Latest California Healthline Stories
HHS Recaps Bush’s Health Initiatives During First 100 Days
During his first 100 days in office, President Bush has “made significant strides” in his effort to “improve the quality of care for all Americans” and his “commitment to leave no child behind” in the quality of health care that children receive, HHS reports in a press release.
Medical Students Protest Long Shifts
A group of medical students gathered in Connecticut on Saturday to protest the long hours that physicians in hospital residency programs are often required to work, the Hartford Courant reports.
Despite Investigation, Van Nuys Children’s Hospital Considers Reopening
Officials at a Van Nuys-based children’s psychiatric hospital that voluntarily closed in February are considering reopening the facility, despite two pending investigations into alleged “patient abuse and substandard care” and the threat that HCFA may not recertify the hospital for government reimbursements, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Schumer Pushes Bill to Curb Medication Mistakes
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) “prescribed a dose of computer technology” yesterday for “financially ailing” hospitals to help fight one of the nation’s “biggest medical threats” —
medication errors, the New York Post reports.
Lawmakers Should Pass Thomson’s Mental Health Treatment Bills, Los Angeles Times Says
With “thousands” of mentally ill residents “falling through California’s increasingly tattered safety net because of critical flaws in the system,” a Los Angeles Times editorial notes that Assembly member Helen Thomson (D-Davis) has introduced “three good bills … [t]o start mending it.”
Hackers Vandalize, Disable HHS Web Sites
Federal officials suspect that Chinese hackers were responsible for disabling and vandalizing government Web sites this weekend, including sites operated by HHS, the AP/Nando Times/Sacramento Bee reports.
Satcher to Unveil Suicide Prevention Initiative
Surgeon General David Satcher will unveil Wednesday a “National Strategy on Suicide Prevention” that is aimed at reducing both the number of suicides and the stigma of mental illness, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Sutter Health More than Doubles Net Income in 2000
With income from investments and the sale of real estate, Sutter Health more than doubled its net income to $111 million last year, compared to $51 million in 1999, the Sacramento Bee reports.
‘Healthy’ Profits for Drug Companies, High Drug Prices ‘Irk’ Consumers
The nation’s leading drug makers posted “sharply higher earnings” this week — a “bright spot” in an “ailing” economy — but consumers, “already upset about high prices,” point to the industry’s “healthy results” as a “signal” for reform, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Women, Minorities Often Receive ‘Inferior’ Pain Management
Women, minorities and the elderly are more likely to receive substandard treatment for pain, partly due to some common racial and gender stereotypes, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.