A new residential treatment facility in Santa Clara County will provide people with a safe place to heal and recover. County officials announced the opening of 1072-1082 Vermont St. in San Jose, known as Vermont House, at a Thursday news conference. The two houses can hold up to 15 people who have a mental illness...
San Jose fire to resume drug oversight program after tampering
San Jose leaders are temporarily reinstating a drug oversight program they scrapped while firefighter medics internally flagged narcotics thefts and patient exposure to tampered morphine. The City Council on Tuesday approved the revival of San Jose’s paramedic coordinator program, known as Med 30, with new funding for seven months — starting in December — as...
Funding falls through for Santa Clara County mental health facilities
Santa Clara County received zero Proposition 1 help from Gov. Gavin Newsom to expand its mental health facilities, despite him turning up the pressure on counties to provide more treatment beds. Last month, Newsom announced $3.3 billion in Prop. 1 grants to 126 recipients across the state. Santa Clara County was left out. The county...
East San Jose leaders burned out on smoke shops
San Jose leaders say stores selling tobacco, liquor and other illicit products are over concentrated on the east side of the city — and they are looking to temporarily ban new ones. Councilmembers Peter Ortiz, Domingo Candelas, Pamela Campos, George Casey and David Cohen introduced a proposal Wednesday to pause new smoke shops from opening in...
San Jose to cut older adult wellness program from budget
A San Jose grant program aimed at reducing social isolation among the city’s older adult population is on the chopping block amid a multimillion-dollar budget deficit. The city’s Older Adult Health and Wellness Grant Program funds nonprofits focused on educating San Jose’s older adult community on health, social and nutrition programs — but $526,434 in...
Santa Clara County takes over managed health care program
Facing dramatic federal funding cuts, Santa Clara County leaders want to lessen the taxpayer dollars needed to support its massive public hospital system. That means reining in an institution the county created decades ago — which officials warn risks putting its own survival over health services. The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously May 20 to...
Need for Santa Clara County senior meals outgrows budget
Amy and George Hsu look forward to an affordable lunch five days a week at Sunnyvale United Methodist Church. It’s where they socialize with dozens of older adults, listen to a lively jazz band play “Blueberry Hill” and get a meal with fresh fruit and vegetables they wouldn’t be able to budget for on a...
Santa Clara County to prosecute adult care homeowners for wage theft
She came to San Jose alone from the Philippines in 2016, expecting to be connected with a decent job and living arrangements so she could send money back home. Instead, what she encountered was a nightmare. The Filipino woman, who was in her 60s at the time, became a live-in caretaker at a residential care...
Santa Clara County hospital increases youth clinic services
Santa Clara County is expanding clinic space for youth with developmental disabilities at county-owned O’Connor Hospital to accommodate more patients. The Pediatric Development Specialty Center will grow into an additional suite on the third floor of the hospital to give more space for clinical social workers, speech therapists and psychologists to work with youth with learning...
California immigrant fast-food workers afraid to report work abuses
A report on fast-food workers shows immigrants are often too scared to report violations and are largely unaware of their rights. The California Fast Food Workers Union’s latest report done in collaboration with the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights documents worker experiences. The groups surveyed 405 workers at more than 200 fast-food locations throughout the...