Health

Why Dean Heller’s hard line on immigrants might sting later: Sunday, November 8, 2009; LETTER FROM WASHINGTON:; By Lisa Mascaro; The Republican Party has been told again and again that it must tone down its rhetoric against illegal immigrants if it has any hope of keeping Hispanic voters who were once gravitating to the party from moving further toward Democrats.

House narrowly passes health care reform legislation: Saturday, November 7, 2009; Harry Reid: Closer than ever to reforming broken health insurance system; David Espo, Associated Press Special Correspondent; In a victory for President Barack Obama, the Democratic-controlled House narrowly passed landmark health care legislation Saturday night to expand coverage to tens of millions who lack it and place tough new restrictions on the insurance industry. Republican opposition was nearly unanimous.

Medical board rejects deal for doctor accused of malpractice: Saturday, November 7, 2009; By Cy Ryan; The Nevada Board of Medical Examiners rejected Friday a proposed settlement with a Henderson physician linked by authorities to the deaths of eight patients after prescribing them narcotic painkillers. The proposed agreement with Dr. Kevin Buckwalter called for him to plead guilty to three counts of malpractice, pay a $4,000 fine and allow the board to revoke his license to practice.

Two H1N1 flu shot clinics to be offered Saturday: Friday, November 6, 2009; health:; By Mary Manning; The Southern Nevada Health District is offering two H1N1 flu vaccine clinics from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. Saturday. The clinics will be held at the main public health center, 625 Shadow Lane, which is north of West Charleston Boulevard and west of Martin Luther King Boulevard, and the Henderson public health center at 520 E. Lake Mead Parkway.

Panel outlines rising cost of medical care in Nevada: Wednesday, November 4, 2009; By Cy Ryan; CARSON CITY – Health care costs are rising but half of Nevada hospitals are losing money.

Dina Titus backing House health care plan after changes: Wednesday, November 4, 2009; By Lisa Mascaro; WASHINGTON -- Democratic Rep. Dina Titus dropped her opposition today to the House health care bills, saying changes have been made since she voted against it in committee in July and it has now won her support.

2 more die of flu; vaccine clinics scheduled this weekend: Wednesday, November 4, 2009; By Mary Manning; The Southern Nevada Health District is reporting two more deaths from the H1N1 flu, bringing the total number of deaths in Clark County to 20. A 61-year-old woman and a 44-year-old woman, both with underlying health problems, died from the flu during the week of Oct. 20, health officials said.

Their stories heard on the Hill: Wednesday, November 4, 2009; Small-business owners go to D.C. to testify for reform; By Lisa Mascaro; Michael MacQuarrie never cared for politics. Never had much faith in politicians. But here he was Tuesday in the Capitol and, later, at the White House — part of the lobby machine on health care reform. MacQuarrie and other small-business owners had been summoned to share their stories and press for health care reform.

Permit issue puts clinic on hold: Wednesday, November 4, 2009; School District didn’t seek county approval to build health center; By Emily Richmond; Much of the anger voiced at a Spring Valley neighborhood meeting Monday about a proposed student health clinic at Elaine Wynn Elementary School was directed at the Clark County School District for not having previously discussed the plan publicly.

Neighbors speak out against school clinic: Tuesday, November 3, 2009; Daily Memo: : Principal says children benefit, but some think area would look impoverished; By Emily Richmond; The burden of identifying students with health issues has increasingly fallen to local public schools, some of which share their campuses with independently operated health clinics. Over the years the health clinics at six Clark County campuses have done more than just connect needy students with basic care. Staff have spotted potentially life-threatening illnesses and diseases that might otherwise have gone undiagnosed.

Debate over merits of health care reform has distinct campaign flavor: Sunday, November 1, 2009; Advocacy groups investing heavily to influence Nevada voters, lawmakers; By Michael Mishak; Nevada has become a key battleground for one of the most expensive — and consequential — public policy debates in history: health care reform. Seven advocacy groups on both sides have spent more than $1.1 million here over the past month on ads.

AAA offering free tows home for Halloween partygoers: Saturday, October 31, 2009; By Kyle Hansen; Halloween partygoers who want to drink without worrying about driving have a easy, and free, option Saturday — get towed home by AAA. The auto club is offering to give anyone, they don't have to be a AAA member, a free tow home to try to keep drunk drivers off the road.

Vaccine policy prompts union's lawsuit against Vegas hospitals: Friday, October 30, 2009; By Steve Green; A union sued two Las Vegas hospitals Thursday over a policy requiring hospital employees to receive flu shots -- or to wear surgical masks in patient areas if they are not vaccinated.

Tourism biz deals with flu fears: Friday, October 30, 2009; By Richard N. Velotta; Just as Southern Nevada has begun claiming some small victories in its rebound from the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, along comes another potential setback: concerns over whether travelers would stay at home to avoid being exposed to persons carrying the H1N1 virus.

University Medical Center bans hospital visitors younger than 16: Thursday, October 29, 2009; By Mary Manning; University Medical Center announced today a new policy to keep children and teenagers up to 16 out of high risk areas at the hospital on West Charleston Boulevard.