Yolo County Health Digest

Health 34, a new non-emergency service, is dedicated to reducing crises by providing mental health services and access to basic necessities. The program is available every day and hour of the year.

At the Pacific Neuroscience Institute in Santa Monica, scientists are eager to explore whether a psychedelic chemical found in a toad could help people with depression. But research has been put on hold by the state.

An international team of scientists has found distinct changes in the blood of people with long COVID, suggesting a potential strategy to diagnose and perhaps treat the mysterious condition.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

UC Davis researchers have bioengineered a scaffold, a structure that provides support for cellular attachment and tissue development, to accelerate the healing time of deep burn wounds.

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.

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

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider, founder of End Well, a San Francisco-based nonprofit, would like to diversify how death is portrayed on television. This would include more focus on less dramatic and violent deaths.