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Sacramento County Health Digest



Researchers Hopeful AI Could Help Diagnose Extremely Sick Patients

01/16/2024

When a patient struggles with a common symptom, clinicians will consider a number of diagnoses. When the patient is seriously ill, every moment counts.

America’s Health System Isn’t Ready for the Surge of Seniors With Disabilities

01/16/2024

The number of older adults with disabilities that affect their performance of daily tasks will soar in the decades ahead, as baby boomers enter their 70s, 80s, and 90s.

Why Your Negative COVID Test Might Be Less Reliable in 2024

01/15/2024

What you need to know about COVID-19 incubation periods in 2024, why an early negative test could be a false result, and what to do if you’re caught in a testing limbo.

Parents’ Rights Groups Mobilize as California Advances a Ban on Youth Tackle Football

01/15/2024

The Assembly has until the end of January to decide the fate of the youth tackle football bill, which would prevent kids under 12 from playing the sport to protect them from brain trauma.

What Would a Second Trump Presidency Look Like for Health Care?

01/15/2024

On the campaign trail, former President Donald Trump is again promising to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act—a nebulous goal that became one of his administration's splashiest policy failures.

Newsom Talks Projected $37.9 Billion Deficit

01/10/2024

Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed that lawmakers tap a rainy day reserve and that a minimum wage increase for health care workers be delayed to help the state fight a $37.9 billion deficit. This projection is more than double what Newsom and other officials had anticipated last year.

COVID and RSV Rates Continue to Rise in the Sacramento Region

01/09/2024

How are public health officials getting an accurate snapshot of what rates of COVID-19 and RSV look like?

$10M-Plus Lawsuit Follows Multiple Deaths at Sacramento Jail

01/09/2024

Sacramento attorney Mark Merin has filed a lawsuit on behalf of the family of a man who died in May after being held at the county jail. Other inmates have died in recent years, and the jail is under a federal consent decree to improve its health care.

San Diego County Schools Face Post-Pandemic Funding Woes

01/04/2024

San Diego Unified School District has received more than $700 million in federal and state relief funds since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, with these funds ending, some schools could be facing serious deficits.

Avian Flu Outbreak Hammers California Poultry Industry

01/04/2024

An outbreak of the avian flu that began in California in October has killed 5.5 million birds throughout the Golden State. About 20% of the deaths have come in Sonoma County.

Advancing Health Education and Equity

01/03/2024

The California Black Health Network is the only organization committed to advancing health equity for African Americans and Black immigrants in the Golden State.

Group to Sue California AG Over Title of Ballot Initiative Seeking to Prohibit Gender-Affirming Care for Trans Youth

01/03/2024

Leaders of a parental rights advocacy group announced they’re planning to sue California Attorney General Rob Bonta over the way his office has characterized a 2024 ballot initiative they authored.

Monterey County Hospitals are So Expensive Even Fully Insured Patients Avoid Them

01/03/2024


High prices at hospitals in Monterey County are “an anomaly even among the most expensive” communities in California. One insurance plan there saves money by paying for members’ travel to other counties for procedures.

San Diego County Lacking Behavioral Health Beds

01/03/2024

County leaders in San Diego are gearing up for a March bond measure that could help provide more behavioral health beds. More beds are needed for areas like mental health and detox.

Hospitals Seeing More People with COVID-19 and Flu

01/02/2024

Los Angeles County has entered the medium category of COVID-19 hospitalization defined by the CDC, with providers warning that illnesses like RSV like to travel in tandem with the virus. Officials are urging the public to mask when visiting hospitals or other indoor facilities.

Californians Can Now Save Money on Vasectomies, Other Birth Control

12/31/2023

California adopted several laws to increase access to contraception and abortion after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade. The latest one eliminates out-of-pocket charges for birth control for millions of Californians.

Nursing Homes Must Inform Patients of Reasons for Forced Discharge

12/31/2023

New law is meant to help nursing home residents understand the reasons for their discharge, and inform them of their rights to appeal.

New Study Disputes Assertions That Transgender People Regret Surgery

12/28/2023

A common refrain among anti-transgender activists is that many people experience regret after obtaining gender-affirming surgery. However, that argument is not supported by the science, according to a new article in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Yolo County Recommends Residents Vaccinate, Mask Indoors

12/28/2023

Rates of COVID-19, RSV and influenza are rising in Yolo and Sacramento counties and local public health officers are encouraging precautions for the fourth holiday season in a row.

Smoke Exposure From Controlled Burns Is Raising Concerns

12/26/2023

Prescribed burns, used to limit destructive wildfires, are growing in frequency at California State Parks. But as the smoke drifts into residential areas, it’s easy to see why many Californians are concerned about the health impacts.

Bosses Now Prohibited From Asking Most Employees About Pot Use

12/26/2023

Under two new laws, employers in California can’t ask workers about their use of cannabis outside the workplace and can’t use hair or urine tests. Employees in construction are excluded, as are applicants for federal jobs with background checks.

Happy New Year, California Workers! You Now Get More Paid Sick Days

12/26/2023

Under a new law, employees in California are guaranteed five paid sick days a year, two days more than previously. Worker advocacy groups say the benefit is needed, but business groups warn of additional costs.

Life Expectancy for Black People Is Up, CDC Reports

12/25/2023

Black people are dying less from COVID-19, but kidney disease, pregnancy complications, and birth defects still pose threats.

FDA Approves Breakthrough Sickle Cell Treatments

12/22/2023

The FDA has approved the first two gene therapies to treat sickle cell disease in individuals 12 years or older—which could be a game changer for the 100,000 Americans living with the blood disorder.

California Boosting Minimum Wage for Fast Food and Health Care Workers. Who’s Next For a Raise?

12/20/2023

California fast-food workers will earn a $20 minimum wage in April. Other employers might have to raise their pay floor to recruit and retain staff.

Music Is Medicine at Some Sacramento County Hospitals

12/19/2023

In the sun-lit chapel of Mercy San Juan Medical Center in Carmichael, four Certified Music Practitioners performed Christmas carols, introducing themselves to the patients.

California Takes Big Step Toward New Source of Drinking Water—Sewage

12/19/2023

Suppliers now have detailed steps to create a new source of drinking water. But it’s not really “toilet-to-tap.” Due to the cost, it’ll likely be only large suppliers.

Tired of Wait Lists at California’s Public Universities, Nursing Students Flock to Pricey Private Programs

12/17/2023

The number of nursing students enrolling in high-priced private programs has nearly doubled over the past 10 years as the state’s public universities have stagnated in growth. Private universities charge up to seven times the tuition of public schools for a bachelor’s degree, but nurses say their starting salaries are worth the cost.

Newsom Blasts Counties for Dragging Feet Over New Mental Health Law

12/15/2023

All but two California counties are delaying their implementation of a new law that makes it easier for a court to place someone in involuntary confinement if they can’t care for their own medical needs or personal safety.

State Board Approves New Regulation to Protect Counter Installers

12/14/2023

The California Occupational Safety & Health Standards Board is strengthening protections for stone cutters who have been breathing dangerous silica dust. At least 10 stone cutters have died in the past five years from silicosis.

SF Hits New Record for Overdose Deaths

12/14/2023

The fentanyl epidemic has pushed San Francisco to a grim milestone: a new record for overdoses. A total 752 people overdosed in the first 11 months of this year, surpassing 2020’s record number of 726.

California Company Used Child Labor for Dangerous Poultry Processing Work

12/13/2023

The Exclusive Poultry Inc. agreed to pay $3.8 million in wages, damages and penalties in part for hiring children for dangerous work. The case is one of hundreds federal labor officials investigated last year.

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