Racism a Strong Factor in Black Women’s High Rate of Premature Births, Study Finds
By Anna Maria Barry-Jester
Dr. Paula Braveman, director of UCSF’s Center on Social Disparities in Health, shares her insights on a provocative new study that identifies racism as a decisive factor in the gap in preterm birth rates between Black and white women.
Santa Cruz Health Officials Honored for Persevering in Covid Battle Against Tide of ‘Denialism’
By Anna Maria Barry-Jester
Mimi Hall and Dr. Gail Newel, health director and health officer for Santa Cruz County, California, will receive PEN America’s 2021 PEN/Benenson Courage Award for soldiering forward in their work amid death threats and personal attacks.
Journalists Stay on Top of Rocky Vaccine Rollout
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
‘Injections, Injections, Injections’: Troubling Questions Follow Closure of Sprawling Pain Clinic Chain
By Anna Maria Barry-Jester and Jenny Gold
In May 2021, Lags Medical Centers, one of California’s largest chains of pain clinics, abruptly closed its doors amid a cloaked state investigation. Nine months later, patients are still in the dark about what happened with their care and to their bodies.
The Newest Disease Detection Tool for Covid and Beyond: Poop
By Anna Maria Barry-Jester
Hundreds of college campuses, cities and counties around California and the U.S. are exploring sewers for the newest data stream to track covid and other infectious diseases.
Journalists Explore Inefficiency and Inequities of Vaccine Rollout
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Hard Lessons From a City That Tried to Privatize Public Health
By Anna Maria Barry-Jester
Facing bankruptcy, Detroit largely dismantled its public health department in 2012, and the city essentially went two years without a government-run public health system. Five years later, this major American city offers a grim cautionary tale.
KHN on the Air This Week
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
‘We’re Coming for You’: For Public Health Officials, a Year of Threats and Menace
By Anna Maria Barry-Jester
Local health officials have become the face of government authority as they work to stem the pandemic. That has made them targets for chilling threats from some of the same militia groups that stormed the U.S. Capitol. Santa Cruz leaders are among those whose daily routines now incorporate security patrols, surveillance cameras and, in some cases, firearms.
Over Half of States Have Rolled Back Public Health Powers in Pandemic
By Lauren Weber and Anna Maria Barry-Jester
At least 26 states have passed laws to permanently limit public health powers, a KHN investigation has found, weakening the country’s ability to fight not only the current resurgence of the pandemic but other health crises to come.