Health Care

Abortions increased at Planned Parenthood clinics near California’s border with Arizona after the end of Roe vs Wade. Workers have joined a union.

Readers are curious about the new variant, currently known a BA.2.86. Also: Lots of questions about boosters. Can you get it at the same time as a flu shot? And how long does protection last?

Patient advocates have long alleged the Medical Board of California is ineffective at policing doctors. But a proposal to beef up its budget and overhaul procedures faces stiff resistance from the doctors' lobby.

Some independent California community hospitals have struggled with rising costs since the COVID-19 pandemic. Three declared bankruptcy this year, prompting the state to distribute interest-free loans.

Feather River Hospital in Paradise cannot and will not reopen. Hospital executives confirmed that at a community meeting on Monday, July 24. Its emergency room will remain closed as well.

Adventist Health held a community meeting this week to apologize to Paradise residents but said the economics of rebuilding the Feather River Hospital don’t add up. Also, the Butte County Board of Supervisors approved a special election in December where voters will decide on the creation of the Tuscan Water District, and Cal Fire says the Wonder Fire north of Redding is 40% contained and 150 acres.

Data released one year after the launch of 988 shows a 28% bump in contacts. Mental health experts say more infrastructure is needed to respond to mental health crises.

Scout the Wise on his music, identity and how the banjo keeps him connected to his roots. Also, an intensive cultural and prescribed fire training program will take place in the North State this fall, and syringe exchange programs will receive more than $60 million over four years in opioid settlement funds.

California officials recently agreed to give new parolees a 60-day supply of their prescriptions and promised to replace lost medical equipment in the month after they’re released from prison.

Paradise’s early warning sirens will be tested at 10 a.m. today for the first time in the town. Also, a bill moving through the legislature would raise the minimum wage for people who work in healthcare facilities to $25 per hour but some hospitals and counties are against the proposal, and Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas has said his administration relocated more than 40 migrants to California.