Latest California Healthline Stories
Mercy Healthcare Sacramento to ‘Disappear’ as Part of CHW Restructuring
Mercy Healthcare Sacramento will “cease to exist” after it is folded into a larger coalition of hospitals as part of parent company Catholic Healthcare West’s “massive restructuring plan,” the Sacramento Business Journal reports.
State Officials Worry Prop. 36 is ‘Doomed’ to Fail
Police officers, judges, prosecutors, probation officers and drug treatment officials are concerned that Proposition 36, which mandates drug treatment for first- and second-time offenders not charged with other crimes, is in “danger of failing” when it becomes effective on July 1, the New York Times reports.
RWJF Expands Faith-Based Assistance Program
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has announced plans to expand its Faith in Action program, awarding $100 million in grants over the next six years to create 2,000 new interfaith programs assisting senior citizens and people with disabilities, the Chicago Tribune reports.
Parents Lack Knowledge of Healthy Families and Medi-Cal, Study Reveals
Many low-income California parents are either unaware of the existence of the Healthy Families program or fail to understand how it differs from Medi-Cal, and many are not sure in which program their children are enrolled, according to a recent study from the Henry. J. Kaiser Family Foundation.
Surge in Pediatric Testing Creates New Ethical Concerns
The recent rise in pediatric testing of pharmaceutical drugs has lead to “improved treatments” but also has created a host of ethical dilemmas for physicians, researchers and parents, the New York Times reports.
Involuntary Mental Health Treatment Laws Debated
The efforts of families with mentally ill relatives and lawmakers nationwide to ease laws prohibiting those with mental illness who refuse to take medication from being forced into treatment are being met with strong opposition from those who believe that such policies would constitute a violation of civil rights, USA Today reports.
Medicare Reform Debate to Highlight ‘Classic’ Differences
Given the “inherent difficulty” in overhauling Medicare, the New York Times examines the National Bipartisan Commission of the Future of Medicare, a task force that “expir[ed] in deadlock in March 1999,” and how ideology and politics will make it difficult for President Bush to press proposals to make Medicare “more like … private health care.”
With increased federal funding and rising patient comfort with technology, telemedicine is “moving into practical usage,” the Santa Rosa Press Democrat/Salt Lake Tribune reports.
Confidentiality Concerns, Money Prevent California Teens From Accessing Family Planning Services
Many California teens encounter “significant barriers” to family planning services, according to a “snapshot” study by the “Get Real About Teen Pregnancy” public education campaign, sponsored by the California Wellness Foundation.
Contra Costa County Prepares for Proposition 36
To implement Proposition 36, the voter-approved law that calls for non-violent first- and second-time drug offenders to be placed in treatment programs instead of jail, Contra Costa County health officials are planning to expand or add contracts with counselors and other drug treatment professionals, the Contra Costa Times reports.