DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – Hundreds of life-saving drugs may not be available when they’re needed, according to officials inside the Food and Drug Administration.

The list, published by the FDA, features nearly 300 drugs that are in short supply –– including chemotherapy, heart medications, even asthma inhalers.

Dr. Jeff Liticker, manager of the UT Southwestern Clinical Oncology Pharmacy has been a pharmacist for more than 20 years, and the job is not what it used to be.

“Now it’s become a lot more tracking drug inventory and looking at alternative therapies if we run out of a medication,” Dr. Liticker said.

His team at UT Southwestern spends several days a week on the phone with other hospitals essentially bartering drugs and checking calendars to find out which patient needs what medication next.

Pharmacy shelves are not stocked like they used to be.

“Within the last year, this has become a major problem,” he said.

According to a report by the Government Accountability Office, more than half of drug shortages between 2009 and 2011 were identified as critical because alternative drugs were not available.

The American Hospital Association reports that in a recent survey of hospitals nationwide, 82 percent of them had to delay treatment because of a shortage.

Furthermore, the Institute for Safe Medication Practices found in its own survey that more than 1,000 respondents reported medication errors when other drugs had to be substituted.

“People could be dying,” said U.S. Rep. Dr. Michael Burgess (R – Lewisville).

He says a new bill introduced just two weeks ago is calling for a better reporting system so the FDA is more aware of manufacturing problems.

While he’s not sure this is the right fix, he is encouraged that politicians are paying attention and proposing action.

“There’s no immediate relief in sight, so the expectation is that it will continue to become a problem,” Burgess said.

And, it’s a problem that Dr. Liticker says can impact any one of us at any time.

“Literally almost every disease is impacted in some way by at least one or two drug shortages,” said Dr. Liticker.

So, what’s the problem?

Industry insiders have actually referred to this as a perfect storm of issues: Too many drug manufacturers going out of business; companies stopping production due to profitability concerns; and quality/manufacturing issues.

We have spoken with several North Texas hospitals that all say they are aware of the shortages and are staying on top of the problem, but they worry about what tomorrow could bring.

The strand is called Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus and can be dangerous is it goes untreated.

School officials sent an email to the parents of 773 children at the school about the confirmed case Wednesday.

“I forwarded to my husband so he would read it he usually makes me feel better,” said Becky Angel, a parent.”I had a friend, her sister passed away from getting a staph infection.”

Angell’s 9-year-old daughter attends the school. Officials would not say whether the infected person is a student or faculty member.

The email released by the school district alerted parents that “cleaning crews will conduct a special disinfecting cleaning.”

MRSA is spread by contact and shared items so schools are one of the places it can spread fast. This is the fifth elementary school in Frisco this year to send out notices about staph cases.

Officials say its a common infection and parents shouldn’t worry. Parents seem to be taking the news in stride and trust the school will protect their children.

“I worry about my kids because if it was really bad they would have closed the school,” said Ami Ruppman, a parent.

“As long as they take action quickly to protect what happened there shouldn’t be bigger consequences,” said Jessica Maysonet, another parent.

Infectious disease specialists say better preventive measures can help address a growing problem.

“All the common sense hygiene that mom taught us about washing your hands and not picking your nose and not picking youself where the sun don’t shine that’s kind of really what matters,” says Dr. Cedric Spak, MD, MPH, Baylor Hospital.

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But this Valentine’s Day, the heart is especially on the minds of the family Oak Cliff woman who gave her heart away, and of the DeSoto man who received it, along with another chance at life and love.

Cleaning his DeSoto home is something Tom Rogers feels a little more compelled to do these days.

But, at 73,  he doesn’t mind.  “I had heart problems,” Rogers said.

A year and a half ago, congestive heart failure had made it nearly impossible for him to do anything.  “They said my heart was real weak.”

Rogers’ church, Crossroads Covenant in DeSoto, found out about his condition and prayed for him for a year.

One church member, Barbara Patterson, was praying for him too, when tragedy struck in her own family.  “It was sudden,” Patterson said. “It was sudden.”

Barbara’s younger sister, Loyce Bryan, died from a brain hemorrhage. She was 43.  Loyce had been engaged to be married after being single more than 20 years.  “Her heart has been inclined towards marriage for a long time. Yep. And she wanted to be married,” Patterson said.

It was not to be. But, Loyce’s heart would live on – inside Tom Rogers.

“Whenever we see him we think of her. And even sometimes, I’ll walk up to him and I would just put my hand on his chest,” Patterson said, beginning to cry.

Tom Rogers didn’t think he’d ever marry again. Then, there was that change of heart. And he tied the knot on 1/1/2011

Barbara Patterson remembers how he called her and told her the news.  “I started laughing. I said that heart was determined to get married.”

Rogers’ 56-year-old bride can attest to his new found love – for cleaning.  “It’s like he’ll get a real cleaning spurt. But when he gets it, you have to stop him,” she said.

It’s the other gift Patterson also believes Rogers received from her sister.

Loyce Bryan’s organ donations help to save or better the lives of more than 30 people.

For more information on organ donations or how to become a donor, contact the Southwest Transplant Alliance at organ.org.

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DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – First Lady Michelle Obama brought her message of healthier eating to Dallas students Friday morning.

Mrs. Obama spoke to about 200 students from Nancy Moseley Elementary, while judging a competition of Top Chef contestants for an upcoming TV show.

“The whole point of this is making sure you all are healthy,” she told her young audience.
“It’s very hard to focus at school if you don’t have good fuel in your body, and that’s the truth.  This isn’t just a grown-up telling you to eat your vegetables. The truth is your brain works better on good food.”

The First Lady is currently on a 3-day tour celebrating the two year anniversary of “Let’s Move”, her campaign against childhood obesity.

“It was really exciting,” said JJ Guzman, a fifth grader who sat beside the First Lady.  “We’ve been a real good school and class, and it’s all worth it.”

Moseley Elementary is one of 78 DISD schools to achieve ‘gold’ status under the HealthierUS Schools Challenge for its success implementing nutrition and physical fitness.

“You have more ‘gold’ schools in this district than anywhere else in the country,” Mrs. Obama said.

Digging into plates of food, kids agreed and said they enjoy the healthier options.

Elizabeth Rios, a 6^th grader, understands the reasons to eat healthy.

“So that we can be stronger when we’re older,” she explained. “We can have a better family [and] better community.”

They really do,” Brenda Brooks said, when asked if the kids really eat the fruits and vegetables offered. And she should know.  Brooks is the cafeteria supervisor at Moseley, and she’s lost 78 pounds herself eating the new diet of healthier foods available at local schools.

Despite the accomplishments Brooks said she never thought she’d get a personal thank you from the First Lady of the United States.

“Oh God, it was an honor just to meet you, just to sit by you,” she told Mrs. Obama with delight.

During her North Texas visit Michelle Obama also announced a renewed effort to bring local chefs into schools for cooking demonstrations, staff training, and community gardens under the “Chefs Move to Schools” program.

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DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Special honors will be extended to students and faculty members at a school in southeast Dallas on Friday morning. First Lady Michelle Obama is in North Texas for a second day to thank the school for a job well done in the arena of healthy eating.

At a morning event, Mrs. Obama will highlight the healthy eating changes that students in the Dallas Independent School District are making each day, especially at Nancy Moseley Elementary School. The campus is a ‘gold’ school in the Healthier U.S. School Challenge program.

The DISD has more ‘gold’ schools than any other district in the nation.

There will also be a competition at the Dallas elementary school on Friday, including stars from the reality cooking show “Top Chef” battling to see what meals they can dish out for students. Some of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders will also be there.

Mrs. Obama received a warm welcome to the DFW area at an Olive Garden restaurant in north Fort Worth on Thursday night. She was there to meet with eight parents, to discuss how they have been able to get their children to eat more fruits and vegetables.

Jenny Hogan and her three kids from Frisco met Mrs. Obama on Thursday and 9-year-old Amanda Hogan even got the First Lady’s autograph on a folder. “It’s something special I should keep,” the little girl said.

“We were discussing about how fun it is to get all the kids out together, riding their bikes and running,” said Jenny Hogan. “And when you do it together as a group, you share the excitement.”

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FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) – First Lady Michelle Obama received a warm welcome Thursday night in North Fort Worth.

The First Lady came to an Olive Garden restaurant to meet with eight parents to talk about how they’ve been able to get their children to eat more vegetables and fruits.

Mrs. Obama’s dinner visit marks the second anniversary of her ‘Let’s Move’ Initiative to reduce childhood obesity by getting them to exercise and eat more fruits and vegetables.  Nationwide, nearly one-third of children are overweight.  Nearly one-fifth are obese.

The First Lady held the event at the Olive Garden because their parent company, Darden Restaurants, has started offering healthier choices on its kids’ menus at all of their restaurants.

On Friday morning the First Lady will be meeting with Dallas ISD elementary school students, chefs, and some Dallas Cowboys players to take part in a healthy cooking competition.

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More than half admitted describing someone’s prognosis in a way they knew was too rosy. Nearly 20 percent said they hadn’t fully disclosed a medical mistake for fear of being sued. And 1 in 10 of those surveyed said they’d told a patient something that wasn’t true in the past year.

The survey, by Massachusetts researchers and published in this month’s Health Affairs, doesn’t explain why, or what wasn’t true.

“I don’t think that physicians set out to be dishonest,” said lead researcher Dr. Lisa Iezzoni, a Harvard Medical School professor and director of Massachusetts General Hospital’s Mongan Institute for Health Policy. She said the untruths could have been to give people hope.

But it takes open communication for patients to make fully informed decisions about their health care, as opposed to the “doctor-knows-best” paternalism of medicine’s past, Iezzoni added.

The survey offers “a reason for patients to be vigilant and to be very clear with their physician about how much they do want to know,” she said.

The findings come from a 2009 survey of more than 1,800 physicians nationwide to see if they agree with and follow certain standards medical professionalism issued in 2002. Among the voluntary standards are that doctors should be open and honest about all aspects of patient care, and promptly disclose any mistakes.

A third of those surveyed didn’t completely agree that doctors should ‘fess up about mistakes. That’s even though a growing number of medical centers are adopting policies that tell doctors to say “I’m sorry” up front, in part because studies have found patients less likely to sue when that happens.

Not revealing a mistake is “just inexcusable,” said Dr. Arthur Caplan, a prominent medical ethicist at the University of Pennsylvania. Beyond decency, “your care now has to be different because of what happened.”

The vast majority of those surveyed agreed that physicians should fully inform patients of the risks, not just the benefits, of treatment options and never tell a patient something that isn’t true — even though some admitted they hadn’t followed that advice at least on rare occasions in the past year.

Perhaps least surprising is that doctors give overly positive prognoses. It’s hard to deliver bad news, especially when a patient has run out of options, and until recently doctors have had little training in how to do so. But Iezzoni said patients with the worst outlook especially deserve to know, so they can get their affairs in order, and patient studies have found most want to know.

What else might doctors not tell? There are shades of gray, said Caplan, the ethicist. For example, he’s heard doctors agonize over what to tell parents about a very premature baby’s chances, knowing the odds are really bad but also knowing they’ve seen miracles.

Doctors prescribe placebos sometimes, and telling the patient could negate chances of the fake treatment helping, he noted. Sometimes they exaggerate a health finding to shock the patient into shaping up.

And sometimes it’s a matter of dribbling out a hard truth to give patients a chance to adjust, Caplan said: “OK, this looks serious but we’re going to order some more tests,” when the doctor already knows just how grim things are.

Withholding the full story is getting harder, though, Iezzoni said. Not only do more patients Google their conditions so they know what to ask, but some doctors who have embraced electronic medical records allow patients to log in and check their own test results.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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Obama’s first North Texas stop will be at Thursday’s dinner hour in Fort Worth, where she’ll preside over a roundtable dinner discussion at a Fort Worth restaurant with parents who are changing habits in their homes and communities.

On Friday, she’ll join chef contestants from past seasons of the Bravo series “Top Chef” and members of the Dallas Cowboys to promote healthier food choices for students in the nation’s schools. The chefs will compete in a health cooking contest with students at the Kleberg Rylie Recreation Center in southeastern Dallas.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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CBS 11 News anchor Keith Garvin and photojournalist Edgar Solis were recently embedded with soldiers in Afghanistan to see the U.S. war effort firsthand. Click here to read more of their stories.

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (CBSDFW.COM) - Under the sound of gunfire, beneath the roar of fighter jets on a combat run, you can hear a different sound in Afghanistan, if you listen closely. In the midst of a military mission, one soldier is working on a personal objective.

Master Sergeant Brian Eckley from Fort Worth is training for an Ironman Triathlon. But he is not along the Trinity Trail or White Rock Lake. The 38-year-old, 17-year Army veteran is at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan.

“It’s hard to get the miles in outside, with the traffic,” Eckley said. “It is a war zone and all.”

Over the past 10 years, Eckley has been deployed five times. Training is his only means of release. “It definitely clears my mind a little bit,” he said. “Picture myself back in Colorado Springs, riding in the mountains. But this is about as close as I can get.”

Eckley arrived in Bagram on July 4. He said that he was not an athlete when he graduated from Brewer High School in 1992. He took up triathlons shortly after enlisting in the Army.

In addition to the war zone atmosphere, the cold snow and ice of the Afghan winter make it hard to train outdoors. Eckley was able to ship over a stationary bike from home, to help him stay in shape.

“This will make 17 hours this week,” he said of his exercise. “It’s really early in the season. Well, training anyway.”

In the Army, Eckley provides communication teams who hunt for and dispose of roadside bombs. But he also has another team to communicate with – his family. Eckley has a wife and two kids back in the United States. “You just adapt to what your environment is, and do what you have to do to get through it,” Eckley said. “And keeping in contact with family is probably the cornerstone in it.”

Eckley has set three goals for the end of his deployment: reuniting with family, competing in Arizona’s Ironman this November, and leaving Afghanistan. “I would like to see us out. I’ve had about enough of this place,” he said.

But before riding out of Afghanistan for the last time, Eckley will continue his training. The routine will actually intensify after he leaves in the summer. Eckley wants to complete the Ironman in less than 11 hours.

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DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - It’s been a fairly mild winter here in North Texas, but that probably hasn’t stopped the dry weather from wreaking havoc on your skin. Instead of spending hundreds of dollars on skin-care products, CBS 11 News is showing how you can combat the dryness safely with everyday household products.

June Pillay let us in on a secret. She says she’s a germaphobe, and is constantly washing her hands. For her, life revolves around keeping herself and her two sons healthy and clean. But the constant hand-washing comes with a rough price. “My face is dry, hands are dry, and feet are dry,” Pillay said.

To stay moisturized, she spends hundreds of dollars a year on products, from lotions to creams. “We have stuff for lips, for hands, we have cuticle stuff, I have body stuff, feet stuff,” she said. She’d like to cut down costs, and cut down on all the unknown ingredients. “You should know what you’re putting on your skin.”

CBS 11 News enlisted her help for a test. During the past two weeks, Pillay has been making her own skin-care products from recipes found online using everyday products from the grocery store.

For exfoliation and moisturizing, she made a spa-like sugar scrub for her hands and feet using avocado oil, sugar and eucalyptus oil. She also whipped up a couple different lotions using shea butter, vitamin E tablets, avocado or coconut oils. “The shea butter really kept in the moisture and just sealed the skin off, so you didn’t feel so dry,” Pillay said.

To take care of her face, she made a mask out of Greek yogurt, oatmeal and honey. And, for her lips, she made a soothing balm out of aloe vera gel, shea butter and vegetable glycerin. From body scrubs, to lotions, lip balms and face masks, she tested nearly a dozen different skin-care recipes. All together, these homemade products cost her less than $80. “They’re actually a lot better than some of the things that I was using,” Pillay said.

Skin-care expert Dr. Lynley McAnalley says you don’t have to break the bank to get good results. “It worked just as good as any exfoliant I’ve ever used,” she said about one product she made and tried. “It’s just as effective, if not more so, and you don’t have the chemicals and additives and things that might irritate your skin that really aren’t necessary.”

McAnalley reviewed the recipes Pillay used and says they’re all safe. In fact, she tried several herself. “I’ve used it on my hands and my feet for a couple weeks, and they’re softer than they have been,” said McAnalley. “I mean, coconut oil is my new best friend!”

Pillay says she may still buy a couple lotions — simply for convenience — but she plans to make many more from scratch. “It was fun, and I’m not done,” she said. “I’ll continue to do it.”

Recipes For DIY Winter Skin Care:

• Winter Face Mask
• Face Moisturizer
• Pumpkin Foot Scrub
• Winter Hand Salve
• Homemade Sugar Scrub
• Tomato Face Scrub
• Hydrating Hair Mask
• Winter Hand Lotion

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PLANO (CBSDFW.COM) – It’s good for your health and it can save you a lot of money. That is why more people in Plano are considering the option of riding a bicycle to work.

The City of Plano has completed a 27-year plan that allows people who live and work within it’s boundaries to swap four wheels for two, making bike paths more than just recreational. This month, the city will finish installing brand new signs marking trails and safe street routes to every major employer.

Heather Appleby rides her bicycle to work almost every day, and welcomes the new trail route system. “It’s a chance to kill two birds with one stone, so to speak,” she said, “because I get my exercise in and I’m able to get a commute in at the same time.”

It’s estimated that in a city of nearly 300,000 people, less than 100 people in Plano use their bikes regularly to get to and from work. The city hopes the street-trail system will improve those numbers, along with a proposed new ordinance that would keep motorists a minimum distance from cyclists. “It should be completed within this next month,” said Brian Bedinfield with DFW Bike. “It’s greater because it advertises routes that are safe for cyclists, as well as it communicates with road users that cyclists may be on the road.”

Michael Freiberger lives in Allen and works in Richardson, but will benefit from Plano’s new system. “I don’t have to deal with US-75 anymore. I don’t deal with the snarls of traffic. I enjoy the commute. I arrive refreshed,” said Freiberger.

The city has posted routes to more than 50 employers online to make it easy for residents who want to join cyclists like Appleby, and are willing to do a little leg work.

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Click Here To Read More From CBS News

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A sign stands outside of a McDonald's restaurant. (credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

NEW YORK (CBS) - Celebrity chef and food activist Jamie Oliver is a man on a mission: to stop the use of what he calls “pink slime,” beef scraps no one would choose to eat, reprocessed and repurposed for use in hamburger patties. It is, he asserts, “not fit for human consumption.”

“We’re taking a product that would be sold in its cheaper form for dogs and,” he says, “after this process, we can give it to humans.” The first salvo in his high-profile food fight was an April 2011 stomach-turning demonstration on his TV show, “Food Revolution,” nine months ago.

But last week, McDonald’s announced it’s no longer using the controversial beef. In a statement, the chain said the decision “was not related to any particular event.”

Click Here To Read More From CBS News

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