European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 20, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 6 stars and stripes tuesday March 20 2007 in the states by Jeff Schogol stars and stripes the army is launching a new hot line for wounded soldiers and family members the army announced sunday the hot line 18009848523 was expected to become operational on monday at 7 am Eastern Daylight time an army news release says the purpose of the hotlines Call Center is twofold to offer wounded and injured soldiers and family members a Way to seek help to resolve medical issues and to provide an information Channel of Soldier be to help i medically related issues directly to senior army leadership so they can improve How army serves the medical needs of our sol Diers and their families the news release says in the news release the army acknowledges Many wounded soldiers and families Are enduring hardships in navigating through our medical care system recently the Washington Post exposed filthy conditions and bureaucracy facing wounded troops at Walter Reed army med ical Center the Post stories have caused an uproar idea gis f Ilies that has led to the ouster of three prominent army officials army Secretary fran Cis j Harvey army surgeon general it Gen Kevin c Kiley and Walter Reed com Mander maj Gen George Weightman a recent army inspector generals of fice report also found several flaws in the army system for determining the extent of soldiers disabilities and recommended the army update its disability rating sys tem to better reflect the extent of soldiers injuries the new hot line is one Way the army is trying to improve its system of caring for wounded soldiers said maj Gen Sean j Byrne in the news release we have designed this Call Center to be Able to collectively hear what the soldiers say about their health care issues so As is sues Are raised we can identify systemic faults or problematic areas and senior Lead ers can better allocate resources said Byrne head of us army human resources command the hot line initially will operate from 7 am to 7 pm Edt and eventually will be come operational 24 hours a Day seven Days a week the news release says email Jeff Schogol at report toddler infected by fathers smallpox shot the associated press 2yearold Indi Ana boy and his Mother contracted a rare and life threatening infection from his Soldier fathers smallpox vaccination according to a published report the boy and his Mother were being treated in a specially Venti lated room at the University of Chicago Comer childrens hos Pital the Chicago Tribune reported saturday the family name and Home town were not released at their re quest the boy developed a virulent rash Over 80 percent of his body earlier this month after coming in Contact with his father who had recently been vaccinated for smallpox before he was to be deployed overseas by the army the paper said physicians stressed that the boy was not suffering from Small pox but from the related vaccinia virus which is used to convey immunity to the much deadlier Dis ease they said the infection was a rare condition called eczema Vacc Natum which has not been reported since at least 1990 when the military ended a Previ Ous program of smallpox vaccination smallpox was declared eradicated in 1980 the military began smallpox vaccinations again in 2002 be cause of Bio terrorism fears doctors said the child suffered from eczema which is a known risk Factor for vaccinia infection people with eczema Are warned not to have close physical Contact with the recently vaccinated be cause the condition allows the virus to enter the skin they said the us defense department and Federal state and local health authorities have been in daily con tact with the Hospital about the Case health officials say there is no infection risk for the general population because the vaccinia virus can be spread Only through close physical Contact nonetheless or Madelyn Kah Ana the hospitals chief of Rediat Ric intensive care said staff Mem Bers treating the boy and his Mother were required to Wear face masks and gloves and that the two had been placed in a Spe Cial room with negative air pres sure so All air would blow in Ward Leahy to subpoena White House officials in prosecutor firings Lauren Victoria Burke Abc Senate judiciary committee chair Man Patrick Leahy Dot said sunday he intends to subpoena White House officials involved in ousting Federal prosecutors by Hope yen the associated press Washington the Senate judiciary committee chairman said sunday he intends to subpoena White House officials involved in ousting Federal prosecutors and is dismissing anything Short of their testimony in Public the Bush White House was expected to announce Early this week whether it will let political strategist Karl Rove former White House counsel Harriet Miers and other officials testify or will seek to assert executive privilege in preventing their appearance the chairman sen Patrick Leahy Dot last week delayed a vote on the subpoenas until thurs Day As the presidents counsel Fred Fielding sought to negotiate terms but on sunday Leahy said he had not met Fielding nor was he particularly open to any com promises such As a private Brief ing by the officials i want testimony under oath i am sick and tired of getting half truths on this Leahy said i do not believe in this Well have a private briefing for you where Well Tell you everything and they dont Pennsylvania sen Arlen spec Ter the top Republican on the committee said he had a Long talk with Fielding on Friday and was reserving judgment Specter said he would like to see roves and Miers open testimony because there were numerous precedents for it at Issue is the firing of eight us attorneys dismissals that democrats say were politically motivated such prosecutors serve at the pleasure of the presi Dent attorney general Alberto Gonzales initially had asserted the firings were performance re lated not based on political considerations but emails released last week Between the Justice department and the White House contradicted that assertion and led to a pub lic apology from Gonzales Over the handling of the matter is Mouth Mouth on the Way out for car by Marilynn Marchione the associated press Chest compression not Mouth Mouth resuscitation seems to be the key in helping someone recover from cardiac arrest according to new research that further bolsters advice from heart experts a study in Japan showed that people were More Likely to recover without brain damage if rescuers focused on Chest compres Sions rather than Rescue breaths and some experts advised drop Ping the Mouth Mouth part of car altogether the study was published in fridays Issue of the medical journal the lancet More than a year ago the american heart association re Vised car guidelines to put More emphasis on Chest presses urging 30 instead of 15 for every two breaths Given stopping Chest compressions to blow air into the lungs of someone who is unresponsive detracts from the More important task of keeping blood moving to provide oxygen and nourishment to the brain and heart another big advantage to drop Ping the Rescue breaths it could make bystanders More willing to provide car in the first place Many Are unwilling to do the Mouth Mouth part and become flummoxed and fearful of getting the ratio right in an emergency sudden cardiac arrest when the heart suddenly stops beating can occur after a heart attack or As a result of electrocution or near drowning its most often caused by an abnormal heart rhythm the person experiencing it col lapses is unresponsive to gentle shaking and stops Normal breath ing in the new study researchers led by or Ken Nagao of Tsuruga Dai Nihon University Hospital in Tokyo Analysed 4068 adult patients who had cardiac arrest witnessed by bystanders of those 439 received Chest compressions Only from bystanders and 712 received conventional car compressions and breaths any car attempt improved survival Odds however 22 per cent of those who received just Chest compressions survived with Good neurological function compared with Only 10 percent of those who received combination car eliminating the need for Mouth Mouth ventilation will dramatically increase the occur rence of bystander initiated resuscitation efforts and will in crease survival or Gordon Ewy a cardiologist at the univer sity of Arizona College of medi Cine in Tucson writes in an accompanying editorial a big caveat the combination car in the japanese study was Given according to the old guide lines of 15 presses for every two breaths not the 30 presses recommended now the american heart association said the study supports a focus on Chest presses but the association does not expect its advice to change it recommends that bystanders provide compres Sion Only car if they Are unwilling or unable to do Mouth Mouth breathing at the same time and for emergency dispatchers to give instructions on that the association wants to see survival results from programs that use compression Only car for cardiac arrest it is important to note that Vic Tims of cardiac arrest from no cardiac causes like near drowning or electrocution and almost All victims of Rediat Ric cardiac arrest Benefit from a combination of Rescue breathing and Chest compressions a heart association statement says about 75 percent to 80 percent of All cardiac arrests outside a Hospital happen at Home and effective car can double a victims Chance of survival