Yet again, Central Valley hospitals are overflowing with COVID-19 patients, which has stretched our medical systems thin and created disturbing consequences for anyone in need of critical care. To learn more about how hospitals are coping with the most recent surge, Valley Edition Host Kathleen Schock spoke with Donna Hefner, …
Read More »Pandemic Leaves Hospitals On Shaky Financial Footing – COVID-19 Update For May 7
For many of us, hospitals are pillars of communities, representing safety nets that we hope will always be there. But there’s no guarantee they will be. A new report estimates that California’s hospitals have suffered billions of dollars in losses in the last year, and that they could lose billions …
Read More »COVID-19 Is Wreaking Havoc In State Hospitals, Too – Virus Update For Jan. 15
In the months since the pandemic began, COVID-19 has taken a tremendous toll on hospitals, where bedspace is at a minimum and staff are overworked , and prisons, where tight living quarters and mixed enforcement of safety precautions have left incarcerated people vulnerable to soaring infections . But the virus …
Read More »Health Officials Warn Of Dwindling ICU Beds, Overcrowded Hospitals: COVID-19 Update For Dec. 11
Five days into a regional stay-at-home order, COVID-19 infections in the San Joaquin Valley are soaring and hospitals are scrambling to make space on floors already crowded with flu patients. On Thursday of this week, the California Department of Public Health estimated that intensive care units in the San Joaquin …
Read More »No Second Surge Yet, But Local Hospitals Prepare Just In Case – COVID-19 Update For Nov. 6
Nearly eight months in, the COVID-19 pandemic is still looking grim: Nationwide, the virus has killed more than 230,000 people, and this week, for the first time, more than 100,000 cases were reported in a single day. Twice. Although California has so far avoided the surge afflicting other parts of …
Read More »State Data Gets Buggy; What Happens When Hospitals Reach Capacity? COVID-19 Update For Aug. 3-7
During a livestreamed address earlier this week, California Health & Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly dropped a bombshell: that the state infectious disease database known as CalREDIE, where labs report testing data and county public health departments extract local numbers, has been undercounting new cases . At the same …
Read More »In Face Of Pandemic, Hospitals Get Creative – COVID-19 Update For July 13-17
As hospitalizations due to COVID-19 continue to rise, Valley Children’s Hospital has made a creative offer: It will accept pediatric patients from area hospitals to make way for adults suffering from COVID-19. This COVID update for the week of July 13-17 features excerpts from a conversation with David Christensen, Chief …
Read More »Military To Provide COVID-19 Assistance To Inundated Valley Hospitals
Earlier this week, Kaweah Delta Healthcare District reported a record high of 68 COVID-19 patients in its hospital beds. Soon, however, the Visalia hospital and at least two others in the San Joaquin Valley will be receiving help from the armed services. For the next month, 20 military healthcare workers …
Read More »From Puppy Pads To Medical Masks: How A ‘Shark Tank’ Entrepreneur Is Helping Fresno Hospitals
Even before the coronavirus, Tiffani Quinto had some experience with pandemics. “You know I lived through H1N1,” she said. “I was a buyer at the time at Valley Children’s. And it’s similar to that.” Now she’s the supply chain management contract coordinator for Community Medical Centers in Fresno. She says …
Read More »Valley Hospitals Secure Housing To Help Employees Social Distance From Their Families
Governor Gavin Newsom announced a program today to provide health care workers with low-cost hotel rooms . But ahead of the announcement, some valley hospitals were already working to provide employee housing. Dr. Lori Weichenthal, the assistant dean of graduate medical education at UCSF Fresno, said the school put out …
Read More »Drug Shortages And Underground Hospitals: Valley Doctor Delivers Medical Care In Syria
Ever since the Arab Spring in 2011, the Middle Eastern country of Syria has been in a near-constant state of civil war. As a result, residents there rely heavily on aid workers from non-governmental organizations for medical care. And the president of one of those NGOs, the Syrian American Medical …
Read More »To Make Childbirth Safer, Look No Further Than Valley Hospitals
High-risk childbirths for celebrity mothers like tennis star Serena Williams and performer Beyonce are shining a light on a health story that’s historically flown under the radar: Childbirth is risky for women, particularly women of color. Williams, Beyonce and their babies all survived, but the U.S. does have the one …
Read More »Valley Hospitals Eye Expansion, Reopening, Bankruptcy
Local hospitals in three San Joaquin Valley communities are making big plans for the future, including an expansion, a reopening, and a bankruptcy filing. In Kern County, Adventist Health has announced plans to build a new hospital in Northwest Bakersfield. The facility will be built near the intersection of Coffee …
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