Health
The union representing Kaiser Permanente mental health workers said Tuesday afternoon that the sides have tentatively agreed to a four-year contract, ending the 10-week strike. The National Union of Healthcare Workers said in a news release that the agreement will benefit patients and improve access to mental health care, “while at the same time recognizing and better supporting mental health therapists in their important work.” Nearly 2,000 Kaiser Permanente therapists represented by NUHW will vote on the contract over the…
On a sunny Monday morning this fall, dozens of Oakland residents lined up outside East Oakland’s Roots Community Health Center, waiting patiently to get tested, treated, or vaccinated against COVID-19, for free. About 10 medical volunteers worked in five outdoor tents set up outside the single-story nonprofit medical center, providing one shot in the arm at a time. It is all part of Roots’ community health outreach strategy to address worryingly low COVID-19 vaccination rates in Oakland’s underserved Black communities….
Protesters gathered under a warm sun in Frank Ogawa Plaza by Oakland City Hall Saturday for a pre-election rally in favor of Proposition 1, which would make abortion a right under California’s Constitution. Carrying signs that read “Supreme Illegitimacy” and “Politicians Make Lousy Doctors,” about 100 people came to hear speakers from Planned Parenthood, the medical community and other abortion rights activists. Pre-made posters were scattered about the plaza, including one of a Supreme Court justice with red hangers at…
The 19th Annual Healthy Living Festival, Alameda County’s largest event for seniors, returned to the Oakland Zoo Thursday for its first in-person event in two years. Hosted by United Seniors of Oakland and Alameda County, the free festival featured 80 vendors and promoted health and wellness among adults over age 55. Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley, who was one of the festival’s founders, noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has been especially difficult and dangerous for seniors. “This event allows them…
Charlene Harrison hadn’t danced at a powwow in 10 years. But on Saturday, the site director at Oakland’s Native American Health Center wore her jingle dress, stepped into the grass circle at Merritt College, and danced alongside family members underneath a burning sun. “I’m a third-generation powwower,” said Harrison, who is Pomo, Paiute and Navajo. “This is what I know. So slipping on those old bear shoes, it feels right.” Thousands of people came out to celebrate NAHC’s 50th birthday…
Lead poisoning cases remain high in Alameda County, and the Public Health Department expects them to rise in the next couple years, as parents return to having children tested after a slowdown during the pandemic. In 2019, testing found 303 children under the age of 6 with elevated blood lead levels — 83% of the infants to 21-year-olds who tested high, state data shows. In the first year of the pandemic, that number went down, along with the total number…
The state of California and an Oakland-based environmental group are suing the pipe casting facility AB&I Foundry for reportedly emitting excessive levels of a carcinogenic chemical into East Oakland’s air. Both lawsuits, filed in Alameda County Superior Court, accuse the foundry of violating California’s Proposition 65 — a law requiring businesses to warn people about significant exposures to harmful chemicals. The state’s lawsuit, filed by Attorney General Rob Bonta on Feb. 15, states that McWane Inc. operating as AB&I Foundry,…
Tony Alvarez pulled his SUV into the deserted parking lot before sunrise on a chilly January morning and unloaded two grocery bags, a jar and a backpack from his trunk as he waited for others to arrive. It was 6:30 a.m. and he was expecting 15 people to join him for mushroom foraging in Tilden Park, an excursion people pay $100 to experience with Shroomy Walkabouts, a business he started four years ago in the Bay Area. Participants arrived slowly,…
With more than 800 student cases of COVID-19 in Oakland schools, students have threatened to go on strike this week unless the district does more to keep them and their teachers safe. Students petitioned the district last week for KN95/N95 masks for every student, twice-weekly coronavirus testing and more outdoor spaces where they can eat when it rains. They plan to stay home this week and strike outside district headquarters on Friday if their demands aren’t met this week, according…