East County News Service

December 21, 2017 (La Mesa) – A soon-to-be-released book chronicling the history of Grossmont Hospital is now available for online ordering prior to its scheduled Jan. 8 release date in local bookstores.

December 20, 2017 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Burners beware: Calif. pot sold January 1 could be tainted (AP)
• Haemophilia A test results ‘mind blowing’ (BBC)
• Trump administration gives CDC list of forbidden words: fetus, transgender, diversity (Washington Post)
• NIH Lifts Ban on Research That Could Make Deadly Viruses Even Worse (NPR)
• First Gene Therapy for Inherited Disease Gets FDA Approval (NPR)
• Food and Drug Administration Plans Crackdown on Risky Homeopathic Remedies (NPR)

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

•  Regulator warns Bitcoin buyers: be ready to lose all your money (BBC)
• Senate Democrats to force vote on FCC net neutrality repeal (Reuters)
• Cities with Uber Have Lower Rates of Ambulance Usage (NPR)
• Facebook reveals rise in official data requests (BBC)
• Facebook Expands Use of Facial Recognition to ID Users in Photos (NPR)

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

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Santee middle school age youth and high school students learn about the health risks associated to secondhand smoke and how tobacco waste like cigarette butts hurt their environment.

December 13, 2017 (Santee) – Santee is the last city in San Diego County to still allow smoking in public parks. But that could soon change.  On Thursday, December 14^th at 6:30 p.m., the Santee Parks and Recreation Committee will consider a smoke-free ordinance and recommendation to the City Council to make parks and open spaces smoke-free.  The meeting will be held at Santee City Hall’s Community Services building #7, 10601 North Magnolia Avenue in Santee.

Update December 9, 2017: A boil water has been aded for Vallecito County Park, 37349 Great Southern Overland in Julian, as well as the sites below.

December 8, 2017 (San Diego's East County)--The County of San Diego, Department of Environmental Health (DEH) has issued a Boil Water Advisory and Public Notification effective immediately for the following:  

• Boulevard Pines Mobile Home & RV Park at 39375 Old Highway 80, Boulevard, CA 91905
• Butterfield Ranch at 14925 Great Southern Overland, Julian, CA, 92036
• Cameron Corners at 31484 Hwy 94, Campo, CA 91906
• Campo Group at 31471 Hwy 94, Campo, CA 91906 

Due to the recent power outage, these public water systems have lost pressure in their water distribution systems.  As a precaution, Boil Water Advisories are being issued until laboratory results demonstrate the water is free from bacterial contamination. 

Click here for instructions on boiling water and alternative methods of disinfection

December 6, 2017 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Five ways Congressional tax legislation would transform health care (NPR)
• As scarlet fever cases rise, baffled researchers investigate (CNN)
• CVS To Buy Health Insurer Aetna for $69 Billion (NPR)
• Early baldness higher heart disease risk factor than obesity, says study (BBC)
• Tylenol May Help Ease the Pain of Hurt Feelings (NPR)
• Asthma sufferers urged to wear scarves in cold to stop attacks (BBC)

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Apple is sharing your face with apps. That’s a new privacy worry. (Washington Post)
• FCC reveals plan to repeal net neutrality, giving Internet providers power to favor websites (Washington Post)
• E-government sounds great, until it's hacked (Jewish World Review)
• Gravity signals rapidly show true size of giant quakes (BBC)
• U.S. scientists take step toward creating artificial life (Reuters)

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

November 29, 2017 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Women advised to sleep on side to help prevent stillbirth (BBC)
• VA study shows parasite from Vietnam may be killing veterans (AP)
• Hospitals are rationing saline solutions. Patients are starting to worry. (Sac Bee)
• Girl taking medical marijuana for seizures suing Jeff Sessions and DEA (CBS)
• Breast cancer tumors 'larger' in overweight women (BBC)
• Counting the costs: U.S. hospitals feeling the pain of physician burnout (Reuters)
• What The Industry Knew About Sugar's Health Effects, But Didn't Tell Us (NPR)
• Obscure vomiting illness linked to long-term pot use (KQED)
• Flies more germ-laden than suspected (BBC)

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• FCC Unveils Plan To Repeal Net Neutrality Rules (NPR)
• Uber Data On 57 Million People Stolen In Massive Hack (NPR)
• The driverless revolution may exact a political price (Los Angeles Times)
• 20 countries agree to end coal use by 2030 (CS Monitor)
• Google to 'derank' Russia Today and Sputnik (BBC)
• FAA Approves Drone As 'Cell Phone Tower In The Sky' For Puerto Rico (NPR)
• Germany bans children's smartwatches (BBC)
• This Living Light is powered by a houseplant (Inhabitat)
• Artificial lights are eating away at dark nights — and that's not a good thing (Los Angeles Times)

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

By Miriam Raftery

November 22, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) – Last year, 69 firefighters in the U.S. died in the line of duty, the National Fire Protection Association reports. But far more  -- 139 – took their own lives.

So far this year, 86 firefighters have been lost through suicide—including Cal Fire Captain Ryan Mitchell, who killed himself at the Pine Valley Bridge in San Diego’s East County earlier this month.

Jeff Dill, CEO and founder of the Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance (www.ffbha.org) , is determined to save firefighters’ lives  through special workshops designed by a firefighter, for a firefighter.

By Tom Christensen, County of San Diego Communications Office

November 15, 2017 (San Diego's East County) - The County’s Health and Human Services Agency is warning anyone who uses an electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card to access benefits to be aware of a text messaging scam.

November 15, 2017 (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. approves digital pill that tracks when patients take it (Reuters)
• Increased Hours Online Correlate With an Uptick in Teen Depression, Suicidal Thoughts (NPR)
• FDA Warns About Dangers of 'Natural' Opioid Kratom (NPR)
• Army to Provide Medical Care for Thousands of Veterans Who Were Test Subjects (NPR)
• Should healthcare be rationed for patients who smoke or are obese? (BBC)
• With Stricter Guidelines, Do You Have High Blood Pressure Now? (NPR)

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Votes in 18 nations 'hacked' in last year (BBC)
• U.S. government shares technical details on North Korean hacking campaign (Reuters)
• About 15 percent of U.S. agencies found Kaspersky Lab software: official  (Reuters)
•  Vietnamese researcher shows iPhone X face ID 'hack'  (Reuters)
• Georgian Jars Hold 8,000-Year-Old Winemaking Clues (NPR)

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

By Tom Christensen, County of San Diego Communications Office

Photo:  Hand washing with soap and water can help to stop the spread of hepatitis A.

November 14, 2017 (San Diego's East County) - The hepatitis A outbreak appears to be slowing as the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency announced today it had topped 100,000 vaccinations in the effort to bring the outbreak under control.

East County News Service

 

November 7, 2017 (La Mesa) -- The Grossmont Healthcare District (GHD) is continuing its support of ElderHelp of San Diego, a nonprofit health agency that offers social services to more than 7,000 seniors annually. The GHD board recently approved a $45,000 grant for ElderHelp’s Care Coordination, a program that delivers a variety of care management services, including health advocacy, escorted transportation to medical appointments, home safety inspections and repairs.

By Hannah Boss

November 4, 2017 (San Diego's East County) - The holiday known for the turkey, the stuffing and the pies (are you hungry yet?) is unfortunately also known for meals that are chock full of fat, sugar and sodium - all things that are bad for your heart.

By Miriam Raftery

October 25, 2017 (San Diego) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced a massive recall of processed vegetable products due to possible Listeria contamination.  The products were packaged by Mann Packing of Salinas, California and sold through multiple brands at major retailers in the U.S. and Canada including Trader Joe’s and Walmart.

East County News Service

October 24, 2017 (San Diego) — County Supervisors voted Tuesday to again extend the public health emergency declaration over Hepatitis A for two more weeks.  As of Oct. 18, 516 cases have been diagnosed, including 19 fatalities.

East County News Service

October 23, 2017 (San Diego) - Open enrollment to get coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for 2018 begins on November 1st and ends December 15^th.  Many Americans aren’t getting this important information, since the Trump administration has taken the following steps to sabotage getting word out and discouraging people from signing up.