Pediatrician addresses screening
inequalities
If pediatric advocate Dr. Edward McCabe had his way, every baby
born in the United States would enjoy equal rights when it comes to
lifesaving newborn screenings for disorders that, if caught early
enough, can make a dramatic difference in the quality of that
infant’s life.
McCabe, physician-in-chief of the Mattel Children’s
Hospital at UCLA, discussed the recommendations of the Newborn
Screening Task Force at the American Association for the
Advancement of Science’s 2001 annual meeting in San Francisco
held from Feb. 15-20. The report from the Newborn Screening Task
Force was sponsored by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, a part
of the Health Resources and Services Administration, and the
American Academy of Pediatrics.
McCabe said when he embraced the co-chair responsibility of the
Newborn Screening Task Force, he was “a single-issue
candidate who will push for a national agenda for newborns.”
He hopes to foster cooperation between state public health
departments that have ultimate responsibility for implementing
newborn screenings, the federal government and the March of
Dimes.
He has been critical of the task force’s past
recommendations, saying they didn’t go far enough.
Each year about 4 million infants born in the United States are
screened shortly after birth to detect a variety of
life-threatening conditions. According to the task force, the array
of screening tests performed by each state varies dramatically.
State senate delays high school exit exam
The California Senate voted Tuesday to delay Gov. Gray
Davis’ high school graduation test for a year, saying
students need more time to prepare for its tough questions,
especially in algebra.
“How many of you could pass a test on algebra even if you
had it recently?” Sen. Betty Karnette, a former math teacher
from Long Beach, asked her colleagues.
Only a couple of hands were weakly raised.
Current law requires the class of 2004 ““ today’s
ninth-graders ““ to pass the rigorous new test to graduate.
The test is scheduled to be given next month for the first time to
ninth-graders who volunteer, on Mar. 7 for reading and writing and
on Mar. 13 for math.
The bill, sent to the Assembly by a 21-13 vote, would make the
class of 2005, today’s eighth-graders, the first one that
would have to pass it.
The Democratic governor is opposed to postponing the test,
saying he believes today’s ninth-graders will have taken
enough tough courses to pass the test by their senior year.
Students are allowed to take the test several times.
Davis and lawmakers have provided additional funds to school
districts for items such as new textbooks and teacher training
“to ensure that students are prepared for the exam,”
Davis spokeswoman Hilary McLean said Tuesday.
Neurosurgeon to aid Romanian children
Pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Jorge Lazareff from Mattel
Children’s Hospital at UCLA left the U.S. Feb. 16 on a
mission to help save the lives of infants suffering from congenital
brain malformations and spinal cord problems.
Lazareff traveled to Romania at the request of a Christian
organization called Romania Outreach to Christ’s Kids, while
in Romania, Lazareff hopes to perform between six and 10 surgeries
on critically ill infants ““ some of whom are orphans ““
between the ages of 2 months to 1 year old. He will return on Feb.
25.
Compiled from Daily Bruin wire reports.