WDBJ 7 morning news AM cutins for 01/15/03

[7-11Bad-doctors]

[ANCHOR=Kim]

[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=mmu]
[TAPE#=03-03 TC08:24]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Governor Mark Warner and Attorney General Jerry Kilgore say they support efforts to make it easier for the state's Board of Medicine to punish doctors for wrongdoing.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Richmond]

Legislators are looking to reduce the standard of care in disciplinary cases from gross negligence to simple negligence.
They also want to increase fines to hospitals for failing to report offenses.
Lawmakers say the changes are necessary in order to improve patient care and to protect good doctors.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 14:51:18]
[IN Q=we're only talking about]
((DEL. WINSOME SEARS/(R) NORFOLK: WE'RE ONLY TALKING ABOUT, UNFORTUNATELY, A GROUP OF DOCTORS WHO ARE INCOMPETENT AND, YOU KNOW, ONE BAD APPLE SPOILS THE WHOLE BUNCH AND SO WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN AND THAT THE PUBLIC IS PROTECTED.))
[SUPER=01-Del. Winsome Sears/(R) Norfolk]
[RUNS=:14]
[OUT Q=the public is protected.]
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[VO-NAT]

Virginia Medical Society officials say their doctor members support the effort and have been working with the governor and lawmakers in drafting the legislation.
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[7-Patel]

[ANCHOR=kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=02-50 TC38:04]
[GRAPHIC=None]
A resident of a Roanoke nursing home died recently, after being given her roommates' medicine by mistake.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]
A temporary worker at Brandon Oakes gave the woman at least a dozen drugs intended for her roommate on August 31st, 2001. Brandon Oakes admitted negligence only yesterday. Brandon Oakes reported the error to her physician.
Dr. Bharat Patel told the nursing home staff to go ahead and give her her regular doses of drugs, except for Xanax. Marie Ayers had her own regimen of prescriptions for pneumonia, chronic asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, and a cardiac condition. Sixteen hours after being administered the wrong medication, Mrs. Ayers was dead.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Kim]
[SS=None]
The nursing home says if she'd gone into cardiac arrest a few hours later, that might be an indication that the wrong drugs caused her death.
But Brandon Oakes insists no one can say why she died.
There was no autopsy. Trial in the malpractice case against the Doctor and the Nursing Home began yesterday.

[45-11GE-Strike]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=rca]
[TAPE#=03-02 TC08:09]
[GRAPHIC=GE Strike]

Workers at the General Electric plant in Salem have entered their second day of a nationwide strike.
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[VO-NAT :18]
[SUPER=03-Salem;]
About 4-hundred local union workers are on the picket line for two-days protesting the rising cost of health care. Union officials say the average employee saw 2-hundred dollars in increases last year, and that the company is planning more hikes during national contract negotiations in May.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 10:04:56]
[IN Q=we've had]
((ROY ROGERS/UNION PRESIDENT; WE'VE HAD A REALLY GOOD TURNOUT FOR THIS THAT THE COMPANY WILL SEE THAT AND I DON'T THINK THE COMPANY WANTS A LONG NATIONAL STRIKE AND NEITHER DO WE BUT WE'RE PREPARED TO GO THERE IF ITS NECESSARY.))
[SUPER=01-Roy Rogers/Union President;]
[RUNS=:15]
[OUT Q= IT'S NECESSARY.]
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[VO-NAT]
General Electric says its health care benefits are among the best in the industry. Officials say it will be business as usual for the company since the strikers are just 5-percent of the company's total workforce.
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[45-11L'burg-Council]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=02-54 TC12:19]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Lynchburg mayor Carl Hutcherson is still planning to travel to France in March, but NOT on the taxpayer's dime.

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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Lynchburg]

Hutcherson was invited to the retirement ceremony for the mayor of Lynchburg's sister city, (Ray Mahl-may-ZONE) Rueil Malmaison.
Some citizens and at several council members felt the city should not pay for his airfare to Paris for the event.

(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 9:20:51]
[IN Q=We don't have]
((ROBERT GARBER/LYNCHBURG COUNCIL MEMBER: WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO PICK UP THE TRASH AT THE CURB, BUT WE HAVE MONEY TO GO TO FRANCE. THAT'S THE MESSAGE I THINK WE'RE SENDING TO THE CITIZENS OF LYNCHBURG.))
[SUPER=01-Robert Garber/Lynchburg Council Member; :00]
[RUNS=10]
[OUT Q=citizens of Lynchburg.]
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[VO-NAT]

The resolution never came up for a vote, and councilman Bert Dodson gave Hutcherson a check for 300 dollars to help cover his airfare costs.
Since 1996, the city has spent about 90-thousand dollars sending local officials to France as part of the sister city program.
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[45-11County-Supers]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=02-47 TC1:17:38]
[GRAPHIC=None]

The Catawba Valley fire station, which now only uses the services of volenteers, may soon be manned by professional personnel.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.]

But that might change after last night's heated Roanoke County Supervisors work session.
Supervisor Butch Church says he has the support and the county has the money to staff the station with professionals during the week.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 51:20]
[IN Q=No one is ]
((JOE "BUTCH" CHURCH/ROANOKE CO. SUPERVISOR; NO ONE IS GOING TO BE JEOPARDIZED BECAUSE CATAWBA VALLEY STATION IS GOING TO BE MANNED. JUST THE OPPOSITE. WE'VE GOT THE MONEY. WE'LL FIND THE MONEY TO MAKE THE RIGHT PRIORITY MOVES.)) ((JOE MCNAMARA/ROANOKE CO. SUPERVISOR; WE OUGHT TO LET THE PEOPLE IN CHARGE OF THAT PROGRAM MAKE RECCOMENDATIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS AND TAKE IT OUT OF THE POLITICAL PROCESS.))
[SUPER=@church; :00]
[SUPER=@McNamara; :10]
[RUNS=:15]
[OUT Q=the political process.]
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[VO-NAT]

Supervisors must still take a formal vote on the proposal.
The more than 100-thousand dollar price tag would be covered by the general fund unnapropriated balance.
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[8-Patel]

[ANCHOR=kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=02-50 TC38:04]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Trial has begun in a malpractice case involving the resident of a Roanoke nursing home, who died after she was given her roommate's medicine by mistake.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]
A temporary worker at Brandon Oakes gave the woman at least a dozen drugs intended for her roommate on August 31st, 2001. Brandon Oakes admitted negligence only Monday. Brandon Oakes reported the error to her physician.
Dr. Bharat Patel told the nursing home staff to go ahead and give her her regular doses of drugs, except for Xanax. Marie Ayers had her own regimen of prescriptions for pneumonia, chronic asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, and a cardiac condition. Sixteen hours after being administered the wrong medication, Ayers was dead.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Kim]
[SS=None]
The nursing home says if she'd gone into cardiac arrest a few hours later, that might be an indication the wrong drugs caused her death. But Brandon Oakes insists no one can say why she died.
There was no autopsy. Trial in the malpractice case against the Doctor and the Nursing Home began yesterday.

[8-Task-force]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=cla]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Relations may be getting better between off- campus college students and their neighbors near Roanoke College. For the past three years, trash, noise and parking have been problems along several streets, including Craig Avenue. Last night, a task force made up of students, landlords, law enforcement and others, had their first meeting to talk about the issues and potential solutions. These task force meetings are scheduled every other Tuesday through March.

[8-11Rezonings]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=02-46 TC1:31:15]
[GRAPHIC=None]

The Roanoke County School Board must now reconsider its options for a new high school football stadium.
That, after the Roanoke City Board of Zoning Appeals voted against allowing 60- foot lighting at Hidden Valley Middle School yesterday.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

The county school board was considering the site, to build a football and soccer stadium for Hidden Valley High. The property is located within the city limits, and residents of surrounding neighborhoods turned out in opposition.

The Board of Zoning Appeals voted unanimously to deny the school board's request for a lighting variance.
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[SOT 04:10:48]
[IN Q=This has certainly ended]
((DREW BARRINEAU/ROANOKE CO. SCHOOL BOARD: THIS HAS CERTAINLY ENDED THE OPPORTUNITY TO LIGHT TO 60 FEET, WE'LL GET BACK TOGETHER TO SEE WHERE WE GO FROM HERE. BUT WE'RE ALSO CONSIDERING TWO OTHER AREAS AS WELL))
[SUPER=01-Drew Barrineau/Roanoke Co. School Board]
[RUNS=:11]
[OUT Q=two other areas as well.]
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[VO-NAT]

The county could still use the field at Hidden Valley Middle, but with lighting no higher than 35 feet.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Kim]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Other options include a new stadium near Merriman Road, or improvements to the existing stadium at Cave Spring M iddle School.