Becker's Hospital Review: California Doctorate Nurses Can’t Use ‘Doctor' Title, Judge Rules
A California federal judge has ruled that nurses with doctorates do not have the right to call themselves doctors. ... The case concerns a California law that allows only physicians and surgeons to use the word “doctor” or the prefix “Dr.” In June 2023, three nurse practitioners with doctorates of nursing sued the California attorney general, the medical board of California and the state board of registered nurses, arguing they have a right to call themselves doctors. (Taylor, 9/29)

The Intersection: Hospital Residencies Provide Experience, Support For New Nursing Graduates. They Also Boost Retention And Improve Patient Care
Up and down the San Joaquin Valley, hospital programs for newly-hired registered nurses are providing a year of additional training and experience beyond what they received en route to their nursing degree. CommonSpirit Health, which operates about 30 hospitals in California and 138 nationwide, is in the midst of expanding a nursing residency program in both California and across the U.S. In the San Joaquin Valley, it has hospitals in Stockton, Merced and Bakersfield. (Sheehan, 9/29)

The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat: Operating Engineers Begin Strike At Santa Rosa Memorial And Petaluma Valley Hospitals, Seeking Better Pay
Staff in charge of maintaining critical facilities and equipment at Santa Rosa Memorial and Petaluma Valley hospitals went on strike Monday, seeking better pay in contract negotiations. Hospital operator Providence said last week the sites are “well prepared” for the strike, which is scheduled to last two weeks. (Espinoza, 9/29)

Becker's Hospital Review: Sutter To Quadruple GME Offerings By 2035
Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health is launching five new Graduate Medical Education programs this year as part of a broader initiative to quadruple its GME footprint, according to Lindsay Mazotti, MD. ... Sutter plans to operate 52 total residency and fellowship programs by 2035, which will expand the system’s medical education spots to about 1,000 residents and fellows every year. This development requires increased staffing for the care and feeding of residents, as well as new program directors and faculty. (Twenter, 9/29)

Becker's Hospital Review: Memorial Hermann Joins $20M Funding Round For AmplifyMD
Los Gatos, Calif.-based AmplifyMD raised $20 million in a series B funding round to expand its AI-enabled virtual care platform. The funding round was led by Forerunner Ventures and included F-Prime, Greylock, Tau Ventures and Memorial Hermann Health System, according to a Sept. 24, news release. The investment will support platform enhancements, strategic partnerships and long-term growth across health systems, the company said. (Jeffries, 9/29)

Becker's Hospital Review: Yale Inks $45M Settlement With Prospect Over Failed Hospital Acquisitions
Yale New Haven (Conn.) Health has settled with Los Angeles-based Prospect Medical Holdings, resolving a collapsed $435 million deal for Yale to acquire three Connecticut hospitals, according to court documents obtained by Becker’s. Under the agreement, Yale New Haven will pay $45 million to Prospect to settle the dispute, the documents state. (Gooch, 9/29)

Becker's Hospital Review: Hospitals Answer Growing Demand For Menopause Care
Health systems, lawmakers and primary care providers are answering a call coming from women to provide more menopause care. Every year, 1.3 million American women reach menopause, which has an average onset age of 52. Most women experience perimenopause, a transition period that typically lasts four to eight years. This transition can trigger hot flashes and night sweats, vaginal and vulvar issues, painful sex, urinary tract infections, incontinence, mood changes and insomnia, among other symptoms. However, less than one-fifth of women are correctly diagnosed early with menopause. (Taylor, 9/29)

Los Angeles Times: Newsom Signs AI Transparency Bill Prioritizing Safety
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Monday that will create new transparency measures for large AI companies, including public disclosure of security protocols and reports of critical safety incidents. Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) said Senate Bill 53 will create “commonsense guardrails” to ensure groundbreaking innovations don’t sacrifice safety and transparency amid the rapid growth of AI technologies. Newsom said the bill strikes the right balance of working with the artificial intelligence companies while not “submitting to industry.” (Gutierrez, 9/29)

The Oaklandside: Oakland Gets $33 Million For Supportive Housing On 35th Ave.
An affordable housing project in East Oakland just got a big boost from the state. The city has received $33 million from California’s Homekey program to support the redevelopment of a property on 35th and Lyon avenues into 109 supportive housing apartments. The redevelopment and expansion of the Mark Twain Homes senior housing complex has been in the works since 2020. (Orenstein, 9/29)

San Francisco Chronicle: Newsom, Trump Closer On Crime And Homelessness Than Either Admits
In nationally televised interviews and viral social media posts, Gov. Gavin Newsom has aggressively criticized President Donald Trump’s decision to send federal troops into Los Angeles and other Democratic-led cities. Less publicized have been Newsom’s own initiatives to clear homeless encampments and deploy state police to deal with high crime rates — a continuation of work that began before Trump took office. The dynamic illustrates a tightrope that Newsom is walking as he eviscerates Trump’s policies even as he highlights his own, fundamentally similar approach to crime and homelessness. (Bollag, 9/30)

Voice of OC: Deportation Sweeps And Food Insecurity In OC
The ongoing deportation sweeps that first rocked Orange County this summer are not stopping efforts to feed the county’s most vulnerable residents with local nonprofits warning that the dual impact of expected federal funding cuts will worsen the region’s food insecurity cliff. The sweeps are leaving many undocumented families scared to go to work or grocery shopping and risk being separated from their loved ones as hunger continues to affect seniors, children and working class families. (Elattar, 9/30)

Los Angeles Times: How California Families Are Already Bracing For Looming Medicaid Cuts
Ever since Elijah Maldonado was born at just 29 weeks, he has needed specialty treatments that his family could afford only with publicly funded healthcare. Diagnosed with cerebral palsy as an infant, he spent his first three months at a public hospital in Orange County, where the family lives. Now 7, Elijah receives physical and speech therapy among a host of other services paid for through Medicaid. He relies on a wheelchair funded by the government. An assistant paid for with taxpayer dollars makes sure he’s safe on the bus ride to and from school. (Beason, 9/29)

Los Angeles Blade: A Safe Space Of Healing: Inside Rainbow Hill Recovery With Co-Founder Joey Bachrach
In a time when queer folks are often made to decide between affirming care and accessible care, Rainbow Hill Recovery serves as both a lifeline and a lighthouse. Founded by partners Joey Bachrach and Andrew Fox, the LA-based treatment and recovery center is undoubtedly community-first, client-centered, and radically transparent. We took a moment with Joey to talk about the importance of representation, the myths surrounding addiction in our queer communities, and how we can better serve those in our queer family who are struggling. (Sloan, 9/29)

San Francisco Chronicle: Wood-Fired Cooking At SF Restaurants Sparks Neighborhood Controversy
When chef Joseph Magidow chars ducks on the wood-burning grill of his new San Francisco restaurant, La Cigale, smoke rises from their crisping skin. It travels above the hearth and passes through a flue, then up the chimney, which Magidow had mounted as high as possible to prevent the smoke from bothering his Glen Park neighbors. (Kadvany, 9/30)

The San Diego Union-Tribune: Ninth Circuit Court Unanimously Rejects San Diego’s Attempt To Reinstate Beach Yoga Ban 
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has refused to reconsider a ruling that struck down San Diego’s ban on group yoga classes in public parks and beaches. (Davis, 9/29)

Desert Sun: Bowtie Pasta Deli Items Recalled In California Stores Over Listeria Risk
Albertsons Companies, which operates popular grocery store chains Vons and Safeway in California, announced on Saturday a recall of select store-made deli items containing bowtie pasta for possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination. (Ward, 9/27)

Los Angeles Times: Both Sides Dig In Ahead Of Threatened Government Shutdown
Washington is barreling toward a government shutdown Tuesday night, with few signs of an off-ramp as Democrats and Republicans dig in for a fight over government spending. Democratic leadership on Capitol Hill is insisting on an extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits as part of a package to fund the government. At least seven Democratic votes are needed in the Senate to pass a seven-week stopgap bill that cleared the House last week. (Wilner, 9/29)

The New York Times: Explaining The G.O.P.’s Misleading Talking Point On The Looming Shutdown
With Congress at an impasse over federal spending, Republicans have emerged with a new and misleading talking point: Democrats are shutting down the government to fund free health care for unauthorized immigrants. It is a message repeated by Vice President JD Vance, the official X account of Senate Republicans and Speaker Mike Johnson. But the proposal does not provide free health care for unauthorized immigrants. Republicans may be referring to the law changing the eligibility requirements for certain immigrant groups. (Qiu, 9/29)

Axios: Government Shutdown: HHS Would Furlough Nearly 32,500 Health Workers
Federal health agencies under Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would furlough more than 40% of their remaining workforce in a government shutdown, according to a contingency plan. Some 32,460 government health workers would be without work at least temporarily under the plan and could lose their jobs if Trump follows through on threats to fire those deemed nonessential in a funding lapse. (Goldman, 9/29)

Fierce Healthcare: Telehealth Waivers Expire Oct. 1 As Shutdown Inches Closer
Medicare beneficiaries stand to lose access to two key virtual care programs that the federal government has offered since the start of the pandemic if the government shuts down on Tuesday at midnight. The Medicare telehealth waivers and Acute Hospital at Home (AcHaH) programs are set to expire Oct. 1 unless Congress passes a short-term government funding bill to avert the crisis. (Beavins, 9/29)

Politico: Trump Posts Vulgar Deepfake Slam Of Democratic Leaders After White House Meeting 
If a government shutdown wasn’t already exceedingly likely, President Donald Trump might have made it a near certainty Monday night. The president posted a vulgar AI-generated deepfake video to his Truth Social slamming the top Democratic leaders — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries — just hours after he hosted the two for an Oval Office meeting. (Hill, 9/29)

The Washington Post: Trump Administration Moves To Defund Inspector General Watchdog Group 
The Trump administration plans to end funding starting Wednesday for an oversight group that helps inspectors general root out waste, fraud and abuse, marking the latest example of Trump’s drive to limit federal watchdog activities. The group — called the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency — is the umbrella organization for 72 inspectors general across government. It informed four House and Senate committees on Saturday that it would “cease our statutorily mandated functions and furlough 25 permanent employees” without funding, according to a letter obtained by The Washington Post. (Kornfield, 0/30)

The Guardian: Cannabis Stocks Soar After Trump Shares Video Promoting Drug’s Use For Seniors
Cannabis stocks are on a high after Donald Trump shared a video on Sunday promoting cannabis use for seniors and Medicaid coverage of CBD products. The nearly three-minute-long video, posted on the president’s Truth Social platform, touts the usage of hemp-derived CBD as a “gamechanger” that is a pain and stress reliever for seniors. (Aratani, 9/29)

NPR: Trump Blaming Tylenol For Autism Boosts Lawsuits Against The Drugmaker
President Trump's announcement last week linking Tylenol with autism could play a role in ongoing legal cases against the company that makes it. One lawyer representing patients who say they were harmed by the drug says his firm has gotten an influx of more than a thousand calls this week from potential new clients asking for information. (Lupkin, 9/29)