by Mike Ferguson

(St. Charles, MO) – It’s every parent’s worst nightmare. Walking in to check on your newborn and finding them not breathing.

It happens around 100 times every year in Missouri and no one knows exactly why.

SIDS – Sudden Infant Death Syndrome – strikes without warning and without discrimination.

Lori Behrens is with Missouri-based SIDS Resources, Inc. She says there’s no warning and no way to predict it but researchers are learning more about it.

“What most doctors believe is that it’s, if you will, the perfect storm. It’s the combination of a critical development period – that first six months of life when the baby is growing and maturing very rapidly. A lot of changes are going on in the baby’s body physically and neurologically.

“And then you combine that with some other kind of vulnerability. Maybe the baby was premature, low birth weight, something like that.”

The advancements in the study of SIDS that have been made indicate that there are some risk factors that can be controlled. While they don’t guarantee safety from SIDS, they could reduce the chance of it happening.

The main risk factor is how and where the child sleeps. Behrens calls the recommendations the “ABC’s” of sleeping for an infant.

A: Alone. While many new parents want to hold their child at night or hope for a closer bond by sharing a bed, infants should sleep by themselves.

B: Back. Infants should sleep on their backs.

C: Crib. Infants should sleep in something made specifically for them, like a crib. In addition to reducing the risk of SIDS, this also reduced the risk of accidental suffocation from pillows, getting wrapped in an adult blanket or even from a parent’s hand, arm or entire body.

Since the medical field began recommending this approach, Behrens says the numbers are improving when it comes to SIDS.

“Since the original ‘back to sleep’ recommendation in 1994, we saw a 50% decrease in SIDS rates in the decade of the 1990’s.”

Those rates have generally held steady since then.

The window if danger of SIDS is relatively short, so vigilance from parents, babysitters, nannies and nursery workers is crucial.

Missouri is finally getting a break from winter and with the warmer weather comes outdoor fun, spring cleaning and additional dangers for children.

Of course, not all dangers can be eliminated because kids will be kids.

Cathy Hogan works with Cardinal Glennon Hospital in St. Louis and also with Safe Kids Worldwide. She has a few reminders for parents to reduce some injury risks.

While falls are one of the most common reasons for injuries to children, she says accidental poisonings happen more than you may realize and the dangers are often from unexpected things.

“One of the most dangerous things we can have in the house is a purse because we come in the house, we set the purse down and we throw our keys in it and we throw our cell phone in it and we leave it open.

“There’s a lot of things in there that kids can get in to, whether it be your bottle of aspirin or Advil or your Visine or choking hazards.”

Other safety precautions that adults often overlook include locking up cleaning supplies, especially if they are stored under sinks or on the floor in closets where children can reach them.

Hogan also suggests having a medical or law enforcement professional check your car seats. She estimates that 95% of the car seats checked by Cardinal Glennon staff are installed improperly.

Car seats should be used until children are at least eight years old and/or 4’9″ tall, according to current recommendations.

Most hospitals around the state have child safety resources available at no cost.
On the web:

SIDS Resources, Inc.: http://www.sidsresources.org/

Safe Kids Worldwide: http://www.safekids.org/

by Mike Ferguson

(St. Charles, MO) – For a few generations now the typical plan was known almost from birth: finish high school, get that college degree, enter the workforce and pursue that American Dream.

Even in these difficult economic times, the American Dream is still worth pursuing but the path to reach it may not take you through a traditional four-year college or university. As the economy becomes more reliant on technology, many employers are getting worried about having enough qualified workers to hire in coming years.

AT&T Missouri President John Sondag says his company is among several who are investing in efforts to keep young people in school and encouraging them to pursue higher education in a research or technology field.

“Today, only about eight percent of our students major in the sciences and engineering. That’s a growing need in the future if our country wants to be successful and continue to lead the world.”

AT&T’s national effort is called “Aspire”. It funds local organizations – several in Missouri – that have a track record of keeping high school students in school through graduation.

Sondag says even those who prefer a blue-collar life need to consider a technical education of some kind. That’s because he believes many of today’s sweat and muscle-powered industrial jobs will change in the coming years.

“When you look at the manufacturing today, a lot of it is robotics. A lot of it is use of technology.”

That’s not a fad, that’s a long term trend in American business and Sondag sees many new career options as a result.

“People have to design those systems. They have to run them. So we need people that are skilled, whether it’s in computer science [or] all aspects of engineering.”

Those new career options also mean the potential for bigger paychecks and possibly an earlier start to a career than if a traditional college route were taken.

“We have found that people in STEM [science, technology, engineering, mathematics] related careers will earn about 26% more over their career than those who are in non-STEM.”

For Missouri’s high school students and maybe those who are mid-career in another field, the question becomes one of where to get the technical education needed to launch that potentially lucrative career.

A traditional four-year college or university may be the right fit. That depends on the individual and the field they want to pursue, the style of learning that’s best for them and how soon they want to start a full-time career.

Career and technical education is also an option. Typically, the formal education is more specialized, takes less time to complete and is less expensive than the university degree.

Raghib Muhammad is with the Missouri Association for Career and Technical Education and wants students in particular to know they have options for learning after high school.

On “Missouri Viewpoints”, he explains why success can come from a two-year certificate or degree at a technical, vocational or career school. One main reason is the option to focus on technical skills and fill roles where employers are dealing with “a shortage in skilled labor.”

Those fields include food service, computer programming, HVAC, electrical work, nursing, agricultural fields and several others. Both in the private and the public sector, education and training programs are available that take a different approach than the university setting takes.

Going back to the question of where the right educational fit is for someone looking at different options; Muhammad says there’s help available to answer that.

“We utilize a resource called ‘Missouri Connections’. That’s an online resource where students can take a skills assessment. This skills assessment will identify those areas that the student is strong in.”

He agrees with Sondag that someone with a technical education, while having spent less time in a classroom, could earn a higher salary than those who go through the four-year college system, depending on the field.

“Having a four year degree doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to make more money than someone with a two-year degree, especially someone with a specialized skill.”

Having multiple education options isn’t just important for students, Muhammad believes, it’s also important to the entire state.

“If we have a strong CTE [career and technical education] program, it makes Missouri stronger because, instead of going overseas for your skilled force, you can hire a skilled workforce right at home.”

On the web:

AT&T: www.ATT.com

Missouri Association for Career and Technical Education: https://www.mo-acte.org/

by Mike Ferguson

(St. Charles, MO) – Be honest, how are you doing when it comes to those New Year’s resolutions you probably made?

The ones about eating better, losing weight and exercising more.

According to many surveys, many of those commitments have been forgotten.

On this week’s “Missouri Viewpoints”, two health experts provide the advice and encouragement to help up get back on track. Of course, it’s a good idea to check with your doctor before to start any kind of weight loss or exercise program, especially if you have a health condition.

The track to better health goes through the grocery store, kitchen and dinner table before it gets to the gym.

Marcia Whelan is with Whole Foods Market and says mindset is key to getting started right and putting yourself in a position to succeed. She sees many people with good intentions give up on their health goals altogether when they fall short at some point.

“It doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Let’s say you have a week or a day where you don’t eat that well or you have a meal during the day where it’s junk food, you don’t have to feel like “I’m just going to throw in the towel, I’ve completely failed at this.”

While having an overall goal is usually a good thing, Whelan recommends breaking those into smaller, easier attainable goals. For instance, if your goal is to lose 25 pounds this year, a goal to get started may be to lose three pounds this month. That is measurable, attainable and the success of meeting that goal provides encouragement to stay focused.

The same approach can also be used when it comes to making big changes in your diet. Changing too much, too quickly can be hard to stick with over time.

“I tell people if they’re just starting out with trying to eat better,” Whelan explains, “just give up soda for a week and then you’ve got all those artificial ingredients and all that sugar or artificial sweeteners out of your diet for the week.”

After that, easing into a healthy diet could mean reducing the amount of fast food meals per week or replacing a couple frozen meals at home with something fresh.

When it comes to making the meals cooked at home healthier, Whelan has a simple suggestion.
“…reduce the size of the animal protein on the plate and increase the fruits and vegetables, increase the ‘colors’ on your plate.”

In others words, a little smaller burger or pork chop and a little bigger helping of fresh veggies.

Healthy eating ideas are available online through many sources and also likely available through your doctor. Whole Foods Markets has some resources available on their website as well (linked below).

While your diet may be the most important part of your healthy lifestyle, it’s important to exercise as well. It’s been said that the best exercise program is the one you will actually do and enjoy, so it’s not a matter of one-size-fits-all.

For some, going to a gym and doing cardio machines or weight training is the answer. For others, it’s workouts at home on video or it could be something as basic as making it a point to walk in the park or play more tennis or basketball with friends.

Whatever your choice of exercise, Tracy Scott tells us that keeping the big picture in mind is important. She’s a personal trainer at Anytime Fitness in St. Peters. She says it’s easy to get discouraged early on and too many people quit trying.

“They don’t really have a plan that’s specific when they start out and they might have unrealistic expectations. They’ve worked out for four weeks, five weeks and they aren’t seeing the results so they just basically give up.”

Television is flooded with commercials and infomercials for weight-loss supplements, exercise equipment and home workout systems. Many of these have people talking about massive weight loss in short amounts of time as part of the sales pitch.

That can be great motivation, but it’s not typical and can lead to expectations that aren’t realistic. You can lose the weight and get in shape, but Scott says it will take some time for everyone.

“You have to give yourself time.”

Another thing to keep in mind is that you could be making progress from your exercise that is real but not seen early on.

“You probably are building muscle but you don’t realize it, so if you’re not seeing the scale move that might just be that you’re building muscle so it’s kind of evening things out. As you progress, you will eventually start to see the pounds come off.”

Scott says personal trainers can be a great resource to get you started. In addition to the coaching and motivation they offer, trainers are also able to give you an honest assessment of your current fitness level and customize a fitness plan based on where you are now, what your goals are and taking into consideration any health issues involved.

When it comes to nutrition and exercise, though, one thing is certain for everyone: it’s never a bad time to get started.

On the web:

Whole Foods Market: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/

Anytime Fitness: http://www.AnytimeFitness.com

by Mike Ferguson

(St. Charles, MO) – We heard it all before, last year, in the State Capitol when it comes to the argument over expanding Medicaid in Missouri.

Or did we?

The offer from Washington has not changed and neither has the political makeup in Jefferson City but supporters of expanding the state’s Medicaid roles are hopeful for a different result than last year’s. In 2013, the Republican-led Legislature soundly rejected efforts to expand the reach of the system here.

The federal government is offering to pay 100% of expanding Medicaid coverage to hundreds of thousands of Missourians for three years. After that, the state would pick up ten-percent of the cost, with the federal government paying the other 90%.

In Jen Bersdale’s opinion, that’s a great deal.

“For that ten percent, we’re going to save thousands of jobs. We’re going to create thousands of jobs. We’re going to bring Missouri tax dollars back from Washington, back to the state to take care of folks and we’re going to protect the hospitals that serve all of us, even those of us who have great health insurance.”

Bersdale is the Executive Director of Missouri Healthcare for All, an advocacy group pushing for Medicaid expansion and for the state to support the national Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as “ObamaCare”.

Former State Representative Carl Bearden once chaired the House Budget Committee. He now runs the conservative advocacy group United for Missouri. He supports the pushback against more federal government involvement in health care in the state, even if that means turning down the federal payments that go with it.

“We already know from a gold standard study in Oregon that when you expand Medicaid, health care outcomes do not significantly improve for the people who are placed on it. Costs significantly rise.”

Both sides of the debate cite differing studies that point to different results from expanding the program both in Missouri and across the nation. Many supporters of the plan say costs will not go up with Medicaid expansion.

Even if they do, Bersdale says there’s another priority to consider.

“People’s lives are on the line. Medicaid expansion is going to save people’s lives. It’s been demonstrated because people are going to get mammograms and cancer checks and blood pressure screenings.”

Still, she says expanding Medicaid and subsidizing health insurance for low income Missourians, as is being done through the national health care marketplace (exchange), is an investment that will eventually save money.

“So, the question is do we want to pay for folks’ emergency room care when they are sick and close to dying sometimes? Or, would we rather [have] our tax dollars go to keep our community healthy? Preventative care is so much less expensive.”

Bearden thinks that is missing the bigger picture. To him, any expansion of a government program is bad medicine because the costs that come with it hurts the economy. He says the new federal law’s requirements and expansion of programs like Medicaid are not cures to expensive health care, they among the factors driving up the cost of it in the first place.

“Most employers, sans ObamaCare, used to provide health care. Now you’re looking at employers who are cutting back on hours so that they don’t have to meet that standard. You have employers who may be dropping health care because of the cost associated with ObamaCare.”

There’s another part of the political and economic equation Bearden wants to keep front and center in the debate.

“All that money, that ‘free’ money we’re talking about has to be taken from individuals. It has to be taken from businesses who would spend that money much better and much more effectively in creating jobs than any job created through taxation.”

So far in the 2014 Legislative Session, efforts to expand Medicaid in Missouri are meeting a similar fate as they did last year: Republicans aren’t interested and as long as they aren’t buying, that expansion, the federal dollars and the future bill from Washington for part of the deal aren’t going anywhere.

On the web:

National Healthcare Marketplace: www.HealthCare.gov

Missouri Healthcare for All: www.MOHealthcareForAll.org

United For Missouri: www.UnitedForMissouri.org

by Mike Ferguson

(St. Charles, MO) – It’s the ultimate price to pay for a crime: having your life extinguished by Missouri’s death chamber.

While the controversy continues over the contents of Missouri’s lethal injection drugs and the source that provides it, the longer-running controversy heats up once again in the Show Me State: should the state government have the power to take a life in the first place?

Last week, Herbert Smulls was put to death as the sentence for a 1991 Chesterfield murder.

It was the third execution in Missouri since November. Smulls was convicted of planning the murder as part of a jewelry store robbery. Prosecutors say he made an appointment with the store owner under the guise of looking at jewelry to buy, then shot the man to death in the store. Smulls was convicted in 1993.

St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch’s office prosecuted that case. He supports the continued use of the death penalty but says it should only be pursued in rare cases.

“The purpose of the government, among others, is to maintain order and to appropriately punish those who don’t live by those rules. In some situations that is by taking their life.”

State law limits which crimes are eligible for capital punishment consideration. Even when the crime meets the criteria, it’s still up to the prosecutor to decide whether or not to ask for it as punishment.

Kay Parish is with Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, which is pushing for an end to the use of capital punishment in all cases in the state.

“It’s not necessary in order to protect society. We can lock people away for the rest of their lives. We don’t need it. It doesn’t serve any function in society.

While a common argument for the death penalty is that it deters crime, McCulloch doesn’t think that should be part of the discussion. To him, it’s not a policy issue, it is a crime and punishment matter.

“I can’t sit here and tell you that the death penalty is a deterrent. It may or may not be, there are studies that go both ways. But that’s not a good reason to seek death in a case – in order to deter somebody else. It’s for punishment in that particular case.”

McCulloch goes on to say that the death penalty should be used only for punishment and, in his view, should not be put on the table unless the prosecution has already decided to follow through and ask for it.

“I think it is absolutely wrong to use the death penalty as a bargaining chip…that’s just flat-out wrong.”

Parish doesn’t believe justice is served at any time by putting a convict to death.

“These are not monsters that we’re killing, they are people who have done terrible things. But they are also people who have their own families and the death penalty creates more victims in society.”

In a new “Missouri Viewpoints”, McCulloch says the fact that the law limits the use of the death penalty and because of the extensive legal steps required to make it an option, only those guilty of the worst crimes risk being executed.

No one, he agrees, wants to see an innocent person convicted at all, much less put on death row. Cases like the Smulls conviction are the rare situations where it should be used, McCulloch says. According to McCulloch, there was no question who committed the crime, only what the punishment should be.

Parish points out that human error and resulting judicial errors are among the reasons her organization is against the death penalty.

“We have to be real about things. We are in an imperfect system.”

Parish points to the recent case of Reginald Griffith, who was on Missouri’s death row at one point. Griffith was exonerated after being convicted of stabbing a fellow inmate to death in 1983. Griffith was set free last year.

Parish says sentencing the worst offenders to life in prison without the possibility of parole is justice, while McCulloch says waiting decades – as was the case with Herbert Smulls – for the final sentence to be carried out is too long to wait for justice.

On the web:

St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch: http://www.stlouiscopa.com/

Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty: www.MADPMO.org