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Adventist Health officials announced late Friday that Redbud Community Hospital is undergoing a name change, and will henceforth be known as St. Helena Hospital-Clearlake
The new name becomes effect on Nov. 3, at which time the hospital will hold an inauguration ceremony on its campus to honor the past and celebrate the future.
Hospital administration said the switch is meant to better reflect the joint operating partnership between St. Helena Hospital in Napa County and St. Helena Hospital-Clearlake. Under that agreement, the hospitals coordinate a comprehensive spectrum of health care services for Napa, Lake, Solano, Sonoma and Mendocino counties.
“This process began more than two years ago as the two hospitals aligned their governing board, executive team, operations and many regional positions,” said JoAline Olson, the hospital's president and chief executive officer. “St. Helena Hospital has an excellent reputation in Lake, Napa and surrounding counties and is known for its high quality patient care and patient satisfaction, as well as its centers of excellence.”
Linda Gibson, senior vice president of operations at Redbud and a longtime senior administrator at St. Helena Hospital, said, “With the name change, we are extending the St. Helena brand and reputation to Lake County and strengthening our position as a regional provider of health care services.”
St. Helena Hospital-Clearlake is investing approximately $10 million in new and upgraded facilities in Lake County, including an emergency department expansion, remodeled surgery suites, a sophisticated electronic medical records system, a new hospital front entrance, new equipment, and a new family health center in Kelseyville.
In addition to being the second largest employer in Lake County, the hospital provided the following services last year: 76,000 rural health clinic visits, 57,000 outpatient visits, 15,000 emergency department visits and 1,600 in-patient visits.
Both St. Helena Hospital-Clearlake and Napa's St. Helena Hospital are part of the 19-hospital network of Adventist Health, a nonprofit, faith-based health system operating in California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington.
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Sunday, Oct. 19 through Saturday, Oct. 25 is Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Week.
Lead poisoning may have contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire. It caused Beethoven’s erratic behavior, his death and maybe even his deafness. It is lead poisoning, and it still affects children throughout California.
Lead can damage a child’s brain and nervous system. It's especially dangerous for children under age 6 because their rapidly growing and developing bodies absorb more lead. This can cause permanent learning and behavioral problems that make it difficult for children to succeed in school.
The 2007 Census indicates there were approximately 4,094 children under the age of 5 and more than 10,000 children enrolled in grades kindergarten through 12 in Lake County.
School statistics show that 60 Lake County children ages 7 through 15 were identified having emotional disturbances and 589 children ages 5 to 18 have specific learning disabilities. Lead exposure may play a part in these behavioral and learning problems.
A blood lead test is the only way to know if a child has lead poisoning. Most children at highest risk are those who live or spend time in older housing built before 1978 which may have deteriorating lead-based paint and lead-contaminated soil and dust.
Health officials say children should be tested at both 1 and 2 years of age. Also, children 3 to 6 years old who are at risk should also have a blood lead test.
Parents can talk to their child’s doctor about getting tested for lead. According to data provided by Lake County Health Officer Dr. Karen Tait,152 blood lead tests were done in Lake County detecting one elevated lead level.
If an average of 200 young children are screened annually, at best only about 25 percent of the population can be reached. With the local prevalence of lead levels estimated at about 0.6 percent, the county should expect to have roughly 25 children under age 5 with lead poisoning.
Common sources of childhood lead poisoning include handmade ceramic tableware, especially imported pieces decorated with lead-based glaze or paint. Traditional home remedies can include Azarcon, Greta and Pay-loo-ah. Traditional cosmetics can contain Kohl and Surma.
Increasing amounts of imported toys, candies and food products are entering our country. Web sites such as www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/Recalls/allhazards.htm, www.HealthyToys.org; www.calpoison.org or www.calpoison.org provide names of manufacturers and products to be avoided or which are safe to buy.
Work clothes, shoes and workers themselves are often exposed to lead if working with lead smelting, making or recycling batteries and repairing radiators. Parents can change into clean clothes and shoes before getting into their cars or going home. Dirty clothes and shoes can be bagged and washed separately from all other clothes with running the empty washing machine again after the work clothes to rinse the lead out.
When painting or remodeling, always follow lead-safe work practices: use plastic sheeting on the ground and furniture while working; wet surfaces before sanding and scraping; and wet mop the area at the end of the day. Never dry scrape, dry sand or use a heat gun to remove lead-based paint as these create dangerous dust and fumes.
Washing one’s face and hands with soap and water before leaving work and then taking a shower and washing one’s hair, preferably at work or as soon as you get home, is recommended. Parents and caregivers can all help to prevent childhood lead poisoning by wiping clean or taking off shoes before entering the home.
Washing children’s hands and toys is always a good idea. Good nutrition helps children’s bodies resist lead poisoning. Each day children need to be served three meals and two healthy snacks which include calcium-rich foods like milk, cheese, yogurt and tofu. Iron-rich foods include lean meats, beans, whole grain cereals, dried fruit and dark green vegetables. Vitamin C rich foods such as fresh, canned or frozen fruits and WIC fruit juices are recommended.
Children who receive services from Medi-Cal, Child Health and Disability Prevention or Healthy Families are eligible for free testing. Private health insurance plans will usually pay for the test.
To find out about eligibility for Medi-Cal and Healthy Families, call Lake Family Resource Center at 262-1611or toll free, 888-775-8336.
Contact the Lake County Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program at Easter Seals, 263-3949, for more information about childhood lead poisoning prevention and intervention.
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At the board's Thursday night meeting, directors voted unanimously to present the 17.7-percent base rate increase at a community meeting that will be held at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Northshore Fire District's Clearlake Oaks firehouse on Highway 20.
In August, the board held a meeting in which they presented a proposal for a nearly 40-percent increase along with some lesser hike options to ratepayers. That meeting saw community members shouting at the board, prompting then-board Vice President Mike Anisman to leave. Mike Benjamin began a recall drive against Anisman and board member Pat Shaver, who did not attend the meeting.
Since then, Anisman, Shaver and board President Helen Locke have resigned. Benjamin has since been appointed to the board and is now president.
On Thursday, the board – which includes Frank Toney and Harry Chase – voted unanimously to appoint Judy Heeszel to the fill one of two remaining vacancies. Heeszel was one of several people seeking the appointment, among them Dena Barron, Lee Wisdom and Lowell Estep.
Heeszel began attending board meetings regularly this summer when concerns about the district's financials and the resulting initial rate hike proposal became hot topics around Clearlake Oaks. Since then she has served on the district's finance committee, which she said has taught her a lot. "My whole attitude has changed."
Another board vacancy will be filled at the board's Nov. 20 meeting.
Heeszel and her fellow board members have significant challenges ahead. The district has more than $200,000 in debt currently, with more than $152,000 of that being old debt, said Jana Saccato, the district's secretary.
Benjamin said payroll and expenses are going down but the district is still short about $10,000 a month.
He said the rate proposal, which will take the base water and sewer rate from $56.24 to $66.19 per month per single family dwelling, was carefully crafted to have as little impact as possible on district customers. Overall, customers should not see more than a $9.95 monthly increase. The price of water will not go up.
"You're not going to pay any more for water, you're not going to pay any more for sewer," said Benjamin.
Besides catching the district up on a monthly basis, Benjamin said the increased revenues from the proposed rate hike should help the district slowly rebuild its reserves "as painlessly as possible." Those reserves once totaled about $1.3 million but were drained as the district took on capital improvements while having no rate hikes over several years, as Lake County News has reported.
Audits of the district's books are now under way, according to General Manager Darin McCosker.
Benjamin said the plan is to take the results of the audits back to ratepayers in a year, give them an update on the district's financial situation and decide what needs to be done next.
If the community approves the raise in rates, it would go into effect Nov. 1, said Benjamin.
Along with that, the district has pledged to put a wage and hiring freeze into effect for its employees for the next year, said Benjamin. "These are guarantees we're going to make to the community."
Benjamin said the board also is looking at its procedures, employee benefits and wage packages to find other ways of reducing costs.
Board members and district staff said the creation of the finance committee has made a huge difference in operations and the ability to focus on the financial challenges. McCosker, in particular, said it had taken a lot of pain out of his job.
Toney thanked Benjamin and fellow board members for forming the committee, which he said he had proposed six months ago but which the previous board had shot down.
The finance committee met once a week for seven weeks straight, up until this last Tuesday, each meeting lasting about three hours as members works on the rate proposal.
The committee still has a lot to do in looking at other ways to bring the district's finances into better shape, said Benjamin.
The group will take a little break for a while, as the focus now shifts to getting the rate hike approved.
Looking forward to Saturday's meeting, Benjamin said, "We're hoping for a completely different response from what there was the last time."
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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LUCERNE, Calif. – A county code enforcement officer arrested over the weekend on several drug-related charges says he was wrongly arrested because he has medical marijuana cards, while sheriff's officials say his arrest was justified due to the amount of marijuana in his possession.
Larry Morris Fabisch, 54, of Nice was arrested early Saturday morning and booked into the Lake County Jail on charges of possessing more than 28.5 grams of marijuana, planting and cultivation, possession for sale and carrying loaded firearms in public.
Fabisch has worked for the county for nearly 20 years, and has spent the last five years as a code enforcement officer. He's also a past president of the Lake County Employees Association, the union representing county employees.
Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office said a deputy spotted Fabisch's gray Chevrolet SUV parked near Lakeview Market alongside Highway 20 in Lucerne at about 2:30 a.m. Saturday.
Fabisch, who was accompanied by his son and two of his son's friends, told Lake County News he had stopped briefly there to point out the county's Visitor Center, the second floor of which is supposed to be a new home for Code Enforcement officers.
The deputy pulled up behind Fabisch's vehicle, which then moved off and began driving through Lucerne in an “erratic” fashion, before being stopped at Robin Hood Way and Foothill Drive, said Bauman.
Fabisch said he was on his way home from the Sierras where he had grown the marijuana for himself and his 20-year-old son, Thomas – who also has a medical marijuana recommendation – on family-owned land.
He and his son were on their way to drop off his son's two friends, Justin Stephanson, 19, of Scotia, and Aaron Stephanson, 20, of Lucerne, at a Lucerne residence when they were stopped.
Inside the SUV the deputy allegedly found 89 pounds of recently harvested marijuana plants, said Bauman, who didn't have an actual tally of the number of plants involved.
“It's considered significant,” he said of the amount of marijuana alleged to be in Fabisch's possession.
A small amount of processed marijuana also was found, along with a small revolver and a small caliber rifle, said Bauman. Fabisch said the firearms are used for shooting in the hills with his son.
Bauman said Fabisch got out of his vehicle and went back to the deputy's car; at that point he refused to return to his vehicle and so he was detained, said Bauman.
Fabisch said he was trying to show the deputy – who was joined by a second deputy and a sergeant – his two medical marijuana cards, which he placed on the patrol car's hood.
He accused the deputies of being unnecessarily rough with him. Fabisch said he was pointing to his cards when one of the deputies grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back to handcuff him. Fabisch said he wasn't attempting to resist arrest.
Fabisch said the deputies disregarded his medical marijuana cards. “They were not wiling to listen to anything.”
Bauman said Fabisch was arrested due to the large amount of marijuana in his possession. “He had way more than anyone with a card is allowed to have,” said Bauman.
According to Fabisch, his medical marijuana recommendation allows him to have 25 plants or five pounds of processed marijuana.
During the stop, Thomas Fabisch fled the scene, said Bauman. Larry Fabisch said he understood his son's fear about whether or not his medical marijuana card was going to be accepted. “Who's going to stick around to find out when they're handcuffing dad?”
Aaron Stephanson told the deputy that he had assisted Fabisch with harvesting the marijuana; Justin Stephanson said Fabisch had picked him up in San Andreas late on Friday.
Bauman said Fabisch was transported to the Lake County Jail after his arrest and booked. He posted his $10,000 bail at about 10:30 a.m. Saturday and was released.
Code Enforcement Division Manager Voris Brumfield did not return a call seeking comment on the situation, and Community Development Director Rick Coel – whose department includes Code Enforcement – said he did not have any information on Fabisch's case.
Fabisch took Tuesday and Wednesday off and planned to return to work Thursday. He said he was anxious about what to expect when he returns to the office.
County Personnel Director Kathy Ferguson said the county has no personnel policies regarding arrests. She forwarded Lake County News copies of the county's alcohol and drug policies, which allow testing if an employee is believed to be impaired. An employee's use of medical marijuana under Proposition 215 isn't covered by those policies.
Fabisch said he has been open about his use of medical marijuana, and has had a card for about seven years. He said he has a long list of medical issues, including heart bypass surgery two years ago and severe “cluster” headaches which, when they occur, require him to go to the emergency room for treatment.
He said he never uses medical marijuana while on duty. “I don't abuse it at work. I respect it.”
Fabisch challenged his arrest, saying that Proposition 215 – the California Compassionate Use Act of 1996 – does not impose limits on the amount of medical marijuana a patient may have. Attempts to impose such limits, such as SB 420, have been ruled unconstitutional by California courts.
While SB 420 sets a baseline of six mature plants or half a pound of processed marijuana per patient, it also states that patients can be exempted from those limits if their doctor says they need more, according to California NORML, a group dedicated to reforming the state's marijuana laws.
He's enlisted the services of Stephen Tulanian, a formidable defense attorney who previously helped win marijuana activist Eddy Lepp acquittal in the county's first medical marijuana trial.
Fabisch said he is due in court on Dec. 1. In the mean time, he said he doesn't expect authorities will return to him the medical marijuana that was seized.
Officials are planning to seek the same drug charges as those filed against Fabisch against his son – who also will be charged with resisting a law enforcement officer – and the Stephansons, whose stories aren't adding up in the opinion of investigators, said Bauman.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at [email protected].
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