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Today's Globe: labor effort at hospitals, statins for blood clots, Franciscan cuts, primary care for mental illness

E-mail | Print | Comments () Posted by Elizabeth Cooney March 30, 2009 06:55 AM

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Union canvassers in Boston are pursuing two urgent missions - organizing the city's big teaching hospitals and trying to rally support for federal legislation that could enhance the strength of unions nationwide.

Franciscan Hospital for Children, which has relied on donations and state funding for most of its 60-year history, is now operating with $16 million less in funding this year due to state budget cuts.

Statin drugs, taken by millions of Americans to lower cholesterol and prevent heart disease, also can cut the risk of developing dangerous blood clots that can lodge in the legs or lungs, a major study by Robert Glynn and Dr. Paul Ridker of Brigham and Women's Hospital suggests.

"How have we gotten to this unfortunate situation where primary care doctors, who are clearly not qualified, are expected and encouraged to treat children with serious mental illness?" Dr. Claudia Gold, a pediatrician who practices in Great Barrington, asks on the op-ed page.

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About white coat notes

White Coat Notes covers the latest from the health care industry, hospitals, doctors offices, labs, insurers, and the corridors of government. Chelsea Conaboy previously covered health care for The Philadelphia Inquirer. Write her at cconaboy@boston.com. Follow her on Twitter: @cconaboy.

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