A girl wears kohl around her eyes. Similar products are known in other languages as tiro and surma. New York City Health Department After a Massachusetts doctor found high levels of lead in an infant’s blood last year, hospital staff found no hazards in common sources of the toxic metal – paint at the family’s home, […]
Health Care
Flaws in the U.S. health care system, federal health programs and with individual medical providers and patients
Posted inHealth Care
With rise in young painkiller abusers, officials see more heroin overdoses
With the steady rise of prescription drug abuse across the state, young pill addicts are succumbing in increasing numbers to another vice: heroin. For young people who otherwise might have been turned off by the needles and track marks associated with intravenous drug use, switching from abusing pills perceived as “clean” and “safe” to snorting […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Health Care
Questions surround handling of Taser assaults on disabled patients
Someone using a stun gun like a cattle prod assaulted a dozen patients at the Sonoma Developmental Center last fall, inflicting painful thermal burns on their buttocks, arms, legs and backs. The center’s in-house police force, the Office of Protective Services, had a suspect from the start. An anonymous whistle-blower called a tip line in […]
Don't miss a story. Get our investigations and reporters’ insights delivered to your inbox.
Posted inHealth Care
Without federal recognition, tribe struggles to protect sacred sites
REDDING – Caleen Sisk, the chief and spiritual leader of the Winnemem Wintu tribe, wore a traditional basket hat – representing clear thinking – to her meeting with congressional candidate Jim Reed. Amid the din of wheezy coffee grinders at Westside Java & Caffe in Redding, Reed pleaded with Sisk: End her tribe’s longstanding battle […]
Posted inHealth Care
FBI, state target doctor for large prescriptions of painkillers
Dr. Edward Manougian, at his Richmond office, says he offers hope to the 240 struggling men and women under his care. Michael Short/Center for Investigative Reporting RICHMOND – One had been to jail and nursed a gunshot wound. Another had run away from home as a teenager and lost her children to foster care. A third […]
Posted inHealth Care
Food ads, sugary drinks leave you craving more, study says
Images of high-calorie foods, like bacon cheeseburgers, stimulate the “craving” part of the brain, according to new research from the University of Southern California.Hannamariah/Shutterstock You’ve seen billboards showing a triple-stacked hamburger, dripping with cheese, laced with bacon and nestled in a light, fluffy bun. And you’ve seen the commercials highlighting the delectable fudge swirls churned into a […]
Posted inDecoding Prime
Prime hospital bills for malnutrition, but patient says she wasn’t treated
As far as Medicare knew, Darlene Courtois fell ill last year with kwashiorkor, a dangerous form of malnutrition usually seen among starving children d
Posted inDecoding Prime
Hospital owner’s charity may have avoided taxes
A foundation controlled by Dr. Prem Reddy, the driving force behind Southern California’s fast-growing Prime Healthcare Services hospital chain, may have avoided hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal taxes through a questionable charitable gift, tax experts said.
Posted inDecoding Prime
Hospital chain, already under scrutiny, reports high malnutrition rates
Redding, near Mount Shasta, and Victorville, in the Mojave Desert, have little in common but an unusual statistic: In each city, a hospital has report