News of the month — March 2019
Seong Brown, who spoke at our mental health forum and attended our Kaiser strike rally in San Francisco, talked about her daughter’s struggle to get care from Kaiser and subsequent suicide, in a story by CalMatters. The story has also appeared in the SF Chronicle.
Rachel Smith, who’s son died by suicide four days before his Kaiser mental health appointment, succeeded in getting a bill through the Washington House of Representatives that will help patients fight for their right to timely mental health care. KIRO7 reported on her achievement
A family is upset with Kaiser when it wheeled in a tele-medicine robot to inform them that their relative’s lungs were failing and that he would soon die, the East Bay Times reports. “This is not the way to show value and compassion to a patient,” family friend Julianne Spangler wrote Wednesday. “Shame on you Kaiser!!” The story was later picked up by other outlets including CNN.
Judge Merrick Garland referenced the movie My Cousin Vinny in denying Brius Healthcare’s appeal of a ruling founding that its Novato nursing home illegally fired workers two-days before they voted to join NUHW, according to Above the Law. The workers are entitled to tens of thousands of dollars in back pay and benefits.
The ACLU Foundation of Northern California, the ACLU Foundation of Southern California and the law firm Rukin Hyland & Riggin LLP filed a lawsuit against St. Joseph Health Northern California for denying care to a transgender patient, according to the Lost Coast Outpost.
Cedars-Sinai Healthcare will join the current owner of Tarzana hospital Providence St. Joseph Health to form the Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center, according to the Los Angeles Daily News. In the joint venture, Providence will hold controlling interest of the longstanding San Fernando Valley Hospital and the center will retain its Catholic identity, officials said. Cedars-Sinai is investing in the center for an undisclosed amount as Providence redevelops its Tarzana campus, with a new patient care tower and expanded Emergency Department slated for completion in 2022.
The increase in mental health issues among teens and young adults is nothing short of staggering, according to a new analysis discussed in Salon.