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People in state high-risk insurance plans often feel left behind
The federal health law set up new plans that are cheaper and more comprehensive than the older ones run by states but consumers need to go without insurance for six months to qualify.
Kidney & Urinary System
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.
Improvements in diabetes care fail to slow rise in diabetic kidney disease, UW study finds
Despite improvements in diabetes care in the U.S., kidney disease due to the complications of diabetes continues to rise, a study by researchers at the University of Washington report.
Three cases of E. coli infection in the U.S. linked to European outbreak
All had recently travelled to Germany, where the outbreak began. “Any person with recent travel to Germany with signs or symptoms of STEC infection or HUS, should seek medical care and let the medical provider know about the outbreak of STEC infections in Germany and the importance of being tested,” the CDC warns.
Organ donors can find getting insurance difficult
After donating her kidney to her mother, Beth Stary-Bain, tried to buy an individual insurance plan, but once they learned she’d had a kidney removed, two carriers turned her down outright. A third offered her a plan — for $800 a month.
Northwest Kidney Centers names five new medical directors
The Seattle-based nonprofit that provides 80 percent of the dialysis care in King and Clallam counties.
How does your dialysis center measure up?
The investigative news group ProPublica has created a webpage where you can compare the quality of local dialysis clinics. The online tool allows you to compare individual clinics side-by-side. The comparisons are based on information submitted by facilities and collected by contractors of the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services, the federal agency that oversees [...]
Whole Foods Market recalls Sally Jackson cheeses due to E coli concerns
Whole Foods Market is recalling cheeses sold in California, Nevada, Washington State and Washington, D.C. that came from its supplier Sally Jackson Cheese of Oroville, Washington due to concerns that they may be contaminated with the potentially dangerous bacterial strain Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7. The recalled cheese was cut and packaged in clear plastic [...]
E. coli fears prompts recall of Washington state cheese
Sally Jackson Cheeses of Oroville, Washington has issued a voluntary recall of all its cheeses after its products have been linked as a possible source for several cases of E. coli O157:H7 infection, a particularly dangerous kind of food poisoning. Health inspections of the company’s facility concluded that “the products were processed under conditions that [...]
Dialysis center choice makes difference in death risk
If you need dialysis for advanced kidney disease, where you get it could make a big difference.
A large study found that patients in certain large chain facilities are significantly more likely to die than those treated elsewhere.
Mortality was also higher in for-profit than non-profit dialysis centers.
When needles dislodge, dialysis can turn deadly
Dialysis patients die or are hospitalized every year as a result of catastrophic hemorrhages.
In dialysis, life-saving care at great risk and cost
One in four of Americans who start dialysis will die within 12 months—a fatality rate that is one of the worst in the industrialized world.
Retailers will have to make employee restrooms available to customers with some conditions
Under a new law that goes into effect this Sunday, many Washington retailers will have to make their employee restrooms available to customers who have certain medical conditions when no public restroom is available. Eligible conditions include inflammatory bowel diseases, such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, any condition requiring use of an [...]
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