Arizona

Let dental hygientists give you Botox? What are lawmakers thinking?

Published

3 months ago

February 25, 2024

Let dental hygientists give you Botox? What are lawmakers thinking?

Letter to the editor: Senate Bill 1269 puts patients at risk because it allows the wrong medical personnel to administer fillers and Botox.

The Arizona Senate will consider a bill that could put Arizona patients at risk for complications from filler and Botox injections, Senate Bill 1269, which would allow dental hygienists to administer neurotoxins and dermal fillers for therapeutic or cosmetic purposes.

The medical procedures that dental hygienists want to perform use FDA-regulated devices, which, if misused, could cause complications, possibly leading to visual impairment, blindness or stroke.

These should only be performed by a physician or appropriately trained non-physician personnel under a trained physician’s direct, on-site supervision. This legislation jeopardizes patient safety.

With the growing demand for facial fillers and neuromodulators, providing patients with properly trained and supervised medical personnel is a safeguard Arizona should have for its citizenry.

Neil Fernandes, Chandler

Don’t buy the Kroger merger spin

Despite the growing opposition to the Kroger-Albertsons merger, Kroger continues to “vigorously defend” the merger, saying that it is great for employees and consumers.

Surely they are not pushing so hard to benefit us all. They obviously stand to gain a lot by merging.

The more they try to spin it, the more we are against it. This merger needs to be blocked.

Rusty Duplessis, Casa Grande

Blame parents before social media

It is amusing to me how much politicians and parents blame technology companies for their children becoming addicted to, and adversely impacted by, social media usage and content.

Nowadays, it is easier to blame others rather than take responsibility.

Why do I say this? Observational learning is one of the most powerful ways children learn. And what are our children observing?

They are seeing adults looking at their phones when driving, walking, going to the bathroom, dining (including when with their partners and/or family), and even when walking with their children. They are learning that watching videos or texting is the most important thing in an adults’ life and must not be disturbed.

If we want our children to be less dependent on social media for their happiness, a good first step is for parents to model interaction with significant others rather than looking at what is on their cellphones. (Parents might also set limits on phone usage, but I’m doubtful the majority of parents are willing to do this).

Mark Loeser, Mesa

Rule change won’t kill research

Doug Hockstad’s recent column inveighs against a proposed federal rule change that would grant greater flexibility in re-licensing of patents from federally sponsored research when the price of a product based on it is excessive.

He predicts the loss of “$4.7 billion in economic output and more than $172 million in tax revenues” over the next decade as government operatives trample out the last spark of innovation at Arizona universities.

Nothing could be further from the truth. The proposal has stringent guidelines of what inventions are even subject to consideration.

And it’s reasonable to consider whether the public benefit from making products of a taxpayer-funded invention available to and usable by the intended end-users — on whose behalf the initial funding was granted — should weigh against the profits of private individuals and corporations. (Nowhere in the rule do I see it applying to patents from privately funded research.)

Thanks, Doug, for bringing this to our attention. This rule reform is indeed an important issue. I’ll be contacting the White House to support its rapid adoption.

Robert Altizer, Phoenix

Measles case is a wake-up call

The report of measles in public spaces in Maricopa Country (“Traveler with measles visited public spots in Phoenix and Chandler. Were you exposed?” Feb. 13) is a reminder that infectious diseases are a present threat, whether we think about them or not.

This highly contagious disease stays airborne more than two hours after an infected person leaves the area, and vaccination is the only way to protect children and families from its spread.

Measles vaccination rates still haven’t bounced back from the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in low- and middle-income countries with limited access to essential health services. We need continued funding support from Congress to fight measles and other infectious diseases because children’s lives are at risk.

I ask Sens. Mark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema to protect foreign assistance in this year’s appropriations process and support the highest possible levels of funding for global vaccines programs for next year.

Cynthia Levin, St. Louis, Mo.

What’s on your mind? Send us a letter to the editor online or via email at opinions@arizonarepublic.com.

Source link

Click to comment

Arizona

How to keep Arizona families safe this summer as national drowning rates rise

Published

1 hour ago

May 17, 2024

Press Room

How to keep Arizona families safe this summer as national drowning rates rise

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — A new CDC report shows national drowning rates are on the rise for the first time in decades.

According to the report, over 4,500 drowning deaths occurred each year from 2020-2022, and almost 40 million U.S. adults can’t swim.

According to the CDC, drowning is the leading cause of death for children ages one to four. It’s the second leading cause of accidental death for children between five and 14. Data shows that nine out of 10 drowning deaths happen when a caregiver is supervising but not paying attention.

Ahead of summer vacation plans, the United States Swim School Association (USSSA) wants families to know how to keep their loved ones safe if their plans include a pool, beach or lake.

USSSA recommends having enough lifejackets for family and guests, ensuring lifejackets are U.S. Coast Guard approved, avoiding arm floaties, keeping toys away from the pool and having a designated ‘pool watcher’ to watch kids swimming, especially at parties.

Aside from the physical additions you can add to your pool, lake or beach activities, Executive Director Liza Zarda says the biggest line of defense from drowning is swim lessons.

“It’s so tragic because when incidents happen. I hear from families, ‘I didn’t know, I didn’t know it can happen to me,’ and a child can slip under in a matter of seconds,” Zarda said. “Swim lessons reduce the risk of drowning by 88%, and many of them do have grant and scholarship programs.”

If you’re looking for swim lessons near you, Zarda says to check out your city’s parks and recreation programs for classes.

You can also find certified swim schools near you at this link.

See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.

Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.

Source link

Arizona

Detroit Tigers game vs. Arizona Diamondbacks: Time, TV with Tarik Skubal on mound

Published

8 hours ago

May 17, 2024

Press Room

Detroit Tigers game vs. Arizona Diamondbacks: Time, TV with Tarik Skubal on mound

Detroit Tigers (21-22) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (21-23)

When: 9:40 p.m. Friday

Where: Chase Field in Phoenix.

TV: Bally Sports Detroit. (Have Xfinity but still looking for a way to watch BSD? Here are some other options.)

Radio: WXYT-FM (97.1). (Tigers radio affiliates).

Weather report: Indoors.

Probable pitchers: Tigers LHP Tarik Skubal (5-0, 2.02 ERA) vs. Diamondbacks RHP Ryne Nelson (2-2, 5.33 ERA).

• Box score

Tigers lineup: TBD.

THIS IS GETTING RIDICULOUS: Every stellar pitching outing only makes Detroit Tigers’ offense more excructiating

Game notes: The Detroit Tigers cannot hit. The Detroit Tigers cannot score. The Detroit Tigers can, however, pitch. And the best of the bunch will be on the mound Friday as the team looks for some much-needed momentum.

The Tigers have now lost four straight series after falling in consecutive games to the putrid Miami Marlins while scoring zero, yes, zero runs over the final two games. Reese Olson, who’s still looking for his first win of the year despite sporting a crazy 2.09 ERA (barely below Skubal’s ERA, who already has five wins), kicked things off with another stellar performance. He held the Marlins scoreless through eight, Jason Foley got them through the ninth, but the extra base runner cost them in extra innings as they lost, 1-0.

Pain.

The next day presented a great opportunity for a bounceback. Casey Mize got off to a bad start, giving up two runs through the first two batters, but then held the Marlins scoreless the rest of the day, as did the bullpen. All the Tigers had to do was score three runs over 18 innings on Tuesday and Wednesday and they would’ve won both games. They did not score once.

Pain.

The Tigers need to hope for a return to the mean at this point, because even for a team that struggles at the plate, zero runs over 19 innings is diabolically bad.

If the Tigers’ bats spit in the face of the math and they stay ice cold, they have the best possible guy on the mound to still give them a chance to win. Skubal has been one of, if not the best pitcher in all of baseball, and compared to some of the other members of the Tigers’ pitching staff, he’s actually gotten some decent run support.

In the eight games that Skubal has started for the Tigers this year, the team averages 4.88 runs per game. If the Tigers could do that every game, they would have the sixth-best offense in baseball. When Olson pitches for the Tigers, which has also been eight times, the Tigers average 2.13 runs per game, which would easily be last in baseball.

Chalk it up to chance, small sample size or just the added confidence that the Tigers play with when Skubal is pitching, but whatever that juju is, the Tigers will need all of it as they try and snap a scoreless innings streak they seemingly can’t ditch.

After Friday night’s late showdown, the Tigers will play the Diamondbacks again on Saturday for another 9:40 p.m. start with Jack Flaherty on the mound.

TIGERS NEWSLETTER: What history tells us about Spencer Torkelson’s slow start

Live updates

For updates from and around the diamond, check it out on X.

Source link

Arizona

Court paperwork details how Arizona man faked his own death

Published

16 hours ago

May 17, 2024

Press Room

Court paperwork details how Arizona man faked his own death

New court paperwork reveals how an Arizona man tried to fake his own death and how police tracked him down to a Mesa home. Deputies say Benjamin Hollins is a sex offender but failed to register and then lied about taking his own life at the Roosevelt Bridge. He was found living with a family with children under a fake name.

Source link