Becker's Hospital Review: Cedars-Sinai Expands Lung Care Capacity Amid Wildfires
Cedars-Sinai is preparing for a surge in patients with respiratory issues as wildfires continue to burn in Los Angeles County. ... Heavy smoke and poor air quality are expected to aggravate symptoms for people with airway diseases, such as asthma, pulmonary fibrosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Cedars-Sinai said its pulmonologists are expanding their clinic schedules to meet the anticipated demand for care. (Bean, 1/10)

Modern Healthcare: LA Wildfires Force Kaiser Permanente, Providence, Others To Close Facilities
Southern California wildfires have forced health systems to close outpatient facilities throughout the area, limiting access to care. Dozens of fires surrounded Los Angeles County this week, scorching around 40,000 acres and destroying more than 10,000 homes, vehicles and businesses over a four-day span as of Friday morning, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The largest wildfires, Palisades and Eaton, are less than 10% contained, the agency estimates. (Kacik, 1/10)

KTLA: HHS Declares Public Health Emergency For California Wildfires 
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declared a public health emergency for California on Friday to address the health impacts of the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles County. The declaration provides greater flexibility for Medicare and Medicaid providers and suppliers, enabling them to address emergency health needs, officials said. HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra made the announcement, following President Biden’s major disaster declaration. (Schlepp, 1/10)

Axios: The Psychological Toll Of California's Catastrophic Fires
Entire neighborhoods in Southern California have been destroyed by deadly wildfires, displacing communities that don't know what — if anything — they'll have to return to. Researchers have linked wildfires to long-lasting anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder in survivors, in addition to the well-documented physical toll. (Rubin, 1/12)

Los Angeles Times: With Food, Supplies Or Hugs, Volunteers Show Fire Victims They're Not Alone
Her Calabasas home is wedged between two major fires that have devastated Los Angeles County, and she can see water-dropping helicopters through the windows. The slightest change in the wind could have life-altering consequences. Yet when she awoke Friday, this registered nurse drove through the haze and smoke to Pasadena to help people who have been displaced by another fire, the deadly Eaton blaze. (Baxter, 1/11)

Los Angeles Times: A List Of Free And Discounted Resources For Victims Of Los Angeles-Area Fires
In the face of the unprecedented disaster, national companies, local businesses, nonprofits, individuals and communities are coming together to provide resources, supplies and services for free or at discounted rates for victims of the emergency. Here is a list of offerings for fire victims in and around Los Angeles County. (Garcia, 1/10)

The Press-Enterprise: Could Donald Trump Withhold Wildfire Aid From California? 
As wind-swept fires ravage Southern California, the winds of political change could snuff out the state’s hopes for recovering quickly from future natural disasters. (Horseman, 1/12)

Bloomberg: Los Angeles Wildfire Smoke Adds Billions To Healthcare Costs
Los Angeles has experienced some of the world’s worst air quality this week as smoke from massive wildfires blankets the region and threatens the health of far more people than the fires themselves. And that will end up adding to the economic toll. Almost 180,000 have been forced to flee their homes and at least 10,000 structures have been destroyed or damaged. The fires are projected to cause $20 billion in insured losses, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co analysts. That damage projection doesn’t even factor in the likely high health impacts of the smoke, which cause an estimated billions in hidden health-linked costs in the US annually. (Hirji, 1/10)

The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat: Petaluma Residents Were Unable To Call 911 Due To AT&T Issue 
Due to an issue with AT&T service on Sunday, some Petaluma residents were unable to call 911, according to authorities. (Minkler, 1/12)

CBS News: Prospect Medical Holdings Files For Bankruptcy After Owners Took Hundreds Of Millions In Payouts
A Los Angeles-based company that owns more than a dozen hospitals in four states filed for bankruptcy late Saturday night, the second major system acquired by private equity to collapse in less than a year. In an initial filing seeking Chapter 11 protections, Prospect Medical Holdings, which owns facilities in California, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, listed debts of more than $400 million. In a press release announcing its restructuring, the company said it would continue to operate as normal. (Kaplan, 1/12)

Stat: Top Health Insurers Bow Out Of J.P. Morgan Conference In San Francisco
Cigna and Centene have bowed out of this year’s J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, a possible sign that leaders of large health care companies are looking to avoid public appearances in light of the assassination of a high-profile executive last month. (Herman, 1/13)

San Francisco Chronicle: Former SF Walgreens Now Supermarket. Here's Why More Remain Empty
Over the last six years Walgreens and CVS have shuttered, or announced plans to do so, more than 35 stores in San Francisco. From Ingleside to the Marina to Union Square to the Bayview to Potrero Hill to the Mission, almost no neighborhood — rich or poor, busy or sleepy — has been spared from the axe the drug chains’ corporate decision makers have taken to their once sprawling real estate holdings. (Dineen, 1/13)

Becker's Hospital Review: Co-CEOs Outline Vision For Merged California System
Following the merger of Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego and Orange, Calif.-based Children's Hospital of Orange County to form Rady Children's Health, the three-hospital system's co-CEOs, Kimberly Cripe and Patrick Frias, MD, are ready to hit the ground running as a dynamic duo. ... Becker's connected with Ms. Cripe and Dr. Frias to learn more about their post-merger plans and how they plan to work hand-in-hand to ensure seamless integration. (Ashley, 1/10)

Becker's Hospital Review: 100 Great Neuro And Spine Programs | 2024
Becker's is excited to unveil its list of standout hospitals and health systems recognized for excellence in neuroscience and spine programs. These programs [including several in California] are celebrated for their exceptional patient outcomes, advanced surgical techniques and groundbreaking research. They boast visionary leaders, top-tier specialists, robust research initiatives and pioneering clinical trials. Many institutions on this list have received prestigious accolades for spine and neuroscience care from organizations such as U.S. News & World Report, Newsweek and Healthgrades. (Falvey, 1/10)

Axios: Hospitals Balk At Biden Cybersecurity Upgrade
A sweeping update of federal security standards to better protect patient data against cyberattacks is drawing pushback from health systems, who say it's unworkable and too expensive. With the effects of the massive Change Healthcare attack still resonating and increasingly sophisticated attacks hitting hospitals, there's concern about a one-size-fits-all approach and how smaller and financially strapped facilities can adapt. (Reed, 1/13)

San Diego Union-Tribune: El Cajon Allows Successful Cabin Program For Homeless To Continue 
A program to provide homeless women and children temporary shelter in small cabins at an El Cajon church has resulted in most clients finding permanent housing over the past two years and has the city’s blessing to continue indefinitely. (Warth, 1/13)

The Washington Post: Billed As Nonaddictive, New Pain Pill Could Soon Win FDA Approval
The long quest for powerful non-opioid drugs that treat pain without risk of addiction is nearing a milestone, in the form of a pill that could soon win approval from the Food and Drug Administration. If successful, the drug developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals would offer a possible alternative to potent prescription painkillers such as oxycodone, which was once heavily marketed by drug companies and fueled an epidemic of dependency and death. (Gilbert and Ovalle, 1/13)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Palomar Health Board To Consider Major Bylaws Changes Monday
Palomar Health directors are expected to meet Monday evening to consider revising their bylaws — the document that governs all aspects of the public health care district’s operation. Adopting the changes would enshrine Mesa Rock Healthcare Management’s role in the strategic operation of the financially troubled organization with hospitals in Escondido and Poway. (Sisson, 1/11)

KVPR: Chronic Disease, Food Insecurity Among Kings County Health Priorities In New Report
Chronic disease, maternal and infant health, and food insecurity are among the priorities the Kings County Department of Public Health has put in its sights for the next five years. They’re part of the county’s first-ever multiyear Community Health Improvement Plan, which aims to tackle major public health issues over a period from 2024 to 2028. (Klein, 1/10)

The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat: Corporate Elder Care Is Harming Patients, Advocates Say 
In a deposition for a lawsuit brought against the owners of Healdsburg Senior Living Community for elder neglect and wrongful death — a claim the business eventually settled for $2.5 million — Pacifica Companies president Deepak Israni was asked why his company first decided to get into elder care in the mid-2000s. (Barber and Espinoza, 1/10)

San Diego Union-Tribune: ‘Filthy’ And ‘Deplorable’: San Diego Jails Fall Short Of Minimum Health Standards, Expert Says In Lawsuit 
San Diego County Sheriff’s Office policy requires weekly sanitation and hygiene inspections at its jails, but a report by an environmental health specialist, hired by attorneys suing over jail conditions, questions whether that policy is being followed. (Davis, 1/13)

Los Angeles Times: Harvard Study Suggests Tactic For U.S. Jails To Reduce Inmate Deaths
County jails may be able to improve access to medical care and lower death rates behind bars through healthcare accreditation, according to new research by Harvard University economists — but the process still leaves inmates frustrated by low standards of care. The Harvard study shared with The Times looked at 44 midsize jails across the country and found those that earned accreditation from the nonprofit National Commission on Correctional Health Care saw a 93% lower monthly death rate than those that didn’t. Over the course of the study, that reduction could have saved about 15 lives, the researchers said in a preliminary draft of their work, which has not yet been peer-reviewed. (Blakinger and Sheets, 1/13)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Chula Vista Hospitals Hit Hard By Flu Cases. ‘Influx Of Patients Is Being Felt Across The System,’ County Says 
Flu season appears to be hitting Chula Vista’s two hospitals particularly hard this season, with the sheer volume of patients showing up at Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista reaching a point Thursday that administrators said temporarily forced declaration of an “internal disaster,” the technical term that allows suspension of ambulance deliveries. (Sisson, 1/11)

CBS News: FDA Finds Little Handwashing, Dirty Equipment At McDonald's Supplier Linked To E. Coli Outbreak
Food and Drug Administration officials turned up dozens of violations at a McDonald's supplier linked to a deadly outbreak of E. coli that led to more than a hundred infections and a sweeping recall of onions used in the fast food chain's products, including its Quarter Pounder burgers. The violations, detailed in an inspection report released to CBS News in response to a Freedom of Information Act request, were seen during an inspection of a food production facility in Colorado run by Taylor Farms. (Tin, 1/10)

Fortune Well: Moderna Recruiting Participants For Nova 301, Norovirus MRNA Vaccine Clinical Trial
“Stomach bug,” “cruise-ship virus,” “winter vomiting disease”—all are nicknames for norovirus, the top cause of vomiting, diarrhea, and foodborne illness in the U.S. The contagious ailment typically circulates throughout the late fall, winter, and early spring, and the 2024–25 season is no exception. Nationwide test positivity was nearly 23% the week ended Dec. 28, compared to less than 11% six weeks earlier, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Up to 21 million people contract norovirus each year in the U.S. alone, the CDC says. Though most people recover from the gastrointestinal illness within three days, norovirus is annually responsible for 465,000 emergency department visits, mostly in young children; 109,000 hospitalizations; and 900 deaths, mostly among adults 65 and older. (Leake, 1/11)

Newsweek: Life-Threatening Infections Spread By Dogs, Pet Owners Warned
Pet dogs are an important but overlooked source of salmonella infections among humans, a recent study from Penn State University (PSU) has found. Hygiene practices of dog owners, dog food safety and antibiotics given to dogs could all impact the likelihood, severity and treatability of salmonella infections in humans, the scientists concluded. (Willmoth, 1/10)

Politico: SCOTUS Agrees To Hear Challenge To Obamacare’s Preventive Care Coverage
The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a broad challenge to the Affordable Care Act’s coverage of preventive services in its upcoming term, the latest in more than a decade of battles over the health reform law. A ruling for the conservative Texas employers who filed the case would erode the coverage of tens of millions of people who get their health insurance from their employer or through Obamacare’s marketplace, removing requirements that insurers cover the full cost of everything from birth control to vaccines to mental health screenings. (Ollstein and Gerstein, 1/10)

Politico: Medicaid, ACA, Climate Measures On GOP Chopping Block
House Republicans are passing around a “menu” of more than $5 trillion in cuts they could use to bankroll President-elect Donald Trump’s top priorities this year, including tax cuts and border security. The early list of potential spending offsets obtained by POLITICO includes changes to Medicare and ending Biden administration climate programs, along with slashing welfare and “reimagining” the Affordable Care Act. (Leonard, Hill and Tamborrino, 1/10)

Modern Healthcare: Medicare Advantage Plans Would Receive 4.33% Pay Bump In 2026
Payments to Medicare Advantage plans would rise 4.33% next year under a policy the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services unveiled Friday. The advance notice, which will be finalized under the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump, is likely President Joe Biden's last word on Medicare Advantage after implementing significant changes to the program during his term. Medicare Advantage insurers endured a small rate cut for 2025. (Early, 1/10)

NBC News: FDA Expected To Propose Limiting Nicotine Levels In Tobacco Cigarettes, As Biden Term Ends
In its last few days of power, the Biden administration is expected to officially propose a limit on nicotine in cigarettes. It’d be a last-minute move to push back against the tobacco industry after President Joe Biden failed to finalize a long-standing pledge to ban menthol cigarettes. The proposal, which could come as soon as Monday, is not expected to include tobacco products like e-cigarettes or nicotine replacement patches and lozenges. (Edwards, 1/10)

The Washington Post: HHS Chief Becerra Describes Frustrations Combating Social Media Misinformation
As they entered office at the height of the coronavirus pandemic in early 2021, Xavier Becerra and his allies had a plan to restore Americans’ faith in the nation’s beleaguered public health agencies. ... Four years later, the pandemic has receded. But trust in America’s health agencies has not recovered. The percentage of adults who regarded the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as “excellent” or “good” fell from 64 percent in April 2019 to 40 percent in October 2021 — a rating that has stubbornly refused to budge in the subsequent three years, according to Gallup polls, despite the Biden administration’s efforts to rebuild confidence. (Diamond, 1/12)