East County News Service

April 24, 2018 (La Mesa) – The Grossmont Healthcare District (GHD) is proud to announce the honorees for its 2018 Healthcare Heroes awards. GHD officials said the recipients are volunteers of all ages and walks of life who serve in health care in San Diego’s East Region community.

This year’s honorees include a family practice physician who helps those not able to afford health insurance, two volunteers who provide one-on-one comfort following crisis events, a 23-year-old who spends part of her weekends in a hospital emergency room, a couple who drives people to their cancer treatments and a non-profit board member who has volunteered for the past 20 years.

“The purpose of the Healthcare Heroes Awards is to recognize volunteers whose unsung work in healthcare might not otherwise be celebrated,” said Michael Emerson, GHD board president. “We are proud to recognize the 2018 winners and their inspiring commitment to caring for others.”

Here are the heartwarming stories of this year’s winners:

By Miriam Raftery

April 23, 2018 (San Diego) - The Centers for Disease Control has broadened its health warning regarding e-coli cases linked to romaine lettuce.  

The federal health agency is now advising consumers to avoid all forms of romaine lettuce, including lettuce heads, chopped romaine and salad mixes that may contain romaine, unless you are certain that the lettuce was not grown in Yuma, Arizona. 

By Miriam Raftery

April 18, 2018 (San Diego) – San Diego County ranks an “F” on the American Lung Association’s Report Card on the state of the air you breathe.   Nationwide, the city of San Diego, along with Carlsbad, also ranked the 6^th worst cities in the nation for ozone pollution, out of 227 metropolitan areas studied.

Researchers found people tanned indoors less often after seeing a simulation of how their older selves would look if they continued tanning.

Source: SDSU News Center

April 12, 2018 (San Diego) – Ultraviolet (UV) light exposure through indoor and outdoor tanning is the leading environmental risk factor for developing skin cancer. Now, a new San Diego State University study explains how a new technology that shows future aging effects could lead people to engage in less risky tanning behavior.

East County News Service

April 11, 2018 (La Mesa) – The citizens group overseeing the spending of millions of dollars in taxpayer-approved bonds for new and improved patient care facilities at Sharp Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa has issued its 2017 Annual Report to the Community.

East County News Service

April 4, 2018 (La Mesa) – The Grossmont Healthcare District’s Dr. William C. Herrick Community Health Care Library, 9001 Wakarusa St. in La Mesa, will host “It’s All About The Conversation,” a free program on advance care planning (ACP), from 10 to 11 a.m., Wednesday, April 25. The program is part of the library’s “Wellness Wednesday” series, normally held on the fourth Wednesday of the month. Admission is free. Light refreshments will be served. Advance RSVP is not necessary. Handouts will be available.

By José A. Álvarez, County of San Diego Communications Office

April 2, 2018 (San Diego) - Even though we’re approaching the end of March, influenza activity in the region is still elevated and people should continue getting vaccinated, the County Health and Human Services Agency announced today.

By Miriam Raftery

March 30, 2018 (San Diego) – Despite California’s legalization of both recreational and medical marijuana, illegal dispensaries continue to crop up in many locations.  Buying products from an unlicensed dispensary could put consumers at greater risk of getting products that don’t comply with state standards for safety and purity.

By José A. Álvarez, County of San Diego Communications Office

March 28, 2018 (San Diego) - Thousands more San Diegans will have access to substance abuse treatment thanks to a new delivery system approved today by the County Board of Supervisors.

The decision will triple spending on substance use disorders from $54.6 million to $179.6 million over the next three years to address opioid and other substance abuse that often exacerbate homelessness, mental illness and criminal behavior.

March 21, 2018 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• U.S. healthcare ranked worst in developed world (Time Magazine)
• Macular degeneration: “I’ve been given my sight back” (BBC)
• `Game changer’ treatment for patients with Multiple Sclerosis (BBC)
• Are There Risks From Secondhand Marijuana Smoke? Early Science Says Yes (NPR)
• More evidence essential oils 'make male breasts develop' (BBC)
• Pathogens On A Plane: How To Stay Healthy In Flight (NPR)

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Do you take Facebook quizzes? Cambridge Analytica mess shows our privacy is at risk (Mercury-News)
• Plan to save Monarch butterflies backfires (Science)
• ACLU asks in lawsuit: Why is the TSA searching digital devices on domestic flights? (Los Angeles Times)
• Facial Scanning Now Arriving At U.S. Airports (NPR)
• Facebook under pressure as U.S., EU urge probes of data practices (Reuters)
• Expedia's Orbitz says 880,000 payment cards hit in breach (Reuters)
• UCSD professor devises way to recycle lithium-ion batteries (San Diego Union-Tribune)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

By Tom Christensen, County of San Diego Communications Office

March 15, 2018 (San Diego) - If you were among the San Diego County residents to receive a hepatitis A vaccine during the recent local outbreak, it could be time for your second dose of vaccine.

Anyone who received their first hepatitis vaccination before mid-September 2017 should get a second dose now to complete the series and assure long-term protection.

East County News Service

March 11, 2018 (La Mesa) – The Grossmont Healthcare District (GHD) is continuing its support of community healthcare clinics who serve low-income, uninsured and underserved residents of the East County with recent grants to the La Maestra Family Clinic, Family Health Centers of San Diego and Vista Hill Foundation.

By Tom Christensen, County of San Diego Communications

March 8, 2018 (San Diego) -- A woman with a probable case of hepatitis A may have exposed inmates at the Vista Detention Facility and Las Colinas Detention and Reentry Facility in Santee, the County Health and Human Services Agency reported today.

By Miriam Raftery

March 3, 2018 (San Diego) – Forty cases of salmonella nationwide, including at least one in San Diego, have been linked to kratom, a banned herbal supplement from Asia, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  Kratom is also sometimes marketed as Thang, Kakuam, Thom, Ketom, and Biak.

By Miriam Raftery

March 1, 2018 (San Diego) – Instant Pot Gem multicookers sold only at Walmart have resulted in 107 reports of overheating including five that caused property damage, 10 News reports.

KTNV in Las Vegas investigated after viewing photos on Facebook posted by an Instant Pot user who said the bottom of the machine melted and burned wires after just four uses.  The station contacted the manufacturer, which confirmed there have been other complaints.