CAMBRIDGE, MA: Sermo, the social networking site for US physicians, launched its first national awareness campaign July 1 to encourage doctors to sign an open letter, created by the site's physician community, which calls for change in healthcare.

NEW YORK: The Center for Communication Compliance introduced an online program for PR professionals to train and receive certification about regulatory issues that affect the healthcare industry. It is the first standardized program of its kind, said Ilyssa Levins, president and founder of New York-based CCC.

WASHINGTON: The nonprofit Sabin Vaccine Institute hired Hyde Park Communications to develop new branding for the organization as well as provide strategic communications counsel and media relations.

WASHINGTON: The Corn Refiners Association (CRA) launched a new PR and ad campaign to battle what it calls "myths" and "inaccuracies" in the media about the use of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in foods.

SANTA MONICA, CA: The City of Santa Monica awarded a $150,000 contract recently to Southard Communications to create an integrated PR campaign that will raise public awareness about the city's smoking restrictions.

NEW YORK: Pfizer sent RFIs to its creative agencies, including a dozen PR firms, as part of a companywide transformation to become more efficient.

WASHINGTON: The Corn Refiners Association (CRA) launched a new PR and advertising campaign to battle what it calls "myths" and "inaccuracies" in the media about the use of high fructose corn syrup (HRCS) in foods.

SAN FRANCISCO: The University of California, San Francisco, and YouTube launched a collaborative online campaign on June 16 to help spread awareness about dementia.

NEW YORK: The tomato industry concentrated its outreach efforts on buyers to bolster the message that some tomatoes are safe to eat, while the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) try to identify the variety or region of tomatoes that triggered the salmonella outbreak in recent weeks.

WASHINGTON: C-Change, a 10-year-old coalition of national cancer organizations, launched a multi-year campaign June 10 to provide a consistent cancer prevention communications strategy to its 130 member organizations.