Author Archive

« Older Entries

Surgeon General Koop – the maverick who never kept his beliefs “cooped” up, May 6th, 2013

No Smoking Here!

No Smoking Here!

To some, he was an icon; to others, he was an activist. Many even considered his views and positions rather outlandish during the 80’s.

The truth is Charles Everett Koop, who died on February 25, 2013, was a talented pediatric surgeon determined to make people’s lives better. This may be nothing new for a physician, but what made Dr. Koop unique was his ability to influence public opinion about an array of social and health issues, such as: smoking, HIV, homosexuality and sex education. In 1981, President Ronald Reagan appointed him to the post of surgeon general and, for the next seven years, Dr. Koop, with his navy blue uniform and trademark bushy white beard, was a man on a mission – to change public attitudes and policies about major health issues. (more…)

Costco Enters the Realm of PBM (Pharmacy Benefit Manager), April 23rd, 2013

Chanelle buys her pistachios in bulk

Chanelle buys her pistachios in bulk

To kick start 2013, Costco made an announcement in its monthly newsletter that its new health program offers employees of small and mid-sized companies discounted prescription medicines through Costco’s in-warehouse pharmacies. Costco has reached out to its network of 64,000 independent pharmacies, and negotiated prices of certain drugs in hopes of benefiting the public while increasing its membership, as well as increasing purchases from those walking through its aisles to get to the pharmacy. With these prices in place, participants will reap significant savings of 10 to 15 percent over other drug prescription plans. Since Costco is one of the leading wholesale superstores, PBM category leaders such as CVS Caremark will likely pay close attention to Costco’s next moves, as well as how this move pans out. (more…)

Telling Togo’s Tale: A Photo Essay, April 15th, 2013


Photos by Marc Heft. Video by Theresa Rotunno

 

 

 

 

The Iditarod was inspired by the 1925 Race for Mercy or Serum Run, during which life-saving diphtheria serum was delivered to Nome via sled dog teams. All of the dogs were amazing, including the most famous, Balto. But it was Leonhard Seppala and a 12-year old, undersized husky, named Togo, who led a team five times further than any other sled dog team over treacherous, unchartered territory. Without Togo, the villagers of Nome would likely have perished. This blog post is part of TogoRun’s campaign to tell Togo’s untold story.

Using Twitter for Good, April 8th, 2013

 

Michelle Belieber Conley

Michelle Belieber Conley rocking the classic swept bangs.

Justin Bieber, one of pop culture’s legendary “tweens” in the game right now, has more than 33 million followers on Twitter – that’s half the population of the United Kingdom! With this type of following comes massive reach, so my question is: how can “the Biebs” leverage Twitter and really do some good in the world?

There are celebrities out there that do it – actor Edward Norton (Fight Club) is one of them. He frequently tweets about charities to donate to and even shares a link on his Twitter profile section to his CrowdRise page, a digital fundraising platform, where anyone can fundraise and donate to a charity of their choice. (more…)

« Older Entries