Los Angeles Times: L.A. County Declares State Of Emergency Over Homeless Crisis
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved an emergency declaration aimed at dramatically speeding up services to the tens of thousands of people living in encampments and vehicles. The declaration started the clock: County officials with the Homeless Initiative now have two weeks to report to the board exactly what parts of the county bureaucracy can be scrapped. (Ellis, 1/10)

The New York Times: As Storms Hammer California, Homeless Campers Try To Survive Outside
Unlike in colder-weather states, most homeless people in California live on the streets, in cars and along rivers. They are experiencing a long stretch of fierce storms in a way few others are. (Hubler, Albeck-Ripka and Knoll, 1/11)

Los Angeles Daily News: LA County’s Laboratory In Downey To Get $33 Million Expansion, Upgrade 
It’s been a best kept secret but whenever the the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health needs a lab test performed it relies on the the department’s laboratory in Downey, in southeast LA County. (Scauzillo, 1/10)

Stat: Will America’s Public Health Reckoning Ever Come? 
After 9/11, Congress created an entirely new government agency to address the threat of terrorism, and Americans are still taking off their shoes in airports more than twenty years later. After a pandemic that killed more than 1 million people in the United States alone, very little about the federal government has changed at all, and it may not for a long time. (Cohrs, 1/11)

Los Angeles Times: Will Omicron Subvariant XBB.1.5 Fuel California COVID Surge?
The latest Omicron subvariant — perhaps the most infectious yet — has gained a foothold in California, a potentially problematic development given the possibility of a post-holiday spike. However, it’s unclear whether the circulation of this latest strain, XBB.1.5, will alter the trajectory of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Money and Lin II, 1/11)

San Francisco Chronicle: COVID In California: Older Americans Bearing Brunt Of Latest Surge
Americans 65 and older are dying at disproportionately higher rates from COVID-19, according to an analysis of CDC figures published Tuesday by WebMD. People between the ages 65 to 74 account for 22% of virus deaths, even though this age group represents less than 10% of the U.S. population, the latest data show. Those between 75 to 84 account for 26% of deaths but make up less than 5% of the nation’s population, while the oldest Americans, those 85 and over, account for 27% of deaths while accounting for just 2%. (Vaziri, 1/10)

Military Times: Austin Ends The Military’s COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate
The move comes weeks after President Joe Biden signed the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, and with it a plan to rescind [Defense Secretary Lloyd] Austin’s August 2021 memo directing the services to create a vaccination policy. “The Department will continue to promote and encourage COVID-19 vaccination for all Service members,” Austin wrote. “The Department has made COVID-19 vaccination as easy and convenient as possible, resulting in vaccines administered to over two million Service members and 96 percent of the force ― Active and Reserve ― being fully vaccinated.” (Myers, 1/10)

Stat: Why Wastewater Data Isn't Yet A More Mainstream Public Health Tool
When case counts suggest Covid-19 is in check, the truth is in the toilets. The pandemic has long been in its fatigue phase, making it hard for public health departments to have the return on investment to keep testing clinics open — and making it all but impossible to know, in real time, how many people in a certain area are sick. (Trang, 1/11)

Becker's Hospital Review: Workers Call On HCA To Boost Staffing At 150+ Hospitals
Hundreds of members of the Service Employees International Union plan to rally Jan. 12 at West Hills (Calif.) Hospital and Medical Center over staffing at hospitals owned by Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare, according to a union news release shared with Becker's.  Union members said they are calling on HCA to boost staffing levels at more than 150 hospitals across 19 states owned and operated by the company. Healthcare workers from HCA hospitals in California, Florida, Texas, Nevada and Kansas are also slated to participate in a call for safer staffing, better working conditions and improved patient care. (Gooch, 1/10)

The San Joaquin Valley Sun: Madera Co. Eyes Burning Half Its COVID Relief Funds As Hospital Closure Stopgap
Madera Community Hospital’s financial woes and imminent closure have put pressure on the county to step in in an attempt to save the region’s lone hospital. One option being considered by the Madera County Board of Supervisors is to throw $7 million of its remaining $14.7 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding at the problem. (Gligich, 1/10)

Stat: HHS Will Decide How To Resolve $1 Billion In Payments For 340B Hospitals 
The Department of Health and Human Services will get to decide how to compensate hospitals for years of underpayments related to a federal drug discount program, a federal court decided Tuesday. (Cohrs, 1/10)

San Francisco Chronicle: Judge Orders Nursing Home Chain Accused Of Understaffing, Substandard Care To Comply With State Laws
A Bay Area judge has ordered a major nursing home chain, Mariner Health Care, to comply with California laws on staffing and patient release, with oversight by a court-appointed monitor. Alameda County Superior Court Judge Brad Seligman issued the preliminary injunction Friday in a lawsuit filed in 2021 by the state and the district attorneys of Alameda, Los Angeles, Marin and Santa Cruz counties. The suit accused Mariner of understaffing its nursing homes, providing substandard care and discharging patients before it was safe to do so. (Egelko, 1/10)

Los Angeles Times: L.A.'s Mental Health System, Former Chief Face Pressures
A 2017 trip to observe a celebrated Italian mental health system made believers out of a group of Los Angeles County and nonprofit leaders. Treatment in the city of Trieste targeted the whole person — not just the illness — and services were available around the clock. Psychiatrists made house calls, families were deeply involved with care, and no one sat in trash in front of storefronts. (Seidman and Holland, 1/11)

Axios: Social Media's Effects On Teen Mental Health Comes Into Focus
Experts are increasingly warning of a connection between heavy social media use and mental health issues in children — a hot topic now driving major lawsuits against tech giants. Some scientists who study technology's effects on children say the negatives far outweigh any positives. (Kingson, 1/11)

San Diego Union-Tribune: San Diego's Cue Health Cuts 388 Jobs — The COVID-19 Test Maker's Second Layoff In A Year
San Diego’s Cue Health, a COVID-19 test maker that grew voraciously during the pandemic, is now laying off 388 workers in an effort to cut costs. (Rocha, 1/10)

San Francisco Chronicle: JPMorgan Health Care Conference Brings 8,000 To S.F. For First Time In Three Years
The JPMorgan health care conference, the largest industry event of its kind, returned to San Francisco’s Union Square on Monday for the first time since 2020, drawing 8,000 attendees. After its planned return last year was derailed by the omicron surge, the conference’s flood of attendees in dark suits was another sign that San Francisco’s business travel economic engine is making a comeback. (Li, 1/9)

Modern Healthcare: J.P. Morgan 2023 Healthcare Conference Live Updates, Day 2
After Centene, Oak Street Health and CommonSpirit's presentations on Day One, the 41st annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference enters its second day. (1/10)

Bloomberg: US Tamiflu Shortage Blamed On Failing To Stock Up Before Flu Season 
A US shortage of influenza treatment Tamiflu was caused in part by distributors failing to stock up before the flu season, according to the head of one of the largest generic manufacturers of the drug. (Swetlitz, 1/10)

San Francisco Chronicle: New Drug ‘Tranq’ Could Make SF's Fentanyl Crisis Even Worse
As San Francisco struggles to tackle its fentanyl-driven overdose crisis, officials are on high alert that another drug colloquially known as “tranq” — an animal sedative typically used in large cattle — could infiltrate the street supply and cause more death and disability. The pharmaceutical drug xylazine has already appeared in East Coast cities, further devastating those communities. The drug can increase the risk of overdose, worsen withdrawal and boost the risk of wounds leading to amputation for those who inject it. (Thadani and Fagan, 1/10)

San Francisco Chronicle: SF DA Pledged To Go After Dangerous Fentanyl Dealers. Here’s What Happened
Six months after taking office, data shows [San Francisco District Attorney Brooke] Jenkins is following through on her pledge. But it’s up to judges to decide whether and how to release defendants — and they haven’t always sided with her. (Knight, 1/10)

San Luis Obispo Tribune: Gov. Newsom Delays Food Assistance To California Immigrants
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s goal to make California the first state in the nation to offer food benefits to undocumented immigrants will take longer than expected.Newsom on Tuesday released a proposed state spending plan that would delay an expansion of the social safety net for undocumented immigrants over age 55 by providing them food benefits. (Miranda, 1/11)

KQED: Food Banks Struggle To Serve Communities Amid Inflation, COVID And Cost Of Living
At the beginning of the pandemic, food banks were hit with two simultaneous surges: one, of need, as the economy got thrown into chaos, and two, of generosity, as millions found themselves suddenly out of work. Others who found themselves in fortunate circumstances gave money and donations to food banks. While the need has remained elevated, the generosity has trailed off, pushed out of mind by everything else going on in the world. According to the hunger-relief organization Feeding America, in 2020 food banks nationwide distributed 6 billion meals, and 4 out of 10 people visiting food banks were there for the first time. (Madrigal and Pelit, 1/10)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Deputy Accused Of Stealing Prescription Drugs From Drop Box In Sheriff Station Pleads Not Guilty 
A veteran sheriff’s deputy accused of taking prescription drugs from a drop box in a sheriff’s station pleaded not guilty in San Diego on Tuesday to burglary and drug possession charges. (Hernandez, 1/10)

NPR: Fisher-Price Re-Announces Recall Of Rock 'n Play Sleeper Linked To Child Deaths
Fisher-Price is reminding consumers not to use the company's once-popular Rock 'n Play sleepers, which were recalled in 2019 but have continued to lead to infant deaths. On Monday, in conjunction with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the child product giant re-announced the recall of 4.7 million of its Rock 'n Play sleepers. The Atlanta-based company Kids2 also re-announced the 2019 recall of 694,000 of its Rocking Sleepers. (Hernandez, 1/10)

The 19th: Gas Stove Health Concerns Add Urgency To Calls For Changes In Public Housing
A new study bolstering evidence of the connection between childhood asthma and gas stovetops has added urgency to calls for federal housing authorities to remove gas stoves from public housing, where a majority of households are headed by women. (Kutz, 1/10)