By Leon Thompson

Photo: Fatty acids in the blood of a person with high cholesterol and high triglycerides.

June 11, 2016 (East County) – High cholesterol plagues millions of Americans.  Too much of the wrong cholesterol can predispose a narrowing and hardening of arteries leading to stroke or coronary artery disease (CAD).  CAD is the number one killer of men in America and the second most deadly disease among women, second only to breast cancer.

East County News Service

June 9, 2016 (East County) – The charitable foundation formed 11 years ago by the San Diego County Medical Society has changed and shortened its name. Formerly called the San Diego County Medical Society Foundation, the foundation’s new name is Champions for Health, announced Barbara Mandel, Champions for Health CEO.

June 4, 2016 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting-edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Stroke patients improve after getting stem cells (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• The superbug that doctors have been dreading just reached the U.S. (Washington Post)
• Autism Can Be An Asset In The Workplace, Employers And Workers Find (NPR)
• Cutaneous leishmaniasis: Disfiguring tropical disease sweeps across Middle East (Independent)
• In Search For Cures, Scientists Create Embryos That Are Both Animal And Human (NPR)
• CDC monitoring nearly 300 pregnant women with Zika in U.S. states, territories (Wash. Post)
• Plain cigarette packaging has arrived, but will it reduce smoking? (Guardian)
• Study links cell phone use to cancer in rats (The Hill)

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Facebook's Facial Recognition Software Is Different From The FBI's. Here's Why (NPR)
• Netflix, Amazon face EU quota on European works (Reuters)
• Human flypaper? Google's answer to collisions between pedestrians and cars (CS Monitor)
• Could Europa's ocean be a hotspot for life? Here's why. (CS Monitor)

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

Videos were reportedly seen by a male security guard and an attorney

East County News Service

May 30, 2016 (La Mesa) — A class action lawsuit has been filed against Sharp Healthcare alleging that videos taken during surgeries at Sharp Grossmont Surgery violated women’s privacy, including women filmed during childbirth as part of the hospital’s effort to catch a doctor suspected of stealing anesthesia drugs,  Courthouse News reports.

East County News Service

May 26, 2016 (La Mesa) - The Grossmont Healthcare District’s Dr. William C. Herrick Community Health Care Library, 9001 Wakarusa St. in La Mesa, will host “Fire, Burn and Fall Prevention,” a free presentation from 10 to 11 a.m. on Wednesday, June 22. 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 Mary Vilgera, community outreach specialist, Burn Institute.

East County News Service

May 24, 2016 (Sacramento) -- Voting to remove a barrier to consistent, effective access to birth control, the state Senate today approved Senate Bill 999, which would require health plans to cover up to a 12-month supply of hormonal contraceptives when such a prescription is requested by a woman’s health care provider.

East County News Service

Photo:  The Grossmont Healthcare District board of directors recently presented 2016 GHD Healthcare Hero awards to recognize volunteers who help to advance the delivery of quality healthcare in the East County region. Back row (from left to right): GHD board members Betty Stieringer, Bob Ayres, Randy Lenac. Middle row (from left to right): GHD board member Gloria Chadwick, Dr. Kevin Ryan, GHD board member Michael Emerson. Front row (from left to right): Sam Mejia, James Byrnes, Dr. Scott Musicant, Michael Colombo and Shiloh.

May 23, 2016 (La Mesa) - A vascular surgeon, a chiropractor, an attorney, a beagle and her master, and a pirate who fights for those suffering from childhood cancer are among local volunteers who have been recognized with a 2016 Healthcare Hero award from the Grossmont Healthcare District (GHD). Now in its tenth year, the Healthcare Heroes is GHD’s annual awards program that honors volunteers who help advance the delivery of quality healthcare in the East County region.

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.