Public Health

Christopher J. Conners, 51, an attending physician in diagnostic radiology at Lankenau Hospital from June 1992 to March 2001, drowned Tuesday, July 3, in a boating accident off the Danish island of Mon. Since 2009, he had been an attending physician in teleradiology service for NightHawk Radiology Services, with headquarters in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Dr. Conners worked for the firm most recently from its offices in Sydney, Australia, and Zurich, Switzerland, his sister, Anne, said.

Delaware officials on Friday suspended the license of an internationally known pediatrician whose 11-year-old daughter said he had "waterboarded" her. Melvin Morse, 58, poses a "clear and immediate danger to the public health," declared a filing published on the website of the Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline. Morse, who has written several best-sellers about near-death experiences and appeared on numerous TV talk shows, was arrested Tuesday at his Georgetown home after his daughter told investigators Morse "waterboarded" her as a punishment.

Delaware state officials yesterday suspended the license of an internationally-known pediatrician accused of "waterboarding" his 11-year-old daughter. Melvin Morse, 58, poses a "clear and immediate danger to the public health," declared a filing published on the website of the Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline. Morse, who has written several best-sellers about near-death experiences and appeared on numerous TV talk shows, was arrested Tuesday at his Georgetown home after his daughter told investigators Morse waterboarded her as a punishment.

Now that the Supreme Court has decreed that President Obama can impose his massive health-care plan on the American people, the Republicans believe that the controversial Affordable Care Act will help them come November, just as it did in the 2010 elections. Mitt Romney has promised to act to repeal all 2,801 pages of the president's signature initiative during his first day in the Oval Office. Moreover, conservative policy wonks are offering commonsense health-care reforms that would shift power from the federal government to the states, private markets, and patients.

John O'Donnell Mangan III, 71, of Blue Bell, a health-care administrator, died Monday, July 16, at Jefferson University Hospital of a stroke. For 14 years until retiring last month, Mr. Mangan had been an administrator for Keystone Mercy Health Plan's Provider Network Management Department. Previously, he had a 29-year career with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, serving in various positions, including as a district director, mental-health delegate, and assistant commissioner.

WASHINGTON — The two most popular guys at the Hyatt Regency ballroom on Capitol Hill on Thursday were Mayor Nutter and the New York York City health commissioner, and both were beloved for precisely the reasons that they have endured ridicule across the nation: taking on Big Soda. "I'm in love with Mayor Nutter," said Kirsten Aird, a public health educator, whose excitement at hearing an elected official "so eloquently" describe the challenges of obesity and smoking moved her to spontaneously call her boss in Portland, Ore. This was the National Soda Summit, a 1½-day gathering of 250 public health workers and researchers who wanted to hear the latest science about the effects of sugary drinks on the body and the latest thinking about how to convince a skeptical public that they can be harmful.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's brave and provocative new plan to prohibit sales of large soft drinks would seem to promote public health at minimal cost to residents. It looks like the kind of tough regulatory action the nation needs to combat an obesity epidemic that could make this generation of schoolchildren the first in centuries to have a shorter average life span than their parents.   As a physician who has written extensively about the unconscious forces that cause people to overeat, I believe governments should pursue bold initiatives to fight obesity.

A rapid home test for HIV, similar to early pregnancy tests, will be considered by a federal advisory committee on Tuesday, a move that many public health experts believe could eventually help calm Americans' fears of HIV, leading them to view it as just another serious chronic illness. An over-the-counter test offers new hope against an epidemic whose numbers in the United States have hardly budged in more than 15 years. An estimated 50 percent to 70 percent of the more than 50,000 new HIV cases annually are transmitted by people who were unaware that they were infected.

I've been having some crappy mornings lately - literally. I walk out my door, admire the contrast of the cherry blossoms against the crisp blue sky, and then hobble over a fresh mound of dog droppings. The Spring Garden section of Philadelphia is scattered with such treasures, occasionally encased in blue plastic bags. On trash day, I return home to a recycling bin containing at least three of these goody bags to bring back into the house. Let's face it: Dealing with dog waste, whether you own a dog or not, is a fact of life.