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.
For optometrists in California, the gap between the cost of providing care and what the state covers is growing wider each year.
While Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed improving Medi-Cal access by paying medical doctors, OB-GYNs and hospitals more this year, eye care is not included in this proposal.
When inclement weather results in a state of emergency, survivors live in constant fear and uncertainty.
It is critical that legislators understand the myriad impacts of domestic violence and natural disasters driven by climate change, so that they can fund and implement more impactful ways to prevent both.
California has become a model for ensuring schools can provide nutritious breakfast and lunch for all students without accruing district debt and stigmatizing students whose families can’t afford to pay.
Students in Upland Unified School District, where I work, not only get to grow and taste their own food in our school gardens, they also get to taste new fruits and veggies through a Harvest of the Month program.
Amid the federal debt ceiling talks, some lawmakers have their eyes set on cutting Medicaid funding.
That would be an ill-advised and costly mistake for everyone, not just for the vulnerable populations who are beneficiaries of the government-funded program.
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.
For families like mine, California’s In-Home Supportive Services program is a lifeline.
But the IHSS lifeline is fraying as the cost of living soars. The IHSS pay rate for caregiving has barely inched above minimum wage in most parts of the state. The pay I receive as my father’s caregiver is not enough to support my family, so I have to work a second full time job.
Among the thousands of patients Dr. Donald Rebhun has seen at his primary care practice in the San Fernando Valley, stories that stand out in his memory include cases where he was able to make a timely impact on patients because of a simple electronic alert sent by the hospital, letting him know his patient had been treated.
But this kind of follow-up doesn’t always happen.
For far too long, missing and murdered Native people haven’t received the attention they deserve from law enforcement and government agencies across the state. Instead, their cases have often been ignored and California has failed to bring justice to the victims and their families.
The number of missing and murdered Indigenous people (MMIP) is staggering. It is a public health crisis.
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.