BELLEVUE .com
REPORTER
NEWSLINE 425-453-4270
SPORTS | Bellevue girls basketball team looking to get back to state tournament [11]
A&E | Roy Wood, Jr. is proving he’s more than a Business | CorePower Yoga opens fourth greater Seattle metro area prank caller [9] studio in Avalon Towers [6] FRIDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2013
Library director resigns to take post in Canada Bill Ptacek helped system grow to become one of tops in nation
Chris Linaman prepares a cut of salmon in Overlake Hospital’s kitchen. The executive chef has worked to increase the kitchen’s usage of antibiotic-free meat, achieving a rate of 45 percent in the third quarter of 2013. DANIEL NASH, Bellevue Reporter
Overlake Hospital chef reduces antibiotics in meat served in cafeteria BY DANIEL NASH
BELLEVUE REPORTER
At Overlake Hospital Medical Center, Executive Chef Chris Linaman has succeeded in making nearly half of his kitchen's meats antibiotic free by the second half of 2013. The effort gained significance this week as the Food and Drug Administration took steps toward phasing out the use of some antibiotics in animals processed for meat, citing a potential threat to public health. Antibiotic resistance in humans has been a growing concern in the medical community for years. While antibiotics’ efficacy in fighting formerly fatal infections earned them a reputation as “miracle drugs” in the 20th century — indeed, the safety of chemotherapy and many
surgeries depends on them — they’ve always come with a measure of risk. Bacteria reproduce rapidly. Biologist Richard Lenski’s long-term evolution experiment with E. coli, begun in 1988, counted 50,000 generations by its anniversary in 2010. Such a high rate of reproduction means the life forms evolve rapidly — cultures that survive treatment from antibiotics can become resistant. Linaman knows the consequences of antibiotic resistance firsthand. Seven years ago, he fell ill to a Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection. He was treated with several rounds of antibiotics, most of which were ineffective, and one of which he had an allergic reaction. “I spent a better part of
a year sick,” he said. “They started me out on an easy (antibiotic) that the infection was resistant to. … I believe I went through three to four steps before they found one that made me better.” The experience made him conscious of the potential contributors to resistance, one of which is the popular use of antibiotics on livestock. In addition to their intended use to treat existing infections, regular subtherapeutic doses of antibiotics have the secondary effect of promoting growth, thus leading to a greater yield of meat. Critics of the practice are concerned people could eat an under-cooked meal and contract, for example, a drug-resistant strain of salmonella or E. coli. The FDA made steps ear-
lier in December to move the industry away from non-prescripted antibiotic use, asking drug companies to voluntarily stop labeling such drugs as promoters of animal growth. “I’m all for (antibiotic use on livestock) if people want to take care of sick animals,” Linaman said. “But their use as a preemptive strike is where you get into trouble.” Starting nine months ago, Linaman had already begun SEE OVERLAKE, 13
Bill Ptacek, director of the King County Library System since 1989, has resigned, effective Feb. 1, 2014, to become CEO of the Calgary Public Library in Alberta, Canada. During his 25-year tenure, Ptacek’s vision for technology and collection management kept the library system in the forefront of public libraries nationally. In 1990, it operated 36 community libraries with an annual circulation above nine million items. Under Ptacek , it grew as King County’s population and economy expanded and local municipalities voted to join the library system. Voter-approved capital improvement bond measures (passed in 1988 and 2004) funded new, replacement and expanded libraries, adding nearly 515,000 square feet of library space, while annual circulation Bill Ptacek grew to more than 22 Reporter file photo million items. Voters also passed a one-year levy increase during the 2009 economic crisis, demonstrating the community’s support of the system. The library system typically shares one of the top three spots for highest circulating public library in the United States and leads the U.S., Canada and Australia in eBook circulation. It was named Busiest Library in 2010 and Library Journal’s 2011 Library of the Year. “For Bill, this is a great opportunity to take on exciting new challenges…and it’s not easy to top the challenges Bill has tackled with KCLS. We are sorry to see him go,” said KCLS Board Chair Lucy Krakowiak. Added board trustee Jessica Bonebright, “Bill’s move marks the beginning of our search for a candidate who can fill his well-worn running shoes. KCLS’ recruiting campaign for a new library director — a job opening rarely seen — will be conducted both nationally and internationally.” Julie Brand, director of community relations and marketing, has been appointed to serve as interim director until a new director is hired. PASSPORT PHOTOS •
Like Us On
facebook.com/OmegaPhoto
Visa • Immigration • All Countries • Infants
210 -105th Ave NE, Bellevue • (425) 455-2126 • www.OMEGAPHOTO.biz