Deborah Schoch's blog

Brawley book skewers ‘gluttony’ of over-diagnosis, treatment

By Deborah Schoch | May 8, 2012

The man known as Ralph DeAngelo had just turned 70 when his wife spotted a local hospital’s newspaper ad for free prostate cancer screening, billed as a test that saves lives.

To appease her, he went for a free PSA test, and was mailed a letter stating that his results were “significantly abnormal.”  In clockwork fashion, Ralph received12 biopsies, a cancer diagnosis, prostate removal, radiation, a hole between his rectum and his bladder, a colostomy. He died of a related urinary tract infection.

In California, a special need for giving blood

By Deborah Schoch | April 13, 2012

Right now, blood donors are in short supply.

It seems that blood supplies typically drop in the week immediately before and after Easter. School vacations mean fewer blood drives on campuses, and less blood for patients in need. 

In Northern California, for instance, the American Red Cross currently has a three-day supply of blood on hand, down from the preferred five-day supply.

So I decided to write this week about my personal stake in the blood donor world.

Years ago, I emerged from anesthesia in a Rochester, N.Y., hospital to learn that my surgery had become more complicated than anyone could have foreseen.  I had begun hemorrhaging, and urgently needed a transfusion of four pints of blood.

Can California keep its 'hospitals-in-a-box'?

By Deborah Schoch | March 22, 2012

 I first wrote about California’s three “hospitals-in-a-box” last October in a series of articles about hospital earthquake safety produced in partnership with six Los Angeles area newspapers, including the San Bernardino Sun and the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.

 I was reminded of the portable units this week with the release of a new report, “Crisis Standards of Care,” by the prestigious Institute of Medicine.  

Infection ratings: Did your hospital earn a white dot?

By Deborah Schoch | March 8, 2012

This blog was updated on March 8, 2012.

Last week, a friend of mine was showing her Cal State Long Beach journalism students how to check physicians’ credentials on line when a student’s question stopped her short.

Where is the website, the student asked, that grades the hospitals where those doctors work?

The simple answer: The web abounds in hospital ratings these days, most of them based on consumer comments rather than hard data.

The story behind that 'AA' penalty: Poor care and a patient's death

By Deborah Schoch | February 22, 2012

This blog has been updated (see below) to reflect new filings by the care facilities.

Four times before, the woman had been admitted to the Downey nursing home with a diagnosis of diabetes.  Each time, the staff checked her blood sugar levels at least once a day and gave her regular doses of insulin.

During her fifth stay, however, her care went awry.  For 29 days, no one measured her blood sugar. She grew seriously ill and was rushed to a local hospital where she died. Doctors determined that a main cause of her death was diabetic ketoacidosis, caused by low insulin levels. 

Report reveals threat of 'C.diff' infection

By Deborah Schoch | February 7, 2012

Most people have never heard of the infection nicknamed “C.diff.” Others heard of it first at the worst of times—during a hospital stay, or at the bedside of an ailing relative or friend.

I first learned about the severity of Clostridium difficile last spring while writing a story about Tony Lewis, whose broken femur brought him to a Sacramento hospital. Within days, he was diagnosed with the infection that killed him. 

Weather plays tricks on wood-burning restrictions

By Deborah Schoch | January 27, 2012

California is famous nationally for combating air pollution and its ill effects on public health.

Much of the state is also touted for balmy winter weather and blue skies.  Ironically, sometimes those sunny, mild days can produce unhealthy air.

Take this winter, when residents at two ends of the state--the Los Angeles area and Chico—are navigating new rules governing when they can fire up wood-burning stoves and fireplaces.

FDA scolded for food inspection flaws

By Deborah Schoch | December 16, 2011

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has stumbled badly in its oversight of food safety inspections in California and other states, undermining efforts to prevent food-borne illnesses, a federal watchdog group warned this week.

The agency is increasingly outsourcing its inspection efforts, turning to state investigators to enforce food safety rules at plants that manufacture, process, pack, and store food.

For instance, 59 percent of the FDA’s food inspections were delegated to states in fiscal year 2009, up significantly from 42 percent in 2004.

Salad greens: to wash or not to wash?

By Deborah Schoch | December 5, 2011

When I slice open a bag of baby spinach, I do exactly what millions of other Americans do. 

We dump the contents in a salad spinner. Flood the leaves with water.  Spin them dry with vigor, determined to protect family and friends from E. coli, salmonella or worse. 

Mindful of the drumbeat of recent recalls—salmonella on lettuce, listeria on Romaine—I might even soak my bagged greens, ignoring the bags’ “triple-washed” and “pre-washed” labels.

But one evening last week, I grudgingly poured bagged arugula straight into a salad bowl and ate it.

Will my local hospital operate after an earthquake?

By Deborah Schoch | October 18, 2011

While preparing our new series "Fault Lines,"  I couldn’t help wondering what would happen if a major earthquake rocked Alhambra, the Los Angeles area city where our offices are located.

Would the injured seek care at the small hospital up the street?  Would its doors stay open?

Last Sunday, the Pasadena Star-News and two affiliate daily newspapers started running our series, bolstered by a wealth of new reporting by their newsroom staffs.

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