Heads and tales: For medicinal purposes

Take one laptop and call me in the morning: A stolen laptop containing confidential info on kidney donors and recipients was taken from UAB’s medical school. Four months ago. Notices went out June 8 after the patient database was reconstructed, giving the thief a lengthy headstart with names, Social Security numbers and medical records of 9,800 people. A university spokesman says the laptop was stolen from a locked, secure office. OK, we’re not sure about the locked part, but we’re pretty sure “secure” means something other than what he’s saying. Next time, how about a head’s up if say, student’s credit card numbers are swiped from the bursar’s office?
• Stolen UAB computer had data on 9,800 people [Birmingham News]

License revoked: Summit Medical Center on Southside surrendered its license last week. The abortion clinic was accused of having nondoctors treating patients, including one woman whose failed abortion led to a ER visit and 6-pound stillborn infant. Surrender of the license means Summit waives its right to a hearing, which had been scheduled for today.

Safe Haven, a downtown shelter for homeless women with mental illness, opens its doors
UAB opens a top facility for nonsurgical treatment of heart and vascular diseases
Gadsden Marine in Iraq witnesses first baby’s birth on Father’s Day via video conference

• Local abortion clinic surrenders license to state Health Department [Birmingham Business Journal]

Research resources reduction: Alabama lost more than a third of its biotech research money from the National Institutes of Health, from $70.2 million in 2004 to $46.6 million in 2005. However, overall federal dollars incresed in the same period from $6.69 billion to $7.54 billion. John Secrist III, vice president of the Drug Discovery division at Birmingham-based Southern Research Institute, said, “You move in the direction of the support,” meaning work on drugs for cancer, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and Hodgkin’s diseases.
• Biotech research dollars nosedive [Birmingham Business Journal]

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