Latest California Healthline Stories
Life Expectancy for U.S. Residents Increases to 77.6 Years, CDC Data Indicate
Life expectancy for U.S. residents increased to a record 77.6 years and mortality rates for most leading causes of death declined in 2003, according to the preliminary annual mortality report released Monday by CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, the AP/Las Vegas Sun reports.
About 10% of Residents in Some Counties North of San Francisco Lack Health Insurance
About 10% of residents of Marin, Mendocino, Napa and Sonoma counties did not have health insurance in 2001, including about 15,000 residents of Marin County and 46,000 in Sonoma County, according to a study released Tuesday, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Scientists Send Petition to NIH Over Concerns About Shift in Funds to Bioterrorism Research
Hundreds of scientists on Monday sent a petition to NIH Director Elias Zerhouni over concerns that the shift of tens of millions of dollars in federal funds toward bioterrorism research has reduced funds for research on other bacteria that cause public health problems, the New York Times reports.
Pharmaceutical and medical device companies would be required to report the results of all clinical trials on a public, electronic database under legislation introduced Monday by Senate Finance Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and three Democratic legislators, Reuters/New York Times reports.
Stanford University Medical Center To Provide Outpatient Specialty Services at Redwood City Facility
Stanford University Medical Center on Friday announced plans to open a new outpatient care center in Redwood City that will provide specialty services, such as orthopedics, treatment for sleep disorders, ophthalmology, surgery and imaging, the San Jose Mercury News reports.
San Francisco Chronicle Examines Not-For-Profit Group That Facilitates Surgeries for Uninsured
The San Francisco Chronicle on Sunday profiled Operation Access, a not-for-profit group that has facilitated 1,500 no-cost outpatient surgeries over the past 11 years.
Oversight Committee To Vote on Interim President for Stem Cell Institute
The Independent Citizens’ Oversight Committee for the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine on Tuesday will vote on whether to name Zach Hall, a neurobiologist and veteran administrator, interim president of the institute, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
U.S. Supreme Court officials on Monday said that justices this fall will hear a case between Los Angeles District Attorney Gil Garcetti and former Pomona Deputy District Attorney Richard Ceballos to determine whether employees of state public agencies under the First Amendment have the right to make public allegations of wrongdoing without being penalized, the Los Angeles Times reports. According to the Times, the case “could affect the rights of millions of public employees,” including public hospital workers.
Grassley Requests Information on FDA’s COX-2 Inhibitor Panel’s Financial Ties to Industry
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Friday sent a letter requesting information on the drug industry ties of members of an FDA joint advisory committee on the safety of COX-2 inhibitors, saying that a report last week on potential conflicts of interest has “marred” the members’ recommendation to keep the painkillers on the market, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Bill Introduced To Permit Distribution of Condoms, Other Protective Sex Devices To Prison Inmates
Assembly member Paul Koretz (D-West Hollywood) has introduced a bill (AB 1677) that would allow not-for-profit or public health organizations to distribute condoms, oral dams or “other sex-related protective devices” to California’s 162,000 prison inmates, the Sacramento Bee reports.