Latest California Healthline Stories
Wildfire, Floods, Extreme Heat: California Prepares For Climate Change
Kate Gordon, director of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Office of Planning and Research, is tasked with identifying and mitigating the risks of climate change in California. She spoke to California Healthline about how that work intersects with health, and how residents can get involved.
Voices: How Should California Address The Needs Of Its Aging Population?
By 2030, an estimated 1 in 5 Californians will be 65 or older, and the state is creating a “master plan” to address their needs. Lawmakers, advocates, local officials and others gathered in Sacramento on Monday to tackle issues of greatest concern, such as long-term care and housing for low-income seniors.
Longtime Crusader Against OxyContin Begins To See The Fruits Of Her Struggle
Barbara Van Rooyan lost her son to the drug 15 years ago and has fought ceaselessly since then to hold Purdue Pharma accountable for its role in the opioid crisis.
A Young Woman, A Wheelchair And The Fight To Take Her Place At Stanford
Throughout her young life, Sylvia Colt-Lacayo has been told her disability didn’t need to hold her back. She graduated near the top of her high school class. She was co-captain of the mock trial team. In April, she learned she had been admitted to Stanford University with a full scholarship. Now, the struggle to fund the caregivers she needs to leave home is proving her toughest battle yet.
Governor’s ‘Mental Health Czar’ Seeks New Blueprint For Care In California
Thomas Insel, who ran the National Institute of Mental Health for 13 years before casting his lot with Silicon Valley, is taking a temporary break from his senior position at a health care startup to advise Gov. Gavin Newsom on how to remake mental health care in the Golden State.
Years Ago, This Doctor Linked A Mysterious Lung Disease To Vaping
In an exclusive interview, a West Virginia physician says that back in 2015 he had a sense a patient’s illness “probably wasn’t the first case ever seen nor would it be the last.” Was it a sentinel event?
Going Down Fighting: Dying Activist Champions ‘Medicare For All’
Presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren tried to tell the story of Ady Barkan in the latest Democratic debate. He’s one of the most prominent advocates for “Medicare for All” and is spending his remaining time alive doing everything he can to make the case that all Americans need affordable health coverage.
Dealing With The Lingering Effects Of A Mass Shooting
Veronica Kelley, head of San Bernardino County’s Department of Behavioral Health, knows firsthand that the mental health effects from mass shootings linger. Nearly four years after her community was devastated by a massacre of 14 people, Kelley has advice for Gilroy, El Paso, Dayton and other communities reeling from recent carnage.
Modern Wildfires Pose New Health Risks For Firefighters
Studies long have linked urban firefighters’ on-the-job exposure to toxins with an increased risk of cancer. More recently, as urban-style development reaches into once remote stretches of California’s mountains and forests, wildfire crews are exposed to fuels and carcinogens more typical of urban fires. We talk with Tony Stefani of the San Francisco Firefighters Cancer Prevention Foundation about the health risks that poses for firefighters.
The Real-Life Conversion Of A Former Anti-Vaxxer
Kelley Watson Snyder, a mother who for years opposed mandatory childhood vaccinations and joined with like-minded parents who espoused similar views, today runs a pro-vaccination Facebook page. What changed?