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Sacramento County Health Digest



Out—Hot Dogs. In—Vegan Masala. California School Lunches Go Gourmet

08/09/2023

Last year California began providing free school lunches to all TK-12 students, regardless of family income. Now, with an influx of state and federal money, school districts are revamping kitchens and training staff so they can provide freshly made, healthy meals.

Stephon Clark Expo Explores Spectrum of Mental Health

08/09/2023

The first annual Stephon Clark Minority Mental Health Expo, organized by Stephon’s brother Stevante Clark, brought together dozens of advocates, leaders and professionals to raise awareness of the importance of mental health in minority communities.

Is California’s Public Health Agency Ready for the Next Pandemic?

08/08/2023

After the COVID-19 pandemic, California made it a priority to invest in the public health sector. But retaining underpaid staff while also filling new positions is daunting. About 24% of the jobs across the California Department of Public Health were vacant in June.

Davis Startup Rolls Out Iced Tea Sweetened With Plant-Based Proteins

08/08/2023

It took seven years of experimentation for Oobli peach, lemon and mango yuzu tea to hit shelves around Davis and Los Angeles seven weeks ago. It’s a milestone for sweet tea fans who don’t want all that sugar, says co-founder Jason Ryder.

How to Find Factual Health Sources

08/08/2023

More than 70% of people have been exposed to medical or health-related misinformation, according to a GoodRx Health study. This means many people are struggling to tell the difference between factual information and false information.

Millions of Californians Struggle to Get Enough Food Despite State’s Abundance

08/07/2023

How bad is California hunger? A lot depends on your access to food aid, which expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic but is being reduced.

Local Program Addresses Latino Underrepresentation in Medicine

08/01/2023

Preparando Estudiantes Para Ser Médicos, or Prep Médico for short, was launched by the UC Davis School of Medicine in 2016 to provide better care to the nearly 40% of California’s population that identifies as Latino.

Medical Cannabis Paved the Way for Legalization in California. Now Patients Feel Left Behind

07/31/2023

Frustration runs deep among medical cannabis patients and advocates who say the commercial market created by Proposition 64 in 2016 isn’t meeting their needs.

California Nurse Shortage Grows as Leaders Bicker Over How to Fill Jobs

07/30/2023

Some hospitals in Southern California have a nurse vacancy rate of 30 percent, stressing overworked staff and causing some to leave the industry earlier than they planned.

Local Woman Fights for Lyme Disease Awareness

07/27/2023

Melissa Moya began her Lyme disease journey seven years ago. Now, as the founder of the Lyme Fight Foundation, she aims to educate, raise awareness, and provide information and resources.

California Blocks In-N-Out Burger Plan to Ban Masks in Workplace

07/26/2023

The iconic California burger joint known for its crossed palm trees and cups printed with Bible verses banned its employees in five states from wearing masks at work.

Sacramento Kaiser Health Care Workers Picket Amid Contract Negotiations

07/25/2023

As bargaining on a new contract continues, over 100 unionized health care workers picketed outside the Kaiser Permanente hospital in the Arden-Arcade area. The action helped kick off a statewide picketing campaign this week.

Young Men Making Quartz Countertops Are Facing Lung Damage

07/25/2023

California is poised to become the first state in the country to protect workers who make kitchen and bathroom countertops out of a popular kind of artificial stone known as “quartz.”

Covered California to Cut Co-Pays, End Deductibles on Some Health Plans

07/24/2023

More than 600,000 Californians will be able to go for surgery at a hospital without paying a deductible under new health plans that Covered California will offer in this fall’s open enrollment. The agency also is lowering the cost of generic drugs and reducing co-pays on primary care, emergency and specialist visits.

California’s Opioid Deaths Increased 121% in 3 Years. What’s Driving the Crisis?

07/24/2023

Thousands of Californians died from opioid overdoses in 2021. In response, many communities are making it easier to obtain life-saving overdose reversal drugs while some families are calling for tougher criminal penalties for fentanyl dealers.

Sac County Supervisors Prodded to Honor Pledge to Address Racism

07/23/2023

Sacramento County supervisors in 2020 passed a resolution acknowledging racism as a public health crisis. They committed to identifying and implementing solutions to eliminate systemic racial inequity in all county-provided community services.

How California Fights Meth With Gift Cards

07/23/2023

California’s experimental new program targets methamphetamine addiction by rewarding patients with gift cards for negative drug tests.

Pandemic-Driven Drinking Increased Alcoholic Liver Disease Death Rates

07/16/2023

Excessive drinking during the pandemic increased alcoholic liver disease deaths so much that the condition killed more Californians than car accidents or breast cancer, a California Healthline analysis has found.

First Over-the-Counter Birth Control Pill Gets FDA Approval

07/13/2023

Federal regulators approved the nation’s first over-the-counter birth control pill—a decision that will soon make contraceptive medication as easy to obtain as aspirin and eyedrops.

Demand for California Caregivers is Rising. Their Pay Isn’t. 2 New Bills Aim to Help

07/11/2023

Many California caregivers are aging immigrants making near-minimum wage. Two bills to improve pay and safety could benefit elderly Californians facing a caregiver shortage.

Street Medicine Teams Bring Health Care to the Unhoused

07/10/2023

California’s more than 170,000 unhoused people often lack the means and mobility to locate and visit a doctor who will accept them. At least 25 street medicine teams throughout the state are trying to fill that gap by providing health care to unhoused individuals in need.

California Safety Net for Undocumented Immigrants in Danger From Budget Deficits

07/10/2023

As California gives immigrants access to more public programs, its poverty rate declines, some say. But budget and recession worries slow that progress.

Medi-Cal’s Fragmented System Can Make Moving a Nightmare

07/09/2023

When Lloyd Tennison moved from Walnut Creek to Stockton last year, he assumed his coverage under Medi-Cal would be transferred seamlessly. Little did he suspect his transfer would get tangled in red tape, disrupt his care, and saddle him with bills.

Sacramento Native American Health Center Expands to South Sacramento

07/06/2023

The Sacramento Native American Health Center has opened a multidisciplinary health care clinic near Luther Burbank High School in south Sacramento, an area where there’s a shortage of primary care doctor offices.

Mental Health Providers Say New Medi-Cal Reform May Force Them to Cut Services

07/05/2023

Medi-Cal is changing how it pays mental health providers. Many of those providers say they may no longer be able to afford peer support specialists, home visits and other services.

Troubled Nursing Home Chain Owner Gets New Licenses Before Reforms Take Effect

06/29/2023

California health officials say granting the licenses prevents the eviction of hundreds of residents from their homes and provides oversight provisions, including a two-year monitoring period.

California Deemed a ‘Surge State’ for Abortions Post-Roe

06/27/2023

Data collected from abortion providers since Roe v. Wade was overturned in June 2022 shows California is performing an average of 473 more abortions per month than it was in the months before the Dobbs decision.

Cigna Accused of Improperly Rejecting Patient Claims Via Algorithm

06/25/2023

A federal lawsuit alleges that health insurance giant Cigna used a computer algorithm to automatically reject more than 300,000 payment claims without examining them individually as required by California law.

West Nile Virus Found in Roseville

06/21/2023

Place County’s first West Nile virus cases of 2023 were detected in Roseville in a sample of dead mosquitoes and a dead bird, the Placer Mosquito and Vector Control District said.

Geographic Disparities Revealed in US Depression Rates, New Study Shows

06/21/2023

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted the analysis that revealed significant variations in the prevalence of diagnosed depression , ranging from an estimated 12.7% in Hawaii to 27.5% in West Virginia.

Newsom Proposes Boost in Mental Health Funds. Children’s Advocates are Worried

06/20/2023

The spending change would prioritize housing for homeless people, which children's mental health advocates fear will cut their funding.

Mosquito Control Finds West Nile Virus in Isleton

06/07/2023

Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito and Vector Control District announced June 5 that the first mosquito sample of the season has tested positive for West Nile virus.

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