Health Notes Health Notes (June 09, 2004)

CRITICAL CARE . . . With 13 million Americans currently diagnosed with diabetes, it's of special note that Stanford Hospital recently received accolades from the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients for the success rate of its kidney transplant program. Stanford's transplant program was rated statistically No. 1 this year in its one-year survival outcomes. Of the 240 kidney transplant centers, only 15 exceeded expectations when it came to kidney survival one-year after transplantation. Kidney failure is doubling every 10 years, in part due to diabetes. The only options for those suffering from failure are transplantation or dialysis. The 125 adult patients who underwent kidney transplantation at Stanford between July 1, 2000 and Dec. 31, 2002 had a one-year kidney survival of 99 percent.

HOT SPOT . . . El Camino Hospital is taking its waiting and treatment room entertainment of rumpled magazines and static televisions to a new level. Visitors can now log onto the Web site through their laptops thanks to a new wireless hot spot the hospital is offering. El Camino is one of the first hospitals in the nation to allow visitors to jump onto the World Wide Web wirelessly. The service will be free of charge until Sept. 1. After that date, surfing the web will cost $3 for 24 hours.

FIT OR FIBBING? . . . According to kids who participated in an online poll backed by a Palo Alto-based gaming Web site, they're doing more than developing carpal tunnel syndrome. Out of the 6,000 respondents who participated in one of three Bonus.com's online surveys, 61 percent said they exercised or played sports more than once a day. The survey also asked participants about their junk food consumption and their view on their physical fitness. Sixty-six percent of respondents characterized their physical fitness as great and 46 percent said they eat junk food quite a bit. Bonus.com's findings are in stark contrast to reports from the Centers for Disease Control and the U.S. Surgeon General's office. Right now, 15 percent of all children in the United States are overweight, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. At the rate those numbers are increasing, that will soon include one third of all children. One of the biggest contributors: The Internet, according to the U.S. Surgeon General and the health department.
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