A sampling of news media stories involving UC Health:
Clinic works to include ex-inmates in health care’s embrace, The New York Times
The inadequacy of prison health care in California was one reason for the federal court decisions that will reduce the prison population by 40,000 inmates, starting this year. As the former prisoners, and their illnesses, move back into communities, they will struggle to overcome a new set of obstacles and find a way to better care. “What happens in the prison system isn’t isolated in the prison system,” said Dr. John Stobo, senior vice president for health sciences and services for the University of California system. “It spills over into the free world.”
Op-ed: High-speed Net improves health care, The Sacramento Bee
This op-ed by Sunne Wright McPeak, president of the California Emerging Technology Fund, describes how clinics and hospitals in rural communities and underserved urban neighborhoods will be connected through the California Telehealth Network, or CTN, to major medical centers, trauma facilities and specialty care and, thus, able to access health and medical expertise remotely. UC is mentioned.
UC signs $147-million deal to rent a Santa Monica medical facility, Los Angeles Times
In a rare nine-figure real estate deal, the Regents of the University of California have agreed to pay $147 million over 30 years to rent a medical facility planned in Santa Monica. Developer Randy Miller hopes to begin construction on the three-story building by August. It would rise on a parking lot at 1223 16th St., across the street from the Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center and Orthopaedic Hospital.
Healing the scars of sacrifice (video), KTVB 7 (Idaho)
This story reports on Operation Mend, a collaborative effort between UCLA and a Texas-based military burn center to aid U.S. soldiers disfigured in combat. Dr. Timothy Miller, chief of reconstructive and plastic surgery at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, is featured.
See additional coverage: Stars and Stripes
UC Davis gets $267K health care grant, Sacramento Business Journal
UC Davis will receive a more than $267,000 in training grants for primary-care and mental health professionals, the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development announced Monday. The funding comes from the Song-Brown Program, which seeks to increase the number of family practice physicians, physician assistants, family nurse practitioners and registered nurses trained in the state to provide needed health services to California residents.
Letter: UC nurses earn their incentive pay, San Diego Union-Tribune
In “Bonuses while care deteriorates” (Jan. 28), the president of the California Nurses Association makes some statements that are misleading, writes Dwaine Duckett, UC vice president for human resources.
Op-ed: UC sets poor example for med students, The Sacramento Bee
When we chose to come to the University of California for medical school, we thought, perhaps naively, that we were going to a public institution whose purpose was to teach, to do research and to provide public service, write three UC Davis medical students in this op-ed.
Bloodstream infections: How do Bay Area hospitals rate? (video), ABC 7
A new survey out shows a handful of Bay Area hospitals score poorly when it comes to protecting their patients from deadly bloodstream infections. They are hospitals’ dirty and deadly little secret — central line bloodstream infections. At least 30,000 patients die each year from them. A Consumer Reports analysis found following simple hygienic steps have virtually eliminated these infections, but all too many are failing to act. UCSF is mentioned.
Read more and view video and UCSF statement
A captive audience — and providers — benefit from telemedicine, HealthLeaders Media
The California Department of Corrections’ use of telemedicine to treat adult prisoners saved the state $13 million last year, largely by reducing transportation and security costs. The state launched the program more than 10 years ago and uses it to facilitate consultations with medical specialists. UC is mentioned.
Aid crews home from Haiti, San Diego Union-Tribune
This story is about San Diego aid crews returning from Haiti, including three emergency-room physicians from UC San Diego Medical Center.
Biomedical jobs appear to be ‘recession resilient’, San Diego Union-Tribune
Employment in California’s biomedical industry has remained fairly stable through the recession, according to a new industry study that also points to numerous challenges on the horizon for the sector. The report yesterday from the La Jolla-based California Healthcare Institute says the biomedical work force shrank slightly in the 12 months through March 2009 but was still up by more than 1,000 jobs from 2007. UC Irvine Chancellor Michael Drake is quoted.
See additional coverage: The Orange County Register
Doctors to study stomach balloon for weight loss, The Orange County Register
Surgical procedures for the morbidly obese are becoming safer and more effective. The next frontier for researchers is finding a less invasive option that could help people who are just below or above the eligibility guidelines for the two most popular forms of bariatric surgery — gastric bypass and laparoscopic gastric band placement — as well as those considered too young for such procedures. A doctor at UC Irvine hopes he has found that next-generation solution: a double-balloon mechanism that is inserted down the patient’s throat with a tube attached.
Second heart transplant too much for patient, The Orange County Register
This story profiles a woman who passed away after two heart transplants at UCLA – the first 11 years ago and the second last December. Her longtime cardiologist, Dr. Jon Kobashigawa, former medical director of the UCLA Heart Transplant program, is interviewed.
Read more
Rare heart conditions a danger to teen athletes, San Francisco Chronicle
The collapse of two teenaged basketball players in less than a week – one of whom died – highlights the fact that even young, seemingly healthy athletes may have hidden defects that can strike with little warning. The article quotes Dr. Byron Lee, professor of medicine in UCSF’s cardiology division, and Dr. Zian Tseng of UCSF.
How sperm swim: a clue for male contraception?, Time magazine
According to a UCSF study, published in the journal Cell, sperm are equipped with tons of tiny little pores that, when open, enable them to release protons and get a move on.
Boy with rare syndrome fights time in transplant donor hunt (video), The Stockton Record
Fourteen-month-old Ricardo Buzo Jr. has the genetic disorder Hurler syndrome, which occurs in about one in 100,000 births and for which there is no cure. If untreated, it leads to death by age 8 to 10. Parents Ricardo Sr. and Lupe Buzo hope bone marrow drives lead to a compatible transplant donor. Dr. Christopher Dvorak, the blood and bone marrow transplant specialist who is working with Ricardo at UCSF Children’s Hospital, is quoted.
Read more and view video
UC Davis doggie blood donors save lives, The Sacramento Bee
This article gives an update on the Canine Community Donor Program at the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, and announces that Superstar, a Rottweiler-mix dog, is scheduled to become the first donor to reach the 20-pint mark since the program in February 2008. The article cites a news release that states that Superstar has saved an estimated 35 dog lives.
Indiana medical school plans to reduce enrollment, The Associated Press
The Indiana University School of Medicine plans to reduce the number of new students it admits next year in response to state funding cuts, a move that could make the state’s doctor shortage worse. The cut would follow years of growing medical classes. UC San Francisco is mentioned.
Good Question? How can an avocado be a fruit if it contains fat? (video), CBS 5
You know to eat your fruit and to watch your fat intake. But there is one gray, or green area. Amy in San Ramon asked this Good Question: If the avocado is a fruit, how can it contain fat? UCSF dietitian Toby Morris is interviewed.
View video
Fake doctor fleeced patients, prosecutors say, San Francisco Chronicle
Timothy Syed Andersson billed himself as dermatologist to the stars. Andersson, 66, was charged with 51 counts this week in San Francisco Superior Court, including practicing medicine without a license. Andersson also claimed to be a visiting associate professor at UCSF. UCSF officials said only that Andersson was not affiliated with the campus.
The depressing news about antidepressants, Newsweek
This cover story gives an in-depth look at the controversy over the effectiveness of antidepressant drugs and the importance of the placebo effect, especially in depression. The story cites 47 scientific studies on antidepressants, but notes that 82 percent of the positive results from these drugs were also achieved by the sugar pills offered to the control patients. Meanwhile, the article says, the number of Americans taking antidepressants doubled from 13.3 million in 1996 to 27 million in 2005. The article cites UCSF Clinical Pharmacy Professor Lisa Bero, PhD, who studies conflicts of interest in clinical trials and medical research.
Scientists find older people need less sleep (video), CBS 5
Neurogeneticist Dr. Louis Ptachek and his team at UCSF are dissolving the mysteries of human sleep by studying fruit flies.
Rules worth following, for everyone’s sake, The New York Times
In the more than four decades that I have been reading and writing about the findings of nutritional science, I have come across nothing more intelligent, sensible and simple to follow than the 64 principles outlined in a slender, easy-to-digest new book called “Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual,” by Michael Pollan. Mr. Pollan is not a biochemist or a nutritionist but rather a professor of science journalism at the University of California, Berkeley.
L.A. Confidential: Seeking reasons for autism’s rise, The Wall Street Journal
This article reports on a study, led by UC Davis researcher Karla Van Meter, that identified ten regions in California with higher than average rates of children born with autism. The study notes that greater concentrations of autism occur in communities where parents are highly educated, suggesting the higher numbers reflect higher rates of diagnosis.
Infection persists, despite vaccine, The New York Times
Su-Ting Li, an assistant professor of pediatrics at UC Davis, is the lead author of a new study that found that a vaccine introduced in 2000 has been highly effective in reducing the number of severe lung, blood and brain infections in children, but a serious complication has become more common. “Vaccination is working to decrease the incidence of pneumococcal pneumonia, sepsis and meningitis,” Li says. “But it’s not decreasing the incidence of empyema.”
Employees return after small UCD Medical Center chemical spill , The Sacramento Bee
Occupants were being allowed back into a building near the UC Davis Medical Center where a chemical spill affected three people.
IPad, anyone? Hospitals looking at the mobile device, The Sacramento Bee
Apple’s new creation, the iPad, may be a novelty to many consumers, but hospitals are already starting to abandon paper-and-pen clipboards for hand-held digital tablets. Dr. Javeed Siddiqui, associate medical director for the Center for Health and Technology at UC Davis Medical Center, is quoted.
Nanocorals developed to attack tumor cells, MedGadget
UC Berkeley researchers have developed a new type of nanoparticle that can selectively target tumor cells and report back the presence of certain molecular markers found in its environment.
Body dysmorphic disorder patients see details, not whole face, CNN
This story reports on a brain-imaging study by Dr. Jamie Feusner, assistant professor of psychiatry at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA, that found that people suffering from a condition known as body dysmorphic disorder exhibit abnormal brain activity when examining their own faces. Feusner is quoted.
Study: Integrate private, gov’t healthcare, UPI
This article reports on a research by Arleen Leibowitz, professor of public policy at the UCLA School of Public Affairs, and colleagues suggesting that a tax-supported, integrated health care system with a national health care trust could improve health outcomes and reduce billing costs and administrative waste in the United States.
UCLA makes breakthrough in Alzheimer’s research (video), CBS 2
This story reports on brain-imaging research by Liana Apostolova, UCLA assistant clinical professor of neurology, and colleagues that found that atrophy over time in certain areas of the brain may help predict the onset of Alzheimer’s long before symptoms of the disease appear.
Hospitals may not be for all doctors, Los Angeles Times
This piece says that more facilities insist on using hospital-based physicians, leaving primary care doctors to their offices. Dr. Bob Wachter, chief of the Division of Hospital Medicine at UC San Francisco, is quoted.
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The Checkup: Common chemicals may affect fertility, The Washington Post
A new UC Berkeley study is raising fresh concerns about chemicals long used as flame retardant on carpet padding, furniture, computers and other products commonly found in homes and offices.
Experiment takes aim at genetic learning disorder, The Associated Press
This article states that the MIND Institute at UC Davis is one of several locations currently testing a new pill aimed at helping those afflicted with Fragile X syndrome. “We are moving into a new age of reversing intellectual disabilities,” predicts Randi Hagerman, director of the MIND Institute.
Air pollution linked to ear infections, UPI
This article reports on a study by UCLA researchers and colleagues that found a correlation between improvements in air quality over the past decade and a reduction in cases of ear infections in children. Study co-author Dr. Nina Shapiro, director of pediatric otolaryngology at Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA and an associate professor of surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, is quoted.
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Passings: Charles Lewis, Los Angeles Times
Dr. Charles Lewis, 81, a longtime UCLA professor whose research included preventive medicine, AIDS and delivery of healthcare, died Jan. 7 at his home in Los Angeles after a long illness, his family said.
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