Almost 180 patients may have been infected by a deadly superbug after being exposed to contaminated medical scopes.How has the response been from UCLA at this point? Also, Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León introduced a new bill on Wednesday that he says would address the state's critical child care shortage. Then, a drag queen weighs in on whether drag is degrading to women.
CRE superbug: Medical experts evaluate the response to and implications of outbreak
UCLA’s Ronald Reagan Medical Center says almost 180 patients may have been infected by a deadly superbug after being exposed to contaminated medical scopes.
The outbreak was discovered late last month while running tests on a patient, according to UCLA, and this week they started notifying 179 other patients who were treated between October and January. The superbug, known as CRE, is drug-resistant, and some estimates say that it has a 40-50 percent mortality rate if the infection spreads to the bloodstream. The medical equipment in question are special endoscopes that are inserted down the throats of hundreds of thousands of patients yearly to treat digestive issues. Medical experts say some of the scopes are notoriously hard to sanitize. Doctors at UCLA say they followed proper medical procedure in sanitizing the endoscopes, but somehow the bacteria survived.
How has the response been from UCLA to this point? Why didn’t the hospital start notifying patients as soon as they discovered the outbreak? Are hospitals and companies that make medical devices doing enough to protect patient safety? What is the effect on the medical industry and consumers from hospital-borne infections like this CRE superbug?
Guests:
Dr. Michael Gardam, MD, Director of Infection Prevention and Control at the University Health Network in Toronto, Canada; former Director of Infectious Disease Prevention & Control, Public Health Ontario (2008-2010)
Dr. Emily Landon, hospital epidemiologist at the University of Chicago Medical Center
Lisa McGiffert, director of the Safe Patient Project at Consumers Union - the advocacy arm of Consumer Reports
UTLA head and LAUSD deputy superintendent explain union contract impasse
After 7 months of negotiations, the Los Angeles Unified School District and UTLA, the union that represents teachers, say they’re at an impasse.
The union said the district is "refusing to bargain in good faith on student learning conditions, and threatening educator layoffs as a scare tactic." LAUSD Superintendent Ramon Cortines said in a statement that the district agrees the talks are at an impasse.
The differences between the two sides amount to more than $800 million, the district said in its statement. Cortines has maintained that the district is facing a deficit. The union insists the district has money. Other issues dividing the two sides include classroom size and teacher evaluations.
Read the full story here
Guests:
Alex Caputo-Pearl, president of UTLA, the union representing 31,000 teachers and health and human service professionals
Michelle King, Deputy Superintendent, LAUSD
The psychology of road rage
Aggressive driving and its deadly consequences are back in the national spotlight after a Las Vegas woman was killed in an alleged road rage shooting.
It’s an invisible danger drivers face on the road, but reliable statistics on road rage incidents are difficult to come by. According to data compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, road rage accounted for 247 fatal accidentals in 2013. But those numbers fail to capture what really happens on the road, given that many cases of aggressive driving are not reported.
What contributes to road rage? Have you been a victim of road rage?
Guests:
Marie Montgomery, spokesperson for the Automobile Club of Southern California
Leon James, Professor of Psychology at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu; author of “Road Rage and Aggressive Driving: Steering Clear of Highway Warfare” (Prometheus Books, 2000)
Lawmakers debate bill to increase child care vouchers, allow workers to unionize
The lack of sufficient child care has been an issue statewide.
In Los Angeles County, a recent study found only 2 percent of infants and toddlers have access to a licensed child care facility; for preschoolers, it's about 40 percent. Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León introduced a new bill on Wednesday that he says would address the state's critical child care shortage by increasing the number of slots for child care vouchers and giving providers the right to unionize.
Read KPCC's coverage of the issue
Guests:
Sen. Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles), Senate President pro Tempore, represents California’s 24th district, which includes Los Angeles, Pasadena, and Alhambra. He introduced the bill
Tonia McMillian, co-chair of Raising California Together, a coalition of child care providers, parents, educators, clergy, and business and community organizations. She is a child care Provider, Union Steward and Executive Board member of SEIU 99.
Don Wagner (R-Irvine), State Assemblyman representing California’s 68th district, which covers portions of Orange County including Tustin and the city of Orange.
Drag queen asks: Is drag degrading to women?
A debate about the significance of drag has been brewing on the internet since the beginning of the year and raising the question: is drag degrading to women?
It started when Mary Cheney, the openly lesbian and actively Republican daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, opined on her Facebook page, “Why is it socially acceptable—as a form of entertainment—for men to put on dresses, makeup and high heels and act out every offensive stereotype of women (bitchy, catty, dumb, slutty, etc.)—but it is not socially acceptable—as a form of entertainment—for a white person to put on blackface and act out offensive stereotypes of African Americans?”
The comparison roiled supporters of drag who see it as a subversive commentary that’s both a means of self expression and empowerment. But as the drag queen Miz Cracker recently penned in a piece on Slate, the discussion has raised “a question all queens and conscientious drag fans must contend with at one point or another: Is drag degrading to women?”
Has drag lost some of its shock value with shows like RuPaul’s Drag Race and is now a moment to ask whether drag performances truly celebrate femininity or mock it? Has the social significance of drag performance changed?
Guests:
Miz Cracker, writer and drag queen living and working in Harlem, New York; author of this recent piece in Slate’s Outward section.
Meredith Heller, Ph.D., Faculty member in Women's and Gender Studies specializing in drag and performance at Northern Arizona University; Her blog is called The Saucy Scholar.
The backlash against the selfie (stick)
Cultural institutions from the Getty Center in Los Angeles to the Met in New York have started banning the use of selfie sticks over worries that the retractable instrument would cause damage to the artwork and hurt other patrons. Selfies are still allowed.
The selfie stick is the latest manifestation of our culture’s obsession with capturing the perfect self-portrait. While the selfie stick has plenty of fans, it has also inspired ire.
Do you agree with the selfie stick ban? How has “selfie culture” affected you?
Guests:
Nicholas White, writer and editor-in-chief of the Daily Dot, an online news publication that focuses on Internet and online culture Read his piece titled “The life and death of the selfie” here