|
| Sat, 9 Jul 2005 18:00:00 EST Hospitals have signed on to a six-part plan to avoid a multitude of unnecessary deaths |
| Before 1999, dying in a hospital because of shoddy care was a real enough possibility, but only the paranoid or pessimistic gave it much thought. Then came To Err Is Human, a j'accuse-style thunderbolt from the prestigious Institute of Medicine. Medical errors in hospitals, charged the institute's report, kill at least 44,000 and perhaps as many as 98,000 patients a year. On its heels, other studies found widespread failure to heed well-known "best practices" that could save lives. Horrific tales of individuals betrayed by mistakes and inattention popped up in the news like poisonous mushrooms. Medical centers suddenly were seen as death traps. |
| Sat, 9 Jul 2005 18:00:00 EST The week ahead |
| Consumers are the lifeblood of the economy, accounting for roughly two thirds of the nation's economic activity. This week, several reports are due out that should shed light on the health of those consumers, including key retail sales and consumer confidence data. |
| Sat, 9 Jul 2005 18:00:00 EST A slump at the box office and on TV |
| TV. Wednesdays are looking mighty bleak right now that the two best summer reality shows—Beauty and the Geek and Dancing With the Stars—have come to their shocking conclusions. To recap, on the former, annoying med student Chuck and blah Caitilin triumphed over nebbishy Richard and secretly brainy Mindy in a showdown requiring them to know their partners' middle names and pant sizes. Over on the dance floor, Kelly Monaco (and Alec Mazo) sambaed to a win over John O'Hurley (and Charlotte Jorgensen). No need to go into withdrawal quite yet though—the WB is bringing back all of the beer spokesmodels and Mensa members for Beauty and the Geek: The Aftermath (Wednesday, July 13, 8 p.m. EDT). And if you can just hold out a wee bit longer, toe tapping will return to your TV in the form of Fox's new reality show, So You Think You Can Dance (premičres July 20, 8 p.m. EDT), which is like American Idol for legs instead of vocal cords. If that's not enough boogieing for you, see if you can find the documentary Mad Hot Ballroom in a theater near you. It's kids dancing, and it's darn cute. And if you hate reality TV and dancing? Too bad. Read a book. |
powered by zFeeder and Browse8.com |