Latest California Healthline Stories
Hearing Begins on State Complaint of Anti-Union Practices Against Nurses at Antelope Valley Hospital
A hearing on a state complaint that accuses Lancaster-based Antelope Valley Hospital of “interfering with registered nurses’ attempts to unionize” began yesterday before an administrative law judge, the Los Angeles Daily News reports.
California lawmakers’ proposal to eliminate $61 million in tobacco prevention funding from the fiscal year 2002-2003 budget would make the state “one of the most disappointing” in the nation in antismoking efforts, according to a new study.
Colorado To Launch Internet-Based Neonatal Care Program
Colorado has contracted with Massachusetts-based Clinical Support Technology Inc. to link neonatal intensive care unit physicians and nurses with Medicaid beneficiaries over the Internet, which will allow hospitals to discharge patients from the NICU earlier, according to CST.
The University of California-San Francisco has launched a new $1 million mammography van to provide breast cancer screenings to low-income area patients without access to the services, the San Francisco Examiner reports.
House, Senate Pass Legislation To Address Nursing Shortage
Following months of negotiations, both the House and Senate yesterday passed legislation that would establish scholarships and other programs to address the nation’s nursing shortage, the AP/Boston Globe reports.
GAO Announces Plans To Study Cost of Treating Undocumented Immigrants in U.S. Hospitals
The General Accounting Office announced yesterday that it will begin a study in the next few months to analyze the cost of providing health care to undocumented immigrants in U.S. hospitals, the Arizona Republic reports.
Program for Children with Severe Mental Disabilities May Be Eliminated in State Budget Negotiations
A state program that provides care for an estimated 500,000 California children with severe mental and emotional disabilities may “become a casualty” in the debate over the state’s fiscal year 2002-2003 budget, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
In the “first case of its kind” in the state, the Medical Board of California has accused Dr. Jon Opsahl, a Colton physician, of “writing more than 8,000 prescriptions for antidepressants and painkillers to patients he never examined,” the Sacramento Bee reports.
Northern California Delta Dental Plan Clerical Workers Strike over Benefit Revisions
About 1,000 Delta Dental Plan clerical workers in northern California went on strike last Friday, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Several Editorials Endorse State Supreme Court Decision on Proposition 215
Several newspaper have published editorials in support of last week’s state Supreme Court decision on Proposition 215.