Three Texas medical equipment suppliers pleaded guilty this week to stealing tax dollars through Medicaid. Starr Medical Equipment of Rio Grand City and La Paloma Medical Supply of Roma have been ordered to return over $200,000 collectively.

The three individuals used the companies to accept payment for medical equipment and supplies that were never delivered to Medicaid patients. The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) and local authorities are to thank for the recent convictions, said Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott.

“Texans will not tolerate criminals who defraud the taxpayers,” Abbott said. “The Medicaid program is designed to provide assistance to Texans who cannot afford health care. When criminals make fraudulent Medicaid claims, they are stealing from taxpayers and breaking the law.”

“Thanks to an outstanding joint effort by our Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and Starr County District Attorney Heriberto Silva, scams that harmed Medicaid recipients and defrauded the taxpayers have been shut down.”

This case should alert all consumers and medical professionals alike: Know who you’re dealing with when it comes to your money. Medicaid dollars deserve the prudence and care that you’d give your own hard-earned paycheck.

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Completing medical school is a big achievement for any student. But for Kellie Lim — a triple amputee since the age of 8 — it’s monumental.

Born with a bacterial infection that destroys the victim’s limbs, 26-year-old Lim is graduating Friday from the medical school at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). Rather than use a prosthetic arm, Lim performs most medical procedures with one hand, including taking blood and administering injections.

After graduation, Lim will begin her residency at UCLA’s medical center in the field of pediatrics. Later, she says she may concentrate on childhood allergies and infectious diseases.

“Just having that experience of being someone so sick and how devastating that can be — not just for me but for my family, too — gives me a perspective that other people don’t necessarily have,” Lim said.

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Sandra Desjardins, 42, of Ontario, Canada, went to the hospital’s emergency room three times last month with severe stomach pains. But at 430 pounds, Desjardins’ size makes it difficult to get the proper diagnosis and treatment for her pain.

“Almost every chair has arms, and to properly take my blood pressure the nurses had to wrap the cuff around my forearm instead of my bicep to get a reading,” she told a local newspaper. “The doctor wanted me to have a CAT scan, but I was told the table wouldn’t hold me, so I had to settle for an X-ray instead. The hospital gowns and wheelchairs also didn’t fit.”

The hospital’s vice-president of corporate and support services, Glenn Scanlan, said getting bariatric medical equipment isn’t the problem. The problem is that the larger equipment simply won’t fit through the hospital’s entrances.

“When hospitals and other buildings were constructed years ago, they were not built with this in mind,” Scanlan said.

According to the The Obesity Society, obesity is increasing globally. In the U.S. alone, two-thirds of adults are overweight (64.5 percent) and nearly one-third (30.5 percent) are obese. If this trend continues, Desjardins’ story may become all too familiar.

If you live in the Springfield, Mass., area, keep your eyes peeled for a teal blue and gray Honda suitcase that was stolen in a drug store parking lot early yesterday morning. The bag contains emergency medical equipment needed to keep 6-year-old Jillianne MacDonald alive.

The suitcase held an asthma machine, an ambu bag, a suction machine to help keep her airways clear, some spare tracheotomy tubes and asthma medication. Jillianne, who was born with a chronic lung condition, must carry this equipment wherever she goes in case of a medical emergency.

Jillianne’s mother, Jill MacDonald, is appealing to the community for help in returning the equipment.

“I’m trying to see if anyone knows where it is or who has it,” she said. “I just want it back. It has medical equipment I need to keep my daughter alive.”

“There’ll be no questions asked. I just want it back. I’m not looking to press charges.”

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Medtronic, Inc. announced yesterday that David Etzwiler has been named vice president of community affairs and executive director of the Medtronic Foundation. Etzwiler previously served as senior director of the Medtronic Foundation and government affairs.

Medtronic manufactures medical technology products such as AEDs and defibrillators. Last year, the company’s total giving exceeded $47.3 million in Medtronic Foundation grants, cash contributions and medical device donations.

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