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Upcoming Events
Board of Dentistry
May 14, 5:30 p.m.
Conference Call: (888) 808-6959
Code: 2453454
Patient Safety Corporation
May 15, 9 a.m.
Conference Call: (866) 200-9760
Code: 8938936#
Contact Susan Moore, susan.a.moore@comcast.net, for agenda
Board of Osteopathic Medicine
May 15, 10 a.m.
Conference Call: (888) 808-6959
Code: 2454587
Florida Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Association
May 16, 1 p.m., West Palm Beach
The Crowne Plaza
Call (850) 488-8191 for agenda
Enhanced Benefits Panel under Medicaid Reform
May 16, 1 p.m., Tallahassee
Agency for Health Care Administration
Contact Aldria White (850) 488-3560, for agenda
Board of Nursing Home Administrators
May 17, 10 a.m., Tallahassee
Conference Call: (888) 808-695
Code: 9849329103
Correctional Medical Authority
May 17, 1 p.m., Tallahassee
Department of Health
Conference Call: (888) 808-6959
Code: 2454583
Contact Suzanne Wieczorek, (850) 245-4557, for agenda
Children's Medical Services Network Advisory Council
May 18, 1 p.m., Tallahassee
Florida Department of Health
Contact Joyce Raichelson, (850) 245-4200 ext. 4677, for agenda
Board of Medicine Credentials Committee
May 19, 8 a.m., Orlando
Hyatt Regency
Contact Larry McPherson, (850) 245-4131, for agenda
Sate Consumer Health Information and Policy Advisory Council Data Transparency Steering Committee
May 21, 10 a.m., Tallahassee
Agency or Health Care Administration
Conference Call: (713) 481-0090
Code: 9701442#
Contact Cheryl Barfield, (850) 414-5422, for agenda
Hemophilia Medical Advisory Panel
May 22, 3 p.m., Tallahassee
Agency for Health Care Administration, Division of Medicaid
Conference Call: (888) 808-6959
Code: 8509227337
Drug Wholesaler Advisory Council
May 22, 9:30 a.m.
Conference Call: (888) 808-6959
Code: 2454292
SHINE Professional Spring Training
May 24, 8:30 a.m., Orlando
Embassy Suites Orlando
Contact Marianne Hightman, (850) 414-2158, for more information
Health Information Exchange Coordinating Committee
May 27, 10 a.m., Tallahassee
Agency for Health Care Administration
Contact Carolyn H. Tuner, (850) 922-5861, for agenda
2008 Governor's Conference on Women's Health
May 27-28, Lake Buena Vista
Lake Buena Vista Palace
Download agenda or e-mail WomensHealth@doh.state.fl.us
Florida Substance Abuse & Mental Health Corp.
Board of Directors Meeting
June 4 - 5, 2008, St. Augustine
Government House, King St.
Contact: Lin Rayner at 850-410-1575
Implementing Innovative Projects in Nursing Homes
June 17, 10 a.m., Tallahassee
Agency for Health Care Administration
Conference Call: (888) 808-6959
Code: 487-0698
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Top Story
By Whitney Sessa
5/14/2008 © Florida Health News
First it was children’s jewelry, then pet toys. Now lead from China has been found in a patient’s dental work in Ohio. To make such an event less likely here, the Legislature on its final day in session May 2 made Florida the first state to require dental laboratories to tell their dentists and their patients where a product originated and the materials it contains. 
Charges against ex-chiefs of medical board called 'unfounded'
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Z. Zachariah
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5/12/2008 © Florida Health News
Cardiologist Zachariah P. Zachariah, who lectured many an errant physician while presiding over the Florida Board of Medicine, now knows what it's like to be the accused. The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil action on Monday accusing him, his brother Mammen and endocrinologist Sheldon Nassberg of profiting from insider trading. In today's Miami Herald, Marty Steinberg, attorney for both Zachariahs, called the charges "completely unfounded." The brothers, each of whom spent a year as chairman of the medical board, were appointed by then-Gov. Jeb Bush after Zach Zachariah became one of the top fundraisers for the Republican party. He currently sits on the Florida Board of Governors. Here is the SEC summary.
By Christine Jordan Sexton
5/13/2008 © Florida Health News
TALLAHASSEE -- Some health care providers and advocates are mobilizing to warn mentally and physically disabled Medicaid clients about a new state requirement that could force them into HMOs. Those who work with severely disabled patients say a sudden shift of caregivers or drugs could be harmful. “It’s just not the way to treat these folks,” said Bob Sharpe, president and CEO of the Florida Council for Community Mental Health.
5/13/2008 © St. Petersburg Times
Unable to work while her son is hospitalized for the most severe stage of neuroblastoma, Melissa Deschaine, a 20-year-old single mother, is behind on the rent at her Port Richey home. Grass roots efforts by friends and co-workers are sprouting to help them afford another place to live.
05/13/2008 © Miami Herald
Tony Mendoza fractured his ribs and mangled his nose after he had an epileptic seizure and fell down a flight of stairs. The episode occurred before Mendoza, 40, heard about Vagus Nerve Stimulation therapy, in which a surgically implanted device sends mild electrical pulses to the brain to prevent electrical irregularities that cause seizures.
5/13/2008 © Orlando Sentinel
The gaggle of girls, dressed in shorts and running shoes, gathers under the breezeway at Howard Middle School. They are talking about the difference between flirting and sexual harassment. But this is not some gossip session; it's an after-school club -- with a twist.
5/13/2008 © Palm Beach Post
FORT PIERCE — Five months after approving a sex education curriculum, the St. Lucie County School Board will consider Tuesday one of its most controversial pieces: a video demonstrating the use of condoms.
5/13/2008 © South Florida Sun-Sentinel
The former medical director of an unlicensed Hollywood HIV clinic agreed to pay $6.7 million to settle a federal civil suit alleging health-care fraud, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced Monday. Also read about Baptist Hospital's payback of $7.75 million in the Miami Herald..
5/13/2008 © St. Petersburg Times
Florida's prison system had already fined its food provider $241,000 this year over staffing and supply issues. And then 277 inmates said they became sick last month after eating chili. The April 25 incident at a Panhandle prison has raised the latest question into the performance of Aramark Corp., which took over prison food service in 2001 as part of former Gov. Jeb Bush's privatization push.
5/13/2008 © Miami Herald
Suzanne Gordon has seen plenty of suffering at hospitals: Back, neck and shoulder injuries. Infections. Emotional stress. High-blood pressure.And that's just the nurses.Gordon -- a nurses' advocate and author -- told a forum at Miami Dade College Medical Center Campus Monday that mandating nurse-to-patient ratios at hospitals is crucial to better patient care.
5/12/2008 © Florida Health News
Among the three companies thought to be interested in acquiring WellCare Health Plans, Aetna Inc. would benefit most, according to managed-care analyst Carl McDonald of Oppenheimer & Co. The stock in the Tampa-based insurer, which remains under federal investigation, is so depressed that any of the three would be likely to benefit to some extent, he says. However, independent analyst Brian Wright isn't sure it's wise for any company to jump in until the investigation is resolved.
05/12/2008 © Washington Post
Yong Sun Harvill's leg is painful and swollen from hip to foot, damaged by past surgeries and radiation treatments. Some nights, liquid seeps through cracks in her distended skin. Her left ankle is three times as big as her right. For years, she relied on a leg pump to boost her circulation and keep the swelling in check. But as an immigration detainee in Florence, Ariz.., Harvill, 52, has been unable to persuade anyone to get her a pump, or to let her family back in Florida send hers from home.
5/12/2008 © Palm Beach Post
Carri Salerno couldn't hear because she had water clogged in her ear canal. Did she call her doctor? Or go to the local hospital emergency room? Neither. She went to the Mall at Wellington Green.
5/11/2008 Miami Herald
TALLEVAST -- The water in this black community tucked between Bradenton and Sarasota is poisoned with cancer-causing chemicals leaked from an old beryllium plant. The health toll is still being gauged, but the residents have cause to fear the worst. Also see related story, "Toll of toxins won't be known until a study can be carried out."
5/10/2008 Palm Beach Post
DAVIE -- Cover Florida, a new state-sponsored program to help the uninsured, will soon be signed into law and ready to swing into operation. There's just one snag: Someone else owns the domain name for the Internet site the state had planned to use.
5/11/2008 Daytona Beach News-Journal
DAYTONA BEACH -- Three Volusia County men were among 11 nationwide named in a federal indictment on Friday that accused them of selling $77 million in prescription drugs illegally over the Internet through a company called Jive Network. "This is a very significant case," an IRS narcotics agent in Tampa said.
5/11/2008 Daytona Beach News-Journal
A long-time nurse who had been praised as an "advocate for patients" was told not to return to Halifax Health Medical Center in Port Orange after her letter to the editor criticized the health system for spending $400,000 for a groundbreaking party. An LPN who posted a flier on the issue was fired.
5/10/2008 Miami Herald
Kaye O'Bara, who cared for her comatose daughter Edwarda for 38 years, died a few weeks ago. Now it falls to to sister Colleen, 53, who had to quit her job to be the caregiver and sold her truck to buy groceries.
5/10/2008 Palm Beach Post
Sparks of Genius, a brain-fitness center in Boca Raton, uses neuroscience and computer technology to help people retain and regain memory and keep their mental processors running at optimal speed. BrainAerobics' two offices in Boca Raton let clients work individually with trainers or in groups.
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"The little money managed care may save in the short run is going to be dwarfed by the millions that will be paid out ... when the lawsuits roll in."
-- Dennis Slate, top mental-health official in the detention program for illegal immigrants, in the Washington Post's continuing investigation of immigrants' treatment.
 Here's a question that comes up a lot: How do you find a story that we ran several days or weeks ago? If it's a Florida Health News story, click on the "Our Stories" tab. If not, go to the Search box just above this column and try likely search terms until you find it. If the publication still has that story posted, no problem. If it's been archived, you won't be able to read it. Alas, there's nothing we can do about that; we don't own the copyright. -- Carol Gentry, editor
One in four Floridians under age 65 lacks health insurance. Countless others are "under-insured," which means their coverage won't meet their needs if they get seriously ill or hurt. You'd think they'd be easy to find, given their numbers, but they don't stand out until they get sick. Reporters need to find them (see Steve Nohlgren's account below). If you know any, please have them call Carol Gentry, Editor, at 727-410-3266 or write Carol.Gentry@FloridaHealthNews.org.
The hardest thing about covering the health system isn’t necessarily the ordeal of figuring out how it works.
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Nohlgren
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It’s finding the patients – real people – who are affected by its quirks. Recently, St. Petersburg Times’ Stephen Nohlgren, one of the best health reporters in the business, put faces on several parts of Medicaid that the Legislature was considering for cuts, in a story published April 19. He had only four days to pull it off. We asked him to explain how he did it; here's his account.
Floridians have a new source for checking the quality of nursing homes. The Medicare Nursing Home Compare Web site now offers a note under the name of any facility with a history of poor performance. Site visitors can search the Special Focus Facility list by name, state, county, city or zip code.
Those who say taxpayers overspend on private Medicare health plans may want to scrutinize the 13 percent hike in the 2009 benchmark rate for Miami-Dade, which will rise to $1,238 per member per month. Miami-Dade already has one of the highest pay rates in the nation. Don't miss this account by Florida Health News' Washington correspondent, Susan Jaffe, and a chart that shows the rates for all the counties in Florida. -- Carol Gentry, editor
Discussions of how to provide universal access to health care in this country always begin with the assumption that it will cost billions of additional dollars and founder on the question of how to pay for it. A documentary on public television's Frontline, which aired April 15 but is available online, shows that's the wrong question. It explains how other democracies provide coverage for everyone, while spending considerably less than the U.S. Their citizens live longer,healthier lives and no one ever declares bankruptcy from medical bills. In fact, there areno bills. This show is too good to miss.-- Carol Gentry, editor
The Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care 2008 says too much medical treatment not only wastes money, but can lead to worse results. In some parts of Florida, it says, there appears to be substantial overtreatment caused by excessive numbers of doctors and hospital beds. The Fort Lauderdale and Sarasota areas were listed as highest in the nation for spending on outpatient care. Read more...
As we reported in late March, a nationwide patient-satisfaction survey showed Florida hospitals' scores averaged 5 to 8 percentage points lower than the national average in all 10 categories.
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Gulliver
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Now David Gulliver, health reporter at the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, has gone the next step, crunching data from a federal Web site to show ratings for all the hospitals that reported survey results for each category statewide. He used this as the basis for a feature on the highest-scorer in his area. Now, other reporters can easily find the hospitals in their own regions that patients liked best (and least)on the tables he developed. At our request, David wrote an explanation so that others can learn to do it, too. -- Carol Gentry, Editor
If you've signed up for the free daily e-Alerts from Florida Health News and are not getting them:
--Check your junk e-mail basket. If our e-Alerts are there, right click and tell your computer that we're a safe sender.
 --If our e-Alerts aren't in the junk e-mail basket, tell your IT department or whoever manages your Internet service.
--If they can't help, give me a call at 727-410-3266 or write to editor@FloridaHealthNews.org.
We really don't want to lose you! -- Carol Gentry, editor
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