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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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The spinach and carrot juice debacles have led many to think twice before eating up their greens, veggie fan or not.
The following article helps with those food fears, albeit the headline is a little sensational.
A colleague sent me the link to a story from Ediets.com headlined...
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Last week county supervisors passed an ordinance requiring A, B or C grades be posted in the windows of local restaurants after inspections by the county's environmental health department. The new letter grades will start appearing in restaurants in January. Some other California...
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As one person told me yesterday, "there's more to being diabetic than just meals."
One event is trying to give people with diabetes the tools they need to get past the hurdles -- such as bland, restricted food -- and live normal lives.
Chris Smith, a.k.a. "The Diabetic...
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Are you or your child dressing up in a straight jacket for Halloween? Have you been chased by a pretend psychiatric patient in your favorite haunted house? Do you relish watching the Halloween movies, in which Mike Myers, an escaped psychiatric ward patient wreaks havoc?
Do any of these strike...
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Abortion is on the ballot.
How do you feel about Proposition 85? How are you going to vote on this?
Abortion measure back on slate for second time
Staff and wire reports
One year after the relatively narrow defeat of an initiative seeking...
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If you haven't figured out that it's Breast Cancer Awareness Month, you must live under a rock — a rock that has probably been painted pink and tagged with a pretty pink ribbon.The publicity and social marketing of this cause are everywhere.There's pink Campbell Soup cans, pink Estee Lauder...
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I had heard about the post-holiday guilt and subsequent New Year's resolutions to join a gym, but I had never heard of people losing weight before the holidays so they can eat their feasts guilt-free. This probably explains a lot. Anyway, Monday's Eye Street cover included a story from the...
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The carrot juice controversy continues.
Be careful and conscientious with food. Here's some general food preparation tips from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Botulism cases accumulate as inquiry continues
BY EMILY HAGEDORN, Californian staff writer
e-mail:...
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Kern Medical Center is essential to the future of this area. It's the "safety net," as they say, for the 101,000 uninsured people in the county, not to mention the large amount of people who are underinsured. And while you may not be in either of these categories, there's a good chance...
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Looking further into people leaving hospice alive, I talked to several hospice employees and stumbled onto Kathryn White, a 90-year-old woman who has gone in and out of hospice care three times. Optimal Hospice calls her a "graduate."
Woman, 90, who survived several strokes a...
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A few months ago, I had the pleasure to tag along on a march with marijuana enthusiasts who want the drug legalized. It definitely was an interesting experience.
Several of the marchers stopped in front of the Bakersfield Police Department to light up. They did it again when they got to the...
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Entering hospice might not be an end for some after all.
I came across this story today in the Washington Post: 'Kissing Hospice Goodbye: Art Buchwald's Case is Unusual, but Leaving 'End-of-Life' Care Without Dying Is Not."
Humorist Art Buchwald was told by his doctor he had only a...
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As the clouds and rain outside show, fall is upon us and soon winter will follow, which means flu season is around the corner. But as opposed to past seasons of stuffy noses and vomiting, some school nurses are using this one to emphasize good hygiene habits in the event that bird flu does comes...
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Skyrocketing costs for cancer drugs are just one example of an already out-of-control health care system.
Did you see the New York Times story about cancer drugs? If not, you should read it.
The story talks mainly about Abraxane, a cancer drug that's now going for about $4,200 a pop. It's...
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Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy effects over a million people, yet little is known about it. My daughter Ashley age 15 is trying to get help to hold a Benefit Concert to help others that suffer from this terrible disease.
She has already raised over $1,000 in donations and auction items but needs...
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Are you having a harder time with asthma, allergies and other pulmonary problems lately? I know I am. Despite two allergy medicines, I have been feeling more congested and gross than normal for the last week.
Local physician's blame the Day fire's smoke and ash.
For more information on...
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Many prominent stakeholders in Kern County's health realm were no-shows at Monday's health summit. Representatives from Bakersfield Memorial Hospital, San Joaquin Community Hospital and Bakersfield Heart Hospital didn't attend. Steve Schilling of Clinica Sierra Vista sent his executive assistant....
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Tuberculosis -- the AIDS of the late 1800s and early 1900s -- is still an issue today. According to the Associated Press, the worst forms of tuberculosis have been gaining ground in the United States.
The story, which ran in Monday's Californian, said, "Although the number of...
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The county supervisors are holding a "health summit" on Monday to talk about the biggest health issues facing the county. I'd urge anyone interested in the future of health care in Bakersfield to attend.
What do you think are the biggest health issues? KMC? The rise in obesity and...
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I spent most of yesterday talking to people about Wal-Mart's new drug plan. The retail chain is selling about 300 generic drugs at $4 for a month's supply. They kicked it off Thursday in Tampa Bay, Fla., and it could reach the rest of the country by next year.
Here's the Associated Press story...
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I warn you. If you want to eat the food at the Kern County Fair with a clean conscience stop reading. I knew that all that fried food wasn't good for you, but I was surprised to find out just how bad it was.
Below is a story I wrote in today's paper about the nutritional value of fair food....
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A woman from Waukegan, Ill., died from a heart attack after waiting two hours in the emergency room of a Chicago-area hospital. Now her death is being called a homicide, according to a story in the Chicago Tribune.
At the hearing, in the county administration building in downtown Waukegan,...
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After researching foodborne illnesses all day yesterday, I looked at my refrigerator full of food with a wary eye last night. The strange smell notwithstanding, there were some things in there that should have hit the trash a week or so ago, mingled in with food that I hope is still fresh....
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Remember when greasy pizza, birthday parties every week and snack machines in the hallways were the norm in school? Well, that seems to be coming to an end as schools rush to address the high incidence of obesity and diabetes in children today.
Below is a story I wrote, that was published...
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To go along with an L.A. Times story on Asian delicacies and the potential headaches they are causing food inspectors, I wrote a local take on it that ran Saturday in Eye Street.
For some more background on this issue, see my previous blog, "Bad food or Asian delicacy," from Sept. 5....
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Tension between nurses at Bakersfield Memorial and Mercy hospitals and the hospitals' management is increasing as both groups try to hammer out a contract. Below is a story I wrote in today's paper about a demonstration the nurses held last night and what both sides are saying about the...
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