The presidential campaigns of Sen. John McCain and Sen.

Upon arriving in England in 1958, I was unexpectedly introduced to the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS). A serious gastrointestinal infection landed me in the Western Fever Hospital in London for a 10-day stay.

Earlier this decade, the World Health Organization ranked France as having the best health-care system in the world. The study considered access and various health statistics.

Several years ago, our granddaughter, who was 5 years old at the time and residing with her family in Germany, sustained severe burns in an accident.

More than 100,000 women served as military nurses in World War II. Among them was Vera Gustafson Palmer of Red Bank who died on July 15.

Do each of us bear certain responsibilities to practice good health habits? Should the provider of our health care, whether a private company or government, insure us regardless of our habits and activities?

For a personal reflection during the July 4th marking of the 232nd anniversary of our country, I urge you to read “Final Salute: A Story of Unfinished Lives” by Jim Sheeler (Penguin Books, 2008).

The risk of heat injury accompanies the early arrival this summer of hot, humid weather. Regardless of our levels of fitness, all of us are potentially vulnerable to three heat-related conditions. Dehydration and over-heating are common to each.

Behind the headlines of some “miracle drugs” lurks a disturbing story of marketing excesses on the part of America’s pharmaceutical industry.

Without prompt action by Congress and President George W. Bush’s administration, Medicare will soon begin a financial decline from which it cannot be rescued.

Despite the commercialization, Mother’s Day provides a time for the nation to pay tribute to moms.