Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Daily Democrat: Rep. Mike Thompson And Challenger Eric Jones Face Off In League Of Women Voters Congressional Forum
The Oct. 8 forum ranged across the cost of living, health care, housing, immigration enforcement, agricultural investment, water infrastructure and American military spending. (Heeden, 10/11)
Bay Area News Group: More Patients Without Insurance Are Arriving At Bay Area Hospitals
More than 1 million Californians could lose health insurance as the Trump administration restricts access to Medi-Cal, the government coverage program for low-income people. (Stringer, 10/12)
San Francisco Chronicle: Californians Are ‘Really Losing Sleep’ Over This Financial Burden
Medical bills have become Californians’ top financial worry, forcing them to delay care and make painful tradeoffs, a new survey finds. (Ho, 10/11)
San Francisco Examiner: Latino Households At Risk Of Losing Safety Net Coverage
As many as 1 million Latino Californians are at risk of losing their Medi-Cal and CalFresh benefits under new changes enacted at the state and federal levels. (Gurevich, 10/10)
Chico Enterprise-Record: Enloe Health To Receive $9M To Expand Cell, Gene Therapy Access
Enloe Health announced Monday that it was selected to receive a $9 million grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine to establish a Northern California Community Care Center of Excellence, meant to serve as a regional hub to help patients access advanced cell and gene therapies, regenerative medicine clinical trials, education, and specialized care. (10/12)
Daily Democrat: OLE Health And Sutter Health Open New Community Garden At Davis Community Clinic
Developed through a partnership between OLE Health and Sutter Health, the garden at Davis Community Clinic reflects a shared commitment to addressing factors that influence health beyond medical care and creating more opportunities for patients to lead healthy lives. (Vera-Franco, 10/10)
San Francisco Examiner: Nurses Take On The Mantle Of Activism Fighting Back Trump
“There are two very clear futures before us — one where ICE offices like this are the most important buildings in town, and one where our hospitals are the most important buildings in town. That is the future we are fighting for — one where our facilities get the funding we need to take care of our patients,” said Michelle Gutierrez Vo, president of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee. (Gurevich, 10/7)
San Francisco Examiner: How Therapists Respond When Their Patients Bring Up AI
As concerns about artificial intelligence and its effects on mental health continue to mount — and as more people use the technology as a resource — mental-health professionals are trying to find a good middle ground with their patients. (Gurevich, 10/8)
Bay Area News Group: Marin County Launches Program To Prevent Homelessness
Marin County has launched a two-year initiative to prevent homelessness by providing financial assistance to residents at the highest risk of losing their housing. (Halstead, 10/10)
The San Diego Union-Tribune: Encinitas Plan To Reserve Shelter Beds In National City Sparks Debate Over Regional Homelessness Responsibility
National City’s mayor and the shelter’s operator say the arrangement is temporary until a North County facility opens potentially next year in Escondido. (Armstrong, 10/11)
Daily Democrat: Supervisors Hear Update On Homelessness In Yolo County
Despite a slight decrease to 900 people in Yolo County’s homeless population, as reflected in 2026’s point-in-time data, county data indicate the number of unhoused individuals in the county has doubled since the documented 500 in 2017. (Heeden, 10/10)
The San Diego Union-Tribune: San Jose Has Seen Some Success With Homelessness. Can San Diego Learn From It?
At the fourth annual End Homelessness Summit, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan said that in the past 18 months, San Jose reduced the number of people living outdoors by 32% and moved 1,700 people inside. (Morgan, 10/7)
The San Diego Union-Tribune: Oceanside Aims To Build Tiny Homes For Homeless Ahead Of El NiÑO Storms
Oceanside will use $3 million as part of a budget carve-out to build tiny homes ahead of winter storms. (Morgan, 10/9)
Victorville Daily Press: Apple Valley Homeless Outreach Yields Referrals To Services, Arrests
Deputies contacted more than 100 people, resulting in 15 connected with services and more than two-dozen arrests, during a homeless outreach in Apple Valley earlier this month. (Day, 10/9)
The Fresno Bee: Fresno Thrift Shop Funds Showers And Services
Sales at H2H Vintage Thrift help pay for services for homeless people, including showers, clothing, hygiene kits, food and more. (Clough, 10/12)
Palo Alto Daily Post: Council May Expand RV Ban To Additional Residential Streets
The Palo Alto City Council on Oct. 19 will consider banning RVs on any street within 100 feet of a home and expanding the hours from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. (Cartwright, 10/12)
Monterey Herald: Bruce Taylor Makes Statement About Cyclospora Outbreak
The statement from the president and chief executive officer of Salinas-based Taylor Farms said his company would indefinitely suspend operations in Central Mexico for sale in the U.S. and Canada during the CDC-defined cyclospora season, lasting from May to August, which coincides with Central Mexico’s rainy season. (Hamilton, 10/9)
The San Diego Union-Tribune: County To Use New Forecasting Tool To Measure Flu, COVID-19 In Region
Because hospital use is a good barometer of measuring infectious disease in the broader community, looking a few weeks ahead can help organizations plan how to allocate their resources and individuals how to adjust their lives, experts say. (Sisson, 10/9)
San Luis Obispo Tribune: COVID, Flu & RSV: Symptoms, Cases, Testing And Vaccines In CA
Cases of influenza and COVID-19 are on the rise across California, according to the latest data from the state health department. (Rodriguez, 10/9)
Red Bluff Daily News: Free, Drive-Through Flu Shot Clinic In Red Bluff On Oct. 17
The Tehama County Health Services Agency is offering a no-cost, drive-through flu shot clinic from 9 a.m. to noon Oct.17 at 1850 Walnut St. The drive-through clinic will not offer high-dose vaccines, pneumonia vaccines, or COVID-19 services. (Taylor, 10/10)
USA Today: Positive Rabies Case In Westlake Village Causes Concern
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health announced in an Oct. 5 news release that it was investigating a rabies-positive raccoon in Westlake Village, a city on the border of Los Angeles and Ventura counties. (Centeno Araujo, 10/8)
San Luis Obispo Tribune: Can A Sexually Transmitted Illness Cause Diarrhea?
Drug-resistant cases of shigellosis, an illness that can be caused by sexual contact, are on the rise in the United States, health experts said. (Sweeney, 10/12)
Imperial Valley Press Online: County Heat Tracking Reports 14 Deaths, Nearly 300 Cases During Extreme Summer Temperatures
The Imperial County Public Health Department’s report —conducted annually in collaboration with El Centro Regional Medical Center, Pioneers Memorial Hospital, and the Imperial County sheriff’s coroner division — monitors emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and fatalities tied to environmental heat exposure. (Bojorquez, 10/10)
Imperial Valley Press Online: Cooling Center Coming To Calipatria
The Imperial County Board of Supervisors has requested from the state $1.2 million for cooling center at 190 E. Main St. that will include backup power, outdoor shade, a hydration station, bilingual signage, and temperature and utilization sensors. (Guerrero, 10/9)
inewsource: Answers Emerging About Chollas Creek Chemical Contamination
PCE can cause cancer of the liver, bladder and kidney as well as multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. TCE causes reproductive toxicity, including congenital birth defects, miscarriages, small birth weights and a low sperm count in men. (Salata, 10/9)
The San Diego Union-Tribune: Sheriff’s Office Is Now Letting You Know How Your 911 Call Turns Out
Some who report a crime or call 911 to San Diego County Sheriff's Office might automatically receive text messages updating them on the call or case. (Figueroa, 10/10)
The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat: Sonoma County Poised To Grant 9% Ambulance Rate Increase For Sonoma County Fire District
The cost of basic and advanced life support transport by ambulances run under a contract with Sonoma County Fire District is set to go up by hundreds of dollars under a proposal up for approval Tuesday. (Murphy and Espinoza, 10/12)
The Mendocino Voice | Mendocino County, CA: If Measure D Fails, Ambulances On Mendocino County's South Coast Could Drop To One During Some Hours
Now the district keeps two ambulances on duty around the clock, each with a paramedic. Asked whether a failed vote could mean one ambulance instead of two at some hours, Bronwyn Golly, who runs Coast Life Support District said, “That’s definitely something that could happen.” (Coryell, 10/9)
Southern California News Group: OC Reinstates Ambulance Service For Chapman Global Medical Center
Orange County health officials have agreed to allow ambulances to resume taking emergency patients to Chapman Global Medical Center in Orange, more than three years after the county revoked the hospital’s ability to receive ambulance patients. (Saavedra, 10/9)
The Fresno Bee: ICE Surge Gripped Fresno, Central Valley Last Week, Targeting Workers. Here's What Unfolded
Arrests, a shooting, a postponed festival and calls for "ICE out" — a look at how one week of federal enforcement upended Central Valley communities. (Kirkpatrick, 10/11)
CalMatters: ICE Arrests At California's Community Colleges Alarm Students And Families
California community college officials say they are trying to protect students but can’t bar ICE agents from public spaces on campus. (Echelman, 10/12)
Los Angeles Times: ICE Detainees Who Were Sprayed With A Cleaning Agent Reach Settlement
Hundreds of detainees said they suffered lasting health issues when guards sprayed a toxic cleaning agent during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Castillo, 10/8)
The San Diego Union-Tribune: Federal Funding Pullback Chills HIV Trials At UCSD
UC San Diego has paused at least five clinical trials designed to cure or control HIV after the National Institutes of Health issued guidance last week that new enrollments should be put on hold. (Sisson, 10/12)
The Fresno Bee: 6 California Cities Are Among Worst In US For Single Moms. Find Out Where Fresno Ranked
“Where a single mother lives can shape her family’s stability more than almost any other single factor,” one expert said. (Singh, 10/12)
CapRadio: ‘Not Everybody Will Go Hungry.’ Merced Food Rescue Group Aims To Fill In Gaps For Daycare Facilities
Food Para Todos partners with local grocery stores and school districts to redirect food that would have gone into the landfill into the hands of those in need. (Quintanilla, 10/12)
J.: Psychedelics Can Stir Jewish Yearning Beyond Synagogue Walls, Survey Finds
In January, Ben traveled from New York City to rural Oregon for a Jewish-run, guided psychedelic retreat. Still processing his father’s death from last summer, he felt the need for something beside conventional therapy to come to terms with his grief. (Ashkenazi, 10/9)
The Sacramento Bee: If Sports Betting Is Banned In California, Why Is Kalshi Allowed To Operate Here?
Sports betting is banned in California, even at tribal casinos. Yet online companies such as Kalshi and Polymarket offer customers in the state the opportunity to wager on the outcome of professional athletic events using a brokerage system that critics say is the equivalent of gambling. Is it legal? (Bernstein, 10/11)
