Tagged: Health Care

In the past decade, a dozen Western State Hospital patients have killed themselves. More than a hundred others have tried. Megan Templeton was the most recent. In April, she hanged herself in her hospital room. She had turned 20 the day before. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for teenagers and young adults in Washington.

Across America, two-thirds of the population drinks water treated with fluoride. Oregon’s fluoridation rate is about 23 percent — 48th out of fifty states. Portland is now the largest city in the country without fluoridated water but a coalition of supporters is lobbying to change that. KLCC's Tiffany Eckert takes a look at this controversial subject.

SALEM, Ore. – In Salem, a former Army staff sergeant named Jarrid Starks has run out of the medications that keep him stable. He has severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and other mental and physical wounds of war. But he’s currently not eligible for veterans’ health benefits that would include prescription refills. That’s because Starks was kicked out of the Army for bad behavior. He’s far from alone. Correspondent Austin Jenkins has this story in collaboration with the Seattle Times.

A new federal waiver for Oregon includes a provision aimed at luring doctors to small towns. The state won final approval Monday from the Obama administration for plans to move ahead with big changes in health care.

The Supreme Court’s decision on the health care law threw many members of Congress for a loop. Many northwest lawmakers were surprised that the Supreme Court upheld the law’s individual mandate and put limits on the government’s attempt to expand Medicaid. Matt Laslo reports from the nation’s capital.

“Happy and relieved.” Those are the words Washington Governor Chris Gregoire uses to describe the Supreme Court’s decision on health care. The Democrat Thursday told a personal story about a health scare in her own family.

Bailey-Boushay House turns 20 this year. The residential care facility in Seattle’s Madison Valley was the first of its kind in the country. It focused on the health care needs of people with AIDS. It was born out of a crisis. Over the years the patients’ medical needs have changed. The facility has evolved, too. Ruby de Luna traces the history of Bailey-Boushay.

The head of Washington's largest psychiatric hospital is stepping down. Western State Hospital CEO Jess Jamieson announced his resignation to hospital staff Tuesday. The announcement came as the Tacoma-area hospital deals with the aftermath of two patients' violent deaths in April. KUOW's John Ryan has the story.