Los Angeles Times: Safe To Breathe In L.A.? Lawmakers Call For Federal Action On Fire Pollutants
The recent massive wildfires in Los Angeles County destroyed thousands of homes and vehicles, sending toxic chemicals into the air, soil and water — a health threat that a group of lawmakers say is going under-reported and poses serious long-term risks to residents in the L.A. region. The group of House Democrats are calling on the Environmental Protection Agency to lead a task force to improve air quality monitoring in the Los Angeles region. (Poston, 2/3)

San Francisco Chronicle: How To Navigate The Mental Health Toll Of Surviving A Wildfire
Adrienne Heinz knows firsthand what it’s like to flee a fire zone — and what it takes for a community to rebuild afterward. The Healdsburg resident evacuated her home as the 2017 Tubbs Fire tore through Sonoma and Napa counties, eventually killing 22 people and destroying thousands of homes. Heinz, a clinical research psychologist at Stanford University who studies post-traumatic stress, was fortunate not to lose her home. But, feeling helpless, she sought ways to help her community recover from the collective trauma. (Ho, 2/1)

Bay Area News Group: Santa Clara County Accuses Companies Of Causing 'Environmental And Human Health Crisis' Via 'Forever Chemicals' In Drinking Water
Detection of PFAS — an acronym for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances — in drinking water wells in San Jose, Cupertino, Sunnyvale, Campbell and Gilroy indicate “widespread contamination of the groundwater underlying the Santa Clara County region,” the lawsuit filed Tuesday in Santa Clara County Superior Court alleged. (Baron, 2/3)

KVPR: What We Know – And Don’t Know – About A New Strain Of Bird Flu Reported In Merced County
A Merced County duck farm became the site of the country’s first detected case of a new strain of avian influenza. The bird flu viruses that have widely sickened birds and cattle — as well as infected dozens of people — are referred to as highly-pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), which means they are highly contagious and often deadly for birds. (Klein, 1/31)

CIDRAP: Avian Flu Strikes More Poultry Farms, Prompts More State Measures And Warnings
US poultry farms saw no let-up in H5N1 avian flu detections over the past 2 days, with more outbreaks reported from eight states, according to the latest confirmations from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). In California, outbreaks hit two more commercial duck farms, one in Madera County and the other in Merced County, affecting about 157,000 birds. (Schnirring, 1/31)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Carlsbad Gets $3 Million Grant To Help Homeless People Living In Vehicles 
Carlsbad accepted a $3 million state grant last week to help find shelter for homeless individuals and families living in their vehicles in the Village, Barrio and beach neighborhoods. (Diehl, 2/3)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Tuberculosis Exposures At Palomar High School In Chula Vista
County officials warned Friday of possible tuberculosis exposures at Palomar High School in Chula Vista last year. (Stephenson, 1/31)

Vacaville Reporter: California Superintendent Tony Thurmond Sends Note To Schools About Title IX Protections
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond has issued a public statement and “Dear Colleague” letter to all California local educational agencies (LEAs), in response to the “Dear Colleague” letter sent to all schools by the U.S. Department of Education on Friday morning. (Bammer, 2/3)

Times of San Diego: MiraCosta College Awarded Grant For Mental Health, Wellness Project
The Prebys Foundation awarded a grant to MiraCosta College in January to set up a mental health and wellness project of formerly incarcerated and marginalized students. Worth $116,500, the grant was among over $5 million that The Prebys Foundation awarded to 59 nonprofits across San Diego. The foundation said spending time in nature and engaging with the arts can help reduce social isolation and improve mental health. (Brown, 2/2)

Becker's Hospital Review: Prospect To Sell Crozer Health
Los Angeles-based Prospect Medical Holdings has shared plans to sell Upland, Pa.-based Crozer Health, including all hospitals, clinics, physician offices and ambulatory surgery centers to a non-profit group of healthcare operators. ... Prospect sought Chapter 11 protection Jan. 11 and has been working to offload 10 of its 16 hospitals. (Ashley, 1/31)

Becker's Hospital Review: UC Davis Health Names Interim CEO
Sacramento, Calif.-based UC Davis Health has appointed three new leaders, including an interim CEO. Michael Condrin was named interim CEO, effective Feb. 15, according to a Jan. 31 health system news release. Mr. Condrin, who has more than 20 years of healthcare executive experience, joined UC Davis in 2002 and most recently served as COO of UC Davis Medical Center. (Kuchno, 1/31)

Becker's Hospital Review: Dignity California Hospital CEO To Retire
Michael Korpiel, president and CEO of Mercy San Juan Medical Center in Carmichael, Calif., plans to retire July 7, according to a Dignity Health statement shared with Becker's. Mr. Korpiel has led the hospital for seven years. From 2022 to 2024, he also served as Sacramento market president for San Francisco-based Dignity Health, according to his LinkedIn profile. (Kuchno, 1/31)

Capital & Main: Four Months In, Kaiser Mental Health Strike Remains In A Standoff
Even as the first few weeks of their strike against Kaiser Permanente last fall rolled by without movement on a new contract, mental health care professionals in Southern California remained guardedly optimistic. (Kreidler, 1/30)

San Diego Union-Tribune: VR Shows Visions Of Health Care’s Future At Inaugural Sharp Tech Summit
Hundreds of physicians and technologists from as close as San Diego and as far away as Germany’s University of Leipzig came to spend Thursday and Friday sharing their experiences using virtual reality to augment health care delivery from surgical procedures to mental health consultations. (Sisson, 2/3)

Modern Healthcare: Medicare Doctor Pay Increase Introduced In New Bill
Doctors and some bipartisan allies on Capitol Hill advanced their campaign to boost Medicare physician reimbursements with the release of new legislation Friday. The Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act of 2025 would give doctors a 6.6% rate increase through 2026 and be retroactive to the beginning of this year, when a 2.9% cut took effect. (McAuliff, 1/31)

Becker's Hospital Review: Healthgrades' 50 Top Hospitals For 2025
Healthgrades has recognized 250 U.S. hospitals [11 of them in California] as part of its 2025 America's Best Hospitals Awards. The top 50 hospitals represent the 1% of U.S. hospitals providing the highest level of quality care, according to a Jan. 28 news release. Healthgrades evaluated the clinical performance of approximately 4,500 hospitals across more than 30 common procedures and conditions, the release said. (Gregerson, 1/31)

Los Angeles Times: CDC Scrubs Research Databases Referencing Sexual Orientation And Gender Identity
Websites on HPV vaccinations, data on high schoolers’ health habits, information on programs to end violence against women and girls: All began disappearing from government websites this week, as agencies scrambled to comply with President Trump’s executive order against “gender ideology.” Federal agencies and departments were given a deadline of 5 p.m. Friday to implement an order Trump signed within hours of taking office Jan. 20, mandating that the U.S. government recognize only two sexes that are “not changeable.” (Purtill and Kaplan, 1/31)

San Francisco Chronicle: SF Is A Trans Sanctuary. Is It Safe From Trump?
President Trump’s executive orders removing protections from transgender and gender nonbinary Americans could reach California. One trans woman isn’t waiting for that to happen. (Hosseini, 2/2)

San Francisco Chronicle: Silicon Valley Legislators: Trump’s ‘Cruelty’ To Hamper Health, Safety
Silicon Valley politicians denounced President Donald Trump’s decision to freeze funding to states and international aid organizations, saying Saturday that his executive orders threaten public health locally and abroad. Democratic Reps. Zoe Lofgren, Ro Khanna and Sam Liccardo slammed Trump’s recent slate of executive orders during a news conference in San Jose. They argued that his tariffs will make it harder to build housing and that his attempts at mass deportation will hamper law enforcement efforts. (Leonard, 2/1)

Stat: NSF Restores Payments After Pause Due To Trump Order 
On Sunday, the National Science Foundation announced that its payment system was back online to comply with a judge’s order, five days after the agency froze funding to researchers. While post-doctoral fellows were relieved that they could now request the checks they rely on to pay for rent, food, and credit card bills, some remain concerned about what they see as contradictory messages that the funding agency has put out, and worry their grants and livelihoods may still be at risk. (Boodman, 2/2)

Stat: Trump Tariffs On China, Canada, Mexico Could Raise Health Care Costs 
On Saturday, President Trump ordered import taxes on goods from Canada, China, and Mexico, a move that could raise costs for consumers across the economy, including in health care. (Wilkerson, 2/2)

Global News: From Hearing Aids To Pacemakers, Tariffs May Drive Up Medical Device Costs 
Whether pacemakers, insulin pumps or artificial hip joints, Canadians may face a spike in health costs if U.S. President Donald Trump imposes a 25 per cent tariff on imports from Canada, set to take effect Saturday. With the looming tariff, Medtech Canada, a national association representing 120 medical technology companies, warned the cost of health technologies could rise significantly — in both countries — if tariffs are implemented. (Dangerfield, 1/31)

NPR: America's Fentanyl Crisis Is Improving But President Trump Used The Drug To Justify Tariffs
President Trump says illegal street fentanyl is one of the main justifications for sweeping trade tariffs he plans to impose against Canada, China and Mexico on Tuesday. A statement issued by the White House describes the synthetic opioid as fueling a "national emergency" that warranted tough action. Experts say the reality is far more complex. (Mann, 2/2)

The Washington Post: China’s Role In Fentanyl Crisis Blamed As Trump Imposes Tariffs 
When President Donald Trump imposed new tariffs on Chinese goods Saturday, he homed in on a persistent sore spot in the U.S.-China relationship: Beijing’s role in the global fentanyl trade, which has fueled a deadly opioid crisis in the United States. Announcing the new levies, Trump described the additional 10 percent tariff on all Chinese goods as a way to hold China accountable for its promises to stop “poisonous fentanyl and other drugs from flowing into our country.” He accused the ruling Chinese Communist Party of having “subsidized and otherwise incentivized” companies to ship fentanyl and related chemicals to the United States. (Northrop and Chiang, 2/3)

KVPR: LA Times Owner Boosts RFK Jr. Online, As Writer Says Paper Cut His Critique
With trust in the news media at deep lows, Los Angeles Times owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong is calling for a more tempered approach to covering political matters at his newspaper — even in the opinion section. On social media, however, Soon-Shiong has posted repeatedly in support of President Trump's pick to oversee the Department of Health and Human Services. That would be Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic who has spread false claims about public health. (Folkenflik, 2/3)

The Washington Post: Democrats Call To Slow RFK Jr. Nomination As He Revises Ethics Form
Senate Democrats on Friday called to slow the confirmation process for Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is seeking to become the nation’s top health official, after Kennedy said he would amend his ethics forms following questions about a potential conflict of interest. ... Kennedy on Friday said he was moving to modify his ethical disclosures to the Senate and divest his financial stake in the case. (Diamond, Roubein and Weber, 1/31)

Mother Jones: RFK Jr. Refuses To Disclose To Senate Details Of Two “Misconduct” Cases He Settled
On Friday, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., responding to written questions from Senate Democrats, revealed information about his personal history that was not yet part of the public record: He had settled at least one case in which he had been accused of “misconduct or inappropriate behavior.” Kennedy also acknowledged that he had been party to at least one non-disclosure agreement. But in that reply Kennedy provided no details about these allegations. He only offered a one-word reply when asked if he had ever been accused in such a fashion: “Yes.” Consequently, Senate Democrats followed up with another written query to Kennedy, the anti-vaxxer and conspiracy theorist who has been nominated by President Donald Trump to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. (Corn, 2/2)

AP: Some Doctors Who Signed Letter In Support Of RFK Jr. Had Licenses Revoked. 
A letter submitted to the U.S. Senate that states it was sent by physicians in support of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination as secretary of Health and Human Services includes the names of doctors who have had their licenses revoked, suspended or faced other discipline, The Associated Press has found. The letter was meant to lend credibility to Kennedy’s nomination. ... The AP found that in addition to the physicians who had faced disciplinary action, many of the nearly 800 signers are not doctors. (Smith, 2/2)

Politico: Finance Committee To Vote On RFK Jr. Tuesday
The Senate Finance Committee will vote Tuesday on the recommendation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s confirmation to lead federal health agencies, the committee announced Sunday. Kennedy’s approval by the committee is far from certain. Last week, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said he was “struggling” with the nominee’s reticence to publicly support vaccines despite the overwhelming evidence that they’re safe and effective. (Payne, 2/2)

San Diego Union-Tribune: First Jail-Death Records Obtained Under New Oversight Law Show Lapses In Care — And Limits Of Disclosure
SB 519 was introduced by then-Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, in April 2023, following a multi-part investigation by the Union-Tribune and a subsequent scathing state audit that found San Diego County jails had the highest mortality rate among California’s large jail systems. (Davis, 2/3)

Bay Area News Group: New South Bay Home For Disabled Adults Offers Spark Of Hope Amid Shortage Of Care
LSA operates homes where disabled adults can live in a community with each other and their neighborhoods. While the region faces a shortfall of services for adults like Minchen, LSA is pushing to open more homes in the Bay Area – including one this spring in Morgan Hill. (Zambrano, 2/3)

The Oaklandside: Oakland To Cut $2.6M For Youth, Meals On Wheels, And Violence Prevention
Oakland is chopping $2.6 million in funding for 13 community organizations that provide housing, health, and other social services. The cuts are the latest example of drastic moves by the city to balance a nearly $130 million shortfall in its budget. City Administrator Jestin Johnson informed the City Council and mayor in an email on Tuesday that his office is giving contractors 30 days’ notice that their grants are being terminated. Johnson wrote that the city will pay grantees for the work they’ve already performed, but is advising them to cease work past the termination date. (Orenstein and Wolfe, 1/31)

The Desert Sun: FDA Says California Snack Food Company's Products Are 'Potentially Deadly' 
A California snack company recalled chocolate and other products last month. Now, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration has given some of those products a Class I classification, the agency's highest risk level. (Malenfant and Ward, 2/1)