Dr. Sukhjit Dhillon, an emergency medicine physician at UCSF Fresno, says she is concerned that the recent increase in COVID-19 cases will once again overwhelm hospital emergency rooms. New hospital admissions due to COVID-19 have increased in Fresno County by 71 percent in the past week, according to the U.S. …
Read More »State Senator Questions Medical Board About Its Handling Of Bakersfield Doctor After Patient Deaths
A San Joaquin Valley legislator is seeking answers from the Medical Board of California as to why the oversight agency allowed a Bakersfield doctor to remain in practice even though it determined he had been negligent with patients. Obstetrician-gynecologist Dr. Arthur Park has been associated with the deaths of at …
Read More »“The Storm Has Definitely Hit” – Fresno ER Doctor On Rising COVID-19 Cases
Earlier this spring, even as hospital workers received new guidance for personal protective equipment and learned to strip off their work clothes before entering their homes, Dr. Patil Armenian, an emergency physician at Community Regional Medical Center and UCSF Fresno, told KVPR that the experience felt like “the calm before …
Read More »Working In The ICU During A Pandemic: A Tulare County Doctor Weighs In
Tulare County has one of the highest COVID-19 death rates in California due in part to outbreaks in nursing homes – and the county just voted to reopen businesses before meeting health benchmarks set by the state. FM89’s Alice Daniel spoke with Dr. Harjoth Malli, medical director of Critical Care …
Read More »An Emergency Medicine Doctor On Covid-19 And ‘A Rebirth of Public Health’
Near the beginning of the pandemic, we talked to an ER doctor who said the emergency room at Community Regional Medical Center in downtown Fresno felt like “the calm before the storm.” So, more than two months in, what’s it like now? FM89’s Alice Daniel spoke with Dr. Jim Comes, …
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 »Stories Of The Doctor Shortage, Mapped
As part of our series Struggling For Care , we invited listeners to call in with their experiences trying to find doctors in the San Joaquin Valley. Some audio clips below are directly taken (with permission) from voicemails left on our tip line, others from more in-depth conversations. All highlight …
Read More »Changing Immigration Policies Could Spell Bad News For Valley’s Doctor Pipeline
As the San Joaquin Valley struggles with a shortage of primary care physicians, one group in particular is stepping in to fill in the gaps: doctors born or trained in foreign countries. And while the planned repeal of the DACA program is President Trump’s most recent immigration policy change, he’s …
Read More »Changing Immigration Policies Could Spell Bad News For Valley’s Doctor Pipeline
As the San Joaquin Valley struggles with a shortage of primary care physicians, one group in particular is stepping in to fill in the gaps: doctors born or trained in foreign countries. And while the planned repeal of the DACA program is President Trump’s most recent immigration policy change, he’s …
Read More »Need a hand doctor? You don’t have to leave Merced County anymore
People in Merced County who need to see an orthopedic specialist for injuries ranging from their hand to shoulder no longer have to leave the area to receive care. … Click to Continue »
Read More »Would a medical school at UC Merced fix the county’s doctor shortage?
More than 30,000 Merced County residents gained some form of health insurance when Medi-Cal was expanded in 2014. However, there was no corresponding increase in doctors to accept those patients … Click to Continue »
Read More »Merced’s doctor shortage is getting worse. But it’s not a new problem.
Cierra Shelton, a 30-year-old mother of two, has been struggling to find a consistent primary care doctor in Merced County for as long as she’s been an adult. But her … Click to Continue »
Read More »Why finding a doctor in Merced will get worse before it gets better for most people
Cierra Shelton suffers from hypertension and can’t find a doctor in Merced. Frequently the 30-year-old mother of two takes only half the prescribed dose of her blood-pressure medication to make … Click to Continue »
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