With the potential for several days in a row of 100-degree-plus heat, state health department officials have extended a heat advisory for all of Maryland. So far, four heat-related deaths have been confirmed.
Showing posts with label officials. Show all posts
Showing posts with label officials. Show all posts
Friday, July 6, 2012
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Health Officials Warn About Baczol
Maryland health officials issue an alert warning parents about an unapproved children's medicine.Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Health Officials: Got Baczol? Throw It Out
ibsys.navSetup();Homepage > Health POSTED: 5:39 pm EDT April 6, 2012
UPDATED: 6:50 pm EDT April 6, 2012
BALTIMORE -- Maryland health officials issued an alert warning parents about an unapproved children's medicine. The alert pertains to the easily accessible over-the-counter medication called Baczol. Health officials warn consumers who may have this medication to throw it away. "It is not safe and it should be taken off the shelves," said Fran Phillips, deputy secretary of public health services at the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. "From the retail perceptive and a household perspective, it should be discarded." Baczol, which is manufactured in El Salvador and marketed as an over-the-counter pediatric cold medicine, is neither approved nor regulated in the United States. The medicine is mostly found in Latino convenience stores, and Maryland health officials describe it as ineffective in treating some of the conditions it claims to treat. "One of the concerns that we have is that it contains a sulfur drug that's an antibiotic that is required to be prescribed by prescription only. It is not an over-the-counter medication. So, this is not a safe medication for people to take," Phillips said. Health officials said Baczol causes harmful side effects like severe allergies. A physician at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in east Baltimore found several families were giving it to their children, and the doctor alerted health officials. The Baltimore Health Department found Baczol on sale in three stores in the city and elsewhere in Maryland. "We've already had a report of a child whose mother was offering this medication for a cold and the child had a severe, long allergic reaction. So, we know that it's possible. We know that it's happened," Phillips said. WBAL-TV 11 News reporter Nadia Ramdass found the unapproved medicine at the Mercado Cinco de Mayo Grocery Market in the 400 block of South Highland Avenue in Baltimore. After purchasing the medicine, 11 News spoke to a store employee about health alert issued by the state regarding Baczol. The employee said the store was unaware Baczol was not to be sold in any U.S. stores and they would immediately take it off their shelves. "Often, this medication is sold in Hispanic communities. We're working with our outreach workers -- we'll have information available in Spanish as well as English -- to get the word out," Phillips said. "What we've heard so far is retailers are very cooperative when they hear take it off the shelves." State health officials said they are investigating to determine how this medicine ended up on U.S. shelves. If your child is on the medicine and is experiencing any serious side effects, contact your health care provider. If you have any questions, you can also call the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene at 800-222-1222. © 2012 by WBALTV.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Contact Us
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Washington state health officials appeal contraception ruling
SEATTLE (Reuters) - Washington state health officials asked an appeals court on Wednesday to reinstate a rule requiring that pharmacists dispense emergency contraceptives even when doing so violates their religious beliefs.
District Judge Ronald Leighton blocked the regulation last month, finding it trampled on the pharmacists' right to "conscientious objection" in violation of the Constitution.
Leighton's ruling in a case brought by a drugstore owner and two of his pharmacists in the state capital, Olympia, comes amid a national political debate over a federal policy mandating free coverage for women's contraceptives through employer-sponsored health plans.
Several universities with religious affiliations have sued to block that regulation, using arguments similar to those that prevailed in the pharmacy case -- namely that the government has no right to compel individuals to violate sincerely held religious beliefs.
But the state's Department of Health and Board of Pharmacy asked the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn the trial court's determination that the requirement targets religious opposition to certain medications.
"This isn't about religious objections," health department spokesman Tim Church said. "This rule is meant to ensure that people have access to time-sensitive medications."
The morning-after pill, available under the brands Plan B One-Step, ella and Next Choice, can be taken up to 5 days after unprotected sex, but is most effective when taken within the first 72 hours.
State officials said that particularly in rural areas of eastern Washington, where pharmacies may be more than 20 miles apart, a patient denied service by one pharmacist would not be able to go elsewhere for the medication in time.
GOVERNOR WEIGHS IN
The case stems from a rule adopted by the Washington State Pharmacy Board in 2007 requiring pharmacies to stock and dispense legal medications for which there is a demonstrated community need.
The drugstore owner and two pharmacists who brought the lawsuit said they believed that emergency contraceptives were tantamount to abortion because they could theoretically stop an already-fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus.
As conservative Christians, they refused to dispense the medication, then sued to block the regulation.
After a 12-day trial, the court found overwhelming evidence that the regulations allow pharmacies to refer patients elsewhere for all sorts of business, economic, and convenience reasons, but not for reasons of conscience.
"The Constitution does not allow the state to single out religious conduct for unfavorable treatment," said Luke Goodrich, an attorney with the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which served as co-counsel for the pharmacists.
Washington Governor Chris Gregoire, a Democrat in her last year of office, issued a statement supporting the appeal.
"Any decision that puts patients at risk by delaying or denying them lawful and lawfully prescribed medications should be carefully reviewed by a higher court," she said.
Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest also plans to join in the state's appeal of Leighton's verdict.
"We really feel that this could set a dangerous precedent and allow other health care providers to refuse to dispense emergency contraception or any other drug they personally disagree with," said Kristen Glundberg-Prossor, spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest.
Last spring, a state judge in Illinois struck down a similar law requiring pharmacies to dispense emergency contraception.
A handful of other states, including California, New Jersey and Wisconsin, have laws requiring pharmacies to fill all valid prescriptions, but loopholes allow pharmacists with moral objections to refer the patient to another drugstore.
Six states explicitly allow pharmacists to refuse to dispense contraceptives, and several more have broad right-to-conscience laws that provide some protection to pharmacists as well as to other health care professionals.
(Editing by Dan Whitcomb and Cynthia Johnston)
Friday, February 17, 2012
NKY Health Officials Warn Of Norovirus
Health officials in northern Kentucky are warning parents about the spread of norovirus.Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Health officials: Luxor guests had Legionnaires'
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Health officials in Las Vegas said Monday that the bacteria that causes Legionnaires' disease was found in water samples at the Luxor hotel-casino this month after a guest died of the form of pneumonia.
The Southern Nevada Health District said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention national surveillance program reported three cases in the past year of Luxor guests being diagnosed with the disease caused by Legionella bacteria.
The Las Vegas Strip resort's water was tested after the first two cases were reported during the spring of last year, but no Legionella bacteria was detected, district officials said. Those guests recovered.
Officials say the Luxor, owned by MGM Resorts International, immediately began a remediation process once the bacteria was found.
MGM Resorts spokesman Gordon Absher said treatment procedures include superheating and super-chlorination of the water system.
"We are confident in the integrity of our systems and the safety protocols we follow at all our hotels. Guest and employee safety is always a top priority at our company," Absher said. "Even before last summer, MGM Resorts led the industry with aggressive and stringent programs to control Legionella issues common to all large buildings."
Absher said the company's resorts regularly test for Legionella and treat water systems preventatively, before bacteria are detected.
The new cases come as the company is already facing a civil lawsuit from guests who said they were infected with Legionella at the Aria Resort & Casino, part of the CityCenter complex that is half-owned by MGM Resorts.
MGM Resorts notified guests that they might have been exposed to the bacteria between June 21 and July 4 after the district reported six cases of Legionnaires' disease in July. The district said those guests recovered after treatment.
Eight guests sued in August, seeking $337.5 million in damages from the resort and its builders. An MGM Resorts spokesman at the time denied negligence, saying hotel officials carefully communicated with its guests and reimbursed them fairly for legitimate medical expenses. The case is still pending in federal court in Las Vegas.
Legionella is commonly found in the environment in fresh water, the district said. Symptoms of Legionnaires' disease usually begin within two weeks of being exposed to the bacteria, the district said.
District officials said between 8,000 and 18,000 people are hospitalized with Legionnaires' disease each year, and can cause death in up to 30 percent of cases. Officials said as many as one-fourth of reported Legionnaires' cases are associated with travel, so health investigators typically ask for travel histories when they look into individual cases.
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Oskar Garcia can be reached at http://twitter.com/oskargarcia.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Health officials discuss Flagler needs, plans
Meeting the need
Federally Qualified Health Centers are defined by Medicare and Medicaid statutes and funded under the Public Health Service Act. They offer:
- Eligibility for a $650,000 start-up grant.
- Enhanced Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement.
- Medical malpractice coverage through the Federal Tort Claims Act.
- Medications for outpatients available at a reduced cost through the Drug Pricing Program.
- Safe Harbor to establish arrangements for goods and services.
- Access to National Health Service Corps.
- Access to the Vaccine for Children Program.
- Eligibility for various other federal grants and programs.
SOURCE: St. Johns River Rural Health Network
PALM COAST -- Flagler County needs a Federally Qualified Health Center that brings together all health care components in downtown Bunnell, especially primary and behavioral health care, within walking or bike-riding distance of some of the county's most economically disadvantaged residents.
That was one conclusion of the Flagler Community Health Assessment, a year's worth of personal interviews, summits with local healthcare providers, and hundreds of individual surveys compiled for a study conducted earlier this year by the Health Planning Council of Northeast Florida and the Flagler County Health Department. Officials summarized their findings, as well as plans for the future, at an invitation-only breakfast Wednesday.
"Many people who are able to access primary care are not getting behavioral health or substance abuse help. They just don't go," said Toni Barrett, spokeswoman for Stewart-Marchman-Act and a member of the Flagler Partnership for Community Health. "Likewise, people who are getting behavioral health or help with substance abuse are accessing primary care. There is a real need to get some integration of health care."
The study, funded through a $17,500 Florida Health Department grant via the Centers for Disease Control, was done to provide a comprehensive overview of Flagler County's health care needs for planning purposes.
The hard part starts now, said Dawn Emerick, president of the Health Planning Council of Northeast Florida, a nonprofit council that covers a seven-county area including Baker, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Nassau, St. Johns and Volusia counties.
"This is not unique to Flagler County," she said. "The needs are very similar (all over). This is all very community driven."
Ultimately, health care officials envision a health care corridor along the spine of downtown Bunnell. Creating this corridor will be key to getting $650,000 in annual grant money to maintain a Federally Qualified Health Center.
Patrick Johnson, Flagler County Health Department administrator, praised the successes of the Flagler Free Clinic, the Sheltering Tree, Feed Flagler, Access Flagler and the mobile benefits program, among others. But he said the pieces will have to be connected for officials to be able to create a competitive application for the highly sought-after federal grant money.
"Only 87 of these have been funded across the nation -- two in Florida," Johnson said. "It's very competitive. We have to have something unique. We have to piece this together as a health campus in application form. And we have to be patient."
Overall, the health of Flagler County is good, he said.
"Two years ago, Flagler was the healthiest small county in Florida," Johnson said, noting that health information reported is always a year behind. "That's when we started to head into really hard economic times, and last year we slipped a little bit. When we look at community health, we are looking at the entire community."
Top local concerns include a lack of easy access to health care, chronic diseases like diabetes, and "behavioral health" problems like drug and alcohol abuse, according to the study.
Statistically, Flagler County's percentage of adults who are smokers, obese, have high blood pressure and cardiovascular problems and high cholesterol is higher than the state average.
Johnson related that a nurse told him that if health care workers could "decrease smoking, weight, high blood pressure and cholesterol, we could solve 75 percent of the health problems."
Health care in general, he said, has moved away from the infectious diseases that were aggressively treated in the early 1900s and now is focusing more on chronic diseases that come with living a longer life.
"We all know the longer you live, you're going to probably develop some kind of chronic disease," Johnson said. "We want to live as long and as healthy as we can, but we're all going to die.
"We're trying to be younger and younger."
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