The Mission of CV YEA is "Our mission is to fight environmental injustices in the Central Valley through connecting like-minded individuals".
CV YEA is based in Fresno, CA and led by Executive Director Kamryn Kubose (interview), who we met during our visit to Golden Charter Academy. CV YEA takes part in Clean Vehicle Empowerment Collaborative. The board consists of master's students and environmental activists based in California.
Figure 1 was built to serve members of the medical community. It was developed to share unique medical conditions and discuss diseases amongst doctors, nurses, and students.
Healthcare professionals, from all levels, doctors to even students, are invited to share and discuss conditions and diseases.
The Figure 1 website does not specify how the development of the system was funded.
Verified members can post pictures of patient's, tests, equipment, or images as long as there is not patient identifying information. All members of figure one are encouraged to comment and discuss the condition or test in the picture.
Users can access the site from a computer or there is an app available for smart phones.
This system would be difficult to work with because it publicises patient's conditions even if it does not directly identify who they are. Some of the diseases or conditions these patients are faced with can be considered humiliating and while the intent of the app is to be educational, a healthcare professionals are faced with the ethical decision as to whether or not post the picture of their patient. A guideline Figure 1 outlines is that before taking and posting a picture the provider should have consent from the patient. Hospitals, clinics, agency, ect. are also faced with whether to allow their members to engage in these activities as patient confidentiality could be called into question.
The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act is a law requiring that anyone coming into the emergency department will be stabilized and treated no matter what their insurance situation is. In terms of women's health, it is important to note that this means for active labors, medical treatment is necessary and required, no matter the health insurance of the patient. The purpose of this law to prevent certain patients from being turned away in an emergency situation or refused medical treatments if they are unable to pay, putting their health at risk.
EMTALA was enacted by Congress in 1986 and was part of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Acts of 1985. Congress saw different cases around America where doctors were refusing medical care to patients who could not make a deposit at the time of their admittance to the ER. An example of this is a patient Eugene Barnes, who in 1985 suffered a stab wound and ultimately ended up dying because 6+ doctors refused to help him without payment or some form of compensation. This made national news and other cases began to come to light, such as at Baptist Hospital in Miami and many other areas. News outlets began to follow these cases and this caught attention of government officials. Shortly after, EMTALA was enacted.
This policy applies to American law and patients who are in need of emergency medical treatment and is to be followed by all emergency departments and personnel alike.