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(More notes from the Association of Health Care Journalists national conference near Los Angeles.)
If it can be done in California, it can be done anywhere.
When it comes to guaranteeing health coverage for all residents, that’s the stance being taken by the federal government on...
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I had heard about City of Hope from some of the cancer patients I've talked to. The revolutionary research and treatment center had always sounded like a refuge, a place some patients are thankful they've gone to or hopeful that they'll one day get the chance.
Now I had an opportunity to see...
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A mom took her toddler to a local pediatrician for an ear infection. She says they were turned away because she had visible tattoos.
Was this discrimination? No, says the state medical board. (Read "Furor leaves mark on doctor" in Wednesday's Californian.)
But first, here's a...
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Fever? Headache? Stiff neck?
Get to the hospital. Don't wait.
The county Public Health department wants parents to be on the lookout for these symptoms of meningitis, a potentially fatal infection especially prevalent in children. (Read...
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The number of vendors selling cigarettes to teens is on its way down.
The county Department of Public Health sent 24 underage high school students to 114 tobacco vendors across the county and found that 26 percent of the vendors sold them cigarettes. (Read "More teens smoking" in...
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Two Bakersfield gay women are accusing San Joaquin Community Hospital of discrimination. (Read "Couple: Hospital's refusal of visit was discrimination" in Thursday's Californian.)
Sharolyn Takata and Donna Jones, who are registered domestic partners, took their daughter to San...
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Patients have one more way to check up on local hospitals before the hospitals are doing a check-up on them.
CalHospitalCompare.org launches today. The Web report card, which was developed by a group of health industry members, evaluated more than 200 hospitals in the state on overall patient...
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The OB/GYN physicians in Kern Women's Health Group have had their share of troubles with county supervisors.
Accused of being paid too much, bilking the county out of money, taking advantage of a convoluted contract — the physicians have had to go to bat against the board more than...
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Almost every day, I get several press releases on new studies, surveys and medical advancements. Most of the time, they don't warrant a story, due to a lack of clear scientific findings or scrutiny, an inherent financial interest or irrelevance.
The Chicago Tribune's public editor published...
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The Medical Board of California is seeking to strip local ophthalmologist and philanthropist Dr. Charles David Fritch of his license to practice medicine, citing gross negligence.
The state Attorney General's office, in an accusation filed Nov. 17, says Fritch was either negligent or grossly...
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Having just read about the riots breaking out, families and prison employees smuggling and turf wars over control of black markets on the inside, I almost thought I was reading about the meth or heroin trade in Californias prisons, but I wasn't. I was reading about the tobacco trade on the...
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More and more employers are instituting wellness programs and policies to help keep down the cost of health insurance.
There's an interesting piece in the New York Times today on employers offering free drugs for chronic diseases to help keep their employee's health in check.
The story...
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The good news: Kern Medical Center has improved on some of their financial issues.
The bad news: There is still much more work to be done, and in fact, the hospital's progress has slipped a little when compared to the years before.
The Macias Consulting Group presented its latest round of...
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San Joaquin Community Hospital is expanding. Set to open in about a month, the hospital's newest tower — the North Tower — has new equipment, new services and larger rooms, to just name a few. (See "Hospital hopes to rise with tower" in today's Californian.)Here's some...
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Kern Medical Center is again without a permanent chief financial officer.
Kent Johnson, who started as KMC's CFO Aug. 7, is no longer working for the county hospital.
During Johnson's eight-month probationary period, KMC's Interim Chief Executive Officer David Culberson and County...
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Want a little help taking off a few extra pounds? The Food and Drug Administration approved an over-the-counter diet pill for the first time Wednesday.
Orlistat, formerly available by prescription, can now be sold as a reduced-strength OTC.
This new weight-loss aid will go by the name...
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Just the thought of mixing sex and 12-year-old girls is making some people queasy about mandatory human papillomavirus vaccinations.
Through a Republican governor’s order, Texas girls must now receive the HPV vaccine before entering sixth grade unless their parents opt out. In...
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For many women, getting The Pill is a right of passage. Could this soon be a tradition for men too?
I recently finished a story on female birth control (see "Taking Control" in last Sunday's Californian) and thought, "What about the other sex?" Contraception for men can't...
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Well, it's happening again. Another step toward American irresponsibility, super profits of medical care and a step toward the time when taxpayers will foot the bill for parent's abuse and neglect of their children. I am not speaking of beatings or sexual abuse, I am talking about childhood...
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Talk about an unlikely representative. He eats earwax!
Shrek — the lovable, smelly, bright green ogre from the swamp — and his crew are now speaking out against childhood obesity. Unveiled today, the campaign comes from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Ad...
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I'm writing about the rise in popularity of "mommy makeovers."
Much more than the massage and hair cut of days gone by, these usually include a breast augmentation, tummy tuck and maybe even lipo.
Women are getting this combination to erase the effects of child bearing, say area...
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Our drug will not only fix your acid reflux, but it will also make you a more loving father, get you laid, get you the promotion and allow you to take that vacation of your dreams.
Well, that's what a new study is claiming pharmaceutical commercials say.
A study in the Annals of Family...
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A local woman's family has set up a Web site to keep all her loved ones in the loop on her cancer treatment.
I just came across www.updateonvicki.com. Vicki Moore — a courageous, 30-something mother and Bakersfield resident — was diagnosed with cancer in November. Since then she's...
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Big Mac — got it.
Fruits and veggies — not so much.
The city tops the list for having the most fast-food and convenience stores compared to supermarkets and produce vendors -- an issue that may be adversely affecting residents' health. (Read "City lacks options" in...
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A woman who competed in a Sacramento radio station's contest to see how much water she could drink without urinating died of water intoxication Friday.
Jennifer Strange, 28, was found dead in her Rancho Cordova home hours after taking part in the "Hold Your Wee for a Wii"...
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When Gov. Schwarzenegger says everyone must have health coverage, he means everyone — illegal immigrants included.
And if you can't afford it, you will be enrolled in one of the existing government-funded programs (Medi-Cal or Healthy Families) or will get coverage through the pool of...
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The governor laid out his comprehensive plan to improve health care in the state yesterday. Here are some of the highlights:
All Californians will be required to have health insurance.
Insurers must guarantee coverage.
Access to public programs, like Medi-Cal and Healthy...
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I know it’s coming.
As the gym trainer and I conclude our tour of the facility and head back toward his office, the sales pitch is on the tip of his tongue. Like a magic trick, the long, carbon-copied forms and a pen with the gym’s logo on it appear out of thin air.
I brought...
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Lately, I've been hitting the gyms more than normal as a group of us at the Californian finish our first-ever gym review (look for it to come out in the Eye Street section around New Year's).
Now I'm trying to keep the momentum going, which, you can imagine, is a hard task considering the...
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Clinica Sierra Vista, the huge community-based health care non-profit in Kern County, is a few days away from its 35th anniversary.
Here's a little history:
Clinica was started in Weedpatch to help migrant workers on Dec. 22, 1971.
Including the latest center Clinica unveiled...
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National breast cancer rates dropped sharply in 2003, researchers announced Thursday.
And the probable cause: hormone replacement therapy, a drug regimen once used by 40 percent of post-menopausal women.
Breast cancer rates declined by 7 percent overall in 2003, which meant as many as...
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You have to be pretty jolly to be Santa Claus, especially considering the tears, snot and pee you'll have to endure.
A new study has come out about the travails of being the man in red.
Santas get sneezed on up to 10 times a day, fend off children pulling their beards and clean up after...
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Household cold medicine is now being treated like cigarettes, in some regards.
Stores must keep the cold medicine behind the counter (usually in the pharmacy) or locked in a case. To buy the medicine, consumers must show federal or state-issued photo identification and sign a written or...
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Almost every day I leave the house without blow drying my wet hair. As the temps drop more and more, I keep thinking it's only a matter of time before I get sick, even though I know that my wet hair doesn't help me catch the cold or flu any more than dry hair does.
I plop an Airborne tablet...
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Instead of striking Tuesday, Bakersfield Memorial Hospital nurses will be voting on their new contract. The nurses and the hospital's management have reached an agreement.
But while both parties seem to have the same contract, hearing them talk about it would lead you to think otherwise.
...
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We may be past the days of faking a high temperature by putting the thermometer to the closest lightbulb, but we are definitely not past playing hooky.
And chances are we are still getting away with it.
A new study, commissioned by CareerBuilder.com, found that 32 percent of workers said...
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I must admit — I have a thing for Campbell's chicken noodle soup.
It's my Ramen noodles. It got me through college, and right this second, I probably have five or six cans of it sitting in my cupboard. I eat a bowl of it, with a side of grilled cheese sandwich, at least once a week.
...
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Rather than write a separate blog posting on each of these thrilling topics, I decided to toss them all together, turkey-sandwich-relished-with-stuffing-the-day-after-Thanksgiving style.
Pilgrim buggery
Think we're more advanced than our forefathers in the mono-chromatic attire and buckled...
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We put a lot of trust in doctors. If a person in a white jacket tells us to do something, most of us do it without much hesitation.
Remember the Stanley Milgram experiment from psychology class? Participants were instructed by a man in a white coat to shock the person on the other side of the...
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The California Nurses Association, which represents the Memorial nurses, gave the hospital notice Tuesday afternoon of a Dec. 5 strike, said Diane Hirsch-Garcia, contract negotiator with CNA.
If the nurses strike, it won't affect business at Memorial, said Jon Van Boening, Memorial's...
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Saturday night, a little past 9 p.m., a group of nurses from Bakersfield Memorial Hospital gathered in Lorene's restaurant downtown.
They seemed a little tired from the drama of the week, but they were nonetheless feeling triumphant.
The votes had been counted. They were going to strike....
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The impulse might be to implicitly trust the person with the white coat and stethoscope, but you should always ask questions about any diagnosis or treatment you receive.
This is especially important with clinical trials, highly regimented research studies where drugs and procedures are tested...
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While illegal immigrants accounted for 33 percent of health spending in L.A. County in 2000, they use disproportionately fewer medical services than other people, according to a new study by the Rand Corp.
Here are some things to chew on:
The undocumented constitute 12 percent of the...
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Like other health-related issues in Kern County, the effects of the nursing shortage are probably being felt more acutely here than in other sunnier, more luxurious locales.
All the more reason to think of solutions now before the effects of the shortage get worse.
Consider these facts:
...
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Remember the big "Made in USA" push? I was in elementary school at the time.
Commercials touting clothes with the "Made in USA" tags used to air all the time.
The made-locally branding seems to have waned a bit, but there's still signs of it here and there.
One...
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It's about as pleasant as standing in line at the DMV, but if you are over 65 or disabled, it might save you money on your prescriptions.
Enrollment for the Medicare prescription drug plans starts Wednesday. Here are some places you can go to for more information about this:
Medicare:...
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It seems that the government is being more prudish than its people.A study was just released, saying that most Americans favor comprehensive sex education over abstinence-only education, regardless of their political bias.According to a story by Reuters:Of the nearly 1,110 U.S. adults they...
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As promised, here's a guide full of tips on how to eat healthy if you have diabetes or if you just want to straighten out your diet.
Do you have any tips to add to this? Anything you do at home that you think other people could benefit from?
The Diabetic Chef
Right foods keep diabetics,...
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Emergency surgery leaves blood bank short
The Bakersfield Californian
After an emergency operation at a local hospital seriously depleted Houchin Blood Bank’s supply, the blood bank is asking residents to help refill its stock.
The surgery...
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The one-stop-shop mentality is hitting doctor's offices with the rising popularity of "medspas."
Have you gone to one of these? What was the experience like?
Flu shot ... facial, too?
Medical spas growing in popularity with physicians and their patients, offering services...
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