The Mercury News: Alameda County Seeking New Ambulance Contract, With New Requirements
Calling 9-1-1 for a medical emergency typically leads to a trip in an ambulance to a nearby emergency room. ... Now, Alameda County wants to change that wasteful practice so ambulance providers are more accountable for providing an appropriate level of care. ... The county will require its next provider to develop an “appropriate tiered system” for their responses, offering things like at-home telehealth appointments when appropriate, instead of just transporting people to the hospital. (Blair Rowan, 1/14)

Becker's Hospital Review: Providence Closing Outpatient Labs Across California
Renton, Wash.-based Providence, a nonprofit, faith-based health system, is closing its outpatient lab service line across multiple California hospitals to strengthen care delivery and partnerships with other lab service organizations, a spokesperson for Providence said in a statement shared with Becker's. Providence has six hospitals in Northern California and 11 hospitals in Southern California. Los Angeles-based Facey Medical Group is also affiliated with the health system, according to its website. (Ashley, 1/12)

Becker's Hospital Review: Fired Prime Hospital Nurses Call For Reinstatement
Four registered nurses and five other healthcare workers, who were fired from Prime Healthcare's St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood, Calif., are seeking reinstatement. A website dedicated to their effort states that two St. Francis nurses were fired in December for "purportedly 'trespassing'" during a petition delivery and rally at Ontario, Calif.-based Prime's corporate headquarters, where they raised concerns about what they said is significant understaffing, patient safety and other issues. Seven additional employees were subsequently fired for participating in the rally, according to the website. Hospital officials disagree about the reasoning behind the terminations. (Gooch, 1/12)

Becker's Hospital Review: California Hospital's Chief Medical Officer Resigns
Robert Pretzlaff, MD, has resigned from his role as vice president and chief medical officer of Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital in Valencia, Calif., according to a Jan. 11 report from The Santa Clarita Valley Signal. In an interview with the news outlet, Dr. Pretzlaff said he is departing the role to be closer to family in Northern California and accepting a new CMO role where he will oversee two hospitals in Lodi and Stockton. He was hired as CMO of Henry Mayo in 2021 and was part of growth efforts related to primary care and surgical services. (Carbajal, 1/12)

The Bakersfield Californian: More Of The Same: Medi-Cal Expansion Takes Subtle Form At The Local Level
Starting this year, California is extending its public health insurance coverage to undocumented adults between 26 and 49 years old, making the state the first to offer a comprehensive plan to those without legal status. (Donegan, 1/13)

Los Angeles Times: California Bill Paves Way For Psychedelic Therapy After Failure To Legalize 'Magic Mushrooms'
The movement to legalize psychedelics in California appears to be entering a new phase, with a focus on incremental steps to permit the drugs in therapeutic settings following failed efforts to pass more sweeping change. (Sosa, 1/15)

CalMatters: Parents’ Rights Groups Mobilize As California Advances A Ban On Youth Tackle Football
Anaheim assembly member Avelino Valencia is a former tight end for Cal State San Jose who tried out for the NFL. Before entering politics, he was a community college football coach. “The benefit that football has had in particular to my life, I cannot put a monetary amount on it,” he told his colleagues on the Assembly Arts, Entertainment, Sports and Tourism Committee. (Sabalow, 1/16)

Capitol Weekly: Should Newsom Be Doing More To Protect Kids From Social Media Harm? 
During his time as governor, Gavin Newsom has not been shy about using the gubernatorial bully pulpit to prod lawmakers to take up causes he feels passionately about. Advocates for greater regulation of social media sites like Meta, X, Instagram and Tik Tok hope this is the year he does the same for their cause as well. After all, they say, excessive social media use has been linked to any number of mental health issues in young people, from anxiety and depression to drug abuse. (Ehisen and Joseph, 1/15)

Orange County Register: Still No Cold Weather Emergency Shelter In OC; Advocates Worry More Homeless People Will Die
The cold weather waits for no one, and still with no cold weather shelter in place, advocates worry Orange County is behind in providing for the local homeless population this winter season. Although days are forecasted to be warm throughout the next week, a National Weather Service meteorologist said nights will continue to be cold – most dipping to the mid-40s. That may not be too concerning for some, but being unsheltered and cold creates challenges and trauma for the region’s unhoused. (Torres, 1/15)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Room For Rent: San Diego County Approves Pilot Housing Program To Prevent Homelessness Among Seniors 
A two-year pilot program to reduce homelessness among older adults was unanimously approved last week by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors. (Mapp, 1/15)

Reuters: Redesigned Apple Watches Not Subject To Import Ban, US Customs Says 
A U.S. law enforcement agency has determined that Apple can use a redesign to bypass an import ban on newer Apple Watch models stemming from its patent infringement dispute with Masimo, the medical-monitoring technology company said in a court filing on Monday. The import ban, issued by the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), applies to Apple's current Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches and initially went into effect on Dec. 26. Apple convinced the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to pause the ban the next day, and has since resumed selling the watches as it contests the import ruling. (Brittain, 1/16)

The New York Times: Federal Scientists Recommend Easing Restrictions On Marijuana 
Marijuana is neither as risky nor as prone to abuse as other tightly controlled substances and has potential medical benefits, and therefore should be removed from the nation’s most restrictive category of drugs, federal scientists have concluded. The recommendations are contained in a 250-page scientific review provided to Matthew Zorn, a Texas lawyer who sued Health and Human Services officials for its release and published it online on Friday night. An H.H.S. official confirmed the authenticity of the document. The records shed light for the first time on the thinking of federal health officials who are pondering a momentous change. (Jewett and Weiland, 1/12)

New Atlas: Study Suggests Cannabis Doesn’t Lead To Opioid Use Or Help Reduce It
A new study has found that there was no association between using cannabis and non-medical opioid use in people receiving pharmacotherapy for opioid use disorder. The findings neither confirm that using cannabis leads to opioid use nor that it's effective in reducing it. Cannabis has gained popularity, in part due to its widespread legalization, leading to the perception that, due to its lower associated risks compared to ‘harder’ drugs, it can be an effective treatment for drug addiction, especially addiction to opioids. (McClure, 1/15)

USA Today: Jelly Roll Urged Congress To Crack Down On Fentanyl. That's Harder Than It Sounds
Rapper and singer Jelly Roll made an impassioned plea to Congress this week in support of a proposed bill to crack down on fentanyl, but experts and advocates say the growing crisis of fentanyl overdose deaths in the U.S. is a complicated problem to solve. Deaths blamed on fentanyl have exploded over the last decade as the synthetic opioid has reached virtually every corner of the country, and officials have called for greater action to both curb the flow of illegally manufactured fentanyl smuggled into the U.S., and address addiction. (Santucci, 1/13)

CBS News and AFP: Tobacco Use Falling Worldwide But Big Tobacco Fighting To Reverse Trend, WHO Says 
The number of adult tobacco users has dropped steadily in recent years, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday, but it warned Big Tobacco is working hard to reverse that trend. In 2022, about one-in-five adults around the world were smokers or consumed other tobacco products, compared to one-in-every-three in 2000, the United Nations health agency said. A fresh report looking at trends in the prevalence of tobacco use between 2000 and 2030 showed that 150 countries were successfully reducing it, the WHO said. (1/16)

NCAA.org: Student-Athletes Report Drop In Binge Drinking, Use Of Narcotic Pain Medication And Spit Tobacco 
n 1985, the NCAA began conducting studies to examine student-athletes' use of drugs, alcohol and tobacco. The study's 10th and current iteration shows declines in the use of narcotic pain medication and spit tobacco, as well as binge drinking, among student-athletes. ... Overall, 15% of all men's sport student-athletes reported using spit tobacco within the last year, which is down from 22% in the 2017 study. The percentage of users has steadily decreased since 2009. (1/9)

AP: Dangers Of Vaping: Public Health Experts Call For Surgeon General Report 
Sixty years ago, the U.S. surgeon general released a report that settled a longstanding public debate about the dangers of cigarettes and led to huge changes in smoking in America. Today, some public health experts say a similar report could help clear the air about vaping. Many U.S. adults believe nicotine vaping is as harmful as — or more dangerous than — cigarette smoking. That’s wrong. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and most scientists agree that, based on available evidence, electronic cigarettes are far less dangerous than traditional cigarettes. (Stobbe, 1/15)

Axios: Tripledemic May Have Peaked Around The Holidays
Key indicators for respiratory illness declined for the first time in weeks after the holidays, signaling that the tripledemic of flu, COVID-19 and RSV may have peaked nationwide, according to updated Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics. (Bettelheim, 1/12)

Voice of OC: Did Anaheim Spend COVID Money With Too Little Oversight?
State auditors are in the final laps of their probe into Anaheim’s taxpayer spending on business promotion groups after a scathing corruption probe last year – and after the former mayor pleaded guilty to a series of federal crimes. California Auditor Grant Parks’ office is looking for any improper city spending on the Chamber of Commerce and Visit Anaheim. The two groups are heavily detailed in an independent corruption report and sworn affidavits from FBI agents allege the Chamber and Disneyland resort interests wield undue influence over city hall policy making. (Custodio and Elattar, 1/16)

Stat: Flu Vaccine Reformulation Won't Be Easy, Manufacturers Warn 
Last fall, the World Health Organization and some national drug regulators urged influenza vaccine manufacturers to drop the component known as B/Yamagata from flu vaccines as quickly as possible, citing the fact that this lineage of flu B viruses appears to have been snuffed out during the Covid-19 pandemic. It might seem like that request would be as simple as deciding to leave blueberries out of a mixed-fruit smoothie. It turns out it is not. (Branswell, 1/16)

Pasadena Star News: LA County Installs Razor Wire, Body Scanners At Juvenile Hall To Keep Kids In And Drugs Out 
The Los Angeles County Probation Department has installed razor wire along the walls of Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall and plans to set up full airport-style body scanners within the next month to prevent escape attempts and halt an influx of drugs. (Henry, 1/14)

The Oaklandside: Oakland Leaders Abandoned Program Meant To Prevent Shootings, Report Says
For years, Oakland had an effective strategy for reducing gun violence. But the program, called Ceasefire, came unglued before the pandemic. As a result, gun violence spiked, leaving residents wondering what went wrong. A new investigation faults Oakland leaders for abandoning Ceasefire and lays out recommendations for getting the program back on track. (Wolfe, 1/12)

Reuters: US Congressional Leaders Unveil Stopgap Bill To Avert Shutdown
Democratic and Republican leaders in the U.S. Congress on Sunday unveiled a short-term spending bill that would avert a partial government shutdown and keep federal agencies operating into March. The agreement aims to avert short-term chaos and buy more time to craft the complex spending legislation that funds government activity. Government agencies that oversee transportation, housing, and other services are due to run out of funding by midnight on Friday and would have to scale back activity if new funding is not signed into law. (Sullivan and Morgan, 1/14)

The Hill: Congress Races To Avert Shutdown Amid Conservative Anger
Congress is racing to fund the government by Friday’s partial shutdown deadline, a heavy task that is bound to get weightier as Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) navigates growing anger in his conference over his handling of spending matters. The mad dash comes after congressional leaders rolled out a bipartisan deal to avert a shutdown over the weekend, settling on another two-set stopgap bill that would keep the government funded into March. The Senate is scheduled to hold the first procedural vote for the legislation late Tuesday. (Schnell, 1/16)

The New York Times: A New Republican Mom Wants To Change House Rules For Postpartum Voting
When she arrived in Congress last year, Representative Anna Paulina Luna, a hard-right Republican from Florida, joined the rest of her party in staunchly opposing proxy voting, a practice adopted by House Democrats to allow for remote legislating during the pandemic. Then, in August, she gave birth to her first child and her perspective changed. Now, Ms. Luna is pressing to allow new mothers in Congress to stay away from Washington immediately after giving birth and designate a colleague to cast votes on the House floor on their behalf. (Karni, 1/16)