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Board of Hearing Aid Specialists Public Meeting
July 26, 9 a.m., Miami
Miami Beach Resort and Spa
For details, call (305) 532-3600
Low Income Pool Council Public Meeting
July 28,10 a.m. – 3 p.m., Hollywood
Memorial Regional Hospital, Main Auditorium, 3501
For details, contact Edwin Stephens at (850)413-8067 or Suncom 294-8067, stephene@
ahca.myflorida.com
Department of Children and Family Service Public Hearing
July 28, 1:30 p.m., Tallahassee
1317 Winewood Blvd., Bldg. 3, Rm. 455
For details, contact Pat Whitford at (850)410-3479
FL Assn of Community Health Centers & AHEC Meeting
July 28-30, Bonita Springs, FL
Hyatt CocoPoint
For details, contact Heidi Updike Butler at heidi@fachc.org or visit www.fachc.org
Cover Florida: The Unregulated Health Insurance Market
July 30, 9 a.m. - 12 Noon, Miami
RSVP/Details: Roxannep@hscdade.org or 305-576-5001 x12
Board of Orthotists and Prosthetists Public Meeting
July 31, 2 p.m.; Aug.1, 9 a.m., Orlando
Crowne Plaza Orlando Universal
For details contact Joe Baker, Jr. by accessing www.doh.state.fl.us/mqa/orth Pros/index.html.
Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Public Meeting
Aug. 8, 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m, Orlando
The Grand Bohemian Hotel
For details, contact Suzanna Kelly at (850)245-4045,
or Suzanne_Kelly@doh.state.fl.us
Board of Pharmacy Professional Practice Committee Meeting
August 12, 9 a.m., Orlando
Orlando Airport Marriot
Also available on Conference Call: (888)808-6959; code: 5642037
For information, contact the Board of Pharmacy at (850)245-4292. The agenda will be available at www.doh.state.fl.us/mqa/pharmacy, two weeks prior to the meeting.
Board of Pharmacy Rules Committee Meeting
August 12, 2 p.m. Orlando
Orlando Airport Marriot
Also available via conference call: (888) 808-6959; code: 5642037
For details, contact the Board of Pharmacy at (850)245-4292. The agenda will be available at www.doh.state.fl.us/mqa/pharmacy, two weeks prior to the meeting.
Empowering Healthcare: A Look at Key Components
August 13, Ft. Lauderdale
Signature Grand
Contact Scott Langdon, 407-425-9500, scott@flhcc.com or visit www.flhcc.com for details
Board of Pharmacy Public Meeting
August 13, 8 a.m., Orlando
Orlando Airport Marriot
For details, contact the Board of Pharmacy at (850)245-4292.The agenda will also be available one week prior to the meeting date at www.doh.state.fl.us/mqa/pharmacy.
2008 Florida Minority Health Disparities Summitt
August 13-15, Tampa
Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay
For details, contact Susan Smith at (850) 245-4111 or visit www.doh.state.fl.us/Minority/
index.htm
Board of Medicine Credentials Committee Public Meeting
August 14, 9:00 a.m., Orlando
Renaissance Hotel
For details, visit www.flhealthsource.com or call (850)245-4131. For an agenda, contact Shamyah Gibson at shamyah_gibson@doh.state.fl.us or call (850)245-4131, ext. 3518.
Board of Medicine Anesthesiologist Assistants Committee Public Meeting
August 14, 9:15 a.m., Orlando
Renaissance Hotel Orlando
For details, visit www.flhealthsource.com or call (850)245-4131. For an agenda, contact Chandra Prine at chandra_prine@doh.state.fl.us or call (850)245-4135.
Board of Medicine Physician Assistant Council Meeting
August 14, 9:30 a.m., Orlando
Renaissance Orlando Hotel
For information, call (850)245-4131or visit www.flhealthsource.com. For an agenda, contact Vera Johnson at Vera_Johnson@doh.state.fl.us or call (850)245-4131, ext. 3528.
Board of Medicine Rules and Legislative Committee Meeting
August 14, 9:45 a.m., Orlando
Renaissance Orlando Hotel
For information, visit www.flealthsource.com or call (850)245-4131. For an agenda, contact Whitney Bowen at whitney_bowen@doh.state.fl.us or (850)245-4131, ext. 3517.
Board of Medicine Surgical Care/Quality Assurance Committee Public Meeting
August 14,10 a.m., Orlando
Renaissance Orlando Hotel
For details, visit www.flhealthsource.com or call (850)245-4131. For an agenda, contact Gwyn Willis at Gwyn_Willis@doh.state.fl.us or (850)245-4131, ext. 3532.
Board of Medicine Public Meeting
August 15-16, 8 a.m., Orlando
Renaissance Orlando Hotel
For details, visit www.flhealthsource.com or call (850)245-4131. For an agenda, contact Whitney Bowen at whitney_bowen@doh.state.fl.us or call (850)245-4131, ext. 3517.
Board of Medicine Probable Cause Panel- South
September 12, 2 p.m.
Conference Call: (888) 808-6959
Code: 2454131
For details, contact Trisha L. Grubbs at (850)245-4640, ext. 8145 or email her at Trisha_Grubbs@doh.state.fl.us
Division of Medical Quality Assurance Public Meeting
Sept. 17, 8:30 a.m. – 12 Noon, Tallahassee
Betty Easley Conf. Center, Rm. 152
For details, contact Cassandra Pasley, (850)245-4224
Board of Medicine Probable Cause Panel- North
September 26, 2 p.m.
Conference Call: (888) 808-6959,
Code: 2454131
For details, contact Joyce Blackwell at (850)245-4640, ext. 8142 or email her at Joyce_Blackwell@doh.state.fl.us |
Top Story
Florida takes action to get the lead out of dental work
By Whitney Sessa
5/14/2008 © Florida Health News
Lead is so damaging to the body that it's been banned from house paint, gasoline and other products. Yet in recent months it has been found in children's jewelry, pet toys and even dental work -- all with some link to China.
Following reports in February of a contaminated dental bridge in Ohio, Florida legislators passed a bill requiring dental laboratories to disclose where a product originated and the materials it contains. The bill awaits Gov. Crist’s signature.
When it passed the disclosure requirement on the final day of the legislative session May 2, Florida became the first state to act on the Ohio reports, said Rep. Stan Jordan, R-Jacksonville.
“If I were a dentist, I would want that added measure of protection,” said Jordan, the bill’s sponsor. “You need to be able to trace it back.” Patients can also request the information, which is to be kept in their records, he said.
Other provisions in the bill allow dentists who hold licenses from other states to practice in Florida in areas where they are needed, and require some training before opening a dental laboratory. Before, anyone could legally open a lab by just getting a business license, said Jordan. “We could open one out of the trunk of our car,” he said.
The dental bill has been in the works since 2006, but the industry did not support it at first because it called for every lab to have a certified dental technician. The Florida Dental Association believed that was unnecessary and would eventually cause smaller dental labs to go out of business, said Nolan W. Allen, the group’s president. When that requirement was dropped, the association became a co-sponsor.
“I was really proud to stand up and say that Florida was the first in the nation to pass point-of-origin and material-content disclosure,” Allen said.
Dental laboratory disclosure has been an issue for years, said Bennett Napier, executive director of the National Association of Dental Laboratories, another group that supported the bill. The issue heated up in February, when WBNS-10TV in Ohio reported that a Ravenna woman suffered long-term pain and jaw damage from a dental bridge made of materials from China that contained unsafe levels of lead.
Loopholes in federal and state laws allowed U.S. dental labs to send work overseas where production costs are cheaper, often without the knowledge of the dentists and patients, 10TV reported. The station ordered eight crowns from Chinese dental labs and found one contained lead.
The disclosure act is a good idea, said Alex Cardounel, a dentist in Plantation, Fla. He said he has been doing business with the same dental laboratory in Fort Lauderdale for about 20 years, one that provides a decal that lists the composition of all the metals used in the products. When dentists send work to China, Cardounel said, “how are you supposed to know what you are getting back?"
Assuming the governor signs it, the law will go into effect Jan. 1, 2009.
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