Rose of Sharon Jewelry

Did you know  the makers of children’s Tylenol knowingly used bacteria-laden materials?  A full-blown Tantrum Tuesday post!

This post was written for Tantrum Tuesday on 5/24/2010; however, the automatic posting system went mad and this important post was left in the draft box. Better late than never!

In January, McNeil Consumer Healthcare (a division of well-known manufacturer Johnson & Johnson), voluntarily recalled certain lots of their children’s and infants’ over-the-counter cold, allergy and pain medications after consumers complained of an “unusual, moldy, musty, mildew-like odor.”  The odd thing is complaints started in 2008 and were ignored.

In January, McNeil stated the known risk to our children “is remote.” However, the Food and Drug Administration  issued a report based on April inspections in which they stated “we have theoretical concerns” about the safety of the recalled products.”

Consumer safety organizations

McNeil Consumer Healthcare posted a list of 1,500 lots of OTC  products on their web site. With three grandkids, I discovered 3 different products named in the recall but fortunately not of the same lots. I close call as far as I’m concerned. Executives and bureaucratic saying the changes are “remote” that our children in danger doesn’t instill any confidence in the manufacturer.

Pharmacy quality expert and founder of Purdue University’s compliance program, Stephen Byrn (as reported in USA Today) “said that though he doesn’t doubt that the risk of health problems from the recalled lots is remote, the type and scope of manufacturing problems cited by the FDA inspectors make it difficult to have confidence in the plant’s products.” DUH! Not a technical response but an honest one from a concerned Grandma.

Misplaced Trust?

Once again, a major manufacturer who we put our trust in has made decisions that put literally millions of children at potential risk. While they say the risks are small – I don’t know of any risk no matter how minute – a parent/grandparent would be willing to accept for their child.

It’s the that that they “knew” specific ingredients were infested with potentially harmful bacteria. Children, because of their less developed immune systems and lower body weight, are especially susceptible to harmful bacteria.

Check Your Medicine Cabinet Today

You’ll find a complete list of the 40 OTC brands at a special  McNeil Products Recall web site. The brands listed below are just examples. You must read, print and research the entire list.

The recalled lots were manufactured at one plant so products manufactured elsewhere are reported to be containment free.

Please check your medicine cabinet today for such brands as:

1. Tylenol Infant Drops
2. Motrin Infants' Drops
3. Children’s Zyrtec
4. Children's Benadryl Allergy liquids in bottles

If you have any of the recalled drugs, the manufacturer will reimburse your purchase price or send you a coupon.

While getting your money back is a good idea, I’m certain most of us would rather have safe OTC drugs for our families!

Check out  last week’s Tantrum Tuesday post on other OTC recalls.

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Children’s Tylenol products aren’t the only Johnson & Johnson brands recalled recently. PediaCare has been added to this alarming list.

Trust is critical when it comes to medications especially those we give to our children without a second thought. We must trust that the products do what they are intended to do;  we must trust that they are safe; and we must trust that our government is watching out for us.

But did you know that the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) does not have the power to issue recall orders but merely recommend that companies do?

The Johnson & Johnson business name has been a trusted one for many decades. Their trustworthiness continued to rise even after the the Tylenol scare years ago when someone tampered with bottles on the shelf. That national nightmare resulted in the tamper-proof bottles and seals we find today on thousands of products.

4 PediaCare (sold under the Blacksmith Brand corporate name) products manufactured in a Fort Washington, PA factory have been voluntarily recalled as a “precautionary step.”  No consumer complaints have been received. However, the plant has been closed temporarily because it does not meet FDA manufacturing standards.

The 4 products recalled are:

PediaCare Multi-Symptom Cold 4oz. UPC # 3 0045-0556-05 9
PediaCare Long Acting Cough 4oz. UPC# 3 0045-0465-04 7
PediaCare Decongestant 4oz. UPC# 3 0045-0554-04 8
PediaCare Allergy and Cold 4oz. UPC# 3 0045-0552-04 4

You should immediately dispose of these over-the-counter children’s medications.  Safe disposal instructions can be found at Smart Disposal.

You’ll find additional details at the PediaCare Recall Site, the Blacksmith Brands site, or call Blacksmith Brands at 888-474-3099.

Please take a few minutes to check out your medicine cabinet to remove these potentially hazardous OTC medicines.

You’ll also find info on the Johnson & Johnson recall of Children’s Tylenol products manufactured by their McNeil division here.

 

The most critical step for consumers regarding these OTC drug recalls is to express your concern to the Food & Drug Administration.  You can learn how to file consumer complaints here. Take some time this week to contact your Congressional delicates to give the FDA the power it needs to protect our children now.

1. How to write letters to Congress.
2. GripeGenie will fax your protect letter for you.
3. How to contact the FDA.

Citizen action can make a real difference.

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Last week I posted a Tantrum on changes re: Facebook custom landing pages. Here’s an update on FB’s apology and reversal of their rules.

To recap: Facebook via a forum post shared that custom landing pages would only be available on fan pages with 10,000+ fans and/or where the company was purchasing FB advertising. This meant that literally thousands of small businesses would not be able to set a custom call-to-action Welcome page tab as the default “home” page for their fan page.  Read my prior post on this change.

Ending small business access to the custom landing page happened without any prior notice. Pages simply weren’t being shown as the “home” page any longer. No notice just a forum post!

While this change may seem insignificant, in the FB world where everyone is scrambling for potential customers, the custom Welcome page levels the playing field a bit between businesses such as Rose of Sharon Jewelry and Kay Jewelry.

The news came just as I was authorizing Jenni at Suga Pink Designs to create a Welcome page for the Rose of Sharon Jewelry Fan page.

The next evening Matt Trainer (FB Development) left this message in the same forum.

Hello,

As of last night, we’ve removed the recently-added authentication requirement for setting custom landing tabs on Pages. The requirement was instituted as part of a Pages quality initiative, and we apologize for the inconvenience this caused to our developer and business community. We are re-investigating the situation, and will not make any further changes without first giving our community standard notice and lead-time.

Thanks for all your feedback,
Matt Trainer

While this doesn’t mean the rule won’t be implemented in the future, it does mean that the business and social marketing people who felt this was unfair were heard.

So I’m back to getting a new Welcome page for the Rose of Sharon Jewelry Fan page . I’ll announce it as soon as it goes live.

If you are interested in your own custom Welcome page for your FB fan page, I’d recommend Jenni at Suga Pink Designs

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Medical errors cost over $67 billion a year. They could also cost you your life. There is a simple way to cut down on errors. It’s LIST!

Intensive care specialist (anesthesiologist and critical care physician) at John Hopkins University, Peter J. Pronovost, M.D., Ph.D.  has been busy beating the drum on how simple and effective a medical checklist can be to eliminate preventable medical errors.

The Stats are Scarier than the Hospital Stay

• 22% of Americans report they or a family member have experienced a medical error.
• Medical errors are the 8th leading cause of death in the U.S.
• Hospital acquired infections exceed 1.7 million per year.
• Many hospital acquired infections are resistant to antibiotic treatment.

So What is a Medical Checklist?

Checklists can list a variety of standard medical safety, medication disbursement, sanitation , surgical prep and patient contact procedures.

When you read the list(s), you’ll be shocked that anyone would need to be reminded of what would seem to be obvious even to a layperson.

Suggested checklist items such as:

1. Wash their hands with soap.
2. Clean the patient’s skin with chlorhexidine antiseptic.
3. Put sterile drapes over the entire patient.
4. Wear a sterile mask, hat, gown and gloves.
5. Put a sterile dressing over the catheter site.

But wouldn’t you know it – many doctors don’t think they need  the help of a checklist. You know the type – the one’s that have let you know they have lots of degrees, like to talk like God or just don’t like being questioned. We probably cannot do anything with arrogant medical professionals (and we may one day need their expertise) but we can insist that they do everything within their power to eliminate medical errors. A simple step is to use a medical checklist.

Checklists Work to Save Money and Lives

During one state’s 18-month training and implementation period, checklists saved over $100 million and 1,500 lives. You’d think hospitals and insurance companies would be demanding that checklists be incorporated into every physician/patient interaction.

But you see the rub is that nurses would be part of the monitoring system and doctors don’t like to take “orders” from a nurse.

Nurses, who are the front line caregivers, are woefully under appreciated and disrespected. Although years of training and experience qualifies them to be a valuable safeguard on the patient’s behalf, their input is often rebuffed by the “real” doctors. Checklists would need to be a responsibility of nursing and medical support staff.

Doctors simply need to get over themselves and realize that everyone needs some checks and balance to catch potential errors that arise from simple human error, exhaustion, routines that become so common that steps are skipped or medical people who are just “too busy.”

What You Can Do

1. Ask as a consumer whether your physician, surgeon, hospital, clinic uses medical checklists BEFORE a procedure is scheduled.
2. If you have a choice of hospitals, select one that uses medical professional checklists.
3. Read Dr. Oz’s Smart Patient Checklist

To learn more about medical checklists so you can be prepared to insist your local medical professionals adopt this life saving procedure, check out these resources:

• National Public Radio “All Things Considered” interview with Dr. Pronovost
• NY Times interview of Dr. Pronovost
• USA Today article on “The Checklist Manifesto” by Atul Gawande plus see which hospitals in your state have higher death rates
• Buy the book “The Checklist Manifesto”

• The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right (9780805091748): Atul Gawande: Books

• Time Magazine Article – Atul Gawande: How to Make Doctors Better
• Is Your Doctor Using a Checklist?

• Medical Errors: The Scope of the Problem
• Buy the book by Dr. Pronovost and author Eric Vohr.

Pilots use checklists, builders use checklists, shoppers use checklists, checklists are nothing to be ashamed of - You must insist that doctors use checklists.

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Oil giant, BP says they’ll pay for “legitimate claims” relating to the April 20th oil platform explosion and spill. It’s not a moral decision – it’s federal law. The same law that caps liability at $75 million.

Today’s tantrum is still building momentum based upon BP executive statements, state and federal government concerns and what we know happened after the notorious Valdez Alaska spill.

The damages at this point are  incalculable but they start with the  deaths of 11 platform workers and continue through the long-term health concerns for coastal residents. Several industry experts believe  the costs will exceed $14 BILLION.

Congress has started talking about altering the cap since no one has challenged the figure in court. Be sure to let your legislators know that this cap is ridiculously low considering the extensive damage.

BP is spending $6 million a day in hopes of containing millions and millions of gallons of oil from spreading as far away as the Atlantic Ocean. But they are already starting a campaign of words to support their position and limiting liability. They lease the platform and others are responsibility for other aspects of its operation so let the finger pointing begin.

Who will pay the millions spent by the various government agencies  from the EPA to Homeland Security working 24/7 to minimize the damage and start the clean-up. And how about the economic impact on an area still recovering from Hurricane Katrina?

BP is already circulating $5,000 damage offers where signers release BP from all future claims. Standard procedures but admittedly a bit overbearing in light that the oil is still floating around.

So who will pay for what may end up being the largest oil spill in U.S. history – citizen-consumers will. The federal Oil Pollution Act (enacted after the Valdez incident) established a fund where 8 cents of every barrel of oil (which consumers eventually cover) is set aside for spillage cleanup.

It took 20 years for the Exxon Valdez accident liability trials to complete the process of finalizing Exxon’s payouts – including a stop in the U.S. Supreme Court.

BP has a history of other major spills off the Alaska, Texas and Louisiana coasts. Lawsuits and finger-pointing has already begun from the April 20th accident. Lots of people and animals have been hurt and will continue to be victims if we let it take 20 years to settle multiple lawsuits.

It is our responsibility as U.S. citizens to keep in touch with what is happening in the Gulf.

All of us pay for the care of Mother Earth – one way or another.

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Panicked about health insurance? Beware of health insurance scams. Con artists are like sharks circling until you let your defenses down.  Phony health insurance companies and the scum who run them are looking for you.

Let’s face it – health care premiums are sky high and more people are left to find their own coverage. Based upon age, health and state of residence, there is not a huge difference between one company to another for similar coverage. If  a company quotes you a low-ball price, BEWARE!

Literally hundreds of “insurance companies” have cropped up recently looking for desperate families in need of coverage. Unfortunately, each state has its own laws and penalties for these scammers. In Nevada (where I live) thousands of people paid premiums to a non-existent company. Only when health care bills went unpaid did they realize they had been victimized.

You have to protect yourself because frankly – no one else will! There are even six states which have no laws regarding phony health insurance companies.

Here’s how to protect yourself -

 

• Learn about how scammers work at Insurance Fraud.org.
• Contact your state’s insurance commissioner BEFORE signing anything. Some states keep tabs on consumer complaints to help you determine whether a specific insurance carrier has ongoing problems.
• Check the financial health of the company. A.M. Best can tell you whether the company is sound enough to pay for those million dollar + claims people have.
• Beware of any company that requires you to join an organization or association for insurance eligibility.
• Don’t assume legitimate organizations such as AARP offer the best rates and coverage. These companies typically sell the rights to use their name in advertising but they aren’t actually guaranteeing anything.
• If you cannot find sufficient information about a specific company in your state, try another state in which they are licensed to operate.
• Never sign anything until you have done your research.
• Legitimate health insurance companies never send unsolicited emails or go door-to-door. Do not do business with any one who markets this way!
• Insist upon a full copy of your desired policy before paying any premiums.
• There is no special enrollment period or new insurance companies mandated by the new Federal health care regulations.
• If you believe you are dealing with a fraudulent insurance company, contact your state’s insurance commission immediately. Here is a list by state of insurance fraud bureaus.

Hope this Tantrum Tuesday post will help you from becoming one of tens of thousands of people who have been conned by these scumbags. 

Good luck and be wary out there.

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On Saturday, hubby and I were in a car accident. Our rear end was clipped pretty hard by a young girl who wasn’t paying attention when she changed lanes. No one was hurt except our Infiniti we call Ruby. But that’s just the beginning of the story and today’s tantrum.

Liar, Liar

The young gal admitted it was her fault to us and to the police; she even received a ticket for improper lane change. Now she’s saying it was us who cut in front of her. The layout of the freeway and the point if impact make it virtually impossible for us to have hit her. And we didn’t. We were minding our own business when wham!

Although we drove away in Ruby, the impact was amazing and the damage probably will exceed the cost of the car. The young gal’s car had minor damage

Our insurance company is concerned about the facts and frankly I’m pissed that a seemly nice gal would feel the necessity to lie to cover her error.

This isn’t the first time that someone has hit us and then lied about the circumstances so Arden was expecting the worse.

I’m all about owning up to your mistakes but time and time again I encounter people (young and old) who simply find a lie “better suits” the situation. People simply don’t bat and eye at telling a lie. (Rhyme unintentional.)

I was never allowed to lie as a kid and I still feel the same way even if the truth is something I’m not proud of. I know it’s not my job to “raise” the world – but frankly some well timed honesty would certain improve how the world runs.

I’m not for abolishing all lies – I really don’t want anyone to tell me they hate my new hair color! So social white lies are sacred when they do more harm than good.

I pledge that honesty won’t be a lost virtue – just ask my grandsons when they get caught. Pass it on!

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Like a careening car mowing down a crowd, we caused the death of 29 men last week. America's insatiable need for energy caused  us to ignore or overlook the inherent dangers of coal mining.  Mix our growing need with greed and you get the mine operator – Massey Energy. Massey Energy had hundreds of citations many of which were deemed “unwarrantable” (meaning it is a known industry safety issue but was willfully ignored). Just last month, Massey Energy was given 59 citations. See the Huffington Post  and ABC News online to learn more about Massey Energy. For decades upon decades, America has ignored the underlying cause of this disaster and done little to eliminate coal as an energy source. If you don’t think you use coal – think again. About 50% of our electricity comes from coal-fired electrical plants. To learn more about coal mining, see this Consumer Energy Report. Read Can Coal Come Clean at Discover Magazine. The  Coal Moratorium Now offers their anti-coal opinions and shares how this is a major part of the Global Warming issue and how join in the fight against coal production.

Why You Should Care About Coal

• Worker Safety
• Global Warming
• Water Pollution
• Air Pollution
• Visual Pollution
• Ecological Damage

The Lost Ones

The 29 men who lost their lives were doing their best to provide for their families while serving their country. The list (name and age) below was collected from online postings as Massey Energy has not released an official listing. (as of 4/13/10). Donations for the dead miners’ families can be made to the Montcoal Mining Disaster Fund via the West Virginia Council of Churches. Please remember them. . .

1. CARL "PEEWEE" ACORD (52)
2. JASON ATKINS (25)
3. KENNY CHAPMAN (53)
4. ROBERT E .CLARK (41)
5. CORY DAVIS (20)
6. TIMMY DAVIS SR. (51)
7. JOSH NAPPER (25)
8. WILLIAM "BOB" GRIFFITH
9. GLEN ROGERS
10. RICK LANE (45)
11. WILLIAM ROOSEVELT LYNCH (59)
12. HOWARD "BOONE" PAYNE
13. GARY QUARLES (33)
14. BENNY WILLINGHAM (61)
15. RICKY WORKMAN (50)
16. DEWARD "SPARKY" SCOTT (58)
17. STEVE "SMILEY" HARRAH (40)
18. JOEL "JODY" PRICE (55)
19. CHRISTOPHER LEE BELLE SR. (33)
20. NICOLAS MCCROSKEY (26)
21. ADAM MORGAN (21)
22. GREG BROCK
23. JAMES WOODS
24. DAVID CHAD BOLEN
25. BILLY RAY BOLEN
26. RONALD LEE MAYNOR
27. REX MULLINS
28. JOE MARCUN LENORE
29. MIKE ELSWICK

We owe it to these men and the hundreds who have died while mining the “black gold” for us. Take action today.

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