Workers at Regional Medical Center’s trauma unit routinely cut car crash victims out of their clothes, replace blood as it sprays from torn aortas and hold pelvic bones together as they pass along instructions over the yelling of suffering patients. Commotion and stress aren’t exactly positive features of most workplaces. But for an East San...
Silicon Valley officials target mental health efforts at homeless shelters
Two local elected leaders are teaming up on a plan to bring behavioral health workers directly to homeless residents living in shelters. District 2 Santa Clara County Supervisor Betty Duong unveiled her proposal alongside San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan on Friday. The plan calls for adding another team of workers from the county Valley Homeless...
Silicon Valley health care leaders say federal cuts ‘truly devastating’
Santa Clara County health care leaders weren’t shy about voicing what’s in store for the future of public health at a forum hosted by San José Spotlight, as they brace for billions in revenue cuts. Editor Moryt Milo, who moderated the Sept. 17 State of Health Care in Silicon Valley event, questioned panelists on the ramifications...
East San Jose women can deliver babies closer to home
A profit-driven decision five years ago is about to be reversed — enabling women to once more give birth at their neighborhood hospital in East San Jose. Regional Medical Center plans to restore labor and delivery care around October 20 after joining Santa Clara County’s massive public hospital system six months ago. The obstetrics department...
Santa Clara County declares public health crisis for Latino residents
Latinos in Santa Clara County suffer from higher rates of poverty, lower rates of high school graduation and more deaths from diabetes than other groups. Officials want to find ways to close that gap. The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously declared a public health crisis for Latino residents, and is committing...
Santa Clara County opens walk-in clinic for substance disorders
While Santa Clara County is facing unprecedented revenue losses due to federal health care cuts, one newly opened clinic may survive. Santa Clara Valley Healthcare’s Compassionate Addiction Services and Support (COMPASS) Clinic opened Sept. 2, with federal grant and opioid settlement funds contributing between $2 million to $3 million. The substance use recovery facility is the...
Santa Clara County prosecutors, law enforcement not sold on sales tax
As local leaders and doctors rally behind Santa Clara County’s proposed sales tax measure, sheriff’s deputies and county prosecutors are urging voters to think twice. Dozens of health care workers and elected officials gathered at Valley Medical Center in San Jose on Wednesday in a show of public support for the five-eighth cent general sales...
Santa Clara County hospital burn unit caught in fed cuts
Cramped within a tiny, aging section of Santa Clara County’s flagship public hospital, a team of people in cyan and navy scrubs treats the worst burn injuries in California. But a wave of massive federal spending cuts may complicate efforts to expand. The 55-year-old burn unit is one of only three centers of its kind...
Santa Clara County urges vaccinations as students return to school
Santa Clara County health officials are urging families to prioritize vaccinating their children as students return to school and looming federal cuts threaten health care funding. Dr. Sarah Rudman, acting health officer and director of the Santa Clara County Public Health Department, said vaccinations should be at the top of back-to-school lists. Many county clinics...
Silicon Valley leaders discuss how federal cuts will hurt region
Santa Clara County officials want their largest city’s support in hiking sales taxes to keep their public hospital system alive against federal cuts. But San Jose leaders have conditions. Congressman and former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo suggested the city could tie its support for the sales tax measure — now known as “Measure A”...