WASHINGTON—Thomas Frieden, M.D., commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, was named the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on May 15.

WASHINGTON—Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs S. Ward Casscells, M.D., recently stepped down from his position after serving two years.

NIH Halts Trial on Saline to Treat Shock The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has stopped a clinical trial studying the benefits and safety of administering a highly concentrated form of saline solution in the ambulance (before hospital arrival) to trauma patients suffering from shock due to severe bleeding.

WASHINGTON—While dementia patients typically receive the bulk of their clinical care in hospitals and nursing facilities, it is often the family members and other at-home caregivers who bear the brunt of the stress created by their loved ones’ disease.

WASHINGTON—Dementia refers to a group of illnesses that involve memory, behavior, learning and communicating problems. Although dementia is rare in people under the age of 60, the risk for dementia increases as a person ages.

WASHINGTON—Mental illnesses and addiction disorders are chronic illnesses with significant burden, disability and mortality, according to officials who spoke at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 20th National Conference on Chronic Disease Prevention and Control held in February.

WASHINGTON—Understanding the link between environment and public health is critical in moving the public health agenda forward. “More and more we need to learn—as people who care about promoting health—to think about energy and transportation and land use because those are issues that are very pertinent to health,” said Howard Frumkin, M.D., director of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Environmental Health.

According to Department of Veterans Affairs, 16 patients who were exposed to contaminated equipment at VA medical centers have tested positive for viral infections including hepatitis.

WASHINGTON—Representatives from Indian Country asked Congress last month for more resources to deal with the staggering number of youth suicides that occur on Indian reservations.

One of the challenges the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs face when collaborating on a joint initiative is the interoperability of our respective data systems.