ProfNet Experts Available on Holiday Safety, Dialysis Payments, More

NEW YORK, Nov. 29, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Below are experts from the ProfNet network that are available to discuss timely issues in your coverage area. If you are interested in interviewing any of the experts, please contact them via the contact information at the end of the listing. To receive these updates by email, send a note to [email protected] with the industries you cover, and we'll add you to the appropriate edition. 

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EXPERT ALERTS

• Nelson Mandela'sLong Walk to Freedom
• Things to Look For When Visiting Elders in Their Nursing Homes
• Medicare's Dialysis Payment Decision
• PennDOT Operation Safe Holiday Program
• Obamacare/Affordable Care Act

MEDIA JOBS

• Reporter – Law360 (CA)
• Political Reporter – The Journal Times (WI)
• Editor – amNewYork (NY)

OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES

• Media Coverage of JFK's Assassination in 1963
• New York Women in Communications: Blogging 101
• New York Women in Communications: Social Media Branding for Your Job and Yourself

EXPERT ALERTS:

Nelson Mandela'sLong Walk to Freedom
Dr. Thomas McClendonProfessor of History
Southwestern University
One of the most-anticipated movies of 2013 is 'Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom' which will be released Nov. 29. Says Dr. McClendon: "Nelson Mandela was one of the most iconic and transformational figures of the latter half of the 20^th century. Ordinary people make history in their daily actions and collective struggles, but some leaders come to shape and symbolize the movements ordinary people carry out. Mandela was one of those leaders as the face of the anti-apartheid struggle and the key leader of the African National Congress (ANC) during the transformation from apartheid to a new South Africa."
Dr. McClendon specializes in the history of South Africa and the anti-apartheid movement. He is the co-editor of the forthcoming book "The South Africa Reader: History, Culture, Politics" which will be published in December by Duke University Press. He is available for interviews about Mandela and his legacy.
ProfNet Connect Profile: http://www.profnetconnect.com/mclendon
Media Contact: Ellen Davis, [email protected]

Things to Look For When Visiting Elders in Their Nursing HomesAnthony Cirillo, FACHE
President
Fast Forward Consulting
"The holidays may be one of the few times a year you get to visit an elder relative. While it is a joyous occasion, it is also an opportunity to be on the lookout for warning signs that could signal help is needed. You should be aware of what to look for and how to open up the conversation about seeking care."
Cirillo is a healthcare and aging expert and president of Fast Forward Consulting, he consults with physician practices, hospitals and long term care facilities around strategic marketing and patient experience. He is the author of "Who Moved My Dentures?" which debunks myths about aging and long-term care. He is active in boomer and senior issues and serves as the assisted living expert for about.com. He has a Masters from Wharton in Organizational Dynamics.
In addition to numerous radio and TV appearances, he has been cited in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, U.S. News and World Report, CBS Interactive, Business Journal publications, Charlotte Observer, Philadelphia Inquirer, San Diego Union Tribune, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Information Week and more.
Expert Contact: [email protected]

Medicare's Dialysis Payment Decision
<person>Tonya SafferSenior Federal Health Policy Director
National Kidney Foundation
"The National Kidney Foundation is pleased that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) modified its July proposal that would have cut dialysis payments by over 9 percent in 2014. The final rule is an improvement over the proposal because average Medicare payments for dialysis in 2014 and 2015 will remain relatively unchanged. Unfortunately, the total cut is still about 9 percent from today's rate, but will be phased in over 3-4 years. We are hopeful that the phased-in approach to dialysis payment cuts minimizes any immediate, negative impact on patients' access to quality care, but we still have concerns about the long-term affect these cuts will have."
Saffer is available to provide an in-depth look at how this decision will affect dialysis patients, and the overall cost of dialysis care (one of Medicare's biggest single expenses). The National Kidney Foundation is hopeful that the phased-in approach to dialysis payment cuts minimizes any immediate, negative impact on patients' access to quality care, but they are still concerned about the long-term affect these cuts will have.
Website: http://www.kidney.org    
Media Contact: Sean Roach, [email protected]

PennDOT Operation Safe Holiday Program Steven E. KellisPennsylvania DUI Lawyer
Law Offices of Steven E. Kellis
"The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has implemented Operation Safe Holiday this Thanksgiving. This planned enforcement is working to keep individuals safe during the holiday season, as November 2012 recorded 10,738 crashes and 120 fatalities. If you encounter an impaired driver be sure to protect you and your family this holiday season. This program will begin Nov. 22 and continue through the New Year holiday."
As a devoted DUI lawyer, Kellis has represented clients in DUI and DUI-related cases for the past two decades. His experience and knowledge provides strong and aggressive defense that is needed when facing drunk driving or other serious DUI-related charges. A DUI conviction can permanently change your life and can adversely affect your family, your ability to drive, your job, your future employment opportunities and your freedom. The penalties for a DUI in Pennsylvania are potentially severe.
Website: http://www.kellislaw.com  
Media Contact: Denae Olberding, [email protected]

Obamacare/Affordable Care Act
Dr. Robert Field, JD, MPH, Ph.D
Professor of Law and Health Management Policy
Drexel University
"'Keep the government out of my health care.' That and similar refrains have permeated health policy debates in the United States for more than a century. Underlying these concerns is an ongoing debate over the relative merits of the government and the private market in delivering and financing health care. The problem with these debates is that they miss a key point: There is no need to speculate about the possible effects of letting the government take over the American health care system because it already has. Take any component of health care in the United States -- from the pharmaceutical industry to the hospital industry to the medical profession to the private insurance industry -- the government's hand is everywhere. A system that seems so clearly rooted in the free market in facts rests on a huge partnership between the public and private spheres."
Dr. Field is a nationally known expert in health care regulation and its role in implementing public policy.  He holds a joint appointment as professor of law at the Earle Mack School of Law and professor of health management and policy at the School of Public Health at Drexel University.  He is also a lecturer in health care management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a senior fellow of Penn's Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics. He is the author of "Mother of Invention: How the Government Created 'Free-Market' Health Care" (2013), just released by Oxford University Press.  It presents an historical overview of four key health care sectors to demonstrate the underlying importance of government programs in creating and maintaining the health care system and to place health reform in the context of an ongoing evolutionary process.  He is also the author of Health Care Regulation in America: Complexity, Confrontation and Compromise, a comprehensive overview of health care regulation, also published by Oxford University Press.
Media Contact: Alex McKechnie, [email protected]

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MEDIA JOBS:

Following are links to job listings for staff and freelance writers, editors and producers. You can view these and more job listings on our Job Board: http://bit.ly/pncjobboard

• Reporter – Law360 (CA)
• Political Reporter – The Journal Times (WI)
• Editor – amNewYork (NY)

See more listings here.

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OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES:

Following are links to other news and resources we think you might find useful. If you have an item you think other reporters would be interested in and would like us to include in a future alert, please drop us a line at [email protected]

• MEDIA COVERAGE OF JFK'S ASSASSINATION IN 1963. November 22, 1963 is a day most Americans will never forget. Whether you were alive then or learned about the tragedy in school years or decades later, the assassination of our 35th president, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, will never be forgotten. Read about how the news was covered nationwide with the media industry of 1963: http://bit.ly/1i2a4E5  
• NEW YORK WOMEN IN COMMUNICATIONS: BLOGGING 101: Interested in blogging, but not sure how to get started? At a recent NYWICI event, we heard all about how to break into blogging – from how to make a living, to driving up your blog's numbers: http://bit.ly/HXCE9U
• NEW YORK WOMEN IN COMMUNICATIONS: SOCIAL MEDIA BRANDING FOR YOUR JOB AND YOURSELF. One of the sessions we attended was about social media branding for your job and yourself. Read about some of the tips we heard from experts who work for Cosmopolitan, the Elvis Duran and the Morning Show, and Scholastic: http://bit.ly/HZig7G

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