Posted on April 13, 2012 in Our Blog,Patient Care,Public Safety

Do you ever ask yourself why milk is pasteurized? It isn’t some government plot; it’s because unpasteurized milk can contain E. coli 0157 bacteria. Cows naturally carry this bacteria in their intestinal tracts. Unfortunately, it can be fatal to humans. There are people who choose to drink raw milk, though, despite the possible dangers. The… read more

Posted on April 10, 2012 in Our Blog,Public Safety

Del Bueno, a Washington State-based producer of Mexican-style cheese, has had listeria issues ever since it began production three years ago. The company has recently come to an agreement with the Food and Drug Administration to stop making cheese until the listeria problems are cleared up. Of course, that will involve a number of steps,… read more

Posted on March 14, 2012 in Our Blog,Public Safety

Portland has always been a pretty safe city. When I was younger I felt perfectly safe being out and about late at night pretty much anywhere in town. Now, though, I am much more cautious and do not feel so comfortable being out by myself at night. That may also be the case for Daniel… read more

Posted on March 9, 2012 in Our Blog,Patient Care

There is no real happy ending for anyone involved in this case. Deborah and Ariel Levy sued Legacy Health System for “wrongful birth,” and today a jury sided with the couple, awarding them almost $3 million. When Deborah Levy was pregnant with a third child, she underwent prenatal tests to make sure there were no… read more

Posted on February 27, 2012 in Our Blog,Patient Care

I don’t think anyone would disagree that it is never a good idea to leave anything in an unattended vehicle, especially not anything of value, and especially not something of value to hundreds of thousands of people. Well, that is just what happened in 2006 when an employee of Providence Health Services drove a hospital… read more

Posted on February 24, 2012 in Our Blog,Public Safety

I am a big fan of sprouts, but after all the various food borne illness outbreaks associated with sprouts, I am no longer going to consume them. Why take the chance? Sandwich chain Jimmy John’s keeps taking those chances, though they seem to have the best of intentions. They switched from problem-plagued alfalfa sprouts to… read more

Posted on January 10, 2012 in Our Blog,Public Safety

Random drug testing of Portland Police officers is scheduled to begin this year, but the Portland Police Association (the union) is up in arms about it. Why? Because the random drug testing will include testing for steroids. Plenty of other police forces around the country include steroids in their random drug testing, but the local… read more

Posted on November 14, 2011 in Our Blog,Public Safety

A Chicago man recently filed a lawsuit against the Chicago police, claiming he was wrongfully identified and tased unnecessarily. Josue Tapia was pulled over by police in May of 2010 for not coming to a complete stop at a stop sign, but he was allowed to go soon afterwards. He didn’t make it very far,… read more

Posted on October 28, 2011 in Our Blog,Public Safety

Toy manufacturer Henry Gordy International, Inc. has agreed to pay a $1.1 million penalty in an agreement with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) over a toy gun set that allegedly caused several deaths. An investigation by the CPSC found that Henry Gordy knew about the defect in its “Auto Fire Target Set” but… read more

Posted on September 27, 2011 in Our Blog,Public Safety

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration just issued a warning not to eat raw oysters from Washington State. Apparently a number of oysters from Hood Canal’s “growing area 4″ have been associated with a bacteria,Vibrio parahaemolyticus, to be exact, that causes illness. The oysters were distributed across 23 states. The “outbreak” in question affected, so… read more