Healthcare

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Healthcare
Kqed
2 weeks ago
Healthcare

A New COVID Vaccine Dose Is Now Available for People Age 65 and Older. Where Can You Find a Shot Near You? | KQED

Health insurers now have to cover the extra 2024 COVID vaccine for older adults.
The latest COVID vaccine is referred to as 'new' or 'updated' instead of a 'booster'.
Kqed
1 month ago
Healthcare

California Wants to Cap Medical Bills, but the Health Care Industry Pushes Back | KQED

The Office of Health Care Affordability in California aims to cap cost increases for health care at 3% a year.
Critics argue that the goal is unrealistic and could reduce access to care for patients.
Kqed
1 month ago
Healthcare

Covered California's Enrollment Deadline Now Extended to Feb. 9 | KQED

21.3 million people in the US enrolled in a health care plan through the ACA
There is a push for standardized plans to make it easier for people to choose
KQED
2 months ago
Healthcare

Over 930,000 Californians Lost Medi-Cal Coverage This Year Due to 'Procedural Reasons' | KQED

Now, six months into the renewed eligibility process, thousands of eligible Californians are finding out, often during doctor's visits, that they've have lost their coverage due to missing or incomplete paperwork.
KQED
5 months ago
Healthcare

Kaiser Strike Furthers Delays in COVID-19 Vaccines, Some Surgeries in the Bay Area | KQED

The three-day strike by Kaiser workers is expected to worsen vaccine wait times for patients.
Non-emergency health services, including elective surgeries, have been rescheduled during the strike.
KQED
5 months ago
Healthcare

Kaiser Strike: If You're a Patient, What Medical Services Would Be Affected? | KQED

Kaiser may need to reschedule non-urgent appointments and procedures during the strike.
Some Kaiser locations may be temporarily closed or have reduced hours during the strike.
Patients affected by the strike will be contacted in advance to reschedule their appointments.
moreHealthcare
KQED
5 months ago
Healthcare

Looming Kaiser Strike Could Delay COVID, Flu Shots | KQED

Kaiser workers are demanding increased staffing and higher wages.
If the strike persists, elective surgeries and non-emergency healthcare services could be impacted.
KQED
5 months ago
Healthcare

California's 'CARE Court' Program Starts Amid Concerns Over Effectiveness | KQED

To be eligible for involuntary treatment, a person must have a diagnosis on the schizophrenia spectrum or other qualifying disorders.
If a person does not want to participate in the involuntary treatment plan, the court can dismiss the proceedings.
KQED
5 months ago
Healthcare

When Should You Get Your 2023 Flu Shot? | KQED

COVID-19 continues to infect people of all ages and cause severe illness and hospitalization.
The flu remains a serious threat to health and resulted in thousands of deaths and hospitalizations last year.
KQED
5 months ago
Healthcare

California Sues Anti-Abortion Counseling Centers, Says They 'Misled' Women | KQED

Heartbeat International and RealOptions are being sued for deceptive advertising of abortion pill reversal treatments.
The lawsuit seeks an injunction to block dissemination of false claims and other penalties under state law.
KQED
5 months ago
Healthcare

What to Do if You're One of the Thousands of Californians Losing Medi-Cal Coverage Every Month | KQED

Those who earn up to 250% of the federal poverty level qualify for low-premium plans through Covered California.
Keep an eye out for mail sent by your county Medi-Cal office to ensure you don't get disenrolled in the future.
The state's Department of Health Care Services has resources to help with Medi-Cal re-enrollment.
KQED
5 months ago
Healthcare

When Air Quality's Bad, Which Mask Can I Wear for Wildfire Smoke? | KQED

N95 masks offer the highest level of protection against both wildfire smoke and COVID-19.
N95 masks can be uncomfortable to wear for long periods and must provide a tight seal to be effective.
Surgical masks can reduce exposure to wildfire smoke by around 20%.
KQED
5 months ago
Healthcare

Growing Number of Bay Area Counties Requiring Masks in 'High-Risk' Health Care Facilities | KQED

A new vaccine that replaces the former vaccine and handles the newest variants will be available in Contra Costa County.
The vaccine is for everyone 6 months and over who have not been vaccinated in the last 60 days.
www.kqed.org
5 months ago
Healthcare

As Smoke Returns, Bay Area Air Quality Expected to Worsen Over Next Few Days | KQED

Take precautions to avoid exposure to wildfire smoke.
Stay indoors with windows and doors closed if you smell the smoke.
Set air conditioners to recirculate air and take extra care if you have respiratory disease.
KQED
5 months ago
Healthcare

Some California Planned Parenthood Workers Vote to Unionize, as Demand From Out-of-State Patients Increases | KQED

The number of abortions in California has increased by 16% since the end of Roe v. Wade.
12,300 more abortions were performed in California from January to June 2023 compared to the same period in 2020.
Some patients seeking abortions in California may be traveling from states where bans have not yet been legalized or instituted.
Planned Parenthood employees who voted to join the union cited low pay and heavy workload as contributing to turnover.
KQED
6 months ago
Healthcare

'Hold Your Memory': What Hospice Workers Learned About Saying Goodbye | KQED

End of life is an opportunity to express deep emotions and let go of burdens.
Being present and providing emotional support is more important than trying to fix things.
Requests for food may have deeper meanings and should be understood in the context of the individual's emotions.
KQED
6 months ago
Healthcare

California Kaiser Workers Authorize Strike as Contract Negotiations Continue | KQED

Kaiser faces a strike vote from thousands of employees over staffing and patient care concerns.
The union claims that Kaiser's proposals will worsen staffing problems and delay patient care.
KQED
6 months ago
Healthcare

Where Can I Find the New COVID Vaccine Near Me? | KQED

Initial supplies of the new COVID vaccine are expected to roll out in the coming weeks.
Insurers will cover the cost of the COVID vaccine for most people with health insurance.
KQED
6 months ago
Healthcare

Oil Industry Blocks Effort to Increase Fines Against Polluting California Refineries ... Again | KQED

The oil industry is pushing back against proposed fine increases for refinery accidents.
These changes would not cover past incidents and could incentivize facilities to downplay future events.
Similar attempts to increase refinery fines have been met with opposition and watering down in the past.
KQED
6 months ago
Healthcare

These San Franciscans Say Recovery From Drug Addiction Is Possible | KQED

In the first half of 2023, 473 people died from accidental drug overdose in San Francisco.
San Francisco is working to expand access to medication-assisted treatments for drug addiction.
Recovery from addiction is possible, but it takes time and building trust with individuals.
KQED
6 months ago
Healthcare

California Families Can Expect Eligibility Limits in CARE Courts Rollout | KQED

CARE Court is a new program in California that aims to address the state's homelessness and mental health crises.
The program allows family members to petition someone with untreated mental illness into civil courts for a treatment plan.
Counties will be judged on their ability to get resistant individuals into treatment, but the program is not a panacea for homelessness.
KQED
6 months ago
Healthcare

17 Struggling California Hospitals Accept Millions in Interest-Free Loans | KQED

Hazel Hawkins Memorial, a bankrupt hospital, will receive $10 million in funding.
The funds will help keep the hospital operational and serving the community.
KQED
6 months ago
Healthcare

California's High Maternal Mortality Rates Drive Push for More At-Home Care | KQED

Vallejo offers to order a new one to help.
Public health nurses provide education on child development, nutrition, housing, and safety.
Home-visiting programs increase breastfeeding rates and lead to lower cases of child abuse and substance abuse.
It is a strategy to address disparities in giving children a good start in life.
KQED
7 months ago
Healthcare

3 California Hospitals Declared Bankruptcy This Year. Health Chains Could Keep Them Alive | KQED

Madera Community Hospital in California is considering a proposal from Adventist Health to manage and potentially purchase the hospital.
Adventist Health would require at least $55 million in funding for the first year and $30 million for the second year.
Adventist Health has experience reopening closed hospitals, such as Tulare Regional Medical Center.
Beverly Community Hospital in Montebello is exploring an alternative transaction with Adventist Health after a proposed sale to American Healthcare Systems fell through.
Beverly Hospital is in a critical financial situation and uncertain about state funding.
KQED
7 months ago
Healthcare

California Faces Severe Shortage of Latinas in Medicine, UCLA Study Finds | KQED

Latina physicians are 36 times more likely to speak Spanish at home than non-Hispanic white physicians.
Equitable healthcare delivery is necessary for all populations, including Latino populations.
The lack of representation of Latinx physicians is due to various factors.
Efforts to improve representation should start as early as high school or even earlier.
The high cost of medical education contributes to the issue of underrepresentation.
KQED
7 months ago
Healthcare

SF's Laguna Honda Hospital Reapplies for Medicaid Amid Closure Crisis | KQED

Federal regulators stripped Laguna Honda from Medicare and Medi-Cal, resulting in the need for the facility to prepare for closure. This decision affected the majority of residents who relied on these subsidized health care plans.
During the assessment and relocation process, 12 residents died shortly after being transferred or discharged. This sparked public outcry and legal action, leading to a temporary pause in the transfer process.
Laguna Honda has made efforts to address deficiencies highlighted by regulators, and the progress has been notable. However, the hospital still faces a deadline for potential resumption of involuntary transfers, which may be delayed depending on the outcome of the regulatory process.
"If it feels like everyone you know suddenly has COVID again … you’re not alone..

New variant just dropped. Of course, I'm just glad it's over.

https://t.co/bNnRyk3zSd
KQED
7 months ago
Healthcare

The New COVID 'Eris' Variant and Rising Cases: What You Need to Know | KQED

The arrival of widespread antigen tests has made it easier for people to test themselves for COVID at home, but very few people are reporting positive results to their local health authorities.
The official number of COVID cases is likely a significant undercount due to the limitations of PCR testing and the lack of reporting of positive antigen test results.
The current surge in COVID cases during the summer can be attributed to increased travel, heat waves driving people indoors, and waning immunity among the population, particularly in those over 65.
KQED
7 months ago
Healthcare

The New COVID 'Eris' Variant and Rising Cases: What You Need to Know | KQED

The arrival of widespread antigen tests has made it easier for people to test themselves for COVID at home, but very few people are reporting positive results to their local health authorities.
The official number of COVID cases is likely a significant undercount due to the limitations of PCR testing and the lack of reporting of positive antigen test results.
The current surge in COVID cases during the summer can be attributed to increased travel, heat waves driving people indoors, and waning immunity among the population, particularly in those over 65.
KQED
7 months ago
Healthcare

'It's Really Gotten Worse': California Needs Thousands of Nurses | KQED

California is facing an extreme nursing shortage, with an estimated 32,000 open nursing positions statewide.
The nursing shortage is being driven by a variety of factors, including the aging population, an increase in the number of insured people, and a decrease in nursing school enrollments.
KQED
7 months ago
Healthcare

Hot Workplaces Have a Hidden Cost: 20,000 Job Injuries a Year in California | KQED

Working in hot environments can lead to an increased risk of job-related injuries in California, with an estimated 20,000 injuries a year.
Employers should prioritize employee safety by providing adequate ventilation and rest breaks in hot workplaces.
Employees should also be aware of the risks of working in hot environments and take steps to protect themselves, such as drinking plenty of water and wearing light clothing.
KQED
7 months ago
Healthcare

Lawmakers Push for National Heat-Related Worker Protections Amid Scorching Temperatures | KQED

Democratic lawmakers are advocating for national heat-related worker protections in response to the rising temperatures across the country.
Existing state and local laws are inadequate to protect workers from heat-related illness and death, as the current regulations vary widely by region.
Heat-related illness and death disproportionately affects farmworkers, who are often unable to take breaks or access adequate shade and hydration. Urgent action must be taken to ensure their safety.
KQED
7 months ago
Healthcare

'It's Worrisome': Covered California Announces Biggest Increase in Premiums | KQED

Covered California has announced its biggest increase in premiums yet, with an average 12.5% increase for 2021.
This is due to many factors, including the federal government's decision to end cost-sharing subsidies and the fact that health care costs are continuing to rise.
KQED
8 months ago
Healthcare

Trabaja al aire libre? Estas son las protecciones que su jefe debe de ofrecer | KQED

Heat waves pose a serious risk to outdoor workers in California, with laws recently passed to protect them from extreme temperatures.
The California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board has established a Heat Illness Prevention Program to help employers protect their employees from heat-related illness and injury.
Employers must provide their workers with adequate breaks, access to water and shade, and training on how to recognize and prevent heat-related illness.
KQED
8 months ago
Healthcare

California's New CARE Courts Prompt Orange County to Weigh Best Practices | KQED

California's first Care Court, which provides a collaborative approach to resolving child welfare cases, has been successful and is prompting Orange County to consider its best practices.
Care Courts are designed to help families and communities address the underlying causes of child welfare cases, such as poverty, substance abuse, and mental health issues.
KQED
8 months ago
Healthcare

Newsom's Mental Health Plan Could Strip Over $700 Million in Services | KQED

California Governor Gavin Newsom has proposed a mental health plan that would strip $700 million worth of services for low income Californians.
The plan would redirect $2.5 billion in state funds to create a new system of mental health care, which would provide additional services to the state's most vulnerable populations.
KQED
8 months ago
Healthcare

California's Farmworkers Are on the Front Lines of Climate Change | KQED

With her 1-year-old son, Adriel, on her hip, Herrera Ceja leafed through a stack of medical bills on the kitchen table, amounting to nearly $4,000 she owes for a hospital visit in January, when the baby got sick at the evacuation center. "We all got sick from the dampness, but the little one had it the worst," she said.
KQED
8 months ago
Healthcare

How SCOTUS' Affirmative Action Ruling May Impact Your Health Care | KQED

When patients are of the same race or gender as their provider, they may also have better health outcomes, research shows. For example, in a study of 1.8 million infants born in Florida hospitals between 1992 and 2015, Black newborns were half as likely to die when cared for by Black physicians as when their doctors were white.
KQED
9 months ago
Healthcare

Why 'Crisis Pregnancy Centers' Will Be California's Next Abortion Battleground | KQED

An examination room at the Alternatives Pregnancy Center in Sacramento on June 1, 2023.(Miguel Gutierrez Jr./CalMatters)In California, less than two-thirds of counties have an abortion clinic.But nearly 80% have at least one "crisis pregnancy center," according to a database compiled by CalMatters.
KQED
9 months ago
Healthcare

To Get Abortion Training, Some Medical Students Must Leave Their States-And Come to California | KQED

Doctors on the frontlines of reproductive rights debates say these challenges are already having a devastating impact on the profession and on people who seek care.Experts on Friday's panel said that many medical students are traveling to California, which has been investing in building its abortion training programs, or to other states that support abortion rights, like Maryland and New York, where Mamelson is heading to continue her education.
KQED
9 months ago
Healthcare

California Becomes the First State to Phase Out Toxic Hexavalent Chromium | KQED

"They can be tiny, they can be small, or they can be nestled inside larger industrial facilities, and so it's not something that strikes you, like a generator or a refinery," said Williams."But the problem is what they're doing there: They're boiling vats of toxic metal-water solution."
KQED
10 months ago
Healthcare

KQED | News, Radio, Podcasts, TV | Public Media for Northern California

But the entire Bay Area is facing a drastic scarcity of affordable care and living accommodations for older adults, making it difficult to find new homes for discharged residents.A total of 41 people have so far been identified as appropriate for discharge.However, only eight alternative placements have been identified for those residents, CEO Roland Pickens said during a recent Board of Supervisors hearing.
KQED
11 months ago
Healthcare

A War of Compassion: Debate Over Forced Treatment of Mental Illness Splits California Liberals | KQED

"We are doctors who have to watch these people die," said Dr. Emily Wood of the California State Association of Psychiatrists, a sponsor of the conservatorship bill, SB 43."We have to talk to their families who know that they need that care, and we have to say we don't have any legal basis to bring them into the hospital right now."
KQED
1 year ago
Healthcare

Older Adults Are Now the Fastest-Growing Unhoused Population in California

Unexpectedly, Johnson finds herself in the middle of a budding crisis: aging without a home.California accounts for about a third of the nation's unhoused people, and among this population, older adults are estimated to be the fastest-growing group.One key indicator is the state's tally of people accessing homelessness services.
KQED
9 months ago
Healthcare

Martinez Refinery's Chemical Release Poses No Long-Term Hazard, Tests Find | KQED

The test results come less than two weeks after the FBI confirmed it has launched a joint investigation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency into the Martinez plant's spent catalyst release.FBI agents and EPA personnel have gone door to door asking residents about their experience during and after the incident.
KQED
9 months ago
Healthcare

For Many Long COVID Patients, Qualifying for Disability Is Half the Battle | KQED

Pham said he generally learned how to manage his symptoms, but was often overwhelmed with paralyzing fatigue.He eventually tried to return to work full-time, as the head of sales of a Bay Area start-up, but found it nearly impossible to get through the day."I was passing out in the middle of the day after one or two meetings and it would cause and trigger my long COVID symptoms," he said.
KQED
10 months ago
Healthcare

California Legislators Fast-Track a Loan Program to Prevent Hospital Closures | KQED

The outline of the Madera Community Hospital sign and crest on the main building of the hospital on Jan. 2, 2023.The sign was removed after the hospital announced its closure due to bankruptcy pushing the county into a state of emergency.(Larry Valenzuela/CalMatters/CatchLight Local)



California hospitals in financial trouble will soon be able to apply for interest-free state loans, although key questions about the selection process aren't yet resolved.
KQED
10 months ago
Healthcare

The 'Arcturus' COVID Variant Is Already in the Bay Area. What We Know About XBB.1.16 | KQED

A new COVID-19 variant is making its way through the Bay Area.But health experts say there's no need to panic yet.The XBB.1.16strain - dubbed "Arcturus" by some online - was added to the World Health Organization's list of variants of interest in April, and has been detected in California, according to wastewater surveillance systems.
KQED
10 months ago
Healthcare

Disability Groups Claim California's Assisted Suicide Law Discriminates Against Them | KQED

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services stepped in and stopped it.Among several states that agreed to rewrite their triage guidelines: Tennessee revised rules that let care be denied to people who already use a ventilator, those with advanced neuromuscular conditions like ALS, and some people with dementia and traumatic brain injuries.
KQED
10 months ago
Healthcare

'There to Save a Life': San Francisco Bars Fight Fentanyl Overdoses With Narcan | KQED

Tika Hall was at a music show in San Francisco's Mission District in February when around 10 p.m. someone yelled out, "Does anyone have Narcan?"Hall, who is an artist, a musician and a longtime San Francisco resident, understood this meant someone had overdosed, and that their survival could depend on finding Narcan, a naloxone nasal spray that reverses opioid overdoses.
KQED
10 months ago
Healthcare

COVID Boosters for Kids Age 5-11 Now Officially Approved

Neither the FDA's announcement nor the CDC's announcement about second bivalent booster shots offer specifics about which particular kinds of immunocompromise are included in this update.But on their site the CDC says that you can be immunocompromised or have a weakened immune system because of a medical condition you have, or because of a treatment you're undergoing for a medical condition.
KQED
9 months ago
Healthcare

San Francisco to Pay $2.2 Million Settlement to Victims in Laguna Honda Patient Abuse Scandal | KQED

"This first settlement is really a step in the direction to try to get justice for those people who have been experiencing neglect and, in my own opinion, still experiencing neglect up at Laguna Honda," said Kathryn Stebner, an attorney who represented the plaintiffs, and is pursuing two other pending cases against the city related to abuses at the hospital.
KQED
9 months ago
Healthcare

'Screaming Into a Void': Long COVID Patients Have Waited in Vain for Years for Treatments | KQED

Dr. Steven Deeks, an infectious disease specialist at UCSF who has extensively researched long COVID, argues that clinical trials for possible treatments should have started months ago."Based on the fact there's anecdotes of people getting better with antiviral therapy, yes, it's an absolute urgency right now to study, in a controlled manner, all of the antiviral therapies that we have available," he said.
KQED
9 months ago
Healthcare

At-Home COVID Tests Are Still Effective in 2023 - and You Can Still Get Them for Free | KQED

Improving your sample collection for at-home tests will also improve your chances of getting an accurate result.For example, when swabbing the nostril, scrape the inner lining of the nose rather than just the snot and boogers hanging about.That's why antigen tests generally recommend you blow your nose before swabbing.
KQED
10 months ago
Healthcare

Thousands of Californians Are Still Waiting for COVID Unemployment Funds | KQED

A separate report last August by the Legislative Analyst's Office found that, during the pandemic, state appeals judges overturned EDD unemployment denials up to 80% of the time.That report highlighted another sample of 1.1 million unemployment claims stopped due to fraud concerns by an EDD consultant early in the pandemic, where at least 600,000 cases were later "confirmed as legitimate" and workers saw payments needlessly delayed.
KQED
11 months ago
Healthcare

Why You Should Still Be Washing Your Hands in 2023 - Just Not for COVID | KQED

Handwashing has been a public health principle for many years, and while it probably won't do much against COVID, it can help protect you against a multitude of viruses and bacteria.(Hans Neleman/Getty Images)



Online handwashing tutorials.Hand sanitizer hoarding.And in every public bathroom, signage urging you to wash your hands to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
KQED
10 months ago
Healthcare

California Legislators Block Key Bills, Including 1 Allowing People to Sue Oil Companies Over Health Problems | KQED

Kara Greene, a spokesperson for the Western States Petroleum Association, which opposed the bill, said it would have been unfair to oil and gas companies and done more harm than good."The billions of dollars and the fiscal mess that this bill would have caused to the State and local governments from their own liabilities, the fiscal responsibility of inherited wells, and the cost to the court system, would be substantial," Greene said in a statement.
KQED
10 months ago
Healthcare

Feds Grant SF's Laguna Honda Hospital New Extension, Delaying Involuntary Patient Transfers | KQED

The hospital was cited for a number of safety issues across multiple regulatory surveys that were triggered after Laguna Honda self-reported two nonfatal overdoses that occurred on-site.As a result, federal regulators stripped Laguna Honda from Medicare and Medi-Cal, subsidized health care plans that cover the vast majority of residents at the facility, most of whom have extremely low incomes.
KQED
10 months ago
Healthcare

Walgreens to Pay San Francisco $230 Million for Role in Opioid Crisis | KQED

Since 2018, San Francisco has sued multiple opioid manufacturers, distributors and dispensers, and Walgreens was the last defendant to reach a settlement agreement with the city.In total, San Francisco stands to receive $352 million over the next 15 years.In April, the city settled lawsuits over Walmart's and CVS Pharmacy's alleged negligent oversight of opioid prescription practices; San Francisco is slated to receive up to $18.8 million from those settlements.
KQED
10 months ago
Healthcare

Mpox and the Bay Area: Why Health Officials Are Again Urging Vigilance and Vaccines | KQED

If mpox cases are still very low, why is SFPDH recommending awareness?One big reason: The city's Pride celebrations are just around the corner in June, and it's a time when many folks are gathering and also arriving into the region from other parts of the United States, says Cohen.
"Last year we saw that the mpox outbreak really was fueled during the spring and summer season," Cohen said, "and we think that that was largely related to a lot more travel - as well as large gatherings - with many people coming together from different parts of the country, and the world."
KQED
10 months ago
Healthcare

Californians With Developmental Disabilities Must Soon Be Paid Minimum Wage. Can the State Find Enough Good Jobs? | KQED

A dozen states besides California have passed laws banning below-minimum-wage programs.Also a federal rule in effect this year requires disability services to be more integrated with the community.These kinds of jobs have already declined in California.In 2009, as many as 16,000 people with disabilities worked in the workshops or the small groups that split a minimum wage.
KQED
10 months ago
Healthcare

How to Find COVID Tests, Care and Vaccines in California When Federal Emergency Ends | KQED

On April 10, the federal national emergency ended early.This emergency order, which was separate from the federal public health emergency that's ending this week, was originally set to also expire on May 11 - but a bipartisan congressional resolution moved to bring this order to a close ahead of schedule.
KQED
11 months ago
Healthcare

As California Drops More Masking Rules, These Bay Area Counties Keep Theirs | KQED

Alameda County
All staff working in Alameda County's 66 skilled nursing facilities are still required to wear face masks, even after April 3. County health officials released a statement last week clarifying that this order will only apply to staff and that visitors will only be encouraged to wear masks.
KQED
11 months ago
Healthcare

San Francisco Will Allow City Officials to Fundraise for Safe-Consumption Sites | KQED

But because safe-consumption sites are still illegal at the state and federal levels, funding them remains a puzzle.This year, San Francisco passed a local policy that would allow the city to move forward with a funding model similar to that in New York.Still, the nonprofits eager to run the services said funding them alone will be difficult.
KQED
11 months ago
Healthcare

Newsom Doubles Down on Naloxone Distribution in New 'Master Plan' to Curb Overdose Deaths | KQED

Newsom's new funding proposal builds on the nearly $1 billion the state has already allocated since 2018 to address the opioid crisis, some of which has gone toward beefing up efforts to reduce trafficking.In 2022, local and state law enforcement seized 28,765 pounds of fentanyl, a nearly 600% increase over seizures in 2021, according to the governor's office.
KQED
1 year ago
Healthcare

To Open Safe Consumption Sites, San Francisco Seeks Private Donations for Nonprofits | KQED

Update, 11:30 a.m.Wednesday: A proposal moved forward on Wednesday that could allow San Francisco Mayor London Breed and the city's Department of Public Health to solicit donations which non-profits and other private organizations could utilize to operate safe consumption sites, facilities where people can smoke or inject drugs in a medically supervised setting.
KQED
1 year ago
Healthcare

California's COVID State of Emergency Ends Today. What Does That Actually Mean for You? | KQED

"The discontinuation of those declarations of emergency has to be thoughtfully planned and transitioned," Coyle told The New York Times."Otherwise, it leaves hospitals caught in the middle in this debate of whether the pandemic is over or not."Speaking to KQED Forum this month, UCSF infectious disease specialist Dr. Peter Chin-Hong struck a cautious note, saying that while he believed it is essentially "the right time" for California and the White House to end these emergency declarations, there were still "repercussions that we have to be prepared for."
KQED
10 months ago
Healthcare

Newsom's Plan to Crack Down on Fentanyl in San Francisco Could Cause More Harm Than Good, Some Addiction Experts Say | KQED

San Francisco police officers look on near a controversial billboard that warns against fentanyl on April 4, 2022, in San Francisco.(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)



Gov. Gavin Newsom and Mayor London Breed are doubling down on law enforcement to get a grip on drug-related challenges in San Francisco's city core.
KQED
10 months ago
Healthcare

Long COVID in California: 'A Pandemic of Loneliness and Social Isolation and Rejection' | KQED

She and Mirin wrote last year's budget proposal for the state to fund research, training and treatment centers at UC medical campuses and other academic centers.Mirin said it has been challenging to find a champion for this issue."People will say they support one thing or another, but when it comes down to an official public request, other things have a way of coming into play," Mirin said.
KQED
10 months ago
Healthcare

Newsom Taps California Highway Patrol, National Guard to Fight San Francisco's Fentanyl Crisis | KQED

A California Highway Patrol car stands guard at the Golden Gate Bridge toll plaza on Nov. 2, 2001, in San Francisco.Gov. Gavin Newsom is utilizing the California Highway Patrol and the National Guard to fight the city's fentanyl crisis.(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)



A new team of officers from the California Highway Patrol and the California National Guard will step in to train and assist San Francisco Police in disrupting fentanyl dealing and trafficking, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday.
KQED
10 months ago
Healthcare

Preparing for California's 'Big Melt' | AIDS/LifeCycle | KQED

Tracy Evans, AIDS/LifeCycle senior director
Tyler TerMeer, San Francisco AIDS Foundation CEO


Something Beautiful: Youth Takeover and Mount Diablo This week, we have a guest host: a high schooler who is a member of KQED's Youth Advisory Board.All week, KQED has been including young people in our programming, as part of our commitment to education and engaging with our community.
KQED
10 months ago
Healthcare

SoCalGas Helped Bankroll Law Firm's Fight Against Berkeley Natural Gas Ban | KQED

Ratepayer advocates have accused SoCalGas of a litany of transgressions, including lying to regulators, undermining efficiency standards and funding seemingly independent advocacy groups to push its agenda.(INA FASSBENDER/AFP via Getty Images)



SoCalGas, the nation's largest natural gas utility, billed a ratepayer account more than $1 million to support a successful legal challenge against Berkeley's first-in-the-nation law banning gas hookups in new buildings.
KQED
10 months ago
Healthcare

Workers at Oakland Children's Hospital Stage 1-Day Strike, Demanding Better Working Conditions and Services | KQED

Jackie Schalit, a children's mental health clinician at the hospital and part of the union's bargaining team, says staffing in her department has been slashed in half under UCSF's leadership, with a growing number of programs squeezed, shut down altogether, or relocated to offices in San Francisco."We love the population that we work with.
KQED
11 months ago
Healthcare

Long COVID Patients Feel 'Swept Under the Rug' by End to Pandemic Emergencies | KQED

The severity and duration of long COVID vary.Some people recover in a few weeks, while a smaller number have debilitating and lingering health issues.There is currently no test, treatment or cure.There's not even an accepted medical definition."When you don't have any tests that show that anything's abnormal, it can be quite invalidating and anxiety-provoking," Geng said.
KQED
11 months ago
Healthcare

Walmart, CVS Set to Pay San Francisco $19 Million in Opioid Settlements | KQED

San Francisco Supervisor Hillary Ronen said opening safe consumption sites would be worth the legal risk because opening the sites could begin to slow down the overdose epidemic."There is a difference of opinion on what is a legal decision and what is a policy decision for us, and I want us to have that discussion all together," Ronen said during a Board of Supervisors meeting on April 4. "It is beyond time that we open these [facilities], and there is one person, the city attorney, who is standing in the way."
KQED
11 months ago
Healthcare

Medication Abortion Is Still Possible With Just 1 Drug. Here's How It Works | KQED

Misoprostol is typically used as part of a 2-drug protocol for a medication abortion.But it is also safe and effective when used alone, doctors say.(ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)



On Friday, a federal judge in Texas ruled that the Food and Drug Administration didn't properly approve a drug which has been on the market for more than 20 years in the U.S. for medical abortions.
KQED
11 months ago
Healthcare

Texas Judge Halts FDA Approval of Abortion Pill Mifepristone, Newsom Slams Ruling | KQED

"FDA is under one order that says you can do nothing and another that says in seven days I'm going to require you to vacate the approval of mifepristone," said Glenn Cohen of Harvard Law School.Gov. Gavin Newsom's office issued a statement Friday slamming the decision by the "far-right federal judge."
KQED
11 months ago
Healthcare

FDA Approves Second Bivalent COVID Booster Shots for Some People | KQED

"I have no data to show me that a second bivalent is safe and effective.I have every reason to think it might be.But I don't actually have data," says Dr. Gregory Poland, director of the Mayo Clinic's Vaccine Research Group.In addition, there's a theoretical possibility that it could kind of backfire - because the bivalent boosters target a strain that's already been replaced by a new one called XBB.1.5.
KQED
11 months ago
Healthcare

San Francisco Has Doubled Participants of This Opioid Treatment. Here's Why | KQED

Damian Peterson, a psychiatric clinical pharmacist with the San Francisco Department of Public Health, speaks with Bryon Killilea in the SOMA neighborhood of San Francisco while delivering buprenorphine medication on March 23, 2023.(Beth LaBerge/KQED)



The first time Alyssa Ibarra tried to get suboxone, a medication proven to treat opioid use disorder, she bought it from someone off the street.
KQED
11 months ago
Healthcare

Gov. Newsom's Prescription Housing Plan Would Cover 6 Months Rent Through Medi-Cal | KQED

Stephen Morton lived in shelters and sometimes in his car for almost two years before finding permanent housing, moving into his Laguna Woods apartment in Orange County in December 2021.He has major health problems, including chronic heart disease, diabetes and asthma, but says his health has improved his moving into his new apartment and that he has been able to drop one of his diabetes medications.
KQED
11 months ago
Healthcare

On Medi-Cal? Eligibility Changes Starting in April Could Mean You Lose Coverage. Here's What to Do | KQED

Starting April 1, Californians who depend on Medi-Cal - the state's Medicaid health care program - for their health care expenses will need to once again go through a redetermination process to renew their eligibility and keep their Medi-Cal coverage.Thanks to the federal COVID Public Health Emergency (PHE) declared in 2020, Medicaid programs around the nation like Medi-Cal have been able to waive annual eligibility requirements.
KQED
1 year ago
Healthcare

Gov. Newsom Announces Partnership With Drugmaker to Produce Affordable, State-Branded Insulin | KQED

Still, there are obstacles."The work to develop a generic, get FDA approval and set up manufacturing will take real time," Wright said in an email."There may even be more time in the effort to get doctors to prescribe the drug, insurers and (pharmacy benefit managers) to include it on their formularies and patients and the public to accept and ask for it."
KQED
1 year ago
Healthcare

America's Highway System Is a Monument to Environmental Racism and a History of Inequity | KQED

Claiborne Avenue in Tremé was once the economic and cultural center of Black New Orleans, a bustling road lined by oak trees, theaters, bars, restaurants, other businesses and homes.Back when the city's annual parade and carnival before the Christian fasting of Lent was segregated, Black Mardi Gras was celebrated on the Claiborne Avenue corridor.
KQED
1 year ago
Healthcare

SF Supervisor Sits Out Event for Health Secretary Becerra in Protest Over Laguna Honda Crisis | KQED

Ronen and the majority of her fellow supervisors, along with Mayor London Breed and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, have called on Becerra, California's former attorney general, to refrain from requiring the hospital to remove patients while it works toward recertification.The majority of residents at Laguna Honda, one of the largest skilled nursing facilities in the country, are older and require specialized care for conditions including dementia, physical and post-stroke rehabilitation, HIV and mental illness.
KQED
1 year ago
Healthcare

California, Oil Industry Brace for Big-Money Battle Over Rule Limiting Drilling Near Schools and Homes | KQED

The ballot challenge to the drilling law will be the second referendum to go before voters in 2024.Opponents of AB 257, a law signed by Newsom that aims to increase pay and improve working conditions for the state's fast-food workers, also recently submitted enough signatures to qualify for the ballot.
KQED
1 year ago
Healthcare

Post-Roe | CalEPA Secretary Yana Garcia | KQED

A move to stop selling abortion pills by Walgreens has led California to cut ties with the pharmaceutical giant.We check in with Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert, reporter for Insider, on the latest fight surrounding reproductive rights.CalEPA Secretary Yana Garcia Plus, the California Environmental Protection Agency often leads policies that are ahead of the nation in the fight against climate change.
KQED
1 year ago
Healthcare

Health Secretary Xavier Becerra Visits San Francisco Hospital Fighting Off Closure | KQED

He visited the facility to observe some of the areas and processes that Laguna Honda must bring up to code in order to get recertified, such as medicine storage and cleaning, and to see how patients with mental illness and substance use disorder are cared for at the facility.Reporters were not allowed on the tour, but Becerra said he spoke to nurses and patients who told him they hope he will protect Laguna Honda.
KQED
1 year ago
Healthcare

SF's Mobile Clinics Made Opioid Treatment More Accessible During the Pandemic. But Will They Stay? | KQED

Under the updated COVID-era federal regulations, health care providers can prescribe higher doses of methadone depending on a patient's needs.Stabilized patients also have more access to take-home medications and can attend counseling by video or phone rather than in person.Before the pandemic, "we couldn't go up as quickly on dosage to get to the appropriate dosage that stops cravings of opioids," said Dr. Andrew Tompkins, head of UCSF's Division of Substance Abuse and Addiction Medicine.
KQED
1 year ago
Healthcare

All-Gender Bathrooms in Every K-12 School, Proposes California Bill - but Some Bay Area Districts Are Way Ahead | KQED

Starting in January 2025, the bill would require each California school district to provide at least one all-gender restroom for students to use at every school campus.The restroom would have to meet the same requirements that school bathrooms already must follow, such as regular maintenance, cleaning, stocked toilet paper and soap, and it must be unlocked and accessible during school hours.
KQED
1 year ago
Healthcare

California's Massive Medicaid Program Works for Some, but Fails Many Others | KQED

Medi-Cal is also undertaking several new initiatives that aim to save taxpayer money and improve quality.State officials are demanding that the 23 health insurers that serve most Medi-Cal patients provide better care - or face significant penalties, including potential expulsion from the program.The state is also adding innovative social services that fall outside the traditional realm of medicine, including helping some enrollees pay for rent and buy groceries.
KQED
1 year ago
Healthcare

Feds Grant Reprieve on Laguna Honda Patient Transfers Until May

In April 2022, CMS decertified Laguna Honda after a series of inspections found the hospital out of compliance with safety measures for a skilled nursing facility.The hospital was then required to create and implement a closure plan, which included transferring or discharging all of its residents by September 2022.
www.kqed.org
1 year ago
Healthcare

La vacuna bivalente de refuerzo contra COVID-19: Cuando podre recibir una segunda dosis?

"Cuantas mas veces sea recordado su sistema, mas dura la inmunidad", dijo Chin-Hong."Para mi, eso es una victoria, porque como medico especialista en enfermedades infecciosas, me preocupa mas que la gente no entre al hospital, que no sea ingresada en la unidad de cuidados intensivos y no muera".
KQED
1 year ago
Healthcare

Have COVID? Request Paxlovid Even if You're 'Not High Risk.' Here's Why

California has recently enacted several laws that force insurers to keep covering COVID care even after the state and federal states of emergency wind down, including State Bill 1473, which specifically requires insurers to keep covering the costs of COVID therapeutic treatments like Paxlovid.But this law only keeps the current situation in place until six months after the end of the federal emergency on Nov. 11.
KQED
1 year ago
Healthcare

California to End $54 Million Contract With Walgreens Over Abortion Pill Access | KQED

Walgreens is the second-largest pharmacy chain in the country.Earlier this month, the Illinois-based company announced it would stop dispensing mifepristone - the first pill used in a two-drug abortion procedure - after Republican attorneys general in the nearly two dozen states signed a letter (PDF) threatening to take legal action against pharmacies that continue to offer it.
KQED
1 year ago
Healthcare

Dangerous 'Tranq' Animal Tranquilizer Found in San Francisco Street Drug Supply

San Francisco, however, has only recently started to test for xylazine, and health officials called the recent identification "concerning.""These facts suggest that the drug may not yet be widespread, but SFDPH and its City and community partners are working to learn more, share information and prepare street response teams to recognize the impacts of xylazine and respond appropriately," officials said in a press release on Thursday.
KQED
1 year ago
Healthcare

FDA Considers Major Shift in COVID Vaccine Strategy | KQED

The agency notes that if a more dangerous COVID variant were to emerge, it might reconsider the vaccine strain at other times of the year on an "as-needed and emergent basis."Some immunologists and vaccine researchers say simplifying the process along the lines of the flu vaccine is appropriate at this point in the pandemic.
KQED
1 year ago
Healthcare

A Central Valley Community Lost Its Only Hospital. More Statewide Closures May Follow | KQED

Herbst noted that in the first years of the pandemic, some of the hospital's losses were offset by federal COVID relief dollars, but that aid is now largely gone.Yet some of his largest expenses, including contracted labor, are ongoing."Two months ago I had 240 bedside [registered nurses] that were traveling, and I'm paying $200 or more an hour for them," Herbst said.
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