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 July Governor Kitzhaber turns a deaf ear to public health While the governor gains nationwide praise for expanding the Oregon Health Plan and achieving a major victory over the pharmaceutical industry, county health officials are shaking their heads, wondering why he put a noose around their neck, leaving them unable to cope with rising communicable disease rates. Every year between 155-165 new cases of tuberculosis are diagnosed, while an estimated 50,000 people are infected with Hepatitis C. Statewide, 2,500 cases of sexually transmitted disease aren't being followed. "It's really frustrating to read an article in our local paper about how the governor supports public health," said Gwen Bowman, administrator of Josephine County's Health Department and chairman of the Conference of Local Health Officials (CLHO), which represents Oregon's 36 counties. Regence, Kaiser win PEBB contract In the midst of vanishing HMO options, loss of rate guarantees and escalating costs driving 20 to 50 percent premium increases, the Public Employees' Benefits Board (PEBB) announced the carriers that will put their slimmed-down version of the state's "Cadillac of health care" on the road in 2002. Pediatric trauma gets funding The headline said that swift medical attention saved the boy's life after a shark attacked him in Florida. The helicopter was dispatched promptly, airlifting him to a hospital and reattaching his leg. Now doctors are pleased with his recovery. "If that had happened anywhere in northwest Oregon, that boy would be dead now," said John Wish, the grandfather of Jean Anderson, 13, who died in March after being crushed by a log on the Oregon coast. Anderson spent almost two hours at the scene before being rescued, exacerbating her injuries. OHP faces challenges By expanding the Oregon Health Plan (House Bill 2519), legislators reversed the Robin Hood theory when they decided to take benefits away from the poor and give more to the slightly richer. But many within the medical community aren't sold on the idea. SWMC, Legacy vie over Clark County A contentious battle between two powerful hospital systems is heating up, and the stakes are extremely high because only one proposal is likely to win approval from Washington state authorities. Legacy Health System is willing to spend $162 million to build a new hospital in Clark County, while Southwest Washington Medical Center (SWMC) has earmarked $115 million for a major expansion effort. Their adversarial relationship is fueled by pressure to win crucial public support. Ken Cole, spokesperson for SWMC, said Legacy's plan will usurp Washington patients, forcing them to go to Portland for some expensive procedures. Oregon Hospitals in the dumps Oregon hospitals paid $554,500 in fines for violating a federal law prohibiting them from improperly screening or refusing treatment to patients arriving at their emergency rooms from 1995 to 1999. A report published by Public Citizen, a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization based in Washington, DC, found that 28 hospital emergency rooms in Oregon either denied stabilizing treatment or inappropriately transferred a patient whose condition was not stable, a practice commonly known as "patient dumping." Fitts demands investigation Less than a week after firing Kevin Fitts, an outspoken advocate for the mentally ill, his boss, Leslie Ford, CEO of Network Behavioral Healthcare has asked him to accept another job with her organization. "It's possible we could do a trial run with Kevin as an ombudsman, to bring forward issues. We need to find a way to put his talents to good use." But Fitts is hesitant to jump on board. Since April 1998, he's run the Office for Consumer Technical Assistance, a semi-independent agency whose state funding is channeled through Network. Why did Mink fire Auerbach The man who fired Roger Auerbach isn't talking to the press about the situation any longer, said his spokesman Jim Sellers. Bob Mink, director of the Department of Human Services, consented to interviews the day of the firing, June 19, and has nothing further to say. But many questions remain unanswered about why Auerbach, who ran the Senior and Disabled Services Division and had been promised an even larger slice in the reorganization, was given the axe. Also in this issue...
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