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California Health Report
Opinion: Even During the Surge, Hospitals Must Ensure Immigrant Patients Have Family Support
The Omicron variant has fueled a dramatic spike in COVID-19 cases across the country. Southern California has experienced significant increases in hospitalizations. The high number of COVID-19 cases may prompt hospitals and clinics to reinforce visitor restrictions to control the spread. These restrictions can inadvertently compromise the quality of care of all patients—but pose unique challenges for Latinx immigrants and their families.
Opinion: Online Learning Doesn’t Work for Low-Income Students Like Me. Here’s How We Can Do Better
For the past two years, student life has been different. The university I attend, UCLA, transitioned to virtual learning, which meant students couldn’t see a single professor or classmate in person. For students from low-income families, like me, this change was extremely challenging. More than 70 percent of students...
Pregnant Behind Bars, Part Five: Looking To The Future
The beginning of this five-part series by WitnessLA looked at the statistics and history of incarcerating pregnant people and women in Los Angeles and nationally, and introduced readers to Los Angeles County’s unique Maternal Health Diversion Program. Subsequent parts of the series, went step-by-step through the pregnancy diversion process which starts in jail, and ends with permanent housing, and looked at ways in which that process can get knocked off track. Later, we learned of the experiences of individual mothers participating in the program — stories of living unhoused, of frequent incarceration, of being pregnant in jail, and of life after the diversion program.
Opinion: California Must Step Up to Address Racism as a Public Health Crisis
Governor Gavin Newsom and other California lawmakers took an important step toward improved public safety and racial justice this fall by passing the CRISES Act to fund community-based emergency response programs. Police violence disproportionately victimizes people experiencing mental health or substance use crises. Solutions such as the CRISES Act provide...
How Midwives and Doulas Are Working to End Birth Disparities
Angela Phillips had been in labor for almost three days when her doctors began to pressure her to have a C-section. There wasn’t a medical reason other than the fact that her labor had been long, and didn’t seem to be progressing. She declined the procedure. But then Phillips felt the doctors’ and nurses’ attitudes toward her change.
Pregnant Behind Bars, Part Four: The Mothers
This is the fourth part of a five-part series produced by WitnessLA about Los Angeles County’s special Maternal Health Diversion Program aimed at keeping justice system-involved pregnant people in supportive housing and out of jail. Previously this series showed how the diversion program, which has had at least 200...
Domestic Violence Survivors Often Don’t Want to Call the Police. California Tries A New Approach
The last time Liz Zambrano’s ex-husband tried to hurt her, she knew she had to find a path to safety. As he threw household objects at her and her two sons — a computer, an iron — they fled to the bathroom, locking themselves inside. She was terrified to call the police, but even more afraid that her husband would hurt her children. So she dialed 911.
Analysis: It’s Time for Housing Justice for Our Black Communities
My family’s history is deeply shaped by our nation’s history of discriminatory housing policies. I’ve written about my grandfather’s story and about how redlining affected my family. But I never fully explored how this legacy continues to impact the housing situation of my family and many others. The legacy of redlining and housing discrimination has exacerbated California’s already devastating housing crisis for the Black community. As a result, California’s major cities stand to lose community members who have made some of the biggest contributions to our state’s rich culture.
This Central Valley Town Has a Carcinogen in its Water. Why Are Solutions So Slow?
This piece is part of a collaboration that includes the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN), Center for Collaborative Investigative Journalism, Circle of Blue, Colorado Public Radio, Columbia Insight, The Counter, High Country News, New Mexico In Depth and SJV Water. The project was made possible by a grant from the Water Foundation with additional support from INN. For earlier stories in the Tapped Out series, click here.
Agriculture interests say canal fixes will help vulnerable communities. Residents disagree.
This piece is part of a collaboration that includes the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN), California Health Report, Center for Collaborative Investigative Journalism, Circle of Blue, Colorado Public Radio, Columbia Insight, The Counter, High Country News, New Mexico In Depth and SJV Water. The project was made possible by a grant from the Water Foundation with additional support from INN. For earlier stories in the Tapped Out series, click here.
Analysis: The Vaccine Is a Health Equity Issue for Kids Like My Son
Nearly two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel for my family. My 10-year-old, ventilator-dependent son and his 11-year-old sister got their COVID vaccinations last month. After a masked, no-hugs, chilly outdoor holiday season last year, we’ll be able to...
Opinion: LGBTQ Youth Are Facing a Mental Health Crisis Too
Last month, three national medical groups sounded the alarm that America’s children and adolescents are in a state of emergency when it comes to mental health. The doctors shared alarming statistics about how mental health-related emergency room visits have risen. Children are also dealing with the fallout from COVID-19-related deaths...
Opinion: Governor’s Veto Widens Health Disparities
With patients’ health care in crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic, California took action to make it easier to connect with providers by video, phone, and through online apps. Now telehealth is an essential part of health care, one we trust to connect to providers, behavioral health resources and more without worrying about taking time off workor traveling long distances to receive care.
Pregnant Behind Bars, Part 3: When Things Go Wrong During Diversion
Diverting pregnant people from LA County’s jails is a complex process involving many moving parts and many players — including the diversion court, probation, child welfare, health care clinicians, case managers, housing providers, and the clients themselves. In the third part of this multi-part series, our partners at WitnessLA explore...
Analysis: How Schools Can Ensure an Equitable Recovery from COVID
We are now roughly a month into California’s efforts to safely re-open schools and return to full-time, in-person instruction. While California has one of the lowest COVID-19 transmission rates in the nation and a high vaccination rate, the reopening of schools has proven rocky. We’ve seen confrontations between parents and school board members over mask and vaccine mandates. Many families and school officials remain concerned about COVID transmission, yet also don’t want to see schools close again. Research shows fully remote learning resulted in huge educational losses, with a disproportionate impact on students of color. Educators and policymakers are rightly working to prevent further learning loss through safety measures and public health guidance aimed at keeping school in person.
Striving to Meet the Mental Health Needs of Children with Physical Health Conditions
At first, Ethan Martinezes’ parents thought his persistent high fever was some kind of temporary virus or infection. The doctor thought so too, and prescribed the 8-year-old antibiotics. But within weeks, the normally easygoing and active child was behaving strangely. Ethan cried while playing baseball, a game he’d always loved,...
Pregnant Behind Bars, Part Two: When Housing Changes Everything
The second part of this multi-part series, produced by WitnessLA, explores, step-by-step, the process for diverting pregnant people out of LA County’s women’s jail, moving them into housing and toward independence. (If you haven’t already read Part 1 of Pregnant Behind Bars,. .) The process begins with a list of...
For Children with Disabilities, Climate Change Brings Multiple Threats
For Daisy Lopez of Oakland, preparing her five-year-old daughter, Ximena, for a day out is no easy feat. On a recent morning, ahead of an all-day, outdoor birthday party at her mother’s house in San Lorenzo, Lopez checked the weather for the day – temperatures in the 70s to 80s. She laid out a white lace party dress, a custom cooling vest decorated with numerous colorful unicorns, a floral long-sleeve shirt and black leggings for the evening, and warmer pink sweatpants and a matching sweatshirt for the cooler nighttime temperatures. Lopez also packed the refrigerated formula and medications that Ximena needs to manage her various health conditions.
Opinion: Congress Must Act to Address California’s Mental Health and Substance Use Crises
A public health crisis in California isn’t getting enough attention: An estimated 9,886 Californians lost their lives to overdose between January 2020 and January 2021, a 50 percent increase from the previous year. Suicide remains the second leading cause of death for people under 34 in our state, and COVID-19 has added to the mental health challenges of Californians.
Opinion: Federal Legislation Can Advance Oral Health Equity and Racial Justice
Countless Americans are returning to the dentist after delaying care during the pandemic. But even before COVID-19 caused millions to delay their oral health care, challenges finding affordable and appropriate dental care were the norm for many Californians with low incomes. High costs, lack of clarity over which benefits are...
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