East County News Service

April 8, 2015 (El Cajon )—Borrego Health, a community health center with clinics throughout our region, will host an open house and ribbon cutting ceremony on Saturday, April 11^th from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at its new location at 133 West Main Street in El Cajon.

Ambulance responses in our region raise alarms:  Part IV in a series

By Miriam Raftery

April 6, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)—San Diego County’s contract with its new ambulance provider for East County, Mercy,  requires that response times be less than 30 minutes 90% of the time in rural areas and 10 minutes in urban areas.  That’s too long if you’ve had a heart attack or other major trauma. 

When we inquired about response times, County staff advised us that in 2014, the County Fire Authority (ie Cal Fire) had a better response time than the requirement, averaging just over 10 minutes, while the former ambulance provider, AMR, average about 14 minutes. (Read more)

By Miriam Raftery

April 5, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – Dog flu first appeared in Florida in 2004. But now a new and highly contagious strain has been identified in the Chicago area.  It’s called Canine Flu H3N8. Over 1,000 cases have been identified and five have proven fatal, CBS news reports.  While most cases are mild, the illness can also cause secondary complications such as pneumonia.

Yet Justice Dept. pursues prosecutions against California dispensaries in defiance of Congress

By Miriam Raftery

April 5, 2015 (Washington D.C.) -- The National Institute on Drug Abuse issued a report this month titled, “Is Marijuana Medicine?”  It concludes that “recent animal studies have shown that marijuana can kill certain cancer cells and reduce the size of others. Evidence from one animal study suggests that extracts from whole-plant marijuana can shrink one of the most serious types of brain tumors.”

East County News Service

March 30, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)--What if you could cut your risk of Alzheimer’s disease in half – just by eating certain foods?   That’s exactly what a new study concludes, done by researchers at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

By Miriam Raftery

March 30, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) - Time Magazine reports that a new study has found antibiotic-resistant bacteria from cattle yards in Texas have become airborne—meaning they could spread to people.

March 29, 2015 (San Diego)--San Diego County only requires that ambulances response within 30 minutes in rural areas, unlike urban areas where the limit is 10 minutes. The American Heart Association reports that brain death and permanent death start to occur in 4–6 minutes after someone experiences cardiac arrest.  The County's response time requirements are far too long for a heart attack patient to survive without brain damage. In addition, these times mean it sometimes takes more than the "golden hour" to reach a hospital following a trauma, stroke or other medical emergency, the time frame that medical experts recommend for saving lives. 

Take our Poll:  Should San Diego County require faster ambulance response than the 30 minutes currently required in rural areas?

Vote here: http://eastcountymagazine.org/poll/should-county-require-faster-ambulanc...

County seeks anyone who handled bat found dead March 25 on walkway at popular attraction

March 27, 2015 (San dIEGO) --The County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency is reporting that a bat found at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park has tested positive for rabies.

By Miriam Raftery

March 24, 2015 (Ramona) - An application for a medical marijuana collective in Ramona has been submitted to the County of San Diego. If approved, it would be the county’s second legally licensed medical marijuana facility, situated in an industrial-zoned building at 1210 Olive Street.

By Miriam Raftery

March 23, 2015 (Otay) –The City of San Diego’s first legal marijuana dispensary is now open for business.  A Green Alternative is located in an Otay Mesa strip mall near the Brown Field airport.

By Miriam Raftery

March 18, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – Blue Shield of California, the state’s third largest health insurance company, has lost its nonprofit status.  The California Franchise Tax Board revoked Blue Shield’s nonprofit status in August but the decision was only made public this week in a Los Angeles Times article.

County News Service

March 16, 2015 (San Diego)--Someone collapses nearby you at the gym, the store or even at work. They are showing the classic signs of sudden cardiac arrest: no heartbeat, no breathing. What do you do? How can you help?

-- Take the diabetes risk test for diabetes risk awareness, then get free food from Chick-fil-A on Tuesday, March 24

March 12, 2015 (Santee)--The Chick-fil-A restaurant in Santee, 9418 Mission Gorge Road, is supporting the American Diabetes Association’s “Alert Day” by rewarding customers with free food giveaway on Tuesday, March 24.

March 10, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – The San Diego Blood Bank will be accepting donations this month at two locations in East County.

15 cases, including several that caused blindness, found in California and Washington

March 9, 2014 (Los Angeles) Since December 2014, as many as 15 cases of ocular syphilis—a sexually transmitted disease which has led to blindness in several of the individuals—have been reported in men who have sex with men on the West Coast. Confirmed cases in Washington State, San Francisco as well as two suspected cases found in Los Angeles that are currently under investigation are raising alarm among public health officials, community care providers and prevention specialists, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation reports.