Georgia Woman Forced To Call 911 After Hospital ER Fails To Provide Treatment for Life-Threatening Condition

In most cases involving 911 responders and life-threatening medical conditions, patients call the emergency hotline before being transported to the nearest emergency room. But for Christy Mitchell, a Georgia resident with a rare pulmonary disease, simply going to the emergency room at Gwinnett Medical Center in Lawrenceville, Georgia was not enough — Mitchell actually had to call 911 after arriving at the hospital’s emergency room because she wasn’t getting the immediate care that she needed.

According to CBS 46 News, Mitchell suffers from a life-threatening disease that requires medicine to be “pumped into her body every two minutes” to ensure that her blood flow stays constant and transports enough oxygen to her lungs. When Mitchell’s medicine pump suddenly malfunctioned, she called a friend to drive her to the closest hospital right away.

But when she arrived at the ER, Mitchell says that she encountered some problems when she tried to explain how serious her condition is. After offering to call up the PA who works with Mitchell regularly, and who could explain her condition to the hospital staff more fully, Mitchell was told that calling the PA wouldn’t make a difference, since that medical technician worked at a different facility which had “no jurisdiction” at the Gwinnett Medical Center.

Left with no other choices — and no hope of receiving treatment before the dozens of other patients in the ER — Mitchell says that she left the hospital and proceeded to call 911 immediately.

“Making that decision to leave the ER was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” said Mitchell’s friend Brannon Chappell, who had driven her to the hospital.

Chappell then drove Mitchell to a nearby shopping center, according to Fox6 News, where an ambulance arrived and provided immediate treatment to restart her medication flow.

According to Fox6 News, the specialist who normally treats Mitchell stated that he wasn’t surprised by the incident — very few people suffer from the same pulmonary disease, meaning that very few emergency medical staff know how life-threatening it can be if the medication isn’t administered on time. Beyond inserting a regular IV, the specialist explained, the staff at Gwinnett Medical Center likely had no clue how or why Mitchell’s medication had to be administered.

Although Mitchell’s case is not the norm, it’s evidence of a growing problem among hospital emergency rooms: too many patients seek treatment at emergency rooms when they don’t really need it, and patients like Mitchell are left without adequate immediate treatment. Mitchell certainly couldn’t sit around in the ER waiting room for hours until the center was able to understand her condition — she couldn’t even wait the 15 minutes that patients often encounter at urgent care clinics.

The hospital has declined to provide any specific details about Mitchell’s incident, citing mandated privacy regulations, but it did release a statement saying that “[ER] patients are assessed and treated based on acuity [and] initiation of certain treatments require physician orders to ensure patient safety.”

Study: Resistance Regarding Electronic Health Records Culturally, Not Empirically, Based

Hospitals and doctors’ offices across the country have worked in recent years to adopt electronic health records, spurred largely by the 2011 Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act and its financial incentives. But critics say these EHRs have not been shown to significantly improve patient care quality, and may even leave patients vulnerable to having their information stolen.

According to a recent study, however, the real reason such anxiety surrounds the implementation of EHRs is simply fear of change among medical professionals. “They want to stick with what they know works,” co-author Jaeyong Bae, of Northern Illinois University, said in a March 5 news release.

Bae, along with William E. Encinosa of Georgetown, found that hospitals that do not use EHRs see a 14% increase in medical errors over those that do. Because of this and other factors, their study concludes that cultural changes, and not efficacy, are the real impediment to expansion and more efficient use of EHRs.

The study has been published in the March issue of the journal Healthcare.

 

The Question of Interoperability

Another major criticism of EHRs is that current efforts — including billions of dollars in public funds awarded through the HITECH Act — have done little to address interoperability, or sharing of EHRs among practitioners.

Part of the vision of EHRs is that doctors will be able to pull up information from visits with other providers and be able to better coordinate care, but even Bae acknowledges this is not yet fully a reality.

Because providers use many systems, most of which are incompatible with one another, it’s fairly common for one practitioner to receive patient information via fax or in physical form, then have to actually enter it into a new EHR.

Interoperability was even the subject of a scathing blog post written by five American senators and released on the Health Affairs blog March 4. “What have the American people gotten for their $35 billion dollar investment [in the HITECH Act]?” the authors ask. “… There is inconclusive evidence that the program has achieved its goals of increasing efficiency, reducing costs, and improving the quality of care.”

Utah Public Health Official Warns That Measles Danger Has Not Passed

After a California-centered measles outbreak that has affected at least three Utah residents — as well as 146 others in seven states, Canada and Mexico — Dr. Joseph Miner of the Utah County Health Department is still concerned that the public is not as knowledgeable as it ought to be about the potential for a serious outbreak in the state.

“Because the vaccine has been so successful, a lot of parents think they are not at risk and don’t know how serious [outbreaks] are,” Miner told KSL News Feb. 17.

Many of those affected by the California outbreak either visited Disneyland or were in contact with other park guests or workers. The strain contracted by the patients is similar to one prevalent in the Philippines, which is unsurprising given the number of out-of-country tourists who visit the amusement park every year. Most of the infected people had not been vaccinated.

All three of the cases in Utah involved unvaccinated teens from the same family.

Miner said it’s important that people look to history for perspective on just how seriously measles should be taken, and let that guide both policy debates and personal decisions regarding vaccination opt-outs.

“Cemeteries have many, many gravesites of infants, toddlers and preschool children who died from vaccine-preventable diseases,” he warned. “We could easily return to that if people decided they didn’t want to immunize.”
A National Focus on Measles

The most recent outbreak has also spurred conversation on a national level. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new guidance on the treatment of measles Feb. 20, saying that Vitamin A should be used.

Patients should be treated in airborne isolation rooms to prevent the transmission of the highly contagious disease, and people showing symptoms are being encouraged to call their healthcare providers for guidance instead of just showing up in clinics or emergency rooms, since a lack of adequate preparation places other patients at risk.

The good news, at least, is that modern tools in the form of electronic health records are helping physicians and public health officials to better track immunizations and urge non-compliant patients to come in for the necessary shots.

As of 2013, about 69% of physicians reported that they had already applied or intended to apply to participate in the Medicare or Medicaid EHR incentive programs — one major driver of the rapid adoption of electronic records — and having such records makes it far easier for staff to rapidly contact people who may simply have forgotten about the vaccination schedule, rather than purposefully chosen not to vaccinate.

The MMR (measures, mumps and rubella) vaccine is typically given in two doses, the first between 12 and 15 months of age and the second between ages four and six.

Utah Spent $115,000 Containing the Measles Outbreak

Since December, controversy has raged over an outbreak of measles that occurred at Disneyland and quickly spread across the United States. In recent weeks, most of the debates and fears have centered around the importance of vaccinations and the likelihood of this highly contagious disease causing a serious outbreak. However, as health officials begin to suggest that their states are safe, a new question is emerging: how much does it cost to manage an outbreak of an illness like the measles?

This query was recently answered in Utah, only days after state public health managers announced that the area’s measles outbreak was over. The ordeal began when two unvaccinated minors from Utah County returned home after a visit to Disneyland in mid-December. Before testing positive, the patients unknowingly exposed hundreds by visiting movie theaters, grocery stores, and church services. But while officials from the Department of Health stated that as many as 400 people could be affected, only one other patient, also unvaccinated, contracted the disease.

This unexpectedly positive outcome was the result of the constant effort of local health departments, who conducted numerous case investigations, assessed patients, and reviewed immunization records. Staff members also made more than 1,600 phone calls to 117 potential patients, who were quarantined and monitored daily. As part of these efforts, the Utah Public Health Laboratory conducted 29 laboratory tests, sending two samples to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Meanwhile, the Utah Poison Control Center responded to 300 calls from the public and the Utah County Health Department provided 586 measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines in January, logging more than 600 staff hours to meet public demand.

All in all, 90 Utah public health employees spent a total of 3,000 hours managing the measles outbreak. As a result, it has been estimated that the state spent $115,000 working to contain the virus cluster. However, this amount does not include indirect costs, such as public education, medical consultations, and private health care expenses.

While the state outbreak has been declared over, public health officials will continue to track any potential new cases. To prevent another outbreak, people are encouraged to get vaccinated for measles and other viruses if they have not done so already. If you cannot make an appointment with your doctor or find a vaccination program in your area, consider visiting an urgent care center. These walk in medical clinics offer a number of treatments for non-life-threatening conditions, as well as routine blood work, x rays, physical exams, and more.

Recalled Frozen Berries Contaminated With Hepatitis A Linked to Chinese Factory

Instances of food contamination in Chinese packing plants seem to have risen in frequency over the years, and this time it’s frozen mixed berries contaminated with hepatitis A that are making people sick.

Last week, Australian authorities began investigating after five people fell ill after consuming frozen berries distributed by Patties Frozen Berries.

The Guardian reports that those people have since been diagnosed with hepatitis A. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, symptoms of hepatitis A include fever, vomiting, fatigue, jaundice, joint pain, and dark urine. Contamination occurs after contact with the fecal matter of an infected person.

After an investigation, the contamination has been linked to a packaging plant. The berries are grown in Chile and China before distribution in Australia, but the contamination is thought to have taken place where the berries are packaged in China.

“The particular risk that we’ve identified here is that a country that has endemic hepatitis A, that is China, has been involved with packing these berries,” Finn Romanes, the department’s senior medical adviser, told Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio. “Clearly there’s strong evidence that there may have been a contamination during the packing process, as they are fully sealed and then transported to Australia.”

Patties Foods then extended the recall that was already in place, which covered all 1kg packs of Nanna’s Frozen Mixed Berries. The extended recall now includes 300g and 500g packs of Creative Gourmet Mixed Berries.

Among the more memorable food production snafus in China are infant formula (which killed six and sickened 300,000) and frozen strawberries that caused 11,000 German children to fall ill with diarrhea and vomiting in 2012. Food recalls fall under product liability, which has the second-highest median damage awards of all types of personal injury cases, garnering an average of $300,000.

According to the New York Times, food production and contamination in China have been a concern due to compromised water quality because of pollution and rapid industrialization, and poor and unsanitary factory conditions.

California Man Plummets 300 Feet to His Death While Camping

A California man fell to his death last week after wandering away from the campsite where he and his friends were staying.

According to the Fresno Bee, 26-year-old Zachary Penn fell an estimated 300 feet off the side of a cliff and died as a result of his injuries.

He reportedly walked away from the campsite to relieve himself around 10 pm Wednesday night and did not return. The friends Penn was camping with reported him missing but discovered his body at the foot of a cliff before deputies arrived.

The friends were camping near Shaver Springs Road and Tollhouse Road, which is a granite dome about an hour outside of the city of Fresno. Millions of Americans go camping each year; more than 42 million went on a camping trip in 2011.

While hiking is one of the most popular camping activities, it can also be one of the most dangerous. Leaving a group, a campground, or a marked trail can result in falls like these or other tragic consequences. In a survey conducted by The Outdoor Foundation, a little less than 70% of respondents reported that they usually camp in public campgrounds, but many of them are not open during the winter months.

“Camping is an outdoor experience that can often be dangerous,” said Bruce Aljets, president of Sioux Falls Yogi Bear Camp-Resorts. “People need to be aware of existing conditions and respond accordingly. Our condolences to family and friends.”

Penn’s body was discovered late Wednesday night, but his body was unable to be recovered until early Thursday morning. The Monterey Herald reports that Penn’s body was recovered with the help of American Ambulance’s STAR rescue team and was taken to a Coroner’s office.

Authorities say at this point that it is unclear whether or not alcohol played a role in Penn’s fall.

South Dakota Business Owner Faces Charges for Selling Recalled Mexican Supplement Online

It’s one thing when an herbal supplement doesn’t contain all of the active ingredients listed on the label — which happens more often than consumers realize, according to a recent Clarkson University study — because these supplements rarely guarantee results anyway, and the herbs tend to have minimal side effects (if any at all). In fact, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn’t even require herbal supplements to be tested and approved before hitting the shelves.

However, it’s an entirely different matter when a business buys cheap herbal drugs from Mexico, rips off the labels, and sells them online under a different American name to American consumers — which is exactly what Stanley Brower, the owner of dietary supplement business Brower Enterprises, has been caught doing.

According to South Dakota newspaper The Daily Press, Brower bought up the Mexican pain-relieving supplement “Reumofan Plus” — which was sold in the U.S. up until the FDA and Mexican health officials issued recalls on the drug in 2012 — and sold it under the name “WOW” on at least two different websites between July and December 2012.

The recall was issued due to findings that the “100% natural” supplement actually contained three prescription drugs, including methocarbomal (a muscle relaxer) and dexamethasone (an anti-inflammatory drug), which can have life-threatening side effects when taken with certain other prescriptions. These side effects include severe bleeding, stroke, and death.

The problem with Brower’s rebranding scheme wasn’t necessarily that he sold Reumofan Plus, since the official warning was released around the time of the sales. The problem was that people weren’t aware that they were actually consuming Reumofan Plus when they purchased WOW, and therefore were not aware of its side effects. Similar to online pharmacies, which sell drugs that are rarely approved by the FDA, Brower’s business ended up causing quite a disaster with just 220 bottles.

Brower has been charged with nine counts of introducing a misbranded drug into the market with intent to defraud, and five counts of receipt and offered delivery of a misbranded drug. The 68-year-old business owner (yes, his business is still somehow running) has plead not guilty to all charges, and is scheduled to appear in court sometime in April.

Both Brower and his attorney have declined to comment on the charges.

Chicago Little League Team Stripped Of Title, Still Considered Community ‘Champions’

Children who regularly participate in sports and other athletic activities have been shown to have higher self-esteem than those who do not, but the young players who make up Chicago’s Jackie Robinson West (JRW) Little League team recently suffered from a major blow.

Hailing from one of Chicago’s roughest and most dangerous neighborhoods, the all-African-American team served as a textbook example of the unifying power of sports. The team provided one of the most well known feel-good stories of last summer when it won the U.S. Little League Championship and made it to the international finals before losing to a South Korean team.

Now, that title is being stripped away.

Last week Wednesday, the team was forced to give up their national title due to the use of ineligible players, who did not qualify to play because they lived outside of the team’s boundaries. But the community that supported them while they achieved despite-the-odds success and national fame still considers the young players “champions.”

“This is a heartbreaking decision,” said Little League International President Stephen Keener in a statement publicly announcing the difficult decision. “What these players accomplished on the field and the memories and lessons they have learned during the Little League World Series tournament is something the kids can be proud of, but it is unfortunate that the actions of adults have led to this outcome.”

Despite the team and community’s disappointment, President Obama — who met with JRW players at the White House following their championship win — still holds the team in high regard and supports their efforts.

“The president is proud of the way that they represented their city and the way they represented their country,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters last Wednesday.

The team is said to have used a map with altered boundaries to select its 2014 squad, and “met with other leagues in Illinois District 4 to get the territory they wrongfully claimed was theirs,” the league said.

Team manager Darold Butler was suspended, while Illinois District 4 administrator Michael Kelly was terminated from his position. The team remains on probation and will hold no tournament privileges until the governing body determines it is compliant.

The national title will be awarded to the the Las Vegas-based Mountain Ridge club, the Nevada team that JRW defeated last summer. Similarly, JRW’s other regional titles will be given to teams who lost those games.

Ride-Sharing Services Finally Legalized in Virginia

Ride-sharing services Uber and Lyft have been operating under an interim agreement in Virginia for the better part of a year now, but a new law setting license procedures and standards for drivers will allow the transportation businesses to pick up and drop off passengers safely and legally.

“I am proud to sign this legislation, which supports innovation in our transportation system while also protecting the safety of citizens across the commonwealth,” said Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe. “Virginia is leading the way on attracting and supporting innovative companies in every sector of our economy.”

Ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft allow users to conveniently catch a ride and pay for it easily all via their smartphone. Users simply open the respective app, select a pick-up location and drop-off point, and within minutes, a driver will be there to take them where they need to go. Once there, the payments are automatically handled through the app.

Last spring, the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles issued Uber and Lyft a civil penalty each. In June, the DMV then sent letters to the companies informing them that they were operating illegally and must cease and desist, or else the state would fine the companies’ drivers.

By August, McAuliffe and Herring had hashed out an interim agreement allowing the companies to legally operate until lawmakers could set up some regulations.

Although legal English is difficult for everyday citizens to properly decipher and understand, the new regulatory law, House Bill 1662, is fairly simple. It requires the companies to screen their drivers, ensuring that they all pass criminal background checks, aren’t in the sex registry database, and have clean driving records. These requirements are essentially identical to the processes Uber and Lyft already use to screen their prospective drivers.

According to Delegate Tom Rust, who sponsored House Bill 1662, “Now that this legislation will become law, Virginians can take advantage of this new technology with assurance that reasonable safety and liability measures are governing its use.”

The law basically formalizes the temporary agreement between the ride-sharing services, Governor McAuliffe, and Attorney General Mark Herring, allowing the the companies to conduct business. AG Herring also said that the new law can serve as a model for other states looking to develop regulations for ride-sharing services.

“As other states grapple with regulation of TNCs and the emerging sharing economy, they should look to Virginia, where we have found the balance between safety, passenger protection and innovation,” said the Attorney General. “This law will strengthen our economy, give consumers more transportation options, and further cement Virginia’s reputation as a national leader for pro-business policies and reasonable regulation.”

Northeast Utilities’ Re-Branding Reflects New Focus in the Marketing Industry

New signage can be a big secret when a re-branding campaign is involved. The Lauretano Sign Group, for example, recently created all-new signs for Northeast Utilities, keeping the designs and manufacturing process on a need-to-know basis even within the facility.

When the signs for the new company — called Eversource Energy as of Jan. 7 — were installed at 11 sites throughout Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, they were carefully covered with vinyl so that they wouldn’t be seen until their official unveiling Feb. 2.

New attention to signs is part of an intense focus in the marketing industry on not just labeling companies or their buildings, but creating a brand with a personality that consumers can relate to — and an image that will persuade those consumers to choose one company’s products or services over a competitor’s.

CEO Mike Lauretano Sr. said this isn’t the first time his workers have been required to sign non-disclosure agreements, and that in fact branding is taken so seriously within the corporate world that such restrictions are the norm.

There’s no doubt that outdoor signage serves an important purpose in branding a company and driving sales. “Signs serve as a type of silent salesperson for your business,” Chris Joseph explained recently in the Houston Chronicle small business section. “Exterior signs draw attention to your place of business and help differentiate it from others on the street.”

 

Expanding Signage Options

Signage and printing companies are offering more options than ever to keep up with growing demand for highly visible outdoor branding materials, and expensive fixed signs aren’t the only option.

In a Feb. 12 article for Talk Business Magazine, Scott Hartley recommended that businesses on a tighter budget consider vinyl signs. “From humble roots years ago, the vinyl banner is now a high-tech, durable and highly flexible communicator that offers great returns on investment,” he wrote, suggesting that they can double as effective tools for both outdoor advertising and indoor events such as conferences and exhibitions. Because vinyl banners are lightweight, they’re easy to hang in a variety of indoor and outdoor spots.

And far from being made obsolete by online marketing, Hartley argues that print marketing can make an even bigger impact in the real world than it used to: “Real, touchable communications place brands and campaigns right in front of their target audience, day after day.”