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Stay Well
breaking health news & updates
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These Ethnic Groups In California Do The Best By Far In Getting Quality Health Care | |
A new report on how well health care systems work for people of different races and ethnicities in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia finds that Asian Americans in California rank among the highest in the nation in health care access, quality and outcomes.
The report, released Thursday by the nonprofit Commonwealth Fund, found that Asian Americans in California are in the 89th percentile among all racial and ethnic groups nationally, according to a scoring system based on 25 indicators of health including uninsured rates, death rates from common cancers, rates of smoking and obesity, vaccination rates and cancer screening rates.
That score is one of the highest in the nation, with only nine states having higher ratings for AANHPI (Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander) residents, according to the analysis. And it is the highest within California among all racial and ethnic groups, followed by white (87th percentile), Hispanic (45th percentile), Black (39th percentile) and American Indian Alaska Native (17th percentile).
In most states, Asian American or white residents had the highest scores, reflecting overall better quality and access to care than Black, Hispanic and American Indian residents, who had lower scores. SF Chronicle Read more
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An "Impossible Situation’: Why California Hospitals Are Suing A Major Health Insurer
Medical insurance delays can keep someone in a hospital bed much longer than they need to be waiting for after-care services like home health care. Those delays can also block hospitals from using beds needed for new patients.
California hospitals have long complained about those delays, and in a new lawsuit, they’re suing one of the state’s largest health insurers to force it to speed its approvals of secondary treatment.
The California Hospital Association, which represents more than 400 hospitals, filed the complaint against Anthem Blue Cross in Los Angeles County Superior Court Tuesday. The complaint alleges Anthem is violating the state’s long-standing patient protection laws, which require insurers to provide health care in a timely manner, and engaging in unfair business practices. It also claims that Anthem refuses to pay for the excess hospital days caused by its delays. CalMatters Read more
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“This is a long time coming. California has some of the strongest laws in the nation governing insurance protection of patients, and these laws are violated every day.”
Carmela Coyle, President of the California Hospital Association
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Enhance The Quality Of Your Life With Spectrum Community Services Senior Meals & EnhanceFitness!
Delicious Senior Meals prepared by Spectrum Community Services are BACK at Kenneth Aitken Senior & Community Center, located at 17800 Redwood Road in Castro Valley. Everyone is welcome. Those aged 60 or better are eligible to register for dining in or take away meals. From Monday to Thursday, hot, nutritious lunches are served from 12 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. To reserve your spot, register three days in advance. Spectrum requests a $4 contribution towards each meal or for your convenience, get the value 10-meal ticket for $35. If you are under 60 years, the full meal is only $14. Call 510-881-6738 to reserve your seat or visit www.SpectrumCS.org for more details. EnhanceFitness classes, our popular evidence-based fall prevention and exercise program, is also available at Kenneth Aitken beginning June 10. Designed to prevent falls and promote active living, these one-hour sessions encompass aerobics, strength, balance, and flexibility exercises to help address the factors that can lead to injuries. For more information, call Spectrum Fall Prevention at 510-881-0300 or visit www.SpectrumCS.org.
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Local Kaiser Nurses Protest Use Of AI That They Say Could Put Patient Safety At Risk
More than 100 Northern California nurses marched outside Kaiser San Francisco Medical Center on Monday to protest what they say is hospitals’ use of unproven artificial intelligence that could put patients at risk. Registered nurses represented by the California Nurses Association who work at Kaiser say Kaiser and other health care systems are rushing to implement AI technology but are not being transparent with nurses about what it’s being used for or how it benefits patients or staff. The protest was held outside Kaiser because Kaiser is hosting an international conference for health care leaders this week. But the nurses’ concerns do not apply to Kaiser alone, said leaders of the union, which represents about 24,000 nurses across Kaiser facilities statewide. Nurses marched along Geary Boulevard holding signs that read, “Trust Nurses, not AI” and “Patients are not algorithms” while chanting, “Hey Hey, Ho Ho, AI has got to go.” SF Chronicle Read more
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Santa Clara County Asks State To Intervene Over Closure Of Regional Medical Center’s Trauma Center
Santa Clara County officials, doctors and community members are imploring the state to intervene in HCA Healthcare’s decision to close Regional Medical Center’s trauma center and other life saving programs later this year — a move they say will lead to more deaths and worse outcomes for patients. In February, HCA alerted the county of its plans to close Regional Medical Center’s level two trauma center, its STEMI program that treats patients suffering cardiac arrest and downgrade its stroke program on Aug. 12. The closure will leave residents in the eastern part of the county without a Comprehensive Stroke Center and San Jose will have fewer trauma centers than any other comparably sized city in the nation, according to county officials.
Mercury News Read more
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California To Stop Posting Weekly COVID Hospitalization Figures, Leaving A Data Void
California will no longer provide weekly updates to the public on COVID-19 and flu hospital admissions because the federal regulation that requires hospitals to report the data will end after April 30. As a result, new hospital admissions for both viruses — key indicators of severe COVID and influenza illness in a community — will no longer appear on the state’s respiratory virus dashboard, which provides weekly updates on new hospital admissions for COVID and flu, as well as test positivity and deaths for both viruses. Federal health officials signaled this change in 2023, when the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said the requirement for hospitals to report COVID hospital admissions data would shift from daily to weekly after May 2023, and eventually end after April 2024. SF Chronicle Read more
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COVID Patient’s Infection Lasts Record 613 Days — And Accumulated Over 50 Mutations
A COVID-19 patient with a weakened immune system incubated a highly mutated novel strain over 613 days before succumbing to an underlying illness, researchers in the Netherlands found. The patient, a 72-year-old man with a blood disorder, failed to mount a strong immune response to multiple COVID shots before catching the omicron variant in February 2022. Detailed analysis of specimens collected from more than two dozen nose and throat swabs found the coronavirus developed resistance to sotrovimab, a COVID antibody treatment, within a few weeks, scientists at the University of Amsterdam’s Centre for Experimental and Molecular Medicine said. It later acquired over 50 mutations, including some that suggested an enhanced ability to evade immune defenses, they said. Time Read more
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The Pandemic Cost 7 Million Lives, But Talks To Prevent A Repeat Stall
In late 2021, as the world reeled from the arrival of the highly contagious Omicron variant of the coronavirus, representatives of almost 200 countries met — some online, some in-person in Geneva — hoping to forestall a future worldwide outbreak by developing the first-ever global pandemic accord. The deadline for a deal? May 2024. The costs of not reaching one? Incalculable, experts say. An unknown future pathogen could have far more devastating consequences than SARS-CoV-2, which cost some 7 million lives and trillions of dollars in economic losses. But even as negotiators pack in extra hours, the goal of clinching a legally binding pact by next month is far from certain — despite a new draft document being delivered in recent days. The main sticking point involves access to vital information about new threats that may emerge — and to the vaccines and medicines that could contain that threat.
Washington Post Read more
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State/National/International News | | |
U.S. Could Vaccinate A Fifth Of Americans In A Bird Flu Emergency
If the virus currently causing an outbreak of avian influenza among U.S. dairy cattle were to begin spreading widely among humans, the federal government says it could distribute enough vaccines within four months to inoculate a fifth of the U.S. population. How effective that vaccine would be, and whether those doses would do enough to blunt the impact of a human pandemic, isn’t clear. Two clinical trials of the vaccine likely to be used, under way since last year, have yet to produce data. The strain of avian flu known as H5N1 has been circulating among birds in the U.S. since late 2021, and is known only to have infected two people in the country, including a Texas dairy worker last month. U.S. officials aren’t near pulling the trigger on plans to roll out emergency vaccinations. They are, however, watching closely. H5N1 has long been feared for its potential to cause a human pandemic, and the U.S. government has spent billions of dollars preparing for the threat of a pandemic influenza outbreak since the early 2000s, working with GSK, CSL subsidiary CSL Seqirus, and Sanofi to develop vaccines, build up a stockpile, and line up manufacturing capacity that could be switched on in an emergency. Barrons
Read more
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Patients Of Female Doctors — Both Men And Women — Have Better Outcomes, New Study Finds
Patients who have a female doctor are less likely to die in the days after being admitted to the hospital and less likely to be readmitted to the hospital than patients who have a male doctor — and the benefit is especially noticeable for female patients, according to a UCLA study published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Female patients treated by female doctors had a lower mortality rate than female patients treated by male doctors, 8.15% compared with 8.38% — a clinically significant difference that, when taking into account the millions of Americans hospitalized each year, amounts to one death averted for each 420 patients. The difference in the benefit for male patients was smaller, but still measurable. Male patients treated by a female physician had a 10.15% mortality rate compared with male patients treated by a male physician, who had a 10.23% mortality rate. SF Chronicle Read more
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Some Older Women Need Extra Breast Scans. Why Won’t Medicare Pay?
Mammograms can miss tumors in women with dense breast tissue. So for these patients, doctors often include a second scan — ultrasound, for example, or an M.R.I. — which is more likely to turn up cancers at early stages. But some older patients are running into an unexpected twist. Though many women see the extra scan as a routine form of prevention, Medicare won’t pay for it, and some patients are left to pick up a hefty tab. Joellen Sommer, 66, who lives in Manhattan, went for her annual breast cancer screening in March. But the clinic’s staff said that while her mammogram would be fully covered by Medicare, a so-called supplemental ultrasound was not. Ms. Sommer has dense breasts, and a family history of breast cancer. She said she has received mammograms and ultrasound imaging throughout her adult life. “I just don’t understand how something that has been the recommended diagnostic test for years is suddenly not covered by Medicare,” she said. NY Times Read more
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Death Doula Says Life Is More Meaningful If You "Get Real" About The End
As a death doula, Alua Arthur helps people to plan for the end of life and, when the time comes, to let go. She says that while we're conditioned to fear death, thinking and talking about it is instrumental to creating meaningful lives. "When I'm thinking about my death, I'm thinking about my life very clearly: ... What I value, who I care about, how I'm spending my time," Arthur says. "And all these things allow us to reach the end of our lives gracefully, so that we can die without the fear and the concerns and the worries that many people carry." NPR Read more
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Melatonin Industry to Raise Standards After Dramatic Rise In Childhood ER Visits
Melatonin manufacturers are being
asked by a leading trade organization
to improve their product standards
over the next 18 to 24 months as
demand for this natural over-the-counter sleep aid surges. On April 15, the Council
for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), the leading trade association for the
dietary supplement and functional food industry, announced updated guidelines for melatonin supplements that aim to improve formulation, labeling, and packaging. Healthline Read more
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Pesticides Pose A Significant Risk In 20% Of Fruits And Vegetables, Consumer Reports Finds
A healthy diet includes ample portions
of fruits and vegetables, but not the unhealthy dose of pesticides found in about one in five of the produce examined by Consumer Reports. An examination of 59 common fruits and vegetables found pesticides posed significant risks in 20% of them, from bell peppers, blueberries and green beans to potatoes and strawberries, according to findings published Thursday by the nonprofit consumer advocacy group.
CBS News Read more
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City Of Oakland Receives $7.2M In Funding To Resolve Homelessness For 150 People
Mayor Sheng Thao on Friday announced the City of Oakland has been awarded $7.2 million in homeless encampment resolution funding from the State of California. The goal is to resolve unsheltered homelessness for more than 150 residents living in encampments. According to the mayor's office, the funds will be used in collaboration with Alameda County to be used for long-standing encampments located at Martin Luther King Jr. and 23rd Street, Mosswood Park, and East 12th Street. Those who live in these encampments will receive wraparound services, including the offer of temporary shelter, before being transitioned to permanent supportive housing. KTVU Read more
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S.F. To Test New Homeless Housing Model In The Tenderloin To Save Lives And Cut Costs. Will It Work?
After 38 years in prison, Wesley Clutchett found himself homeless for the first time in his late 70s. He was dangerously thin, living out of his car and suffering from late-stage cancer he didn’t know he had. That’s when Clutchett was given a room in a converted Oakland hotel and selected to take part in a new pilot program designed to provide skilled nursing and in-home health care to homeless people with serious medical conditions. Two years later, Clutchett’s esophageal cancer is now in remission and he’s feeling stronger every day. Without the program, the 81-year-old said, “I probably would have died.” In June, Cardea Health will replicate this model through a new program in San Francisco at a permanent supportive housing site for formerly homeless people in the Tenderloin. SF Chronicle Read more
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Much Of California’s Homeless Population Is Stuck In Cycles Of Substance Use. These Strategies Can Help
I started using methamphetamine and PCP in the 1980s after surviving an abusive childhood, and continued to use them for more than 35 years. Throughout that time, I fell into homelessness and even spent 18 years in state prison. This experience made it clear that, if we want to help people with substance use disorder, we must prioritize techniques to reduce harm and save lives. I’m living proof that these strategies work. In prison, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health issues. Research indicates that mental illness may precede substance use disorders in many people. But, because I didn’t receive the right mental health care or support, my life was a cycle of homelessness and stints in prison. CalMatters Read more
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California Schools Aren’t Equipped To Handle Mental Health Issues. That Needs To Change
I got the call from John’s middle school on a Monday afternoon. “Mrs. Pariso, your child has expressed thoughts of suicide and has been cutting themself for the last two years.” I froze in disbelief. How could this have happened? When I finally talked to John (his name has been changed to protect his identity), he told me he had reached out to his elementary school counselor two years prior and showed her the cuts. The counselor did nothing to help my fourth grader. There were no comments in the school health file, nor was a report made to the teacher or principal. There was no parent contact. The system I had so highly regarded and trusted had massively failed my family. CalMatters Read more
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Thousands Of People Seeking Help Did Not Get A Police Response. That’s A Good Thing
Three years ago, the county launched a pilot program to replace ill-equipped law enforcement officials with mental health experts for those in crisis. The effort started small with just a handful of professionals responding to calls in North County. But it quickly expanded. Today, there are nearly four dozen Mobile Crisis Response Teams countywide handling hundreds of calls for nonviolent emergencies each month. And the program continues to grow. Crisis teams are now extending their reach to college campuses, a tribal community and, soon, grade schools and Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton. Though still fairly new, county officials say the program is proving to be one of the county’s most promising models in its effort to overhaul the region’s mental health system, especially at a time when California is working to do the same.
The San Diego Union-Tribune Read more
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Rural Jails Turn To Community Health Workers To Help The Newly Released Succeed
Garrett Clark estimates he has spent about six years in the Sanpete County Jail, a plain
concrete building perched on a dusty hill just outside this small, rural town where he grew up. He blames his addiction. He started using in middle school, and by the time he was an adult he was addicted to meth and heroin. At various points, he’s done time alongside his mom, his dad, his sister, and his younger brother. “That’s all I’ve known my whole life,” said Clark, 31, in December. Clark was at the jail to pick up his sister, who had just been released. The siblings think this time will be different. They are both sober. Shantel Clark, 33, finished earning her high school diploma during her four-month stay at the jail. They have a place to live where no one is using drugs. And they have Cheryl Swapp, the county sheriff’s new community health worker, on their side.
KFF Health News Read more
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Fentanyl Crisis/Drug Trends | | |
Amid The Fentanyl Epidemic, California Bill Aims To Create More Drug-Free Homeless Housing
Gwendolyn Bryant died of a fentanyl overdose when she was supposed to be celebrating her granddaughter’s 15th birthday. When Bryant didn’t show up to the party, her daughter, Sheenia Branner, was angry. Branner assumed her mother had relapsed again, giving in to the temptation while living among opioid users in one of San Francisco’s residential hotels for formerly homeless people. But days later, that anger turned to sorrow upon learning Bryant had been found dead, alone in her room. She was 58. “I was so proud of her when she got her apartment,” Branner recalled. “But it was a blessing and a curse.” Bryant died in late 2020 in one of the hundreds of homeless housing sites across California designed to provide supportive services, including drug treatment and counseling. On the recommendation of health and homelessness researchers, many of the facilities don’t require residents to accept services or stay clean after moving in. The reasoning is that homeless people need a safe and stable place to live before they’re ready to address their mental health or drug issues. But critics say that makes it hard for residents who want to maintain sobriety while their neighbors are getting high, putting them at greater risk of relapse and falling back into homelessness. East Bay Times Read more
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Sammy’s Law In California Seeks To Protect Youth From Social Media Drug Sales
On Feb. 7, 2021, Sammy Berman Chapman, 16, was silently killed in his Santa Monica home. The culprit: a fentanyl-laced pill the teen had purchased on social media. Now his parents Sam Chapman and Laura Berman are fighting to pass SB 1444 in the California state legislature, known as the Let Parents Choose Protection Act of 2024 — or Sammy’s Law. The bill would require all major social media platforms to allow integration with third-party monitoring software, which can notify parents when dangers—such as drug and firearm sales, bullying or suicidal thoughts—appear on their children’s accounts. “Had Sammy’s Law been in place, Sammy would still be alive today,” said Laura Berman, fighting back tears during a committee hearing in Sacramento on Tuesday, April 23. “It’s not going to save Sammy’s life, but my other kids are not doing to die because of the risks of social media and the dangers, and the predators, and the drug dealers that our children are being exposed to.” East Bay Times Read more
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Move Over, Fentanyl? Stimulant Overdose Deaths Are Rising Fast
Deadly, addictive fentanyl has certainly earned the spotlight when it comes to overdose deaths — but carnage from stimulants like methamphetamine and cocaine is rising at a much faster clip. Over the span of a single year, heroin deaths dropped almost 34% nationwide, while deaths from natural and semi-synthetic drugs (morphine, codeine, oxycodone, hydrocodone) dropped nearly 13%. Methadone deaths dropped 1.1%, according to federal data presented at the recent American Society of Addiction Medicine conference in Dallas. That’s the “good” news, if you will. The bad news includes the fact that deaths related to synthetic opioids — mainly fentanyl — jumped 5.7% between 2022 and 2023. But deaths related to methamphetamine jumped even faster — by 6.4% — while cocaine-related overdoses rose a striking 12.2%. Mercury News
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When Does "Old Age" Begin? Public Perception May Be Skewing Later
How old is considered old? The answer to that question appears to be changing as people live longer, retire later and maintain higher levels of physical and mental health into their older years. A study published Monday suggests that people in their mid-60s believe old age starts at 75 — but the older people get, the later they think it begins. The research, published in the American Psychological Association’s Psychology and Aging journal, examined data from around 14,000 participants in the German Aging Survey, which studies old age as a stage of life in Germany. The participants were born between 1911 and 1974 and entered the survey at ages 40 to 85. CNBC Read more
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About Eden Health District | | |
The Eden Health District Board of Directors are Chair Pam Russo, Vice Chair Ed Hernandez, Secretary/Treasurer Roxann Lewis, Mariellen Faria and Surlene Grant. The Chief Executive Officer is Mark Friedman.
The Eden Health District is committed to ensuring that policy makers and community members receive accurate and timely information to help make the best policy and personal choices to meet and overcome the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as other health issues.
We welcome your feedback on our bulletin. Please contact editor Lisa Mahoney.
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