The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat: Providence To Close Inpatient Pediatric Wing At Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, In Blow Nurses' Rep Calls 'A Loss To The Community'
The operator of Santa Rosa’s longest-serving hospital is closing its inpatient pediatric wing, leaving local families with fewer options in the region for cases where children require non-emergency overnight care. (Pineda, 10/22)

Newsweek: Tenet Health Nurses Announce Strike At Six California Hospitals
Tenet Health nurses in California will hold a one-day strike later this month to protest the hospital's “refusal to address nurses’ deep concerns about patient care and safe staffing.” The California Nurses Association (CNA)/National Nurses United (NNU) announced Wednesday that more than 3,000 nurses have been under contract negotiations with Tenet since February, “with little to no movement on key issues.” (Giella, 10/22)

The Oaklandside: Health Center For East Oakland Youth Breaks Ground
The Young People’s Wellness Center, a project of Roots Community Health, has broken ground, with the expectation that it will open in 2026. The goal is to provide confidential health care services, along with safe social spaces and workforce development opportunities, exclusively for 13- to 26-year-olds. That age range was selected, Roots CEO Dr. Noha Aboelata said, as the health center will become the only one in East Oakland focused on that age group. (McBride, 10/22)

The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat: New Report Ranks Bay Area Children's Hospitals Among The Best
In California, there were 10 best-ranking children’s hospitals, with UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals in San Francisco and Oakland placing third. Tied for first place was Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego. (Sarfaty, 10/22)

Becker's Hospital Review: Health Systems Hit Back At Payers’ ‘Aggressive Coding' Accusations
Payers are blaming “aggressive provider coding” for driving up medical costs, but health systems are pushing back on that narrative, arguing that the real issue lies not in upcoding, but in increasingly adversarial payer-provider relationships and administrative red tape. Several major insurers have flagged high-acuity claims and increased utilization as key headwinds in recent quarterly earnings calls. UnitedHealth Group, Elevance Health, Cigna Group, CVS Health, Centene and Molina Healthcare in the second quarter all cited higher morbidity levels, rising demand for behavioral health and specialty drugs, and increased emergency room use — particularly within the Medicare Advantage, Medicaid and ACA markets. But layered within those trends was another common thread: concern over provider coding practices. (Condon, 10/22)

MedPage Today: Ob/Gyns Urged To Fight Contraception Misinformation
In updated clinical guidance, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) urged physicians to speak out in support of access to contraception. The group's statement on access to contraception was updated to reflect the patchwork contraceptive landscape in the wake of the Supreme Court's Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision that ended the federal right to abortion, as well as the proliferation of mis- and disinformation about contraception. (Robertson, 10/22)

Times of San Diego: Cuts To Medicaid Could Be ‘Heartbreaking’ For Homeless In Need Of Services
Potential federal Medicaid program cuts have left homelessness services providers like The Compass Station in Pacific Beach facing uncertainty. Medicaid and Medi-Cal, California’s version of the program, provides health care coverage for eligible low-income individuals, including children and their families, pregnant women, and people with disabilities. (Schwab, 10/22)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. County Surprised Santa Monica With Two Homeless Housing Projects. Now They're Paused.
For over a year, a pair of buildings with breathtaking ocean views that used to house seniors have sat vacant in Santa Monica next to multimillion dollar townhomes and condominiums. ... Then, late on a Tuesday night earlier this month, the county of Los Angeles informed the city of Santa Monica new tenants would be moving in soon and who they were: 49 patients with behavioral health issues enrolled in the county’s transitional housing program. (Solis, 10/23)

The Orange County Register: Santa Ana Will Expand Emergency Assistance Program Amid Ongoing ICE Operations
Santa Ana’s Ayuda sin Fronteras, or Help Without Borders, program will receive at least $100,000 in additional funding to continue providing emergency rental and utility assistance to residents affected by Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations. (Darwish, 10/22)

AP: Pregnant Women In US Detention Report Inadequate Care Under Trump
Women taken into custody by U.S. immigration agents while pregnant say they received inadequate care in a letter Wednesday that calls on the Trump administration to stop holding expectant mothers in federal detention facilities. The letter to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is part of a broader campaign in recent months by Democrats and immigrant rights groups to draw attention to what they say is the mistreatment of pregnant detainees. (Cline and Gonzalez, 10/23)

AP: ICE Uses Full-Body Restraints On Deportees Despite Safety Concerns
The Nigerian man described being roused with other detainees in September in the middle of the night. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers clasped shackles on their hands and feet, he said, and told them they were being sent to Ghana, even though none of them was from there. When they asked to speak to their attorney, he said, the officers refused and straitjacketed the already-shackled men in full-body restraint suits called the WRAP, then loaded them onto a plane for the 16-hour-flight to West Africa. (Dearen, Mustian and Pineda, 10/22)

The Intersection: Latinos In The San Joaquin Valley Face Higher Obesity Rates Than Non-Latinos. That Carries Broad Health Implications.
The San Joaquin Valley’s Latino population is experiencing obesity rates that significantly exceed non-Latinos among both adults and children – a disparity that carries with it broader health implications for a demographic that represents more than half of the region’s population. Officials with the California Health Care Foundation issued a report in September that points out a wide range of data insights into Latino health, and bemoaned the myriad challenges faced by the state’s Latinos compared to the rest of the population. (Sheehan, 10/22)

San Francisco Chronicle: Tiburon Tobacco Ban Would Outlaw All Nicotine Sales
The Marin County town of Tiburon is poised to become the first jurisdiction in Northern California — and just the third statewide — to ban the sale of all tobacco and nicotine products. In an effort to address youth nicotine addiction, the Tiburon town council last week passed an ordinance that would prohibit the sale of tobacco and nicotine products, including vapes or e-cigarettes, traditional cigarettes and oral nicotine pouches such as Zyn. The only exception to the ban would be FDA-approved smoking cessation products. (Ho, 10/22)

The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat: After Settling Lawsuit With Upscale Inn, Healdsburg Approves Its Plan To Become Luxury Drug Treatment Facility
Buffeted by adverse rulings in recent years, the owners of The Ruse, an upscale Healdsburg inn that has courted controversy, now find themselves on a bit of a roll. On September 23, the city’s Planning Commission approved The Ruse’s application for a permit to operate as luxury drug treatment center. (Murphy, 10/22)

Voice of San Diego: Fed’s Tijuana River Clean-Up Experiment Suffers Storm Damage
A storm wiped out millions of dollars’ worth of experimental Tijuana River treatment technology paid for by a cash-strapped federal agency just months after setting it up. Others working to manage trash on a separate project where the river crosses from Mexico into the United States said they warned the tech company, Greenwater Services, of the poor location of their equipment next to the flood-prone river. But last week’s intense rainstorm swept away their equipment trailers and overturned at least one diesel generator, spilling an estimated 1,000 gallons of fuel into the river. (Elmer, 10/22)

The Modesto Bee: Serious Skin Rash Virus Found In California. Stanislaus Confirms Mpox Case
Stanislaus County public health officials recently confirmed a local case of clade II mpox. County staff are working on a case investigation, follow-up and guidance, said Kamlesh Kaur, a spokesperson for the county Health Services Agency. (Carlson, 10/22)

The 19th: Can Hollywood Do For Paid Leave What Congress Hasn’t?
Vicki Shabo had spent more than a decade advocating for a federal paid parental leave in the only rich country that doesn’t have it. Then in 2021, just when it seemed like it might happen, lawmakers ejected paid leave from a spending bill and sent it tumbling back down the list of priorities. (Carrazana, 10/22)

The San Diego Union-Tribune: Government Shutdown Could Soon Leave Hundreds Of Thousands Of San Diegans Hungry 
Kimberly Hjaltalin’s job is to feed the country’s troops in training, serving meals to military recruits at San Diego’s Marine Corps Recruit Depot as early as 4:15 a.m. But with her employer three weeks into a government shutdown and Congress at an impasse on how to end it, she’s worried about how she’ll feed herself. (Taketa, 10/23)

NBC News: Oz Says Trump Has A Plan To Replace Obamacare
Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, suggested Wednesday that President Donald Trump has a plan to replace the Affordable Care Act — but provided no specifics about the proposal. “I fully believe the president has a plan,” Oz told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker. “We’ve been talking about it quite a bit. There’s all kinds of ideas.” (Lovelace Jr., 10/22)

Military.com: Tricare Open Season Is On Time Despite Shutdown. Here’s What’s Affected
Open enrollment for 2026 Tricare coverage will take place on time despite the government shutdown, officials told Military.com, while some Tricare services under existing plans are already suspended or likely delayed. The monthlong open enrollment period is scheduled for Nov. 10-Dec. 9. During open enrollment, or open season, beneficiaries may make changes to their Tricare coverage for the upcoming year. Tricare users who want to keep the same coverage don’t need to do anything during open enrollment. (Miller, 10/22)

MedPage Today: 'Alternative' To CDC's Flagship Journal In The Works
A public health group and a top-tier journal will partner to publish an alternative to the CDC's flagship weekly publication that has been diminished under the Trump administration. The Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) at the University of Minnesota, and NEJM Evidence, will establish a field notes-style publication, CIDRAP director Michael Osterholm, PhD, MPH, announced at the IDWeek conference in Atlanta. (Fiore, 10/22)