East County News Service

May 1, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – Across the nation, health officials are warning about a sharp rise in hospitalizations among patients who took “spice”, a synthetic marijuana drug.

April 29, 2015 (San Diego's East County) - The Grossmont Healthcare District (GHD), a public agency that supports various health-related community programs and services in San Diego’s East County region, recently awarded $85,500 in scholarships to 38 high school students who have expressed interest in a career as a healthcare professional.

April 29, 2015 (La Mesa) -- The Independent Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee (ICBOC), a group of volunteers monitoring how the public agency Grossmont Healthcare District (GHD) is spending millions of dollars in taxpayer-approved bonds for new and improved patient care facilities at Sharp Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa, has issued its 2014 Annual Report to the Community.

April 27, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Hospitalizations from synthetic pot (“spice”) spike, officials say (USA Today)
• Fake Medicines Do Real Damage: Thousands Die, Superbugs Get Stronger (NPR) 
• Why Oregon lawmakers want limits on antibiotics for farm animals (CS Monitor) 
• Critics Lash Out At Chinese Scientists Who Edited DNA In Human Embryos (NPR)
• Salk Scientists Propose New Mitochondrial Disease Fix (KPBS) 
• Thoughts Can Fuel Some Deadly Brain Cancers (NPR) 
• Too Many Dietary Supplements May Up Your Cancer Risk (JWR) 
• Why Do Mosquitoes Like To Bite You Best? It's In Your Genes (U-T)
• Feds Say It's Time To Cut Back On Fluoride In Drinking Water (NPR) 
• Ohio students invent DUI marijuana testing device (CS Monitor)
• Maybe You Should Rethink That Daily Aspirin (NPR)  
• Real-world doctors fact-check Dr. Oz, and the results aren't pretty (LA Times) 

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Scientists find huge magma reservoir in Yellowstone 'supervolcano' (+video) (CS Monitor) 
• Does digital mean the end of history? (BBC) 
• Ten quirky ideas for making our cities more sustainable (Guardian) 
• Tweets could create flood maps that help save lives (CS Monitor) 
• How Tech Firms Are Helping People In The Nepal Earthquake Zone (NPR) 
• Can drones plant trees? Former NASA scientist says yes. (CS Monitor)
• Download Your Google Search History, and/or Delete It! (Reason)
• Some Adidas products to be made of plastic debris from oceans (CS Monitor)

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

By Alexander Nguyen

Photo credit: Harald Bischoff/Wiki Commons

Reprinted with permission from Times of San Diego

April 22, 2015 (San Diego)--With a 3-1 vote, the county Board of Supervisors gave families of people with mental illness another tool to get help, Laura’s Law, which  allows counties to seek court-ordered outpatient treatment for people with severe mental illness.

Get Ready to Kick-off Summer with a fitness Boot Camp for all levels and instruction provided by Fit-X San Diego. Whether you are a seasoned athlete, just beginning a fitness routine, or merely thinking about increasing your physical activity this workshop is a “no risk” opportunity to learn what the Boot Camp craze is all about. Instructors will identify exercises for all fitness levels. Wear appropriate workout clothing, sports shoes, and bring a towel.  Not sure but curious? Join in the observer section – but dress appropriately and bring a towel anyway – you might catch Boot Camp fever!

April 23, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• UC San Diego Study: Electronic Cigarette Smokers Aren't Less Likely To Quit (KPBS)
• Use Of E-Cigarettes Triples Among U.S. Teens (NPR)
• Mad Cow Disease In Texas Man Has Mysterious Origin (NPR)

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• How shoes that grow could help change the lives of children in poverty (CS Monitor)
• 3-d printing aircraft parts may be in Israel's near future (JPost)
• 5 years after BP spill, drillers push into riskier depths (AP)
• We Might Welcome Robot Lawn Mowers, But Astronomers Aren't So Happy (NPR)

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

By Fire Chief Sam DiGiovanna

April 21, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)--It surrounds us all.  At home, driving, work, in stores, school, the news, everywhere you go it’s there. It’s this thing called “stress.”  Like water, it find its way into every level and area in our life. Unfortunately it’s very unhealthy reminds Fire Chief Sam DiGiovanna. It’s been reported to cause heart disease, ulcers, headaches, obesity, depression, anxiety, and accelerates aging to name a few. "It can exacerbate just about any health condition you can think of."

East County News Service

April 17, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – The California Department of Public Health on Friday declared the measles outbreak officially over.  The outbreak, which began at Disneyland, infected 131 people in California, including 14 in San Diego County.  The Disneyland outbreak also spread to other states, causes 142 cases in seven states from late December to early March.

East County News Service

April 14, 2015 (Washington D.C.) -- Beech-Nut Nutrition is recalling nearly 2,000 pounds of baby food products that may be contaminated with small pieces of glass, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced today.

By Kim Hamilton, Editor, Deerhorn Valley Antler

Editor’s note: A similar version of this letter was also sent to Supervisor Dianne Jacob’s office.

April 12, 2015 (Deerhorn Valley) -- In the outer rural areas we are spread out over a very large area. We have only two paved roads (Honey Springs and Deerhorn Valley Rd.), and from that intersection it is 15 miles and 20 minutes to reach the fire station in Jamul. Most of us live off of secondary roads like Mother Grundy Truck Trail, Bratton Valley, and Sierra Cielo. These are dirt roads that are privately maintained (or not).  The additional distance on rutted roads can add another 20-plus minutes of drive.  And that's when you know where you're going. Some roads are almost impassable for a large vehicle.

By Miriam Raftery

April 11, 2015 San Diego's East County) - A bill in the California state legislature, Senate Bill 277, would make vaccinations mandatory for all children, except those with medical conditions that would make it dangerous to have the vaccine.  California is currently one of only a handful of states that allows parents to exempt children from vaccines based on personal beliefs.  On Wednesday, the measure passed the Senate Health Committee.

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.