The Press-Enterprise: Fake Hospital Employee Accused Of Stealing Skin Grafts From Southern California Hospitals
A San Jacinto man who authorities believe masqueraded as an employee at three Southern California hospitals and used insider knowledge to enter secure areas stole $300,000 worth of surgical equipment and skin grafts, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said. (Rokos, 8/13)

Petaluma Argus-Courier: Petaluma, Sonoma High School Students Complete Summer Nursing Certification Program 
More than two dozen students from Casa Grande, Petaluma and Sonoma Valley high schools completed a program this summer that put them a step closer to a career in healthcare. Between June 23 and July 28, the 28 high schoolers participated in a pilot program to become certified nurse assistants, or CNAs – a role that can put them them directly under the supervision of registered nurses in a hospital or similar setting. (Richardson, 8/13)

Becker's Hospital Review: Sutter Health Doubles Early-Stage Lung Cancer Diagnoses
Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health doubled its rate of early-stage lung cancer diagnoses after implementing an AI-powered tracking tool within its Epic EHR. The tool has led to more than 70% of all lung cancer diagnoses to occur during stage 1 or stage 2, according to a July 21 news release from the American Medical Association. (Gregerson, 8/13)

Becker's Hospital Review: Sutter's Path To 100,000 New Patients In 1 Year
One of the biggest challenges for hospitals across the U.S. is adding capacity to serve more patients with a higher degree of quality outcomes. Sacramento-based Sutter Health is cracking the code to care for patient volume growth, and their solution is simple. “The best way to think about growth and value is through the lens of our mission, which is patients first and people always,” said Kiran Mysore, chief data and analytics officer at Sutter Health. (Dyrda, 8/13)

Los Angeles Times: California Providers See 'Chilling Effect' If Trump Ban On Immigrant Benefits Is Upheld
If the Trump administration succeeds in barring undocumented immigrants from federally funded “public benefit” programs, vulnerable children and families across California would suffer greatly, losing access to emergency shelters, vital healthcare, early education and life-saving nutritional support, according to state and local officials who filed their opposition to the changes in federal court. The new restrictions would harm undocumented immigrants but also U.S. citizens — including the U.S.-born children of immigrants and people suffering from mental illness and homelessness who lack documentation — and put intense stress on the state’s emergency healthcare system, the officials said. (Rector, 8/13)

Times of San Diego: San Diego Launches Housing Unit To Address Code Violations, More
The San Diego City Attorney’s Office has established a unit dedicated to various housing issues, from code violations to substandard rental conditions, officials said Wednesday. The Housing Protection and Civil Code Compliance Unit, according to City Attorney Heather Ferbert, aims to ensure that housing in San Diego is “safe, fair, and livable.” (Vigil, 8/13)

Times of San Diego: Sen. Schiff Tours San Diego Food Bank, Sees 'More Hunger' Due To Trump Cuts
Sen. Adam Schiff toured the Jacobs and Cushman San Diego Food Bank warehouse Wednesday to emphasize the “painful” consequences of the recently signed budget bill. The California Democrat emphasized the pressure that food banks may be under with “dramatic” cuts to SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and other food aid. (Stone, 8/13)

Times of San Diego: Medically-Tailored Meal Service Loses $350K In Federal Funding
For the last 35 years, Mama’s Kitchen has provided support to San Diego residents suffering from illnesses through no-cost, medically-tailored meal deliveries. In the last year alone, they’ve served 2,853 individuals 900,026 meals to help those who are ailing and at risk of malnutrition. (Singhai, 8/13)

Voice of San Diego: California Energy Utilities Value Human Life Too Much, Regulators Believe
A Californian’s life was worth $100 million to certain investor-owned utilities. That is, until state regulators ordered them to drop the price. The dollar figure is called the value of a statistical life. In this case, it’s worth spending $100 million to prevent a death according to San Diego Gas and Electric and Pacific Gas and Electric which helps utilities justify certain investments – namely, wildfire prevention. (Elmer, 8/14)

Politico: Trump’s Chief Intervened To Save RFK Jr.’s Top Vaccine Aide 
White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles was behind President Donald Trump’s highly unusual decision last week to rehire a vaccine regulator he’d just fired at the urging of MAGA influencer Laura Loomer. Wiles’ intervention in getting Vinay Prasad’s job back, as described by two senior administration officials granted anonymity to discuss sensitive details, followed pleas from both Prasad’s boss, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary, and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. They insisted that Prasad is part of Kennedy’s broader “make America healthy again” movement and integral to the Trump coalition. (Lim, Burns and Rohn, 8/14)

CBS News: MRNA Technology Could Hold Hope For Fighting Cancer, But Future Is In Doubt Under RFK Jr.
If you think last week's decision by the federal government to halt $500 million in funding for vaccine development projects that use mRNA technology will only affect COVID vaccines, think again. ... The science behind it is also being studied for a wide range of other uses, from fighting cancer to treating autoimmune conditions and more. Health experts have criticized the move to defund this research, pointing to the impact it will have on America's ability to develop breakthroughs against deadly or debilitating diseases. (Moniuszko, 8/13)

MedPage Today: ‘Makes No Sense': Experts Push Back On RFK Jr.’s Doubts About Hepatitis B Vaccine
Public health experts are pushing back against doubts and criticisms about the hepatitis B vaccine spread by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his allies. Since overhauling the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), Kennedy and his supporters have questioned the vaccine's safety and the need for a birth dose. Those assertions could erode public confidence in a vaccine credited with virtually eliminating childhood transmission of the virus in the U.S., health professionals told MedPage Today. (McCreary, 8/13)

The Washington Post: Appeals Court Panel Says Trump Officials Can Withhold Billions In Foreign Aid
A federal appeals court on Wednesday ruled that the Trump administration can withhold tens of billions of dollars in foreign aid, handing the president a significant — if possibly temporary — victory in his push to exercise greater authority over spending mandated by Congress. A panel of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit lifted a federal judge’s preliminary injunction that ordered the Trump administration to appropriate the money for food, medicine and development. The 2-1 ruling came over the sharp objections of the only Democratic-appointed judge on the panel. (Jouvenal, 8/13)

Devex: The Future Of US Foreign Aid
After six months that shook the foundations of U.S. foreign aid, the question now is: Where do we go from here? (Igoe, 8/11)

The New York Times: Trump Administration Scraps Research Into Health Disparities
The federal government has for decades invested vigorously in research aimed at narrowing the health gaps between racial and socioeconomic groups, pouring billions of dollars into understanding why minority and low-income Americans have shorter lives and suffer higher rates of illnesses like cancer and heart disease. Spending on so-called health disparities rose even during the Trump administration’s first term. But in its second, much of the funding has come to a sudden halt. (Caryn Rabin and Hwang, 8/13)

Axios: Trump Orders Stockpiling Of Advanced Drug Ingredients
President Trump on Wednesday ordered his health officials to secure a six-month supply of advanced pharmaceutical ingredients for drugs the administration determines are critical for national health and security. (Bettelheim, 8/14)

Stat: Drugmakers Form New Group To Lobby On Impact Of Medicare Drug Price Negotiation
A handful of drug companies have formed a group to present lawmakers with research on what the industry sees as the negative impacts of Medicare drug price negotiations, according to lobbying records. (Wilkerson, 8/13)