H1N1 deaths, hospitalizations slow in California

California health officials today reported that flu-related deaths and hospitalizations slowed last week but emphasized that the H1N1 strain remains a major problem. Deaths statewide remain in the double digits, and hundreds of people are still being hospitalized each week, authorities said.

“We are still seeing widespread disease throughout the state,” said Dr. Mark Horton, state health officer. But, he added, "we have not seen increases week by week.”

Many of the outbreaks are spreading in the schools, Horton said.

In California, 21 H1N1-related fatalities were reported last week, down from 31 the previous week.

Rock 'n' Roll Marathon coming to Los Angeles in 2010

The Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon series is coming to Los Angeles.

The Competitor Group, which owns the series of marathons held around the country, announced today that it will open a new half-marathon in L.A. Scheduled for Oct. 24, 2010, the run will replace the City of Angels Half Marathon, which has been held since 2006 on the first weekend in December. Peter Englehart, president and chief executive officer of the Competitor Group, said an agreement had been reached with the nonprofit group Grove of Hope to replace the City of Angels event, but he did not disclose the terms of the deal.

“We’ve been blessed with several other good markets on the West Coast, but L.A. was the missing piece to the puzzle,” Englehart said. “As we grow our company, it’s important to have a presence in L.A., so this was an opportunity we were looking for.”

UC regents approve partnership with L.A. County to reopen King Hospital

In a unanimous vote, the University of California Board of Regents today approved a plan to partner with Los Angeles County to reopen Martin Luther King Jr. Hospital by 2013.

The partnership is a crucial step in reviving the long-troubled facility, which shut down two years ago after repeated findings that inadequate care led to patient injuries and deaths.

"This is a proud day for the University of California," said UC President Mark G. Yudof to shouts of "thank you" from the audience. "The reopening of Martin Luther King Hospital will provide not just adequate care but the best care to the underserved."

Before the vote, Eddie Island, a retired attorney appointed to the board by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, urged his fellow regents not to delay.

UC regents scheduled to take crucial vote on future of King Hospital [Updated]

[Updated at 10:45 a.m.: UC regents unanimously approved a partnership with L.A. County to reopen King Hospital.]

Members of the UC Board of Regents said they were “cautiously optimistic” that they would vote today to partner with Los Angeles County to reopen Martin Luther King Jr. Hospital.

King closed in 2007 after repeated findings that inadequate care at the facility led to patient injuries and deaths. Under the proposal the regents are scheduled to take up today, the county and the University of California would create a nonprofit entity to run the hospital, but the university would provide physician services and medical oversight.

“All of the regents are united in the moral imperative of this,” Sherry Lansing, who chairs the board’s committee on health services, said Wednesday. “But as you can see from today, we are facing financial difficulties.”

As she spoke, regents were voting to raise student fees as hundreds of students protested outside.

A partnership with the UC system is key to a plan to reopen the troubled hospital in South Los Angeles, but many hurdles would remain, including upward of $300 million in needed seismic repairs to the campus.

When the hospital shut down to in-patient and emergency services two years ago, county supervisors promised to have it operating again by this year. Earlier this month, county officials pushed back the reopening date again, this time to 2013. And the hospital they are planning to reopen will be considerably smaller, 120 beds instead of the 233 the facility once had.

John Stobo, senior vice president for health sciences and services for the UC system, said the agreement the regents are considering includes a promise from county officials to secure a $100-million letter of credit for six years, which will guarantee the $63 million a year it will cost to operate the hospital.

“That will go a long way toward addressing the regents’ concerns,” Stobo said.

Regent George Marcus, of the Palo Alto-based Marcus & Millichap Co. investment firm, had expressed doubts about the proposal’s financial stability. On Wednesday, Marcus said he was reassured by the hospital’s proposed nonprofit board structure, so that “if there’s a financial crisis, it doesn’t spill over to us, because we have our own financial crisis to deal with.”

Marcus said he expected the proposal to “sail through” today.

UC regents expected to partner with L.A. County in reopening Martin Luther King Jr. Hospital

Members of the UC Board of Regents meeting at UCLA this morning said that they were cautiously optimistic that they would vote Thursday to partner with Los Angeles County to reopen Martin Luther King Jr. Hospital in Willowbrook.

Under the proposal, the county and the University of California would create a nonprofit entity to run the hospital, with the university providing physician services and medical oversight.

The agreement specifies that the hospital would have 120 beds, an emergency room, three operating rooms and no trauma center.

"All of the regents are united in the moral imperative of this," said Sherry Lansing, who chairs the board's committee on health services. "But as you can see from today, we are facing financial difficulties."

As she spoke, regents were considering a student fee hike as hundreds of students protested outside.

County officials have promised to secure a $100-million letter of credit to guarantee the $63 million a year it will cost the county to operate the 120-bed hospital, scheduled to open in 2013, according to Dr. John Stobo, UC's senior vice president of health sciences and services. The letter of credit will be good for six years, Stobo said.

That will go a long way toward addressing the regents' concerns, Stobo said.

Los Angeles pharmaceutical billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong has also offered a $100-million guaranty to underwrite the proposal, and is expected to speak at Thursday's meeting. But Stobo noted that Soon-Shiong's offer is not part of the proposal the regents will vote on.

L.A. City Council puts off marijuana vote until next week at the earliest

The Los Angeles City Council this afternoon postponed a vote on a medical marijuana ordinance until next week at the earliest.

Councilman Ed Reyes, who is overseeing efforts to craft a law, introduced a motion that would make a series of major changes to the proposal, and asked that the council take more time to review them.

He also noted that other council members had proposed numerous amendments. "This is only the tip of the iceberg," he said.

Study finds high air pollution levels around Santa Monica Airport

A new UCLA study shows that people who live and work near Santa Monica Airport are exposed to unusually high levels of air pollution — a significant health concern that has been largely associated with major commercial airports such as LAX.

The study, published today in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, found that emissions of so-called ultrafine particles were 10 times higher than background levels about 100 yards downwind of the airport. The levels were 2.5 times higher at a distance of about six football fields.

Less an 1/500th the width of a human hair, ultrafine particles can travel deep into the lungs and penetrate tissue. Research has shown that elevated levels are associated with increased deaths due to respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses.

D.A. will prosecute medical marijuana dispensaries -- even if L.A. does not ban sales [Updated]

Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley said today he will prosecute dispensaries that sell medical marijuana even if the Los Angeles City Council adopts an ordinance that does not ban such sales.

On Monday, two council committees rejected the city attorney’s advice and changed a provision in the proposed ordinance, allowing cash transactions as long as they complied with state law.

“Undermining those laws via their ordinance powers is counterproductive, and, quite frankly, we’re ignoring them. They are absolutely so irrelevant it’s not funny,” Cooley said.

Cooley said state law and state court decisions have made it clear that collectives cannot sell marijuana at dispensaries.

Santa Monica group wants to expand no-smoking laws

Some Santa Monica residents want to expand local no-smoking laws to balconies and patios.

Santa Monicans for Non-Smoking Renters Rights also wants the city to create nonsmoking sections for multifamily residential buildings, including individual units.

The group already has successfully lobbied the City Council to ban smoking in common areas of apartments and condominiums.

Read more about the no-smoking efforts at the LookOut News.

San Bernardino County declares swine flu emergency, joining other counties

San Bernardino County public health officials have declared a state of emergency due to H1N1 flu, one in a series of federal, state and local declarations intended to position authorities to deal with people sickened by the new flu strain.

Last month, President Barack Obama declared a national H1N1 emergency and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger  declared a statewide emergency in April.

Public health officials in Los Angeles and Orange counties declared a state of emergency due to H1N1 flu, commonly known as swine flu, last spring. Orange County’s declaration has since lapsed, a spokeswoman said. But L.A. County’s declaration remains in effect. Other counties with declarations include Sacramento, Santa Clara and San Joaquin.

Some county health officials hope that by declaring emergencies at the local level, they can lay claim to more vaccines and other resources, or be reimbursed by state and federal officials for mass vaccination clinics and other efforts.

L.A. County's free H1N1 vaccine clinics have vaccinated few blacks, public health officials say

Free H1N1 vaccine clinics in Los Angeles county have failed to vaccinate many African Americans, considered some of those most at risk of developing complications from the flu, public health officials told county leaders today.

“I’m disappointed we have not had a higher percentage of African Americans coming to these clinics,” Dr. Jonathan E. Fielding, the county’s public health director, told county supervisors at their morning meeting. “I don’t think it’s lack of sites available. Some surveys suggest it’s lack of willingness to come forward, and some of that is historic.”

The acknowledgment comes less than a week after a Times/USC poll found that blacks in California were far less likely than other groups to say they planned to get the vaccine.

It remains unclear how many African Americans have been vaccinated countywide. The county requires those who wish to be vaccinated at free clinics to complete a vaccination form that includes their age, sex, race and other demographic information.

Public health officials have collected data from about 60,000 H1N1 vaccine recipients at public clinics, but Fielding said he could not release those numbers today. He said his staff still needs to weed out incomplete forms that may have slipped by clinic staff members overwhelmed by crowds and long lines. In all, about 113,000 people have been vaccinated at public clinics, officials said.

But officials who have seen preliminary figures say they are troubling. Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, whose district includes South Los Angeles, said today that early data show more Asians than African Americans have been vaccinated at clinics held at South L.A. County locations. According to a 2007 county study, the South service area, one of eight in the county for health services, is about 63% Latino, 33% African American, 2% white and less than 2% Asian/Pacific Islander and Native American.

The clinics are open to anyone, although public officials chose locations throughout the county in the hopes of reaching diverse populations.

The same Times poll that found blacks and Latinos were less likely than other groups to seek the vaccine found that Asians in California were the most likely to say they planned to get vaccinated.

Ridley-Thomas said public health officials should have anticipated low turnout among African Americans — who studies show are more likely to lack access to healthcare and less likely to get the seasonal flu vaccine — and done more outreach.

Cedars says 260 patients exposed to high doses of radiation, 20% could face eye damage

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center announced today that 260 patients were exposed to high doses of radiation during CT brain scans, up from the hospital's original estimate of 206 in September.

The hospital’s review also found that about 20% of the affected patients had exposure directly to their lenses, which could put them at a higher risk of developing cataracts, said Cedars spokeswoman Simi Singer.

The hospital sent letters to the affected patients today.

L.A. Marathon unveils Stadium to the Sea route

The L.A. Marathon’s Stadium to the Sea route that was unveiled today will take runners from Dodger Stadium to Santa Monica while passing several Los Angeles landmarks.

Runners in the 25th edition of the 26.2-mile race will wind through downtown, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica, passing by L.A. City Hall, the Capitol Records Building, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Sunset Strip, Rodeo Drive and the Santa Monica Pier.

Registration for the March 21, 2010, marathon is $125. Runners are asked to park near the finish line in Santa Monica and to take shuttle buses bound for Dodger Stadium.

-- Baxter Holmes

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Health foundations join forces to improve California schools

The California Education Supports project, a new joint venture between three nonprofit foundations, held its first forum Tuesday to address the effects of mental and physical health on California students. Nearly 100 community leaders, students, health and education professionals piled into a Manual Arts High School classroom to talk about those issues.  

The California Endowment, the James Irvine Foundation and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, which are funding the $700,000 effort,  plan to release policy papers and hold hearings in the next 12 to 24 months on a range of potential issues from childhood obesity to reproductive health.

The project is part of a broader effort to integrate student healthcare with educational goals, said Cecilia Echeverria of the California Endowment.

Manual Arts has an on-site health clinic, operated by St. John's Well Child and Family Center, which provides services to students, their families and the surrounding community. But some said the school should continue to focus on reducing violence.

"It makes people think about priorities a bit differently: 'How can we worry so much about vending machines when there are lockdowns on campus?'" said Linh Huynh with MLA Partner Schools, which helps manage Manual Arts. Huynh added that measures like school uniforms have significantly improved campus safety.

Erin Gabel, legislative director for state Assemblyman Tom Torlakson (D-Antioch), called Manual Arts High  “a great example of vision around student health services, but not necessarily a model of acting on that vision,” she said. “They’re demonstrating how difficult the steps are and how great the opportunities are.”

Torlakson, who chairs the Assembly Select Committee on Schools and Community, had planned the gathering as a legislative hearing, Gabel said, but the Assembly members slated to attend were called back to Sacramento to work on the water policy bill.

The event attracted health and education professionals from outside Los Angeles. Miguel Villarreal, food and nutritional services director for the Novato Unified School District in Marin County, raised the importance of providing students with inexpensive but healthy meals during a relatively short lunch break. “We want to see where they’re going and how we can leverage their work in our field — and make sure we’re included" [in the policy discussion], he said.

Camille Levee, executive director of Glendale Healthy Kids, came to see how the experts were planning to integrate dental, mental and physical care into public education. “We provide a connection between students and healthcare services, and we do case management,” she said. Levee said she came to see if any of the panelists were proposing a similar model.

--Amina Khan

Reopening of King hospital may be pushed back again

Los Angeles County officials indicated today that they will likely be forced to once again delay the reopening of Martin Luther King Jr. Hospital — this time to 2013.

[An earlier version of this post referred to the facility as Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital, the name the hospital used at the time of it was closed to inpatients.]

It was the latest in a series of postponements for the Willowbrook facility. When supervisors voted to close in-patient services in August 2007, they promised to reopen it in 2009. When Mark Ridley-Thomas was elected last year, he promised to reopen in 2010. In August this year, he joined his board colleagues to approve a plan to reopen in 2012.

At today's board meeting, the county’s point person for health services construction, Jan Takada, reported that the latest target was March, 2013. He blamed a number of factors, including the still-pending agreement with the University of California to partner with the county to reopen the hospital. The selection of an architect also took more time than expected, he said.

Nevertheless, Ridley-Thomas, whose district includes King, said he was not yet ready to accept the most recent delay and still aimed for a 2012 reopening.

“It will be difficult, but we are going to push very, very hard,” Ridley-Thomas said. “We will be appointing a special team to expedite this...to cut through the bureaucracy.”

Ridley-Thomas also emphasized that many other improvements will be completed far sooner, including improved and expanded outpatient clinic facilities on the King campus.

“I’m expecting a lot of good news,” Ridley-Thomas said. “This is poised to be one of the most exciting medical campuses in the whole region.”

--Garrett Therolf reporting from the L.A. County Hall of Administration

Busiest day yet for L.A. County's free H1N1 clinics [Updated]

By 3 a.m. today a line had begun to form outside the Glendale Auditorium, determined to get vaccinated against H1N1 flu. When the clinic doors opened 6 1/2 hours later, city officials said the people in line likely numbered 2,500, as many as they had doses in hand.

[Updated 5:45 p.m.: An earlier version of this post reported that more than 100 people were in line at 3 a.m. based on information provided by a county public health spokeswoman. The official later said that the number came from Glendale police, and she could verify only that people were already in line at that time,]

For those trying to heed federal health officials' advice that they get the vaccine, the mood was one of anxiety.

Under a hot sun with little shade, mothers waited with children. Some shared food, chairs, crayons and portable DVD players. Children played with coloring books and joined Nerf football game on the grass as a dozen police and firefighters looked on. But there were also reports of people cutting in line, and police had to be called when a few of those waiting became irate when told they were ineligible after waiting for hours.

At noon, word came that the supply of vaccine had run out. A wooden barrier went up to cut off new arrivals, and the fortunate waited to see if the supply of nasal spray would hold out long enough for them. Some who cannot get the vaccine in mist form -- including those with breathing problems such as asthma -- left. But an hour later, L.A. Countypublic health officials said they had gone to the their warehouse for more injectables and now hoped to vaccinate 2,900 people.

By then, the line had grown, snaking around the building and doubling back in places. Pregnant women stood apart in a separate, shorter line.

Dr. Jonathan Fielding, the county's public health director, arrived in the early afternoon to help with screening. Mobbed with questions, Fielding advised frustrated families who had been waiting for hours that theirs was the busiest clinic of the day.

"We're in the same situation private providers are in--either we haven't gotten it or we got too little," Fielding said of the vaccine.

Driver plows into line of vehicles at drive-through vaccination site in Bakersfield

At least seven people suffered mild to moderate injuries at a drive-through flu vaccination site in Bakersfield today when a woman seeking her flu shot accidentally drove her car into a line of waiting vehicles, according to the Bakersfield Police Department.

The incident occurred about 10:30 a.m. at Bakersfield College, according to a department news release.

"While waiting in line to receive a vaccination, the driver suffered from an apparent medical condition," read the statement. The driver accidentally pressed the accelerator, sending her vehicle crashing into several other cars, a bus and a tree, which was torn from the ground, police said.

The driver and six other people were taken to a hospital and treated for minor to moderate injuries. No pedestrians were injured, police said.


-- Monte Morin

Billionaire details loan guaranty to reopen hospital

The day after discussing his plans with The Times for a $100-million loan guaranty to underwrite the reopening of Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital by 2012, Los Angeles pharmaceutical billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong spoke publicly about his plans alongside state Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) and county Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas.

“It’s now an opportunity for us to right a wrong,” Soon-Shiong, 57, a former UCLA surgeon and assistant professor, said during an appearance at the California NanoSystems Institute in Westwood “This is an opportunity for me to be a catalyst, to bring together the UC Regents and L.A. County.”

Last week, Soon-Shiong sent a letter to UC President Mark G. Yudof offering the guaranty. University officials have said they welcome his interest.

Three new swine flu vaccine clinics open today in L.A. County

Three new H1N1 community vaccine clinics are scheduled to open today across Los Angeles County.

Clinics are scheduled from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. at El Camino College in Compton and the Pomona Fairplex and from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts.

Public health officials have opened more than two dozen clinics countywide since Friday, but today’s clinics are open later in an effort to reach those most at risk of infection, such as parents of young children and college students, according to Dr. Jonathan E. Fielding, the county’s public health director.

Staff at county clinics distributed more than 8,000 doses of the vaccine Tuesday, Fielding said.

County clinics gave swine flu vaccine to anyone who showed up, even the low-risk and insured

L.A. County health officials said they provided H1N1 shots to anyone who came to their clinics over the last few days, even those who were not in the "priority group" at greatest risk of getting sick.

When the clinics opened last week, officials said they were targeting the uninsured and those most at risk of catching H1N1 flu, the so-called “priority groups” being pregnant women, youths and those with weakened immune systems.

 “A lot of people are just showing up even if they have health insurance, because they have tried and been unable to get” the vaccine from private physicians, said Dr. Jonathan Fielding, director of the county’s Department of Public Health. “We’re accommodating them because we have enough vaccine.”

But late Monday, after The Times interviewed Fielding, the Department of Public Health put out a press release vowing to “intensify” screening to root out those who are not among priority groups and ensure "equitable availability of the limited vaccine supply throughout the county.”

L.A. council to consider banning smoking in outdoor dining areas

A proposed ban on smoking in Los Angeles’ outdoor dining areas is back before the City Council after months of deliberation.

Introduced in mid-2008 by Councilmen Greig Smith and Dennis Zine, the ordinance drafted by the city attorney’s office would bar customers from lighting up within a 10-foot radius of outdoor seating areas at restaurants and food courts. Under the current draft, smoking would also be prohibited within a 40-foot radius of mobile food trucks and refreshment kiosks.

The rules would exempt bars, nightclubs for the 18-and-older crowd, and venues closed to the public for private events. If the City Council approves the ban, there would be a six-month public education period before the rules are enforced.

Most unclear, however, is who would enforce the rule. Councilman Tom LaBonge, chairman of the Arts, Parks, Health and Aging Committee, said members would discuss those details, as well as the possible penalties for violations during an 8:30 a.m. committee hearing Tuesday at City Hall.

-- Maeve Reston at L.A. City Hall

Huge crowds turning out for swine flu vaccine

Large crowds are expected today as L.A. County holds another swine flu clinic, this one at the Industry Hills Expo Center in Industry.

Thousands of people have waited hours over the last three days, clamoring to get the H1N1 flu vaccine amid a shortage of the medication.

In Redondo Beach, a swine flu vaccine clinic drew so many people that it backed up traffic for miles, according to the Daily Breeze. The clinic was designed for South Bay residents, but it drew people from as far away as Santa Barbara. Many sat in their cars for hours, only to be turned away when the vaccine ran out.

Two swine flu clinics open today for uninsured and at-risk L.A. County residents [Updated]

Hundreds of people who face the greatest risk from swine flu infections and do not usually have access to medical care began receiving free H1N1 vaccines this morning at county health clinics in Encino and Culver City.

"Though flu may not be considered by some to be a serious illness, some groups are at higher risk, and they especially should get vaccinated to protect themselves and their loved ones,” said Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa at the Balboa Sports Complex in Encino.

The two clinics are the first in Los Angeles County since the vaccine became available, and are occurring as cases of swine flu are surging in the state. Shipments of vaccine have been slow to arrive, frustrating physicians and others. California has received 1.7 million doses of H1N1 vaccine so far out of 20 million doses expected this season.

Overcrowding at County-USC hospital heightens swine flu fears

Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center has become too overcrowded to handle the expected surge of H1N1 flu patients in coming months, county leaders said this week as they forced hospital officials to reduce wait times by transferring patients more quickly.

The crowd waiting for emergency room beds at County-USC often swells to 100, with some people waiting up to 24 hours, Supervisor Gloria Molina said.

Recent county reports show that 30% to 40% of the time the hospital is operating at “severely” and “dangerously” overcrowded levels. 

Swine flu vaccination clinics start today for uninsured, at-risk

Pregnant women, parents with children and others have been lining up since early this morning to receive free H1N1 flu vaccinations in Encino and Culver City, the first public health clinics in Los Angeles County since the vaccine became available.

Starting at 9 a.m., public health staffers will immunize uninsured people who face the greatest risks from infection of the so-called swine flu – pregnant women, those from 6 months to 24 years old, and adults between the ages of 25 and 64 who have chronic health problems. Because infants younger than 6 months cannot be vaccinated for the swine flu, parents and caregivers are also urged to get immunized.

The clinics are occurring as cases of swine flu are surging in the state, and shipments of vaccine have been slow to arrive, frustrating physicians and others.

The clinics are taking place today from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Balboa Sports Complex, 17015 Burbank Blvd. in Encino; and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Auditorium, 4117 Overland Ave. in Culver City. Additional clinics are scheduled over the weekend and in coming weeks. To see a list of upcoming clinics, click here.

-- Seema Mehta

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