Latest California Healthline Stories
Tri-City Healthcare District Joins Nurse Now Program
To eliminate a nursing shortage in the region, the Tri-City Healthcare District’s board of directors voted unanimously last week to join San Diego State University’s Nurses Now training program, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Satcher Announces New Tobacco Recommendations
States should place greater emphasis on prevention of tobacco use rather than treatment, U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher said on Friday, in announcing new recommendations to reduce the number of smokers, the Miami Herald reports.
Bush Will Ask for Boost in Health Research Funding
Seeking “the largest-ever” increase in federal health research funding, President Bush announced on Friday plans to ask Congress to raise National Institutes of Health spending by $2.8 billion next year.
‘Safer Needles’ Not In Use in Most U.S. Hospitals
U.S. hospitals may not be using the “safest” needles to protect physicians, nurses and other health care workers from the “dangers” conventional needles may pose when contaminated with viruses, last night’s “60 Minutes” reports.
Insurers Slow to Process Transactions Online
Online claims transactions between physicians and insurers have been “slow in coming,” as insurers fear that “moving to the Internet strikes at the very heart of their business, which is transaction processing,” the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
HHS To Review Clinton Privacy Rules
HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson announced Friday that the agency would “reexamine” the Clinton administration’s rules on patient privacy, the AP/Miami Herald reports.
Governors Propose ‘Radical’ Structural Changes for Medicaid
The Committee on Human Resources of the National Governors’ Association yesterday recommended “radical changes” in the structure of Medicaid to allow states to cover more individuals while providing fewer benefits, the New York Times reports.
Contra Costa Times Investigation Finds Care at Nursing Homes Worsening
A five-month investigation by the Contra Costa Times has revealed that the level of care in California’s 1,479 nursing homes has “plung[ed]” in recent years and that nursing facilities “often fail miserably [and] sometimes fatally.”
KPC Legal, Executive Expenditures Probed by Bankruptcy Judge
KPC Medical Management, which “racked up” more than $300 million in debts before declaring bankruptcy last November, is now being questioned about why the company paid millions of dollars to lawyers instead of providers the week before it filed for bankruptcy, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports.
Nurses Plan Another Strike at St. John’s Hospitals
Nurses at St. John’s hospitals in Oxnard and Camarillo, still concerned about medical benefits, may hold another strike starting Thursday, the Ventura County Star reports.