Dolls with benefits: Farrah Fawcett Barbie helps fight cancer

From The New York Times
July 28, 2011 |  7:01 am

Just over two years since Farrah Fawcett’s death from cancer at the age of 62, two reminders of happier moments in her life and career are appearing, and both are related to the iconic Bruce McBroom poster that helped launch not just Fawcett’s career but also the feathered hairstyle that defined a generation.

Mattel’s Barbie Collector Farrah Fawcett doll, a three-dimensional rendition of the poster -- right down to the one-piece red bathing suit, gold necklace and striped beach blanket -- is now available. (In November the doll’s prototype sold in 20 minutes for $1,500.) And joining the Smithsonian’s “National Treasures of Popular Culture” permanent exhibition this summer is the self-same red swimsuit donated in February by Fawcett’s longtime romantic partner Ryan O’Neal.

Alana Stewart, who was Fawcett’s close friend for more than 30 years and is the president of the Farrah Fawcett Foundation, says she always asks herself, “What would Farrah do?” She thinks her late friend would approve. The poster, Stewart says, represents “a sexy, all-American beauty; there is an innocence to it.”

Stewart believes that these reminders of the former “Charlie’s Angels” star will draw attention to the foundation Fawcett started two years before her death. “When we were in Germany [for treatments], Farrah told me she was glad she got cancer, because now she could make a difference,” Stewart said. The foundation, which is private, funds many nonprofit organizations, including some that do research in cutting-edge treatments and others that provide patient assistance programs.

The foundation receives a royalty, which it would not disclose, from each Farrah Barbie sold. Stewart says there are plans for more projects that will carry on Fawcett’s legacy.

The Farrah Fawcett Barbie is available at www.barbiecollector.com for $34.95.

An Exclusive Q&A With Farrah's Favorite Photographer | Barbie Collector

An Exclusive Q&A With Farrah's Favorite Photographer

Have you ordered your Farrah Fawcett Doll yet?

Here's a couple more shots of the Farrah Fawcett doll dressed and couifed to go out on the town. IF you've ordered a couple, and want to do some fun shots, you can post them on the BarbieCollector.com web site.  You can order the Farrah Fawcett doll by clicking this link. 

UPdate May 14, 2012: Here are some images of the Farrah Fawcett doll repainted by fine artist Noel Cruz (http://www.ncruz.com/) for myfarrah.com in the same dress.

UCLA hospitals to pay $865,500 for breaches of celebrities' privacy

UCLA hospitals to pay $865,500 for breaches of celebrities' privacy

By Molly Hennessy-Fiske, Los Angeles Times

July 8, 2011

UCLA Health System has agreed to pay $865,500 as part of a settlement with federal regulators announced Thursday after two celebrity patients alleged that hospital employees broke the law and reviewed their medical records without authorization.

Federal and hospital officials declined to identify the celebrities involved. The complaints cover 2005 to 2009, a time during which hospital employees were repeatedly caught and fired for peeping at the medical records of dozens of celebrities, including Britney Spears, Farrah Fawcett and then-California First Lady Maria Shriver.

Violations allegedly occurred at all three UCLA Health System hospitals — Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica UCLA Medical Center and Orthopaedic Hospital and Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital, according to UCLA spokeswoman Dale Tate.

The security breaches were first reported in The Times in 2008.

The violations led state legislators to pass a law imposing escalating fines on hospitals for patient privacy lapses.

After the law took effect on Jan. 1, 2009, state regulators fined Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center $95,000 in connection with privacy breaches that year that sources said involved the medical records of Michael Jackson, who was taken to the hospital after his death in June 2009.

The same month, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights began investigating alleged violations of the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act at the hospitals, according to the settlement agreement.

Investigators found that UCLA employees examined private electronic records "repeatedly and without a permissible reason" in 2005 and 2008, including an employee in the nursing director's office, according to the agreement reached Wednesday.

The employee was not named in the agreement, and the hospital spokeswoman declined to identify who it was. But the timing and description of the alleged violations cited in the agreement suggest that it may have been Lawanda Jackson, an administrative specialist at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center who was fired in 2007 after she was caught accessing Farrah Fawcett's medical records and allegedly selling information to the National Enquirer.

Jackson later pleaded guilty to a felony charge of violating federal medical privacy laws for commercial purposes but died of cancer before she could be sentenced. Fawcett died of cancer in 2009.

Federal investigators faulted the hospital system for failing to remedy the problems, discipline or retrain staff.

"Employees must clearly understand that casual review for personal interest of patients' protected health information is unacceptable and against the law," Georgina Verdugo, director of the Office for Civil Rights, said in a statement Thursday, adding that healthcare facilities "will be held accountable for employees who access protected health information to satisfy their own personal curiosity."

As a condition of the settlement, UCLA Health System was required to submit a plan to federal regulators detailing how officials would prevent future breaches. They agreed to retrain staff on privacy protections, formulate privacy policies, appoint a monitor to oversee improvements and report to regulators for the next three years.

UCLA Health System released a statement Thursday noting that, "Over the past three years, we have worked diligently to strengthen our staff training, implement enhanced data security systems and increase our auditing capabilities."

"Our patients' health, privacy and well-being are of paramount importance to us," said Dr. David T. Feinberg, chief executive of the UCLA Hospital System. "We appreciate the involvement and recommendations made by OCR in this matter and will fully comply with the plan of correction it has formulated. We remain vigilant and proactive to ensure that our patients' rights continue to be protected at all times."

Tate said the money would be paid to federal health regulators.

UCLA hospitals to pay $865,500 for breaches of celebrities' privacy

Fawcett Doll Un-Boxed

Here's a couple shots of the Farrah Fawcett doll dressed and couifed to go out on the town. IF you've ordered a couple, and want to do some fun shots, you can post them on the BarbieCollector.com web site.  You can order the Farrah Fawcett doll by clicking this link. 


UPdate May 14, 2012: Here are some images of the Farrah Fawcett doll repainted by fine artist Noel Cruz (http://www.ncruz.com) for myfarrah.com in the same dress.