Community

More COVID-19 booster shots may be on the way -- but when it’s your turn, you’ll get an extra dose of the original vaccine, not one updated to better match the extra-contagious delta variant.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is reminding people with Medicare that Medicare Open Enrollment begins October 15, 2021, and now is the time to review their coverage options and make a choice that meets their health care needs. Medicare’s Open Enrollment period gives those who rely on Medicare the opportunity to make changes to their health plans or prescription drug plans, pick a Medicare Advantage Plan, or return to Original Medicare.

Health Center Partners (HCP) of Southern California, the region's health care policy advocate for community health and underserved patient populations, is proud to announce that 13 of its 17 member health centers earned Community Health Quality Recognition (CHQR) badges for their recent achievements in access to care, quality outcomes, health equity, information technology, and contributions to the COVID-19 pandemic response.

The COVID-19 pandemic created mental health struggles in people who previously never faced them like kids. The State says 1-in-3 high school students felt sad or hopeless nearly every day and UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital says they saw double the amount of suicide attempts in children.

On Monday, 24,000 Kaiser Permanente nurses and health care workers in the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP) voted by 96 percent to authorize strike action. Voter turnout was high at 86 percent, an indication of the determination of health care professionals to fight against dangerously low staffing ratios.