Latest California Healthline Stories
SEIU Releases Report on East Bay Nursing Homes
“Most” East Bay nursing homes have been cited by the state Department of Health Services for a range of problems, most of which could be remedied with increased staffing, according to a Service Employees International Union report released yesterday.
Moody’s Sees Mixed Outlook for Not-For-Profit Hospitals
Not-for-profit hospitals continued to experience credit deterioration during the first quarter of 2001, according to a report from Moody’s Investors Service.
Los Angeles Supervisors Name Interim County Health Director
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors yesterday appointed veteran county health department manager Fred Leaf to fill the “troubled” department’s interim director position, replacing outgoing director Mark Finucane, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Pilot Program Tests Distributing Emergency Contraception Without a Prescription
Women in eight California counties can now obtain emergency contraception without a prescription through a new pilot program launched by a public health coalition, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Senate Includes Funding for Family Opportunity Act in Budget
Senate Finance Chair Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) have secured a $7.9 billion, 10 year reserve fund for the Family Opportunity Act within the fiscal 2002 budget resolution, bringing the measure one “step closer to passage,” CongressDaily reports.
Scripps Health to Link Hospitals via ‘Patient-File Warehouse’
Following two years of testing and development, the Scripps Health hospital system has launched ScrippsNet Secure, a central electronic “patient-file warehouse” that will connect doctors and all five hospitals in the system, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Researchers Test New Gene Therapy in Alzheimer’s Patient
Doctors at a University of California-San Diego Medical Center have implanted genetically modified cells into the brain of a 60-year-old Oregon woman with early Alzheimer’s disease, hoping to “slow her mental decline,” the Washington Post reports.
Ventura County Committee Hears Proposal For Tobacco Settlement Fund Expenditures
Ventura County public health officials yesterday made the first “pitch” to the new committee overseeing the appropriations of the county’s tobacco settlement funds, the Ventura County Star reports.
Fresno County Asks DMHC to Rescind Approval of New PacifiCare Contract
Fresno County has asked the Department of Managed Health Care to rescind its approval of PacifiCare of California’s move to end its contract with Saint Agnes Medical Center and its physician group Matrix, the Fresno Bee reports.
Clinton Proposes $17B in Annual Funding for Medical Education
Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) yesterday announced the introduction of a bill that would provide annual payments of about $17 billion to establish “special accounts” for teaching hospitals and medical schools, AP/Newsday reports.