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Valley Public Radio Staff

Kristina Herrick
Kristina Herrick
Classical Music Host
Juanita Stevenson
Juanita Stevenson
Valley Edition host
George Mason
George Mason
On-air host, Clearly Classical
Rebecca Plevin
Rebecca Plevin
Reporter
Jason Scott
Jason Scott
Host, Clearly Classical and All Things Considered
Vince DiCiccio
Vince DiCiccio
Host, The Oasis; The Intersection
Ezra Romero
Ezra Romero
Reporter and Producer
Marv Allen
Marv Allen
Host, Morning Edition

Tagged: valley fever

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Just One Breath
5:23 am
Sat September 22, 2012

Valley fever forces police captain to give up his badge

Credit The Bakersfield Californian
In this 2005 photo, Capt. Archie Scott leaves the scene of an armed roberry at a Chevron Valley Credit Union in Bakersfield.
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By Kellie Schmitt, Reporting on Health Collaborative

When Archie Scott came down with valley fever, he was 52, extremely fit and a captain in the Bakersfield Police Department. 

One day in 2007, he started feeling feverish and lethargic with joint aches. He went to his physician, but the diagnosis was inconclusive. Weeks later, when he still had a fever, he went to a neurologist for additional testing. 

“We didn’t know what we were dealing with,” Scott said. 

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Just One Breath
5:17 am
Sat September 22, 2012

Taxpayers spend millions on valley fever in prisons

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By Rebecca Plevin, Reporting on Health Collaborative

Californians are locked into contributing to the cost of treating state inmates sickened by valley fever. 

Since 2006, the state prison system has tried but failed to reduce the disease’s impact and price tag.

California Correctional Health Care Services foots an annual bill of about $23 million for sending inmates with valley fever to hospitals outside the prison, guarding these patients, and for their antifungal treatments. That’s about what it costs to build a new school in Fresno County.

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Just One Breath
6:30 am
Sat September 15, 2012

Just One Breath: Valley fever robs daughter of mother at crucial time

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By Kellie Schmitt, Reporting On Health Collaborative

Candice Steed remembers peering at her mother through a hospital room window in Bakersfield when she was just 8 years old .

Sharron Steed lay heavily sedated, a ventilator keeping her weakened body alive.

“They told us to say goodbye to my mom,” recalled Candice , now 20.

Sharron, a social worker, had contracted a severe form of valley fever. It ravaged her body with night sweats and fevers. A collapsed lung landed her in the hospital, and the symptoms only got worse.

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Just One Breath
6:01 am
Sat September 15, 2012

The Voices of Valley Fever

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Credit Casey Christie / The Californian
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By Reporting on Health Collaborative

‘Not being able to breathe was the worst.’

MERCED — The walk from Tom Price’s living room to his kitchen was only a few feet. But it felt like miles.

The 33-year-old from Merced was hit with valley fever in 2006. He had trouble breathing, and he was so fatigued for a month that the simplest tasks felt arduous.

“It was scary,” he said. “It was the first time I had ever been very sick. Not being able to breathe was the worst.”

Price remembers developing a high fever and sweats. He went to his regular doctor, who thought he had the flu.

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