Author Archive: LocalHealthGuide

rss feed

Teen pregnancy rate lowest in nearly 40 years

Teen pregnancy rate lowest in nearly 40 years

The good news: Teen pregnancies are at their lowest rate in nearly 40 years, resulting in fewer abortions and births. The bad news: While overall rates have dropped, there is still a major gap among white, Hispanic and black teenagers.

Share
February 8, 2012 | 0 Comments More
Health jobs to surge in this decade

Health jobs to surge in this decade

Jobs related to health care, personal care and social assistance will surge this decade as the U.S. population ages and demand for such services grows, according to a new report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Of the 22 major occupational groups, employment in health-care support occupations is expected to grow most rapidly (34.5 percent), followed [...]

Share
February 3, 2012 | 0 Comments More
Komen reverses Planned Parenthood decision, apologizes

Komen reverses Planned Parenthood decision, apologizes

Facing a storm of criticism form women’s groups and abortion-rights supporters, the Susan G. Komen for a Cure foundation announced it would reverse its decision to cut its funding to Planned Parenthood.

Share
February 3, 2012 | 0 Comments More
$10 Million Red Cross fine highlights the troubled history of its blood services

$10 Million Red Cross fine highlights the troubled history of its blood services

The FDA recently hit the American Red Cross with a nearly $10 million fine for safety violations, lax oversight and faulty testing of its blood services. The fine is just the latest of more than a dozen the Red Cross has racked up in the last decade.

Share
February 2, 2012 | 0 Comments More
How often should women have bone tests?

How often should women have bone tests?

A study of nearly 5,000 women suggests that women with healthy bone density on their first bone desity test might safely wait 15 years before getting tested again.

Share
February 1, 2012 | 0 Comments More
State disciplines health-care providers

State disciplines health-care providers

Washington State Department of Health takes disciplinary actions against health care providers, including suspensions and revocations of licenses, certifications, or registrations of providers in the state.

Share
February 1, 2012 | 0 Comments More
FDA approves cystic fibrosis drug studied at Seattle Children’s

FDA approves cystic fibrosis drug studied at Seattle Children’s

Seattle Children’s researchers played a key role in the development of a new cystic fibrosis drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Tuesday. The drug, ivacaftor, is the first to be developed that actually targets an underlying cause of the disease, a defect in a gene called the fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene. To [...]

Share
February 1, 2012 | 0 Comments More
New Northwest Kidney Centers Renton to host community open house Feb. 23

New Northwest Kidney Centers Renton to host community open house Feb. 23

The 21,000-square-foot center includes a clinic that administers dialysis treatments and an area to train patients who prefer to give themselves dialysis at home.

Share
February 1, 2012 | 0 Comments More
Extremophiles can thrive in hot springs and geysers

Strange organisms shed light on how living things evolve

Researchers at Seattle’s Institute for Systems Biology have discovered how a group of organisms that thrive in places where conditions would kill most living things —such as hot springs, geysers, and salt ponds — rapidly adapt to changing conditions.

Share
January 27, 2012 | 0 Comments More
The coming nursing home shortage

The coming nursing home shortage

The latest casualty of the Great Recession may soon be the nation’s elderly. Cuts in government payments for patient care and less construction of new nursing homes are already taking a toll. Add to this the aging baby boom generation and you have a worst-case scenario.

Share
January 27, 2012 | 0 Comments More
State disciplines health care providers

State disciplines health care providers

Washington State Department of Health takes disciplinary actions against health care providers, including suspensions and revocations of licenses, certifications, or registrations of providers in the state.

Share
January 27, 2012 | 0 Comments More
Health exhibit coming to Science Center in 2012

Health exhibit coming to Science Center in 2012

Professor Wellbody’s Academy of Health & Wellness will bring guests of all ages into the imaginative world of Professor Wellbody, demonstrating how personal choices can positively affect our health and well-being.

Share
January 26, 2012 | 0 Comments More