Becker's Hospital Review: Commission Votes To Dissolve California Hospital District
The Riverside County (Calif.) Local Agency Formation Committee voted to begin the dissolution of the Palo Verde Healthcare District and seek state support to restore services at Palo Verde Hospital in Blythe, Calif., amid ongoing challenges. The committee also considered the county’s and other potential successor agencies’ possible role in taking control of the 51-bed facility, according to a Sept. 25 committee news release. In addition, a municipal service review for the Palo Verde Healthcare District was presented in a public hearing. (Ashley, 9/26)

Times of San Diego: UCSD Telemedicine Study Finds Virtual Care Lowers Readmission Risk
Researchers at the UC San Diego School of Medicine found that offering a telemedicine clinic for high-risk patients resulted in fewer readmissions. The results of the three-year study, published in the Sept. 23 online edition of JMIR Medical Informatics, showed that the overall 30-day readmission rate for patients seen in the virtual transition of care clinic was 14.9%. That’s compared to 20.1% for the benchmark group. (Vigil, 9/27)

The Sacramento Bee: 100s Of Sacramento-Area Kids Visit The ER After Car Crashes
As the Sacramento region struggles to address a road safety crisis, data from the California Department of Public Health show 225 hospitalizations of children under 9 years old following crashes between 2016 and 2023. Over the last three years of available data, the number of young children visiting the emergency room in Sacramento County has risen each year: In 2023, there were 564 ER visits by kids from the Sacramento region for non-fatal vehicle crash injuries, up from 478 in 2021. (Lange, 9/29)

Los Angeles Times: How California Families Are Already Bracing For Looming Medicaid Cuts
Ever since Elijah Maldonado was born at just 29 months, he has needed specialty treatments that his family could afford only with publicly funded healthcare. Diagnosed with cerebral palsy as an infant, he spent his first three months at a public hospital where the family lives in Orange County. Now 7, Elijah receives physical and speech therapy among a host of other services paid for through Medicaid. He relies on a wheelchair funded by the government. An assistant paid for with taxpayer dollars makes sure he’s safe on the bus ride to and from school. (Beason, 9/29)

Politico: Republicans Are Making Changes To SNAP And Medicaid. County Officials Say They’re Not Prepared To Handle It
Local officials charged with administering the country’s social safety net said changes in Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act will tax an already strained system, leading to an untenable workload for underresourced workers and potentially leading some eligible support recipients to fall through the cracks. (Wendler, 9/27)

Los Angeles Times: Four Takeaways From California's First Gubernatorial Debate Since Kamala Harris Said She Wasn't Running
In a darkened airport hotel ballroom room, a bevy of California Democrats sought to distinguish themselves from the crowded field running for governor in 2026. ... They pledged to take on President Trump, make the state more affordable, safeguard immigrants and provide them with Medi-Cal healthcare benefits, and keep the state’s over-budget bullet train project intact. (Wick and Mehta, 9/28)

The Modesto Focus: Modesto’s Largest Homeless Shelter Facing Crippling Financial Crisis, Could Close In Six Months
Modesto’s largest homeless shelter may run out of money in six months, potentially putting more people back on the streets. The sobering news comes on the heels of learning that Modesto Downtown Streets’ parent organization will close at the end of October. That program helps people find housing and jobs in return for picking up trash downtown. (Stapley, 9/26)

The San Diego Union-Tribune: Homeless People’s Belongings Are Rarely Stored After Encampment Sweeps, Records Show
San Diego cleaning crews clear thousands of homeless encampments each year, and the city has a process for storing and returning certain valuable belongings seized during those sweeps. Records show, however, that crew members are rarely flagging items for storage. (Nelson and Taketa, 9/28)

ProPublica: Millions Could Lose Housing Aid Under Trump Plan
Some 4 million people could lose federal housing assistance under new plans from the Trump administration, according to experts who reviewed drafts of two unpublished rules obtained by ProPublica. The rules would pave the way for a host of restrictions long sought by conservatives, including time limits on living in public housing, work requirements for many people receiving federal housing assistance and the stripping of aid from entire families if one member of the household is in the country illegally. The first Trump administration tried and failed to implement similar policies, and renewed efforts have been in the works since early in the president’s second term. (Coburn, 9/29)

Los Angeles Times: Immigrants Decry Conditions At Ex-Prison, ICE's Largest Detention Center In California
Men sleep in locked cells every night on bunk beds with thin cotton blankets. They walk in straight lines with hands behind their back to the razor wire-enclosed “yard.” Guards carrying handcuffs pat them down. There are head counts, lockdowns and “segregation” units. California’s newest and largest immigration detention center looks, sounds and feels a lot like a prison. Some say it’s worse. (Uranga, 9/29)

Times of San Diego: Escondido Community Foundation Awards $203K To 9 Nonprofits
Nine local nonprofits will share $203,000 in new grants aimed at supporting seniors in Escondido. The Escondido Community Foundation, an affiliate of the San Diego Foundation, announced the awards during its annual celebration Sept. 25 at Orfila Vineyard and Winery. (Sklar, 9/27)

Times of San Diego: Curebound Cancer Challenge Raises $4M To Fund Research In SD
They rode, ran, walked, and spun with one goal in mind: to fight cancer. More than 3,000 people gathered at UC San Diego for the 2025 Curebound Cancer Challenge, generating $4 million to push life-saving research forward. The Challenge wasn’t just about the miles logged—it was about the community behind them. Cancer patients, survivors, families, and researchers stood side by side, united by a single goal: to help find cures in our lifetimes. (Sklar, 9/27)

Desert Sun: Palm Springs Area Families Can Claim $1,500 For College Via CalKIDS
Across Riverside County and the Coachella Valley, thousands of students qualify for up to $1,500 in CalKIDS scholarships. The state program is designed to help with college and career training costs — yet many accounts remain unclaimed. (Cortez, 9/27)

Bay Area News Group: West Contra Costa Teachers Union: Poor Working Conditions Harm Students
Students are at risk unless West Contra Costa Unified School District leaders make significant changes, argued teachers and staff who are in the middle of negotiating a new contract. (Lopez, 9/29)

The San Diego Union-Tribune: San Diego Police Expanded A Team For Serious Addiction Cases. Success Is Never Guaranteed. 
For the past year, a new group at the San Diego Police Department has devoted its days to residents struggling with drug and alcohol addiction. The Intervention Services Team exists somewhere between social workers and beat cops: The officers can make arrests, but their marching orders are mainly to get people into treatment. (Nelson, 9/29)

Los Angeles Times: UCLA Chancellor Ready To Stand Firm Against Trump Demands, Unless They’re ‘Valid’
UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk says the university will address “valid” concerns of the Trump administration and be “fully compliant” with the law, but will defend the campus against federal civil rights investigations and funding suspensions. In a wide-ranging online appearance Thursday evening hosted by a Los Angeles-based Jewish civic group, Frenk said the University of California was still considering suing the Trump administration over its August demand that UCLA pay a $1.2-billion fine and make sweeping changes in its diversity programs, admissions practices and policies governing international students and gender identity on campus. (Kaleem, 9/26)

The New York Times: Medical Groups Warn Against Visa Fees For Foreign Doctors
The American Medical Association and scores of specialty groups are urging the Trump administration to exempt foreign doctors from steep new fees for H-1B visas, saying the charges will exacerbate physician shortages, worsen patient care and drive up health care costs. Doctors from abroad make up nearly one quarter of the physician work force in the United States. (Caryn Rabin, 9/26)

The San Diego Union-Tribune: President’s Tylenol Statements Make More Work For Already-Busy Doctors
Three San Diego obstetricians interviewed this week said the president’s advice has been on most maternal minds. Reactions have run the gamut from sincere concern to dark humor. Dr. Ronald Salzetti, medical director of women’s health services at Scripps Health and department chair of obstetrics and gynecology at Scripps Clinic, said that his first day seeing patients after Tylenol got Trumped included an encounter with a quite-concerned patient. (Sisson, 9/28)

Bloomberg: Trump Ratchets Up Pressure On Tylenol With Warning For Kids
President Donald Trump on Friday intensified his campaign against Tylenol to include young kids, posting on his Truth Social that parents shouldn’t give children the drug “for virtually any reason” without providing scientific evidence for the claim. Tylenol — and the active ingredient acetaminophen — is safe for young children to use to treat fevers, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Children under 12 weeks old should not be given acetaminophen unless directed by a doctor, the AAP said. (Nix, 9/26)

ABC News: NIH To Spend $50M On Autism Cause Studies, Experts Say US Should Focus On Treatments
In the wake of the White House's announcement on Monday of a potential link between acetaminophen use in pregnancy and autism, the administration also unveiled the launch of the Autism Data Science Initiative (ADSI). Under the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the initiative will award $50 million to about a dozen projects looking at finding the causes of autism and improving outcomes for autistic individuals. (Kekatos, 9/26)

The Conversation: Acetaminophen Use During Pregnancy Not Linked To Autism, Our Study Of 2.5 Million Children Shows 
United States President Donald Trump recently claimed that using the common painkiller acetaminophen (also known as paracetamol and by the brand name Tylenol in the US) during pregnancy is fueling the rise in autism diagnoses. He then went on to suggest pregnant women should “tough it out” rather than use the common painkiller if they experience fever or pain. (Gardner, Lee and Ahlqvist, 9/28)

The Hill: Lawmakers Dig In Heels As Shutdown Deadline Looms
Lawmakers from both parties dug in their heels Sunday over government funding demands ahead of a meeting between President Trump and congressional leaders aimed at averting a shutdown this week. During various interviews on the Sunday political affairs programs, Republican and Democratic leaders signaled that health care subsidies set to expire at the end of the year remain a key sticking point. (Fortinsky, 9/28)

Modern Healthcare: Medicare To Cover Breakthrough Devices Faster Under House Bill
Medicare beneficiaries could get faster access to cutting-edge medical technology as a result of a bill that advanced through the House Ways and Means Committee. The medical device trade association AdvaMed, along with 67 stakeholders including patient advocacy groups and state medtech and life sciences associations, have pushed for the measure. It takes 5.7 years on average for medical devices granted Food and Drug Administration breakthrough device designation to receive Medicare coverage. Private insurers typically follow Medicare’s lead. (Dubinsky, 9/26)

AP: After Massive Shrimp Recalls, The FDA Finds Radioactive Contamination In Spices Too
U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials last week blocked import of all spices from PT Natural Java Spice of Indonesia after federal inspectors detected cesium 137 in a shipment of cloves sent to California. That follows the import alert imposed in August on the company PT Bahari Makmuri Sejati, or BMS foods, which sends millions of pounds of shrimp to the U.S. each year. (Aleccia, 9/26)

CIDRAP: Los Angeles Cat H5N1 Deaths Prompt New Warning About Raw Pet Food
The Los Angeles Department of Public Health (LADPH) yesterday issued an animal health alert, following the severe illnesses and deaths of two indoor-only cats from the same household after eating commercially sold raw pet food. In a statement, county veterinary officials said one of the cats tested positive for highly pathogenic H5N1 that belongs to the B3.13 genotype, which has been circulating in US dairy cows as well as in poultry. The second cat was not available for testing. (Schnirring, 9/26)

Medical Xpress: Inactive H5N1 Influenza Virus In Pasteurized Milk Poses Minimal Health Risks
Proteins and genetic material from H5N1 influenza viruses have been found in pasteurized milk in the United States, but a study from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital shows those inactive viral pieces represent little to no health risk. (9/27)

CIDRAP: US COVID Declining After Reaching Peak
COVID activity has peaked and is now on a downward trend in many regions of the country, though emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations are still elevated, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today in its latest update. The current COVID wave began in June, marked by a slow rise that never approached levels seen last summer. (Schnirring, 9/26)