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January 2012

State plans emergency warning on risks of methadone

            http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2017067266_methadone22m.html

Alarmed by evidence that hundreds of patients die each year from accidental overdoses of prescription pain drugs, the state of Washington will issue a public-health advisory that singles out the unique risks of methadone, a narcotic medication linked to the most fatalities.

Doctor, nurse shortages unlikely, new research finds

             http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/health/2017049376_nurse22.html

Among the dire assumptions about the future of health care in the United States, one of the more persistent has been that the numbers of doctors and nurses are dwindling rapidly. But several new reports released this fall suggest the shortfalls among key health workers may not be so great as once feared, at least on a national scale.

Arsenic-laced dirt carted off as crews replace yards in north Everett

              http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20111222/NEWS01/712229940#Yards-cleared-of-arsenic

EVERETT -- J.D. Wilkinson is glad his yard was recently torn up and dug out with backhoes. Not only was contaminated dirt removed from his property, but new soil was brought in and the yard was replanted, complete with a new lawn of fresh sod. He didn't pay a dime. Wilkinson's house, at the corner of Butler and Hawthorne streets, is in an area that was exposed to arsenic that floated down in smoke emitted by the Asarco smelter more than 100 years ago.

State might allow medical marijuana for people with attention deficit

            http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/12/22/1954745/state-might-allow-pot-for-attention.html#storylink=cpy

State officials will consider a request to allow medical marijuana for people with attention deficit disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder. The petition is the latest attempt to add mental illnesses to Washington’s list of qualifying conditions for medical cannabis. Three other petitions, for depression and other mental health disorders, have been denied.

Journal retracts fatigue-syndrome report

            http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/health/2017075746_fatigue23.html

Science is retracting a 2009 report that linked chronic fatigue syndrome to a virus. The journal has lost confidence in the report, editor-in-chief Bruce Alberts writes in Friday's issue. He said most study authors agreed in principle to retract the paper "but they have been unable to agree on the wording of their statement."

Health officials say ample supply, time to get flu shot

            http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20111227/NEWS01/712279939#Health-officials-say-ample-supply-time-to-get-flu-shot

Local clinics and medical groups have seen a surge in the number of people getting immunized against the flu this year. And for those who haven't, but want to, there's still time and ample supplies for people to get protected before the typical peak of flu season in February.

New rule requires rabies vaccinations for WA pets

                   http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2017104655_apwarabiesvaccinespets.html

Starting Sunday, rabies vaccines will be mandatory for pet dogs, cats and ferrets in Washington state. While many cities and counties require rabies vaccinations for some pets, vaccinations have never been required by the state. The new rule was passed by the Board of Health this summer.

Sodium-saturated diet a threat for all

            http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/health/2017104569_personalhealthsalt27.html

Maybe you think you don't have to worry about salt. After all, you don't have high blood pressure, you're not overweight and you exercise regularly. Well, think again. A major study, based on data from more than 12,000 U.S. adults, took into account all those risk factors for death from heart disease. The researchers found that while a diet high in sodium — salt is the main source — increases your risk, even more important is the ratio of sodium (harmful) to potassium (protective) in one's diet.

Medical pot fight in Lacey

            http://www.theolympian.com/2011/12/28/1927605/medical-pot-fight-in-lacey.html

Lawyers for Lacey Cross – a store on Pacific Avenue that sells medicinal marijuana – have filed an appeal in Thurston County Superior Court seeking to overturn the city’s denial of its business license application. The land-use petition filed by Seattle attorneys Charles Moure and Hilary Bricken states that the Lacey City Council erred during a Dec. 1 hearing when it upheld a land-use hearing examiner’s denial of Lacey Cross’s application for a business license.

Newest swine flu spreads more easily

            http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20111229/NEWS02/712299852

The flu season is still young in the United States and the rest of the Northern Hemisphere, but Australia wrapped up its flu season months ago, and public health officials there have some disturbing news to report: The version of so-called swine flu that is resistant to the drug Tamiflu is spreading more easily in the land Down Under.

Emergency-providers fee assailed as unfair idea

            http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2017046921_volunteers19m.html

Times are tough, no doubt about it, and state agencies are being asked to slash budgets. But a proposal to require emergency-services workers — including unpaid volunteers — to pay the state for certifying and disciplining them is bound to backfire, local fire departments and emergency-services leaders have told a House committee.

Study: Brain injury from high-fat foods may be why diets fail

            http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2017122171_brain30m.html

You've heard "a minute on the lips, years on the hips," or some variation. But did it make you put down that frosted butter cookie? No? OK, here's another bit of research to snack on: After humans and rodents eat a high-fat diet, their brains begin to show evidence of injuries in just 24 hours. If they keep eating that yummy fatty stuff continuously, the area of their brains that regulates weight — the hypothalamus — will show evidence of serious inflammation and structural damage.

Marijuana legalization initiative signatures in

            http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2017122306_marijuana30m.html

Backers of an effort to legalize and regulate recreational marijuana use in Washington state submitted more than 340,000 signatures Thursday to try to qualify their initiative, a move protested by some legalization supporters who say the proposal would hurt medical-marijuana patients. About a dozen protesters carried signs that read "Legalize, not penalize," and shouted as members of New Approach turned in signatures for Initiative 502 to the Legislature.

New prescription monitoring draws complaints

             http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2017147316_prescriptions04m.html

Since October, pharmacies around the state have been sending information into a giant computer database, detailing every prescription they've dispensed for controlled substances. That means every pain pill and patch, every anti-anxiety medication, every sleeping pill — listed by the patient's name. Beginning Wednesday, pharmacists, doctors and other prescribers will be able to see all such drugs a patient is getting anywhere in the state, even if the person pays with cash.

New year means mandated vaccinations for several types of household pets

              http://tdn.com/news/local/new-year-means-mandated-vaccinations-for-several-types-of-household/article_e5d2fa88-34f2-11e1-bd91-001871e3ce6c.html#ixzz1iPo8Zpwj

As of New Year's Day, all dogs, cats and ferrets in Washington must be vaccinated for rabies. That's right — ferrets, too. "They're pets. They could be exposed like dogs and cats. Some of them do go outdoors on leashes. So it's not totally beyond the realm of possibility for them to be exposed," Dr. Ron Wohrle, the state's Public Health Veterinarian, said Thursday.

Some in Congress ready to act against schools' PE cutbacks

            http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2017162406_physicaled05.html

Review: Most hospital errors not reported

            http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/health/2017171473_medicalerrors06.html

Hospital employees recognize and report only one out of seven errors, accidents and other events that harm Medicare patients while they are hospitalized, federal investigators say in a new report. Yet even after hospitals investigate preventable injuries and infections that have been reported, they rarely change their practices to prevent repetition of the "adverse events," according to the study, from Daniel Levinson, inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Prescription Monitoring Program is worth paying for

            http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorials/2017170919_edit06drugs.html

Doctors and pharmacists have a new lifesaving tool in the state database allowing them to see all of the controlled substances patients get by prescription. Improved patient safety is worth the estimated $530,000 annual cost of Washington's Prescription Monitoring Program. Doctors and pharmacists have been reluctant to take on the cost, but state lawmakers should require them.

Health district downgrades whooping cough

            http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/news/article_1094bb76-36f6-11e1-943f-0019bb2963f4.html

Your home's age important for child lead exposure

             http://www.theolympian.com/2012/01/05/1937116/your-homes-age-important-for-child.html#storylink=cpy

If you've been putting off repairing a peeling windowsill, or you're thinking of knocking out a wall, listen up: Check how old your house is. You may need to take steps to protect your kids from dangerous lead. The risk of lead-based paint from older homes is back in the news, as the government considers tightening the definition of lead poisoning in babies, toddlers and preschoolers. Lower levels than previously thought may harm their developing brains.

Panel urges lower cutoff for child lead poisoning

            http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2012/01/04/1774342/apnewsbreak-lower-cutoff-for-lead.html

Judge rules Royal City dairy contaminated water

            http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2012/01/06/1776620/judge-rules-royal-city-dairy-contaminated.html

Mentally ill flood ER as states cut services

            http://news.yahoo.com/mentally-ill-flood-er-states-cut-services-131133880.html;_ylc=X3oDMTNsODl0bWU2BF9TAzk3MzQxOTM5BGFjdANtYWlsX2NiBGN0A2EEaW50bAN1cwRsYW5nA2VuLVVTBHBrZwNmOGZhMTMzNC1kNDgwLTM1YTMtYWZhZC1hNjI3NjljNDJjMjEEc2VjA21pdF9zaGFyZQRzbGsDbWFpbAR0ZXN0Aw--;_ylv=3

On a recent shift at a Chicago emergency department, Dr. William Sullivan treated a newly homeless patient who was threatening to kill himself. … Across the country, doctors like Sullivan are facing a spike in psychiatric emergencies - attempted suicide, severe depression, psychosis - as states slash mental health services and the country's worst economic crisis since the Great Depression takes its toll. This trend is taxing emergency rooms already overburdened by uninsured patients who wait until ailments become acute before seeking treatment.

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