The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced today that it would exempt thrift stores and resale shops from a new law designed to eliminate lead from all children's products.
Continue reading "Secondhand shops get a break on federal lead law" »
TAMPA -- The Hillsborough County Health Department cautions that a visitor from the United Kingdom traveling through Tampa has tested positive for measles. The person arrived at Tampa International Airport on December 13, 2008 at approximately 5:30 p.m.
The highly contagious disease is spread by sneezing, coughing and talking. Early symptoms are similar to those of a cold -- coughing, runny nose, fever, and red, watery eyes. Then a red, blotchy rash appears at the head and spreads down the body. The rash lasts longer than 3 days.
"While these symptoms could look like the common cold or other problems, fortunately there are other distinguishing symptoms including "a very characteristic rash that starts on the head, face, and neck, and eventually spreads to the abdomen, arms, and legs and upon closer observation, doctors can also see tiny white spots on the inside of the infected person's mouth," said Dr. Douglas Holt, Health Department director.
Health officials advise that anyone present at Tampa International Airport on December 13, 2008 from 5:30 to 9:00 p.m. who develops these symptoms, especially those who have not been immunized against measles, should see a doctor for diagnosis and testing.
Dr. Holt, said the advisory is being made out of an abundance of caution. The other passengers on the plane are being contacted directly by public health agencies and the patient is receiving medical care and is under close supervision. There have been no reports of cases associated with this illness.
Vaccination can protect someone from measles, and is one of the routine childhood immunizations.
The HCHD recommends that children get their first dose of the MMR vaccine around 12 to 15 months of age, and the second before the start of kindergarten.
The National Institutes of Health also recommends that all adults 18 years or older, born after 1956, should receive an MMR vaccine if they are uncertain of their immunization status or if they have only had one shot prior to entering school.
For more information, see:
http://cdc.gov/Features/MeaslesUpdate/
-- Times Staff
The tough economy forced a young mother to stretch her infant formula supply by watering it down, nearly killing her baby.
The 5-month-old boy was rushed to the pediatric intensive care unit at University Community Hospital over the weekend after his mother diluted his infant formula, causing "water intoxication" that could have drowned the child. Sodium treatments and drugs saved the child's life, UCH hospital officials said.
The baby was moved to the recovery floor of the hospital's pediatric care center today, and his prognosis is good. UCH Chief of Pediatrics James Orlowski reminded parents to never dilute formula with water, because babies can literally drown from the water intake.
UCH officials didn't release the mother's name until a 3 p.m. press conference, where she is expected to speak publicly and warn parents about watering down formulas. She told hospital officials the cost of formula, at up to $15 per can, combined with her personal economic situation, caused her
to dilute the liquid without knowing how harmful water can be to newborns.
Tampabay.com will post more details as they come.
Justin George, Times Staff Writer
*
Shirley Pecararo, RN, administers a flu vaccination to Bob Welch at the Senior Citizen's Club of Hernando County Tuesday morning. [Will Vragovic, Times]
Flu has arrived in west-central Florida, state health officials said Wednesday.
Hillsborough, Manatee and Polk counties are among 12 in the state reporting "sporadic flu activity," the lowest of four levels that health officials track. Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando aren't reporting any cases of influenza.
Florida is among seven states in the nation reporting sporadic activity. The level of flu is about normal for this time of year, said Janet Hamilton, surveillance administrator for communicable diseases for the state health department.
"Now is a great time to get your flu shot," she said. "Wash your hands and cover your cough."
Each year, about 5 to 20 percent of the population gets the flu. More than 200,000 people are hospitalized because of complications from the flu, and about 36,000 die. Older people, young children and people with certain health conditions are most at risk.
Symptoms of flu include fever, sore throat and extreme tiredness. Complications can include pneumonia, sinus and ear infections and worsening of such conditions as heart failure, asthma and diabetes.
Federal officials say anyone can get vaccinated. But they recommend vaccination for high-risk groups: children from ages 6 months to 19 years, people over 50, pregnant women, nursing home residents, health care workers, people who live with those at high risk and people who live with or are caregivers for children under 6 months old. These babies are at high risk for complications, but are too young to be vaccinated.
If you're looking for a flu shot, the American Lung Association has a site to help you. Many people can be vaccinated with a nasal spray instead of a shot.
Lisa Greene, Times staff writer
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TAMPA - Tampa General Hospital has fixed safety problems endangering psychiatric patients there, federal officials said Friday afternoon.
After a four-day investigation, surveyors have signed off on the hospital's plan to improve safety in its psychiatric unit, ending the threat to stop Medicare funding to the hospital.
Two psychiatric patients killed themselves in the same room at Tampa General within two days in July, prompting a government investigation. The hospital flunked that investigation, prompting the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to declare the hospital's patients "in immediate jeopardy."
"We've had seven surveyors here for the past four days, and they've reported that every issue that was raised has been addressed," said hospital spokesman John Dunn said Friday. "They are comfortable with the care we are providing on that unit."
CMS spokeswoman Lee Millman also said the hospital had passed the inspection.
"At Tampa General, the immediate jeopardy was removed, and there were no conditions out of compliance," she said.
In the unit, the hospital replaced closet and bathroom doors with doors designed for safety, started video monitoring in all patient rooms and other parts of the psychiatric units, and set in place a policy saying that patients needing constant observation would be assigned a staff member and be allowed to sleep in their rooms, not in the hallways as regulators found had occurred. The hospital also said that the nurse in charge of the unit will conduct an unannounced inspection, and report all findings to the hospital's nurse manager.
Lisa Greene, Times staff writer
*
TAMPA -- Federal regulators have threatened to stop Medicare funding to Tampa General Hospital because of serious safety problems in its psychiatric unit.
In an investigation prompted by two recent suicides of the hospital's psychiatric patients, regulators found psychiatric patients to be in "immediate jeopardy" at the hospital. The hospital has until Sept. 6 to fix the problems or lose funding, said the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Tampa General already is working to fix the problems, said Ron Hytoff, the hospital's president and CEO, in a statement.
"I am saddened, embarrassed and concerned reading the surveyor's observations about our psychiatric unit," Hytoff said.
The hospital is changing the procedures cited by CMS, increasing how often patients are observed and making physical changes to the unit, Hytoff said. The hospital released the statement and the 44-page CMS report Thursday.
"All of the employees, physicians and volunteers understand that the community must have absolute trust in the operation of our psychiatric unit," Hytoff said. "Restoration of that trust is our No. 1 goal."
When safety problems occur at a hospital, CMS investigates and can threaten to end its agreement to have the hospital treat Medicare patients. That threat rarely is carried out, but generally prompts immediate action by the hospital.
This is the first time in at least a decade that Tampa General has been threatened with losing CMS funding. In recent years in the Tampa Bay area, CMS has threatened to remove funding from Brandon Regional Hospital and Northside Hospital in St. Petersburg. Both hospitals resolved problems without losing funds.
On July 21, a 44-year-old woman hanged herself using a bedsheet tied to a closet door in Tampa General's psychiatric unit between 15-minute security checks. On July 23, a 28-year-old man was found hanging from a sheet tied to a door in the unit.
-- Lisa Greene, Times staff writer
St. Joseph's Hospital on Martin Luther King Jr Blvd. Tampa Florida [Kathleen Flynn, Times
RIVERVIEW -- St. Joseph's Hospital has won another victory in its quest to build a 90-bed hospital in Riverview.
The state Agency for Health Care Administration, or AHCA, has reversed its earlier decision against St. Joseph's Hospital and sided with an administrative judge to grant it permission to build the hospital in the coveted growth region of South Hillsborough.
The agency released a final order Friday agreeing with the judge's decision in May that St. Joe's proposed hospital on Big Bend Road would improve access to emergency care and obstetrics services and reduce travel times for patients.
The judge's recommended order was disputed by competing hospitals, most notably HCA's South Bay Hospital in Sun City Center, which had filed its own plans for a hospital on Big Bend Road. South Bay had proposed moving its Sun City Center hospital to the Riverview location, while maintaining an emergency room and diagnostic services at its current site -- a proposal strongly opposed by local residents in the retirement community.
South Bay Hospital now has 30 days to file a judicial appeal. South Bay spokeswoman Melissa Morgan said officials disagreed with the decision but had not yet determined whether they plan to appeal.
-- Saundra Amrhein, Times staff writer
St. Joseph's Hospital on Martin Luther King Jr Blvd. Tampa Florida [Kathleen Flynn, Times]
TAMPA -- Americans need health care that costs less and covers more, say members of a new coalition who launched a campaign Tuesday to push health care reform next year.
"We will either have a guarantee of quality, affordable health care," said Bill Newton (left), executive director of the Florida Consumer Action Network. "Or we will continue to be at mercy of the private insurance industry...putting company profits before our health."
FCAN is one of several advocacy groups teaming up to promote health care reform during the election season. The coalition, Health Care for America Now, kicked off the campaign Tuesday with press conferences in 52 other cities across the country, including six more in Florida.
Among the 95 groups in the coalition are the National Education Association, the Campaign for America's Future, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the Service Employees International Union, MoveOn, and ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.
"It's time for a new American solution," Newton said in Tampa Tuesday.
The group is not endorsing either presidential candidate, focusing instead on building support for health care reform. The campaign plans to spend $1.5 million on its initial campaign and to spend more than $25 million over the next five months.
On the group's wish list: reform that allows Americans to keep the private insurance they now have or choose a new private or public plan and more government regulation to keep insurers from charging high premiums and denying coverage.
"Health care premiums are out of control," said Pat Sanchez, a small business owner who spoke at the Tampa event. "Our health care system is a system of failure, with the driver being bottom-line profits."
The coalition has deliberately not worked out concrete details of how to achieve such goals, Newton said, because the time for that will be next year.
"Now is the time to make sure the next president, and the next Congress, deliver on the promise of quality affordable health care," said Jan Chester, vice president/COO of Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida.
-- Lisa Greene, Times staff writer
[Lara Cerri, Times files]
TAMPA -- Staff at Tampa General Hospital mistakenly started performing a cardiac catheterization last week on the wrong patient, hospital officials said Wednesday evening.
The man was not harmed, and the hospital is conducting an internal investigation. Staff members failed to follow proper hospital protocol to identify the patient before the medical procedure, said hospital spokesman John Dunn.
A doctor "had inserted a catheter and was taking readings, but they hadn't injected any dye," Dunn said. "It was very early in the procedure." In a cardiac catheterization, a thin tube is inserted in an artery and dye is injected to view blood flow in coronary arteries.
Personnel made the mistake after asking the patient his identity, without checking his wristband. Dunn could not say what the patient said or how he identified himself.
"Ultimately, it's our responsibility, not the patient's," he said.
Tampa General would not identify the patient or medical staff involved.
Lisa Greene, Times staff writer
SUN CITY CENTER -- St. Joseph's Hospital should be allowed to build a 90-bed satellite facility at Big Bend Road in Riverview, an administrative judge has ruled, thickening the plot in the ongoing drama and battle between hospitals to tap into the growing population in south Hillsborough County.
The order, released late Thursday, now puts the final decision in the hands of the Agency for Health Care Administration, which late last year ruled that competing HCA-owned South Bay Hospital should be allowed to relocate to Big Bend from its Sun City Center site.
The new ruling in favor of St. Joseph's stems from its appeal of AHCA's denial of its application in 2005. After that denial, South Bay and St. Joseph's both filed new applications to build a hospital at that coveted site.
Continue reading "St. Joseph's should build Riverview hospital, judge says" »
Sen. John McCain speaks this morning at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer & Research Institute in Tampa. [CARRIE PRATT | Times]
TAMPA -- In a talk at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer & Research Institute this morning, Sen. John McCain railed against government-funded universal health care, instead proposing to give patients more insurance choices to promote market competition and lower prices.
"The key to real reform is to restore control of the health care system to the patients themselves," he said.
Continue reading "McCain makes health care policy speech in Tampa" »
Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties could face expensive steps to reduce smog to meet new air pollution standards proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency this week.
Reducing pollution may require expensive changes to the gasoline sold in this area, Hillsborough County officials say. It is also likely to mean tougher restrictions on the power plants and incinerators that still have smoke stacks spewing nitrogen oxide, a key component in smog. However, the changes are likely to improve the respiratory health of the bay area's youngest and oldest residents, county officials said.
Currently, the standard for average concentrations of ozone at ground level over an eight-hour period is 84 parts per billion (ppb). The EPA's expert panel recommended a new level of 60 to 70 parts per billion. The EPA decided to lower it to 75.
Hillsborough and Pasco counties are among 10 Florida counties that do not currently meet the new EPA air pollution standard. While Pinellas does meet the standard, air pollution does not stop at the county line and any pollution control measures required in Pasco and Hillsborough are likely to be applied to Pinellas as well, said Jerry Campbell of Hillsborough County’s Environmental Protection Commission.
Hillsborough's level is 81 ppb, while Pasco's is 76. Just south of the Tampa Bay area, Manatee and Sarasota counties both are at 76 ppb as well.
--Craig Pittman and Asjylyn Loder
[John Pendygraft, Times archives]
Continue reading "New smog standard may mean expensive changes for Tampa Bay area" »
ST. PETERSBURG -- Bayfront Medical Center has resumed its status as a Level II adult trauma center after a 48-hour voluntary suspension.
Bayfront temporarily diverted trauma victims to Tampa hospitals because of a shortage of neurosurgeons, which are required in trauma centers 24 hours a day. Bayfront resumed its trauma status at 7 a.m.
The diversion applied only to trauma patients transported in the local EMS system. Bayfront continued to treat other patients at its trauma center.
- Times staff writer
U.S. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite said a national doctor database with public information about disciplinary actions might have helped prevent the kind of tragedy that has unfolded at a veterans' hospital in the midwest.
Brown-Waite, R-Brooksville, is the ranking member of the Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, which held a hearing earlier this week on issues surrounding the death of 19 patients at a Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in Marion, Ill.
"Giving patients and families access to vital information about their doctors is an excellent way to weed out poor medical professionals and help reduce preventable errors and deaths," Brown-Waite said in a statement.
Brown-Waite pointed to a similar doctor database she said she helped create in Florida that also includes information on malpractice suits.
"Sadly, nothing like the Florida program exists in other states or on the national level," she said.
Investigators have flagged 19 deaths at the Illinois hospital during the last two years that they say are possibly the result of substandard care. They say hospital spervisors moved to slowly to address concerns.
-- William R. Levesque, Times staff writer
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist will announce a new program Thursday that will help low-income Floridians buy prescription drugs at discount prices, supposedly with a savings averaging 20 to 30 percent, the St. Petersburg Times has learned.
The program, patterned after a similar discount card in Ohio, will be announced at an 11 a.m. news conference in St. Petersburg. The plan would be available to people under 60 who have no other drug insurance and have incomes up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level, which is roughly $30,000 for a single person and about $60,000 for a family of four.
People over 60 would qualify with no income restriction, which could help people on Medicare cover some of their out-of-pocket costs through Medicare Part D's infamous "doughnut hole.''
The discount card could be used at more than 7,000 pharmacies statewide.
In Ohio, the state negotiates brand-name discounts from drug manufacturers, then passes those along to people on the program. The state also negotiates with pharmacies to drop their prices on generic drugs. Although 1.2-million Ohio residents are eligible, only about 112,000 have signed up since the program began in 2005, said Roland Hornbostel, a deputy director at the Ohio Department of Aging.
Among other things, seniors may get similar discounts through a Medicare Part D plan and might not take the effort to use the Ohio discount card just to eke out a little additional savings, he said.
Ohio figures card-holders save 34 percent on average from the regular retail price quoted by pharmacies the day people shop, but Hornbostel acknowledged that savings might be a lot less for people who shop around aggressively in other venues. For example, Wal-Mart, Kmart and some grocery store chains sell some generic drugs for $4 or less.
"If you can get a $4 generic or take the OhioBestRx card, by all means take the $4 generic,'' he said.
The Ohio plan covers hundreds of drugs from 27 different manufacturers, he said.
- Stephen Nohlgren, Times staff writer
Evan Alexander, 3, left, and Dylan Grensel, 2, play with some safe toys in the Children's Choice Daycare facility after a press conference at the Children's Choice Learning Center at Tampa General Hospital today.
TAMPA -- Despite the recent wave of toy recalls, hazardous toys are still on the market, consumer advocates warned today at a news conference in Tampa.
Increased inspections and stiffer punishments for makers of unsafe toys are needed to protect children, said leaders of the Florida Public Interest Research Group, who released their annual toy safety report, "Trouble in Toyland." They were joined at Tuesday's news conference by U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, one of 150 co-sponsors of legislation to crack down on unsafe toys.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission desperately needs more funding and more inspectors, Castor said. The agency has only one inspector for toys, she said.
"Frankly, this is outrageous," Castor said. "Unfortunately, this agency has been starved for resources over the years."
Parents need to be vigilant as they shop for toys this holiday season, consumer advocates said. Common hazards include lead paint, magnetic toys, and choking hazards. Lead is a poison that can cause neurological problems. If children swallow more than one magnet, they can stick together inside a child's body, causing intestinal damage or other problems. And even if a toy doesn't have small parts, parents should inspect it for pieces that can break off, creating a choking hazard.
- Lisa Greene, Times staff writer
RN Deana Nelson of Tampa General Hospital, gives a tour of one of the six new trauma bays at the hospital this morning. [Carrie Pratt | Times]
TAMPA -- Tampa General Hospital says it's prepped for luxury but planning for disaster with its new emergency room, which was unveiled this morning before a staff disaster drill.
The new emergency room, the Tampa Bay area's only level one trauma center, is about 65,000 square feet, more than twice its old size. It's designed so that the staff can cope with large disasters. In the event of a terrorist attack, plane crash or other crisis, the emergency room can handle triple its normal patient load. It also has isolation rooms and mass decontamination showers.
The new facility can handle 250 patients at once in an emergency.
"It's great news for the citizens of Tampa Bay. Not only will we be able to take more trauma patients, but our waiting times will be shorter," said Ron Hytoff, CEO of the hospital.
The emergency room was designed so that patients can move easily from admitting to treatment. There's a hallway leading straight from the ambulance ramp to the trauma bays. There's another leading directly to operating rooms -- a shorter trip than the current emergency room, where staffers have to take patients through an elevator before surgery.
Patients who arrive on their own go first to triage rooms, where emergency staffers can review their symptoms and send them for further care. The hospital has separate areas to care for chest pain, stroke, and other conditions.
The new emergency room is on the second floor, 22 feet above sea level. Hospital officials say it won't have to be evacuated in a hurricane, despite the hospital's location on low-lying Davis Islands.
The emergency room also boasts features designed for patient comfort: 66 private treatment rooms, a coffee bar for visitors and a pediatric emergency center with a nautical theme and a children's play area.
"It's stressful to be in the emergency room, so we wanted to make it as least stressful as possible,'' said Deana Nelson, the hospital's executive vice president and chief operating officer.
The emergency room is part of the hospital's 340,000-square-foot Bayshore Pavilion addition, which in all cost $190-million. When complete, the pavilion will include a new intensive care unit, women's center, cardiovascular center and digestive treatment center.
- Lisa Greene, Times staff writer
An FBI agent arrived about 9:25 a.m. and told employees they could leave for the day. [Chris Zuppa | Times]
TAMPA -- Federal law enforcement agents executed a search warrant this morning at the offices of WellCare Health Plans Inc. on Henderson Road, and people were seen removing materials from the building of the managed care company.
Acting U.S. Attorney James Klindt said FBI agents and law enforcement agents from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as well as the Florida Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit were participating in the execution of the warrant at 8735 Henderson Road in Tampa. The ongoing investigation "does not directly concern, nor should it have any impact upon, the delivery of any health care service to any person," the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement.
The office gave no further details on the investigation. The FBI did not immediately return calls for comment.
Many employees were standing outside the offices this morning, talking on cell phones or heading to their cars to leave.
Steven Meitzen, 51, arrived at WellCare about 9:40 a.m. for a job interview. A sheriff's deputy stopped him when he exited a parking garage elevator and director him to stand with a crowd of about 20 employees waiting outside, he said.
"I was told by a member of the human resources that they thought it was a bomb scare, but they were locked down and not allowed to leave the building," Meitzen said. "Later on, I talked to someone who said (the FBI) had a subpoena and were looking for records."
Meitzen stood by for nearly half an hour, watching "a lot" of unmarked vehicles with flashing ligths surround the property.
"They had a lot of the entrances covered," Metizen said.
WellCare's Web site describes it as a leading provider of managed care services dedicated to government-sponsored health care programs focusing on Medicaid and Medicare plans, including health plans for families, children, the blind and disabled, and prescription drug plans.
Its 2.3-million members are nearly equally divided between Medicare and Medicaid programs, and it posted $3.8-billion in revenue last year, the vast majority of that from state and federal government reimbursements. Profits were $139.2-million, nearly three times its net income after going public in 2004.
In June, Medicare's parent agency announced that seven of the industry's biggest players have agreed to suspend marketing until protective measures take effect to guard against rogue agents enrolling customers in fee-for-service plans they didn't want or need. Among the seven: Tampa's fastest-growing publicly traded company, WellCare Health Plans Inc.
--Bill Coats, Times staff writer
-- Trading was halted in WellCare stock at 10:59 a.m. after it had fallen $5.47 a share to $115.50.
TAMPA -- Tampa Bay Lightning center Vincent Lecavalier today announced a $3-million pledge from his charitable foundation toward construction of the pediatric cancer center within the new All Children's Hospital in downtown St. Petersburg. The money will go specifically for a state-of-the-art facility to be named the Vincent Lecavalier Pediatric Cancer and Blood Disorders Center.
"I love kids, and I love the Tampa Bay area," Lecavalier said in a prepared statement. "So this is a cause with great meaning to me. I've been fortunate to get to know some of the families. It's sad whenever you see kids that are sick. Coming to the games is an opportunity to put a smile on their faces, but this is a chance to leave a legacy for them and so many others like them for years to come."
Lecavalier, left, hosts families of children with cancer in his VIP suite at several Lightning home games each season and donates money for every goal he scores and assist he makes to the cancer center. The money is matched by corporate sponsors of his Vincent Lecavalier Foundation.
To meet his latest pledge, Lecavalier and legacy partners in his foundation -- including Kane's Furniture and DEX Imaging -- promise to contribute more than half the $3-million over eight years. The remaining money will be raised through community fundraising efforts such as Lecavalier's annual Texas Hold 'Em Celebrity Poker Tournament at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.
This year's casino night takes place Nov. 12.
Bill Varian and Ernest Hooper, Times staff writers
TAMPA -- University of South Florida researchers have received a $169-million federal grant to study the causes of juvenile diabetes in children around the world, the university announced Wednesday.
The National Institutes of Health grant, awarded to a team led by Dr. Jeffrey Krischer, is the largest in USF history. Staff at six clinics in Europe and the United States will screen 360,000 newborns and ultimately track about 8,000 of them for 10 years.
The study seeks to explain why some children get juvenile diabetes, how their environment affects their risk and why incidence of the disease has doubled since the 1980s.
"We know that some children have a greater genetic risk of diabetes, but only 10 percent of those eventually develop the disease. This study gives us a large enough group of newborns to analyze factors in their lifestyle, diet or environment that may trigger the illness," said Krischer, who is co-chair of the study and a professor of pediatrics at USF Health.
Jacob H. Fries, Times staff writer
TAMPA -- A federal court jury has awarded $300,000 to a former pharmacist at the Bay Pines VA Medical Center who accused the Department of Veterans Affairs of religious discrimination.
Lynne C. Krop, 45, of Clearwater, who worked as a infectious disease clinical pharmacist and clinical residency director, said the VA refused to allow her to take leave without pay for Jewish religious holidays, among other allegations. Krop said that violated federal law.
Krop said the VA essentially forced her to resign over the dispute in 2004 after 14 years with the agency.
After a four-day trial in U.S. District Court in Tampa, a jury on Thursday awarded her $300,000, the maximum allowed by law. The VA declined to comment pending an appeal.
-- William R. Levesque, Times staff writer
ABINGDON, Va. -- A contingent of residents from Florida, all of whom had suffered because of the drug Oxycontin, traveled to a federal hearing today for pharmaceutical executives accused of illegally marketing the powerful painkiller.
At the hearing, the judge fined Purdue Pharma L.P., the maker of Oxycontin, and the three executives $634.5 million for misleading the public about its risk of addiction.
Among the local residents making the trip was Julie Rinaldi of Tampa, whose daughter Sarah, died at age 17 after an overdose of drugs including Oxycontin. Rinaldi got to testify at the hearing.
After hearing from those who had lost their loved ones to Oxycontin, or had seen their own lives derailed because they became addicted to the drug, the judge added probation to the fines for the executives. Rinaldi and others from Florida, who made up the largest contingent of residents at the hearing, said they were satisfied with the outcome.
Purdue Pharma, its top lawyer and former president and former chief medical officer pleaded guilty in May for claiming that OxyContin was less addictive and less subject to abuse than other pain medications.
Michael Friedman, who retired in June as Purdue's president, general counsel Howard Udell and former chief medical officer Paul Goldenheim each pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of misbranding the drug. Of the total fine, $34.5 million was levied on those three.
The judge placed the company on probation for five years and each of the executives on probation for three years. He also ordered the three to perform 400 hours of community service related to prevention of prescription drug abuse.
-- Abbie VanSickle, Times staff writer, with Associated Press reports
Gov. Crist greets Evangeline R. Best, of Tampa, center, as Roland Brookins, center left, and Nellie Bythwood, right, look on after Crist signed the Infant Motality Bill into law. [Ken Helle | Times]
TAMPA -- Governor Charlie Crist stopped by an East Tampa library this morning to sign an act allocating $1-million dollars to study why black infants die at higher rates than white infants.
The state’s Department of Health will administer the program and allocate the grant money to Healthy Start coalitions in counties with particularly high black infant morality rates. The grant recipients will examine medical and social causes of infant death and will help design future programs to improve infant survival rates, said Estrellita Berry, project director for central Hillsborough Healthy Start Project.
In Hillsborough, Berry said, black infants die 4.4 times as often as white infants. Three of her friends lost their infants young — one because of diabetes, one from high blood pressure, and one for reasons still unknown.
“We’re off the mark,” she said.
The bill, HB 1269, was sponsored in the House by freshman Rep. Betty Reed (D-59) and in the Senate by Sen. Arthenia Joyner (D-18).
--Sarah Mishkin, Times staff writer
TAMPA - A jury decided a woman's injuries are worth $30-million in a medical malpractice verdict delivered Friday.
Sally Lucia, 47, filed a lawsuit after complications from a tummy tuck forced the amputation of all of her fingers and much of her legs.
A six-member jury deliberated for nearly 20 hours before assigning Memorial Hospital of South Tampa 40 percent of the blame. They assigned Dr. George Haedicke, a co-defendant along with Memorial, 20 percent, while another doctor was found responsible for the rest.
The doctor, however, settled with Lucia before the trial. The verdict doesn't apply to him.
Haedicke also would not be responsible to pay because the jury absolved him of "reckless disregard," his lawyer said Friday. The state's "Good Samaritan" statute may now apply to him, leaving him immune from payment.
Attorneys will meet Wednesday with Hillsborough County Circuit Judge Gregory Holder to clarify the judgment and how much Lucia can expect to collect.
Lucia felt so ill from an infection in her abdomen that she traveled by ambulance to Memorial Hospital in South Tampa with flu-like symptoms on Jan. 28, 2001.
Twenty days earlier, she had undergone a tummy tuck to repair abdominal muscle damage she suffered after three caesarean sections.
Thirty hours after Lucia arrived at the hospital, other doctors removed a grapefruit-sized infection from her abdomen. She remained in critical condition when she transferred several days later to Tampa General Hospital.
By then, the tissue in her hands and below her calves had died. From March to May 2001, a succession of surgeries carved away her limbs bit by bit.
Lucia, a mother of three, incurred about $1-million in medical bills.