Latest California Healthline Stories
Fresno Hospital Must Add 100 More Beds To Absorb Increased Patient Volume Resulting From Merger
Community Medical Centers in Fresno needs to add an additional 100 beds at its downtown hospital before it can absorb services from University Medical Center as part of a planned merger, a hospital official told the county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, the Fresno Bee reports.
Children’s Hospitals Plan Expansions, Improvements After Passage of Proposition 61
California Children’s hospitals have begun to develop plans to add new beds, operating rooms and equipment after the passage of Proposition 61, a bond measure that appeared on the Nov. 2 statewide ballot, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
California Institutions, Companies Line Up for Proposition 71 Funds
California research institutions “are starting to jockey for a share” of funding from Proposition 71 — a bond initiative that was approved on the Nov. 2 statewide ballot that will fund stem cell research — and starting to decide how to spend the cash infusion, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Department of Health Services Has Inspected Few Hospitals for Compliance With Nurse Staffing Rules
The Department of Health Services, which licenses the 451 acute-care hospitals in the state, has investigated only 28 of the facilities to determine whether they comply with nurse staffing rules, according to state data, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Kansas City Star Investigation Highlights Chiron’s Vaccine Manufacturing Problems, FDA’s Knowledge
FDA regulators in 1999 were aware that contamination at Chiron’s Liverpool, England, plant was “pervasive and persistent,” and the agency allowed the plant to ship vaccine to the United States “despite clear departures from what the agency calls ‘Good Manufacturing Practices,” according to experts commissioned last week by the Kansas City Star to review FDA’s 1999 inspection of the plant.
Improvements in Nation’s Health Slowing Because of Obesity, Infant Mortality Rates, Report Says
Although the overall health of U.S. residents continues to improve, health indicators show that improvements have slowed in recent years, in part because of increases in obesity and infant mortality rates, according to the 15th annual America’s Health: State Health Rankings study, USA Today reports.
Enzi Likely To Chair Senate HELP Committee, Replacing Gregg
Sen. Michael Enzi (R-Wyo.) is expected to replace Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) as chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee for the 109th Congress, but the anticipated change “likely will have little impact on the panel, given the similarities” between the two “low-key conservatives,” CQ Today reports.
FDA Announces Plan To Improve Medication Safety Procedures
As expected, FDA officials on Friday announced plans to improve the procedures used by the agency to monitor the safety of medications after they reach the market, the Newark Star-Ledger reports.
President Bush Promises To Work With Democrats on Health Care Plans
President Bush on Saturday in his weekly radio address promised to work with Democrats on domestic issues, such as medical liability reform, an issue the president highlighted in his re-election campaign, the AP/Albany Times Union reports.
State Insurance Commissioners Question CMS on Promotion of Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit
In an “attempt to persuade beneficiaries to enroll” in the Medicare drug benefit program, CMS is requiring Medigap insurers to use “misleading language” to suggest the new program is a better value for beneficiaries than their current policies, according to a letter to the agency from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, the New York Times reports.