Becker's Hospital Review: UCLA Nurses Fight Schedule Changes, Hundreds Threaten To Quit
Registered nurses held a rally outside UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center in Los Angeles May 29 to protest scheduling practice changes for float pool nurses, which could result in as many as 200 nurse resignations. The scheduling change would limit the flexibility that float pool nurses had to to seek days off and to sign up for their required shifts, which allowed units to have safe staffing coverage, according to a May 29 California Nurses Association news release shared with Becker's. (Ashley, 5/29)

The Bakersfield Californian: County Unveils Up-To-Date Coroner's Center 
Those charged with the dour task of investigating deaths across the county welcomed a new, $41 million home Wednesday — a substantial upgrade from a one-story affair where autopsies have been performed for 50 years. (Donegan, 5/29)

Modern Healthcare: Dollar General Ends Mobile Health Clinic Program With DocGo
Dollar General said Wednesday it ended a pilot program with DocGo on mobile health clinics. Stopping the mobile clinics program was a mutual decision between Dollar General and DocGo made after "careful evaluation," a Dollar General spokesperson said in an emailed statement. The spokesperson did not provide additional details on why the companies ended the program. (Hudson, 5/29)

Becker's Hospital Review: Hospital Pharmacies: 40 Stats To Know
Amid a looming shortage of pharmacists, health system pharmacy leaders are increasing their investments in technology and leveling up roles, according to a survey of 324 pharmacy directors of general and children's hospitals. The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists conducted the survey, which found that inpatient pharmacists independently prescribe medications in 26.7% of hospitals. Here are 39 other statistics to know about hospital pharmacies. (Twenter, 5/29)

Axios: New Tracker Aims To Help Patients Find Weight-Loss Drugs Amid Shortages
Patients struggling to find doses of blockbuster anti-obesity and diabetes drugs will have new help from a drug supply tracker built by telehealth company Ro. Explosive demand for drugs from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly have led to shortages, making it difficult for patients with prescriptions to find the treatments when they need them. (Reed, 5/29)

East Bay Times: California Legislators Advance Bills Aimed At Toxic Chemicals, Pesticides, Lead
Los Angeles area legislators are leading the charge to combat chemicals connected to leukemia, ADHD, hearing loss and breast cancer — and more — through a series of proposed environmental laws. (Harter, 5/30)

Berkeleyside: Radioactive Waste At Cesar Chavez Park? Berkeley Ordered To Test Former Landfill Site
The city of Berkeley on Friday acknowledged that the municipal dump beneath what’s now Cesar Chavez Park may have accepted hazardous radioactive waste from a chemical manufacturing plant decades ago. The city is now being required to test soil and groundwater from within the old landfill for pesticides and radiation, the latter of which it says “can occur naturally but also may be in unnatural levels in the industrial waste in question.” (Kwok, 5/29)

Times of San Diego: Tuberculosis Exposure Reported At San Diego College Of Continuing Education
The county’s Tuberculosis Program is working with the San Diego College of Continuing Education Wednesday to notify students, employees and staff that they were potentially exposed to and are at risk for tuberculosis. The possible exposure occurred at the Cesar E. Chavez campus from Nov. 27, 2023, to Feb. 29, 2024 on weekdays from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m., primarily in the computer lab in room 307, the county reported. Because TB can linger in the air for several hours, people who used the computer lab later in the afternoons may also be at risk. (Ireland, 5/29)

Bay Area Reporter: SF DPH And CDC Urge Mpox Vaccination
With Pride coming up, the San Francisco Department of Public Health and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are urging people at risk for mpox, including sexually active gay and bisexual men and people living with HIV, to receive two doses of the Jynneos vaccine to protect themselves from the disease. It comes as concern grows about a deadlier version of mpox has been found in Africa. (Highleyman, 5/29)

Los Angeles Times: Are Our Dogs And Cats Flying Under The Bird Flu Radar?
When researchers talk about their biggest bird flu fears, one that typically comes up involves an animal — like a pig — becoming simultaneously infected with an avian and a human flu. This creature, now a viral mixing vessel, provides the medium for a superbug to develop — one that takes the killer genes from the bird flu and combines it with the human variety’s knack for easy infection. So far, domestic poultry and dairy cows have proved to be imperfect vessels. So too have the more than 48 other mammal species that have become infected by eating infected birds and then died. But researchers say there is one population of animal floating under the radar: Pets. The risk may be low, but the opportunities for transmission are abundant. (Rust, 5/30)

Reuters: US Nears Deal To Fund Moderna's Bird Flu Vaccine Trial, FT Reports 
The U.S. government is nearing an agreement to fund a late-stage trial of Moderna's mRNA pandemic bird flu vaccine, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, as an H5N1 outbreak spreads through egg farms and among cattle herds. The federal funding from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) could come as soon as next month, and would also include a promise to procure doses if the phase-three trials turn out to be successful, the report said. (5/30)

CIDRAP: USDA Reports More Mammal Detections 
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) reported 15 more H5N1 detections in mammals, which span six states. Eight of the detections in four states—New Mexico, Michigan, Montana, and South Dakota—involve domestic cats. Other animals include red fox and a raccoon. A reassortant between the Eurasian and North American wild bird lineage was found in all of the cat samples and in one of the red fox samples. (Schnirring, 5/29)

CNBC: DOJ Charges Chinese National With Operating ‘World’s Largest Botnet’ That Stole $5.9 Billion In Covid Relief Funds
A global malware network responsible for the theft of $5.9 billion in Covid relief funds and tied to other crimes like child exploitation and bomb threats has been shut down, Department of Justice officials announced Wednesday. The DOJ arrested 35-year-old YunHe Wang, a Chinese national who was charged with creating the “botnet,” a kind of malware that connects a network of hacked devices, which criminals can then use remotely to launch cyberattacks. Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray said it is “likely the world’s largest botnet ever.” (Picciotto, 5/29)

Reuters: U.S. Health Secretary Sees Pandemic Treaty Deal As Close 
The top U.S. health official said on Wednesday it would be "tragic" for the world to miss out on key reforms to the global pandemic response and that a treaty deal was within reach, with no major differences between negotiators. Health officials are meeting in Geneva this week to try to wrap up more than two years of negotiations on a pandemic treaty and a series of updates to existing International Health Rules (IHR). However, countries have failed to finalize the treaty at this assembly and countries are considering an extension. (5/29)

NPR: How The COVID Pandemic Gave Power To Superbugs
Antibiotics cannot cure COVID. They don’t help a bit. And yet, new data shows that, during the pandemic, COVID patients were given antibiotics – a lot of antibiotics. That’s bad because the overuse of antibiotics can breed superbugs that are resistant to medications. The impact of this pandemic overuse has lingered even as the pandemic has faded. (Emanuel, 5/29)

CIDRAP: Having 2 Or More Underlying Conditions Increase The Risk Of Severe COVID-19 Almost 10-Fold In Kids, Data Show
Though severe COVID-19 infections in children are uncommon, children and young adults with comorbidities are at  increased risk for critical illness during COVID-19 infections, according to a new study in Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society. (Soucheray, 5/29)

The Mercury News: San Mateo County Homelessness Jumps 18% Even As More People Get Shelter Beds
San Mateo County’s homeless population spiked 18% over the last two years, according to the latest official estimate, even as local officials added around 300 shelter beds to help people get off the street. The tally released Wednesday identified 2,130 homeless people countywide. More than half lived outdoors, in vehicles or in other places not meant for habitation. The rest stayed in shelters. (Varian, 5/29)

The Mercury News: Can This Tiny Home Site In San Jose Be A Model For Future Sites?
San Jose, more than any other Bay Area city, has embraced tiny homes as a solution to homelessness. Since 2020, the city has developed six tiny home sites with around 500 beds. Three upcoming locations will add more than 700 new beds. The facilities provide rent-free private units, some with individual bathrooms, as well as shared kitchens and even community gardens. (Varian, 5/29)

NPR: When Caregiving For A Family Member Leads To Homelessness 
When Wymon Johnson invited his older brother Obie to move into his one-bedroom apartment in Bakersfield, California, it was supposed to be temporary. But soon after, Obie got pneumonia. Next, he was diagnosed with a serious lung illness (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD), diabetes, and then kidney failure, all in 2010.Johnson let his brother use the apartment’s single bed, and started sleeping on the couch. He had worked as a street cleaner for the city before being sidelined by an injury, and soon was taking care of Obie fulltime, helping him with insulin injections and pills as his vision faded, arranging dialysis and doctor’s appointments, helping him bathe and taking him to the podiatrist. Caregiving “is not what people assume,” he says. “It’s not just babysitting.” (McGowan, 5/29)

San Francisco Chronicle: After 1 Year Of Crackdown, More S.F. Drug Users Arrested Than Dealers
Law enforcement officials in San Francisco arrested more suspected drug users than suspected dealers in the year since the city launched coordinated efforts to dismantle open-air drug markets in the Tenderloin and South of Market neighborhoods, city leaders said Wednesday. Law enforcement arrested 1,284 suspected drug users and 1,008 suspected dealers since the launch of the Drug Market Agency Coordination Center on May 29, 2023, according to figures the mayor's office released. Another 858 people were arrested on warrants. (Hernandez, 5/29)

Military.com: Veterans Get 3 Mental Health Visits A Year For Free With VA's New Copay Exemption 
Department of Veterans Affairs beneficiaries won't have to pay copays for their first three mental health appointments of each year thanks to a new exemption. Meanwhile, patients who paid copays starting in the latter half of 2023 will receive automatic refunds. The VA announced the exemption Wednesday. Backdated to June 27, 2023 -- when the first refunds will kick in -- the benefit also comes with an end date of Dec. 29, 2027. (Miller, 5/29)

San Francisco Chronicle: Late Bedtimes Associated With Worse Mental Health: Stanford Study
Going to bed late, regardless of whether you’re a night owl or an early bird by nature, is linked to worse mental health, according to a new study by Stanford researchers. Scientists had believed that aligning your sleep behavior to your sleep time preference — “evening people” going to sleep later, and “morning people” going to sleep earlier — was beneficial for mental health. This is known as aligning to your chronotype. (Ho, 5/29)

San Francisco Chronicle: Why Efforts To Legalize Mushrooms In California Can’t Gain Traction
As a former Army Ranger, Jesse Gould is used to lawmakers thanking him for his service. But those good wishes sound hollow after Sacramento legislators spiked a proposal to legalize psychedelics for therapeutic purposes that could have helped veterans battling PTSD and other ailments. It’s the third time that either the Legislature or Gov. Gavin Newsom has killed a psychedelics legalization measure, this one coming months after a campaign to decriminalize psychedelics failed to gather enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot. (Garofoli, 5/30)

Stat: Average Age Of First Period Drops To 11.9 Years, Study Shows 
Menstruation is a critical indicator of health. Whether and when someone with a uterus gets their period — for the first time, and throughout their life — can reflect not only their reproductive health, but their risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, miscarriage, and premature death. That also makes menstruation a useful measure of population health. And digital tools for clinical research are beginning to shed light on just how significantly periods are changing over time. (Merelli, 5/29)

NBC News: Black Children Are Getting Their Period Earlier Than Ever
Black children of low socioeconomic status are starting their periods earlier than the average age, and it takes more time for their menstrual cycles to become regular, according to a new report. In a study published Wednesday, researchers with the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Apple Women’s Health Study found that the United States’ younger generations are experiencing their first menstrual period — called “menarche” — before the average age of 12. This is especially the case for racial minorities and children living in a lower socioeconomic status, the researchers found. (Adams, 5/29)

Los Angeles Times: What 20 Years Of Data Tell Us About Same-Sex Marriage
Twenty years ago this month, Marcia Kadish and Tanya McCloskey exchanged wedding vows at Cambridge City Hall in Massachusetts and became the first same-sex couple to legally marry in the United States. The couple had been together since 1986, but their decision to wed was radical for its time. In 2004, only 31% of Americans supported same-sex marriage, while 60% were opposed, according to a Pew Research Center poll. Much of that opposition was fueled by fears that expanding the definition of marriage beyond the traditional union of a man and a women would undermine the institution and be destabilizing to families. Researchers at the Rand Corp. decided to find out if those predictions turned out to be true. (Kaplan, 5/30)

Reuters: Exclusive: Nicotine-Like Chemicals In U.S. Vapes May Be More Potent Than Nicotine, FDA Says 
Nicotine alternatives used in vapes being launched in the U.S. and abroad, such as 6-methyl nicotine, may be more potent and addictive than nicotine itself, though the scientific data remains incomplete, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and independent researchers. The synthetic substances - which have a chemical structure similar to that of nicotine - are not subject to U.S. tobacco and vaping regulations that are designed to control traditional nicotine, a highly addictive drug. (Rumney, 5/29)

Los Angeles Times: Amid Deaths, California Could Require Licenses For Stonecutting Shops
As growing numbers of countertop cutters in California suffer from an incurable and deadly lung disease, lawmakers are seeking to clamp down on which businesses can legally perform such work. Health officials have tied the rise in silicosis to the surging popularity of engineered stone, an artificial product that can be much higher in silica than natural slabs. The disease is caused by inhaling tiny bits of crystalline silica that scar the lungs, leaving ailing workers reliant on oxygen tanks and lung transplants to survive. More than a dozen countertop workers in California have died, some barely into middle age. (Alpert Reyes, 5/29)

San Francisco Chronicle: Parents Of Kids Sickened By Chemicals Say Officials Kept Them In Dark
Schoolchildren sickened last week by chemical agents released during a nearby law-enforcement training exercise may have suffered far more severe reactions than those initially known, with reports of vomiting, shortness of breath and rashes arising in the days after the incident. Parents with students who attend Portola Elementary School in San Bruno told the Chronicle there were also likely more people affected by the chemical plume than the 20 children and one adult that San Bruno officials initially reported after tear gasses used in an exercise at the San Francisco County Jail drifted a half mile over to Portola Elementary School. (Cassidy, 5/30)