Florida's assisted living facilities write rules on reporting deaths, injuries

| 10/15/2019

Florida’s assisted living facilities write rules on reporting deaths, injuries

When a resident in one of Florida’s assisted living facilities falls, dies or is seriously injured, that facility is required to tell the state within one business day that something has gone wrong. But a bill before lawmakers would give operators weeks to report such critical incidents — potentially leaving residents in harm’s way, elder advocates warn. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]

Why do young Caribbean women have high rates of breast cancer? Florida researchers seek answers

For years, Dr. Judith Hurley had noticed something odd in her Bahamian breast cancer patients — they were all so young. Most American women are diagnosed with breast cancer in their 60s, but many of Hurley’s patients had not even reached menopause. Since 2002, Hurley has studied racial and ethnic disparities in breast cancer rates, seeking to understand why women of different backgrounds are more likely to develop breast cancer and what can be done to better treat them. [Source: Miami Herald]

Florida lawmakers take aim at health care titles

Rep. Ralph Massullo, a dermatologist from Lecanto, has filed a bill for the 2020 legislative session that would change state law and allow health-care licensing boards to take disciplinary action against providers who are not physicians but use monikers that could imply they are, such as “anesthesiologist.” [Source: WGCU ]

Commentary: U.S. surgeons general say dementia is our top public health crisis

Dementia remains little understood — when it’s not misunderstood — and garners neither the urgency nor the resources it deserves. This is especially problematic because the latest science is telling us that dementia isn’t simply the inevitable result of statistical predetermination or old age, like gray hair or wrinkles. [Source: Orlando Sentinel ]

Why did Sinatra give a secret concert at a Florida hospital?

He was The Chairman. The Voice. A-Number One. King of The Hill. So when Frank Sinatra arrived in Palm Beach County to give a concert 60 years ago, you’d think it would have been a big, fat, ring-a-ding deal. A lot of hype. Excited fans lining up for tickets. But hardly anybody knew he was here. The brief story of his appearance -- “Frank Sinatra Visits Hospital” -- was buried the next day in The Palm Beach Post on Page 13, dutifully reported by “Lake Worth News” correspondent Wilbur Royce. It shared space with less flashy community headlines, such as “Water Pressure Temporarily Low.” [Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Free medical services offered this weekend in Pensacola [WUWF]
A full day of medical services for people who cannot afford to pay will be offered this weekend in Pensacola. “It’s a day of serving the poor and vulnerable. Many people who have never seen a physician before will be able to come and get a physician check-up” said Jules Kariher, the Chief Advocacy Officer for Ascension Sacred Heart Florida.

› UCF Health employees frustrated as pair of clinics post $6.8M loss and lack patients, supplies [Orlando Sentinel]
A frustrated physician fired off an email to his supervisors and colleagues at a UCF-operated clinic last year, saying earlier that morning he had tried to inject a patient’s knee with a numbing substance but there was none in the building. “It’s completely unacceptable to not have ample supplies and it’s very poor patient care,” Dr. Obinna Adigweme, an orthopedic surgeon, wrote about the July 2018 incident at the clinic that he has since left. “This is not the first time; it’s happened on many more occasions.”

› Tampa Bay may be facing a tough flu season [Tampa Bay Times]
Flu season is here, and local health officials warn it could be a busy one. The pediatric emergency room at AdventHealth Tampa recorded a 30 percent increase in patients this month, with about half of those coming in with flu-like symptoms, said Brandon Bougard, a registered nurse and the hospital’s assistant vice president of emergency care.

› New dengue cases prompt Miami-Dade health officials to issue mosquito-borne illness alert [CBS Miami]
On Friday, the Florida Department of Health in Miami-Dade confirmed two additional cases of dengue fever in Miami-Dade County, prompting county health officials to issue a mosquito-borne illness alert. The new cases appear to be related to previous local cases, officials said.

Tags: Health Care eNews

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