Covering the week’s most noteworthy news stories impacting the lives of the Filipino-American community in the United States of America.
A new poll released for the Building Decarbonization Coalition (BDC) finds that a healthy 62% majority of California voters would support a pilot program to upgrade their neighborhoods to run on 100% clean electricity. A neighborhood-scale pilot program could upgrade entire blocks of homes and businesses at once to be fully powered by clean, renewable…
Cal State LA has received a $370,000 state grant to develop a new program focused on Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) student achievement efforts. The award is part of a $8 million appropriation directed by Assembly Bill (AB) 190 to the California State University to enhance culturally responsive support for underserved students,…
JUNE 12 will be recognized as Philippine Independence Day in Los Angeles County, according to a proclamation from the county Board of Supervisors. The motion, authored by Supervisor Janice Hahn and coauthored by Supervisor Hilda L. Solis, reads in part “The Board of Supervisors recognizes the importance of this day to Filipino residents in Los…
To close racial and ethnic birthing outcome disparities, Medi-Cal is expanding access to maternal health services — most notably, doula care. Doulas — trained professionals who provide physical, emotional and informational support to patients before, during and after childbirth — are essential to closing these disparities for parents and infants, as doula care can help…
In Nevada, where nearly half a million seniors reside, the demand for home caregivers is escalating rapidly, with a projected need for 32,000 more in the next decade to adequately serve its aging population. Homecare workers help with all the daily activities that empower seniors and people with disabilities to live at home, including bathing,…
by Selen Ozturk Ethnic Media Services The Healing Our People Through Engagement (HOPE) program uses a “Radical Healing Framework” to help the five largest Asian communities in Los Angeles County — Cambodian, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese and Korean — respond to past and ongoing racism. The project is funded by the California Department of Social Services…
A new poll released for the Building Decarbonization Coalition (BDC) finds that a healthy 62% majority of California voters would support a pilot program to upgrade their neighborhoods to run on 100% clean electricity. A neighborhood-scale pilot program could upgrade entire blocks of homes and businesses at once to be fully powered by clean, renewable…
by Sunita Sohrabji Ethnic Media Services The next major pandemic of Covid-like proportions will likely be avian flu, a respiratory disease already killing millions of poultry and waterfowl, and infecting thousands of cattle. Currently, there is a version of H5N1 — the avian flu virus — on six continents, an unprecedented event, said Dr. Maurice…
The new KP.2 subvariant shows an amazing ability to evade immunity, and will likely spur on a summer surge of COVID-19 infections. “This is one of the more aggressive versions of the virus that we have ever seen,” said virologist Dr. Benjamin Neuman, professor of biology at Texas A&M University. “This is at the top…
The $10 million grant program will fund 46 local organizations fighting food inequity COMPTON, Calif. — To tackle the widespread food crisis in the Southland, Los Angeles County has unveiled a new $9.6 million grant program that will help fund food-based community organizations dedicated to providing affordable, healthy food to struggling families. The program is…
$68M in financial support to be distributed to qualified landlords LOS ANGELES – As the June 4 deadline approaches, the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs (DCBA) urges all qualified landlords to apply for the LA County Rent Relief Program. Applications must be submitted before the deadline of Tuesday, June 4, 2024, at 4:59…
by Andy Miller KFF Health News When Cassie Cox ended up in the emergency room in January, the Bainbridge, Georgia, resident was grateful for the Obamacare insurance policy she had recently selected for coverage in 2024. Cox, 40, qualified for an Affordable Care Act marketplace plan with no monthly premium due to her relatively low…
The new KP.2 subvariant shows an amazing ability to evade immunity, and will likely spur on a summer surge of COVID-19 infections. “This is one of the more aggressive versions of the virus that we have ever seen,” said virologist Dr. Benjamin Neuman, professor of biology at Texas A&M University. “This is at the top…
Caring for older adults with dementia is stressful, especially when they become physically or verbally aggressive, wander away from home, develop paranoia or hallucinations, engage in inappropriate or repetitive behaviors, or refuse to let caregivers help them. Upward of 95% of patients experience these neuropsychiatric symptoms of dementia, which tend to fluctuate over time and…
by Amy Maxmen and Céline Gounder KFF Health News Measles is on the rise in the United States. In the first quarter of this year, the number of cases was about 17 times what it was, on average, during the same period in each of the four years before, according to the Centers for Disease…
Disaggregated data could play a major role in resolving the U.S.’s health care inequities, revealing information about diverse populations that have not previously been counted. Standards for federal data collection have not changed since 1997. But in a monumental move, the Office of Management and Budget March 28 announced new standards for data collection, to…
by Selen Ozturk Ethnic Media Services California is on the national front lines of making mental health and substance use disorder care easier to access for patients of Medi-Cal, its version of Medicaid. At an Ethnic Media Services briefing, Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) leaders and community health care providers explained how Medi-Cal is…
LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County has launched one of the most ambitious efforts in the nation to tackle medical debt, targeting hospitals for their role in feeding a $2.9 billion problem. For over a year, the nation’s most populous county has worked on a comprehensive plan to track patient debt and hospital collection practices;…
SACRAMENTO — In the first year after its launch, the California vs. Hate initiative has provided support services to 1,020 victims of hate crimes and incidents. At a press briefing here May 20 morning, the California Civil Rights Department, which heads up the multi-year initiative, unveiled new data and findings from the initiative’s first year…
The perception of a floundering economy will loom large as women of color — a large and reliable, but often overlooked, voting bloc — head to the polls this November. Approximately 57% of Latinx women, 55% of AAPI women, and 49% of Black women think things have gotten worse in the country over the past…
For the past year and a half, Tandra Cooper Harris and her husband, Marcus, who both have diabetes, have struggled to fill their prescriptions for the medications they need to control their blood sugar. Without Ozempic or a similar drug, Cooper Harris suffers blackouts, becomes too tired to watch her grandchildren, and struggles to earn…
by Michelle Andrews KFF Health News For many patients, seeing a nurse practitioner has become a routine part of primary care, in which these “NPs” often perform the same tasks that patients have relied on doctors for. But NPs in specialty care? That’s not routine, at least not yet. Increasingly, though, nurse practitioners and physician…
When a doctor in Pasadena, California, reported in October that a hospital patient was exhibiting classic symptoms of dengue fever, such as vomiting, a rash, and bone and joint pain, local disease investigators snapped into action. The mosquito-borne virus is common in places like Southeast Asia, East Africa, and Latin America, and when Americans contract…
by Angela Hart KFF Health News TURLOCK — For much of his young life, Jorge Sanchez regularly gasped for air, at times coughing so violently that he’d almost throw up. His mother whisked him to the emergency room late at night and slept with him to make sure he didn’t stop breathing. “He’s had these…
LAST week, Gov. Gavin Newsom released an updated state budget proposal that cuts $283 million in funding from the Equitable Building Decarbonization Program (EBD) — a 30% reduction. The proposed cuts could deny access to no-cost clean energy upgrades for tens of thousands of low-income households who otherwise would be eligible for the program. The…
As California’s population ages, the burden of Alzheimer’s is increasingly falling on women. In response, the state has launched a new initiative aimed at raising public awareness about the disease and promoting early detection. Two-thirds of those diagnosed with Alzheimer’s nationwide are women, data shows, with many experiencing social isolation, misdiagnosis and stigma. Women also…
by Sunita Sohrabji Ethnic Media Services The perception of a floundering economy will loom large as women of color — a large and reliable, but often overlooked, voting bloc — head to the polls this November. Approximately 57% of Latinx women, 55% of AAPI women, and 49% of Black women think things have gotten worse…
by Selen Ozturk Ethnic Media Services In the nation’s most ambitious effort to address social needs, a $12 billion Medi-Cal initiative now provides services for the unhoused including stable housing navigation, rent deposit aid and street medicine. At a virtual news briefing for ethnic media on May 2, a state Department of Health Care Services…
All eyes are on Capitol Hill over the coming days as lawmakers weigh the pros and cons of H.R. 7109, a controversial bill that many say could negatively impact the future of representation and census integrity nationwide. H.R. 7109, dubbed The Equal Representation Act, has sparked intense reactions among civil rights advocates and census experts…
Marisol Pantoja Toribio found a lump in her breast in early January. Uninsured and living in California without legal status and without her family, the usually happy-go-lucky 43-year-old quickly realized how limited her options were. “I said, ‘What am I going to do?’” she said in Spanish, quickly getting emotional. She immediately worried she might…
