WASHINGTON, DC—Nurses should be playing a stronger role in the nation’s healthcare systems, and should be among the leaders in the redesigning of care in the United States, according to an IoM report released last month.

WASHINGTON, DC—A Senate committee criticized IHS officials for serious mismanagement issues as well as poor performance by some employees in its Aberdeen Area at a hearing held in September.

WASHINGTON, DC—If the federal government wants to tackle the full range of after-effects of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, including providing fully for the nation’s veterans, it will need a substantial upheaval in communication between federal departments, according to Maj Gen John Batiste (Ret).

WASHINGTON, DC—In March 2008, when federal officials were quoting a wide range of numbers when citing the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a book was published that calculated an estimated total price tag that included the cost of OEF/OIF veterans’ healthcare and disability expenses over their lifetime. The book, The Three Trillion Dollar War: The True Cost of the Iraq Conflict, put the total estimated cost at between $3 trillion and $5 trillion—a figure that Congressional reports later agreed with.

HYATTSVILLE, MD—Even though the Medical Device User Fee Act is not scheduled to expire until September 2012, FDA is already beginning the process of soliciting comments on how the act has worked to date, and how it might be improved.

WASHINGTON, DC—The federal government is taking every step possible to keep funding flowing to research projects involving the use of embryonic stem cells after a judge ordered a halt to such funding.

BETHESDA, MD—Efforts in basic science at FDA have, in recent years, been “underappreciated, under resourced, and underfunded,” even though they are an essential component of the agency, FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, MD told the members of FDA’s Science Board at a recent meeting.

BETHESDA, MD—Harold Varmus, MD, former director of NIH, does not think of his new post as director of the National Cancer Institute as a step back, but rather as the perfect place to be for someone who has spent his career researching cancer.

WASHINGTON, DC—Last month legislators heard from veterans’ advocates on the major deficiencies in caring for the physical injuries of the nation’s newest veterans.

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WASHINGTON, DC—Nearly 1.5 million servicemembers have left active duty and become eligible for VA healthcare since the start of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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