california test–do not use
Becker's Hospital Review:
Sutter California Surgery Center To Close
Sacramento-based Sutter Health plans to close its Jackson, Calif.-based Sutter Amador Surgery Center on Oct. 3. In an open letter to the community, obtained by Becker’s, Sutter Amador Hospital CEO Michael Cureton, Sutter Amador Surgery Center’s ambulatory services administrator, Branden Nelson, and the surgery center’s executive of operations, Johnny Russell, said the outpatient surgery center closure will help “align resources with areas of growing need” in the community it serves. (Ashley, 8/21)
Becker's Hospital Review:
Sutter Medical Center Taps Nurse CEO
Megan Gillespie, DNP, RN, has been named CEO of Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Medical Center. Dr. Gillespie has spent nearly 25 years in healthcare leadership roles, most recently as CEO of Sutter Santa Rosa (Calif.) Regional Hospital. She stepped into that position in October 2023, where she led measurable improvements in patient satisfaction and safety outcomes. (Cerutti, 8/19)
Becker's Hospital Review:
Sutter Health Launches Systemwide AI Imaging Upgrade
Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health has begun deploying AI-powered imaging equipment across its network, eight months after announcing a partnership with GE HealthCare. The seven-year Care Alliance is one of GE HealthCare’s largest enterprise strategic partnerships, according to a news release from the company. It aims to expand access to advanced imaging technologies, speed diagnostic scan times and standardize equipment across more than 300 Sutter facilities. (Jeffries, 8/15)
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)
Becker's Hospital Review:
$30M Gift Fuels New Sutter Health Cancer Center
Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health has received a $30 million gift to establish a new cancer center in Santa Cruz, Calif. The Jean and E. Floyd Kvamme Advanced Cancer Center, expected to open in 2030, is part of a larger $50 million effort to “revolutionize cancer care and research” for Sutter Health’s community, according to an Aug. 14 news release from the health system. (Gregerson, 8/19)
KQED:
Kaiser To Lay Off Nearly 25% Of Outpatient Nurses In San Rafael
Nurses at Kaiser Permanente’s outpatient clinics in San Rafael are raising concerns about potential delays to patient care as the company plans to lay off nearly a quarter of nurses working there. The 41 registered nurses and nurse practitioners who would be laid off work in 14 departments, including prenatal care, dermatology and medical procedures, according to the California Nurses Association. (Vasquez, 8/20)
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)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
$80 Million Federal Grant Bolsters Research At UCSD
Announced Thursday morning, it is the fourth consecutive Clinical and Translational Science Award received by the Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute at UCSD and the largest such award to date. Translational science is a relatively new discipline that attempts to speed up the process of using new discoveries to treat patients. (Sisson, 8/14)
LAist:
A Look Inside The 100-Year-Old Campus Where LA County Plans To Bring Dozens Of Mental Health Beds
Los Angeles County is making progress on bringing dozens of new mental health beds and supportive housing units to the expansive Metropolitan State Hospital campus in Norwalk. Run by the state, the psychiatric hospital opened in 1916 and at its peak housed thousands of patients. These days there are only about 800 patients there. With its 162 acres, tree-lined pathways, and boarded up buildings, the place looks like an abandoned city. (Garrova, 8/17)
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)
Bay Area News Group:
Alameda Health System Confronts ‘Nuclear Option’ Budget After Medicaid Cuts
When congressional Republicans finalized the details of President Donald Trump’s budget bill in July, Alameda Health System CEO James Jackson’s worst fears were realized — the bill called for a $1 trillion cut to Medicaid that would undermine the hospital’s primary revenue stream. (Hunter, 8/19)
East Bay Times:
Kaiser Permanente Retreat On Gender-Affirming Care Called ‘Denial Of Basic Humanity’
Waving a transgender pride flag, Diego Vasquez stood outside Kaiser Permanente’s Los Angeles hospital at a solidarity march for trans youth, shouting “trans lives matter.” He has received gender-affirming care treatments since age 22 and only regrets not being able to access care earlier. (Crosnoe, Ivie, and Vergara, 8/18)
Becker's Hospital Review:
UC San Diego CMO, Oncologist Named President-Elect Of Medical Society
UC San Diego (Calif.) Health’s chief medical officer, and breast and gynecologic cancer radiation oncologist, Catheryn Yashar, MD, has been appointed president-elect of the American Society for Radiation Oncology. Dr. Yashar currently serves as health policy council chair for ASTRO, a medical professional organization representing more than 10,000 physicians, medical physicists, biologists and radiation therapists internationally, according to an Aug. 19 news release from UC San Diego Health. (Gregerson, 8/20)
The Desert Sun:
31 Hospitals In California Have A One Star Rating From A Federal Health Agency
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has assigned an Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating to over 200 hospitals in California, revealing how health care facilities perform across key metrics related to mortality, readmission, and more. (Barraza, 8/20)
CalMatters:
California Cities Lack Unified Response On Homeless Encampments
Clearing an encampment is one of the most complicated and fraught tasks any California city can take on when responding to homelessness. How they handle that challenge varies widely. CalMatters asked nearly three-dozen cities and counties throughout California for copies of their encampment management policies. Responses spanned a wide range, highlighting the lack of a unified strategy to address street homelessness across the state, even as Gov. Gavin Newsom is pushing for more cohesive rules. (Kendall, 8/21)
The Wall Street Journal:
San Francisco Has Embraced A New Tool To Clear Homeless Camps
Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court granted cities more power to penalize people for sleeping outside, handing city leaders a new tool with which to clear homeless people from the streets. Since then, San Francisco has been among the most aggressive in wielding it. Between July 2024 and July 2025, the city arrested or cited more than 1,080 people on illegal-lodging charges, over 10 times the number of illegal-lodging arrests during the same period a year earlier. In April 2025, illegal-lodging citations and arrests hit 130, the most in a single month since the Supreme Court’s ruling. (Grether, 8/16)
Berkeleyside:
Berkeley Hands Over Street With Homeless Encampment To Bayer
A plan for the city to give a portion of a West Berkeley street to Bayer is stirring anxiety for the residents of a homeless encampment on the block, who fear the pharmaceutical giant will soon move to evict them. The Berkeley City Council signed off last month on a deal to turn over a roughly 380-foot-long section of Carleton Street, on a dead-end block just west of Seventh Street, to Bayer. The company already owns the properties on both sides of the street, and the agreement is similar to ones Bayer has struck to acquire other portions of the formerly public right of way that runs through its 46-acre campus. (Savidge, 8/15)
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)
KQED:
San José Begins Clearing Columbus Park, The City’s Biggest Homeless Encampment
Under a bright morning sun, garbage trucks, tow trucks and law enforcement poured into San José’s Columbus Park on Monday. Crews of city workers wearing bright vests began taping off sections of sidewalk, raking up piles of debris and trash, disassembling tents and even ripping microwaves, solar panels and other materials out of RVs. Monday morning marked the zero hour for what city officials say is a three-month plan to completely clear out the more than 100 RVs, many more tents and other forms of soft shelter from the park, where hundreds of people have lived for years. (Geha, 8/19)
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)
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)
Voice of San Diego:
Can We Keep People From Falling Into Homelessness?
San Diego’s homelessness crisis has spiked over the past decade as hundreds of San Diegans lose their homes each month. The region could step up preventive measures over the next two decades and significantly reduce that suffering. What the region likely can’t do: fully stem the tide of people falling into homelessness without drastic changes to the housing market and federal policies outside the bounds of local control. (Halverstadt, 8/21)
KVPR:
Non-Profits Worry As Trump White House Cuts Public Spending
Nearly 400 non-profits in the San Joaquin Valley received funding from local, state or federal government agencies in 2023. More than 60% of those same organizations would be operating in the red if all that funding were to disappear. That’s based on new analysis by the Urban Institute and the Associated Press, which have revealed the scale of the impact as the federal government moves away from supporting nonprofit organizations nationally. (Klein, 8/20)
Los Angeles Times:
Trump Cut Mental Health Funding For Kids. These L.A. Teens Are Stepping In
There are a lot of reasons why people reach out to Teen Line, a Century City-based hotline that connects young people in crisis to trained teenage volunteers. ... At the heart of almost every call, text or email is the same cry of pain: Nobody is listening.So the teenagers on the receiving end do what they wish adults would make time for more often, the thing nobody seems to be doing enough of these days: They listen. (Purtill, 8/16)
Los Angeles Times:
Homeless People In Detention Camps? Fears Grow About Trump And Olympics
Local officials and advocates for the homeless are fearful that President Trump will take draconian action against homeless people, including pushing them into detention camps, when Los Angeles hosts the Olympic Games in 2028. In recent weeks, Trump has appointed himself head of an Olympics task force and has seized control of local policing in Washington, D.C., declaring that homeless people will be given places to stay “FAR from the Capital.” (Khouri, 8/14)
Fresnoland:
Just Over Half Of Fresno County Residents Affected By Medicaid Cuts
In Fresno County, about 52% of residents — more than half a million people — rely on Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program. According to a Fresnoland review of state health data, Fresno has the third-highest Medi-Cal enrollment rate out of all 58 California counties. California and the federal government have approved major health care cuts that could reverse more than a decade of expanded coverage, hitting low-income, immigrant and rural communities hardest. (Medina, 8/14)
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)
KVPR:
Kern County Supervisors Agree To Investigate CPS Following Genesis Mata’s Death
Kern County supervisors on Tuesday unanimously agreed to launch an investigation into the county’s child protective services (CPS) agency. The resolution follows the gruesome death of 8-year-old Genesis Mata earlier this month, which her family says could have been prevented if CPS had taken action earlier. Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting included nearly an hour of public comment about CPS. Many residents claimed the agency failed to act on abuse, while others claimed it wrongly tore children away from safe families. (Klein, 8/19)
Times of San Diego:
North SD Caregivers Nominated For National “Spirit Of Caring” Award
Griswold Home Care for North San Diego said that two of its care partners, Sanjay Patel and Fidelia Underwood, have been nominated for the Home Care Association of America’s 2025 Caregiver of the Year – Spirit of Caring Award. Both have earned perfect client satisfaction ratings and are recognized for helping prevent caregiver burnout, reduce family stress, and avoid unnecessary out-of-home placements — work that supports the mission of the San Diego Regional Center, according to a news release. (Sklar, 8/19)
Times of San Diego:
SD Foundation Awards $500K For Youth Mental Health Access
The San Diego Foundation has awarded $500,000 in grants to nine nonprofits expanding mental health services for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander youth and young people aged 15–24 in San Diego County. ... The grants will support programs that provide mental health screening, treatment, and supportive interventions; build intergenerational connections; create leadership and mentorship opportunities for youth; and offer educational resources to reduce stigma and increase access to care. (Sklar, 8/16)
Voice of OC:
OC Supervisors Reject Fire Authority Ambulance Plan, Pick Private Contractor
Orange County Supervisors opted to keep their ambulance contractor despite calls from the OC Fire Authority’s Fire Chief and firefighters union to give the county’s largest firefighting agency the chance to handle more medical calls. It’s the second debate county supervisors have had in two months over how their staff review contracts after they rejected their executives’ recommendation and picked a different therapy contractor onboard last month. (Biesiada, 8/19)
Los Angeles Times:
California Plague Case Believed To Be Caused By South Lake Tahoe Flea
A South Lake Tahoe resident has tested positive for the plague — yes, the same pest-transmitted disease estimated to have killed 25 million Europeans in the Middle Ages. It is believed that the person contracted the rare and dangerous disease after being bitten by an infected flea while camping in the South Lake Tahoe area, according to El Dorado County health officials. The patient is under the care of a medical professional and recovering at home, health officials said. (Harter, 8/19)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Berkeley Cut Junk Food From Grocery Checkouts. Results Were Striking
A first-in-the nation ordinance adopted by Berkeley to limit sugar and sodium in food and drinks sold near grocery checkout lines appears to be working, according to a new study by UC Davis researchers. Berkeley in 2021 enacted a policy that requires checkout products at large food stores to contain no more than 5 grams of added sugar and 200 milligrams of sodium — effectively replacing soda and candy with healthier foods like nuts, fruit, vegetables and unsweetened drinks near checkout lines, where shoppers often make impulse purchases. (Ho, 8/15)
Los Angeles Times:
COVID-19 Surges Nationwide — And The Highest Rates Are In California
COVID-19 rates in the Southwestern United States reached 12.5% — the highest in the nation — according to new data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released this week. Meanwhile, Los Angeles County recorded the highest COVID levels in its wastewater since February. The spike, thanks to the new highly contagious “Stratus” variant, comes as students across California return to the classroom, now without a CDC recommendation that they receive updated COVID shots. That change in policy, pushed by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has been criticized by many public health experts. (Haggerty, 8/16)
The Mercury News:
Hepatitis B, Liver Cancer A Bay Area Health Tragedy ‘Hidden In Plain Sight’
James Kang moved to Milpitas from South Korea in his early 20s with his parents and younger sibling, to a diverse community that included Korean churches, grocers, restaurants, media and traditional medicine practitioners. Eventually, acupuncturists detected potential liver trouble. “I ignored it, just like I ignored the knowledge that it would be better all around not to drink,” Kang, now in his 60s, said in Korean. (Jung, 8/18)
Bay Area Reporter:
SF Mpox Cases Rising, Most Cases Among Those Vaxxed
Cases of mpox are rising again in San Francisco, according to an announcement from the city’s public health department August 14. Most are in people who have gotten vaccinated against the virus and their symptoms are mild, reported local health officials. “Since late June 2025, 14 San Francisco residents have been diagnosed with mpox, which is an increase from an average of ~1 diagnosis per month from January-May 2025,” an email stated. “A summer and fall increase in mpox cases has occurred in San Francisco since 2022, which may be associated with larger events and summer and fall gatherings.” (Ferrannini, 8/14)
The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat:
Sebastopol Man Dies From ‘Sporadic Case’ Of Legionnaires’ Disease
An elderly Sebastopol man has died after contracting Legionnaires’ disease, a serious form of pneumonia caused by the Legionella bacteria, Sonoma County health officials said Friday morning. County Interim Health Officer Karen Smith said the death is being investigated as a “sporadic case,” meaning it is considered an isolated incident, not an outbreak. (Espinoza and Windsor, 8/15)
Los Angeles Times:
California Valley Fever Cases Hit Record Highs Again In 2025
The latest California numbers suggest 2025 will be another record-smashing year for valley fever, the illness linked to drought and precipitation and spread by fungal spores. There were 6,761 cases reported through the end of July, according to state health officials — a significant increase over the 10-year average of 3,833 for that same time period and a slight jump from last year’s total of 6,364. The 10-year low was in 2016, when there was less than a quarter of what there is now. (Rust, 8/15)
Los Angeles Times:
'Ketamine Queen' To Plead Guilty To Federal Charges, Selling Drug That Killed Matthew Perry
A drug dealer dubbed the “Ketamine Queen” has agreed to plead guilty to five federal criminal charges, including that she provided the drug that ultimately led actor Matthew Perry to suffer a fatal overdose in October 2023, federal prosecutors announced Monday. Jasveen Sangha, 42, also admitted in her plea agreement to selling four vials of ketamine to Cody McLaury in August 2019. McLaury, 33, died hours later in his Los Angeles home from a drug overdose that included ketamine. (Winton, 8/18)
The New York Times:
Wildfire Fighters, Unmasked In Toxic Smoke, Are Getting Sick And Dying
The smoke from the wildfires that burned through Los Angeles in January smelled like plastic and was so thick that it hid the ocean. Firefighters who responded developed instant migraines, coughed up black goo and dropped to their knees, vomiting and dizzy. Seven months later, some are still jolted awake by wheezing fits in the middle of the night. One damaged his vocal cords so badly that his young son says he sounds like a supervillain. Another used to run a six-minute mile and now struggles to run at all. (Dreier, 8/17)
Sonoma Index-Tribune:
Sonoma County, Other California Fire Agencies Scrambling To Find New Health Insurance After Coverage Canceled
Six Sonoma County fire agencies are among about 40 fire districts statewide that are searching for new employee health insurance coverage after the consortium that has provided their medical benefits opted to end its health care program due to higher-than-anticipated premiums for the coming year. (Beer, 8/14)
San Francisco Chronicle:
New Moms Are Turning To Psychedelics For Mental Health Help
Maci Philitas is deep underwater. Diving in the inky abyss, she finds a brown treasure chest. She opens it. Inside are four framed photographs. Philitas and her husband laughing, listening to her brother giving a toast at their wedding. Her parents and in-laws getting married. And a family photo: Philitas, her husband and their two young sons. She holds the photos, feeling suspended in time. She leaves them inside the chest, far beneath the water, for safekeeping. In reality, Philitas was lying on a couch with a face mask covering her eyes in a pale blue room at the NYU Langone Health Center for Psychedelic Medicine in Manhattan. (Kadvany, 8/18)
Bay Area News Group:
Bill To Remove Ultra-Processed Foods From School Meals Set For Hearing In California Senate
A bill that would make California the first in the nation to phase out “particularly harmful” ultra-processed foods from the 1 billion school meals served in the state each year faces a key Senate committee hearing next week as critics question how far it might go in striking popular and seemingly healthy items like yogurt and granola bars from the lunch menu. (Jung, 8/20)
CalMatters:
In 2026, Covered California Rates Will Jump 10%
Californians who get their health insurance through the state’s marketplace will see premiums increase by an average of 10.3% next year. Covered California officials on Thursday announced the first double-digit rate increase since 2018, saying it represents a “confluence” of factors putting upward pressure on the market. (Hwang, 8/15)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Californians Could See Higher Health Insurance Premiums In 2026
Health insurance premiums for Californians buying coverage through Covered California will rise by an average of 10.3% in 2026, the state marketplace announced Thursday. Officials warned that costs could climb even higher if Congress allows enhanced federal subsidies to expire at the end of next year. The projected increase — up from a 7.9% hike in 2025 — is driven largely by rising medical and prescription drug costs. (Vaziri, 8/14)