King County public health officials no longer feel it’s necessary to close schools when a child or staff member comes down with the flu. Instead, they are asking parents to keep their children home from school if they show signs that they may have the flu. To help parents decide whether or not to keep [...]
A panel of local and international experts will provide an update on the influenza A/H1N1 (“swine flu”) outbreak this afternoon at the UW Medical Center. The panel will include: Dr. David Fleming, director of public health for Seattle and King County; Kathleen Neuzil, director of PATH’s Influenza Vaccine Project Marie Kimball, UW professor of epidemiology [...]
Six more suspected cases of influenza A/H1N1, “swine flu”, have been identified in King County, bringing the total number of suspected cases in the county to 22. Laboratory samples have been sent to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention for confirmation. To date, most of the illnesses thought to be due to [...]
Many parents, concerned about influenza A/H1N1 (swine flu), are bring children with mild or even no symptoms to the emergency room at Seattle Children’s, more than doubling the number of patients the staff usually sees at this time of year. Most of these visits are unnecessary, hospital officials say, and are overburdening the emergency room’s [...]
New bicycle guide maps showing bike paths, trails and routes throughout King County are now available online. The downloadable maps are posted on King County’s Bicycling Resource page, which, in addition to the maps. provides links to dozens of additional resources including information about Metro Transit’s services for cyclists, bicycle skills and safety courses, and [...]
Facing a $93.4 million deficit in King County’s 2009 General Fund, King County Executive Ron Sims has presented a budget that will lead to substantial cuts in the County’s health services.
LocalHealthGuide is a health news and information web service for Seattle and the Puget Sound Region. We are independent and unaffiliated with any hospital, medical association or insurer. If you have questions or if your group has an upcoming event that you would like us to cover, please let us know by going to our "Contact Us" page and dropping us a note. -- Michael McCarthy, Editor
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Seattle Times Health News
Lost in translation: Lack of trained interpreters can lead to medical errors
Interpreter services at hospitals and other medical settings are often inadequate, forcing family members, including children, to step in, or the task falls to medical staff members who may not speak the language well.
Some insurers deny ER coverage to people who have been drinking
Laws in more than half the states permit insurers to deny payment for medical services related to alcohol or drug use. Faced with the prospect of not getting paid for care, some ER personnel sidestep the problem by simply not testing patients’ blood or urine for alcohol.
Travel insurance can protect your wallet — and your health on vacation
Think your regular health insurance policy will cover you if you get into medical trouble overseas?
Don’t bet on it.
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