Heidi de Marco

Heidi de Marco was a reporter and producer for KFF Health News until March 2023.

@HeidideMarco

Destination Limbo: Health Suffers Among Asylum Seekers In Crowded Border Shelter

Asylum seekers from Mexico and Central America, housed in migrant shelters in the border city of Tijuana, Mexico, are often sick and exhausted from their long journeys. Volunteer health workers from Southern California recently sent a mobile clinic to one of those shelters and spent a day tending to its inhabitants.

Migrantes reciben atención médica en abarrotado refugio de Tijuana

Migrantes centroamericanos y Mexicanos en los albergues que se han improvisado en la ciudad fronteriza de Tijuana, son muchas veces enfermos y debilitados. Dependen de grupos civiles para recibir atención médica. Recientemente, un grupo de voluntarios de California llevó una clínica móvil a uno de los albergues fronterizos.

She Was Dancing On The Roof And Talking Gibberish. A Special Kind Of ER Helped Her.

With mental health beds in short supply, emergency rooms increasingly have become the care of first and last resort for people in the grips of a psychiatric episode. Now, hospitals around the country are opening emergency units that calmly cater to patients with mental health needs.

‘Medieval’ Diseases Flare As Unsanitary Living Conditions Proliferate

Outbreaks of infectious diseases such as typhus and hepatitis A are resurging in California and around the country, particularly among homeless populations. Public health officials warn that such diseases could spread broadly.

Students With Addictions Immersed In The Sober Life At ‘Recovery’ High Schools

At one Seattle public school, students earn their diplomas while attending daily support groups and meeting with counselors to help them stay off drugs and alcohol. There are about 40 similar schools around the country, both public and private, and more are on the drawing board.