Health
Okla. laying off 75 at homes for mentally disabled
Written by Dick Pryor Monday, 01 March 2010 23:18
ENID, Okla. (AP) - Seventy-five employees at two state homes for the mentally disabled will be notified shortly that their jobs have been eliminated. Northern Oklahoma Resource Center in Enid and Southern Oklahoma Resource Center in Pauls Valley provide care and housing to about 280 residents with mental disabilities, mobility problems and trouble feeding and caring for themselves. According to Sheree Powell, spokeswoman for the Developmental Disabilities Service Division of the state Department of Human Services, state budget woes led to the job cuts. The department is facing a shortfall of $34.6 million.
Report: Woods County rated healthiest in Oklahoma
Written by Dick Pryor Wednesday, 17 February 2010 18:37
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A new report says Woods County has the healthiest residents in Oklahoma and Latimer County has those with the poorest health.
The report released Wednesday by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation ranks the overall health of the counties in all 50 states. It ranks Woods, Beaver, Payne, Cleveland and Texas counties as Oklahoma's healthiest. The least healthy in the report are Latimer, Johnston, McCurtain, Greer and Seminole.
The report bases the health rate on the rate of people dying before age 75, the percent of people who report being in fair or poor health, the numbers of days people report being in poor physical and poor mental health, and the rate of low-birthweight infants.
Cline to review Medical Examiner's Office
Written by Dick Pryor Thursday, 11 February 2010 20:52
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Gov. Brad Henry has asked state Health Commissioner Terry Cline to lead a top-to-bottom review of the embattled Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Henry announced Cline's appointment on Wednesday, less than a week after the state Board of Medicolegal Investigations, which administers the agency, fired the former chief medical examiner, Dr. Collie M. Trant. Trant was fired on Friday after less than a year on the job.
Henry says an outside review of the agency is in order because of Trant's dismissal and other issues, including the indictment of the agency's former chief investigator for sexual battery. The governor says the medical examiner's office plays a critical role in the criminal justice process and provides important information to families who have lost loved ones.
Lawmakers oppose health care overhaul
Written by Dick Pryor Monday, 21 December 2009 21:23
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - As Congress considers final passage of health care overhaul legislation, three state lawmakers say they want the state to opt out of the new system. Republican Reps. Mike Ritze and Mike Reynolds and GOP Sen. Randy Brogdon say they plan to file the Freedom of Healthcare Choice Act. The legislation will allow a vote of the people to opt out of the proposed federal system and preserve the existing healthcare system in Oklahoma.
Ritze, a physician, says the Congressional proposal may result in reduced access to a family doctor, rationing of services or even outright denial of care. Modeled on an Arizona proposal, the legislation would place language on the ballot to amend the Constitution to declare what types of health care systems could exist in the state.
4 more deaths attributed to swine flu
Written by Dick Pryor Wednesday, 25 November 2009 22:08
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - State health officials say four more people have died from complications of the swine flu. The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported the deaths Thursday. The latest deaths occurred through last Saturday and bring to 37 the number of swine flu deaths reported in the state since tracking began Sept. 1. Meanwhile, health officials say survey results show declining flu activity since a peak in mid-October.
Of the 37 deaths reported since September, 11 have been reported in Oklahoma County and 10 in Tulsa County. Nine of those who died were children younger than 19 and seven were 65 years old or older. The health department reports 23 of those who died had at least one underlying medical condition that may have increased their risk of influenza.