representative Jack Franks (D-Woodstock). Some of the more significant improvements will allow pharmacists to work more closely with physicians in providing healthcare at the convenience and savings of Illinois patients; pharmacists will also be able to work in close cooperation with doctors to provide immunization services, Medication Therapy Management services, and utilize advanced technology to provide patient care records by using a common database.   The bill also allows retail pharmacies to establish stand-alone kiosks within the store. When the pharmacy counter is particularly busy, customers may pick up prescriptions without waiting in line. Patients using the kiosks will also have immediate access to a pharmacist, either by phone or online if they have questions about their prescription or the instructions. The Act outlines specific safety and security requirements to ensure safe delivery of prescription medication to the public.

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Federal Legislation:

 

Victory for the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program: The Senate and the House last night approved $138 million in FY 2008 funding for the Department of Defense peer-reviewed Breast Cancer Research Programs (DOD BCRP), created in 1991 as a result of the National Breast Cancer Coalition's advocacy. The appropriated funding is a $10.5 million increase over FY 2007's $127.5 million appropriation.  The bill now goes to the President to be signed. 

 

193 House members signed the Conferee Letter, asking Defense Appropriations Conferees support the appropriation of $150 million for FY 2008 for the DOD BCRP. Thank the Representatives below for their work!

 

Melissa L. Bean (D)

Judy Biggert (R) LEAD

Danny K. Davis (D)

Luis V. Gutierrez (D)

Jesse L. Jackson Jr. (D)

Timothy V. Johnson (R)

Daniel Lipinski (D)

Donald A. Manzullo (R)

Peter J. Roskam (R)

Bobby L. Rush (D)

Janice D. Schakowsky (D)

ACTION: Click on your above Representative and send them an email, thanking them for their help in urging the House Conferees to fund the full $150 million for the program, and succeeded in getting 10.5 million more for the program than last year.

If you have any questions, email Y-ME Illinois Advocacy at illinoisadvocacy@y-me.org. If you are not sure who represents your district, click here to visit Y-ME Advocacy!

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Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act S. 579: There are 67 Senate cosponsors on S. 579, however, the legislation is still sitting in the HELP Committee.

ACTION: Keep watch of your in box for an alert to get the bill moving.

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Alert Watch: An Advocacy Alert is heading your way! Learn more now about the Comprehensive Cancer Care Act now:

Comprehensive Cancer Care Improvement Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage of comprehensive cancer care planning services to provide individuals diagnosed with cancer a plan that details all aspects of the care to be provided.

Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish standards for such services. Directs the Secretary to conduct a two-year demonstration project under which Medicare payments will be made for comprehensive cancer care symptom management services furnished by an eligible entity in accordance with a described plan.

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Advocacy Events

 

Think Pink: Thank you to Mary Klimczak and the Legal Department at BP!

This year’s 2007 Think Pink! event at BP in Warrenville, Illinois was a great success. On October 25^th, employees came together for an afternoon of prizes, arts and crafts and enjoyed lunch, all while raising money for Y-ME Illinois Advocacy. A special thanks to BP for matching all donations made to Y-ME Illinois at Think Pink. We are so pleased to receive everyone’s support and look forward to utilizing the funds to educate survivors, supporters and volunteers to become stronger advocates!

If you or your organization is conducting a third-party event for Y-ME Illinois, ask us how you can designate the funds raised to go directly to advocacy!

 

 

Project LEAD:

 

Everyone at Y-ME Illinois would like to extend a big congratulations to those advocates attending NBCC's Quality Care Project LEAD next week in Washington, DC.  Share your experience when you return by e-mailing illinoisadvocacy@y-me.org and encourage other advocates to attend!

 

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Upcoming Conferences

The 9th Annual Illinois Women's Health Conference:

 

The conference will be held November 14-15, 2007, at the Doubletree Hotel Chicago in Oak Brook, Illinois. Panel discussions will include evidence-based health care, cervical cancer, estrogen, nutrition and more.  Click here to learn more or register for the conference.

 

NBCC Annual Advocacy Training Conference

 

When: April 26-29th, 2008

Where: Renaissance Hotel, Washington, DC

 

Early Bird registration is now available.  Stay tuned for more information about NBCC and Y-ME Illinois scholarship information and Team Leader announcements.

 

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SAVE THE DATE

 

Y-ME IlliNOISY Committee Meeting

 

When: November 19th, 2007 5:30pm

Where: Y-ME Illinois office or by conference call

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In the News

 

Health:

Our Diet Must Change To Cut Cancer Risk, Experts Urge

Employer-Sponsored Health Coverage Decreasing Because of High Costs, Study Says  Fewer U.S. residents younger than age 65 had health insurance through an employer between 2005 and 2006 than between 2000 and 2001, largely because of cutbacks due to rising health care costs, according to a study released Wednesday by the Economic Policy Institute, the Newark Star-Ledger reports.

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Research:

 

Transparent Zebrafish Help Researchers Track Breast Cancer

 

Chemotherapy For Breast Cancer More Successful If Certain Protein Is Expressed, Study Suggests

 

Biomarker May Be An Early Predictor Of Advanced Breast Cancer

Science Daily: November 5, 2007

Researchers have identified a molecule that may be more accurate than existing biological signposts used to predict which breast cancers will develop into advanced forms of the disease.

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Did you know?

• Although U.S. Spends Twice as Much as Other Industrialized Nations on Health Care, More in This Country Have Access Problems, Survey Finds [Nov 01, 2007] Though the U.S. spends twice as much on health care per capita as those in other industrialized nations, adults in the U.S. experience more problems with access to care and more medical errors, according to a survey published on Thursday on the Web site of the journal Health Affairs, Reuters reports.
• According to the journal Physicians Practice, less than 10% of U.S. physicians currently sell prescription drugs at their clinics.
• More than one-fourth of U.S. adults rank health care as one of the two most important issues in the 2008 presidential election, according to a Washington Post/ABC News poll released on Sunday.
• November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month: Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers. The Illinois Emergency Management Agency urges you to test your home for Radon this November.