El Dorado County Local News: Health


All Local Health News articles contributed by our local media allies and other local newsrooms.

Image caption: A smoky blanket of particulate matter hovers over San Francisco’s skyline.
Getting Acquainted With AQI

Learn what's getting into Californians’ lungs and why it matters.

Image caption: The California mental health crisis is tied to both homelessness and rising crime.
UPDATE: California’s Mental Health Crisis: How We Got Here

How the California mental health crisis emerged out of the state’s history of deinstitutionalization and laws designed to protect the mentally ill, as well as the communities around them.

Image caption: From nitrates to arsenic to “forever chemicals,” California’s water supply faces a serious pollution threat.
Dirty Water: California Faces a Water Contamination Crisis

Almost one million California residents are forced to drink from contaminated water supplies, or pay for bottled water. Economic inequality makes the crisis worse. What is the state doing to fix it?

Image caption: Though life expectancy has declined in recent years, Californians still live longer than most Americans.
Want to Live a Long, Healthy Life? Move to California

Life expectancy in California exceeds all but three other states, but how long you live depends on which county you live in. They're not all equal. Why? The answer may lie in political policies.

Image caption: A jigsaw puzzle of resources can help El Dorado County residents find mental health.
Finding a Light in the Dark

If you or a loved one is struggling with mental health during these uncertain times, help is available.

Image caption: Access to abortion in California is limited in many areas, though state laws protect a woman’s right to choose.
Abortion Rights in California, Explained

California has historically been ahead of the rest of the country in expanding the legal right to abortion services. Here’s what state laws say today, and how we got here.

Image caption: Mosquitos kill about 725,000 people every year, worldwide.
Taking a Bite Out of the Mosquito Population

The pesky mosquito can be deadly as well as annoying. Here’s how local governments in California have been waging war on mosquitoes for more than a century.

Image caption: California will soon be getting a new hotline number as an alternative to 911 for mental health crises.
988, the New Mental Health Emergency Number, Explained

California will soon add a new emergency hotline service with the number 988. Here’s the story behind that new service, and the original 911 number.

Image caption: States have expansive powers to protect the health of the general public.
The State’s Broad Power to Protect Public Health, Explained

Since long before the COVID-19 pandemic, states have possessed broad authority to protect public health, even to suspend laws and commandeer private property. Here’s why, and how it works.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

05/07/2025
Only 14 school districts and county offices of education have begun billing for behavioral health services under the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative Fee Schedule Program, according to state health officials.

Tahoe Daily Tribune logo From Tahoe Daily Tribune...

05/06/2025
Image for display with article titled Scoping Meeting for Barton Hospital Will Be Held May 14

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) Advisory Planning Commission will be holding a scoping meeting on May 14 for the Barton Hospital project, which recently had its environmental review level raised to an environmental impact statement.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

05/06/2025
In her home in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, Eboni Moen, 42, struggled to find help. Some days she would rock back and forth in her shower, crying uncontrollably and thinking back to her son’s murder. She needed a therapist, she said, someone who could help her process what happened and find appropriate medication.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

05/06/2025
California lawmakers called an informational hearing on mental health services at Kaiser Permanente, but the company didn’t attend.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

05/05/2025
Ryan Matlock died of a fentanyl overdose after seeking addiction treatment. Today, his mother is urging lawmakers to get tougher on health insurance plans.

California Local Pin Marker From California Healthline...

05/01/2025
Faced with potential federal spending cuts that threaten health coverage and falling childhood vaccination rates, Monica Soni, the chief medical officer of Covered California, has a lot on her plate — and on her mind.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

04/29/2025
A California law empowers state investigators to check on conditions at ICE detention centers. A new report raises concerns about health care inside them.

California Local Pin Marker From Monterey Herald...

04/28/2025
Residents living near farms can now sign up to be alerted when pesticides will be applied by the a new system recently launched by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

04/27/2025
The state’s health insurance exchange transmitted pregnancy and domestic abuse data during a marketing campaign. It is reviewing its website practices.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

04/27/2025
Police agencies — under scrutiny and worried about their own liability — increasingly won’t respond to someone in a mental health crisis unless that person is committing a crime. So who will transport people in psychosis to get help? And who will keep those around them safe?

Tahoe Daily Tribune logo From Tahoe Daily Tribune...

04/25/2025
Image for display with article titled Avalanche Survivor Flooded With Community Support: ‘It’s What Brings Me to Tears’

A Truckee resident is focusing on the positives after an avalanche earlier this month left him facing a startling reality, unable to feel or move his legs in the moments directly following an incident in Tahoe's backcountry.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

04/24/2025
California uses Medicaid to pay for a range of nontraditional health care services, including housing. The Trump administration wants to scale back those programs.

California Local Pin Marker From The Sacramento Bee...

04/24/2025
A huge algae bloom is responsible for the deaths of sea lions, pelicans and whales off the California coast.

California Local Pin Marker From EdSource...

04/16/2025
Against the backdrop of a rise in vaccine skepticism, California reported a drop in the rate of kindergartners immunized against measles last year, fueling fears that there may be a resurgence of the once-vanquished disease amid the deadly outbreak in West Texas.

California Local Pin Marker From EdSource...

04/16/2025
This interactive map shows kindergartners’ vaccination rates at more than 6,000 public and private schools across California. According to the state health department, at least 95% of students need the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine to maintain herd immunity and prevent outbreaks. Yet in many parts of the state — including areas around Sacramento, Oakland, the Central Valley, and Los Angeles — vaccination rates fall short of that threshold, raising concerns about community vulnerability.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

04/15/2025
Almost everyone gets nervous during a traffic stop, but people with disabilities also worry about whether an officer understands their condition or could misinterpret their symptoms.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

04/09/2025
This researcher’s project joins at least 30 others across the University of California system that have been terminated by the National Institutes of Health. Those multi-year awards were worth more than $173 million.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

04/08/2025
People with special needs often have to drive hours to find a dentist who will see them. New grants are creating more options around California.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

03/27/2025
The Trump administration clawed back hundreds of millions of dollars in grants to California health agencies, likely affecting investigations into disease outbreaks and other public health services.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

03/19/2025
The ports of LA and Long Beach are the biggest sources of air pollution in the LA basin. Air quality officials have drafted new rules to help electrify the ports. But community groups representing 400,000 residents say they don’t go far enough or fast enough to clean up their dirty air.