Tahoe Truckee Region 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: 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.

Tahoe Daily Tribune logo From Tahoe Daily Tribune...

10/10/2024
Image for display with article titled Boil Water Advisory Lifted

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif.– The boil water advisory for the South Tahoe residents on the Heavenly mountainside of Pioneer Trail between Ski Run Blvd and Fern Road has been lifted; the tap water is safe to drink. The South Tahoe Public Utility District collected additional water samples within the affected area on Wednesday, October 9, 2024. Chlorine levels were normal and there were no bacteria.

Tahoe Daily Tribune logo From Tahoe Daily Tribune...

10/08/2024
Image for display with article titled Precautionary Boil Water Notice in Place in South Lake Tahoe

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – A precautionary boil water notice has been issued for residents on the Heavenly mountainside of Pioneer Trail between Ski Run Blvd and Fern Road. The boil water advisory is issued out of an abundance of caution and is expected to be resolved within 48 hours.

California Local Pin Marker From The Mercury News...

10/04/2024
The Mercury News explains the Proposition 35 to renew the existing tax used to fund Medi-Cal health services.

California Local Pin Marker From Los Angeles Times...

10/02/2024
The summer COVID surge in California may be finally abating, but people are still advised to get update vaccines in anticipation of a resurgence in the fall and winter.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

10/01/2024
A California minimum wage law that was delayed amid budget troubles is now set to go into effect Oct. 16. It’s expected to benefit hundreds of thousands of workers.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

09/30/2024
An estimated 1 in 5 schools has no air conditioning and another 10% need repair. Underfunded schools struggle to keep classrooms cool as heat waves intensify. “It’s a hot mess,” one teacher says.

Sierra Sun logo From Sierra Sun...

09/24/2024
Image for display with article titled Tahoe Forest Health System Welcomes New Doctor to Obstetrics & Gynecology

Tahoe Forest Health System announced the addition of Dr. Emily Bevan, to our esteemed medical team. Dr. Bevan is an experienced and board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist who brings a wealth of knowledge and a deep commitment to women's health.

Sierra Sun logo From Sierra Sun...

09/17/2024
Image for display with article titled Placer County Public Health Shares Respiratory Virus Data; Updated Vaccines Now Available

As updated vaccines become available through local healthcare providers, Placer County Public Health is sharing data around respiratory virus deaths in the last year, from July 2023 through June 2024.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

09/17/2024
The California surgeon general is launching a campaign today to spread awareness about health conditions that contribute to pregnancy-related deaths, such as heart disease.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

09/17/2024
California’s new cap on health care cost increases is regarded as the most aggressive in the nation. It includes potential fines against companies that exceed the limit.

California Local Pin Marker From Los Angeles Times...

09/11/2024
H5N1 bird flu has been reported in three California dairy herds.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

09/05/2024
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.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

09/03/2024
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.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

08/27/2024
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.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

08/26/2024
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?

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

08/26/2024
About 4 in 10 Californians are carrying medical debt. Lawmakers are advancing a bill that would prevent that debt from affecting credit scores.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

08/25/2024
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.

Tahoe Daily Tribune logo From Tahoe Daily Tribune...

08/13/2024
Image for display with article titled Barton Health, Nurse Union Still Without a Contract Almost Seven Years After Unionization

A large majority of nurses at Barton Memorial Hospital in South Lake Tahoe voted to unionize in November 2017. Now, after almost seven years, two strikes and countless negotiations, the union and hospital still have no contract.

Sierra Sun logo From Sierra Sun...

08/08/2024
Image for display with article titled Fire Near Placerville Sends Smoke Over Tahoe

A fire north of Placerville, Calif. that started early on August 7, among other fires burning over the west, is sending a haze over the Tahoe Basin.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

08/07/2024
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.
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