By Miriam Raftery

May 21, 2016 (San Diego) -- The Dept. of Defense is taking action to protect military families from the Zika virus, which can cause microcephaly and brain damage in babies if a mother contracts Zika while pregnant. 

East County News Service

May 20, 2016 (San Diego) -- Physician Advocates for Veterans, Inc., an innovative San Diego nonprofit organization providing free patient advocacy services to veterans, has opened a new office, hired its first Executive Director, and launched a capacity building campaign with a generous seed grant from San Diego’s Parker Foundation.

East County News Service

Photo: Senator Lara and Kevin Mattson, Board Chair of Health Center Partners and President and CEO of San Ysidro Health Center, the host of  Friday’s press conference. They are pictured with several kids impacted by this law.

May 17, 2016 (San Diego) --  Effectively today under the “Health for All Kids” law, an estimated 185,000 undocumented California children are now eligible for healthcare coverage through expansion of Medi-Cal.

By Miriam Raftery, East County News Service

May 13, 2016 (Washington D.C.) – Last year, U.S. District Court Judge Rosemary Collyer ruled that Congress has the right to sue the President.  Today, Judge Collyer found that the Obama administration violated the Constitution by reimbursing health insurance companies for providing low-cost healthcare coverage to low and moderate income Americans, under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act known as Obamacare.

Update May 13, 2016:  A court has denied a request from Dr. Dorin's attorney to view thousands of video clips, ECM has learned. Sharp spokesman John Cihomsky informed us today , "...The judge agreed with Sharp that releasing the footage would violate patient privacy, so we will not be releasing the footage to the attorney."

By Miriam Raftery, East County Magazine

May 12, 2016 (La Mesa) – Sharp Healthcare has issued a revised statement regarding an investigation that used hidden videos to catch a doctor now accused of stealing narcotic drugs off an anesthesia cart at Sharp Grossmont Hospital.  ECM reported on privacy concerns raised in an  article on May 7^th.  The hospital initially said that videos were only sent to the California Medical Board as evidence in a complaint filed against Dr. Adam Dorin, and that those clips did not include patients. 

But today, John Cihomsky, vice president of public relations for Sharp, sent ECM an updated statement from Sharp. It indicates that 14 clips showing patients were mistakenly provided to Dr. Dorin’s attorney.  In the statement, Sharp admits to and apologizes for breaching those patients’ privacy.

East County News Service

May 10, 2016 (La Mesa) - The Grossmont Healthcare District’s Dr. William C. Herrick Community Health Care Library, 9001 Wakarusa St. in La Mesa, will host “Be Sun Smart,” a free presentation on skin care and safety from 10 to 11 a.m. on Wednesday, May 25. The program is part of the library’s Wellness Wednesday series, normally held on the fourth Wednesday of the month. Admission is free. Refreshments will be served. Advance RSVP is not necessary. Speaking will be Tina Mirpuri, care director with Synergy HomeCare of La Mesa, a franchised home care company.

East County News Service

May 10, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) - Pacifiers made by Munchkin Inc., a California based company, have been recalled because clips can detach, posting choking hazards to babies.

By Ryan Roper, San Diego

May 7, 2016 (San Diego) -- The triage, treatment and transport emergency medical service practitioners provide can often be the difference between life and death for patients with a medical emergency. The unique nature of emergency medical services is unlike other health care services governed by the Controlled Substances Act.

Honorees, including Lemon Grove resident Alex Eugenio, will be feted for overcoming life-altering injuries

East County News Service

Photo: Alex Eugenio, Lemon Grove resident

May 6, 2016 (San Diego) -- Sharp Rehabilitation and the Sharp HealthCare Foundation’s 2016 “Victories of Spirit” event celebrates the power of rehabilitation and the strength of the human spirit. The 26th annual celebration will begin at 6 p.m., Friday, May 13, at the San Diego Bayfront Hilton. The event, which is sponsored by United Healthcare, will honor the power of rehabilitation and pay tribute to extraordinary individuals and community organizations for their inspirational achievements and contributions to others, including Lemon Grove resident Alex Eugenio form East County.

By Miriam Raftery

May 5, 2016 (Washington D.C.) –Today the U.S. Food & Drug Administration announced that it will regulate electronic cigarettes and hookahs and ingredients for such devices like tobacco products.  Pipe tobacco and cigars are also included in the regulations, which will require pre-approval of all such products in the future.

The FDA announcement calls the action a “milestone in consumer protection.”

By Miriam Raftery

May 4, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) -- Top health officials now warn that Zika Virus is even worse than you thought. The World Health Organization recently confirmed that an alarming number of cases of microcephaly in Brazil are caused by the Zika Virus.

By Jane M. Orient, M.D., Executive Director of Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS)

 CDC is in high gear, with politically correct advice on Zika. Meanwhile, cases of dengue in Mexico have topped 10,000. Dengue is caused by a related but far more serious virus, carried by same Aedes aegypti mosquito. And 78,000 people in Africa die every year of another relative, yellow fever. The vector was coming under good control decades ago, but is reemerging now. Asking “why” should be the main response to Zika.

April 27, 2016 (San Diego) -- According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Zika is, like Ebola, a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. Now the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has stated that it is “clear” that the Zika virus causes a serious birth defect, microcephaly (small head).

East County News Service

April 26, 2016 (San Diego's East County) - East County hospitals ranged from A to C grades, according to the Hospital Safety Score  assessed by the nonprofit Leapfrog Group for hospitals nationwide.

By Miriam Raftery

April 26, 2016 (Sacramento) – The California Assembly has approved Assembly Bill 1594, a measure touted as banning smoking and vaping on all California State University and community college campuses statewide (smoking is already banned at the University of California). But as written, this measure also appears to outlaw smoking marijuana including medical marijuana, even in the privacy of one’s dorm room or vehicle on campus.

April 24, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) - Several brands of frozen peas, corn and mixed vegetables have been recalled from stores throughout California due to possible contamination with Listeria, which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections particularly in young children and the elderly.  The bacteria can also cause miscarriages and stillbirths, according to the FDA.