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 The Central Valley faces a unique set of challenges in the area of health care, just as it does in other areas, such as the economy and air quality. Public health impacts the lives of all Valley residents, from obesity and diabetes, to the ongoing asthma epidemic. The Valley is also one of the traditionally most underserved areas of the state in terms of health care access and delivery. As part of an effort to address these issues, Valley Public Radio’s Valley Edition is focusing our coverage on the local issues of health care access, public health and health care reform in the Valley.
 Special funding for Valley Public Radio’s health care coverage comes from The California HealthCare Foundation.
Recent programs:
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Air pollution causes health concerns this winter
So far the winter of 2011/2012 is proving to be an especially bad one for residents concerned for their respiratory health, as air pollution levels have spiked, thanks in part to a lengthy dry spell, and soot from wood fires. On this segment of Valley Edition, we talk about what Valley residents can do to breathe a little easier, and listeners share their comments. Joining host Juanita Stevenson to discuss this topic are Jaime Holt of the Valley Air District; Dr. John Gasmann, a pulmonologist with Kaiser Permanente in Fresno, and Bonnie Holmes-Gen of the American Lung Association.
Click here to listen to the archived audio!
Thursday, November 15, 2011
Health care reform funding rejected by Fresno County
Earlier this fall the Fresno County Board of Supervisors chose to withdraw the county's application for $50 million in federal funding that would have helped create a "Low Income Health Program" for the county's poorest residents. That makes Fresno the only county in the state to not take advantage of this new program, designed to get poor residents out of local emergency rooms and into a primary care setting. On this Valley Edition, host Juanita Stevenson reports on how an old contract with a local hospital, the debate over immigration, and the uncertainty over cost, caused the county to walk away from a program that could have improved health and created jobs. Kevin Hamilton of Clinca Sierra Vista, Jacey Cooper of Kern County's Kern Medical Center Health Plan, and Diana Dooley, California's Secretary of Health and Human Services join our roundtable discussion following the report.
Click here to listen to the archived audio!
Thursday, November 15, 2011
New Latino theatre project tackles obesity
Augustin Lira is widely recognized as one of the fathers of the Chicano movement. In 1965 he co-founded the group Teatro Campesino, which focused on the issues facing California's migrant farm worker population. Now in 2011, he's tackling a new topic that impacts many local Latino residents – obesity. "The Weight of Things" is a new production of four vignettes plus and original song, produced in conjunction with the Central California Regional Obesity Prevention Program. Guests Patricia Wells and Genoveva Islas-Hooker tell us about what this new production hopes to accomplish.
Click here to listen to the archived audio!
Tuesday September 20, 2011
High Rate of Heart Procedures in the Valley
A new study from Stanford University indicates that residents of the Central Valley have a much higher rate of certain elective heart procedures - elective angiography, and angioplasty than residents of the rest of the state, even when compared to patients with similar conditions. Journalist Emily Bazar of the California Health Care Foundation's Center for Health Reporting, who broke the news of this study in newspapers across the state joins us to talk about what this means for patients and doctors in the Valley. Click here to listen to the archived audio!
Tuesday August 23, 2011
Last month, new data came out ranking California as the 12th skinniest state in the union. But, you wouldn’t know it living in the San Joaquin Valley, where one in three people is obese and therefore at risk for a slew of diseases, including diabetes, heart attack and early death. In her first story in this series, reporter Lauren Whaley profiled an obese 15-year-old and his attempts to get healthy. In this second story, we follow a nutrition educator who’s been teaching parents across Fresno County how to eat right and who learns a few things herself along the way. Click here to listen to the archived audio!
Tuesday August 16, 2011
California’s Central Valley faces a shortage of primary care doctors and specialists. Many physicians prefer to work in urban areas where the pay is better, rather than rural clinics for the poor. But a program through UC Davis and UC Merced is trying to change that, encouraging Valley medical students to practice here at home. Valley Public Radio's Shellie Branco brings us a special report, and host Juanita Stevenson talks with guests Steve Barrow of the California State Rural Health Association and Dr. Dominic Divon, a primary care physician and UCSF Fresno Director of Ambulatory Medicine discuss this issue. And Assembly Member Henry T. Perea (D - Fresno) also joins the discussion to talk about his new legislation, AB 589 that would provide scholarship funds for medical school students to establish their practice in underserved areas like the Valley. Click here to listen to the archived audio!
Tuesday July 5, 2011
Obesity
We hear the term "obesity epidemic" often in the news these days. It's an issue that hits close to home. About 40 percent of Fresno County kids ages five to 19 are overweight or obese. And so are their parents. 57 percent of Fresno adults are overweight. In this we'll talk to some regional experts about what valley residents can do to avoid the illnesses that come from excessive weight gain. On this edition of Quality of Life, reporter Lauren Whaley brings us the story of one Fresno teenager who suffers from obesity. And how getting sick changed his life. For the better. We are also are joined in-studio by guests Genoveva Islas-Hooker, Regional Program Coordinator for the Central CA Regional Obesity Prevention Program, and Sara Bosse, Senior Nutrition Program Manager, Family Nutrition Education Program of the UC Davis Cooperative Extension. Click here to listen to the archived audio!
Tuesday June 21, 2011
School Districs Ban Chocolate Milk
Last week the LA Unified School District voted to remove chocolate and flavored milk from its school lunch menus, as part of an effort to fight childhood obesity. Food activists say this is an important move to help improve the health of children, while critics say it's a case of good intentions gone too far. We're debate the issue with guests Jennie Cook from the LA parents group Food For Lunch; Hanford dairy owner Dino Giocaomazzi; and Shelley Matson, RD, a Registered Dietician at Madera Community Hospital in Madera. Click here to listen to the archived audio!
Tuesday May 17, 2011
Diabetes Costs & Care
Californians spend $24 billion each year on diabetes care, and the Valley's diabetes rates are some of the highest in the state, around 10 percent. For people struggling with the disease, the financial and emotional burdens of diabetes make for a difficult combination. When the costs of diabetes testing supplies add up, some bypass the pharmacy and turn to the street to get what they need. Correspondent Shellie Branco reports on how some Valley residents are dealing with their disease, and Dr. Allison Diamant from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research joins us for a studio discussion on diabetes. Click here to listen to the archived audio!
Tuesday April 19, 2011
School Health
When we hear about budget problems in California schools, we usually think of teachers losing their jobs. But school nurses are also worried about job security and cuts to student health services. On this edition of Valley Edition, correspondent Shellie Branco brings us a feature report on school health, and talks with school nurses and one Visalia family who relies on them. We are also joined by guests Linda Davis-Alldritt, RN, a School Nurse Consultant for California Department of Education, and Kevin Hamilton, Deputy Chief of Program of Clinica Sierra Vista, which serves Kern and Fresno Counties. Together, they talk about a new state law that mandates pertussis booster shots for students entering grades 7-12 starting July 1. Click here to listen to the archived audio!
Tuesday March 15th, 2011
Toxic Air & Water
Last month, Forbes magazine released its ranking of the nation’s ten "most toxic" cities, and Bakersfield and Fresno were ranked #2 and #3. While concerns about the Valley's air and water quality are nothing new, this report brings new national attention to the efforts to deal with these problems. In this segment, we examine the efforts to clean up the air with Sayed Sadredin, Executive Director and Air Pollution Control Officer for the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District. Guest Maria Herrera, of the Community Water Center in Visalia also joins us to talk about the water quality issues facing many small communities in Tulare county, such as Seville, which was recently singled out by a United Nations expert for its nitrate polluted water system. Click here to listen to the archived audio!
Tuesday, March 8th – 9:00 AM
Health care reform, 1 year later
Last March, President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law. This sweeping and controversial law aims to expand health coverage to millions of previously uninsured Americans, with the bulk of the new programs beginning in 2014. But many Valley residents, who currently lack coverage, or lost their insurance after losing a job in the recession, have yet to feel the impact of the legislation. On this edition of Valley Edition, reporter Lauren Whaley looks at how several north valley residents are dealing with the health care crisis, in a special report from The Modesto Bee and the California HealthCare Foundation's Center for Health Reporting at USC. Following the report, we talk about how the health care reform law is being implemented in California, and what reform measures are being implemented now, before 2014. Our guests include Dr. Shana Alex Lavarreda, Director of Health Insurance Studies at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research; and Dr. Steven Choolijian, M.D., an internist and a consultant to the Central Valley Health Policy Institute at Fresno State.
Click here to listen to the archived audio!
Tuesday, February 15th – 9:00 AM
Mental Health care Crisis in the Valley
In 2009 budget cuts lead the Fresno County Board of Supervisors to close the county’s Mental Health Crisis Intervention Services Center. Now all involuntary psychiatric hold (5150) patients are being sent to area hospital emergency rooms, which often lack the facilities and staffing to provide appropriate and timely mental health care. On this edition of Valley Edition, we look at the impact this and similar moves in other Valley counties, on mental health patients, public safety, and our health care delivery system.
Click here to listen to the archived audio!
Tuesday, January 18th – 9:00 AM
The Valley has one of the highest rates of elective births (c-sections) in the nation. Recent studies have indicated that many of these procedures are un-necessary and carry significant health risks for both mothers and their newborn children. Correspondent Shellie Branco reports, followed by an in-depth discussion with host Terry Phillips and guest experts.
Click here to listen to the archived audio!
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