Los Angeles Times: Threat Prompts Lockdown At Huntington Hospital; Suspect In Custody
A suspect has been taken into custody on suspicion of making a threatening call to Huntington Hospital that prompted a temporary lockdown of the Pasadena facility on Friday afternoon, authorities said. A man who was a patient in the emergency room around 2 p.m. phoned in the threat after being discharged, according to Lisa Derderian, a spokeswoman for the city of Pasadena. The facility was placed on lockdown, with incoming ambulance traffic rerouted to other hospitals, she said. (Harter, 3/14)

Becker's Hospital Review: Adventist Health Taps COO
Eric Stevens has been named COO of Roseville, Calif.-based Adventist Health, effective March 5. Mr. Stevens will continue to serve as president of Adventist Health's Northern California network. (Kuchno, 3/14)

Becker's Hospital Review: How Stanford, Tampa General Are Using Ambient AI For Nurses
Palo Alto, Calif.-based Stanford Health Care and Tampa (Fla.) General Hospital are experiencing promising early results from an ambient AI tool for nurses. The health systems are among the pilot sites for a new smartphone app from Microsoft and Epic that ambiently records patient encounters, drafts notes and fills in EHR fields for nurses. At Stanford, 24 nurses are trialing DAX for nursing with a plan to move to 40 next month. (Bruce, 3/14)

Becker's Hospital Review: The 'Sprint' Strategy That Cut Patient Infections By Up To 67% At Scripps
When Ghazala Sharieff, MD, chief medical and operations officer of San Diego-based Scripps Health, first took over quality in January 2020, one of her first tasks was to improve all of their hospitals' LeapFrog scores. At the time, they had three C's, a B and an A. "During my first meeting about Leapfrog, a physician told me she didn't believe in the score and that we didn't need to work on it," Dr. Sharieff told Becker's. "Another physician then spoke up and said he had been asked at a party why one of our hospitals had a C and didn't have a good answer. That conversation turned the tide. After that meeting, two physicians came up to me and said they wanted to work with me on this because they agreed that our quality was better than what our scores reflected." (Taylor, 3/14)

The New York Times: Dr. Sheldon Greenfield, Who Exposed Gaps In Health Care, Dies At 86
Dr. Sheldon Greenfield, whose pioneering research found that older patients with breast and pancreatic cancer got subpar treatment and that patients who grill their doctors during consultations receive better care, died on Feb. 26 at his home in Newport Beach, Calif. He was 86. The cause was colon cancer, his daughter Lauren Greenfield said. (Roberts, 3/14)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Dexcom Receives FDA Warning Letter For 2 Manufacturing Sites
Dexcom, the local maker of continuous glucose monitors, received a warning letter from the Food and Drug Administration last week citing issues at two of its manufacturing facilities. (Rocha, 3/15)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Most Stays At San Diego County Homeless Shelters Were Brief. Some Persisted For A Year Or More.
Among the thousands of people countywide who stayed in local homeless shelters during a recent six-year period, about a quarter were able to move directly into permanent housing, according to a new study from UC San Diego. (Nelson, 3/17)

San Diego Union-Tribune: La Mesa To Provide Rental Subsidies To Seniors Struggling To Remain Housed 
Up to 40 La Mesa seniors will begin receiving $500 monthly rental subsidies this year as part of a pilot program the city is launching to help prevent older residents from becoming homeless. The La Mesa City Council approved $300,000 for the program in February 2024, with the money coming from the $10.8 million the city received in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding. (Warth, 3/17)

San Francisco Chronicle: Bay Area Officials Urge Vaccinations As U.S. Measles Cases Rise
Amid a growing number of measles cases across the United States, health officials from all nine Bay Area counties and neighboring jurisdictions on Friday urged residents to get vaccinated against the highly contagious virus. ... Health officials from Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Monterey, Napa, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Benito, San Francisco, San Mateo, Solano, Sonoma counties and the City of Berkeley signed the advisory, calling for action. (Vaziri, 3/14)

VC Star: 'A Horrible Virus': Ventura County Doctors Call For Measles Vaccinations
Spurred by rising outbreaks of measles in other states and reports of exposure at a Los Angeles airport, Ventura County public health officials urged spring break travelers and others to check their vaccination status. (Kisken, 3/15)

KVPR: Measles Remains A Danger To Health Even Years After An Infection
The measles outbreak in Texas and New Mexico is now close to 300 reported cases, surpassing the total number of cases in all of the U.S. in 2024. ... The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the nationwide risk remains low and that vaccination is the key to prevention. Still, doctors say it's a good time to remember how dangerous and long-lasting the health consequences of measles can be. (Godoy, 3/17)

Bay Area News Group: On 5th Anniversary Of Covid Shutdown, Bay Area Public Health Officers Reflect On Fray Between Life, Liberty
Five years have passed since Bay Area public health officers gathered in San Jose on March 16, 2020, to make a stunning announcement. By then, three people had died of COVID-19, and 273 had tested positive across the region. The Grand Princess cruise ship, which had circled for days off the Golden Gate Bridge as sick passengers sent SOSs on social media, had finally docked in Oakland. Large gatherings had been banned and most schools across the region had closed. (Sulek, 3/17)

San Diego Union-Tribune: El Cajon Nurse Can’t Shake COVID-19’s Unrelenting Grip: ‘I Have Lost Relationships’ 
Five years after COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, Registered Nurse Nicole Baca still visits an infusion center every week to have a mixture of water and other nutrients injected into her bloodstream. “The treatments help increase my blood volume, and that’s what helps keep me from passing out,” the El Cajon resident explained. (Sisson, 3/16)

Bay Area Reporter: Report Bares Impact Of Discriminatory Measures On LGBTQ Americans
From avoiding religious services and public spaces to delaying having kids or seeking medical care, discriminatory measures take a wide toll on the health and well-being of LGBTQ Americans, a new report is detailing. The impacts are particularly acute for transgender and intersex individuals. As detailed in the Center for American Progress's "The LGBTQI+ Community Reported High Rates of Discrimination in 2024" report, more than two in 10 transgender adults reported experiencing some kind of housing discrimination. And nearly half of transgender adults reported experiencing discrimination in public spaces, including stores, restaurants, public transportation, and restrooms. (Bajko, 3/14)

Times of San Diego: Candidates Face Off Over Border Sewage, Funding, Homelessness At District 1 Supervisor Forum
Three of the seven candidates vying for the District 1 seat on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors met on stage at Southwestern College in Chula Vista Saturday to present their cases to the public. Paloma Aguirre, mayor of Imperial Beach, Carolina Chavez, deputy mayor of Chula Vista, and Vivian Moreno, a San Diego City Council member, are among the group trying to replace Nora Vargas, who opted to leave office in January, citing “safety and security reasons.” (Balc, 3/15)

Times of San Diego: Statewide Conference Addresses Human Trafficking, Need To Strengthen Legislation
Trafficking of humans continues to be a serious problem in California. A recent statewide conference organized by former LAPD Vice Sgt. Stephany Powell underscored the issue and the need to strengthen legislation addressing human trafficking legislation not only in California, but across the nation. (August, 3/16)

The Desert Sun: California Man Died After Jail Guards, Nurse Ignored Medical Problems
The family of a man who died from an overdose in a Sacramento County jail after being left unattended for hours have agreed to a $3.5 million settlement. (Damien, 3/14)

Los Angeles Times: California Office For Civil Rights Is Closing Under Education Cuts
When the Trump administration announced last week that about half the staff of the U.S. Department of Education were to be laid off, the slashing closed down the San Francisco regional branch of the Office for Civil Rights responsible for providing the state’s students protection from discrimination. The California office handled a bulging caseload of students, families and school staff: alleged unequal academic instruction for disabled students; allegations of campus sexual assault; claims of unfair discipline meted out to students of color; alleged bullying of LGBTQ+ students. (Kaleem and Blume, 3/17)

Politico: Dr. Oz, With A TV Host’s Flair, Promises Simple Solutions For America’s Health Care Ills
Dr. Mehmet Oz, President Donald Trump’s pick to oversee Medicare, Medicaid and Obamacare, told senators a combination of investments, technology, and regulatory changes could both bring down costs and make America healthy again. “We have a generational opportunity to fix our health care system and help people stay healthy for longer,” Oz told senators on the Finance Committee on Friday. (King and Cirruzzo, 3/14)

The New York Times: Trump Administration Revives Detention Of Immigrant Families
For decades, detaining undocumented immigrant families has been a contentious enforcement tactic. Critics of “family detention” have said young children suffer in confinement. Proponents say that locking families up while they await likely deportation sends a stark message about the consequences of entering the United States illegally. Now, after falling out of use under the Biden administration, family detention is being resurrected by President Trump, as his administration marches forward on its promise to crackdown on immigrants. (Ulloa and Jordan, 3/17)

Military.Com: Marines With Skin Condition Affecting Mostly Black Men Could Now Be Booted Under New Policy
A new Marine Corps policy says troops with a genetic skin condition that can cause pain and scarring from shaving and mainly affects Black men can be separated if the health issue persists. The "interim guidance" issued Thursday gives military health care providers 90 days to reevaluate Marines diagnosed with pseudofolliculitis barbae, or PFB. If they don't recover based on a four-phase treatment program outlined in the message, have to remain on a shaving waiver for more than a year, and a commander deems it fit, the Corps can administratively separate them "due to incompatibility with service," according to the message. (Lawrence, 3/14)

The 19th: How Will Linda McMahon Approach School Shootings?
For almost three hours, Linda McMahon sat through a confirmation hearing last month in which senators pressed her on everything from teacher pay to transgender athletes. But none from either party asked her about school shootings. (Nittle, 3/14)