Mark Kreidler

@MarkKreidler

Nurses in Crisis Over Covid Dig In for Better Work Conditions

KFF Health News Original

In tough labor negotiations across the nation, here’s what nurses don’t want: “appreciation that is lip service,” “marketing campaigns” and “shiny new buildings.” And this year might well prove to be a turning point in efforts to organize health care’s essential workers.

A Judge Takes His Mental Health Struggles Public

KFF Health News Original

Tim Fall, a sitting judge in California’s Yolo County, decided to break the silence on his mental health issues with a book published during a campaign year. Depression and anxiety, he says, shouldn’t disqualify candidates from any profession.

Las exenciones “religiosas” agregan más complicación a los mandatos de vacunación que se avecinan

KFF Health News Original

Con los mandatos de vacunas en los lugares de trabajo más cerca, los que se oponen están recurriendo a un argumento, que en muchas ocasiones ha sido efectivo, para evitar vacunarse contra covid-19: que las vacunas interfieren con sus creencias religiosas.

‘Religious’ Exemptions Add Legal Thorns to Looming Vaccine Mandates

KFF Health News Original

No major religion’s teachings denounce vaccination, but that hasn’t kept individual churches and others from providing religious “cover” for people to avoid submitting to vaccination as a workplace requirement.

Big Leagues Balk at Endorsing Vaccination

KFF Health News Original

The major sports leagues are struggling to vaccinate enough of their players to protect the clubhouse and locker room, and few stars have stepped forward to pitch vaccination to teammates or fans. WNBA players are an exception, with a 99% vaccination rate and high-profile ads urging the public to get vaccinated.

California Lawmakers Push Feds to Allow a Therapy That Pays Meth Users to Abstain

KFF Health News Original

The approach, known as contingency management, has helped thousands of veterans kick the methedrine habit, but a federal government ruling has limited its use. California hopes to challenge that and make the treatment a Medi-Cal benefit.

Colleges and Universities Plan for Normal-ish Campus Life in the Fall

KFF Health News Original

Universities need full dorms and dining halls to make back some of the estimated $183 billion in losses they’ve suffered over a year of remote education. The hope is widespread vaccination will keep covid chaos to a minimum.

One School District’s Struggle Over Public Health, Parents and Politics

KFF Health News Original

California officials have been leery of reopening schools without tight protocols, a position favored by teachers unions that has met growing flak from local officials and parents. In Roseville, a suburb of Sacramento, the struggle has come to a head.

Fear and Loathing as Colleges Face Another Season of Red Ink

KFF Health News Original

When campuses stay open, COVID infections spread widely, and sometimes kill. But by closing dorms and dining halls, scores of smaller schools face finances so ruinous they could be fatal for their institutions.

Stanford vs. Harvard: Two Famous Biz Schools’ Opposing Tactics on COVID

KFF Health News Original

While the Harvard Business School gently chided returnees to be on their best behavior, Stanford deployed green-vested enforcers and campus police who sometimes threatened students if they violated the rules. Both, apparently, succeeded.

Tough to Tell COVID From Smoke Inhalation Symptoms — And Flu Season’s Coming

KFF Health News Original

Respiratory symptoms stemming from coronavirus infection and smoke inhalation are too similar to distinguish without a full workup. This is complicating the jobs of health care workers as wildfires rage up and down the West Coast.

Forced Sports Timeout Puts Squeeze on College Coffers, Scholarships and Towns

KFF Health News Original

Sports events — with their sprays of sweat and spit, not to mention large crowds — are ideal settings for the coronavirus to spread. Although some college leagues have canceled their fall seasons, schools with big athletic programs are still hoping for a partial return to the gridiron and the hardwood.

California School Districts Grope for Sensible Reopening Plans

KFF Health News Original

Some districts want to bring everyone back to the classroom and some are planning distance-only learning, while most others are settling on one of a variety of options in the middle. Whatever their leanings, they all face vast, troubling uncertainty.

Some Ivory Towers Are Ideal For A Pandemic. Most Aren’t.

KFF Health News Original

As reopening decisions approach for the fall semester, colleges and universities are casting about for strategies to keep students safe without bankrupting their institutions. A few have natural advantages.

The Golden State’s Mixed Record On Lung Cancer

KFF Health News Original

California has one of the lowest rates of new lung cancer cases in the country, attributed largely to its aggressive anti-tobacco policies. But gaps in the state’s health care system mean that people who are diagnosed with the disease, or at a high risk of getting it, often fall through the cracks.

California Attempts To Revive Compassionate Cannabis Programs

KFF Health News Original

After the state legalized recreational marijuana in 2016, new taxes and regulations decimated an ad hoc network that had donated cannabis for medical purposes to patients who could not afford it. A recent law seeks to revive the network, but hurdles remain.