Health
FEMA trailers reappearing in Gulf to house oil spill workers
FEMA trailers are appearing in the Gulf region to serve as temporary housing for workers involved in cleanup of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, according to an investigation by Ian Urbina of The New York Times. “The trailers were discovered to have such high levels of formaldehyde that the government banned them from ever being…
Read MoreCradle of Secrets series
An six-part investigation by The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer “examined autopsies for more than 550 baby deaths from 2004-2008 that were classified as SIDS, a category that means natural and unpreventable.” The investigation revealed that at least one well-known and potentially fatal risk factor was present 69 percent of those deaths.
Read MoreInstitutionalized individuals are “cash cows” for the state of New York
Nine institutions for New York’s developmentally disabled get nearly $5,000 per person per day in Medicaid reimbursements. This is ten times what they received in 1991 when the state vowed that they would shut the sprawling, inefficient centers by 2000. According to a report by Mary Beth Pfeiffer, of the Poughkeepsie (N.Y.) Journal, the state…
Read MorePsychiatric hospital strained by patient needs, funding shortfalls
An investigation by The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer found that some dangerously ill patients who visit Charlotte’s psychiatric hospital are instead given medicine and sent home – sometimes with disastrous results. With perennial overcrowding at the county’s 66-bed psychiatric facility, few who visit the hospital’s emergency department are admitted. The result: patients like Kenny Chapman don’t…
Read MoreDoctor’s role in pharmaceutical study questioned
An investigation by John Fauber, of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, found that when doctors sign off on research about powerful new drugs, they may be doing so based on data provided them by drug companies – not the raw data that underlies the studies themselves. Fauber looked at the case of Multaq, a drug for…
Read MoreCensured doctors among Pfizer’s paid experts
An investigation by Peter Aldhous and Jim Giles of NewScientist found that some of the experts used by Pfizer to lead educational forums have been “disciplined for deficiencies in patient care, while others have been reprimanded for how they conducted drug research trials.“
Read MoreProblems plague Georgia’s foster care system
An investigation by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution revealed widespread problems in Georgia’s foster care system. “The newspaper reviewed more than 1,500 reports of state inspections and investigations, which provide an astonishing narrative of stark conditions and inadequate oversight in small foster homes and large group facilities alike. ” In one case, an 17-year-old with a history…
Read MoreFailures in electronic record systems may pose danger to patients
A review of Food and Drug Administration reports by Fred Schulte and Emma Schwartz, of the Huffington Post Investigative Fund, revealed failures in electronic medical records systems that have resulted in death or serious injuries for patients. These “adverse events” could indicate bigger issues as hospitals make the move from paper to electronic records. Experts…
Read MoreHawaii’s long-term-care system for elderly fraught with problems
In a four-part series, Rob Perez of the Honolulu Advertiser found Hawaii’s long-term-care system for the elderly is fraught with problems, including a placement system tainted by kickbacks and fraud. He also found that Hawaii nursing homes are the least sanctioned in the country, that reforms at the state Legislature are consistently blocked by care-home…
Read MoreNanomaterials may pose serious health risk
Once confined to cutting-edge labs, nanotechnology has an increasingly pervasive place in everyday life. Its ultra-tiny engineered particles are now in as many as 10,000 products. A series by Andrew Schneider of AOL News shows a growing body of research suggests these nanomaterials pose significant and potentially fatal health risks including lung, heart and brain…
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