The little hospital and clinic that provide basic care in Southern Humboldt could soon get a new board of directors, in a vote that’s in part a referendum on the controversial hospital director. The Southern Humboldt Community Healthcare District has been through a bankruptcy and bouts of heavy turnover, and now is in a heated […]
Health
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OB-Gyn turmoil at St. Joe’s
St. Joseph Hospital’s gynecologic chief of staff has resigned in protest of a near-ban on sterilizations, according to two other gynecologists who attended a meeting about the new rules yesterday. The physician, Dr. Bill Weiderman, did not return a call seeking comment. [Update, 5:05 p.m.: Weiderman confirmed that he has resigned over the policy, but […]
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Joe Mark Leaving St. Joe’s
A couple of hours after word hit the Humboldt rumor mills, the St. Joseph Health System confirmed Wednesday afternoon that top boss Joe Mark is leaving, effective June 30. In a press release, St. Joseph and Redwood Memorial hospitals said Mark and his wife want to spend more time with their young granddaughter in Ohio. […]
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St. Joe’s, Redwood Memorial Lay Off 68
St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka and Redwood Memorial Hospital in Fortuna are laying off 68 employees today and tomorrow, Chief Executive Officer Joe Mark announced this afternoon. At a somber press conference, Mark said the reduction in workforce is necessary after a “significant dip” in the number of surgeries and outpatient services at both hospitals, […]
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Hospital says state is wrong, declines to provide details
UPDATE, Dec. 29: Surgeons at St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka did not leave two different objects inside two different patients after surgeries this summer, the state Public Health Department said Thursday. That only happened once. Two episodes involving “retained foreign objects” show up on the state website because St. Joseph doctors reported them, as required […]
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Surgeon Leaves 10-inch Device inside St. Joe’s Patient
UPDATE, DEC. 21: After initially making an 11:30 a.m. appointment to speak with the Journal on Wednesday, St. Joseph Hospital canceled. Spokeswoman Leslie Broomall said the hospital had decided it wanted written questions instead. We politely declined. Broomall later did email an unsigned media statement saying that St. Joseph Hospital takes the error “very seriously” […]
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Report Highlights Local Need for Child Care
Have we mentioned before how badass is the California Center for Rural Policy (CCRP)? No? Well, it is. The research center, located on the campus of Humboldt State University, aims to improve the health and well-being of rural people (like us) through the power of data. The center’s previous reports have addressed rural Internet connectivity, […]
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The Marijuana Shuffle [Updated]
[Update #2, Oct. 6, 4:45 p.m.] All bets are off officially off — as is a notable promise from President Obama. Or so it appears, anyway. Yesterday the Arcata City Council voted to place a moratorium on issuing medical marijuana dispensary permits. Maybe their spidey sense was tingling: According to the Associated Press, federal prosecutors have […]
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Chickenpox, anyone?
For the folks who think that natural immunity beats a vaccination,Trinidad Elementary School has turned into a textbook lesson on how to grow your own outbreak. Chickenpox has spread swiftly through the 180-student school, apparently contracted so far by at least 16 children and adults. The numbers aren’t surprising given that roughly 20 percent of […]
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Cancer is Crap
“Dude, have you seen the purple toilet?” While that question may initially strike you as potentially LSD-induced, non-hallucinating Eureka residents will back me that such a public oddity exists in reality. Proof, man: This plum Duchamp homage forced me to circle the block and pull over on I St. this morning on my way to […]
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Measles Alert
A 22-year-old Humboldt County woman has been diagnosed with measles, the first case of the highly infectious disease here in more than a decade. The county’s public health branch is alerting residents who may have been exposed to the disease and asking them to contact their medical care providers (and stay home) if symptoms appear. […]
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Rabies Miracle?
A remarkable turn of events in the story of a Willow Creek resident who was diagnosed with rabies by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): According to the Two Rivers Tribune, the victim’s family expects the victim to make a full recovery. The TRT story identifies the victim as “a young girl.” If […]