Health
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
Berg's Assembly Joint Resolution 30 was approved by the full Assembly on a 74-0 vote during an afternoon session Thursday. The measure urges passage of House of Representatives bill 741, which would provide additional funding for prevention, education, treatment and research of Lyme Disease.
“This is very simple,” said Berg, D-Eureka. “We are asking Congress to do its job.”
Lyme Disease is caused by a bacteria carried by the western blacklegged tick, which has been reported in 50 of the 58 counties in California. The disease is especially prevalent in the coastal regions that make up the 1st Assembly District, represented by Berg. Humboldt, Sonoma, and Mendocino counties have the highest number of Lyme Disease cases in the state.
Symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue and a rash. If left untreated, it can spread to the joints, nervous system and heart. Lyme Disease is treated with antibiotics when found early enough, but chronic ailments may develop if left untreated. The tick is common to the humid coastal regions and the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada.
“The North Coast needs Congress’ help,” said Berg. “So we’re asking for it.”
According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, California is one of three regions in the country where Lyme Disease is endemic.
Phyllis Mervine, of Mendocino County, is president of the California Lyme Disease Association and resident of Mendocino County.
“I'd like to express my appreciation to Patty Berg for sponsoring AJR 30,” said Mervine. “Lyme Disease is a growing public health threat in California, with some areas being as risky as highly endemic areas in the northeast.”
The resolution will now go to the Senate.
Visit Berg's Web site at http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/members/a01/leginfo.aspx.
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LAKE COUNTY – The Lake County Alcohol and Other Drug Services (AODS), a division of Lake County Mental Health, is joining together with community agencies nationwide to celebrate September as National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month.
During September, communities nationwide join together to help people recognize that substance abuse or addiction to drugs and alcohol is a treatable disease, and that treatment is as effective as it is for other chronic medical conditions, such as diabetes and high blood pressure.
AODS is planning multiple activities, in cooperation with other local agencies, to promote recovery from addiction.
President George Bush has proclaimed that “National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month provides an important opportunity to promote the values that have given people the strength to beat drug and alcohol abuse and remain drug-free ... it emphasizes the critical role of communities in encouraging individuals with substance abuse problems to seek help.
“While those who suffer from addiction must help themselves, it is also crucial for family, friends, and people with shared experiences to support those fighting to overcome substance abuse,” President Bush said. “Those in recovery play a key role in helping others achieve healthy lives. They can convey important information about the toll of alcohol and drug addiction and the benefits of recovery, inspire others to succeed, and allow young people to learn valuable lessons about their experiences.”
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates that each $1 spent treating Americans who suffer from alcoholism, substance abuse or addiction saves about $24 in lost productivity, law enforcement, health care, justice and other costs.
Experts also report that treatment for addiction is as effective as treatment for other chronic medical conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure, but only 20 percent of the people who need treatment are getting it.
“Drug and alcohol abuse and addiction have devastating health and societal consequences. Substance abuse is the root cause of a myriad of health problems – it causes tens of thousands of deaths each year, and untreated addiction takes an enormous economic toll – an estimated $294 billion annually,” said Laura Solis, Administrator of the Alcohol and Other Drug Services. “But it can be successfully treated.
For this reason, the Recovery Month 2007 theme, “Join the Voices for Recovery: Saving Lives, Saving Dollars,” is especially appropriate. Recovery Month is the right time to highlight the benefits of substance abuse treatment and encourage individuals with drug and alcohol problems to begin their journey of recovery,” said Ms. Solis.
Lake County AODS activities for Recovery Month include:
Sept. 4: Board of Supervisors’ Proclamation to declare the month of September as Recovery Month in Lake County.
Sept. 5: AODS staff will be transporting a group of recovering clients to Sacramento for an all-day rally in support of Recovery Month to be held at the Capital steps.
Sept. 15: AODS is hosting, along with staff from the Mental Health Department, New Beginnings, Lake Family Resource Center, and other community organizations that help recovering addicts, a “March for Recovery” and community picnic in Clearlake. The march will begin in Redbud Park at 11am, we will be walking to Austin Park where there will be a free picnic, speakers, and other activities for families to enjoy.
For further information about these events, please call AODS at 263-8162.
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The bill, which has already passed the Senate, will soon be voted on by the full Assembly.
Existing law provides that if a defendant is found to be mentally incompetent to stand trial or “IST,” the trial or judgment is suspended until the IST defendant is restored to mental competency. Existing law also requires the county sheriff to take the IST defendant to a state hospital or treatment facility in order to restore the defendant to competency.
If an IST defendant has been accused of committing a felony offense, involving great bodily harm or another serious crime, the law allows the defendant to be involuntarily medicated in a mental hospital or facility.
Unfortunately, it can take up to six months from the date a defendant is determined to be incompetent until the time they are moved to a treatment facility due to a shortage of suitable beds.
“This is an unfortunate situation for all parties – the defendant with a mental condition, the sheriff subjected to a defendant who can refuse medications or treatment in a jail facility, and other individuals who are incarcerated along with the mentally ill defendant,” Wiggins said.
If SB 568 becomes law, counties would be allowed (following a required court hearing) to medicate defendants diagnosed as mentally ill and found by a judge or jury, in concurrence with the county board of supervisors, the county mental health director, sheriff and chief of corrections, to be incompetent to stand trial.
The bill also requires the evaluating psychiatrist to determine whether a defendant could be effectively medicated and restored to competency in a jail, and requires the Department of Mental Health to report to the Legislature the number of IST defendants currently in the system and the resources available for treatment.
During the past year, 28 mentally ill defendants spent an average of 56 days incarcerated in the Sonoma County jail while awaiting transfer to an inpatient unit or state hospital – at a cost to the county of $246,000.
"The reality is, more and more mentally ill are being housed in jails, which by definition are not treatment facilities,” Wiggins said. “This bill serves as an interim measure and the county jails have assured me they have no intention of becoming permanent mental hospitals.”
SB 568 is supported by the California Psychiatric Association, the California Mental Health Directors Association, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors, California State Association of Counties, the California Sheriff’s association and many other county sheriffs’ offices throughout the state.
Visit Wiggins' Web site at http://dist02.casen.govoffice.com/.
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Colon joins Redbud Community Hospital on Aug. 20.
Colon has 13 years of health care leadership experience and holds a master's of business administration from the University of Colorado. He also received an master's of health administration from Loma Linda University.
Most recently Colon was the chief operating officer of a 140-bed for-profit community hospital in Haverhill, Mass.
In 1995, he served as vice president of Bella Vista Hospital in Puerto Rico. In 2000, Colon became the project manager for Mercy Health Partners, a six-hospital integrated delivery system in Toledo, Ohio.
The following year, he joined the executive ranks as vice president of operations for Wood County Hospital in Bowling Green, Ohio.
“We welcome Dan to our regional health care system,” said JoAline Olson, regional president and CEO of St. Helena Hospital, Redbud Community Hospital and the Center for Behavioral Health. “Redbud will benefit from his long history and expertise in health care.”
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