Health
- Details
- Written by: Editor
SACRAMENTO – Raw milk, raw nonfat milk and raw cream produced by Claravale Farm of San Benito County are the subject of a statewide recall and quarantine order announced by California State Veterinarian Dr. Annette Jones.
The quarantine order came following the confirmed detection of campylobacter bacteria in Claravale Farm’s raw milk and raw cream from samples collected and tested by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH).
Consumers are strongly urged to dispose of any product remaining in their refrigerators with code dates of “MAR 28” and earlier, and retailers are to pull those products immediately from their shelves.
CDPH found the campylobacter bacteria in samples collected as part of an investigation of illnesses that may have been associated with Claravale Farm raw milk.
No illnesses have been definitively attributed to the products at this time. However, CDPH is continuing its epidemiological investigation of reported clusters of campylobacter illness where consumption of raw milk products may have occurred.
According to CDPH, symptoms of campylobacteriosis include diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and fever. Most people with camplylobacteriosis recover completely.
Illness usually occurs two to five days after exposure to campylobacter and lasts about a week.
The illness is usually mild and some people with campylobacteriosis have no symptoms at all. However, in some persons with compromised immune systems, it can cause a serious, life-threatening infection.
A small percentage of people may have joint pain and swelling after infection. In addition, a rare disease called Guillian-Barre syndrome that causes weakness and paralysis can occur several weeks after the initial illness.
- Details
- Written by: Editor
SACRAMENTO – Twenty-five years after launching the first anti-smoking advertisements in the state, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) on Monday, March 23, will premiere a series of television, digital and outdoor ads in a new campaign called “Wake Up,” as part of its educational effort to inform the public about the dangers of e-cigarettes.
“California has been a world leader in tobacco use prevention and cessation since 1990, with one of the lowest youth and adult smoking rates in the nation. The aggressive marketing and escalating use of e-cigarettes threatens to erode that progress,” said Dr. Karen Smith, newly appointed CDPH director and state health officer.
CDPH recently released a report and health advisory highlighting areas of concern regarding e-cigarettes, including the sharp rise in e-cigarette use among California teens and young adults, the highly addictive nature of nicotine in e-cigarettes, the surge in accidental nicotine poisonings occurring in young children, and that secondhand e-cigarette emissions contain several toxic chemicals.
Research shows that youth and young adults who use e-cigarettes are far more likely to also use traditional cigarettes and other tobacco products.
“Our advertising campaign is telling the public to ‘wake up’ to the fact that these are highly addictive products being mass marketed,” said Dr. Smith.
The advertising campaign includes two television ads that feature songs from the 1950s and 60s and images portraying the health risks of e-cigarettes.
One TV ad underscores the e-cigarette industry’s use of candy flavored “e-juice” and products that entice the next generation to become addicted to nicotine.
The second TV spot emphasizes the dangers and addictiveness of e-cigarettes, while exposing the fact that big tobacco companies are in the e-cigarette business.
E-cigarettes are largely unregulated at the federal level and companies are not required to disclose what is in their products or how they are made.
To inform the public about the dangers of e-cigarettes, CDPH launched an educational campaign in late January.
The advertising component kicks off on March 23 and runs through June 2015, with TV and digital ads on Web sites, online radio and social media throughout the state.
Outdoor ads, including billboards, at gas stations and in malls, and ads in movie theaters will be phased in throughout the campaign.
This counter e-cigarette advertising campaign is part of CDPH’s ongoing anti-tobacco media efforts.
In addition to the advertising, the CDPH educational campaign will include:
– Partnering with the local public health, medical, and child care organizations to increase awareness about the known toxicity of e-cigarettes and the high risk of poisonings, especially to children, while continuing to promote and support the use of proven effective cessation therapies.
– Joining with the California Department of Education and school officials to assist in providing accurate information to parents, students, teachers, and school administrators on the dangers of e-cigarettes.
The California Tobacco Control Program was established by the Tobacco Tax and Health Protection Act of 1988.
The act, approved by California voters, instituted a 25-cent tax on each pack of cigarettes and earmarked five cents of that tax to fund California’s tobacco control efforts.
These efforts include supporting local health departments and community organizations, a media campaign, and evaluation and surveillance.
California’s comprehensive approach has changed social norms around tobacco-use and secondhand smoke. California’s tobacco control efforts have reduced both adult and youth smoking rates by 50 percent, saved more than one million lives and have resulted in $134 billion worth of savings in health care costs.
Learn more at www.TobaccoFreeCA.com .
- Details
- Written by: Editor
UKIAH, Calif. – Getting a cancer diagnosis is not easy to hear.
Thankfully, there is hope – hope that can be found through the experience of others, those that have already gone through the journey.
The Inspiration Wall at the Cancer Treatment and Infusion Center (CTIC) at the Ukiah Valley Rural Health Center (UVRHC), celebrates these stories of hope.
The display, beautifully framed by tiles created by local artist Jan Hoyman, features portraits and quotes from eight individuals whose journey will inspire others.
The Jan Hoyman Studio specializes in hand crafted tableware, one-of-a-kind wood fired pottery and custom tile murals.
Angle Slater, RN patient nurse navigator at the CTIC, said the Inspiration Wall is a nice addition to the center.
“Cancer patients are faced with overwhelming questions, appointments and treatments. This wall is like a ray of sunshine!” Slater said.
“As a nurse, I have witnessed what my patients and their families go through. It’s a difficult journey. That’s why we want to honor their strength and courage. And we hope that this inspires others to keep pushing through in their fight against cancer,” said Slater.
Gwen Matthews, chief executive officer of Ukiah Valley Medical Center, agreed. “Cancer should not be fought alone. Our own patients have shared their personal desire to come alongside of others traveling down that same path. The Inspiration Wall, represents the very essence of hope – it gives you the faith that you too can overcome, that you will make it, and that better times are ahead.”
Survivor and CTIC volunteer, Judy Rawles, whose portrait on the Inspiration Wall displays the quote “I fought a giant and won,” said it was an honor to be featured on the inspiration wall.
Rawles, a stage IV colon cancer survivor who now volunteers at the center, said she enjoys showing patients the display.
“When you go through cancer, you are faced with so many emotions and it’s hard to have a positive outlook,” she said. “This wall helps to show them they are not alone, that there are people who know exactly what they are going through.”
Mother and daughter, Lynn and Dominique Chevalier, both cancer survivors were honored that their own experience might inspire others. “Having gone through cancer, my daughter and I feel it’s an honor, and a privilege, to be part of this. We hope it provides inspiration to those going through treatment.”
The wall is the last installment to the state-of-the art CTIC that opened in July 2014 at the UVRHC.
It is part of the overall goal of providing an environment that promotes healing; from the pictures on the walls to the big windows that provide gorgeous views of the Mayacamas Mountain range.
Located at 260 Hospital Drive, Suite 207 in Ukiah, the CTIC provides comprehensive cancer care services and also offers the Focus on Healing Program, designed to improve the quality of life for patients and their families living in Mendocino County affected by cancer.
The program’s mission is to complement medical treatments by providing physical, mental and spiritual healing through nutrition education, art, movement and music therapies, and other healing programs.
To learn more about the services offered at the center and the Focus on Healing program please call 707-463-7627.
- Details
- Written by: Editor
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Reps. Anna G. Eshoo (CA-18) and Mike Thompson (CA-5) have reintroduced the Fair Access to Health Care Act, legislation to expand the eligibility for premium tax credits for people living in high-cost areas who purchase health insurance through the federal and state exchanges set up by the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
“The Affordable Care Act is helping low to middle-income Americans buy private health insurance with subsidies adjusted to their income level,” Eshoo said. “While this is tremendously helpful to millions of individuals and families, there are others in high-cost areas, like those in my home district of Silicon Valley, who cannot benefit because the threshold to qualify for subsidies does not account for the cost of living.”
Eshoo continued, “The Fair Access to Health Act ties health insurance subsidies to the cost of living of a geographic area instead of to the national federal poverty level. In doing so, we can expand access to health insurance and improve our nation’s health.”
“In many communities in our district the cost of living is far higher than the national average,” said Thompson. “A middle class income means different things in different parts of the country and that’s why the income thresholds set by the ACA need to take cost of living into account. With qualifying income levels set across-the-board, many hard working families in high-cost areas like ours don’t qualify for subsides and therefore can’t get affordable insurance. This bill will help make health insurance affordable, no matter where someone lives.”
Currently the ACA allows those making between 138 and 400 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) to qualify for premium tax credits to help them purchase health insurance through the ACA’s exchanges.
At this level, an individual making up to $45,960 and a family of four making up to $94,200 qualify for premium tax credits.
However, the income threshold used to determine eligibility for these tax credits doesn’t take into account the cost of living for different geographic areas.
A family living in New York City or San Francisco is treated the same as a family living in a small town in South Carolina or Texas.
The Fair Access to Health Care Act would allow the premium tax credits offered through the ACA to be increased proportionally based on an area’s cost of living.
Under the bill, the federal poverty level threshold will increase proportionally based on an area’s cost of living above the national average cost-of-living. The cost-of-living is determined using the Census Bureau’s Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM).
Based on available SPM data, using this calculation:
· In the San Francisco-Oakland-Freemont, California Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), a family of four earning up to $125,757 and individuals earning up to $61,356 could qualify for premium tax credits to purchase health insurance through the ACA’s exchanges.
· In the Vallejo-Fairfield, CA MSA, a family of four earning up to $109,743 and an individual earning up to $53,543 could qualify for premium tax credits to purchase health insurance through the ACA’s exchanges.
· In the Napa, CA MSA a family of four earning up to $116,808 and individuals earning up to $56,990 could qualify for premium tax credits to purchase health insurance through the ACA’s exchanges.
· In the Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA MSA a family of four earning up to $113,746 and individuals earning up to $55,496 could qualify for premium tax credits to purchase health insurance through the ACA’s exchanges.
Precedent already exists in the ACA for such cost-of-living adjustments. The ACA accounts for the cost-of-living differences in Alaska and Hawaii by using a higher income threshold to determine subsidy eligibility. The Fair Access to Health Care Act would provide similar adjustments to the other 48 states.
Individuals and families from low-cost geographical areas will not be impacted by this legislation. Those earning up to 400 percent of the FPL would still be eligible for subsides and no region would see a reduction from their current subsidy level.