Medical Statistics

From a health care standpoint, we were lucky on Jan. 17, 1994, and that's the frightening part. Recall the major medical statistics from the Northridge earthquake, and a few that have received far less attention: 61 dead, another 1,600 hospitalized, a total of 10,200 people treated at hospitals and then released, a total of 27,539 around the area who received medical intervention from the federal government.

President Clinton today will announce plans to step up federal efforts to enroll more children in existing government health insurance programs. About 12 million children are without health insurance, or nearly 27% of the 44 million Americans who are uninsured, according to the latest Census Bureau figures. Clinton is ordering a multi-agency outreach effort aimed at making sure that the federal government informs parents, grandparents and kids about insurance options.

Women who are screened at least once every three years for cervical cancer reduce their risk of developing an invasive form of the disease or dying from it by about 90%, researchers reported last week. An analysis of research conducted in the United States and elsewhere indicates that women between the ages of 20 and 65 who have regular Pap smears have only an 11-in-10,000 chance of dying from cervical cancer, versus a 118-in-10,000 risk for women who are never screened.

Joe Filia learned he was HIV-positive in 1985, not long after the first tests for the virus that causes AIDS were made available to the public. For the next six years he lived secretly with the knowledge that his life could soon be over, while the world debated the moral and medical implications of the disease. "I didn't tell anybody. I thought I was dead. I lived in fear every single day that I would become sick and somebody would find out.

Joe Filia learned he was HIV-positive in 1985, not long after the first tests for the virus that causes AIDS were made available to the public. For the next six years he lived secretly with the knowledge that his life could soon be over, while the world debated the moral and medical implications of the disease. "I didn't tell anybody. I thought I was dead. I lived in fear every single day that I would become sick and somebody would find out.

President Clinton has sent his health refrom bill to Congress. No one can predict the final shape health reform will take. But here is a consumer's guide to what the new system may be like in California if Clinton's plan becomes law. Step One: Picking a Plan All Americans will receive a standard package of benefits to be delivered by a local network of doctors and hospitals. Local networks can offer additional benefits beyond the basic package, but these will cost extra.

Need someone to talk to, but not sure who's who in today's smorgasbord of mental health professions, what with its alphabet soup of degrees, licenses and credentials? Here are snapshots of five major mental health professions, ranging from long-term psychoanalysis to shorter-term therapies. * Who They Are: Psychiatrists * Job Description: Physicians who specialize in diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mental illness and emotional problems. (As medical doctors, they prescribe drugs.

Sports is serious business. When our team loses, we mope. We don't finish our micro-brewed beer. Even sex sounds dull. But when our team wins, our neck hairs stand erect. We leap onto the couch and belt Queen's "We Are the Champions" in perfect pitch. All seems right in the world. As the Olympics hit their stride this week, the athletes' victories and defeats are bound to play out in the minds and bodies of avid fans.

Charlotte Cox lies on a table with 22 green, red, blue and yellow electrodes glued to her head. As she relaxes, the electroencephalograph machine she is wired to steadily spits out reams of graph paper filled with black zigzagging lines. Across the room, a fellow classmate, also sprawled out on a laboratory table, is having his head blown dry with an air hose so wires can be secured to his skull.

President Clinton today will announce plans to step up federal efforts to enroll more children in existing government health insurance programs. About 12 million children are without health insurance, or nearly 27% of the 44 million Americans who are uninsured, according to the latest Census Bureau figures. Clinton is ordering a multi-agency outreach effort aimed at making sure that the federal government informs parents, grandparents and kids about insurance options.

Sports is serious business. When our team loses, we mope. We don't finish our micro-brewed beer. Even sex sounds dull. But when our team wins, our neck hairs stand erect. We leap onto the couch and belt Queen's "We Are the Champions" in perfect pitch. All seems right in the world. As the Olympics hit their stride this week, the athletes' victories and defeats are bound to play out in the minds and bodies of avid fans.

Need someone to talk to, but not sure who's who in today's smorgasbord of mental health professions, what with its alphabet soup of degrees, licenses and credentials? Here are snapshots of five major mental health professions, ranging from long-term psychoanalysis to shorter-term therapies. * Who They Are: Psychiatrists * Job Description: Physicians who specialize in diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mental illness and emotional problems. (As medical doctors, they prescribe drugs.

From a health care standpoint, we were lucky on Jan. 17, 1994, and that's the frightening part. Recall the major medical statistics from the Northridge earthquake, and a few that have received far less attention: 61 dead, another 1,600 hospitalized, a total of 10,200 people treated at hospitals and then released, a total of 27,539 around the area who received medical intervention from the federal government.

President Clinton has sent his health refrom bill to Congress. No one can predict the final shape health reform will take. But here is a consumer's guide to what the new system may be like in California if Clinton's plan becomes law. Step One: Picking a Plan All Americans will receive a standard package of benefits to be delivered by a local network of doctors and hospitals. Local networks can offer additional benefits beyond the basic package, but these will cost extra.

Women who are screened at least once every three years for cervical cancer reduce their risk of developing an invasive form of the disease or dying from it by about 90%, researchers reported last week. An analysis of research conducted in the United States and elsewhere indicates that women between the ages of 20 and 65 who have regular Pap smears have only an 11-in-10,000 chance of dying from cervical cancer, versus a 118-in-10,000 risk for women who are never screened.

South County Senior Services, a Laguna Woods-based nonprofit organization providing care for elderly residents of south Orange County, must raise $100,000 to sustain its "Meals on Wheels" program in the coming year, said Executive Director Marilyn Ditty at a reception last week.

In reaction to the article on job-loss statistics (June 9): The latest California figures for lost jobs over the last three years has been revised to 552,700, claiming that the 800,000 to 900,000 originally reported was flawed by overcounting the work force. I think that this revision is defective. What about self-employed individuals like myself? Do we ever appear in unemployment, health and medical insurance statistics? I think not. Before the government gleefully reports that it's not nearly as bad as originally thought, reflect on this: The self-employed are often "un" or "under" employed.