State’s Diversion Program for Nurses Comes Under Fire
On Monday, Elinore McCance-Katz -- a psychiatrist and medical director for the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs -- told a Senate panel that a state diversion program for nurses is an "untenable and, in some cases, dangerous situation." McCance-Katz, who resigned as a volunteer consultant to the program, said Maximus Health Services -- the contractor that helps run diversion programs -- has caseloads that are "far too high ... to effectively monitor clients" and "appears to have no medical director." Meanwhile, Brian Stiger -- director of the California Department of Consumer Affairs, which oversees the Board of Registered Nursing and other health care boards -- called for an outside auditor to examine all of the state's health care diversion programs.
- "State's Rehab Program for Nurses Called 'Untenable' and 'Dangerous'" (Garrison, Los Angeles Times, 3/15).