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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Jeanette White

This individual is no longer an employee with The Spokesman-Review.

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News >  Spokane

6th-Graders Do Well On Achievement Test

Spokane students whizzed past the national average on a sixth grade achievement test this year. They stumbled only in spelling, with below-average scores - an ongoing problem, according to a report released Wednesday. "We're well above the national averages, with the exception of spelling," said Joe Kinney, testing coordinator for Spokane School District 81.

News >  Spokane

Ban On New Residents Lifted At Nursing Home

State health inspectors are allowing a South Hill nursing home to start accepting new residents again. Unexplained bruises on a patient had prompted the state to bar Southcrest Nursing and Rehabilitation Center from taking patients last month. Now the nursing home has a better plan for investigating unexplained injuries, said Edith Coleman, a manager at the state Department of Social and Health Services.
News >  Nation/World

Woes Pile Up At Two Troubled Nursing Homes Valleycrest, Southcrest Can’t Take New Patients Until Inspections Passed

A company accused of letting a woman go hungry in one Spokane nursing home now is suspected of improperly investigating unexplained bruises in a second home. State officials are forbidding Valleycrest and Southcrest nursing and rehabilitation centers from taking new patients until they pass follow-up inspections. The homes are two of four Spokane nursing homes owned by Unicare Health Facilities, a Milwaukee-based company that owns 183 health-care facilities nationwide.
News >  Nation/World

Seeking Healthy Alternatives From Massage To Aromatherapy, New Treatments Gaining Adherents

1. Massage and aromatherapy are two unconventional healing techniques offered at Jeri Sahlin's Coeur d'Alene practice. Mainstream health professionals are starting to take these new therapies more seriously. Photo by Liz Kishimoto/The Spokesman-Review 2. At left, registered nurse Tiena Lynes uses a pendulum "like a tuning fork" to find energy field disruptions in patients. Nurses say they can treat conditions from arthritis to lupus by smoothing these energy fields. "Bottom line?" Lynes says. "Patients feel better." Photo by Liz Kishimoto/The Spokesman-Review 3. Pam Holcomb relaxes with hot water, aromatic oils and Hungarian mud at the office of hydrotherapist Jeri Sahlin at The Center for Choice Therapies in Coeur d'Alene. Photo by Liz Kishimoto/The Spokesman-Review 4. Elizabeth Wilton, left, and Sharon Fletcher tap into energy fields around Roxann McNaughton at a Holistic Healers Network meeting in Spokane. Photo by Liz Kishimoto/The Spokesman-Review
News >  Spokane

Parks Workers Tried To Save Woman Who Set Self On Fire Victim Used Gasoline, Road Flares In Suicide On Public Tennis Court

Spokane city parks workers tried their best to save a woman who set herself on fire on a public tennis court Thursday. Using their jackets, the workers were unable to overcome the potent mixture of gasoline and road flares she used to set herself ablaze at Franklin Park, authorities said. "She'd taken off all her clothes, put them in a neat little pile," said Spokane Fire Lt. Ron Clinger. "She put some flares on the ground - seven - and dumped gas on herself and then went dancing through the fire."
News >  Nation/World

Amend Answers Charges Coroner Denies Making Comments Cited In Report

Spokane County Coroner Dexter Amend denies making some of the sexual comments state investigators cited when charging him with unprofessional conduct. Amend didn't discuss sodomy with a woman whose daughter was murdered, he said in a written response to the charges. In a four-page document made public Tuesday, Amend also denied asking questions about an 11-year-old Valley boy's sexuality after the boy died in a shed fire.
News >  Spokane

Doctors Prescribing Medical Examiner Calling The Current Coroner Situation A ‘Public Health Crisis,’ Physicians Push To Get Issue On November Ballot

Citing a "public health crisis," Spokane doctors are urging county commissioners to support swapping the coroner system for one run by a medical examiner. The Spokane County Medical Society wants commissioners to quickly draft an ordinance so it can get on the November ballot. "We feel that the lack of death investigations as well as inaccurate, incomplete and untimely death investigations are contributing to a crisis in public health," said Dr. Phil Werschler, medical society president.
News >  Spokane

Valley Nursing Home May Face Shutdown Inspectors Report Finding Numerous Deficiencies At Valleycrest

A Spokane Valley nursing home has less than a week to shape up or shut down after a recent state inspection turned up more serious problems. Nearly 100 elderly residents will be moved to other nursing homes if Valleycrest Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, 12715 E. Mission, doesn't fix problems threatening patients' health and safety by next Monday. Inspectors again found numerous deficiencies, including a worker who punished a diabetic patient by withholding insulin, said Edith Coleman, who manages inspections for the state Department of Social and Health Services.
News >  Spokane

Doctors File New Complaints Against Amend Coroner Trying To Keep Lid On His Response To Earlier Allegations

State health officials are investigating two more complaints against Spokane County Coroner Dexter Amend, who already is fighting a charge of unprofessional conduct. Authorities won't reveal details of the new investigations except to say they stem from complaints by fellow doctors. Amend, meanwhile, is keeping secret his response to the unprofessional conduct charge, despite protests from the state Medical Quality Assurance Commission.
News >  Spokane

Woman Fights Back In Effort To Open Group Home South Hill Resident Files Countersuit Against Neighbors Battling Facility

A woman fighting to open a group home for the elderly on the South Hill filed a countersuit Thursday against residents trying to keep it out of their neighborhood., The neighbors, including three doctors, are discriminating against disabled people who no longer can live alone, said LeAnn Riley, who filed suit in Spokane County Superior Court. "We're dealing with the elderly and handicapped who deserve the protection of society," said David Carlson, Riley's attorney.
News >  Nation/World

Unhealthy Competition? Fined In Other States, Giant Hmo Launches Ad Blitz Here

Anyone who watches TV knows the commercials: Likable people filmed in black-and-white talking candidly about their off-the-wall health woes. Who wouldn't be charmed by the tale of the kid who shoved a raisin up his nose? But besides making people chuckle, those ads may mark the start of a highly competitive era in health insurance in Eastern Washington. The fast-growing company behind the commercials, PacifiCare, vows to become one of the area's top players - a for-profit, managed-care company in an arena dominated by not-for-profit insurers.
News >  Spokane

Care Center Can’t Admit New Patients Serious Deficiencies Found At Valley Nursing Home

A Spokane Valley nursing home is barred from admitting new residents after state inspectors found serious deficiencies that endangered the elderly people who lived there. It's the second time in a year Valleycrest Nursing and Rehabilitation Center was ordered to close its doors to new residents. The center, at 12715 E. Mission, also faces a $10,000 fine - its seventh fine in four years.
News >  Spokane

Amend Defense To Cost Taxpayers County Will Pay For Defense Against Moral Turpitude Charge

Taxpayers will foot the bill to defend Spokane County Coroner Dexter Amend against a charge of moral turpitude filed by state health officials last week, county commissioners decided Tuesday. If found guilty, Amend, a retired urologist, could lose his medical license, have it suspended or pay a fine. Commissioner Steve Hasson objected, saying the coroner's medical license has nothing to do with his elected position. He doesn't even need it to serve, Hasson said.