Becker's Hospital Review: UC Davis Cancer Center Taps Physician-In-Chief
Sacramento, Calif.-based UC Davis Health has permanently named David Cooke, MD, as physician-in-chief for the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Cooke has been serving as interim physician-in-chief for the past year and will continue to serve as the cancer center's associate director of inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility, according to a Nov. 15 news release from the health system. (Gregerson, 11/18)

Becker's Hospital Review: Dignity California Hospital CEO Retires
Donald Wiley, president and CEO of Dignity Health St. Joseph's Medical Center in Stockton, Calif., retired Nov. 8 after 34 years with the hospital. During his tenure, Mr. Wiley oversaw key achievements, including opening the hospital's heart center and establishing a partnership with Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente, according to a Nov. 13 Facebook post from the hospital. (Kuchno, 11/18)

Becker's Hospital Review: Visitor Stabs Patient, Then Self At Kaiser Hospital: Police
A 63-year-old man was arrested in connection with the stabbing of his wife, who was a patient at Vallejo, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente, Fox affiliate KTVU reported Nov. 18.The incident occurred about 8:45 a.m. Nov. 16, according to the Vallejo Police Department. Frank McMillan, who reportedly also stabbed himself,  and his wife were taken in for surgery to treat their stab wounds and are expected to survive their injuries. "We're grateful to our staff members who acted quickly to intervene and provide care to those involved," a hospital spokesperson told Becker's. (Taylor, 11/18)

AP: CVS Health Bulks Its Board Up To 16 Members, Adds Hedge Fund CEO
CVS Health has added four new board members, including the CEO of a hedge fund that has been critical of the struggling health care giant. The company said Monday that it expanded its board to 16 members following “productive discussions” with shareholder Glenview Capital Management. The hedge fund holds about a 1% stake in the company according to the data firm FactSet. Glenview has said CVS Health, which has cut its forecast several times this year, is operating well below its potential. (Murphy, 11/18)

CNN: More Than 1 In 3 Surgical Patients Has Complications, Study Finds, And Many Are The Result Of Medical Errors
Despite decades of calls for more attention to patient safety in hospitals, people undergoing surgery still have high rates of complications and medical errors, a new study finds. More than a third of patients admitted to the hospital for surgery have adverse events related to their care, and at least 1 in 5 of these complications is the result of medical errors, the researchers found. (Goodman, 11/15)

San Francisco Chronicle: S.F. Overdose Deaths Hit ‘Remarkable’ New Low
The number of people who died from accidental drug overdoses in San Francisco fell in October to 32, the lowest number since the city began releasing monthly death figures in 2020 — a continuation of what officials called “remarkable” progress against the deadly fentanyl crisis. The preliminary figures, released Monday by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, mark a 20% year-to-date decline compared to 2023. The preliminary numbers are likely to rise a bit once they become final. (Ho, 11/18)

Politico: One Reason Overdose Deaths Are Dropping
Mexican drug cartels are mixing weaker batches of illicit fentanyl, a likely reason behind the nearly 15 percent drop in overdose deaths in the last year, according to DEA Administrator Anne Milgram. Milgram claimed credit before a gathering Friday of family members of those who have died from fentanyl poisoning from counterfeit pills or overdoses, citing pressure the Drug Enforcement Administration is putting on the cartels by targeting their criminal networks — from their chemical supply chains in China to their money-laundering operations. (Paun, Reader, Payne and Schumaker, 11/18)

The Wall Street Journal: Can Trump’s Hardball Tactics On China Ease America’s Fentanyl Crisis?
When Trump takes office in January, he promises to take a combative position with China over its role in the fentanyl crisis, ditching the Biden administration’s efforts at diplomacy and compromise. On the campaign trail, Trump vowed “to tariff the hell out of” China unless it helps to stop the flow of illicit drugs into the U.S. The threat raises the stakes for China to shut down a supply chain that is enabling the underground production of fentanyl and other narcotics. But it also risks backfiring for the U.S. if China’s leader Xi Jinping concludes he can’t be seen as caving to pressure from Washington. (Spegele, 11/19)

Fresno Bee: California Agriculture Faces Significant Losses As Avian Flu Outbreak Spreads. 'It's A Mess'
As an outbreak of the avian flu continues to wreak havoc on California agriculture, the number of infected animals and workers is stacking up. (Rodriguez, 11/18)

Stat: Bird Flu Risk To Humans: Canadian Case Has Unsettling Viral Mutations
The genetic sequence of the H5N1 bird flu virus that infected a teenager in British Columbia shows that the virus had undergone mutational changes that would make it easier for that version of H5N1 to infect people, scientists who have studied the data say. (Branswell, 11/18)

Index-Tribune: Sonoma Valley’s First Homeless Street Outreach Program Launches 
Two Sonoma County nonprofits joined forces to launch Sonoma Valley’s first Homeless Street Outreach program, a program designed to connect individuals with vital housing and social services and rebuild their trust within the system. (Molloy, 11/18)

EdSource: Oakland Unified Wrestles With Lead In Water. Most California Schools Are In The Dark
Oakland student Hannah Lau said she only discovered there were elevated lead levels in her school’s drinking water this year through her teacher. There wasn’t an announcement from the principal, nor was there an assembly to notify students. “I was really shocked and scared,” the 13-year-old said. “How long have we been drinking this water? Is it really bad? Is it in my body? How poisoned am I?” The Oakland Unified School District is one of the few districts in California that has continued to test lead levels in drinking water years after it was no longer required by state law. (Velez, 11/18)

Times of San Diego: South Bay Students Receive Free Vision Care Thanks To Volunteer Optometrists, Lions Club
Volunteer optometrists and members of Lions International have been working for months to improve the vision — and lives — of children in the South Bay Union School District. Their mission: identify students in need of glasses and provide them at little to no cost. Since Aug. 16, more than 600 students across six South Bay schools — VIP, Bayside, Central, Oneonta, South Bay Charter and Mendoza — have had their vision screened, with 20% needing further care. (Ireland, 11/19)

The Washington Post: Trump Allies Eye Overhauling Medicaid, Food Stamps In Tax Legislation
President-elect Donald Trump’s economic advisers and congressional Republicans have begun preliminary discussions about making significant changes to Medicaid, food stamps and other federal safety net programs to offset the enormous cost of extending Trump’s 2017 tax cuts next year. Among the options under discussion by GOP lawmakers and aides are new work requirements and spending caps for the programs, according to seven people familiar with the talks, many of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Those conversations have included some economic officials on Trump’s transition team, the people said. (Bogage, Stein and Diamond, 11/18)

NPR: Some Farm Experts See 'Danger' In Trump's Embrace Of Kennedy And Tariffs 
President-elect Donald Trump won farm country by wide margins in this month's election, with rural voters helping fuel his return to the White House. But some farmers, economists, analysts and others in the agriculture industry are voicing alarm over Trump plans that could disrupt America's $1.5 trillion food industry. Trump moved this past week to put Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in charge of the Department of Health and Human Services, which includes the Food and Drug Administration. A nomination requires confirmation by the U.S. Senate. (Mann, 11/17)

NBC News: RFK Jr.'s No. 1 Hurdle To Take On Unhealthy Food: Money
The FDA’s food division, poised to play a significant role in Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s ambitions, operates on a tight budget. Unlike the agency’s drug division, which sustains itself largely through user fees charged to pharmaceutical companies when they apply for drug approval, its food division relies more heavily on funding from Congress, said Jerold Mande, a former FDA senior adviser and former deputy undersecretary for food safety at the Department of Agriculture. (Separately, Kennedy has suggested he wants to end user fees, arguing the system creates a conflict of interest.) (Lovelace Jr., 11/18)

The New York Times: Five Ways R.F.K. Jr. Could Undermine Lifesaving Childhood Vaccines 
Legal and public health experts agree that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would not have the authority to take some of the most severe actions, such as unilaterally banning vaccines, which Mr. Kennedy has said he has no intention of doing. “I’m not going to take anyone’s vaccines away from them,” he wrote on social media last month. “I just want to be sure every American knows the safety profile, the risk profile, and the efficacy of each vaccine.” But Mr. Kennedy, who has said that he wants federal researchers to pull back from studying infectious diseases, could exert his influence in many other ways. His actions could reduce vaccination rates, delay the development of new vaccines and undermine public confidence in a critical public health tool. (Anthes and Baumbaertner, 11/19)

Stat: RFK Jr.'s Vaccine Lawsuit History Offers Clues On His Policy Making
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took leave as chairman of Children’s Health Defense, a nonprofit known for spreading doubt about vaccines, to run for president last year. But he is still fighting in court alongside the group, putting him in an unusual position for someone nominated as Secretary of Health and Human Services. (Cueto, 11/19)  

The Hill: American Public Health Association Warns Against RFK Jr. For HHS
A leading public health organization is sounding the alarm over Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. The American Public Health Association (APHA) said Kennedy “fails on all fronts” as a candidate to lead the nation’s top health agency. “We urge President-elect Trump to select a qualified health leader that is properly trained and has the management skills to be the nation’s top health official,” APHA President Georges Benjamin said. (Weixel, 11/18)

Axios: RFK Jr. Vs. Vivek: Trump World's Two Paths For Pharma Regulation
Between Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Vivek Ramaswamy, the incoming Trump administration has divergent views on regulating the pharmaceutical industry. Why it matters: Both influential MAGA allies say there are deep problems with America's drug development system. But RFK Jr., the Health and Human Services secretary designee, is calling for more oversight of drugs and vaccines and diminished federal funding for R&D. Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur who will lead a new "Department of Government Efficiency" with Elon Musk, is a small government aficionado who's called for fewer barriers to bringing drugs to market. (Goldman, 11/19)

Axios: Musk, Top Trump Adviser Clash Over Cabinet Picks
Elon Musk, who fueled Trump's election effort by giving at least $119 million, has quickly become an influential figure in President-elect Trump's inner circle, but there are signs of tension between Musk and a longtime Trump adviser over Cabinet appointments to the new administration. The friction between Musk and Boris Epshteyn — a top adviser who's pushed for Cabinet picks that include Matt Gaetz for attorney general — surfaced in public last week. It signaled a rivalry stemming from Musk's growing influence on the president-elect, to the dismay of some Trump loyalists. (Cai, 11/18)

The New York Times: Elon Musk Asked People To Upload Their Health Data. X Users Obliged 
Over the past few weeks, users on X have been submitting X-rays, MRIs, CT scans and other medical images to Grok, the platform’s artificial intelligence chatbot, asking for diagnoses. The reason: Elon Musk, X’s owner, suggested it. “This is still early stage, but it is already quite accurate and will become extremely good,” Musk said in a post. The hope is that if enough users feed the A.I. their scans, it will eventually get good at interpreting them accurately. Patients could get faster results without waiting for a portal message, or use Grok as a second opinion. (Passarella, 11/18)

Politico: White House Asks Congress For $100B In Aid For Hurricanes, Other Disasters
The Biden administration on Monday sent Congress a roughly $100 billion emergency funding request to rebuild communities hit by hurricanes Helene and Milton, along with a slew of other disasters nationwide. Top lawmakers plan to spend the next few weeks finalizing a bipartisan bill that fulfills at least some of that request, with a goal of final passage sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Since Congress also faces a government shutdown deadline on Dec. 20, it’s possible disaster aid gets tied into a spending patch or broader funding package. (Scholtes, 11/18)

Fox News: COVID-19 Virus Could Attack Cancer Cells And Shrink Tumors, New Study Suggests 
COVID-19 can cause a long list of health issues, including flu symptoms, respiratory problems and even organ damage, according to medical experts — but a new study suggests that the virus could have a surprising impact on cancer. The study, which was published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation on Friday, found that COVID infection was linked to cancer regression, which could serve as a foundation for new cancer treatments in the future. (Rudy, 11/19)

The New York Times: Pancreatic Cancer Surge May Be Less Worrisome Than It Seemed 
A rise in the disease in younger people was not followed by an increase in deaths, a study found, and might be a sign of overdiagnosis. (Kolata, 11/18)

Stat: FDA Approves Syndax Drug Revuforj For Advanced Leukemia 
The Food and Drug Administration approved on Friday a new drug developed by Syndax Pharmaceuticals to treat patients with a genetically defined form of  advanced leukemia. The pill, called Revuforj, is the first medicine in a class of drugs called menin inhibitors to reach the market. (Feuerstein, 11/18)