Latest California Healthline Stories
Enrollment in Healthy Families Slows
Enrollment in Healthy Families slowed “dramatically” last fiscal year, in part because of a 15% staff reduction at the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board and cuts over the past three years in outreach assistance programs, the Sacramento Bee reports.
FDA Issues Warning Letter to Chiron Over Flu Vaccine Production Issues
Chiron officials on Friday announced that FDA regulators have sent the company a warning letter requesting more information about contamination issues at a Liverpool, England, plant that led to the suspension of the plant’s manufacturing license and the subsequent U.S. flu vaccine shortage, the New York Times reports.
Proposition 71 Oversight Committee To Meet This Week To Confirm Chair, Vice Chair Nominees
Members of the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee, which will govern the new California Institute for Regenerative Medicine established under Proposition 71, will meet Friday to confirm a chair and vice chair, the Los Angeles Times reports.
San Francisco Chronicle Examines Hospitals’ Efforts To Meet State Seismic Safety Standards
Upcoming deadlines for hospitals to meet state-mandated seismic safety standards have prompted a “construction boom” at health care organizations statewide, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
University of California Official Announces Support for Medical School at Riverside Campus
University of California Vice President for Health Affairs Michael Drake on Wednesday endorsed a plan to open a medical school at UC-Riverside after meeting with UC-Riverside Chancellor France Cordova, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports.
Quality Grades for Nursing Homes Have Little Impact, Boston Globe Analysis Finds
In the period since the Bush administration introduced a quality initiative for nursing homes in 2002, fewer nursing home residents have experienced untreated pain or have been placed in restraints, but the initiative has had “no significant impact” in other areas, such as the occurrence of pressure sores or residents’ ability to walk, feed themselves or use the bathroom without assistance, according to a Boston Globe analysis.
House Members Criticize FDA Officials for Alleged Intimidation
Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) on Friday circulated a letter addressed to FDA acting Commissioner Lester Crawford and signed by 22 House members that requested information on allegations that FDA Office of Drug Safety Associate Director David Graham has faced intimidation and threats by agency officials, the AP/Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Bush Nominates EPA Administrator Leavitt as New HHS Secretary
President Bush on Monday said that he will nominate Michael Leavitt, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and former Republican governor of Utah, to replace Tommy Thompson as secretary of HHS, Reuters reports.
Union Representing Grocery Store Workers Preparing for Possible Strike Over Health Benefits
The United Food and Commercial Workers in Northern California has collected about 75,000 pledges to boycott grocery store chains Safeway, Albertsons and Kroger in preparation for a potential strike, in part because of plans by the companies to shift more health care costs to employees, the Los Angeles Times reports.
FDA Adds New Warnings to Label of COX-2 Inhibitor Bextra Over Potential Heart, Skin Risks
FDA officials on Thursday announced that the label for Pfizer’s COX-2 inhibitor Bextra will carry a warning about potential heart and blood-clotting risks, USA Today reports.