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Friday, April 24, 2020

Video Trial on Fluoridation Chemicals Set for June 8 in Federal Court

Video Trial on Fluoridation Chemicals Set for June 8 in Federal Court 

 

News provided by
Fluoride Action Network
Apr 20, 2020, 15:06 ET

NEW YORK, April 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Twice-delayed, a lawsuit seeking to prohibit the addition of fluoridation chemicals to public water systems in the U.S. because of the threat fluoride poses to the developing brain will begin June 8, reports the Fluoride Action Network (FAN).

Under the jurisdiction of the U.S. District Court in San Francisco, the eight-day trial will be conducted by video conference, rather than in the courtroom, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

FAN is the lead plaintiff in the groundbreaking case, which challenges a practice endorsed by the U.S. Public Health Service 70 years ago and that today affects more than 200 million Americans through water systems in thousands of communities.

In accordance with U.S. law, the trial will be accessible to the public, although details remain to be worked out. Whatever the precise format, fluoridation, aggressively promoted by the American Dental Association and the government as a tooth decay preventative, will get a close look over eight days.

As plaintiff, FAN is joined by Moms Against Fluoridation and the consumer advocacy group Food and Water Watch. The groups are joined by several individuals representing themselves and/or their children.

Plaintiffs are represented by Michael Connett and C. Andrew Waters of Waters Kraus and Paul of El Segundo, California. The defendant is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), represented by the Environmental Defense Section of the U.S. Department of Justice.

"This case is groundbreaking for the opposition to fluoridation," said Paul Connett, FAN Executive Director. "Several well-conducted and government funded Mother-Offspring studies indicate that fluoride has the potential to lower the children's IQ. These studies have changed the ball-game on the argument over fluoride's neurotoxicity."

EPA plans to call on hired experts from the consulting firm Exponent Inc., known for servicing large corporations.

The lawsuit falls under the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 (TSCA) which gives  EPA the authority to prohibit "the particular use" of a chemical substance if it presents an unreasonable risk to the general public or susceptible subpopulations.

The plaintiffs submitted a Citizens Petition under Section 21 of TSCA to the EPA in November 2016 requesting a ban on the addition of fluoridation chemicals to water. When the EPA denied their Petition, they filed suit in federal court.


A Fact Sheet providing further information on the case is at http://fluoridealert.org/tsca-fact-sheet/
SOURCE Fluoride Action Network

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Thursday, April 23, 2020

More than a third of New Englanders may be unable to pay rent amid coronavirus shutdowns

More than a third of New Englanders may be unable to pay rent amid coronavirus shutdowns

Wednesday, April 22, 2020

MNA Nurses Denounce Mental Health Unit Closure at Heywood Hospital Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

MNA Nurses Denounce Mental Health Unit Closure at Heywood Hospital Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

04.22.2020

Heywood Healthcare says it closed its MHU for financial reasons despite paying its CEO nearly $1 million in 2018 and more than $800 million in extra state and federal funding going to MA hospitals

GARDNER, Mass. – The registered nurses of Heywood Hospital, represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association, are strongly against the closure of their mental health unit and call on Heywood Healthcare to re-open the unit, which is a critical service for those in need of specialized psychiatric care and is especially essential during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our mental health unit is an essential service for vulnerable members of our community,” said Kara Belmonte, a registered nurse in the MHU at Heywood Hospital who has been furloughed due to the closure. “There will be a wave of patients seeking urgent mental healthcare as the medical devastation of this pandemic peaks and then flattens and people are left with traumatic memories. Post-traumatic stress, isolation and anxiety will worsen existing conditions and create new psychiatric challenges. This pandemic is a stark reminder of the need for ongoing access to quality psychiatric treatment.”

Heywood’s closure puts additional strain on a system experiencing a public health crisis in COVID-19. As guidance from DPH has stated, “the surge in volume of patients with possible exposure to or symptoms of COVID-19 illness” could “overwhelm the capacity of emergency departments” (Circular Letter DHCQ 02-03-701). There were already patients waiting for mental healthcare in emergency departments and languishing in hospital hallways across Massachusetts before the pandemic. Now in communities like Gardner, where hospitals are closing mental health units, patients face waiting even longer in an ED during a pandemic or receiving no care.

Donna Stern, a psychiatric nurse and MNA chair at Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield, also criticized the decision by Heywood Hospital.

“Before the pandemic, we had a mental health crisis,” Stern said. “During the pandemic, mental health is becoming an even more acute problem. We all know the effects of COVID-19 include tremendous amounts of trauma, stress and challenging circumstances that will create and intensify mental health conditions for patients who will need quality, local inpatient services to successfully recover.”

In fiscal year 2018, Heywood paid its President & CEO Winfield Brown a total of $966,472, according to 990 IRS records. Of that amount, $110,549 was bonus/incentive pay.