Santa Cruz County Health Digest

Lawmakers approved two bills to allow some community colleges to provide bachelor’s degrees in nursing. That’s setting up another conflict with the California State University, which already offers these bachelor’s degrees.

Almost everyone in California has health insurance. That trend reflects about a decade and a half of policymaking designed to expand access to health care. The state’s average uninsured rate has dropped from nearly one in four Californians in 2009 to less than one in ten today.

Data from the office of the Santa Cruz County Sheriff indicates a decrease in local fentanyl-related deaths in 2024.

Pharmacy benefit managers attempt to negotiate cost savings for insurers. California is considering new rules that would require them to pass their discounts on to consumers.

As COVID cases surge, health officials are recommending people take advantage of a recently approved and updated vaccine when it becomes available.

About 4 in 10 Californians are carrying medical debt. Lawmakers are advancing a bill that would prevent that debt from affecting credit scores.

A trio of California Democratic lawmakers say they’re frustrated by high cost estimates that helped kill their health care legislation. Did the Newsom administration inflate the numbers to quietly kill the bills?

Birth centers are popular options for families who want to deliver a baby outside of a hospital. Nineteen of them closed in California in the past decade, deepening the state’s maternity care crisis.

On August 15, Santa Cruz County Health Officials announced the detection of animal tranquilizer mixed with Fentanyl in the local illicit drug supply.

The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the expansion of a 2022 composting toilet pilot program.

After a July 2023 diagnosis of bladder cancer, Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley underwent a year of treatment without missing a single city council meeting. On August 8, he learned his cancer had been eliminated.

The chemical, used for decades, can harm babies’ developing brains. Farmworkers and people living near fields are most at risk. The EPA issued a rare emergency order.

About 80 Californians die every year after contracting Valley fever, a fungal disease that typically affects the lungs. A recent outbreak was traced to a music festival in Kern County.

After years of delay, a new California regulation to protect indoor workers from extreme heat is now in effect.

In partnership with the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, Dominican Hospital is participating in a new physician residency program.

The first two human cases of West Nile virus this season were reported in Yuba and Stanislaus Counties.

Santa Cruz County Health officials report that COVID numbers in the county remain high.

State officials have issued an advisory on local shellfish on July 23 and a red tide has been reported off Rio Del Mar and Seacliff beaches.

The California Department of Public Health has issued a warning not to eat recreationally harvested shellfish gathered from Monterey Bay counties.

The Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency noted a drop in local COVID rates following a surge in June.

California State Hospitals can bill patients for the care they receive during confinement. The charges often run in the tens of thousands of dollars, putting vulnerable people in debt for years.

A multi-part series examining the impact of fentanyl and opioids in Santa Cruz County.

Taking advantage of new state funds, some California healthcare providers are starting to offer what their homeless patients really need: housing.

The Santa Cruz County Health Department issued an alert on July 8 warning of possible measles exposure risk.

Almost 400 suppliers, two-thirds in communities of color, don’t meet safety and reliability standards. Fixing them would cost billions.

Even when suicidal, California firefighters struggle to find medical help and navigate the workers’ comp morass to pay for it.

A groundbreaking was held on June 20 at the site where the new 10,000 square foot Encompass Community Services mental health and substance abuse services facility is to be constructed in Watsonville.

The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors voted to award the county jail health services contract to a new provider, a move not related to the recent Civil Grand Jury report according to Sheriff Jim Hart.

Santa Cruz County Health Department officials note a spike in local COVID cases.

On May 29, MidPen Housing celebrated the completion of the 57-unit affordable apartments on Capitola Road in Live Oak adjacent to the Santa Cruz Community Health and Dientes Community Dental Care clinics.

The Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury released a report critical of mental health services provided at the county jail.

Over the last decade, nearly 50 maternity wards have closed across California, with more than half shutting down in just the last four years.