Heidi de Marco

Heidi de Marco was a reporter and producer for KFF Health News until March 2023.

@HeidideMarco

Covid Fears Keep Many Latino Kids out of Classrooms

KFF Health News Original

Latinos got hit disproportionately hard by covid-19. When faced with the choice of sending their kids back to school or keeping them in online classes, many Latino parents say their kids are safer at home.

El miedo a covid mantiene a muchos niños latinos fuera de las aulas

KFF Health News Original

En California, los latinos constituyen el 39% de la población del estado, pero representan el 47% de las muertes por covid, según el Departamento de Salud Pública estatal. A nivel nacional, su riesgo de morir por covid es 2,3 veces mayor que el de los blancos no hispanos.

Some County Jail Inmates See Vaccination as Ticket to a Better Life — In the State Pen

KFF Health News Original

In the Los Angeles County Jail system, many inmates hope being vaccinated will get them transferred more quickly to state prison. Some just want to protect themselves against covid, while others are distrustful and refuse vaccination.

Para este enfermero de cuidados paliativos, la vacuna de covid llegó demasiado tarde

KFF Health News Original

Cuando comenzó la pandemia, Antonio Espinoza, de 36 años, se dedicó a ayudar a los pacientes terminales. Hasta que él mismo cayó enfermo a cinco días de haberse dado la primera dosis de la vacuna contra covid.

For This Hospice Nurse, the Covid Shot Came Too Late

KFF Health News Original

Antonio Espinoza, a hospice nurse in Southern California, ministered to terminally ill patients, including those with covid. He tested positive for covid five days after getting his first dose of vaccine and died a few weeks later.

Role Reversal: Covid Increases Ranks of Child Caregivers

KFF Health News Original

Millions of teens and preteens help care for ill parents or grandparents. The pandemic has boosted their numbers while making it harder for them to get social and emotional support outside the home.

Roles invertidos: más cuidadores juveniles por covid

KFF Health News Original

Millones de adolescentes y preadolescentes ayudan a cuidar de padres o abuelos enfermos. La pandemia ha aumentado el número y ha dificultado que obtengan apoyo social y emocional fuera del hogar.

Learning to Live Again: A Lazarus Tale From the Covid Front Lines

KFF Health News Original

The staff at L.A. County’s public rehabilitation hospital is helping mostly Latino, low-income patients recover the basic functions of daily life robbed from them during weeks or months of critical covid illness.

Dispelling Vaccine Misinformation and Myths in California’s Breadbasket

KFF Health News Original

Even though farmworkers are vulnerable to covid, many hesitate to get the vaccine, worried the shot could have severe side effects or signal their whereabouts to immigration officials. Immigrant advocates in the Coachella Valley and other farming regions are visiting workers to try to allay their fears.

Disipando información errónea y mitos sobre las vacunas en la región agrícola de California

KFF Health News Original

Aunque los trabajadores agrícolas son vulnerables al covid, muchos dudan en recibir la vacuna, preocupados de que pueda tener efectos secundarios graves o que pueda revelar su paradero a los funcionarios de inmigración.

Retiree Living the RV Dream Fights $12,387 Nightmare Lab Fee

KFF Health News Original

A gynecologist in Carlsbad, New Mexico, tested the 60-year-old grandmother for various sexually transmitted infections without her knowledge. Her share of the lab fee was more than $3,000.

Surging LA

KFF Health News Original

Eight months after California Healthline’s Heidi de Marco photographed LA under lockdown, she returned to the same iconic spots. Vehicle and foot traffic are up — as are coronavirus cases.

In Face of COVID Threat, More Dialysis Patients Bring Treatment Home

KFF Health News Original

Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, more patients are administering dialysis to themselves at home rather than receiving it in a clinic. Although home dialysis limits exposure to the virus, it comes with its own challenges.

‘More Than Physical Health’: Gym Helps 91-Year-Old Battle Isolation

KFF Health News Original

For Art Ballard, the local gym was like his second home. The 91-year-old former jeweler relied on his near-daily workouts to stay healthy and for social interaction. But when California instituted its stay-at-home order, Ballard’s physical health suffered. So did his mental health.