Medical debt weighs heavily on the lives of millions of Californians. It can ding their credit scores and hurt their chances of landing a rental or securing a home mortgage. Earlier this year, the Biden administration announced a proposal to stop medical debt from showing up on credit reports. That proposed rule is under consideration […]
hospitals
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NCJ Preview: Shaky Hospitals, Organic Waste, Bohn’s Offensive Comment and Good Eats
This week we’ve got a cover story on the challenge of retrofitting hospitals, particularly in rural areas like ours, for earthquake safety. We’re also looking at ways to fight climate change by diverting organic waste from landfill. And Humboldt County Supervisor Rex Bohn has once again drawn criticism for an offensive comment, this time a […]
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Another COVID Holiday: Is California in a Better Place this Year? Not in Humboldt.
The holidays are here and people are ready to gather, hug and feast. But is California in a better place this year when it comes to COVID-19? Last year, as Thanksgiving approached, infections were creeping up, culminating in a brutal winter surge, and the governor implemented an emergency curfew to slow the spread of the […]
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Supply Chain Woes Trigger Shortages of Critical Medical Devices
When Henry Genung was four months old, doctors cut a hole in his windpipe and inserted a tube to help him breathe. Born with a rare genetic mutation that blocked his upper airway, Henry, who is now 18 months old, will need the tube for several more years. For three months, Henry hasn’t had a […]
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Hospitals Brace for Strikes as California Workers Protest Staff Shortages
As weary health care workers across California enter the 19th month of the pandemic, thousands are walking off the job and onto the picket line, demanding more staffing. The strikes and rallies threaten to cripple hospital operations that have been inundated by the COVID-19 Delta surge as well as patients seeking long-delayed care. More than […]
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Hospitals Stretched as Humboldt’s COVID-19 Surge Continues
Humboldt County continues to see a surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations fueled by the more contagious Delta variant, leading to “many critically ill” patients being flown out the area for treatment and the postponement of vital but non-emergency surgeries, according to an update from Health Officer Ian Hoffman. In his written report to the […]
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21 Days in the Park
In late March, as the COVID-19 pandemic’s stranglehold on New York City strengthened, with cases totals doubling every couple of days, the city’s wealthiest neighborhoods began to empty. By the tens of thousands, people sent mail-forwarding requests to the U.S. Post Office and left their homes in Manhattan or the Upper West and Upper East […]
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News Roundup: Hospitals Ready for COVID Surge, Businesses Lend a Hand and More
Humboldt County hospitals are preparing surge capacity in intensive care units, the Times-Standard reports, and have plans in place to more than double the number of beds currently available should it become necessary amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The story, reported by the Times-Standard’s Sonia Waraich, details efforts at three Humboldt County hospitals and notes that […]
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Cleaning and Reusing Hospital Masks: Is it Safe?
As California ramps up its purchase of protective gear for health care workers, the state also has set a back-up plan in motion: cleaning masks so they can be used again and again. Face masks called N95 respirators are worn by doctors, nurses and other medical workers to filter out infectious droplets carrying the virus. They […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
This is Very Real
As the full reality of the COVID-19 pandemic washed over California and the United States the weekend of March 14, prompting virtually all Humboldt County schools to shutter indefinitely and Gov. Gavin Newsom to ask all bars, breweries and wineries to do the same, reactions were decidedly mixed. While most Humboldt County residents likely fell […]
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 […]
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Skilled Nursing Facilities Now Taking Patients
Lisa Ciccanti, spokesperson for St. Joseph Hospital, confirmed that local skilled nursing facilities have begun accepting patients from the hospital again. St. Joseph had previously been told by the facilities’ management company, Rockport, that they would not accept any of the hospital’s patients, forcing those who needed skilled nursing to go out of county. The […]