If you talk to healthcare providers treating COVID-19 patients at St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka, the linchpin in Humboldt County’s pandemic response, they all have a story to tell about when the reality of their challenge hit home. For Kristen Beddow, the charge nurse in St. Joseph’s emergency room, it was losing a patient. Beddow […]
healthcare
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Covered California Extends Special Open Enrollment Deadline
Covered California announced that Californians without health insurance can still sign up for health care coverage through the service until the end of July. The current special-enrollment period is due to the COVID-19 pandemic and according to the press release, the most recent data shows that 175,030 people signed up for health care coverage between […]
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Partnership Keeps Little Learners Going, Open Door Doctors Caring for the Community
Each weekday morning, mask-clad children wait at the door outside one of Little Learners’ childcare sites to have their temperatures taken by a nurse before walking inside. It’s part of a new daily ritual for the youngsters, most of whom have parents working at Open Door Community Health Centers. Many attended Little Learners before the […]
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For the Love of Children: Unsung Heroes
As a society, our children are our most precious resources, with nurturing and protecting them one of our most sacred duties. Children deserve safe, happy childhoods and it is up to all of us together to make that a reality. This week we honor children and those who care for them during the Week of […]
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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 […]
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Wear a Mask! OK, But What Kind?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday recommended every American wear a face mask while in public to protect against spreading coronavirus, a recommendation that was quickly seconded by Humboldt County Health Officer Teresa Frankovich. The agency announced that non-medical fabric masks — even scarves or bandannas — could help slow the spread of […]
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UPDATED: Watch Huffman’s COVID-19 Town Hall
UPDATE: North Coast Congressman has posted video of last night’s town hall meeting on COVID-19 to his Facebook page. We’ve embedded it below. PREVIOUSLY: North Coast Congressman Jared Huffman has announced he will host an “online ‘shelter in place community town hall” on Tuesday from 5 to 6 p.m. “In compliance with shelter in place […]
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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 […]
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Legislature Passes $1.1 Billion COVID-19 Funding Bill, Leaves Capitol
In an urgent attempt to prepare California for a surge of critically ill coronavirus patients, state lawmakers Monday allocated up to $1 billion for an unprecedented ramp-up of hospital capacity, and then, in an extraordinary move, went home for a month — or perhaps longer — effectively shutting down business at the state Capitol as […]
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How California is Responding to the Coronavirus (Video)
As more Californians test positive for the novel coronavirus, state health officials and Gov. Gavin Newsom are trying to control the outbreak. The U. S. response to the problem got off to a rocky start. Faulty tests and a shortage of test kits kept many people from being diagnosed. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) tested […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
A Reasonable Ask
I place another log in the wood stove, sit down at my dining table, mug of hot coffee at my fingertips. The fire puts out a steady warmth. Windows fill three of the four walls of this great room and I wonder if the light leaking out from my lamp bothers the neighbors. I always […]
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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 […]