| Nigeria, Gambia lead delegations to Liberia over insurance crisis
Nigeria, Gambia and two other countries are to lead a team of delegations of insurance operators from those countries to Liberia with the mission to settle lingering crisis of strange insurance claims in Liberia. Mr Olusola Ladipo-Ajayi, chief executive of LASACO Assurance Plc, who is also the chairman of the delegations to Liberia, is to be accompanied by Dr Mike Ikupolati, Director-General of the West African Insurance Institute (WAII) representing Nigeria, Ms Senor Thomas, President of the West African Insurance Companies Association (WAICA) from Gambia. She will be the mouth-piece of the four countries to address the Liberian led administration of Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, while Mr Solomon Samba of Sierra Leone and Mr William Agbeyenga of Ghana are to represent the two other countries, Ghana and Sierra Leone Insurance sector in Liberia, comprising two state-owned insurance companies and 13 private ones, are being threatened with controversies and litigations on claims arising from destruction caused by the 15 years of war that broke out in that country. Liberian insurance industry is currently saddled with claims of war times damages that are not covered under insurance policies.
CITY OF TOLEDO Council ends battle over budget, trash fee
Toledo City Council ended a marathon process of negotiations and proposals by passing a final budget for fiscal year 2007 on March 30, just one day before the deadline for balanced budgets mandated by state law. When City Council failed to approve the final budget at its meeting March 27, it sent the budget negotiations into double overtime on Thursday and Friday. After two days of negotiating and voting, City Council President Rob Ludeman moved to add the revised amendments to the budget dated March 30, 2007, and further rescind all previous actions taken by Council on the budget. A roll call vote was taken on passage of the ordinance as an emergency measure and was approved 7-5. The amended budget included a monthly refuse fee of $5.50, or $3 for people who recycle.
Scrips for success
Despite a precipitous drop in the number of independent pharmacies in the past two decades, their numbers have actually stabilized, and even increased slightly, over the past five years. According to the National Community Pharmacists Association, the total number of independent pharmacies nationwide edged up to 24,500 in 2005, compared with 24,345 the year before. Meanwhile, the number of independent community pharmacies in Massachusetts has climbed more than 42 percent from a low of 176 some five years ago to more than 250 currently, according to the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy. And that number is likely higher, since NABP only counts pharmacies with less than four locations as independents. Compounding the solution The reason for the uptick, experts say, is that independent pharmacies have found niches that let them better compete with the big-box chains that continue to expand in the region and across the country.
Insurance Company Sponsoring Snack Drive for Soldiers
(Columbia) - Colonial Supplemental Insurance and the Midlands Chapter of the Blue Star Mothers of America are sponsoring a drive for snack items for soldiers deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.
The drive is collecting bagged beef jerky, bagged or canned nuts, powdered drink mixes, or other durable snack items. Drive coordinators say no glass containers or items that can be crushed or melted will be accepted.
The groups will start taking donations at Colonial's national headquarters on Tuesday, April 17 between 7:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.
The company's building can be found at 1200 Colonial Life Boulevard, just off Bush River Road near Dutch Square Mall, or from the Colonial Life Boulevard exit from Interstate 126.
For more information, contact Ann Ricard at 206-6088 or visit www.bluestarmotherssc.com.
Your next landlord could be your boss
MIAMI -- As chief executive of South Florida's largest health organization, Brian Keeley never dreamed he'd be contemplating fabric swatches and paint samples. Then again, he never thought he'd be jumping into the housing business.
But faced with the prospect of opening a sixth hospital without the 800 employees needed to staff it, Baptist Health South Florida plans to build and/or buy affordable rental housing to attract nurses and other workers.
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Colorectal exam can save your life
The U.S. health care system got mixed reviews in a recent federal report: Overall quality is improving, but not enough Americans are getting preventive health screenings.
First, the good news: hospital care for heart attack victims improved 15 percent, for example, and vaccinations for children, adolescents and the elderly improved by 6 percent, according to the 2006 National Healthcare Quality Report by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
But in other areas, such as colorectal cancer screening, significant improvement opportunities remain. Only 52 percent of adults, for example, received recommended colorectal cancer screenings, according to the report.
March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. Excellus BlueCross BlueShield and the American Cancer Society urge all people to be vigilant about being tested for colon cancer especially as Baby Boomers age and increasingly need such screenings.
Business Update
Business Update is a weekly omnibus of business information based on news releases from companies in Japan and abroad, domestic and international organizations, diplomatic missions and other entities. AUTOMOBILES Mazda Motor Corp. has established Mazda Motor Belux, a new national sales company in Europe. Distribution has been officially transferred from Beherman Auto, an independent distributor. The appointment of Olivier Sermeus as Mazda Motor Belux's managing director was announced by Mazda Motor Europe in December. The Mazda network in Belgium and Luxembourg now consists of 63 distributors and 40 auto repair companies. In line with its efforts to strengthen its brand image and further develop its sales network in Europe, Mazda launched new European national sales companies in the Czech Republic, Ireland, Russia and Slovakia last year.
The emergence of the Convenient Care Clinic
April 4, 2007 An interesting development in the health system in the U.S. of recent times has been a new type of health facility that is beginning to pop-up at local drug stores, discount stores and various supermarkets. In the store's local pharmacy, many establishments have set up mini-clinics. Operating specifically in high-traffic retail outlets with accessible pharmacy services, these clinics provide routine, non-emergency services to walk-in patients at affordable prices seven days a week. These mini-clinics cost half of what patients typically pay for a regular doctor's visit and are roughly one-sixth the cost of an emergency room visit. Patients who visit these mini-clinics are treated by a family nurse practitioner or a physician's assistant both of whom can write prescriptions and perform a full exam.
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