East County News Service

November 13, 2019 (San Diego’s East County) – The nonprofit  Leapfrog Group has released its fall 2019 ratings of safety at hospitals nationwide.  Among hospitals in San Diego’s inland region, only Alvarado Hospital received an “A” rating for safety. Sharp Grossmont Hospital, Kaiser Foundation Zion and Pomerado Hospital in Poway all received “B” ratings.  

By Miriam Raftery

November 11, 2019 (San Diego) – Kaiser Permanente Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bernard J. Tyson passed away unexpectedly yesterday morning in his sleep, the healthcare organization announced.  Today, 170 National Union of Healthcare Workers voted unanimously to postpone a planned 5-day statewide strike of mental health employees due to Tyson’s passing.

East County News Service

Photo:  Creative Commons

November 7, 2019 (Washington D.C.) – Over 2 million pounds of chicken products sold to institutions in eight states including California have been recalled by Simmons Prepared Foods, Inc. due to metal contamination.

October 30, 2019 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Juul Shipped at Least a Million Contaminated Pods, New Lawsuit Says (Buzzfeed)
• Congress, Wary of Tainted Chinese Drugs, is Baffled by Lack of Oversight (Newsweek)
• Brain illness spread by ticks has reached the UK (BBC)

SCIENCE AND TECH

• Decades of detailed weather reports pulled from old sailor's logs (National Geographic)
• Twitter to ban all political advertising (BBC)

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Source:  City of La Mesa

October 21, 2019 (La Mesa) – Similar to other jurisdictions in California and around the nation, the La Mesa City Council has directed the City Attorney to file a lawsuit in the Superior Court of the State of California against numerous opioid manufacturers and distributors.

Source:  Senator Leyva’s office

SB 227 Empowers CDPH to Enforce Nurse Staffing Ratio Requirements

October 21, 2019 (Sacramento) -- Governor Gavin Newsom has signed Senate Bill 227, a bill by Senator Connie M. Leyva (D-Chino) to protect patient safety and reinforce nurse staffing ratio requirements in California.

By Miriam Raftery

October 18, 2019 (La Mesa) – Westmont of La Mesa invites the public to a tour, buffet lunch, entertainment and prizes this Saturday and Sunday, October 19 and 20, from 12 noon to 3 p.m. The upscale facility features independent living and assisted living, including memory care, at its location at 9000 Murray Drive at Wakarusa.

This 130,00-square foot, three story retirement community includes 50,000 square feet of common area space will include a common meeting room that can be used by community groups for meetings and workshops, along with a pool that can be used for aqua aerobics for residents, as well as the community.

By Ken Stone, Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

Photo:  A model demonstrates an e-cigarette. Credit:  Michael Dorausch Wikimedia Commons.

October 15, 2019 (San Diego) - The Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 Tuesday to impose a one-year ban on the sale and distribution of all electronic smoking devices within unincorporated areas of San Diego County.

October 8, 2019 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Carcinogens have infiltrated the generic drug supply in the U.S. (Bloomberg Business Week)
• FDA announces generic Zantac recalls after cancer concerns (Drugwatch)
• Tests show bootleg marijuana vapes tainted with hydrogen cyanide (NBC) Purdue Pharma, Accused Of Fueling Opioid Crisis, Files For Chapter 11 Bankruptcy  (NPR)
• Dengue cases are surging around the world. Experts blame climate change. (Washington Post)
• Trump Signs Proclamation Denying Entrance to Immigrants Who Cannot Afford Health Care (NPR)
• Smartphone App Can Help Detect Leukocoria, A Sign Of Eye Cancer : Shots - Health News  (NPR)
• Kitchen Countertops Tied To Silicosis, Lung Damage, Deaths In Workers : Shots - Health News  (NPR)

SCIENCE AND TECH

• Election Security And Voting Machines: What You Need To Know  (NPR)
• Iranians tried to hack U.S. presidential campaign in effort that targeted hundreds, Microsoft says (Washington Post)
• Mysterious magnetic pulses discovered on Mars (National Geographic)
• Facebook Can Be Forced to Delete Content Worldwide, E.U.’s Top Court Rules (New York Times)

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

By Miriam Raftery

East County News Service

October 4, 2019 (San Diego) -- County Supervisors Dianne Jacob and Nathan Fletcher are proposing a ban on the sale and distribution of flavored tobacco made for electronic cigarettes, along with a moratorium on the sale and distribution of the e-devices in the county’s unincorporated area. They are encouraging cities in San Diego County to do the same. According to a new report by the Mayo Clinic, lung biopsies reveal damage consistent with chemical burns, leading researchers to suspect chemical additives may be to blame for over 1,000 serious lung injury cases and 18 deaths, all associated with vaping or e-cigarette use.

County public health officials and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control are also advising people to stop vaping, as investigators continue looking into what’s causing a nationwide epidemic of respiratory illnesses among those that use the e-cigarettes or vaping products.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Centers for Disease Control

October 3, 2019 (Washington D.C.) – Biopsies of vapers’ damaged lungs reveal that inhaling chemicals through vaping is causing chemical burns, the Mayo Clinic reports, suggesting oils may not be the primary cause of serious lung damage and deaths linked to e-cigarettes and other vaping products. Meanwhile the Centers for Disease Control reports the number of serious injuries linked to vaping has soared to 1,080  including more than 100 in California, with 18 people dead as a result.

September 30, 2019 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Skin cancer: Half of people surviving advanced melanoma (BBC)
• ‘Out here, it’s just me’: In the medical desert of rural America, one doctor for 11,000 square miles (MSN) 
• Health Insurance That Doesn’t Cover the Bills Has Flooded the Market Under Trump (Bloomberg)
• Low Vitamin D levels, shorter life? (WebMD)
• FDA OKs New Pill for Type 2 Diabetes (HealthDay)
• How anti-vaxxers target grieving moms and turn them into crusaders against vaccines (NBC)
• It’s Not Just Cervical Cancer, HPV Is a Major Cause of Oral, Anal, and Penile Cancer  (Healthline)
• UC San Diego Researchers Isolate Switch That Kills Inactive HIV (Science Mag)

SCIENCE AND TECH

• Startup uses virtual reality to help seniors re-engage with the world (MIT news)
• Intense Drought Exposes 4,000-Year-Old 'Stonehenge' in Spain (Science Alert)
• Facebook suspends tens of thousands of apps (BBC)

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