Latest California Healthline Stories
Oakland Site Aims To Provide Health Services, Jobs Help
HELP4U, a Web-based program from Oakland-based company Rasmsell Holding Corporation, links people seeking health care services, job training and other needs with organizations that can help them. Users visiting the HELP4U site provide information about their needs and receive a customized list of Oakland-area groups that could be of assistance. Contra Costa Times.
Humboldt County To Expand Youth Mental Health Services
The Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services is set to receive more than $800,000 this year through the 2004 Mental Health Services Act, or Proposition 63, which levies a tax to fund mental health prevention and intervention services. The county plans to use the funds to bolster mental health support services for at-risk youth transitioning to adulthood. Eureka Times-Standard.
Budget Revise Could Burden Mental Health in Sacramento
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s revised budget proposal for fiscal year 2010-2011 would add $24 million to Sacramento County’s $18.5 million mental health services budget shortfall, county officials projected. The state budget revise released Friday aims to close a $20 billion state budget gap with spending reductions, including a 60% cut to state funding for community mental health programs. Sacramento officials said it is too early to determine the exact impact of the proposed cuts. Capitol Weekly.
Study: Number of Kids Hospitalized With MRSA Up 10-Fold Since 1999
A new study finds that the disease incidence climbed from two cases per 1,000 hospitals to 21 cases per 1,000 hospitals between 1999 and 2008. The study also finds that the majority of methicillin-resistant staph infections were contracted in community settings. AP/Miami Herald.
Editorial Blasts Sacramento County’s Mental Care Cuts
It is unclear whether plans to scale back mental health services will achieve Sacramento County’s goals of maintaining care while reducing costs, a Sacramento Bee editorial states. The editorial adds, “Unless the county provides more proof it has its act together, a federal judge should issue a temporary injunction until there are far greater assurances that patients won’t fall through the cracks.” Sacramento Bee.
Governor’s Revised Budget Hits Health, Social Service Programs
On Friday, Gov. Schwarzenegger released a revised $83.4 billion budget plan that calls for $12.4 billion in spending cuts. The plan would reduce funding for Medi-Cal, Healthy Families, county mental health programs, the state prison health care system and California’s In-Home Supportive Services program. San Francisco Chronicle et al.
Some Firms Enforcing New Limits on Mental Health Care Coverage
Many employers have started limiting mental health coverage to reduce their health benefit spending, but some observers say the practice could be illegal under mental health parity laws. Such regulations require equal coverage for mental and physical ailments. Boston Globe.
Economic Factors Linked to Disparities in Obesity, Diabetes Rates in Calif.
A recent UC-Davis study finds that residents with lower income levels are more likely to be obese than residents with higher wages. San Joaquin County’s rates of obesity and deaths associated with diabetes are among the highest in California. Stockton Record.
Series Illuminates Health Risks of Wood-Burning Stoves
In a two-month reporting project, the Chico Enterprise-Record and the California HealthCare Foundation’s Center for Health Reporting investigated the medical, environmental, political and economic factors in wood-burning stoves used to heat homes. CHCF is the publisher of California Healthline. According to the series, doctors have linked the stoves to aggravated asthma cases and chronic lung disease. Chico Enterprise-Record.
Nursing Home Chain Ordered To Pay $28M in Abuse Case
Last week, a Sacramento Superior Court jury ordered nursing home chain Horizon West Healthcare to pay $28 million in punitive damages after the jury found HWH’s Colonial Healthcare of Auburn guilty of elder abuse in the death of a female patient. The jury previously ordered HWH to pay $1.1 million in compensatory damages for the woman’s death. Sacramento Bee.