California’s effort to improve the cancer registry signals a shift toward preventative care. Should caregivers earn a $15-an-hour minimum wage? Many seniors in Orange County are opting out of the state’s duals demonstration project. Would managed care really be better for kids with special needs? California was among the states with the largest drop in uninsured residents last year. More have health care, but
Month: September 2015
Health care in the U.S. has improved in recent years but still lags behind other similarly wealthy countries, according to a new report.
Gov. Jerry Brown is trying to force California’s sickest, most vulnerable children into managed care health plans. But those children – or at least their families and the doctors who care for them – are fighting back.
The ethnically diverse population of Los Angeles County is considered a petri dish for the nation’s fast-growing cultural soup, with city and county aging agencies a model for progressive, compassionate care.
It was one of those uncomfortable moments that journalists both dread and love. Sitting in a Pasadena conference hall amidst a sea of caregivers and nursing home operators, I listened to a panel of experts outline the essential skills needed by caregivers. The advice was stellar: besides clothing and toileting seniors, caregivers should be compassionate and empathic. They should also investigate the elder’s younger years to connect meaningfully with them. In addition, they should mine subtle emotional states to uncover the underlying causes of distress.
California’s Department of Public Health is partnering with a major hospital chain to improve the way patient information is reported to the California Cancer Registry in hopes of making the data more consistent and useful to researchers and policymakers.
Nearly 20 percent of California adults over 65 have trouble paying bills for basic needs but don’t qualify for aid, according to a new study.
Inside the lobby of a Redwood City assisted living center, driver Eric Wong helps 90 year-old Shirley Beitch stand and grasp her walker. Then he guides her outside to his Subaru Outback parked at the curb. Wong opens the passenger door and flips out a handle behind the seat, and Beitch grabs it to stabilize her as she turns. He holds one arm, then protects her head as she gently backs down into the passenger seat. Wong buckles her in, then puts her walker inside the rear hatchback.
An HIV drug appears to prevent infection, even in high-risk settings, according to the results of a new study.
In the predawn hours of Oct. 3, 2012, two farm labor crews arrived at fields southeast of Salinas to harvest lettuce. A light breeze blew from the north across rows of head lettuce and romaine. As the sun rose higher in the sky, the workers started to smell an acrid odor that some described as paint, others as cilantro seeds or diesel fumes. The workers’ eyes began to burn and water; many complained of nausea, headache, dizziness and shortness of breath. No pesticides were being sprayed at the time, but still, the workers were displaying classic symptoms of pesticide illness.