Latest California Healthline Stories
Bill Would Give Rx Drug Benefit to All Seniors
A group of senators yesterday introduced a bill (S 1135) that would reform Medicare and add a prescription drug benefit to the program, the Orlando Sentinel reports.
FDA Panel Recommends Stricter Blood Donation
“To combat the spread of the human form of mad cow disease,” an FDA advisory panel yesterday voted 10-7 to recommend that the agency ban blood donations from donors who have spent five or more cumulative years in Europe since 1980, or three or more cumulative months in Britain from 1980 to 1996, the Wall Street Journal reports.
American Nursing Association Joins Forces with AFL-CIO
As expected, representatives of the United American Nurses, the “collective bargaining arm” of the American Nursing Association, voted unaminously Thursday to affiliate with the AFL-CIO, the AP/Las Vegas Sun reports.
Study Finds Lack of Preparedness for Proposition 36 in Four Large Counties
While California counties’ treatment centers and judicial systems are mostly prepared for Sunday’s implementation of Proposition 36, the voter-passed ballot initiative that calls for first- and second-time nonviolent drug offenders in California to receive treatment instead of jail time, four of the state’s largest counties have not set aside enough funding for treatment and have “relied too heavily on law enforcement officials” to develop their plans for the initiative, according to a report released Wednesday by the Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy Foundation.
Advocates Call for More Funding For San Francisco Health Department
With the San Francisco Board of Supervisors Finance Committee set today to make its “final revisions” to Mayor Willie Brown’s (D) proposed $5.2 billion budget for the fiscal year starting July 1, health advocates are pushing for supervisors to boost funding for public health programs, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
NIH to Fund Map on ‘Slight’ Variations of Human Genome
The NIH intends to invest between $40 million and $70 million in a two-year effort to map the “slight differences between people’s genes” that scientists believe account for why some people are more likely than others to get certain diseases or have adverse reactions to drugs, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Alameda County Medical Center Approves $391.7M Budget
The Alameda County Medical Center board Monday approved a $391.7 million budget for the 2001-02 fiscal year, the Oakland Tribune reports.
NIH Affirms Potential of Embryonic and Adult Stem Cell Research
The NIH has issued a new report, titled “Stem Cells: Scientific Progress and Future Research Directions,” stating that while research on stem cells derived from both human embryos and adult tissue offers “a dazzling array” of treatments for several diseases, the embryonic cells are “clearly superior” for some purposes, the New York Times reports.
Health Field Looks for Information Technology Workers
The health care industry is falling behind in the race to recruit young information technology workers, due in part to an inability to compete with the salaries and career opportunities provided by mainstream technology companies, the Dallas Morning News reports.
JCAHO Drafts New Medical Errors Standards
In an effort to reduce the number of medical errors, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations has drafted new standards that require hospitals to inform patients and their families when they “have been hurt by a medical error,” USA Today reports.