In 2020 the state launched the adverse childhood experiences initiative, with the goal of cutting the number of those experiences in half within one generation. Today the number of doctors screening patients for adverse experiences is growing, but the state is failing to track whether patients receive the follow-up services or support they might need. […]
Doctors
Posted inNews
A Letter from 111 Local Doctors: Please Get Vaccinated
Dear Community, We are your physicians. You have honored us by entrusting your lives to us, as well as the lives of your loved ones. We are also your neighbors, your friends, and your relatives. We share with you a deep love of this region and of our communities. Like you, we dream of a […]
Posted inNews
These California Medical Workers Are Signing Up for Newsom’s Health Corps — Despite Risks
It’s people like Stephen Kamelgarn, a family medicine doctor, who answered Gov. Gavin Newsom’s call for help preparing the state for a surge in coronavirus patients. Kamelgarn, 69, still practices part time in retirement. He signed up immediately for Newsom’s California Health Corps, even though he’s in the age group most at risk of falling […]
Posted inNews
Open Door Announces Changes, Explains COVID-19 Efforts
Open Door Community Health Centers sent out a trio of press releases today announcing a variety of changes at its clinics, including that staff is currently evaluating all scheduled appointments to determine which can be rescheduled to a future date in an effort to reduce pressure on the local healthcare system and potential COVID-19 exposure […]
Posted inNews
The Whistleblower
Here’s a story that might help you understand Dr. Kim Ervin. Years before she would arrive in Humboldt County to start a decades-long career providing women with healthcare and delivering babies, she was working in a medical clinic at Frances E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming. She was nine months pregnant but still […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
The (Single-Payer) Elephant in the Room
There’s the ancient Buddhist story about blind men describing an elephant. One grasps the tail: “An elephant is like a rope.” One has an ear: “An elephant is flat and floppy.” Another, a leg: “An elephant is like a tree trunk.” These isolated conclusions do not describe an elephant. This has relevance to what people […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
A Singular Solution
The reason Republicans haven’t come up with a credible plan to replace Obamacare over the last seven years is because they’ve never thought it was important for all Americans to have access to health care. “Replace” was only recently tacked onto their dogged, unthinking attempts to repeal when they realized that taking away health insurance […]
Posted inNews
OB-Gone
By the end of December, there will be just five OB-GYN (obstetrics and gynecology) physicians left in Humboldt County — down from at least 10 just four years ago. And of those who remain, four are older than 60 and only one sees patients in his office full time: Deepak Stokes, 64, who practices in […]