Marshall Allen

Reporter/ Health Care

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State faults facility for care of seniors: It could take over the assisted-living, Alzheimer’s home where 139 elderly live, top inspector says; Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009; All 139 elderly patients at an assisted-living and Alzheimer’s facility may have gone without their medications for weeks, according to a Nevada State Health Division report obtained by the Sun.
Health authorities reached this conclusion after randomly inspecting the case files of 23 residents at Chancellor Gardens of the Lakes. In every instance caregivers either did not have the drugs available, or did not have the time to administer them and threw away the medications, according to a report delivered to the facility Tuesday by inspectors from the state’s Bureau of Health Care Quality & Compliance.
Regulation in need of a checkup: Public missteps, sluggish response to complaints, crises continue to bring criticism on Nevada’s medical board; Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009; The Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners is required by law to protect patients. But critics — doctors and lawmakers among them — say the board is hampered by conflicts of interest, lacks the will to discipline physicians and is accountable to no one.
Health care bill’s word count turns Gibbons off: He’s against it for his usual reasons, too, he tells execs; Thursday, Oct. 22, 2009; Gov. Jim Gibbons was both predictable and perplexing during a speech Tuesday to health care executives at the second annual Nevada Health Care Forum.
Widows: Doctor prescribed narcotics that led to addictions, deaths: Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009; In the last year of his life, Robert Reynolds was prescribed narcotics by two local physicians who were supposed to be collaborating to improve his condition. Reynolds’ family physician, Dr. Kevin Buckwalter, referred him to specialist Dr. Albert Yun Yeh in 2007 for help with his lower back pain. But even after sending Reynolds to the pain specialist, Buckwalter didn’t stop prescribing him narcotics.
Fatigue disorder discovery a ‘milestone’: Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009; Chronic Fatigue Syndrome has been stigmatized as a yuppie disease, women's disease or psychological disorder — in part because its cause was unknown and its inconsistent symptoms made it difficult to diagnose. But a discovery by a medical research center based at the University of Nevada, Reno may change the world’s view of the disease.
Medical board won’t act in alleged fraud case: Friday, Oct. 9, 2009; The Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners has closed its case and will not discipline two doctors accused of billing for a patient they did not treat, according to correspondence with the woman who filed the complaint.
Capt. Matthew Taranto, aerospace and operational physiologist: Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2009; Air Force jets soar faster than the speed of sound during training exercises above Southern Nevada, banking, accelerating and rolling to avoid simulated fire.
Chris Stones' story: A life defined by epilepsy: How a Las Vegas doctor has given him hope of living seizure-free.; Sunday, Oct. 4, 2009; Chris Stones accelerated his Mazda from a stoplight, faded to the right, bounced off a curb and sideswiped a car in the center lane, causing it to bump into another vehicle. And he didn’t know it. When his brain finally kicked in, he noticed that his car was swaying and the front fender was bent. He wondered if he had been the victim of a hit and run.
Brain institute’s linking with Cleveland Clinic revives some locals’ resentment: Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2009; Local medical providers who grouse about the Cleveland Clinic’s burgeoning presence in Las Vegas should remember: They had their chance.
The city's budding love affair with the Cleveland Clinic: Clinic’s chief talks health care overhaul and, along with mayor, plays it coy on expanding local operations; Thursday, Sept. 24, 2009; Discussions between the Cleveland Clinic and Las Vegas City Hall about developing a larger medical presence in town are moving forward — if the code spoken Wednesday is any indication. Dr. Delos “Toby” Cosgrove, president and CEO of the Cleveland Clinic, said during a Sun interview while sitting next to Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman that their two institutions are “holding hands.”
Desperate for insurance, residents share health care woes: Inquiries to Sun about free coverage put reform debate in human terms; Friday, Sept. 18, 2009; Laurel Levine turned 63 this week but that’s still not old enough to suit her.
“I’m counting the days until I turn 65,” she said. “I don’t have insurance and my COBRA ran out.”
At 65, people are eligible for Medicare, the federal government’s health insurance. And it doesn’t come soon enough for people who don’t have health insurance where they work — or who don’t work and can’t afford health insurance — at a time when their bodies are starting to break down.
Grant to aid 400 waiting for Medicare: Federal money will buy health insurance for Nevadans aged 60 to 64; Monday, Sept. 14, 2009; Older adults will receive health insurance and other benefits as the result of a $20 million federal grant to the State Health Division.
Doctors part with cash, habits to go paperless: They hope records switch saves time, money, lives; Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2009; Dr. Tony Alamo grips a patient’s file — three inches of notes, lab results and pages of vital signs crammed into a manila folder — and compares it to the computer monitor in one of his exam rooms.
Book explains cancer so that patients can understand: Monday, Sept. 7, 2009; When patients hear the words “You have cancer” from their doctors, they’re often in such shock that they can’t process all the information that follows.
Doctor’s win in defamation case a hollow victory: Monday, Aug. 31, 2009; Five years ago, Dr. Navneet Sharda sued a fellow cancer specialist, saying the other doctor had defamed him by criticizing his character and medical expertise.
Six Questions for Tracy Puckett: UMC's director of infection control and critical care; Friday, Aug. 28, 2009; If you really want to make Tracy Puckett happy, try washing your hands.
Why some American values are obstacles to insurance system overhaul: Reformers must overcome attachments to individualism, capitalism, experts say; Thursday, Aug. 6, 2009; In the frontier days, Nevada’s economy revolved around mining. The resulting abundance of single men and the high rate of transience contributed to a cultural ethic of independence.
Former exec: Company lacked needed licenses: He says Sierra subsidiary operated for 15 years without proper authority; company denies it; Monday, Aug. 3, 2009; State regulators are investigating whether a subsidiary of Sierra Health Services, the state’s largest health insurance company, operated for up to 15 years without the proper licenses. The focus of the scrutiny, Behavioral Healthcare Options Inc., is one of several companies under the umbrella of Sierra, which insures about 525,000 Nevadans.
Dr. Larry Sands: Chief Health Officer with the Southern Nevada Health District: Monday, Aug. 3, 2009; Public health observers have taken mostly a maintenance approach to the swine flu, even though it has been declared a global pandemic and is taking lives.
State bars physician from J-1 visa waiver program: Sunday, Aug. 2, 2009; State authorities who oversee a program that brings foreign doctors to medically needy communities have taken their first drastic enforcement action, revoking a Las Vegas doctor’s participation because he repeatedly did not comply with the rules.
Desai may be fit to proceed, but other holdups remain: Wednesday, July 29, 2009; Dr. Dipak Desai, whose clinic caused a massive hepatitis C outbreak because of unsafe injection practices, has recovered sufficiently from a stroke to answer charges by the Nevada State Medical Examiners Board, but other legal entanglements are still slowing the case.
Medical board pulls doctor’s license: State questions Sean Su’s ‘competence and ability’ before probe concludes; Wednesday, July 29, 2009; Medical authorities took the uncharacteristically aggressive tack Tuesday of suspending the license of Dr. Sean Su before concluding their investigation of him, citing the immediate danger he posed after two botched procedures and an ongoing refusal to participate in its investigation.
Doctor tied to hepatitis C outbreak deemed fit for hearing: Tuesday, July 28, 2009; Dr. Dipak Desai, whose clinic caused a massive hepatitis C outbreak because of unsafe injection practices, has recovered sufficiently from a stroke to answer charges by the Nevada State Medical Examiners Board, but other legal entanglements are still slowing the case.
Medical board suspends license of Vegas doctor: Tuesday, July 28, 2009; Medical authorities took the uncharacteristically aggressive tack Tuesday of suspending the license of Dr. Sean Su before concluding their investigation of him, citing the immediate danger he posed after two botched procedures and an ongoing refusal to participate in its investigation.
Local scientists may have found way to outsmart brain’s built-in defense: Doctors now lack satisfactory method of treating cancer tumors behind protective barrier; Tuesday, July 28, 2009; Brain cancer has been difficult to treat, in part, because the mind has an incredible defense system.
The sluggish pace of medical regulation: Doctors keep licenses weeks after unsafe practices documented; Sunday, July 26, 2009; Three weeks ago, state medical authorities ordered Dr. Sean Su of Las Vegas to stop performing surgeries in his clinic after investigators — called in because he allegedly harmed a patient — discovered gross violations of safety standards. Su is still practicing medicine, however. He still has a medical license, despite the ban on surgeries at his clinic.
Pro-union nurses point to fired peer: Her experience shows MountainView workers need advocate, they say; Wednesday, July 22, 2009; Nurses at MountainView Hospital are poised to vote on union representation and some cite Judy Loftman’s story as a reason they want protection from management. Administrators terminated Loftman in September after more than a decade of service and a record of mostly excellent performance evaluations.
Alleged illegal surgery is basis for woman’s arrest: Tuesday, July 21, 2009; Metro police arrested a woman on multiple counts of practicing medicine without a license, harming a patient and possessing dangerous drugs without a prescription in connection with a botched surgery that allegedly took place in the back of a drug store.
MountainView using threats to deter nurses, union alleges: Saturday, July 18, 2009; MountainView Hospital administrators are accused of intimidation, making threats and using religion in their fight against a nurses union attempt to organize, according to a federal complaint filed by the union.
Brain institute's first patient 'the end of the beginning': Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health looks to the next phase; Tuesday, July 14, 2009; Monday morning offered a bittersweet moment as Randy Capurro, a fixture in Las Vegas business and Republican political circles, became the first Alzheimer’s patient to be treated at the new Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health. Capurro is a close friend of Larry Ruvo, who founded the brain institute in honor of his late father, Lou. Ruvo held the door and a small gathering of doctors and staff watched as Capurro and his wife entered the $100 million building.
The hidden cost of obesity: With excessive weight gain, costly medical conditions often arise, but gastric surgery can ease, even eliminate, them. Meet Vincent Daswell.; Sunday, July 12, 2009; Before you read this story, please suspend any biases you may have about fat people.
Now consider this question: If it saved you money for morbidly obese people to have weight loss surgery, would you suggest they do it?
Endoscopy Center doctor to testify against colleagues: Saturday, July 4, 2009; The Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners is relying on the help of one of the minority partners of the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada in disciplining Dr. Dipak Desai and another physician believed to be responsible for last year’s hepatitis C outbreak.
Reform debate fought on many fronts: Doctors and patients aren’t the only parties of interest in conversation on coverage; Thursday, July 2, 2009; A young boy falls off his bike, hits his head and briefly blacks out.
Board gives doctor light punishment in exchange for testimony: Wednesday, July 1, 2009; The Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners agreed to a settlement Wednesday that will lightly punish a doctor in exchange for his testimony against two other physicians, including Dr. Dipak Desai, majority owner of the clinic that caused last year's Hepatitis C outbreak.
Berkley on health care: ‘We need to change our paradigm’: Tuesday, June 30, 2009; Perhaps no proposed legislation would affect more Americans than health care reform.
Authorities raid store where surgeries were performed in back room: Officials alerted after botched surgery; Friday, June 26, 2009; Health authorities today raided two retail stores in Las Vegas catering to Spanish-speaking immigrants after learning of illegal surgeries being performed at one of them, with bloody rags and used needles being tossed into a trash bin out back. The raids, and a cease-and-desist order, were prompted after authorities learned of a woman who was bleeding uncontrollably because of a botched gynecological surgery performed in a back room at Botanica Maya, which sells over-the-counter medications, vitamins and herbs at 5347 E. Lake Mead Blvd. in Las Vegas.
Police release incident report, 911 call in Danny Gans death: Thursday, June 25, 2009; Julia Gans, the wife of Las Vegas entertainer Danny Gans, awoke early on the morning of May 1 to realize that her husband was no longer snoring, according to an incident report released this morning from the Henderson Police Department. At about 6 p.m. the night before she had asked her son to get the entertainer for dinner, but he heard his father snoring and decided not to wake him up. Four hours later she went to the master bedroom and found Gans asleep in bed on his back with his feet slightly elevated, the report indicated.
Cancer institute director steps aside as colleague takes the reins: Wednesday, June 24, 2009; When Dr. Nicholas Vogelzang arrived at the Nevada Cancer Institute in 2004, the organization was little more than a dream. Now as he departs — not entirely by his own choice — he calls his role in creating the institute an “enormous milestone” in his career.
Debate over free clinic in park obscures bigger issue: Tuesday, June 16, 2009; The recent debate about whether a public park is a fitting location for a free medical clinic only teases to the much larger challenge facing the nation: delivering medical care to people without health insurance.
MountainView resists nurses’ organizing bid: Backers of Calfornia-based union say hospital needs minimum staffing requirements; Tuesday, June 16, 2009; After striking a truce with a rival union, the California Nurses Association is expanding its reach in the Las Vegas Valley by trying to organize nurses at MountainView Hospital.
Pot legalization group targets Vegas: Director says Nevada residents are pragmatic about drug; Friday, June 12, 2009; The Marijuana Policy Project has set up its first state chapter in Las Vegas, launching another effort to get voters to legalize pot in Nevada.
Beauty industry’s worry lines: At convention, purveyors of cosmetic products and procedures try to conceal their angst; Friday, June 12, 2009; Beautiful and wealthy people were everywhere, but an undercurrent of unease dampened the mood.
Danny Gans report raises questions from pain specialists: Experts: Coroner's scenario plausible but too vague to gauge role of prescription painkillers in Gans' death; Thursday, June 11, 2009; The explanation for what killed Danny Gans raises more questions than it answers, medical experts said Wednesday, opening the door to speculation about the entertainer with a squeaky-clean image. The lack of details by the coroner is allowing questions of drug abuse to be raised. And four independent medical experts interviewed by the Sun question the coroner’s explanation of Gans’ death.
Web site based in Vegas helps individuals find insurance: Insuremonkey founder says brokers ignore that part of medical coverage market; Monday, June 8, 2009; Consumers have grown accustomed to going online to compare airfares, hotel rates and camera prices before buying.
How we did: A look back at the session: Taxes and budget a big accomplishment, yet Legislature's great failure as well; Sunday, June 7, 2009; The legislative session was impossible. Lawmakers had no choice but to cut services and increase taxes, or see state services, especially education, all but shut down. The Las Vegas Sun reviews their actions on the budget, K-12 education, energy, health care, education policy, human rights, foreclosures, worker safety, F Street, the environment and public employees salaries and benefits. Legislators came in facing the largest deficit, as a proportion of the budget, in the nation.
County OKs plan for free medical care clinic in park: Commissioners attach certain conditions to approval; Tuesday, June 2, 2009; A controversial proposal to house a free medical clinic in a vacant county park building was approved unanimously Tuesday by Clark County commissioners, but with conditions to appease concerned neighbors.
Seeing patients as circles’ centers: Brain center seeks ‘best practices’ for serving families, caregivers; Monday, June 1, 2009; As the vision for the Ruvo Center for Brain Health evolved in the past decade, its most fantastic ambition became the curing of Alzheimer’s and other degenerative brain disorders.
But from the get-go, the founders knew they first had to provide emotional and logistical support for the patients, families and friends who deal with the repercussions of the grueling diseases.
Under lab coat, a songwriter: Las Vegas physician has rekindled his dream of hitting it big in country music; Thursday, May 28, 2009; In the early 1980s biology grad student Gary Skankey thought his rock band was about to be discovered.
Legislators get tough on abuse of foreign doctor program: Thursday, May 28, 2009; Legislators have given final approval to a bill authorizing the Health Department to stop the exploitation of foreign doctors who have come to practice in the state’s blighted urban areas and rural towns.
Health clinic plans meet prejudice: Proposal to use building in park unleashes hostile comments by neighbors; Saturday, May 16, 2009; The uninsured won’t find much love in the neighborhood around Tropicana and Eastern avenues. That’s where Clark County officials may allow a free medical clinic to use an empty building at Paradise Park. Neighbors want nothing of it. “The uninsured, in my mind, are a group of people that are less desirable,” one elderly neighbor told the Sun.