Leftovers: We Learn Good

• A study says Philadelphia graduates 55.5 percent of its incoming freshman, on average. The national average is 70 percent. Pennsylvania, on the whole, was a more respectable 79.1 percent. But — surprise! — the state may inflate its numbers, according to Paul Vallas. Film at 11. [Inquirer]

• A story in the New York Observer says that flab is in for men. And what do you do with that?

• That’s right: Hide marijuana in your fat rolls. Where else would you store it? [AP/NBC 10]

• Uh oh: Philly is now only about 1700 people larger than Phoenix. It looks like we’re going to fall to sixth-largest city soon. Get ready for the hang-wringing about how the city is on the downswing now. [Inquirer]

ER, Ambulances Still Sick

Today’s Inquirer fronts a report from the Institute of Medicine that says the nation’s emergency medical care system is only slightly better than, say, Paraguay’s was in 1967.

Okay, it’s not that bad. But visits to the ER are up, the number of hospitals is shrinking and waiting times are way up. Too many people are using the ER as their primary care service. The Inquirer article today says that at Hahnemann University Hospital, there was a 50 percent increase in ER visits last year over five years ago.

But fear not, Philadelphians! We are insulated from these disasters in a special way, as PW — hey, I know those guys — reported back in April:

Cities with the recommended amount of EMS resources save 40 to 45 percent of cardiac arrest victims. According to Fire Department statistics, Philadelphia saves 4 percent.

In Philadelphia, you see, we don’t even have enough resources to get you to the ER in the first place. Problem solved!

Report: ER situation critical [Inky]
Dying for a change [PW]

Philadelphia Is Dumb, And Other News You Already Knew

Bizjournal.com recently ranked the 53 largest American cities, in the order of how smart we are. Like most all rankings, the methods really rank who does best under a certain specific set of criteria (in this case, college degrees).

Nevertheless, take a quick guess where Philadelphia ended up:

Whoo! Take that, Detroit!

America’s Smartest Cities [Bizjournals.com]