- California Healthline Original Stories 1
- Students With Addictions Immersed In The Sober Life At ‘Recovery’ High Schools
- Sacramento Watch 1
- Pioneering Leader In The Field Of Toxic Stress And Health Tapped As State's New Surgeon General
- Women's Health 1
- 'I’m Not As Much Use In California': Doctors Travel Across State Lines To Combat Abortion Deserts
- Hospital Roundup 1
- County Official Cites California Attorney General's 'Uncaring Approach' For Trying To Block Hospitals Sale
- Around California 2
- Facebook The Latest Private Company To Pledge Millions To Addressing Housing Crisis In Bay Area
- Pacific Gas & Electric Co. Was Not Responsible For 2017 Wildfire That Killed 22, Report Finds
Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Students With Addictions Immersed In The Sober Life At ‘Recovery’ High Schools
At one Seattle public school, students earn their diplomas while attending daily support groups and meeting with counselors to help them stay off drugs and alcohol. There are about 40 similar schools around the country, both public and private, and more are on the drawing board. (Anna Gorman, )
More News From Across The State
Pioneering Leader In The Field Of Toxic Stress And Health Tapped As State's New Surgeon General
The state's surgeon general position was just created by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Newsom’s office said Nadine Burke Harris’ role will be to urge policymakers and leaders across the state to consider how adverse childhood experiences affect people’s health, and focus on ways to combat the lasting negative effects that can follow kids into adulthood.
The California Health Report:
Appointment Of New Surgeon General Puts Spotlight On Early Childhood Adversity
The impact of stress and trauma on people’s physical and mental health looks set to become a central focus of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration in the wake of his appointment of the state’s first surgeon general. This week, Gov. Newsom tapped Nadine Burke Harris to fill the newly created position. Burke Harris is a physician and pioneering leader in the field of toxic stress and health. She founded the San Francisco-based Center for Youth Wellness, an organization that’s working with pediatric clinics nationwide to develop best practices for screening and treating children at risk for toxic stress. She will be sworn in Feb 11. The governor’s press office said Burke Harris was currently not available for interviews. However, in a press release from the Center for Youth Wellness, she praised the governor’s commitment to tackling health issues through the lens of childhood adversity. (Boyd-Barrett, 1/24)
In other news from Sacramento —
Capital Public Radio:
Is Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Juvenile Justice Reform Substantial Or Symbolic? Experts Say It’s A Wait-And-See.
The governor announced this week that he wants to “end juvenile imprisonment in California as we know it” by moving the Division of Juvenile Justice out of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and into the California Health and Human Services Agency. The division expects to oversee 759 youth this year, according to the governor’s office. (Caiola, 1/24)
The California Health Report:
New Year Brings New Gun Control Laws And Signs Of More To Come
Advocates for gun control in California have a lot to celebrate this year as the state enacts a slew of bills aimed at reducing gun violence, and hopes rise that Gov. Gavin Newsom will be more amenable than his predecessor to additional gun reform efforts. More than a dozen new gun laws passed by the state legislature went into effect Jan 1. These include Assembly Bill 1968, which bans people from possessing a firearm for life if they’ve been admitted to a mental health facility multiple times because they’re deemed a danger to themselves or others. (Boyd-Barrett, 1/24)
'I’m Not As Much Use In California': Doctors Travel Across State Lines To Combat Abortion Deserts
There's a great disparity in abortion access in the country. In an attempt to address that imbalance, abortion rights activists created a program in 2016 to match clinics needing doctors with providers who could travel to work. The Los Angeles Times follows one of those doctors.
Los Angeles Times:
60 Hours, 50 Abortions: A California Doctor’s Monthly Commute To A Texas Clinic
The protesters are already positioned when she pulls up in her rental car. One lurches at women approaching the clinic, rosary beads dangling from her outstretched palm. Another hands patients tiny fetus dolls that match their skin color. The doctor tries to ignore them. There are demonstrators at every abortion clinic and they’re all the same, she thinks: a nuisance. In Northern California, where she lives, a man yells, “Don’t take the blood money,” as she arrives at work. At least here, in Dallas, the protesters mostly stay on the sidewalk. The doctor slips inside the mirrored glass doors of the clinic — one of the busiest abortion facilities in the United States. (Karlamangla, 1/24)
In other women's health news —
The Wall Street Journal:
Planned Parenthood Develops Chatbot To Reach More Teens
Planned Parenthood has developed a chatbot that can answer questions about sexual health, part of a larger communications effort by the health-services group to bring sex education to the young masses. The artificial-intelligence-powered tool, created by a design shop that sought guidance from high-school students, comes as the organization defends its role in a country divided on approaches to sex education for teens and issues related to women’s health, such as abortion and government funding for certain health services. (Bruell, 1/24)
Attorney General Xavier Becerra, however, says he has a responsibility to ensure the conditions of the sale are met. “The conditions include the requirement to have an emergency room, inpatient facility beds, intensive care services, and NICU [neonatal intensive care unit]. The Attorney General is fighting to ensure these conditions are enforced," his office said.
San Jose Mercury News:
Attorney General's Attempt To Block Hospital Sales Is About 'Power And Control,' Say County Officials
Santa Clara County officials on Thursday publicly rebuked Attorney General Xavier Becerra for trying to block their purchase of two bankrupt local hospitals. At a press conference, county CEO Jeff Smith accused the attorney general of caring more about maintaining “power and control” over regulations than south county residents’ access to public hospitals. (Vo, 1/24)
Facebook The Latest Private Company To Pledge Millions To Addressing Housing Crisis In Bay Area
The pledge comes after Gov. Gavin Newsom called on the tech companies in the area to do more to combat the crisis. The money will target housing in Silicon Valley and surrounding areas, where a population boom driven by highly paid tech workers has left housing prices out of reach for many lower-paid employees, including teachers, restaurant staff and nurses.
The Wall Street Journal:
Facebook CEO’s Foundation, Firms To Raise $500 Million For San Francisco-Area Housing
Companies and philanthropists in the San Francisco Bay Area, including Facebook Inc. Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg, said they plan to raise $500 million for affordable housing, weeks after California Gov. Gavin Newsom called on the private sector to do more to address the region’s critical shortage of homes. The investment fund, which has raised $260 million so far, aims to help build at least 8,000 homes in five Bay Area counties within the next 10 years, according to its leaders. It also will work to preserve homes at risk of being redeveloped into more expensive properties. (Malas, 1/24)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Bay Area Partnership Seeks To Raise $540 Million To Develop Affordable Housing
A new partnership of Bay Area businesses and foundations is planning to raise $540 million for two funds to help build and preserve affordable and workforce housing, the latest example of major employers taking dramatic steps to try to solve the region’s housing crisis. Partnership for the Bay says it will raise the money to preserve and produce more than 8,000 Bay Area housing units over the next five to 10 years as well as invest in policy and planning that will protect an additional 175,000 vulnerable households. (Dineen, 1/24)
In other news on the crisis —
Los Angeles Times:
L.A. Homeless Count: Seeking Out Hideaways Along An Urban Riverbed
The annual Los Angeles homeless count has come to be defined by legions of volunteers who hit the pavement to help quantify this crisis.But they’re not alone. A small group of Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies join up with outreach workers looking for homeless people in places that are hard to access or might pose a danger to volunteers. (Oreskes, 1/24)
Sacramento Bee:
Sacramento County Program Cutting Homeless Costs, Officials Say
Marcelous Bell, holding his newborn girl in the crook of his arm and with a roof over his head to call his own, is a new man. By his account, at 18, while he was still a senior in high school in Sacramento, his mother kicked him out of his house after a chaotic upbringing. He was always “different” from his family, he said, but once he was finally “exiled,” and his mother was arrested and sent to jail, Bell was lost – “Where do I go from here?” he wondered. (Yoon-Hendricks, 1/25)
Los Angeles Times:
With First Option Off The Table, Costa Mesa Examines Other Sites For Long-Term Homeless Shelter
Costa Mesa officials are looking into alternative sites for a long-term local homeless shelter after learning that a sought-after location is off limits.The City Council directed staff last week to explore the possibility of placing such a facility at 3115 Red Hill Ave., near John Wayne Airport. However, “after further investigating the property, the city has learned that it is no longer an option,” city spokesman Tony Dodero said Thursday. (Money, 1/24)
Pacific Gas & Electric Co. Was Not Responsible For 2017 Wildfire That Killed 22, Report Finds
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection released few details about the source of the Tubbs fire, saying only that it was caused by “a private electrical system adjacent to a residential structure.”
Los Angeles Times:
Private Power Lines, Not PG&E's, Caused Deadly Wine Country Fire, State Says
The 2017 fire that destroyed thousands of homes in Santa Rosa, Calif., and killed 22 people was caused by private power lines, not ones owned by utility giant Pacific Gas & Electric Co., a long-awaited state investigation released Thursday concluded. The finding by Cal Fire marks a bit of good news for the struggling utility as it prepares to file for bankruptcy due to huge potential liabilities related to last year’s Camp fire, which destroyed more than 90% of the town of Paradise and killed at least 86 people. (Serna and Luna, 1/24)
In other news from across the state —
CALmatters:
What It's Like To Live In One Of The Most Polluted Places In California
Imperial County does not meet federal air quality standards, and state officials are working on plans to begin to decrease pollution. Only two other places in California have the same distinction: the San Joaquin Valley and the South Coast Air Basin, which includes most of Los Angeles County (Aguilera, 1/24)
Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
Sonoma County Nonprofit Awards Exceptional Nurses
The foundation’s name is an acronym created by Patrick Barnes’ young wife that stands for Diseases Attacking the Immune System. Today, more than 1.3 million nurses have been nominated for DAISY awards, and 3,000 health care facilities and nursing schools in all 50 states and 20 countries have received the awards for superlative care. Patients nominate the nurses, and care facilities form their own teams to select one winner. Smaller hospitals may honor two a year, while larger hospitals may identify many more. DAISY Award recipients are honored during a ceremony in front of their peers, receiving certificates, DAISY Award pins and serpentine stone sculptures made by artists in Zimbabwe, called “A Healer’s Touch.” (Warren, 1/24)
Why Is January The Deadliest Month For Californians?
More people die in Southern California during January than any other month, and doctors can't draw a straight line to any one cause.
Orange County Register:
The Deadliest Month Of The Year In Southern California? It’s January (And It’s Not Clear Why)
More people die in Southern California during January than any other month, according to CDC data that shows the number of deaths and their causes over the last five years. ...These numbers beg the question: Why are the winter months so dangerous? And why is January the deadliest?
No straight line can be drawn between cause and effect to explain this phenomenon. Yet doctors and medical professionals who see these numbers manifesting in the form of crowded emergency rooms and deceased patients admit: It gets pretty bad in January. (Bharath, 1/24)
In other public health news —
Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
Sebastopol’s Ceres Community Project Sees Food As Medicine
Founded in 2006 by Cathryn Couch, Ceres is a pioneer in the “food as medicine” approach that now is capturing the attention of health professionals, researchers and insurers nationwide. The premise is that medical outcomes and treatment costs of chronically ill, low-income people improve when they receive daily nutritious meals. Over the past 12 years, more than 3,000 Ceres volunteers have helped about 4,000 families, most of whom otherwise wouldn’t have had healthy food, said Couch. ...In the world of public health, people are taking notice, too. Debbie Mason, CEO of the Healthcare Foundation of Northern Sonoma County, said she acutely understands the need sick people have for wholesome and healthy food, and that she appreciates Ceres because the model is one that can be replicated anywhere. (Villano, 1/24)
During a government shutdown, agencies that don't have federal funding can only do work that’s necessary to protect lives or property. Experts suggest that even if the FDA's reserves run dry, the agency can continue to review drugs because certain medical treatments are necessary to people's health. In other shutdown news: food insecurity, wildfires, and a possible light at the end of the tunnel.
Stat:
How The FDA Could Keep Working Without More Funding
Two former Food and Drug Administration lawyers have a creative possibility for how the agency could continue to do some of its work if the shutdown drags on: argue that reviewing certain drugs is essential to protecting people’s lives. Parts of the federal government, including the FDA, have already been shut down for five weeks, and there’s no sign yet that President Trump and congressional leaders are nearing a deal to reopen it. (Swetlitz, 1/25)
CQ:
FDA Shutdown Prompts Call For Short-Term Fix
The Food and Drug Administration’s drug and medical device divisions were supposed to be spared from the brunt of the shutdown’s impact given their reliance on industry-paid fees instead of a government appropriation. But as the shutdown drags on into a second month, the FDA says those divisions are also running out of money — and work to do — and at some point will have to furlough employees that the agency has struggled to recruit and retain in recent years. One concerned industry group wants Congress to consider a short-term solution if it can’t pass any spending bills. (Siddons, 1/24)
CNN:
The Shutdown Could Make The Next Wildfire Season Worse
There's been a blizzard this week in Utah, and still, State Forester Brian Cottam is preoccupied with forest fires. Usually, he and his team would be making plans with the federal government to help prevent fires. Even once the snow lets up, though, he's not sure when he'll get back to work with his federal colleagues. Fire prevention is a collaborative effort with local, state and federal agencies and private landowners -- and it's being held up because of the federal government shutdown. (Christensen, 1/24)
The Washington Post:
Trump Says Grocery Stores, Banks Will Give Furloughed Workers A Break During Shutdown
President Trump suggested Thursday that grocery stores and banks will give a break to the 800,000 federal workers who are without pay due to the partial government shutdown. Trump was responding to a question about comments Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross made hours earlier. Ross had prompted a wave of criticism after he claimed not to understand why furloughed workers were visiting food banks and suggested they take out a loan to cover their lost wages. (Sonmez, 1/24)
CNN:
What An Ongoing Government Shutdown Means For School Lunch
Concern is mounting across the country over whether the government shutdown might have an effect on school lunches. The US Department of Agriculture's child nutrition programs -- which provide low-cost or free school meals to children in need -- are fully funded through the end of March, according to a tweet from USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue on Friday. (Howard, 1/24)
Politico:
‘We’re Talking’: McConnell And Schumer Attempt To Defuse Shutdown
Chuck Schumer emerged from Mitch McConnell’s office after a 30-minute meeting on Thursday afternoon bearing a wide grin. “We’re talking,” the Senate minority leader said as he walked back to his office. After five weeks of mostly radio silence, with Washington reeling from the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, the two party leaders are finally in a room together. (Everett, 1/25)
The group behind the ad is the Partnership for America’s Health Care Future, whose members include major industry players such as America’s Health Insurance Plans and PhRMA. The video is part of a five-figure ad buy over the next three weeks, as part of a larger six-figure effort that will continue through the year, the group said.
The Hill:
Health Care Industry Group Launches Digital Ads Against 'Medicare For All'
A health care industry group on Thursday launched a digital ad campaign against "Medicare for all," as health care companies ramp up their efforts to fight the idea gaining ground on the left. “Whether it’s called Medicare for all, single-payer or a public option, a one-size-fits-all health care system will mean all Americans have less choice and control over their doctors, treatments and coverage,” states the two-and-a-half minute video, which will run as a digital ad on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. (Sullivan, 1/24)
In other national health care news —
The Washington Post:
CDC: Nearly 2 Percent Of High School Students Identify As Transgender — And More Than One-Third Of Them Attempt Suicide
Nearly 2 percent of high school students in the United States identify as transgender, according to data published Thursday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ... Amit Paley, chief executive and executive director of the Trevor Project, the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ youth, called the report’s findings “groundbreaking.” (Strauss, 1/24)
Nashville Tennessean:
Superintendent Allegedly Used Own Insurance To Help Sick Student
An Indiana school superintendent who allegedly used her own insurance to help a sick student faces multiple charges including insurance fraud. Casey Smitherman — superintendent of Elwood Community Schools in Elwood, Indiana — was booked on charges of insurance fraud, identity deception and official misconduct on Wednesday and later released on bail, according to court records. Smitherman says the charges come after she recently went to the home of a student who had missed school and saw he had symptoms of strep throat. After the student was refused treatment at a clinic, she took him to another one, this time saying he was her son. (Shannon, 1/24)
Stat:
Whistleblower Hits Justice Department Move To Dismiss Nurse Educator Lawsuits
The company that filed nearly a dozen lawsuits alleging drug makers devised schemes in which nurses were used illegally to promote medicines and boost prescriptions has filed blistering responses to a federal government effort to dismiss the cases. In court filings, the National Health Care Analysis Group took the U.S. Department of Justice to task for misunderstanding the issues raised in its whistleblower lawsuits, maintained the government never fully investigated the allegations, and suggested a conflict of interest in the Executive Branch may have influenced the decision to have the cases tossed. (Silverman, 1/24)
Stat:
Lawsuit Involving Gawande Venture Raises A Question: Who Counts As A Threat?
Before last month, David W. Smith was a midlevel executive at the sprawling health services company Optum. He’d never met the company’s CEO, according to a sworn affidavit, or cracked into a senior leadership team that includes about 200 people. He was basically a strategy consultant. But on Dec. 11, he became an existential threat. He took a job working for a nascent competitor, the health venture formed by Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JPMorgan Chase & Co and helmed by Dr. Atul Gawande. (Ross and Sheridan, 1/25)
Viewpoints: Newsom's Ambitious Health Plans Are A Big Step Forward To Fixing Broken System
A selection of opinions on health care developments from around the state.
The Mercury News:
While Trump Tweets, Newsom Leads On Health Care
While President Trump and congressional Republicans roll back national progress toward universal health care, Gov. Gavin Newsom proposes changes to improve health outcomes, reduce the number of uninsured Californians and lower prescription drug prices. Newsom’s strategy puts him on a path to fulfill his campaign promises for universal health care and lower drug costs in California. (1/22)
Los Angeles Times:
Gov. Newsom’s Healthcare Initiatives Will Test What A Single State Can Achieve On Its Own
Gov. Gavin Newsom set down a marker for his administration’s approach to healthcare policy on its very first day, when he unveiled a strikingly comprehensive package of reform proposals aimed at improving access to care and lowering its costs. ... Newsom’s proposals thrilled healthcare advocates inside and outside the state, as they should. (Michael Hiltzik, 1/18)
Los Angeles Times:
California Has Gone Crazy For Sketchy Stem Cell Treatments
In case you haven’t noticed, stem cell clinics are popping up everywhere. There are hundreds across the country, especially in California. The clinics peddle “vegan stem cell facials” or “stem cell vaginal rejuvenations” and claim the miracle cells can treat autism, baldness, dementia, diabetes, arthritis and paralysis all with a quick injection. If it sounds too good to be true, it is. There is no good scientific evidence the pricey treatments work, and there is growing evidence that some are dangerous, causing blindness, tumors and paralysis. Medical associations, the federal government and even Consumer Reports have all issued stern warnings to patients about the clinics. (Usha Lee McFarling, 1/23)
McClatchy:
New Home Building Is Once Again A California Value
Gov. Gavin Newsom wants 2019 to go down in history as the year the middle class started to return to California. How might that happen? By addressing the housing crisis. Newsom has come out of the gate with the audacious goal of constructing 3.5 million new housing units in the state by 2025. To do that, more than 378,000 homes would need to be built every year statewide — quadruple the current rate of construction. The last time that many homes were built in California in one year was 1954, according to the Los Angeles Times. (1/18)
Sacramento Bee:
Making Connections Helps Healing Process For Homeless
Housing is essential to solving homelessness. That’s obvious. But a lasting solution starts with creating connections. Perhaps this isn’t so surprising when we understand that most homeless situations start a downward spiral precisely because of disconnections. (David J. Silveira, 1/22)
The Mercury News:
Partnership Aims To Ease Bay Area Housing Crisis
Vibrant, innovative and diverse, the Bay Area attracts talented people from all over the world. The future is invented here. But the region’s remarkable successes have created undeniable — and unavoidable — problems. Gentrification makes housing less affordable and less accessible. Infrastructure improvements have not kept pace with need. Public policies and plans to deal with these challenges have failed to deliver. People across the region pay almost three times as much of their income on housing compared to the national average. That’s unacceptable. It puts our future at risk. (Elliot Schrage and Maurice Jones, 1/25)
San Francisco Chronicle:
SF’s $185 Million Windfall Should Go To Housing And Homelessness
In the coming weeks, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors will deliberate on how to spend $185 million of discretionary funding that’s a part of the $415 million windfall from newly available property tax revenue. These funds should be focused on the No. 1 priority for our city — homelessness, housing and clean and safe streets. (Juliana Bunim, 1/21)
The Mercury News:
Health Impact Of Tear Gas At The Border Staggering
Images of mothers running with their children — some of whom do not even have shoes on their feet — away from the militarized border lingered in our collective memory as agents fired tear gas at teenagers and toddlers earlier this month. ... A recent review of case studies and epidemiological studies confirmed that tear gas agents can cause lung, skin, eye, cardiovascular and gastrointestinal injuries and issues, including choking and vomiting of blood. (Amber Akemi Piatt, 1/24)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Newsom Needs To Make Water Supply, Protections A Priority
Water issues are notoriously difficult for California governors. Just look at former Gov. Jerry Brown’s floundering tunnels proposal for the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. Yet two factors suggest that Gov. Gavin Newsom must make water a priority. First, California needs more climate-resistant water supplies. Climate change is making California’s weather more extreme. For the past decade, most years have brought drought or the risk of catastrophic floods. (George Miller, 1/23)