Posted on August 30, 2011 in Our Blog,Public Safety

This is practically unbelievable–the head of the Portland Police Bureau’s traffic division, while off-duty, was involved in a road-rage incident in Idaho in which he allegedly pointed a gun at another driver. He was stopped by Washington State troopers but was not arrested. The incident is under investigation by the Idaho State Police. In the… read more

Posted on August 4, 2011 in Our Blog,Patient Care

Anesthesiologist Frederick George Field was arrested late July on suspicion of sexually abusing two female patients who were under his care at the Mid-Columbia Medical Center in The Dalles. The incidents took place in 2007 and 2011 and allegedly involved touching in the genital area. The women were under anesthesia during the incidents and were… read more

Posted on July 15, 2011 in Our Blog

It is difficult to forget the horrible Metrolink commuter train crash that took place in southern California in 2008. The crash was allegedly caused by the train’s engineer, who neglected to stop at a stop sign because he was texting and thus distracted. Just this week a judge made his final decisions of how the… read more

Posted on July 11, 2011 in Our Blog

This story hit a little close to my follicles. Sandra Rawline of Texas filed an age discrimination and retaliation lawsuit against her former employer, Capital Title of Texas, claiming she was fired because she refused to dye her gray hair. Rawline, who is 52, went gray in her 20s, so the gray hair was nothing… read more

Posted on July 6, 2011 in Our Blog,Patient Care,Patient Death

The “July effect” is not sunburn or dehydration but instead refers to the increase in fatalities and medical mishaps at teaching hospitals.Why? Well, a batch of new and inexperienced residents hits teaching hospitals every July. According to a study by the Journal of General Internal Medicine, teaching hospitals can see a 10 percent increase in… read more

Posted on June 22, 2011 in Our Blog,Patient Care

Did you know there is a statewide patient safety program that requires hospitals to notify in writing any patient affected by a serious medical error? Well, neither do a lot of the hospitals! The Oregonian just reported that this “required” written notification took place less than half the time. In fact, of the 80 cases… read more

Posted on June 17, 2011 in Our Blog,Public Safety

Back in May of last year we posted about the class-action complaint against Procter & Gamble and its diapers featuring DryMax technology. Many parents grew concerned that diapers featuring DryMax were causing severe skin irritations, including rashes and burns. Pampers is one of the brands that used DryMax. Well, Procter & Gamble just announced it… read more

Posted on June 7, 2011 in Our Blog,Public Safety

We’ve posted before about the dangers of various varieties of sprouts. They seem to be magnets for E. coli. Now it seems that sprouts are behind the E. coli outbreak in Europe that has thus far killed about 22 people and sickened more than 2,200. Reports indicate that vegetable sprouts from a German organic farm… read more

Posted on June 3, 2011 in Our Blog,Patient Care

Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, Washington, is losing an emergency room doctor. Dr. Jovan Ojdrovic has worked at Sacred Heart for 23 years but has decided to retire because he believes patient care and safety are being sacrificed for profit. These changes, Ojdrovic says, have happened over the past three years. Administration has put… read more

Posted on May 20, 2011 in Our Blog,Patient Care

The popular prescription diabetes drug Avandia will only be available in very limited distribution as of November 18, 2011. Avandia has been on the market for more than a decade, but a 2007 study indicated that it increased heart attack risk in patients with type 2 diabetes by about 40 percent. Also in 2007 David… read more