Congregate Living Health Facilities are a housing option for ventilator-dependent adults that balance independence with the need for medical care.
The problem is, there are not enough of these homes to care for all the ventilator-dependent adults who would benefit from them. And those homes that do exist mostly don’t accept Medi-Cal patients.
For me, the most important thing about the holidays is food. I love cooking almost as much as I love eating.
But that perception was challenged when my son, James, was born with medically intensive disabilities. I wanted my son to have a positive relationship with food, even though he is fed through a tube. To do that, I had to tackle my own emotional baggage about what it means to feed my family.
Thinking of myself as a health care detective who is solving a mystery makes a frustrating process feel a little bit more interesting.
You have to figure out the motive, gather the evidence, interrogate the suspects, and put together a case.
For children with complex medical needs, many parents are told that institutionalization — care that is provided in a location other than home — is the only option.
While spending time in acute care hospitals may be unavoidable, more could be done to allow these children to stay at home, instead of forcing them to live in institutions.
Children who need medically intensive care cannot attend traditional day care programs. California has an option for these kids, called Pediatric Day Health and Respite Care facilities.
But the amount the government pays these facilities to care for children has not kept pace with inflation and rising staffing costs. Because of the stagnant rates, California’s pediatric care facilities are in danger of closing.
We cannot achieve health equity for Black patients without expanding the Black physician workforce.
Medical institutions have yet to honestly examine and address how they perpetuate the problem of a White-dominated physician training system that unjustly excludes, punishes, and dismisses Black medical students, trainees, and attending physicians.
Our house lost power a few nights ago, during one of 2023’s record-setting storms. For our family, losing power is a medical emergency.
But on this occasion, for the first time, I had access to a portable power station. Portable power stations are rechargeable batteries that can provide hours of backup electricity, which is especially important for people who use medical devices or assistive technology.
As an abled parent of a disabled child, I’m learning to help my son manage accessibility burdens because our communities and institutions aren’t designed with him in mind.
We can do better for children with disabilities by building more accessible, more inclusive communities and by teaching them how to assert their rights in situations that aren’t in compliance with the law.
California’s expansions of Medi-Cal to cover most low-income children and adults are a major step towards health equity in California.
But expanding health coverage is only the beginning. Now it’s time for California to lead the way again by shoring up quality and access within the system.
Black Californians have one of the lowest life expectancies in California. This is despite the fact that the vast majority of these residents have some form of insurance coverage and consistently demonstrate a strong interest in taking care of their health.
This contradiction begs the question: What is wrong with health care for Black Californians?