The recent passage of a countywide sales tax measure is expected to soften federal funding cuts to Silicon Valley’s largest public hospital system. But it won’t avoid cuts entirely — and places like Santa Clara County’s premier cancer treatment center could still be affected. It’s estimated that roughly 18% of all Santa Clara County cancer patients will be...
Audit calls for changes after San Jose firefighter drug tampering
A city audit is recommending the San Jose Fire Department strengthen its drug tracking and inventory security after painkiller thefts by a firefighter led to patients receiving morphine from tampered vials. The audit, released Monday, recommends Fire Chief Robert Sapien’s department updates its policies on storage and access to paramedic drug kits, timing of inventory inspections, as...
Santa Clara County struggles to keep mental health workers
Santa Clara County is struggling to retain its behavioral health workforce. A recent report from the University of California, San Francisco examines the gaps in the county’s Behavioral Health and Services Department. It shows that between February 2024 and February 2025, 28% of behavioral health workers employed by the department and contracted agencies are no...
San Jose nonprofits help families with food and groceries
Two San Jose nonprofits have stepped up to help families struggling with food insecurity. Grail Family Services and Sacred Heart Community Service are providing groceries for families, including many who rely on CalFresh, California’s version of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Grail Family Services provided 100 families each with $150 vouchers for groceries...
Santa Clara County provides free resources to veterans
With Veterans Day approaching, Santa Clara County is offering free health and social services to local vets this weekend. The annual Stand Down offers housing and employment assistance, medical and dental screenings, mental health resources, legal aid, groceries, clothing, showers, haircuts and hot lunches. The event kicked off Thursday at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds...
UPDATE: San Jose officials approve temporary tobacco shop ban
The San Jose City Council has enacted a temporary moratorium blocking the establishment of new tobacco shops throughout the city as officials draw up a long-term plan to regulate such businesses. Councilmembers voted unanimously Tuesday to halt the issuance of new licenses for local tobacco businesses, including retailers, smoke shops and smoking lounges. The 45-day...
Santa Clara County Black infant program shuffle stirs concerns
The reassignment of a trusted doctor out of Santa Clara County’s Black Infant Health Program has sparked concern for future efforts combating baby mortality. It’s also exposing the tense balancing act of absorbing a massive county budget hole without cutting services. County officials are moving Dr. Beverley White-Macklin, who has for decades developed a program...
South County school district backs ultraprocessed food ban
Associated Press health writer JoNel Aleccia in Temecula, California, contributed. California will phase out certain ultraprocessed foods from school meals over the next decade under a first-in-the-nation law signed Wednesday by Gov. Gavin Newsom. The law seeks to define ultraprocessed foods, the often super-tasty products typically full of sugar, salt and unhealthy fats. The legislation...
Silicon Valley hospital workers train for Super Bowl threats
San Jose hospital workers scramble into hazmat suits. Others carry stretchers through disoriented crowds into bright yellow tents, where they prep a decontamination process for people critically injured by a chemical bomb. That was the scene for three hours Thursday at O’Connor Hospital, where health care workers ran a mass casualty drill in the rain....
Santa Clara County closes homeless housing and treatment gap
Santa Clara County and San Jose leaders are turning a page in their fraught relationship — vowing to bring more county behavioral health workers into city-run shelters and close gaps in placing the city’s homeless residents into housing. The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted unanimously to approve a new partnership announced Friday by San...