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Sunday, March 3, 2013

Why do I keep seeing homes that their listing prices ... - Zillow Real ...

Not looking to get into an argument with you Wetdawgs, just trying to present the other side.

In nearly 14 years of doing this, have I never seen an agent come in 20-30% off on a CMA.?

CMA's don't usually show the final sale price, but they should be in the ballpark.? Most sale prices in my area are within 96% of the CMA price.? Maybe it's a territorial thing, maybe you have just had some really bad luck with agents.

The price given on a CMA is usually the list price, so figuring out the percentage between list and sale price wouldn't be that difficult.? There will always be a few off the mark, but I'm sure that the average difference would be similar.

CMA's won't use a 2 bedroom 1 bath condo when comping out a 4 bedroom 2 bath single family home, or a new construction home against a 1950's ranch, and Zestimates will because they pull the recent sold properties as comps regardless of what they are, condition they are in or location.?

So I just can't buy that a Zestimate gets it right most of the time.

Source: http://www.zillow.com/advice-thread/Why-do-I-keep-seeing-homes-that-their-listing-prices-are-lower-then-market-value/481002/

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Saturday, March 2, 2013

Kerry: Egypt needs political, economic viability

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry gives a statement to the media at the start of a meeting with business leaders in Cairo, Egypt on Saturday, March 2, 2013. Cairo is the sixth leg of Kerry's first official overseas trip and begins the Middle East portion of his nine-day journey. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, shakes hands for a photograph with Arab League Secretary General Nabil Elaraby, after their meeting in Cairo, Egypt on Saturday, March 2, 2013. Cairo is the sixth leg of Kerry's first official overseas trip and begins the Middle East portion of his nine-day journey. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, second from right, meets with members of Egyptian political parties including Ayman Nour, left, Egypt on Saturday, March 2, 2013. Cairo is the sixth leg of Kerry's first official overseas trip and begins the Middle East portion of his nine-day journey. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, poses for a photograph with Arab League Secretary General Nabil Elaraby, after their meeting in Cairo, Egypt on Saturday, March 2, 2013. Cairo is the sixth leg of Kerry's first official overseas trip and begins the Middle East portion of his nine-day journey. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)

CAIRO (AP) ? Egypt's bickering government and opposition need to create "a sense of political and economic viability," giving businesses confidence and setting the stage for a vital international aid deal, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Saturday.

Kerry stressed to business leaders the importance of Egyptians coming together around human rights, freedom and speech and religious tolerance. Equally essential, he said, is uniting "to meet the economic challenge of this particular moment."

He arrived in Cairo, the latest stop on his first overseas trip as a member of President Barack Obama's second-term Cabinet, intending to press all sides to come to a basic agreement on Egypt's direction ahead of parliamentary elections that begin next month.

Of great concern, too, is the ability of Egypt to undertake the reforms necessary to qualify for a $4.8 billion International Monetary Fund loan package. Steps could include increasing tax collections and curbing energy subsidies.

Agreement with the IMF, contingent on ending the political chaos that has ensued since President Mohammed Morsi's election, would unlock significant U.S. assistance, including portions of Obama's $1 billion pledge last April.

"It is paramount, essential, urgent," Kerry told business leaders, "that the Egyptian economy gets stronger, gets back on its feet and it's very clear that there is a circle of connections in how that can happen.

"To attract capital, to bring money back here, to give business the confidence to move forward, there has to be sense of security, there has to be a sense of political and economic viability."

Kerry, who was to meet with Morsi on Sunday, said he would tell the president that that U.S. assistance would depend on Egyptian reforms and the IMF agreement.

"It is clear to us that the IMF arrangement needs to be reached and we need to give the market place some confidence," Kerry said.

Several hundred people protested outside the government offices where Kerry planned to meet with Foreign Minister Amr Kamel. They burned Kerry's pictures and chanted that Washington was siding with Morsi's ruling Muslim Brotherhood.

The political turmoil has scared away tourists and foreign investors, eroding Egypt's foreign reserves by nearly two-thirds of what it was before the uprising. Those reserves, which stand at less than $14 billion, are needed to pay for subsidies that millions of poor Egyptians rely on for survival.

Kerry met with opposition figures before a round-table discussion with members of the business community. He described the first session as "very, very spirited."

According to the U.S. State Department, Kerry also spoke by telephone with Mohammed ElBaradei, a Nobel laureate who heads the National Salvation Front, an opposition coalition calling for an election boycott.

Kerry met with Amr Moussa, a former minister under ex-President Hosni Mubarak who's now aligned with the Salvation Front. Moussa, an ex-Arab League head, ran for president last summer.

A statement from Moussa's office said the two talked about how the U.S. could support Egypt economically.

Kerry's talks with the league's current leader, Nabil Elaraby, covered the uprising in Syria, where 70,000 people have died in fighting over nearly two years.

The Salvation Front says it could consider participating in elections if parts of a new constitution are changed, police stop using excessive force against protesters and if an inclusive government of the Christian minority, women, and liberals is formed.

They say now is not the time for elections that will further polarize the country while violent clashes continue to take place between protesters and security forces, further shaking the faltering economy.

They accuse Morsi and the Brotherhood of dominating power in Egypt, effectively stepping in to the same role as Mubarak and failing to carry out reforms while also seeking to instill a more religiously conservative system.

Morsi's administration and the Brotherhood say their opponents, who have trailed significantly behind Islamists in all elections since the uprising, are running away from the challenge of the ballot box and are trying to overturn democratic gains.

Egypt has been locked in political crisis for months amid successive waves of protests against Morsi that have turned into deadly clashes and rioting.

As Kerry was meeting with opposition figures, including some who have joined the election boycott, activists in the Nile Delta city of Mansoura say a 35-year-old protester was killed when an armored police vehicle crushed him to death during violent anti-Morsi protests before dawn on Saturday.

A 14-year-old boy was reported to be shot in the head and critically wounded.

In the restive Suez Canal city of Port Said, a police vehicle ran over five people Saturday after protesters marching along a main street refused to allow the car through.

Kerry's visit to Egypt is the sixth leg of a nine-nation trip through Europe and the Middle East.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-03-02-Kerry/id-0d99f7ab1e6147ccad083535b2426b46

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Insight: Will Dreamliner drama affect industry self-inspection?

SAN FRANCISCO/SEATTLE/PARIS (Reuters)- Eight years ago, U.S. regulators substantially increased their dependence on the aircraft industry to help keep flying safe.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it would no longer directly manage routine inspection of design and manufacturing. Instead, it would focus on overseeing a self-policing program executed by the manufacturers themselves through more than 3,000 of their employees assigned to review safety on behalf of the FAA.

These so-called designees had existed for decades, but the FAA had vetted and controlled them. Under the new system, companies chose and managed them, to the point where the FAA even had trouble rejecting those they felt were unsuitable for the job, according to one government watchdog.

As the drama of the overheating lithium-ion batteries on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner unfolds, that relationship is coming under intense scrutiny.

No evidence has surfaced that the designee system is responsible for the battery problem that has prompted regulators to temporarily ban the plane from the skies. The story has raised the question, however, whether the regulator hands over too much power to the industry.

"This is an occupation with a built-in conflict of interest," said Gordon Mandell, a retired FAA certification engineer.

With Boeing doing about 95 percent of its own inspections, adds Mary Schiavo, former Department of Transportation inspector general, "it's kind of do-it-yourself." The situation was not unique to Boeing, she said. "There are places around the world that saw an FAA inspector once, maybe five years ago, and that's it."

HOW WERE TESTS VERIFIED?

Boeing's new ultra-modern carbon-composite jet has been grounded around the world for six weeks as the National Transportation Safety Board leads an investigation into two battery incidents, joined by the FAA. Both agencies are also looking into the 787 certification process.

"We need to understand what tests were done and who was certifying those tests, and again how they were verified - not just by Boeing, but by the regulator as well," NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman said on February 8, referring to the battery and other key parts made in a long, global supply chain.

At the broadest level, even some supporters of the designee process are asking whether the FAA is up to the task of effectively overseeing the system.

Among them is Ken Mead, another former DOT inspector general and a veteran of investigating the FAA. "The questions I'd want answers to are: Does the FAA have the right people with the right expertise to make sure the FAA is in a position to critically second-guess? And have they critically reviewed the approval process so this does not happen again?" he said.

The FAA's defense of its abilities and approach is unwavering. "Some have asked the question whether the FAA has the expertise needed to oversee the Dreamliner's cutting edge technology. The answer is yes, we have the ability to establish rigorous safety standards and to make sure that aircraft meet them," FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said in an industry speech on January 23. "The way to enhance safety is to keep the lines of communication open between business and government."

The FAA and Boeing both say the FAA is better off managing the system and picking out high-risk areas on which to concentrate. It lacks the resources to manage every individual and inspect every part, they say, and industry has a strong incentive to cooperate - unsafe products jeopardize business. They point out that FAA staff invested more than 200,000 hours over eight years certifying the 787 on top of work done by designees.

Perhaps their biggest defense is that there have been no fatal crashes of scheduled commercial flights in the United States for four years.

BIG JOB, NOT-SO-BIG BUDGET

The FAA's inability to expand its budget in line with an increasingly large, complex and global aviation industry played a major role in the 2005 decision to expand the delegation system. Certification work increased fivefold between the 1940s and 1990s and has only become more complex since.

"By shifting our inspection focus from reviewing test results to overseeing the designation program, we will be able to more efficiently use our resources while extending our oversight coverage, thereby increasing safety," the FAA said in the official announcement of the program, printed in the Federal Register on October 13, 2005.

It added, however, that "More than one commenter states that the FAA should be hiring more inspectors, not spending its limited resources creating an organizational designee system." Public comments from opponents of the new system outnumbered supporters 14 to 11, it noted.

While the agency still signs off on a new plane and key steps along the way, the bulk of the interim work - often 90 percent or more - is done by the designees at the manufacturers. As of 2010 there were about 1,000 FAA engineers and inspectors devoted to design review and inspection, compared with 3,655 designees working for companies on the FAA's behalf, according to government data.

Boeing has set up a separate group within the company to do the FAA work. Those employees approve the design of the planes except for the key steps and the final "type certificate" for new aircraft, which needs a stamp from FAA officials.

The jobs command respect and draw veterans who are more likely to stand up to pressure from their employers and won't risk losing their "ticket" - the FAA designee status - by cutting corners, people in the industry say. Candidates choose specializations and typically must pass written and oral exams meant to check their understanding of what a designee, also known as a "designated engineering representative" (DER), does and the limits of their powers.

"I've never seen it where a company's pressure on the DER was strong enough for them to bend from their loyalty to the FAA," said Richard Lukso, the former president of Securaplane, the company that made the chargers for the 787 batteries. They have unique insight into how companies work, he added, since they come from the inside.

A WATCHDOG BARKS

In 2011, the DOT's Office of Inspector General criticized the FAA for losing control of its oversight and risking safety. It cited one company designee, acting on behalf of the FAA, who took his employer's view in a dispute over whether an aircraft fuel system met agency standards. The manufacturer took a year to suspend the employee from FAA duty. The company was not identified in the report.

The FAA and the inspector general do not agree on how to weed out unwanted designees. The FAA says it is creating a new database of employees removed from consideration because of "misconduct"; the inspector general's office wants a broader set of employees to be included.

The FAA has been criticized beginning early in the Dreamliner program for skimping on supplier visits, as well.

In the first four years of the Dreamliner program, between 2003-2007, FAA officials visited only 1 percent of suppliers at Boeing and other major engine and plane makers, and left unchecked thousands of factories that would go on to make parts for the 787, according to another report by the same Office of Inspector General, this one from 2008. All parts for U.S. planes must be FAA certified at some point, but that can happen as part of the final assembly of a plane rather than at the factories where they are made.

The same report described how a worker at one factory - it is unclear if it was a supplier to Boeing or another plane maker - used a piece of paper, instead of a ruler, to measure parts. Another used a tool marked "uncalibrated." One supplier made a part fit by grinding away an edge, without permission from the manufacturer, and training overall was deemed inadequate.

The FAA made a number of changes in response to the report, but it only raised the minimum number of supplier visits at major manufacturers to nine a year from four, a spokesman for the inspector general told Reuters.

All FAA inspectors are based in the United States, even though much of the 787 airframe and many key components like the battery are made outside the country, raising the question of whether distance might make them less likely to visit. Inspectors travel when necessary, the FAA said. In its own statement, Boeing said that "in addition to requiring frequent and detailed progress reporting, during the development and design phase we regularly had people on site with our suppliers and they had people on site with Boeing."

FLAMMABILITY TESTS APPROVED

No full description of the process by which Boeing engineered and tested its lithium-ion battery has been disclosed, but emerging details show how regulators relied heavily on Boeing to do most of the work on what the FAA acknowledged from the start would be a potentially dangerous technology.

The FAA approved "special conditions" for the 787 battery in 2007, acknowledging risks including "Flammability of Cell Components."

"Safe cell temperatures and pressures must be maintained during any foreseeable charging or discharging condition and during any failure of the charging or battery monitoring system not shown to be extremely remote," the first condition reads. "Extremely remote" is FAA code for once in 10 million flight hours.

Special conditions do not include specific tests, so Boeing itself proposed them to the FAA. Designees could approve the design of tests and monitor the tests themselves, though the FAA told Reuters its staff also had approved the testing program and observed testing.

A Boeing presentation in February described "baking the battery to induce overheating, crush testing and puncturing a cell with nail to induce short circuit."

At the same time the FAA approved the special conditions in 2007, FAA staff and the aircraft manufacturing industry, including Boeing, were devising lithium-ion battery tests that included all the details the special conditions lacked.

Published in 2008 and adopted by the FAA three years later, the standard known as RTCA DO-311 gave precise instructions for tests. The worst-case-scenario test required turning off all failsafe electronics, short-circuiting the battery and watching for flames for three hours.

Boeing did not run those tests. "The RTCA standards were not designed for the 787," and Boeing provided extensive testing to show the 787 met the special conditions, spokesman Marc Birtel said.

The FAA acknowledged the batteries were potentially flammable in the special conditions approved. Said former Inspector General Schiavo, "They knew they had problems. They just said 'OK.'"

(This story is corrected with FAA to Federal Aviation Administration in paragraph two)

(Additional reporting by Mari Saito, James Topham and Tim Kelly in Tokyo, Andrea Shalal-Esa in Washington, Deepa Seetharaman in Detroit, Bill Rigby in Seattle and Karen Jacobs in Atlanta; editing by Martin Howell and Prudence Crowther)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/insight-dreamliner-drama-affect-industry-self-inspection-120645048--finance.html

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America's happiest (and most miserable) states

Michael B. Sauter, Alexander E. M. Hess and Samuel Weigley , 24/7 Wall St. ? ? ? 20 hrs.

According to a Gallup poll released Thursday, the United States has shown almost no improvement in well-being in the past five years, increasing slightly from 2011 when Americans reported the most miserable scores since the survey began.The top and bottom states have also remained nearly the same. West Virginia, which received the lowest well-being score in 2012, has routinely been in the bottom two, and Hawaii ranked highest for the fourth year in a row.

The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, which has surveyed 1.7 million Americans since the survey was first conducted in 2008, reflects the physical and emotional health of residents in each of the 50 states. 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the scores of each state in the six categories that comprise Gallup?s index to identify objective measures that impact well-being.

Gallup Editor-in-Chief Frank Newport explained to 24/7 Wall St. that well-being is important because happier, healthier citizens tend to have positive social and economic impacts on the places they live.

?Well-being is important because of the hypothesis that it leads to good outcomes,? Newport said. ?If your citizens have high well-being, they?re more likely to be better citizens and engage in better behaviors and make things better all the way around. It?s a positive goal for those that look at what we ought to emphasize in society.?

Among the 55 questions Gallup asked residents in each of the past five years, there were certain categories that the states with low well-beingtended to do poorly in and high well-being states tended to do well in. States with high well-being had populations that smoked less, exercised more and tried to learn new things each day. These states also tended to share the outcomes of those behaviors and activities ? residents had lower levels of key health problems such as high blood pressure, diabetes and heart attacks, and had more energy.

Of the data 24/7 Wall St. considered in addition to Gallup?s indices, several showed a strong relationship with well-being. It appears that states with happy residents tended to have much lower poverty rates and higher median income. The states with the highest levels of well-being all have poverty levels below the national rate. Having stable income is important because it enables people to meet basic needs such as healthy food, clean water, medicine and health care.

We also found a strong relationship between employment and high school graduation rates and well-being. All 10 high well-being states had unemployment rates lower than the national average. All 10 states were in the top 15 for adults with a high school diploma.

In an interview with 24/7 Wall St., Gallup research head Dan Witters explained how these may be connected. Health and emotional well-being, he noted are more likely to be present in ?a more vibrant, more intellectually and psychologically attuned citizenry.? These people are more likely to be attractive to employers and to lead fulfilling lives. Witters added that healthier populations attract employers because they present less of a health care expense.

While many of the happiest and most miserable states have remained the same, many other states, Witters added, have seen significant improvement over time. In particular, seven states ? Colorado, Indiana, Nebraska, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Wisconsin ? have shown statistically significant improvement. What?s more, these states all improved in the same few categories. These included obesity, smoking, access to basic needs and safety. ?I think there?s a good learning opportunity there for other states,? said Witters. ?If you look at those states that have moved the needle, they?ve gotten there through similar means.?

According to 24/7 Wall St.?s analysis, states in some areas of the country continue to do better than others. Of the 10 states with the highest levels of well-being, the majority are either in the West or Midwest. Of the 10 states with the lowest well-being scores, eight are located in the South. This has been the case since the survey began.

24/7 Wall St. reviewed all 50 U.S. states based on their scores in Gallup-Healthway?s 2012 Well-Being Index. On top of calculating an overall national level of well-being, the index also calculates the well-being for each state, assigning scores from 0 to 100, with 100 representing ideal well-being. The national score increased marginally in 2012, from 66.2 in 2011 to 66.7 in 2012. In generating the rank, Gallup combined six separate indices, measuring access to basic needs, healthy behavior, work environment, physical health, life evaluation and optimism, and emotional health. In addition to the index, we considered data from the U.S. Census Bureau, including income, poverty and the percentage of adults with a high school diploma or higher, all for 2011. From the Bureau of Labor Statistics, we reviewed state unemployment rates as of December 2012. We looked at life expectancy at birth, as of 2007, from the Kaiser Health foundation. We also considered violent crime rates for 2011 by state from the FBI Uniform Crime Report Program. All data are for the most recent period available.

Related: Looking for a bad time? Visit America's 'saddest,' 'most miserable' cities

Top five most happy states:

1. Hawaii

Well-being index score: 71.1

Life expectancy: 81.5 years (the highest)

Obesity: 25.7% (20th lowest)

Median household income: $61,821 (8th highest)

Adult population with high school diploma or higher: 90.6% (10th highest)

In Gallup?s 2012 well-being index, Hawaii performed better than any other state. It ranked first or second in five of the six categories that make up the index, and 14th in basic access to care. Hawaii?s residents reported being generally happier with their current lives than those of any other state. They were also a more optimistic group. More than two-thirds of Hawaiians reported not feeling stressed, compared to just 52.8 percent of West Virginians who could say that. A larger proportion of Hawaiians exercise than any state but Alaska, and residents also eat healthily and do not smoke. At the latest count, life expectancy at birth in the state was 81.5 years, by far the best in the country.

2. Colorado

Well-being index score: 69.7

Life expectancy: 79.9 years (9th highest)

Obesity: 18.7% (the lowest)

Median household income: $55,387 (15th highest)

Adult population with high school diploma or higher: 90.2% (15th highest)

Coloradans were among the most likely Americans to practice healthy behaviors, such as exercising regularly and eating fruits and vegetables. They were also among the least likely to smoke and among the most likely to report easy access to a safe place to exercise. Their healthy behavior appears to be paying off. Colorado was rated the best state for physical health in the United States, having some of the nation?s lowest rates of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and obesity. Colorado residents were also among the nation?s healthiest emotionally, and they had high evaluations of their own lives.

3. Minnesota

Well-being index score: 68.9

Life expectancy: 80.9 years (2nd highest)

Obesity: 24.7% (13th lowest)

Median household income: $56,954 (11th highest)

Adult population with high school diploma or higher: 92.0% (2nd highest)

Gallup found that Minnesota had better emotional health than all but two states. Some 86 percent of Minnesotans reported they did not feel an excessive amount of sadness during the previous day, a higher percentage than all but one state. In addition, Minnesotans ranked third in the physical health category. Nearly 83 percent of survey respondents said they did not have health problems that prevented them from doing activities typical of their age group ? a higher-percentage than any other state. According to the most recent data, Minnesotans had the second-highest life expectancy of any state. Also, more than 78 percent of respondents said poor health did not get in the way of their usual daily activities, a higher percentage than all but one state.

4. Utah

Well-being index score: 68.8

Life expectancy: 80.1 years (8th highest)

Obesity: 23.9% (6th lowest)

Median household income: $55,869 (14th highest)

Adult population with high school diploma or higher: 90.3% (14th highest)

Utah residents had higher evaluations of their present lives and higher expectations for the future than residents of nearly every other state. More than 55 percent of respondents were thriving, while less than 3 percent were considered to be suffering based on their assessments of their present and future quality of life. In addition to strong evaluations of their own lives, Utah residents had better emotional health and a higher quality of their work environment than residents of most other states. Nearly 70 percent of respondents told Gallup they had recently learned something new or interesting, a higher percentage than any other state.

5. Vermont

Well-being index score: 68.6

Life expectancy: 79.7 years (12th highest)

Obesity: 25.7% (20th lowest)

Median household income: $52,776 (19th highest)

Adult population with high school diploma or higher: 91.8% (4th highest)

Vermont residents display healthier behaviors than any other state in the U.S. For example, nearly 72 percent of Vermont residents told Gallup that they ate healthily all day during the previous day, a higher percentage than any other state except Rhode Island. In fact, nearly two-thirds of respondents said they had at least at least five or more servings of fruits and vegetables in four of the past seven days, a higher proportion than any other state. Nearly 60 percent of residents said they exercised for at least 30 minutes in three of the past seven days, a higher percentage than all but two other states. The state had among the lowest poverty rates in the country, which may help explain why Vermont residents reported having good access to most basic needs. The state had the second-smallest proportion of residents say they did not have enough money to feed their families.

The five most miserable states:

1. West Virginia

Well-being index score: 61.3

Life expectancy: 75.2 years (2nd lowest)

Obesity: 33.5% (the highest)

Median household income: $38,482 (2nd lowest)

Adult population with high school diploma or higher: 84.2% (12th lowest)

West Virginia residents? well-being was the worst of all states. It scored dead last in three of the six categories: life evaluation, emotional health and physical health. The answers of West Virginians to questions in the physical health category were particularly alarming. It was the only state where more than 30 percent of residents were told by a physician or nurse that they had high cholesterol. In addition, nearly 40 percent of respondents were told they have high blood pressure, also the highest of all states. Unhealthy behaviors could be causing these problems. For instance, just 62.2 percent of West Virginians indicated they ate healthily the previous day, the fifth-lowest percentage of all states. Moreover, 31.4 percent of respondents indicated that they smoked, the highest percentage of all states. The state had the second-lowest median income in the U.S., and a very high proportion of those surveyed in the state reported not being able to afford food or medicine. West Virginians had the second-worst life expectancy at birth in the country.

2. Kentucky

Well-being index score: 62.7

Life expectancy: 76.2 years (7th lowest)

Obesity: 29.7% (6th highest)

Median household income: $41,141 (4th lowest)

Adult population with high school diploma or higher: 83.1% (6th lowest)

The state has one of the lowest proportions of adults with a high school degree, as well as the fourth-lowest median income in the country. Kentucky also ranked dead-last in terms of healthy behaviors. A mere 60.7 percent of respondents said they ate healthily the day before, by far the lowest of any state. Not surprisingly, Kentucky also ranked second from the bottom in terms of physical health. As many as 29 percent of people indicated they had health problems that prevented them from doing age-appropriate activities, a higher percentage than any state other than West Virginia. Kentucky also ranked second from the bottom in the life evaluation and emotional health categories.

3. Mississippi

Well-being index score: 63.6

Life expectancy: 74.8 years (the lowest)

Obesity: 32.2% (2nd highest)

Median household income: $36,919 (the lowest)

Adult population with high school diploma or higher: 81.1% (3rd lowest)

Mississippi ranked lower than any other state in Gallup?s basic access to necessities category. For instance, nearly 25 percent of state residents indicated they did not have enough money to buy food for themselves or their family at some point in the last 12 months, the highest percentage of all states. Such problems are likely due to the state?s high-poverty rate and overall low incomes. The state?s median household income of $36,919 was the lowest of all 50 states, and the poverty rate of 22.6 percent was the highest. The lack of basic access to necessities may partly help explain why Mississippi ranked sixth from the bottom in terms of physical health. More than 38 percent of residents indicated they were told by a doctor or nurse that they had high blood pressure, a higher percentage than any state except for West Virginia. In addition, 15.4 percent of residents were told they had diabetes, more than any other state.

4. Tennessee

Well-being index score: 64.0

Life expectancy: 76.2 years (8th lowest)

Obesity: 29.6% (7th highest)

Median household income: $41,693 (6th lowest)

Adult population with high school diploma or higher: 84.2% (12th lowest)

According to the FBI, Tennessee had the nation?s highest violent crime rate in 2011, at over 608.2 violent crimes per 100,000 residents. This likely affected the state?s rank in Gallup?s access to basic necessities category, which included a question about being able to walk alone at night safely. The state ranked 11th worst in the U.S. in that question. In addition, Tennesseans reported some of the most critical conditions when it came to their own working environments. They were also among the Americans most likely to report they had poor health behaviors, such as not eating well. Just less than 62 percent of Tennesseans indicated they ate healthily all day the day prior to being surveyed?worse than every state but Kentucky. Such unhealthy behavior potentially contributed to the state?s low scores for both emotional and physical health. Residents were among the nation?s most likely to reveal they felt sad or depressed, and also among the most likely to have high blood pressure or cholesterol.

5. Arkansas

Well-being index score: 64.1

Life expectancy: 76.1 years (6th lowest)

Obesity: 31.4% (3rd highest)

Median household income: $38,758 (3rd lowest)

Adult population with high school diploma or higher: 83.8% (8th lowest)

Arkansas ranked in the bottom 10 in all but one of the well-being categories. The state ranked fourth from the bottom in terms of physical health. A higher percentage of people were told they had cancer compared to any other state. More than 31 percent of respondents were clinically obese, a higher percentage than all but two states. Arkansas also ranked fourth from the bottom in healthy behaviors. Over 27 percent of the population indicated that they smoked, the fourth-highest rate of all states. The average life expectancy in the state was just over 76 years old, the sixth-lowest of all states. Good health could be impeded by the state?s low income. The state?s median household income of $38,758 in 2011 was the third lowest of all states.

See where your state ranks on the complete list.

?2013 24/7 Wall St.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/americas-happiest-most-miserable-states-1C8627202

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Friday, March 1, 2013

Toby Keith's bassist killed in Oklahoma car crash

SLAUGHTERVILLE, Okla. (AP) ? Authorities say the bassist for country music star Toby Keith has been killed in a two-car crash in Oklahoma.

The Cleveland County Sheriff's Office says 54-year-old Carl "Chuck" Goff Jr. was killed in the crash Wednesday night in rural Cleveland County, about 35 miles south of Oklahoma City.

Keith said in a statement that he's "deeply saddened" by Goff's death. Keith says Goff was a close friend for more than 25 years, serving as band leader and bass player.

Goff shared writing credits on "Upstairs Downtown" and "You Ain't Much Fun" on Keith's 1994 album "Boomtown."

The two-vehicle crash remains under investigation. Authorities say the driver of the second vehicle wasn't seriously injured.

Associated Press

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The patient satisfaction chasm

Public release date: 1-Mar-2013
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Contact: Lori J. Schroth
ljschroth@partners.org
617-534-1604
Brigham and Women's Hospital

Researchers identify a gap between desires of hospital management and the experiences of frontline clinicians

Quality is a central component of any discussion around health care and one of the key dimensions and measurements of quality care is the patient experience. However, many healthcare organizations struggle to become 'patient focused' and fail to score well on patient satisfaction surveys. New research from Brigham and Women's Hospital, published in the March edition of British Medical Journal Quality and Safety, offers a potential explanation -- insufficient support from hospital management to improve the patient experience by engaging physicians and nurses in the process.

"Twelve years after the Institute of Medicine's Quality Chasm report called for fundamental improvement to patient-centered care, our findings raise concern as to whether hospital management is actively engaging clinicians in enhancing patient satisfaction," said Ronen Rozenblum, PhD, MPH, lead author of the study and a researcher in the Center of Patient Safety Research & Practice at BWH.

The research findings are based on a survey of 1004 physicians and nurses at four academic hospitals in Denmark, Israel, the UK and the United States. Results indicate that despite expanding initiatives, and the belief of most healthcare organizations that patient experience and satisfaction is important, the majority do not have a structured plan for how frontline providers can improve patient satisfaction during hospitalization.

Specifically researchers report that while 90.4 percent of clinicians surveyed believed improving patient satisfaction during hospitalization was achievable, only 9.2 percent of the clinicians said their department had a structured plan for improving patient satisfaction during hospitalization. Additionally researchers found that of the clinicians surveyed:

38 percent remembered targeted actions that were conducted in their department in order to improve patient satisfaction.
34 percent stated that during the last twelve months they had received feedback from hospital management regarding the level of patient satisfaction in their department.
85 percent thought hospital management should take a more active role in patient satisfaction improvement programs.
83 percent believed achieving high level of patient satisfaction was important for the clinical success of healthcare organizations.

"Organizations that are successful in fostering a culture of patient-centered care have incorporated it as a strategic investment priority by committed leadership, active measurement, feedback of patient satisfaction and engagement of patients and staff," said David Bates, MD, Chief Quality Officer at BWH and senior author of the paper. "We, in healthcare organizations, need to take a more active role in developing and implementing programs to improve patient experience and satisfaction and also in identifying ways to engage frontline clinicians in this process as well as ensuring they get routine feedback about patient experience and satisfaction. Ultimately, the patient experience is at the bedside."

Now that this chasm has been identified and defined, Drs. Bates and Rozenblum are working to address it. They created a framework for a patient experience culture and have begun to take the next steps to test and implement this structured patient satisfaction model.

Rozenblum said, "In order to improve, we need a systematic approach that starts at the bedside and grows up through hospital management levels to policy makers, all of whom should be committed to shifting healthcare organizations toward a culture of patient experience by making patient experience a strategic investment priority."

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This research was partially supported by NHS South Central (UK).

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

The patient satisfaction chasm

Public release date: 1-Mar-2013
[ | E-mail |

Share ]

Contact: Lori J. Schroth
ljschroth@partners.org
617-534-1604
Brigham and Women's Hospital

Researchers identify a gap between desires of hospital management and the experiences of frontline clinicians

38 percent remembered targeted actions that were conducted in their department in order to improve patient satisfaction.
34 percent stated that during the last twelve months they had received feedback from hospital management regarding the level of patient satisfaction in their department.
85 percent thought hospital management should take a more active role in patient satisfaction improvement programs.
83 percent believed achieving high level of patient satisfaction was important for the clinical success of healthcare organizations.

###

This research was partially supported by NHS South Central (UK).

[ | E-mail |

Share ]

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-03/bawh-tps030113.php

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