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Omaha/Bluffs company markets personal medical monitor

January 2, 2010 By

A company based in Omaha/Council Bluffs is touting technology to help elderly Iowans stay in their homes longer. The client wears a bracelet or necklace that monitors their health care. Sarah Matlock, spokeswoman for Medi-Guard USA, says similar devices have been around for a while, but this one can notify far-away loved ones of a potential medical emergency.

She says it allows the family members, if they are in town or across the country, the ability to review the subscriber’s activity. The client is reminded by the device when to take medications, do blood pressure checks, diabetic checks or other health procedures. If the company doesn’t get notification that the check had been done, the client will be contacted.

“The machine would actually give them a reminder that it’s time to do a wellness check,” she says. “The same thing would happen with their medications. We can actually record up to 16 different messages.” If there is a problem, Matlock says Medi-Guard USA takes charge.

“We have highly trained medical professionals who monitor these systems 24 hours a day,” she says. If clients are susceptible to falls, Matlock says the system will alert them if that happens, and many more features are coming soon.

“The machine can hold up to 255 attachments,” she says. “Within the next six months, we will be seeing blood pressure checks, an acu-check machine for our diabetic patients.” Matlock says this device is also useful for younger people who may suffer from medical conditions.

In addition, there are security measures that can be installed — like motion detectors and door alarms — to notify Medi-Guard USA if a person with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia tries to leave the house.

Thanks to Karla James

Filed Under: Health & Medicine

Iowa guard troops prepare for deployment to Afghanistan

January 2, 2010 By

Training is underway for the 3,500 Iowa soldiers who are expected to deploy to Afghanistan in the fall. The Iowa National Guard alert involves the 2nd Brigade Combat Team that will train the Afghan Army and police.

Premobilization instructor Sergeant Luke Kreier has been working with soldiers at Camp Dodge in Johnston with an army vehicle simulator.

The Humvee Egress Assistance Trainer – or HEAT simulator – is designed to teach soldiers how to get out of a Humvee Army vehicle in the event of a rollover.

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Filed Under: Military Tagged With:

Vilsack: “healthy” foreign markets key to livestock profits

January 2, 2010 By

The U.S.D.A.’s moratorium on Farm Service Agency farm foreclosures ended this fall.   Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack instituted the moratorium last spring on loans that involved the U.S.D.A. agency.

“That moratorium has expired, but we are now encouraging our Farm Service folks to reach out to producers who either have guaranteed loans or who have direct loans with us to figure out if there are ways in which those loans can be restructured, refinanced in a way that makes it more feasible and easier for those operations that have been stressed to continue in business,” Vilsack says. 

The Iowa Mediation Service — a nonprofit program that helps borrowers work with lenders to refinance loans and avoid foreclosures — expects farm foreclosures to increase in 2010. This past year, in 2009, the agency worked with about a thousand farmers hoping to avoid foreclosure. 

One headache in the coming year is farmers may find it more difficult to obtain operating loans. Vilsack has met with the nation’s treasury secretary to talk about the issue.

“I think you’ve begun to see that there’s beginning to be a bit more pressure from the treasury department and from the president on banks to basically lend the money that they have,” Vilsack says. “The banks are not without resources. They actually have resources, but they are investing it in very conservative investments right now and I think they need to begin to loosen up the credit a little bit and I think we’ve brought to the attention of the treasury secretary the challenges that ag has.”

According to data from Iowa State University, livestock farmers have been losing money since the fourth quarter of 2007. In the past year, pork and beef exports have been down, contributing to the livestock industry’s financial woes.  Vilsack says he and other negotiators have made some headway with opening China to more U.S. pork, for example. 

“You can restructure all you want and provide refinancing, but at the end of the day what’s going to make the difference is continuing to have healthy markets,” Vilsack says, “which is why we continue to reach out to some of our foreign friends, our trading friends to encourage them to reduce barriers, to eliminate barriers that are being constructed periodically.”

This past week, Vilsack met with Russia’s ag minister to discuss trade barriers the Russians are considering that might impede U.S. poultry and pork sales to Russia.

Filed Under: Agriculture, Business Tagged With: ,