Summa Health System is among about 40 nonprofit hospital systems participating in a national effort that’s sharing ways to form partnerships and start other initiatives to improve overall community health.

The Health Systems Learning Group’s goal is to find strategies to address health problems across communities, particularly those facing poverty, poor education, inadequate housing, racism and other social factors that impact health.

Representatives from Summa and other health systems in the learning group met in Washington, D.C., recently for a forum co-hosted by the White House and the Health and Human Services’ Neighborhood Partnerships.

“This can’t be only a ‘Summa’ deal,” said Thomas J. Strauss, Summa’s president and chief executive. “If this is really going to impact our community, it has to be about the whole community.”

As part of maintaining their nonprofit tax status, hospitals are required to complete community health needs assessments that identify and address health issues in the populations they serve.

Summa is working with Akron General Health System and Akron Children’s Hospital to complete an updated community health needs assessment this year, said Roxia Boykin, vice president of community benefit and diversity for the Summa Foundation.

Using the results of the assessment, she said, Summa can explore ways to “build population health and community health infrastructure to really meet identified needs in communities.”

Summa already has launched efforts to improve the health in areas of need, Boykin said, particularly its Center for Health Equity at the Village at New Seasons, a development championed by the House of the Lord that combines senior housing with commercial space.

The primary care practice, which opened last year, also offers a community room with a demonstration kitchen for healthy cooking classes, access to social workers and behavioral health experts and space for research, education and other community services.

The idea is to provide coordinated services that address the high levels of diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease risk factors among the primarily African-American residents in the neighborhood surrounding the center.

According to a report recently released by the national learning group, the goals ahead include finding ways to better use money already being spent on charity care. Another goal, according to the report, is to “better understand our diverse communities through the lens of race/ethnicity, linguistics/literacy and socioeconomics to ensure we are equipped to meet their needs in culturally appropriate ways.”

Summa has provided $10,000 in funding to support the national effort.

During the meeting last month in Washington, the group talked about how hospitals, social service agencies, faith-based organizations and even the banking industry can work together to develop programs that improve access to health care for underserved populations while improving their overall health and lowering the cost of care, Strauss said.

“We actually had a full day of talking about the moral issues of health care — how we address the underserved in our communities,” Strauss said. “It was a breath of fresh air. We feel good about where we’re going.”

Cheryl Powell can be reached at 330-996-3902 or cpowell@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow Powell on Twitter at twitter.com/abjcherylpowell.

The prestigious Institute of Medicine is recommending that schools provide opportunities for at least 60 minutes of physical activity each day for students and that PE become a core subject.

The report, released Thursday, says only about half of the nation’s youngsters are getting at least an hour of vigorous or moderate-intensity physical activity every day.

Another concern, the report says, is that 44 percent of school administrators report slashing big chunks of time from physical education, arts and recess since the passage of the No Child Left Behind law in 2001 in order to boost classroom time for reading and math.

Also Thursday, Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Warrensville Heights, introduced the PHYSICAL Act (Promoting Health as Youth Skills In Classrooms And Life) in the U.S. House. It would recognize health education and physical education as core subjects within elementary and secondary schools.

With childhood obesity on the rise — about 17 percent of children ages 2 through 19 are obese — and kids spending much of the day in the classroom, the chairman of the committee that wrote the report said schools are the best place to help shape up the nation’s children.

“Schools for years have been responsible for various health programs such as nutrition, breakfast and lunch, immunizations, screenings,” Harold W. Kohl III, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Texas School of Public Health, said in an interview with the Associated Press.

“Physical activity should be placed alongside those programs to make it a priority for us as a society,” he said.

The report calls on the Education Department to recommend that PE be adopted as a core subject.

It says physical education in school is the “only sure opportunity” for youngsters to have access to activity that will help keep them healthy.

The majority of states, about 75 percent, mandate PE, according to the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance. But most do not require a specific amount of time for PE in school, and more than half allow exemptions or substitutions, such as marching band, cheerleading and community sports.

Many kids also aren’t going to gym class at school every single day. According to the CDC, only about 30 percent of students nationwide attend PE classes five days a week.

Specifically, the report recommends:

• All elementary school students should spend an average of 30 minutes each day in PE class.

• Middle and high school students should spend an average of 45 minutes each day in PE class.

• State and local officials should find ways to get children more physical activity in the school environment.

PE isn’t the sole solution, though.

The report advocates a “whole-of-school” approach where recess and before-and-after-school activities including sports are made accessible to all students to help achieve the 60-minutes-a-day recommendation for physical activity. It could be as simple as having kids walk or bike to school, or finding ways to add a physical component to math and science class lessons.

It’s the latest advance from the booming field of regenerative medicine, making body parts in the lab.

In the case of Kaiba Gionfriddo, doctors didn’t have a moment to spare. Because of a birth defect, the little boy’s airway kept collapsing, causing his breathing to stop and often his heart, too. A doctor at Akron Children’s Hospital, Marc Nelson, suggested experimental work in Michigan, where researchers were testing airway splints made from biodegradable polyester that is sometimes used to repair bone and cartilage.

In a single day, they “printed out” 100 tiny tubes, using computer-guided lasers to stack and fuse thin layers of plastic instead of paper and ink to form various shapes and sizes.

The next day, with special permission from the Food and Drug Administration, they implanted one of these tubes in Kaiba, the first time this has been done.

Suddenly, a baby that doctors had said would probably not leave the hospital alive could breathe normally for the first time.

He was 3 months old when the operation was done last year and is nearly 19 months old now. He is about to have his tracheotomy tube removed; it was placed when he was a couple months old and needed a breathing machine. And he has not had a single breathing crisis since coming home a year ago.

“He’s a pretty healthy kid right now,” said Dr. Glenn Green, a pediatric ear, nose and throat specialist at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where the operation was done. It’s described in today’s New England Journal of Medicine.

Independent experts praised the work and the potential for 3-D printing to create more body parts to solve unmet medical needs.

“It’s the wave of the future,” said Dr. Robert Weatherly, a pediatric specialist at the University of Missouri in Kansas City. “I’m impressed by what they were able to accomplish.”

So far, only a few adults have had trachea, or windpipe transplants, usually to replace ones destroyed by cancer.

The windpipes came from dead donors or were lab-made, sometimes using stem cells.

The hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit launched a “kangaroo-a-thon” last week that continues through May 31 to get as many parents as possible to offer skin-to-skin care for their babies.

“Kangaroo care is a cutesy way of describing skin-to-skin care in the NICU,” said Marybeth Fry, NICU family care coordinator. “Skin-to-skin is a method that is recommended for preterm babies to be held. The benefits of this are numerous.”

Kangaroo care originated in Colombia decades ago to try to address high mortality among premature babies.

The practice promotes skin-to-skin contact between a parent and a baby, who rests on the bare chest of Mom or Dad while wearing only a diaper. The practice got its name because of the way kangaroos carry their joeys.

Studies have shown the close physical contact can decrease stress, improve weight gain and promote normal temperature, heart rate and breathing among preterm and low birthweight babies.

Hospital neonatal intensive-care units throughout the United States began adopting the practice in the 1980s and 1990s. According to one survey, more than 200 neonatal intensive care units nationwide now use kangaroo care for their patients.

“Our goal is to increase the amount of kangaroo care given and the length of time kangaroo care is given,” Fry said. “We’re trying to increase awareness and increase our education.”

The hospital has decorated the unit with kangaroos to promote the practice.

The March of Dimes provided plush kangaroos with joeys in the pockets to give to parents who participate in the kangaroo-a-thon, which is taking place on the main campus and in NICUs operated by Children’s at Akron General Medical Center and Summa Akron City Hospital. Participating parents also are eligible for a drawing for prizes.

Teen help

Entering the teen years can be tough.

The Aultman College of Nursing and Health Sciences is offering two classes — one each for boys and girls — to help children in grades four through six learn about their changing bodies and minds.

“Boy-ology” and “Growing Up Girl” will focus on embracing change, developing and maintaining a healthful lifestyle, resisting peer pressure and improving communication with adults.

The sessions will take place from 10 a.m. to noon June 10, 12 and 14 at the college at 2600 Sixth Street SW in Canton.

Cost is $49.

For more information or to register, go online to www.aultmancollege.edu/ACCE.

Lodi event

Lodi Community Hospital is hosting the Spring into Health 5K Run and 1 mile Fun Run on June 1 at the Rory O’Neil Ball Park on North LeRoy Road in Westfield Center.

Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. for both events. The 1-mile event will start at 8:30 a.m., followed by the 5K run at 9 a.m.

Cost is $10 for the mile run.

Early registration is available for $20 through Friday for the 5K. After that, the entry fee is $25 through the day of the race.

To register, call 330-948-5502 or email Kathy.Wood@akrongeneral.org.

Belly dance class

Kadilak Fitness is offering a free belly dance class at 6 p.m. May 28.

The class will be led by Courtney Johnson-Benson at 4875 S. Main St., Green

All levels of fitness can participate in the class.

Cheryl Powell can be reached at 330-996-3902 or cpowell@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow Powell on Twitter at twitter.com/abjcherylpowell.

Burkett, who turns 65 on Monday, is stepping down this month from the Beacon Journal Charity Fund, where she has served as executive director since 1997.

Before taking over the nonprofit’s leadership role, she was a case investigator for the organization. The agency helps an average of 50 teens a year get free care from local orthodontists who accept reduced fees from the charity fund for their work.

In both positions, Burkett visited the homes of children and teens who applied for free braces to help determine which applicants qualified for the orthodontic care.

“That was and still is my first passion — the home visits and visiting the families and the one-on-one visits with the kids,” she said.

Over the years, she saw countless times the difference orthodontic care made in the lives of children in working-poor families who couldn’t afford the average $5,000 to $6,000 cost for braces.

There was the boy with an overbite who stopped her as she left a home visit to say, “Mrs. Burkett, I pray every day that the kids will stop making fun of me.”

Or the letter from a thankful mother 15 years ago recounting how her son changed from a shy, average student to one who gained amazing confidence after getting braces with the agency’s help. He ended up valedictorian of his graduating class.

“The difference that it’s made in their self-esteem and self-confidence is phenomenal,” she said.

The charity fund started at the newspaper at the urging of editor and publisher John S. Knight. The charity and the newspaper went separate ways in 1987, but Beacon Journal employees and former employees still serve on the agency’s board of trustees.

The agency’s $130,000 budget this year for orthodontic care and $16,000 to provide oral health education to third-grade classes throughout Summit County comes primarily from donations from area foundations.

Burkett is being replaced by Mark Fairhurst, who joined the organization this year to serve as the new executive director.

Burkett said she and her husband, Bill, plan to enjoy their retirement years by spending time with family and with regular trips to Florida.

But she’ll never forget the many smiles she helped shape over the years.

“I’m going to miss it a great deal,” she said. “It’s just very near and dear. It’s difficult for me to explain to someone who has not gone out to the homes and not seen some of the situations that we’ve seen and the expressions on the kids’ faces, the emotions that are involved and the gratitude that we get from the parents.”

Cheryl Powell can be reached at 330-996-3902 or cpowell@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow Powell on Twitter at twitter.com/abjcherylpowell.

“I don’t like peas, but I like strawberries,” the Akron third-grader confessed. She planted both along with some peppers on Thursday as part of the new teaching garden at the Schumacher Community Learning Center.

Dent also had a keen idea why her school was planting the garden: “It’s for us to be healthy,” she said.

And with that response alone, the garden already is on its way to fulfilling its mission of helping children develop healthy eating habits.

Students at the West Akron school spent several hours Thursday planting the garden with a variety of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, peas, parsley, cilantro and strawberries, along with some zinnias.

Third-grader Daijon Pitts, 10, planted yellow cherry tomatoes, while 8-year-old Tamika Gates, also in third grade, said she didn’t even mind getting her hands a little dirty to help plant the strawberries and peppers she put in.

The teaching garden is a joint venture between the Akron Public Schools, the American Heart Association and Summa Health System, and is intended to be exactly that — a teaching tool to help show students where fruits and vegetables come from and how they can form the basis for a lifetime of healthy eating.

The garden comes with an accompanying curriculum for teachers and serves as a living laboratory for the lessons, said Roxia Boykin, vice president of community benefit and diversity for Summa Health System.

A group of community volunteers met at the school earlier this month, built 10 raised planting beds and filled them with soil to prepare for Thursday’s planting day and dedication.

Brandi Davis, principal of Schumacher, said the garden will be used for students in kindergarten through third grade. “I hope that it instills good eating habits and nutritional information for the students to take home and share,” Davis said.

She noted that the garden is good preparation for the younger grades who will have the Veggie U curriculum when they enter fourth grade. The nonprofit Culinary Vegetable Institute in Milan sponsors Veggie U, a program that teaches children about nutrition, the importance of making wise food choices and the concept of sustainable agriculture.

The Schumacher building is just 2 years old and the staff has been stressing with the students the importance of taking care of their new school. Davis said she is hoping that caring for the garden will foster a sense of responsibility in the children for caring for the school property inside and out.

“It has inspired me to want to go home and plant a garden of my own,” she added.

Students, parents, teachers, staff and community volunteers will sign up for one-week shifts to help tend the garden throughout the summer vacation so that it is ready for harvest when students return in the fall.

Alice Luse, regional director of the American Heart Association, said the younger children are when they learn healthy eating habits, the better.

She said the association is sponsoring another teaching garden this year at Richardson Elementary School in Cuyahoga Falls, and hopes to offer more gardens each year at different area schools.

Lisa Abraham can be reached at 330-996-3737 or at labraham@thebeaconjournal.com.

Automated external defibrillators — or AEDs — are available in schools, churches, fitness centers and other places across the community to rescue people experiencing sudden cardiac arrest.

But no master list exists to let emergency medical responders or well-intentioned citizens know exactly where those AEDs are located, said Dr. Terry A. Gordon. The retired Akron cardiologist has championed the push to get AEDs in schools, police cruisers and other public places nationwide.

Without widespread knowledge about the location of the units, precious minutes could be wasted before a life-saving shock is delivered, Gordon told a group of about 100 community and medical leaders gathered Wednesday at the Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron headquarters.

“You can’t get any deader than you are when you have a cardiac arrest,” Gordon said. “You can’t hurt the person. You can only help.”

Gordon is pushing to compile an inventory of AEDs in the community while boosting education and awareness about the importance of the devices.

A system then could be created to notify designated representatives for each unit — possibly through a text message — if an ambulance is dispatched for a likely cardiac arrest near that AED, Gordon said.

Some participants suggested the AEDs could be outfitted with a GPS or cell line to keep track of their location. Others said an alarm or message could be sent to units when a potential sudden cardiac arrest has occurred nearby, as well as when batteries need changed or retraining is suggested.

Apps for iPhones and other smart phones that locate AED units also can be explored or developed.

“Sudden cardiac arrest is a major public health issue,” Gordon said. “ … It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere.”

In recent years, the medical community has pushed for AEDs to be placed in a variety of public places, including schools.

AEDs are “smart machines” that access a person’s heart rhythm and only administer a shock if needed to restore a normal heartbeat. The cost is about $1,200 to $1,500 per unit.

More than 1,000 Americans die each day from sudden cardiac arrest, Gordon said.

“There are very few things that occur this fast that you can do something about,” said Akron General Health System President Dr. Thomas “Tim” Stover, one of the panelists at the event.

The average eight to 10 minutes it takes for paramedics to respond could be critical for survival, Gordon said. For every minute a life-saving shock from a defibrillator is delayed, the chance of survival drops by 10 percent.

“If you wait for the paramedics, there’s a very low chance you’re going to survive,” he said. “If that’s all you do, the success rate will remain a dismal 3 to 5 percent.”

Ideally, he said, a shock should be administered within two to three minutes.

“With CPR and an early shock, over 50 percent survive,” he said. “Time is of the essence.”

Fairlawn Patrolman Steve Zagar is one of the rare survivors, thanks to an AED that had been in his police cruiser.

He collapsed in December during a welcome-home event for a blinded Afghanistan veteran, surrounded by about 30 fellow law enforcement officers.

“The AED I had lugged up and down steps for 10 years — never used — saved my life,” he said.

But even with AEDs present, people have died because the units weren’t used, Gordon said. He gave the example of national newscaster Tim Russert, who died five years ago at age 58 from sudden cardiac arrest with an unused AED in the studio.

“It’s one thing to have an AED,” Gordon said. “It’s another to be cognizant of it and to use it.”

Other communities nationwide are looking at similar initiatives.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania launched a project last year that offered cash prize incentives to people who located AEDs throughout Philadelphia.

Through the contest, the researchers were able to map more than 1,400 units in 500 buildings throughout the city, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

The event on Wednesday was part of the BioInnovation Institute’s ongoing “synergy seminar” series. The seminars bring together participants from the institute’s partner organizations to discuss potential solutions to a problem.

The BioInnovation Institute is an effort by Akron’s three hospital systems, the Northeast Ohio Medical University and the University of Akron to work together to boost medical-related research and economic development and education while improving health care in the region.

Other panelists in the discussion included Summa Health System President and Chief Executive Thomas J. Strauss and Akron Children’s Hospital Chief Medical Officer Dr. Robert S. McGregor.

Cheryl Powell can be reached at 330-996-3902 or cpowell@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow Powell on Twitter at twitter.com/abjcherylpowell.

The House voted unanimously Wednesday to fix the error in the law. The Senate passed an earlier version of the bill, though it will likely sign off on the legislation.

The new law requires coaches, volunteers and officials in youth sports organizations to have players who show concussion-like symptoms sit out games or practices until they’ve been checked and cleared in writing by a doctor or licensed health-care provider. Athletes can’t return to play on the same day they are removed.

Coaches are required to know more about concussions and how to spot warning signs. Parents also must review information sheets about brain injuries.

Supporters say the new rules are intended to promote safety, not impose punishments. A bill-writing error left open the door for coaches to face charges.

A spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Health says the state isn’t aware of any criminal charges filed for noncompliance of the law since it took effect April 26.

The way the law is currently written, parents who volunteer at sporting events could be fined or face jail time if they haven’t received the proper concussion training, said state Rep. Jay Hottinger, R-Newark.

Hottinger said it wasn’t the law’s intent to “potentially turn volunteers and coaches and referees and officials into criminals.”

The measure that passed Wednesday would remove the criminal liability. The correcting bill also contains an emergency clause, so it would take effect as soon as Republican Gov. John Kasich signs it.

Hottinger stressed the importance of the bill’s swift passage, so it could preclude any possible legal problems.

As of last year, at least 43 states and the District of Columbia had passed laws on concussions in youth or high school sports, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Under the law, Ohio’s health department has to provide information about identifying and dealing with concussions. The agency’s website includes links to free training to help coaches and referees recognize symptoms such as clumsy movements, forgetfulness, loss of consciousness, headaches or balance problems.

The legislation was spurred by evidence about the dangers of head injuries.

Doctors and health-care groups that supported the measure say young athletes are most vulnerable to damaging head injuries because their brains are still developing.

Emergency room visits for sports-related traumatic brain injuries for young athletes more than doubled between 2002 and 2010, according to the Ohio Department of Health.

The law applies to youth sports organizations and schools that are in and out of the Ohio High School Athletic Association. The OHSAA adopted return-to-play rules prior to the law’s passage and those rules remain in place since they mirror what is in the law.

Employers Health joined with the American Psychiatric Foundation’s Partnership for Workplace Mental Health for an initiative to help companies across the country help their workers address mental-health problems.

The centerpiece of the “Right Direction” campaign is a new website — http://rightdirectionforme.com/ — that provides information about depression and tips for employers who want to raise awareness in the workplace.

The groups decided to develop and offer the free online tool kit and resources to companies nationwide to raise awareness about the impact of depression on the workplace, said Marcas Miles, director of programs and communications at Employers Health

The Canton-based national coalition of employers works to improve the cost, quality and accessibility of health services.

“Our main goal is to get everybody to the point of seeking help,” he said.

Depression is a leading cause of lost productivity in the United States, with an annual cost to employers estimated at $44 billion, according to a study published in the Journal of Health Economics. Studies have shown depression can lead to difficulty concentrating, indecisiveness, forgetfulness and “presenteeism,” or being present at work but not fully productive.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates about one in 10 people struggle with depression, but many don’t seek medical help.

Employers Health announced the Right Direction initiative to raise awareness about depression in the workplace on Wednesday during its 14th annual Employer Symposium in North Canton.

The website includes a screening tool consumers can use to see whether they have signs of depression. Users are encouraged to share the results with a health-care provider.

Another dedicated portion of the Right Direction website — http://rightdirectionforme.com/foremployers — offers informational materials and posters about depression and other tools employers can use to create a companywide educational campaign.

The employer site also includes information to educate managers about the potential impact of depression on their workers, Miles said.

“Just because someone is showing up looking like they’re tired and have a lack of sleep doesn’t mean they’re out partying all night,” he said.

Though many companies offer employee assistance programs and mental-health benefits, more needs to be done to address depression in the workplace, Clare Miller, director of the Partnership for Workplace Mental Health, said in a news release.

Employers “realize that many people who need help aren’t getting it,” she said. “In fact, employees with depression sometimes aren’t aware they have the condition. We want to encourage information-seeking behavior around depression, help employees get healthy through a variety of resources and tools and help employers improve the health of their bottom line through improved work performance, increased productivity, decreased absenteeism, and importantly, improved job satisfaction.”

The educational initiative received financial support from two pharmaceutical companies, Takeda Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. and Lundbeck US, but the drug makers were not involved with the content of the campaign, Miles said.

Cheryl Powell can be reached at 330-996-3902 or cpowell@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow Powell on Twitter at twitter.com/abjcherylpowell.

Those changes are just some of the reasons prominent critics say the American Psychiatric Association is out of control, turning common human problems into mental illnesses in a trend they say will just make the “pop-a-pill” culture worse.

Says a former leader of the group: “Normal needs to be saved from powerful forces trying to convince us that we are all sick.”

At issue is the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, widely known as the DSM-5. The DSM has long been considered the authoritative source for diagnosing mental problems.

The psychiatric association formally introduces the nearly 1,000-page revised version this weekend in San Francisco. It’s the manual’s first major update in nearly 20 years, and a backlash has taken shape in recent weeks:

• Two new books by mental health experts, Saving Normal and The Book of Woe, say the world’s most widely used psychiatric guide has lost credibility.

• A British psychologists’ group is criticizing the DSM-5, calling for a “paradigm shift” away from viewing mental problems as a disease. An organization of German therapists also attacked the new guide.

• Even the head of the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health complained that the book lacks scientific validity.

This week, the NIMH director, Dr. Thomas Insel, tried to patch things up as he and the psychiatrists group issued a joint statement saying they have similar goals for improving the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness.

Dr. David Kupfer, chairman of the task force that oversaw the DSM-5, said the changes are based on solid research and will help make sure people get accurate diagnoses and treatment.

The manual’s release comes at a time of increased scrutiny of health-care costs and concern about drug company influence over doctors. Critics point to a landscape in which TV ads describe symptoms for mental disorders and promote certain drugs to treat them.

The group’s 34,000 members are psychiatrists — medical doctors who specialize in treating mental illness. Unlike psychologists and other therapists without medical degrees, they can prescribe medication. While there has long been rivalry between the two groups, the DSM-5 revisions have stoked the tensions.

The most contentious changes include:

• Diagnosing as major depression the extreme sadness, weight loss, fatigue and trouble sleeping some people experience after a loved one’s death. Major depression is typically treated with antidepressants.

•  Calling frequent, extreme temper tantrums “disruptive mood dysregulation disorder,” a new diagnosis. The psychiatric association says the label is meant to apply to youngsters who in the past might have been misdiagnosed as having bipolar disorder. Critics say it turns normal tantrums into mental illness.

• Diagnosing mental decline that goes a bit beyond normal aging as “mild neurocognitive disorder.” Affected people may find it takes more effort to pay bills or manage their medications. Critics say the term will stigmatize “senior moments.”

• Calling excessive thoughts or feelings about pain or other discomfort “somatic symptom disorder,” something that could affect the healthy as well as cancer patients. Critics say the term turns normal reactions to a disease into mental illness.

• Adding binge eating as a new category for overeating that occurs at least once a week for at least three months. It could apply to people who sometimes gulp down a pint of ice cream when they’re alone and then feel guilty about it.

• Removing Asperger’s syndrome as a separate diagnosis and putting it under the umbrella term “autism spectrum disorder.”

• Check out the menu online to help you plan. If you want to splurge on the fried calamari, choose a grilled entree. If you love sweets, ask to see the dessert menu first so you know where you’re headed.

• Be specific — “May I have more lemon slices?” “Can you lightly brush the fish with butter?”

• See what other diners are eating so you get a visual on portion sizes. Split an entree or plan to box up half for carryout.

• Did you know that olive oil and butter have the same number of calories? And dipping bread in olive oil can soak up more fat than a thin spread of butter.

• Mixed green salads are a great starter, but watch out for goat cheese, blue cheese, cheddar cheese and sugar-glazed nuts that can add hundreds of calories.

• Be honest when the server asks you how you like your meal. Is the snapper still swimming in butter? Send it back.

• Make dining out a special occasion and enjoy the conversation and the entertainment as much as the food.

— Carolyn O’Neil

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

David D. Cemate joined the Canton hospital as senior vice president and chief operating officer. He replaces Jeff Smith, who retired from the organization in January.

“With more than 30 years of experience in health-care leadership, David possesses extensive skills in managing productivity and expenses to achieve operational goals,” Mercy President and Chief Executive Tom Cecconi said in a news release. “He also knows how to collaborate with physicians, mentor staff and champion quality and patient safety.”

Cemate previously served as vice president of clinical and support services at Akron General Medical Center from April 1991 through February 2002. He also worked at the former Mount Sinai Medical Center in Cleveland in several leadership roles from 1987 through 1989.

He most recently served as vice president of operations for Advocate Condell Medical Center and executive vice president and chief operating officer for St. Francis Hospital and Health Center, both in the Chicago area.

In an email interview, Cemate said he was attracted to the position at Mercy because he was “impressed with the quality of the medical staff and the superior services provided by the hospital.

“I was always aware of the exceptional reputation Mercy has in the community,” he said.

In his new role, Cemate oversees day-to-day operations of the hospital and its outpatient facilities.

“I am meeting with as many physicians, management team members and employees as possible to learn the nuances of the organization and to solicit their thoughts [and] ideas for improvement,” he said.

Cemate is married to Kathy, a registered nurse who currently works at a community hospital in suburban Chicago. He has three grown daughters.

The couple also have a golden retriever named Cameron, who competes in agility and is a certified therapy dog.

Cancer study enrollment

The American Cancer Society’s Northeast regional office is continuing to recruit hundreds of area residents for a long-term national research study examining lifestyle, environmental, genetic and other factors that could contribute to cancer.

The nonprofit is seeking 300,000 participants nationwide — and a total of 750 area residents — who agree to be followed for 20 years or longer as part of the Cancer Prevention Study-3.

By following people’s long-term medication use, activity levels and other habits and then tracking which participants develop cancer, researchers could potentially identify risk factors.

The study is open to people ages 30 to 65 with no personal history of cancer, except non-melanoma skin cancer. Registration for enrollment events is available at www.cancer.org/cps or by calling 888-604-5888.

Upcoming enrollment events include:

• Nordonia Hills YMCA, 8761 Shepard Road, Macedonia — 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday.

• Wadsworth YMCA, 623 School Drive — 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday.

• Canal Place, Building 24 fifth floor conference room, 520 S. Main St., Akron — 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. May 21.

• Riverfront YMCA, 544 Broad Blvd., Cuyahoga Falls — 3 to 6:30 p.m. May 22.

• University Park YMCA, 477 E. Market St., Akron — 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. May 23.

• Green YMCA, 3800 Massillon Road – 3 to 6:30 p.m. May 23.

Cheryl Powell can be reached at 330-996-3902 or cpowell@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow Powell on Twitter at twitter.com/abjcherylpowell.

Dr. Neeti Wyckoff (Ellet office), mother of three boys 7 and younger, including a baby born Feb. 25:

“The single piece of advice that I have for new moms is to take time to take care of yourself.

“Being a new mom can be overwhelming and often you become consumed with your little one. Your whole life changes and revolves around this tiny little being. Your thoughts are completely focused on your baby. You wonder if you’re feeding the baby enough, why is the baby gassy and the list goes on and on. Sometimes when we become so over focused on keeping our baby happy, that as a new mom you can stress yourself out. Often you’re so busy expending all the energy you have on your baby that you forget to take care of your basic needs.

“If you start to feel that way, I tell new moms to take time out away from your baby to recharge yourself. It may mean taking a nice long nap, getting a haircut or spending dinner with friends or family. Just an hour of doing something for yourself will let you see the bigger picture that everything will be OK, and eventually your baby will sleep through the night.”

Dr. Terri Linnon (Boardman office), first-time mother of a baby girl born March 26:

“Have lots of patience with yourself and the baby.”

Dr. Katrina Regula (Fairlawn office) has a 1½-year-old son and a daughter born March 2:

“For new moms, try to make sure the moms get some rest when the baby is resting, because when the mother is able to have a little sleep, that just makes everything seem better. The stresses are easier to deal with.”

Dr. Andrea Knighton (Ashland office) has a 2-year-old son and another son born in April:

“Stop trying to worry about getting everything done. Just enjoy the time with your baby while he’s little.

“I know that’s what everyone says, but it really does go by so fast. I know I’m trying to enjoy it as much as possible!”

Dr. Caridad Martinez-Kinder (Ellet office) has a 2-year-old boy and is expecting a baby girl within a month:

“Take time to both bond with the newborn but also know when you need a break. Find time for yourself.”

Dr. Erin Donley (Boardman office), expecting her first child, a baby girl, in August:

She’s not a parent yet, so she said she doesn’t have any firsthand advice or experiences from motherhood to share.

Dr. Ellen MacRitchie (Medina office), mother of two young boys and expecting a girl in October:

“My best piece of advice is having a loving, supportive family around you. I wouldn’t have survived — and continue to work full time — without my husband helping me every step of the way and pitching in.

“Trust your gut — most of the time it is correct.

“Get used to the house not being perfect — no one cares. You will have more time to enjoy life and your kids if you are not worrying about having everything put away.”

Dr. Jennifer Snyder (chief resident officially joining the Green office in July), expecting her first baby in August:

“I recommend that parents shop around for their pediatrician. It’s important that they are in a convenient location (expect those sick child visits) and that you have a feeling of comfort with the medical staff.

“I know being a mother will make me a better pediatrician. I will be able to relate to what my patients are going through. And I have already learned from them as some of them have given me tips and advice on what to expect.”

Dr. Sarah Ayers (Kent office), mother of a 1-year-old daughter and expecting a baby in September:

“Each stage is very short lived, so you should embrace it for everything that it entails — the good and the bad. Enjoy every second because it goes so fast. Make sure to give as many hugs and kisses as you can while you can!”

Dr. Neelam Yi (Wadsworth office) has twin 3-year-old boys and is expecting her third child in October:

“Be patient with yourself as a new mother. Be patient with your child.

“Try, try again. If something isn’t working, be innovative. Try a different approach or a different way.”

Candace Horvath, nurse practitioner (Warren office), mother of a 19-month-old son and expecting another boy in October:

“Don’t be afraid to ask for help! Having a new baby is hard work, especially when your own body is trying to heal. When family and friends offer to help cook, clean or run errands, let them.”

Dr. Teresa Moon (float physician), a first-time mother whose baby girl was born in March:

“If you can, breast-feed your baby. Besides the health benefits, breast-feeding also allows mom and baby to form a unique bonding experience. It may be difficult at first, but stick with it as it will get easier over the first few weeks.”

Dr. Carrie Lehman (Tallmadge office), first-time mother whose son was born April 9:

“The single best advice would be to just try to enjoy them being a baby, because they aren’t that very long. Don’t get fixated on the crying and the feeding and just try to enjoy it more. That’s what I’m trying to do. They grow so fast. I see that in my office every day.”

Dr. Lisa Light (float physician), a first-time mother whose son was born Nov. 26:

“I have a lot of advice for new moms but the most important is to slow down and enjoy this wonderful time. Your baby will grow up fast and if you’re not careful, you’ll miss it.”

Dr. Lysa Aemmer (Barberton office) has two young children and is expecting a third child in September:

“They grow up fast. Treasure each moment.”

Starting with pilot programs in eight Asian and African nations, the ambitious project ultimately is intended to inoculate more than 30 million girls in more than 40 countries by 2020. Given that most women killed by cervical cancer live in developing countries, the project could have a huge impact.

The endeavor was announced Thursday by the GAVI Alliance, a public-private partnership that’s worked with drug makers to deliver affordable vaccines to poor countries to treat childhood illnesses that are big killers.

“This is a transformational moment for the health of women and girls across the world,” said Dr. Seth Berkley, CEO of GAVI, which is short for Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization.

“A vast gap currently exists between girls in rich and poor countries. With GAVI’s programs we can begin to bridge that gap so that all girls can be protected against cervical cancer no matter where they are born,” he said in a statement.

Drug makers Merck & Co. and GlaxoSmithKline PLC initially will provide 2.4 million doses of their vaccines against cancer-causing human papilloma virus — for a fraction of the cost commanded in Western countries.

Merck will supply its Gardasil for $4.50 per dose, and Glaxo its Cervarix for $4.60 per dose. In the United States, the shots cost well over $100 apiece, and a three-dose series over six months is required.

The vaccines protect against the strains of human papilloma virus, or HPV, that most commonly cause cancer. The virus, transmitted during sex, causes cervical cancer as well as vaginal, vulvar, anal and oral cancers. The vaccines prevent roughly 70 percent of those cancers.

In developed countries, older girls and women routinely get Pap tests to check for cervical cancer or signs of precancerous changes in cervical tissue. They’re treated promptly, often before cancer begins, and few die. And increasingly, young girls and now boys as well are vaccinated with either Gardisil or Cervarix, starting as young as age 9 so they’re protected well before they become sexually active.

Not so in poor countries.

“They don’t have the benefit of screening to catch cancer early, when it can still be treated,” Dr. Julie L. Gerberding, president of Merck Vaccines, said in an interview.

As a result, 85 percent of the 275,000 women killed by cervical cancer each year live in poor countries, where HPV is most prevalent.

“It is a disease that has devastating, life-threatening consequences and it is preventable,” said Gerberding, an infectious diseases expert who’s a former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Our aim is to do what we can to make the vaccine available.”

The GAVI project will begin “demonstration projects” administering the vaccines to girls aged 9 to 13, starting in Kenya as early as this month. Then it will be expanded to Ghana, Laos, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Sierra Leone and Tanzania.

The goal is for the governments of those countries to show they can set up a national system — with medical staff, clinic supplies, distribution systems and supply management all well organized — to provide the vaccines over the long term. The program also will bring an opportunity to teach the girls about nutrition, sexual health and HIV prevention.

Why does a joint replacement cost 40 times as much at one hospital as at another across the country? It’s a mystery, federal health officials say.

“It doesn’t make sense,” Jonathan Blum, Medicare deputy administrator, said Wednesday. The higher charges don’t reflect better care, he said.

And the amounts are too huge to be explained by obvious differences among hospitals, such as a more expensive regional economy, older or sicker patients, or the extra costs of running a teaching hospital, he said.

The average charges for joint replacement range from about $5,300 at an Ada, Okla., hospital to $223,000 in Monterey Park, Calif., the Department of Health and Human Services said. That doesn’t include doctors’ fees.

Hospitals within the same city also vary greatly. At Beth Israel Medical Center in New York, the average charge to treat a blood clot in a lung is $51,580. Down the street at NYU Hospitals Center, the charge for the same care would be $29,869.

At the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, the list price is $16,861.

That isn’t necessarily what you pay.

Medicare pays hospitals on its own fee schedule that isn’t based on the listed charges, Blum said. And insurance companies routinely negotiate discount rates with the hospitals.

But patients who are uninsured can be billed the full amount. And some with private insurance may find their share of the bill is inflated as a result of a hospital’s higher charges, officials said.

Blum said the Obama administration hopes that releasing the information, at the website www.cms.gov, will help lead to answers to the riddle of hospital pricing — and pressure some hospitals to lower their charges.

The database also will help consumers shop around, he said.

The variations shouldn’t be a surprise, since hospitals might violate antitrust regulations if they shared “proposed or negotiated rates” with each other, said Rich Umbdenstock, president of the American Hospital Association. Forty states do require or encourage hospitals to make some payment information publicly available, he said.

“The complex and bewildering interplay among ‘charges,’ ‘rates,’ ‘bills’ and ‘payments’ across dozens of payers, public and private, does not serve any stakeholder well, including hospitals,” Umbdenstock said.

Consumer advocates said making the charges public is significant, even if most patients don’t pay those rates.

“I think the point is to shame hospitals,” said Chapin White of the nonprofit Center for Studying Health System Change.

“Hospitals that charge two or three times the going rate will rightfully face scrutiny,” Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told reporters.

Dr. David Goodman, co-author of the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care, said, “It does show how crazy the system really is, and it needs some reform.”

Goodman argues that hospitals should be required to go further and post the charges that patients actually pay out-of-pocket, depending on what medical coverage they have. The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy has long found wide geographic variation in Medicare payments for the similarly ill, yet people who receive more expensive care don’t necessarily receive better care. Sometimes hospitals just add tests or treatments they don’t really need.

Northeast Ohio Cardiovascular Specialists is working with the national nonprofit group, led by Dr. Thomas File, chair of the infectious disease division at Summa Health System in Akron.

The goal of the project is to educate patients “to see what we can do to increase the uptake of utilization of this vaccine for patients who are at greater risk for complications,” said File, who is serving a two-year term as president of the national group. “I consider this part of the heart-healthy preventive measures.”

The pneumococcal disease vaccine is recommended for people older than 18 who have underlying conditions — including chronic heart disease — that put them at higher risk for complications from infection, File said. The vaccine also is recommended for everyone 65 and older.

However, File said, studies have shown less than 20 percent of patients with underlying disease who are younger than 65 get the vaccine, despite the recommendations.

To raise awareness, the national group worked with the Akron cardiology practice to develop an educational sheet that can be shared with patients, File said. Ritzman Pharmacies and Walgreens then will report whether the number of pneumococcal vaccines they administer increases.

The vaccine is often covered by insurance companies for at-risk patients, File said.

“One of our goals is to increase public awareness of the importance of these preventive vaccines,” File said.

If the pilot project is successful, he said, “it can potentially be used nationwide.”

Doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners and physician assistants will share information with the practices’ patients to let them know the vaccine is recommended by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association, said Dr. William B. Bauman, executive board co-chair for Northeast Ohio Cardiovascular Specialists.

“Everybody agrees it’s something we should strive for with our cardiac patients,” he said.

The project is supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Pfizer Inc., but National Foundation for Infectious Diseases’ policies prohibit funders from controlling programs.

ABIA addition

Another partner has agreed to join the Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron.

The BioInnovation Institute announced it has reached a memorandum of understanding with Lorain County Community College.

The institute and community college agreed this month “to build a partnership to accelerate the commercialization of novel medical technologies that can advance economic growth, stimulate job creation, foster talent development, enrich patient care and improve community health in Northeast Ohio,” according to a news release.

Details still are being finalized, a spokesman for the BioInnovation Institute said.

The BioInnovation Institute recently began seeking industry, university and hospital partners outside the region as the founding institutions consider whether to continue participation.

Akron’s three hospital systems, the University of Akron and Northeast Ohio Medical University launched the venture five years ago to boost medical-related economic development in the Akron area.

The goal is to increase the BioInnovation Institute’s revenues by attracting hospitals, colleges and others that want expert help developing and commercializing new products, BioInnovation Institute leaders have said.

Basket raffle

The Akron General Medical Center Nurses Week basket raffle to benefit local charities continues through Friday.

A total of 32 themed baskets with values ranging from $110 to $3,000 are available. Tickets are on sale from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the main lobby, where the baskets are displayed. Cost is $1 each or six for $5.

The basket that gets the most tickets will donate half of the total basket earnings to its designated charity. Second and third place donate 25 percent of total earnings each to their designated charities.

Last year, the event raised $23,647 for OPEN M.

Cheryl Powell can be reached at 330-996-3902 or cpowell@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow Powell on Twitter at twitter.com/abjcherylpowell.

In a first for the drug industry, Pfizer Inc. told the Associated Press that the drugmaker will begin selling its popular erectile dysfunction pill Viagra directly to patients on its website.

Men still will need a prescription to buy the blue, diamond-shaped pill on viagra.com, but they no longer have to face a pharmacist to get it filled. And for those who are bothered by Viagra’s steep $25-a-pill price, Pfizer is offering three free pills with the first order and 30 percent off the second one.

Pfizer’s bold move blows up the drug industry’s distribution model. Drugmakers don’t sell medicines directly to patients. Instead, they sell in bulk to wholesalers, who then distribute the drugs to pharmacies, hospitals and doctors’ offices.

But the world’s second-largest drugmaker is trying a new strategy to tackle a problem that plagues the industry. Unscrupulous online pharmacies increasingly offer patients counterfeit versions of Viagra and other brand-name drugs for up to 95 percent off with no prescription needed. Patients don’t realize the drugs are fake or that legitimate pharmacies require a prescription.

Other major drugmakers likely will watch Pfizer’s move closely. If it works, drugmakers could begin selling other medicines that are rampantly counterfeited and sold online, particularly treatments for non-urgent conditions seen as embarrassing. Think: diet drugs, medicines for baldness and birth control pills.

“If it works, everybody will hop on the train,” says Les Funtleyder, a health-care strategist at private equity fund Poliwogg who believes Pfizer’s site will attract “fence-sitters” who are nervous about buying online.

The online Viagra sales are Pfizer’s latest effort to combat a problem that has grown with the popularity of the Internet.

Illegitimate websites

In recent years, Americans have become more comfortable with online shopping, with many even buying prescription drugs online. That’s particularly true for those who don’t have insurance, are bargain hunters or want to keep their medicine purchases private.

Few realize that the vast majority of online pharmacies don’t follow the rules.

The Internet is filled with illegitimate websites that lure customers with spam emails and professional-looking websites that run 24-hour call centers. A January study by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, which accredits online pharmacies, found that only 257 of 10,275 online pharmacy sites it examined appeared legitimate.

Experts say the fake drugs such websites sell can be dangerous. That’s because they don’t include the right amount of the active ingredient, if any, or contain toxic substances such as heavy metals, lead paint and printer ink. They’re generally made in filthy warehouses and garages in Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America.

Online buyers are “playing Russian roulette,” says Matthew Bassiur, vice president of global security at New York-based Pfizer.

“The factories are deplorable. I’ve seen photographs of these places,” he says. “You wouldn’t even want to walk in them, let alone ingest anything made in them.”

Pfizer, which invented the term “erectile dysfunction,” has long been aggressive in fighting counterfeiters. It conducts undercover investigations and works with authorities around the globe, with good reason.

Counterfeit versions of Viagra and dozens of other Pfizer medicines rob the company of billions in annual sales.

Viagra is one of its top drugs, with $2 billion in worldwide revenue last year. And it’s the most counterfeited drug in the U.S., according to the company.

Double whammy

A 2011 study, in which Pfizer bought “Viagra” from 22 popular Internet pharmacies and tested the pills, found 77 percent were counterfeit. Most had half or less of the promised level of the active ingredient.

Viagra is appealing to counterfeiters because it carries a double whammy: It’s expensive and it treats a condition with an “embarrassment” factor.

Crooks running the illegal online pharmacies brazenly explain their ultra-low Viagra prices — often $1 to $3 a pill — by claiming they sell generic Viagra.

Generics are copycat versions of brand-name prescription drugs. They can legally be made after a drugmaker’s patent, or exclusive right to sell a drug, ends. Generic drugmakers don’t have to spend $1 billion or so on testing to get a new drug approved, so their copycat versions often cost up to 90 percent less than the original drug.

But there is no such thing as generic Viagra. Pfizer has patents giving it the exclusive right to sell Viagra until 2020 in the U.S. and for many years in other countries.

Many patients are unaware of that.

For Pfizer, that’s a big problem. People who buy fake drugs online that don’t work, or worse, harm them, may blame the company’s product. That’s because it’s virtually impossible to distinguish fakes from real Viagra.

“The vast majority of patients do believe that they’re getting Viagra,” said Vic Cavelli, head of marketing for primary care medicines at Pfizer, which plans to have drugstore chain CVS Caremark Corp. fill the orders placed on viagra.com.

If initial results are borne out, it might eventually be possible to use simple eye tests to evaluate soldiers, athletes or accident victims and to monitor the effectiveness of drugs and other treatments, several scientists said Sunday in Seattle at a meeting of the world’s largest vision-research organization.

More than 12,000 researchers and clinicians are in Seattle for the annual meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, which runs through Thursday.

Sunday’s session brought together some of the nation’s top researchers on brain injuries in veterans and athletes, including psychiatrist Elaine Peskind, of the University of Washington and the Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System.

Nearly 2.4 million U.S. troops have served in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. About 20 percent of them were exposed to blasts from roadside bombs and other explosives, Peskind said.

The veterans she studied experienced an average of 14 blasts, though some were exposed to 100 or more.

Many reported symptoms that include memory loss, headache, muddled thinking and irritability.

Though Peskind has used sophisticated brain scans to document permanent brain damage among blast-exposed veterans, there’s no easy way to tell which soldiers may go on to develop more severe problems, including dementia, as a result of their injuries.

The most definitive test for the type of advanced brain injury common to some soldiers and concussion-prone athletes can only be done after death, when brain-tissue sections reveal tangles of abnormal protein deposits.

That’s why the possibility of using the eyes for diagnosis is so exciting, the scientists said.

Peskind got interested because so many blast-exposed veterans told her they had trouble reading. When she tested their vision, she noticed unusual movement patterns in their eyes.

It’s not surprising that trauma severe enough to damage the brain would also affect the eyes, said Dr. Randy Kardon, director of Neuro-Opthalmology at the University of Iowa and leader of a Veterans Affairs center on vision. The eyes develop from the same kind of tissue as the brain, and contain many of the same types of cells.

“By measuring things in the eye, perhaps we have a barometer for what might be happening in the brain,” he said.

Kardon used new a new type of eye scan, called optical coherence tomography, or OCT, to probe the retinas of blast-exposed veterans. He found thinner cell layers than in normal subjects.

In studies of 140 people treated in a hospital emergency room after car accidents and other head trauma, Kardon and his colleagues found that slower pupil contraction was a sign of more serious brain injury.

The test is done with an instrument that’s already commercially available, he pointed out. “It could have a lot of implications for sports injuries, where you’d like to be able to quickly test whether a concussion might be significant.”

At a job fair in Canton about 16 years ago, the Walsh University graduate asked a recruiter from Aultman Hospital if there were any positions available in the finance department.

No, he was told, the hospital was only looking for nurses.

But two days later, he got a call from Aultman about a new job opening for a financial analyst.

He ended up taking the job — and never leaving.

“The challenges kept things interesting,” he said. “The opportunities are endless.”

Now Remark, 43, is facing even more challenges as Aultman Hospital’s new chief executive officer.

The Stark County native takes over the hospital’s leadership at a time when health-care facilities throughout the country are struggling with reduced reimbursements and massive changes from the federal health-care reform law.

“There is so much challenge associated with reform,” he said.

Like many hospitals, Aultman — one of Stark County’s largest employers — has been facing tight finances in recent years.

Despite its history of strong financial performance, Aultman had a slight loss last year and is hovering around break even so far this year, Remark said.

Aultman posted net patient revenues of nearly $420.2 million in 2011, the most recent year available from federal filings.

Remark said Aultman is taking steps to prepare for health-care reform, particularly the transition toward paying hospitals based on quality and for keeping patients healthy rather than for filling beds.

One key effort he’s pushing is increased communication with the hospital’s 3,200 employees about whether the institution is meeting goals for patient satisfaction, quality and financial performance.

“How do we keep all of our team members up to date?” he asked.

His answer: Along with regular meetings, he plans to roll out quarterly video reports from the executive team that will be shared with employees online.

The fact that Aultman Hospital is part of a health system that includes an insurance company, AultCare, also should help with the move toward “accountable care organizations,” Remark said. The industry trend brings together hospitals and doctors to manage the health of patient populations and then share in any savings.

Many hospitals are opting to forge stronger affiliations if not outright mergers to cope with the industry pressures.

Summa Health System in Akron, for example, is finalizing a deal for Catholic Health Partners to become its minority owner. Akron General’s CEO also has indicated the hospital is open to partnership deals.

Aultman, however, plans to continue to work with other hospitals while maintaining its independence, Remark said.

Aultman and affiliate Orr­ville Hospital are part of the Independent Hospital Network with Alliance Community Hospital, Pomerene Hospital in Millersburg and Union Hospital in Dover.

Those hospitals joined with Akron General last year to launch a group purchasing effort for medical supplies and service contracts, which collectively saved the institutions about $700,000 in the first quarter this year, Remark said.

Aultman also announced a deal last week for Akron Children’s Hospital to run its pediatric unit.

These are the types of “loose affiliations” Aultman will continue to build, he said.

Aultman also is looking to grow with capital investments, including a planned renovation and expansion to the cancer center, likely in 2014 or 2015, he said. The Women’s Board has started a $5 million fundraising campaign for the project.

Remark reports to Edward J. Roth III, president and chief executive of Aultman Health Foundation. Before Remark’s appointment, Roth served as CEO of both the hospital and the health system.

Along with the Canton hospital, the nonprofit Aultman Health Foundation owns and operates Aultman Orrville Hospital and AultCare insurance company.

Remark has been an executive with the Canton-area health system since 1997, when he joined Aultman as a financial analyst.

Remark’s other previous roles at Aultman Hospital included chief financial officer, vice president of strategy, project consultant, associate vice president and, most recently, chief operating officer.

Remark’s salary was not disclosed.

He and his wife, Stacy, reside in Lake Township with their three children: Katie, 17; Emily, 14; and Christopher, 12.

Cheryl Powell can be reached at 330-996-3902 or cpowell@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow Powell on Twitter at twitter.com/abjcherylpowell.

“Every little bit makes a difference” and the intensity doesn’t matter — just getting a minimum amount of exercise does, said Dr. Mathew Sorensen of the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle.

He led the study, which was to be discussed Friday at an American Urological Association conference in San Diego.

About 9 percent of people will get a kidney stone sometime in their life. The problem is a little more common in men, but incidence has risen 70 percent over the last 15 years, most rapidly among women.

Obesity raises the risk as do calcium supplements, which many women take after menopause. A government task force recently advised against supplements for healthy older women, saying that relatively low-dose calcium pills don’t do much to keep bones strong but make kidney stones more likely.

The new research involved nearly 85,000 women 50 and older in the government-funded Women’s Health Initiative study.

All had an exam to measure weight and height so doctors could figure out their body mass index, a gauge of obesity. They also filled out annual surveys on what they ate, so researchers could take into account things known to lower the risk of kidney stones, such as drinking a lot of fluids and eating less salt or meat.

Why might exercise help? It changes the way the body handles nutrients and fluids that affect stone formation. Exercisers sweat out salt and tend to retain calcium in their bones, rather than having these go into the kidneys and urine where stones form. They also tend to drink water and fluids afterward, another plus for preventing stones.

“We’re not asking people to run marathons. This is just a very mild to moderate additional amount of activity,” Sorensen said.