Morning Breakouts

Latest California Healthline Stories

Surgeon General Has ‘Shone a Welcome Spotlight’ on Disparities in Latino Health Care, Editorial States

U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona has “shone a welcome spotlight” on disparities in health care for Latinos, who “for too long have been a footnote in health surveys and statistics,” according to a San Jose Mercury News editorial.

San Francisco May Eliminate Health Care Programs for Seniors, Residents with Mental Illness

San Francisco Department of Public Health Director Dr. Mitch Katz on Friday announced a proposal to eliminate $37.5 million from the department budget in fiscal year 2003-2004 to help address the city’s estimated $350 million budget deficit, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Wall Street Journal Examines Medical Translation Services for Immigrants

The Wall Street Journal today examined the issue of medical translation for immigrants who do not speak English and seek care in non-urban areas, where many physicians “rely on family members, often children, to mediate millions of patient visits.”

Los Robles Medical Center Employees Vote To Join Service Employees International Union

Vocational nurses, radiology technicians and other employees at Thousand Oaks-based Los Robles Regional Medical Center on Tuesday voted 293-102 to join the Service Employees International Union, the Ventura County Star reports.

PacifiCare Predicts ‘Little Change’ in First-Quarter Profit from Last Year

Santa Ana-based PacifiCare Health Systems, the nation’s largest operator of Medicare health plans, said it expects that its first-quarter profits will be “little changed” from those the same time last year, Bloomberg News/Los Angeles Times reports.