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Show Tuesday, February 19, 2008 . DAILY Errors Continued from of a patient's stay. Beginning Oct. 1, Medicare no longer will pay those extra-carcosts for eight preventable hospital errors, including .41 the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. "Every hospital CFO, this gets their attention." And patients' first sign that something is changing may involve lessening of a big indignity: Today, one in four hospitalized patients is outfitted with a urinary catheter. The tubes trigger' more than half a million urinary tract infections a year, the most common l-caused infection. Yet many patients don't even need catheters they're an automatic precaution after homes in ranges, divided bv $25.01 X). $50,000 and $100,000 limits, Jardine said, "so you want to come in just under those, and end in $500." Paul Bishop, senior economist for the National Association of Realtors, said he isn't familiar with the price studies or a connection between precise list prices and higher sales prices. But he's not knrxkmg the ide as. either. "It sounds like they re tapping into some kind of behavioral pattern.' Bishop said. 'Maybe that kind of pricing grabs people's attention to bein with." He added a caveat: ' My sense is t hat for t he av ei age home seller, there s probably things they can do to sell their houses than " this He said other factors include how the house is presented tor sale and marketed and how its v alue compares with others m the neighborhood. Civig Northrop, a lujng & F ost er agent w n h of f ices around the Washington region, doesn t buy the Cornell theory. He said precise numt bers mav work ' for and car dealerships," but he s sticking with round numbers. Robert W bite said he look Redl in s pricing advice when Is- land, the impact was smaller. What's that mean in terms Continued from Al of cash? According to the bias in judgment." authors, if there is one house The study concluded that with a list price of $485,000 because people are used to and another with a list price of $484,700, "Our results suggest precise numbers for items that don't cost much and to that the house with the more round numbers for large precise list price will sell tor amounts, consumers generally about $1.38(1 more" than the and home buyers specifically house with the three zeros at tend to perceive that a price the end. is smaller if there are digits at The Cornell study, published in September, got some buzz the end instead of zeros. "It does seem ridiculous," when its findings appeared in the January ebruarv isThomas said. "But when you see a price, your response is sue of the Atlantic. Hut the not always based on deliberaonline brokerage Redt in tive reasoning." looked at 30.000 home sales m Thomas said the results Seattle last March and found were conf irmed in lab tests that homes wrth an asking with 134 graduate students' price ending in $500. such and by examining 27,000 real as $.'5!)1.500. "had the highest ! estate transactions in two ing price South Florida and markets ratio." The company s Web site where LongTsland. N.Y. most list prices had hree end-intouted the Cornell research zeros. (The researchers and now urges home sellers to didn't consider prices ending price homes at the $500 mark. in nine because of a separate "This consist entlv is our adconsumer bias regarding those vice now,'' said Catherine one of Redlin s regional numbers.) In South Florida, having at least one zero at the marketing managers. end of the list price lowered Redfin also urges clients to the final sale price by about price "just under the rmior 0.72 percent compared with price points" used by Web houses listed at a similar price: sites to get the most viewers. Many real estate Web sites list having three zeros lowered e no-pa- y ventilator-cause- d A3 it by 0.73 percent. In Long Housing catheter caused urinary tract infections, injuries from falls, and leaving objects in the body after surgery. Nor can hospitals bill the injured patient for those extra costs. Next year, Medicare will add three more errors to the list; HERALD pneumo- nia and staph infections are top candidates. Medicare, w hich insures about 44 million elderly and disabled people, estimates the move w fl save the government about certain surgeries and many $ ISM) million over five years. who do have them for days It also sparked a movement: longer than necessary. Why? Private insurance giants like The University of Michigan Aetna are moving to make reported the first national hospitals.absorb the cost of study of catheter practices last serious errors. Pennsylvania month, f inding nearly half of last month said it would follow hospitals don't even keep track Medicare's example and stop of who gets one. Fewer than Medicaid payments, too. The one in 10 hospitals does a daily American Hospital Association check to see if the catheter is is urging members to volunstill needed, a simple but provtarily quit billing for treatment en infection-reducinof serious errors, and hospitals system. With those infections topin a number of states, from ping Medicare's list, M innesof a to Vermont, have Gordon says hospitals already announced they will. are beginning to get choosier Many hospitals already about who needs catheters, were trying to improve patient and to yank them faster. to safety for a bigger reason Even when a hospital makes prevent suffering and death a preventable error, it still can and a question is whether be reimbursed for the extra making them literally pay for treatment that patient will now mistakes will spur greater require. Some errors can add improvements. But some novel $ 10,000 to $ 100,000 to the cost ;' attempts are under way. drug-resista- hospita- -- 1 sales-price-- more-significa- k : 1 g Jar-din- g Wal-Mar- he list ed his t tow nhouse in Arlington. Va. "I was going to list it at $425,000. but bv knocking it dow n to $424,500," the house ended up in a category that would seem more affordable to more people by falling into the lower Web listing range, he f irst t mie seller sa id. W hue s house w ent on the market m early January and drew a bid eight days later; he signed a contract two days later, lie said he followed Redlin s advice on the $500 price ' point because I think every little bit helps in this market. ... don t think it's what sold the house, but think it's worth a shot." I he Cornell paper says its results "have inixrtant substantive implications for buyers and sellers." ."'Buyers and their agents) should be more cautious in their price magnit ude in liiiht of our results. Sellers and their agent sj can strategically "precise up their pines i c choose a higher precise price rather than a lower round price." lowevcr. the researchers note, it some sellers are smart enough toligure tins out, it should be a matter ol time others do, too two-bat- h -- 1 1 udg-men- , be-lo- Pakistan tar? I Continued from A 1 Azeem.said. Tuesday morning, state-ruPakistan IV said unofficial tallies were complete for 115 of the 208 parliament seats being contested. It gave lormer prime minister Nawaz Shanl's opposition Pakistan Muslim and Bhutto's party League-nearly 70 percent of the vote. n Buttars tion bills crashing through the Legislature, the time for racial Continued from A I sensitivity is now more than ever. we pressured him not to run in On Monday, Buttars agreed, November." saying racial tensions have Buttars said in the interview been higher this year than his Monday that he will do what it other years as a senator. As takes to repair his reputation, for name calling, he said he's had his share. including having a meeting with Jeanetta Williams of the Of the hundreds and hunNAACP of Salt Lake City. Wildreds of he received liams has called for Buttars's over the matter, many have :. vitriol. resignation. "I m not going to make any "By last week. I was the excuses other than I didn't meanest, ugliest racist that mean it." Buttars said. "It was ever lived." he said of the comnot meant to be harmful, it was ments he's read. "Some of a terrible remark." them are more than mean. I Asked what he would do if was Satan. I was this terrible, the NAACP didn't back down, terrible, terrible person." Not all of the he shrugged. have ' I can't make that decision been bad. Some have said they for them. All I can do is be think it was a bad thing to say but understood it as a slip of square up on it," he said. Buttars will also be speaking the tongue instead of flash of a with Sen. Ross Romero, deeper racism. Lake City, who was the first "We're 100 percent with person to ask for an apology you," he said those after hearing the statement on indicate, "and how did these s the Senate floor. Romero said come up wnh that that with the wave of immigra conclusion?" ; The ballot, but the election was widely seen as a referen- dum on his eight year rule including his alliance with the United States in the war against terrorist groups that many Pakistanis oppose. -- ding-dong- though Show Your True Colors ' w of balloting proceeded without major attacks, Bhutto's party claimed that 15 of its members had been killed and hundreds injured in scattered violence "deliberately engineered to deter voters." wu.heraldextra.com electoral battleground. LOOK WHAT'S NEW TODAY! Call Pets . fb t fv CockerSpaniel pups. AKC. 1st dewclaws, shots, vet check. DeProvo triday livering Feb 22 $300-545- Dog: ' Genera! Auto 8 Supplies 6 beaut. German Rott. Need new puppies. Well manhomes. nered. 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Going into the election, two public opinion surveys predicted Bhutto's Pakistan People s Party would finish first, followed by Sharif 's party. 1 he Pakistan Mus- lim League-- was in thud. An overwhelming victory by the opposition could leave Musharraf politically weakened at a time when the United States is pressing him to take more robust action against and Taliban fighters based in Pakistan's restive northwestern region along the Afghan border. With his political future in the balance, Musharraf pledged to work with the new government regardless of . which party wins. "I will give them lull cooperation as president, whatever is my role," Musharraf said alter casting his ballot in Rawalpindi. "Confront at ion ist policies ... should end and we should come into conciliatory politics in the interest of Pakistan. I he situation demands this." In the north, prominent pro-- I aliban cleric Maulana Fazl-u- r Rehman was trailing far behind his r ival from Bhutto's party with more than half the precincts in their district reporting. "1 m very happy, but we have to struggle," said Sadiq a senior official m Sharif's party. "We face serithe economy, ous problems law and order and then the problem ot terrorism, which is 70 percent because of Iresi-den- t Musharraf. He has to go-- 'I he U.S. government, Musharraf s strongest inter-- . national backer, was anxious for a credible election to shore up democratic forces at a time ol mounting concern over political unrest in this nuclear-armenation and a growing and 1 aliban presence in the northwest. "Every single vote must be counted fairly, and the numbers must be transmitted so decisions can be made," said d Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a exas Democrat who was one of several American lawmakers monitoring the election. Lee said that an "effective government tor the people of Pakistan" was America's "great concern." Despite the stakes, it appeared most of the country's 81 million voters stayed home either out ot fear of extremist attacks or lack of enthusiasm for the candidates, many of whom waged lackluster campaigns. Sarwar Ban of the nonprofit Free and Fair Elections Network said reports from his group's 20.000 election observers indicated voter turnout was about .J5 percent. That would be the same as in the 19SJ7 election the lowest in Pakistan's history. Ayaz Baig. the election commissioner in Pakistan's most populous province. I'unjab, estimated turnout there at 30 percent to 40 percent slightly lower than in the 2002 election. In Baluchistan and Sindh provinces, turnout was estimated at about 35 percent, officials said. Properties in Orem Dr. CALL TODAY! Continual training ottered Mist FsrSate THAYNE BAILEY Sprmgville 23 bd 1 bth No SmokingPets. $895mo. $500 Dep. 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Musharraf the chairman political allies of the ruling party and the outgoing railways minister both lost seats m Punab, the most populous province and a key electoral battleground. lt free sports news, chat, forums, photos PML-- was third. If the vote pattern continues, it will ease concerns that lack of a clear winner could result in a government too fragmented to rally the nation against Islamic extremists. Musharraf was not on the Two '::, at: a spokeswoman for McWane Inc., which owns Pacific States, vinegar can be used to Continued from A 1 neutralize carbide, which helps chemismall of medical treatment when amounts with the In Provo Properties cal to periodically mix with applied to burns. 2bd1ba Duplex The plant's exterior showed water, occasionally causing $189,900, small flash fires or even minor only a few signs of the previ2bd1ba Duplex ous night's carnage, such as explosions. But authorities $199,900 2bd1ba Duplex a metal grate that hung preare not sure what caused the $210,000 large explosion at the plant on cariously from a window, and 2bd1ba Duplex several boards that appeared Sunday. $212,900 2bd2ba Duplex "They have never had it hap-- : to be pushed out from the side $225,000 pen on this scale," Cannon said. of building by the force of 3bd1ba About 35 employees were on the blast. Cannon said several $355,000 duty at the time of the explosurrounding buildings had Properties in sion, with 1 being transported damage to their doors and Spanish Fork to Utah Valley Regional Medi- - windows. cal Center in Provo. Two of But inside the building it was Duplex - 3.2bd1ba those employees, Tim Beardall a different story. Cannon said $199,500 and Gustavo Cervantes, were there was extensive structural Properties In airlifted to the University of damage, and he estimated Payson Utah Medical Center with sethat a major rebuilding effort 2bd1ba would be required before the vere burns. Duplex $244,900 Cannon said Cervantes was plant could open for business to on be released expected again. Properties in Lehi The explosion could be heard Monday, though hospital ofOffice - 8.3 ficials could not confirm his cap for miles. Andy Anderson, a 4300 sqft. $675k status. But Beardall, who was materials handler at the plant, said he felt it at his home in operating an overhead crane Bailey Thayne at the time of the explosion Springville. Another woman 5 and was the closest person to who stopped by the plant to Solid Equity RE the blast, will likely remain survey the damage said it Chances knocked pictures off her wall hospitalized for at least sevin north Provo. eral more days. Several other are, we have were treated at the Anderson said there would employees what you're site. normally be about 50 people looking "If you look at that, it's working in the building, and I for. the fact that the explosion ocpretty incredible to think that he is even alive," Cannon said curred at night and on a weekof Beardall. end probably prevented more Emergency responders were injuries. Kelly Beardall, a memtold to buy as much vinegar ber of Pacific States' janitorial as possible and bring it to the staff, expressed amazement that the employees' injuries plant on Sunday night. Acweren't more severe. cording to Michelle Clemon, Explosion -- 1 . 319-297- "N 1 "1 "I'd say they're lucky to be alive," Beardall said. Anderson and Beardall were just two of the plant's employees who stopped by on Monday. Numerous others parked along Industrial Parkway, taking pictures and chatting with colleagues. Some were worried about how long they would be out of work. Clemon said the company is still assessing how long it will take for the plant to and she did not know if its 320 employees would receive pay while waiting for the repairs to be completed. Several agencies will have to complete evaluations of the incident before repairs can begin. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration will conduct an investigation, and Pacific States will hire an independent contractor to do the same, Cannon said. Cannon said .the sheriff's office had mostly completed its investigation as of Monday afternoon, concluding that an ongoing criminal investigation was unnecessary. As for the other investigating agencies, it may take a while longer before they have the answers they need. "They're not going to come to any conclusions here any time soon, I'm sure," Cannon ' said. I Jeremy Duda con be reached at or j duda heraldextra.com. 344-256- 1 |