Health
More questionable deaths uncovered at Wisconsin psychiatric hospital
Using police and coroner records, Mary Zahn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel found three more deaths at a state psychiatric hospital involving questionable medical decisions. One woman complained she was paralyzed after a fall, but doctors and nurses at Winnebago Mental Health Institute didn’t believe her. They waited six days to take her to a…
Read MoreReporting of sudden infant deaths vary wildly across the country
The results of an in-depth investigation into infant deaths by Thomas Hargrove and Lee Bowman was launched online this week. They looked at over 40,000 infant deaths since 1992 to find that “the quality of infant death investigations, the level of training for coroners, and the amount of oversight and review vary enormously across the…
Read MoreIndentured doctors
Foreign doctors are being exploited by the Nevada physicians who sponsor their visas for U.S. medical residencies, reports Marshall Allen of the Las Vegas Sun. Under the Conrad State 30 program, foreign physicians are eligible for U.S. medical residencies located in underserved urban or rural areas. Instead, Allen writes, “Those sponsoring physicians pull the foreign…
Read MoreInvestigation leads to recall of deadly crib
An investigation by the Chicago Tribune prompted the Consumer Product Safety Commission to recall popular cribs sold under the Simplicity and Graco brand names from 1997 to 2008. Maurice Possley of the Tribune found numerous complaints about a drop rail that “can detach from the crib’s frame, creating a dangerous gap that has led to…
Read MoreThe football injury to die for
Most high-school football players aren’t concerned about concussions, nor would they tell their coach if they got one. However, Alan Schwarz of The New York Times, gives some compelling arguments for why they should be a lot more concerned. According Schwarz’s investigative report, teenagers who receive a second blow to the head following a first,…
Read MoreUS exports unsafe products
While much hoopla was made of the recall of certain Chinese-made products by the Consumer Product Safety Division, United States companies have been allowed to export unsafe products overseas, according to a report by Russell Carrollo of The Sacramento Bee. These items included very flammable children
Read MoreAccuracy of 9/11 health reports debated
Anthony DePalma and Serge F. Kovaleski of The New York Times explore questions about the health data reported by the Irving J. Selikoff Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine, which has overseen the treatment of thousands of ground zero workers. While the clinic’s efforts have been called “well meaning,” the resources needed to track and…
Read MoreDisability coverage fails workers in North Carolina
In North Carolina, access to federal disability insurance eludes those who need it most. Fred Kelly of The Charlotte Observer found bureaucratic snags hold up disability payments. “The disability program is supposed to provide a safety net for workers who become injured or mentally ill, but an Observer investigation found the system is flawed for…
Read MorePrescription pain med use nearly doubles
An investigation by Frank Bass of the Associated Press shows that the use of pain medication has nearly doubled in the U.S. over the past eight years. According to the latest figures from the Drug Enforcement Adminstration, “More than 200,000 pounds of codeine, morphine, oxycodone, hydrocodone and meperidine were purchased at retail stores…enough to give…
Read MoreSuicide, substance abuse deaths high in Nevada
Analysis of the CDC’s mortality data by Marshall Allen and Alex Richards of the Las Vegas Sun shows that residents of Nevada and Clark County “die younger and at higher rates of suicide, substance abuse and certain chronic illnesses compared with the rates nationally and in other large counties.” Sociologists and medical professionals seek to…
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