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California Health Report
Punjabi Residents in Fresno Find a Lifeline in a Community-Led Health Program
All Nirmal Singh and his wife, Daljit Kaur, wanted were a few groceries from Walmart. But as the older couple drove in circles around the suddenly unfamiliar streets of Fresno, Singh feared they’d be spending the night in their car. Singh, 72, had struggled with bad eyesight for years....
Opinion: How to Build An Equitable Service System for Californians with Developmental Disabilities
Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state legislature have committed to a series of rate increases for businesses and professionals who make community life possible for over 400,000 Californians with developmental disabilities. This has been years in coming and my organization, the Association of Regional Center Agencies, along with the vendors we contract with are deeply grateful for this critical funding. But what comes next?
Analysis: You Can’t Surf With a Ventilator. The Problems with AI in Health Care, and Some Solutions
I spent a recent afternoon querying three major chatbots — Google Gemini, Meta Llama 3 and ChatGPT — on some medical questions that I already knew the answers to. I wanted to test the kind of information that AI can provide. “How do you go surfing while using...
Opinion: Doctors Are Facing a Mental Health Crisis. We Must Make it Easier for Them to Get Help
See the person, not their disease. While this teaching — originating from Canadian physician Sir William Osler — has been a foundation of medical training since 1850, medicine has failed to follow this principle when it comes to our own doctors. To practice in California, physicians must apply for a license in a process that asks invasive questions about our mental health history. Any affirmative answer could lead to devastating penalties.
Opinion: Older Californians Need Support to Age at Home. Funding it Is Critical
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recently released budget proposal for the 2025-26 fiscal year aims to address a $27.6 billion deficit, in part by cutting aging and disability-focused programs. This approach to balancing the budget threatens progress made under California’s Master Plan for Aging — a 10-year blueprint to guide policy, program, and funding decisions to support aging well in California. The proposed cuts disproportionately impact communities of color, people with lower incomes and undocumented immigrants, and therefore undermine the state’s commitment to health equity.
Opinion: How California Can Lead the Nation on Access to Reproductive Health Care
It’s been nearly two years since the U.S. Supreme Court eliminated the right to legal abortion in this country. The litany of tragic stories feels endless: patients forced to wait until they are sufficiently close to death to access necessary medical care; young victims of assault forced to continue pregnancies against their will; and countless others traveling across multiple states to access basic health care that ought to be easily accessible close to home. Recent news from Florida indicates that it’s about to get much worse.
Opinion: Here’s a Way to Make Health Care Safer for Black Mothers
The numbers are irrefutable — Black women are three times more likely than white, Asian and Hispanic women to die during or immediately after pregnancy, according to the CDC. The California Department of Public Health reports Black mothers account for only 5 percent of pregnancies in the state but make up 21 percent of pregnancy-related deaths. Investigations determine that more than half of these deaths are preventable.
Analysis: California Has the Best Programs for Kids with Complex Health Needs, But We Can Do Even Better
California’s about to bail programs overboard as it works to keep the state afloat amidst a huge budget deficit. It’s a problem, and I’m concerned for some programs that help children with special health care needs. But I wanted to take a moment to talk about something...
Opinion: Community Health Workers and Promotoras Are California’s Key to Reaching Vulnerable Communities. So Why Are They Underpaid?
Last year, a youth advocacy organization in San Diego called Social Advocates for Youth began a pilot program that placed community health workers in a handful of pediatric offices that serve families with limited English proficiency. The doctors in these clinics had been having trouble connecting high-needs families to necessary social services, and sometimes even just getting them something as simple as access to a food pantry or adequate transportation.
Ventilator Recalls Leave Few Options for Kids with Breathing Conditions. Here’s What Would Help
Eliana Ramirez was initially delighted when doctors switched her 2-year-old daughter, Lexi, to a new ventilator last year. The machine, a Trilogy Evo made by Philips Respironics, was more modern, lightweight and portable than the ventilator Lexi had used since birth because of a rare brain condition that causes her to stop breathing when she’s asleep or concentrating.
Opinion: Data Sharing with WIC Can Transform Access to Resources for California Communities
A first step toward improving health in California is making sure mothers and their children have enough to eat. The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children program, commonly referred to as WIC, is designed to meet that aim. The program is associated with reduced infant deaths, fewer...
California Excludes Some Undocumented Immigrants From Health Coverage. This Bill Would Fix That
Marisol Pantoja Toribio found a lump in her breast in early January. Undocumented, uninsured, and without her family, the usually happy-go-lucky 43-year-old quickly realized how limited her options were. “I said, ‘What am I going to do?’” she says in Spanish, quickly getting emotional. She immediately worried that she might...
California Kids Wait Months or Years for Specialty Care. Here’s What Would Help
For the past five years — ever since her son, Marc, was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at 2 months old —Denise Williams of Adelanto has been trying to schedule doctor’s appointments. Week after week, she calls specialists, begs for referrals from Marc’s other doctors or sometimes just shows up at clinics, hoping the doctors there will agree to see her son.
How to Protect Your Community From the Toxic Lead Lurking in Soil
Lead poisoning is often treated as if it’s a problem of the past. But its harmful legacy lingers today, particularly in the soil of urban centers in California and across the United States. One in every two American children under the age of 6 tested between late 2018 and...
Opinion: The Cost of Medical Care is Unaffordable for California’s Most Vulnerable. We Need Policy Change
When Anaheim resident Daisy Chavez lost her job in 2018, she knew she’d lose her health insurance too. She also knew that, without health insurance, she wouldn’t be able to afford the medical care and prescriptions she needed to manage her diabetes. “I remember being concerned taking my...
Analysis: California Needs to Fund Housing for Ventilator-Dependent Adults
Modern medical technology makes it possible for medically fragile, technology dependent children to live at home with their families. Most people think of ventilators in the context of sickness: A ventilator is a machine that breathes for a person who is very sick, usually in a hospital intensive care unit. But for children and adults with breathing disabilities, a ventilator is a long-term tool for getting through life.
Opinion: It’s Time for California to Invest in Support for Violence Survivors
In 2022, an undocumented LGBTQ+ person arrived at the Los Angeles LGBT Center in Hollywood looking for help. He had fled his home country to escape a gang that was persecuting him because of his sexual orientation. Law enforcement in his home country refused to protect him. And after a difficult journey to the U.S., he experienced severe sexual violence in Los Angeles. He arrived at the Center after experiencing these severely traumatizing events, looking for support.
‘She’s Taught Me So Much About What Real Courage Is:’ A Window into the Life of a Family Caring for a Child with Intensive Medical Needs
It’s still dark when Claire Hernandez has her first meal of the day. In fact, the 3-year-old is often still sleeping. Her father, John Hernandez, tiptoes into her nursery and, gently, so as not to wake her, attaches a feeding tube to her stomach. The vitamins and medications that flow through the tube help Claire, who has a rare genetic condition, survive. So does the love and dedication of her parents. Without their commitment and round-the-clock care, Claire would live in a hospital or institution, or possibly, tragically, not be here at all.
How to Make it Easier for Kids with Disabilities to Get Care
California has a variety of programs aimed at supporting the health care needs of children with complex disabilities. But accessing and utilizing these programs is complicated and time consuming for families, many of whom are already under stress because they are caring for a child with intensive medical needs. The California Health Report spoke with several experts and disability advocates about what can be done to ease the burden on families and ensure children with disabilities get the care they’re entitled to.
Opinion: Older Adults and People with Disabilities Need Better Access to Quality Health Care
It’s common for people with disabilities to have trouble accessing health care, but this problem is often overlooked. These challenges can affect people as they move from pediatric to adult care, and also as they age. I’ve seen how disability and health intersect, both in my academic studies while earning a Master of Public Health from the University of Georgia, and through my own lived experiences as a person with disabilities. I now work at an organization that values promoting equity and access to proper care for people with disabilities.
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