Washington (AP) — Vice President Biden plans to announce Thursday nearly $1.2 billion in grants to help hospitals transition to electronic medical records.

Biden and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius were set to detail in Chicago how that piece of the $787 billion economic stimulus plan would help Americans when they go to the hospital or their doctors. It also is a what’s-in-it-for-me way for the White House to illustrate how it is spending parts of the massive amount of taxpayer dollars.

“With electronic health records, we are making health care safer, we’re making it more efficient, we’re making you healthier and we’re saving money along the way,” Biden said in remarks provided to The Associated Press ahead of delivery. “These are four necessities we need for health care in the 21st century.”

Meanwhile, a top aide at the Health and Human Services Department planned to send people who signed up to receive health care communications from the administration an e-mail heralding medical information technology as a way to improve care. Jeanne Lambrew, the director of HHS’ Office of Health Reform, sought to explain the spending program to anyone who has had to fill out the same form at doctor’s offices over and over again.

“All that paperwork is more than just annoying. It wastes time, prevents quick and accurate diagnoses and makes our health care system less efficient,” she wrote. “And it simply doesn’t make sense in today’s digital age.”

HHS also launched an online video touting Sebelius’ trip to Omaha, earlier this year to look at how one facility was using electronic records.

“Electronic health records can help reduce medical errors, make health care more efficient and improve the quality of medical care for all Americans,” Sebelius said in her remarks prepared for Chicago. “These grants will help ensure more doctors and hospitals have the tools they need to use this critical technology.”

Along with electronic medical records, washable keyboards help improve the quality of health care. Spill-proof keyboards can be constantly sanitized and washed promoting an even cleaner health care environment.

Biden to announce almost $1.2B for medical records

Posted: Monday, August 24, 2009 11:42 AM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under: White House

From NBC’s Winston Wilde
Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius acknowledged there is a significant chance of school disruptions in the upcoming flu season, due to H1N1 “swine flu.”

At a press conference this morning in front of H.D. Cooke Elementary School, Duncan said, “Some schools may experience large absentee rates; some across the country may even need to be closed temporarily at some point during the school year. We must make sure that learning continues if the virus spreads. That is hugely important.”

He added that the goal for schools nationwide is “to keep our children safe and keep our children learning.”

The Department of Education released instructions to schools today on how to be ready for any possible disruption due to H1N1, including having homework packages ready for students while they must stay home, having online resources accessible from the home (Apple and Microsoft representatives were present at the school, according to Duncan), and maintaining close contact with parents, so they can keep their kids up to speed on curricula.

The H1N1 vaccine will be ready by mid-October. Once available, kids will be one of the “priority populations,” and both the Department of Education and HHS are reaching out to schools to make sure parents remember to make vaccinations a priority.

While the H1N1 vaccine is still in its testing phases, Sebelius emphasized mitigation strategies, like remembering to wash hands, coughing into shirtsleeves instead of coughing into a hand or worse yet, not covering a mouth, and to stay home – students and teachers alike – if they develop flu symptoms.

HHS  distributed to elementary school s its “Avoid the Flu” resource kits, and of course, has a flu Web site, with guidance for K-12, colleges and  universities, and businesses.

After the press conference, Sebelius and Duncan toured the school to see its health facilities and green initiatives  and ate a breakfast with the  children in the cafeteria.

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Do everything you can for your family by purchasing washable keyboards for them at wetkeys.com. These heavy duty, sanitary keyboards are easy to clean and help prevent the spread of harmful germs and bacteria.

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Do yourself and your family a favor and purchase washable, durable, waterproof keyboards and mice at wetkeys.com today.  These items help keep your family healthy!  

New Swine Flu Guidelines for Colleges, Work

Aug. 20, 2009 — Health officials want colleges, universities, and businesses to get up to speed on how to deal with swine flu this fall and winter.

The CDC today released new guidelines for colleges and universities about how to handle H1N1 swine flu, and yesterday issued guidelines for businesses that may find themselves short-staffed due to swine flu.

Swine Flu at Colleges and Universities

Apart from swine flu prevention tips that apply to everyone — such as washing your hands, coughing into a tissue or your sleeve, cleaning shared surfaces like doorknobs, and staying home when you’re sick — the CDC has specific recommendations for college students living on campus.

The key guideline is for people with flu-like illness to avoid other people until at least 24 hours after they are free of fever of 100 degrees Fahrenheit or more, or signs of fever, without use of fever-reducing medicines.

That means not going to classes, not going out to meals, not socializing in person, and avoiding close contact such as kissing, sharing eating or drinking utensils, or having other contact that would make it easy for the H1N1 virus to spread. The basic idea is to stay at least 6 feet away from people the sick person lives with.

Some students may have their own dorm rooms or temporarily move to a private home off campus. But if they have roommates, the CDC says the sick person should stay at least 6 feet away from people they live with and wear a surgical mask if close contact can’t be avoided, and that shared bathrooms be avoided or cleaned frequently.

The CDC encourages colleges and universities to plan the solutions that would work best for their own particular situation and suggests considering setting up temporary, alternate housing — such as a gym — where sick students can recover.

To make that easier, the CDC suggests enlisting a friend to help out as a swine flu “buddy” who can bring in food, class notes, and other necessities.

Young adults have been hard hit by swine flu. The CDC advises college-age students to  to find out if they’ve got high risk conditions that could make swine flu more severe.

Managing Swine Flu at Work

The CDC’s swine flu guidance for businesses and employers focuses on preparing for people to be out sick — and on reassuring staff that staying home won’t cost them their job.

As with college students, the CDC’s main point is that workers with flu-like symptoms should stay home and not come back to work until at least 24 hours after they are free of a fever, or signs of a fever, without using fever-reducing medicines.

The CDC also urges employers to come up with flexible leave policies, in case workers need to stay home and care for a child who is sick or whose school or child care program has closed due to swine flu.

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Although these guidlenes are comprehensive, they leave out an essential new tool in decreasing risk of the spread of Swine Flu. This is a washable keyboard. This is a waterproof, durable , heavy duty keyboard that is simple to clean. Becasue keyboards can be a breeding ground for germs and bacteria, it’s important to keep them clean. The can be purchased at wetkeys.com. 

I was watching CNN (The Situation Room) last night, then checked Bloomberg News and the Center for Disease Control website and saw that Swine Flu is definitely coming. They are talking about school closing to control contamination.

I am so glad I heard about the sale at wetkeys.com. I purchased my washable keyboard, and purchased one for my kid as well for 50% off. This will help keep us disease free during these scary times. These are durable, waterproof, silicon keyboards that can be cleaned with soap and water as often as necessary.   

CNN says Swine Flu is coming and it’s going to be bad for kids this back to school season. I am so glad I purchased my kids washable keyboards at wetkeys.com on sale at 50% off.

This durable, waterproof, silicon keyboard is an important part of keeping your kids healthy. Also, advise your kids not to share their keyboards.   

CNN-The Situation Room

Just watching this now. According to CNN a Swine Flu “Explosion” is predicted this back to school season. “We are preparing for the worst” says Mr. Secretary.

With the dangers looming ahead, don’t take chances with your child’s health. By purchasing a washable keyboard at wetkeys.com, you can lower your children’s chances of encountering dangerous germs. This is a waterproof, heavy duty, silicon keyboard that’s easy to clean.   

Bloomberg — Swine flu vaccines under development by drugmakers may not provide immunity until the last week of November, too late to hold off outbreaks triggered by infected students returning to schools in the U.S. and Europe.

Just 45 million of 195 million doses ordered for the U.S. will be delivered by mid-October, said health officials who lowered their estimates yesterday. The vaccine will probably require two shots given three weeks apart, and the body won’t produce antibodies for two additional weeks, according to an Aug. 7 report by the Department of Health and Human Services.

H1N1 has reached more than 170 countries and territories in the four months since being identified, the Geneva-based World Health Organization said.

Protection Priorities

Authorities want to ensure adequate supplies to protect health-care workers, pregnant women, people at risk of developing severe complications from flu and children, whose close contact in tightly packed schoolrooms and in other social settings makes them the biggest spreaders of the virus.

Part of the U.S. plan to vaccinate children is to encourage state and local health departments to set up school-based vaccine clinics. In the U.K., most shots will be given by family doctors and nurses who provide routine health care including seasonal flu shots, according to the Department of Health.

Schools that arrange in-house immunizations will face logistical hurdles, said Mel Riddile, the National Association of Secondary School Principals’ associate director for high school services in the U.S. Riddile, a former principal at a Fairfax County, Virginia, high school, said it typically took a month just for all 2,500 students to turn in their emergency medical information forms at the beginning of the school year.

Along with hand washing, washable keyboards are a great way to help stay protected against viruses, such as the flu. Since keyboards are the other thing you touch all day, being able to wash and disinfect them helps decrease harmful germ contamination. Get a washable keyboard at WETKEYS.com. 

Swine Flu Shots May Be Too Little, Too Late to Halt Outbreaks

WETKEYS “How to Clean” FAQ

 If you know how to wash your hands with soap and water, washing your keyboard can be just as easy. Please consult our

 WETKEYS.com offers many brands of computer accessories.Please refer to the specific product manufacturers’ information for details on how best to clean a particular item.  Always observe the preparation instructions and use of all cleaning fluids and wear the appropriate protective clothing, rubber gloves or safety glasses as necessary.

 Note:  In order to maintain sanitary conditions, your keyboard and mouse should be washed prior to initial use.  It is also important to wash a keyboard and mouse on a regularly scheduled interval appropriate for your use environment. 

 General Washing Instructions

         1.     Log out and turn OFF the POWER to your computer if your product is corded (not wireless).  Wireless units can be washed with batteries inside - be sure to disable the connection to the computer or accidental keystrokes may enter or delete important data.

         2.     Disconnect the Keyboard / Mouse. (If you are using a USB - PS/2 adapter, please remove it completely before cleaning.)

3.       It is important that before you wash a CORDED product you ensure that the USB Plug (connector) is safely away from the sink and remains dry.

4.       Clean the surface of the product by wiping, gently brushing, spraying or dipping it. DO NOT “SOAK” Units.  Use only rags, sponges or soft bristle brushes. DO NOT USE ANY BUFFING PADS, SCRUBBING PADS OR OTHER ABRASIVE CLEANERS.

DO NOT place the USB or PS/2 connector into the fluid.

5.       Either wipe with dry cloth or shake gently and allow to air dry.  Never hang a keyboard or mouse by its cord or damage to the watertight seal can occur.

6.       Reconnect the keyboard/mouse.

7.       Restart Computer.

 Best Practice Wash Procedure For Healthcare.

 Read more about how to clean your keyboard. 

Anyone seen the sale at wetkeys.com? Awesome washable, flexible, heavy duty keyboard is 50% off while supplies last!

Not only is this durable, waterproof, silicon keyboard a steal but it helps maintain a clean environment by being an easily cleanable sanitary keyboard. Treat your children to a healthy gadget for back to  school!