Source: Grossmont Healthcare District

Group photo of all scholarship recipients and GHD board members.

May 28, 2025 (La Mesa) — In an affirmation of its commitment to building the healthcare workforce of tomorrow, Grossmont Healthcare District (GHD) has awarded a total of $319,850 in scholarships to 63 local students for the 2024–2025 academic year.

The awards were presented at a special ceremony honoring 39 graduating high school seniors and 24 professionals from East County who are pursuing careers through advanced certifications and training in the healthcare field. The scholarships support students across multiple academic and professional levels, including those studying medicine, nursing, behavioral health, and other in-demand specialities.

Order ignores science, which shows pregnant women and newborns have high risk for serious COVID complications

By Miriam Raftery

May 27, 2025 (Washington D.C.) – Health leaders are reacting with alarm to Health & Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s  announcement that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have removed the COVID vaccine from its list of vaccines recommended for pregnant women and healthy children.

“That is a dangerous and irresponsible statement,” says Assemblymember Akilah Weber, M.D., an obstetrician and gynecologist who heads up the pediatric and adolescent gynecology division at Rady Children’s Hospital. “Pregnant women and children have faced real, documented risks fromCOVID-19. Dismissing science only puts lives at risk and undermines public trust.”

Dr. Steven Fleischman, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, shares that concern.  “The science has not changed. It is very clear that COVID infection during pregnancy can be catastrophic and lead to major disability...The COVID vaccine is safe during pregnancy, and vaccination can protect our patients and infants,” CNN reports. “In fact, growing evidence shows just how much vaccination during pregnancy protects the infant after birth, with the vast majority of hospitalized infants less than six months of age—those who are not yet eligible for vaccination—born to unvaccinated mothers,” Fleischman added.

Half of all births in rural California are covered by Medicaid; rural hospital closures would impact even moms with private insurance

By Suzanne Potter, California News Service

May 23, 2025 (Sacramento) -- The Republican-controlled House of Representatives is hashing out last-minute details of a huge funding bill which could come to a floor vote this week. Advocates warned proposed Medicaid cuts could force layoffs or closure of rural hospitals.

The Trump administration is looking for savings to fund his proposed tax cuts, which primarily benefit the wealthy.

Dr. Keith Black Interview with Anat Tour/ East County Magazine

May 10, 2025 (San Diego) – Recently, ECM Bookshelf host Anat Tour sat down for an in-depth interview with Dr.Keith Black on our East County Magazine Radio Show. Dr. Black  A pioneer in brain tumor research and leading neurosurgeon, he is also author of the book Brain Surgeon.

In the interview, Dr. Black talks about his early learning experiences, his pioneering research, how he believes artificial intelligence will influence the field of neuroscience, and more.

You can view a video of the full interview, hear an audio version aired on KNSJ  Radio, or scroll down to read a transcript. To read a review of Dr. Black’s book, Brain Surgeon, click here.

By Gig Conaughton, County of San Diego Communications Office

Crow image cc via Bing

May 16, 2025 (Lemon Grove) -- Two dead crows recently collected in routine monitoring from Lemon Grove tested positive for West Nile virus, prompting County environmental health officials to remind people to protect themselves from mosquitoes that can transmit the virus to people.

The positive tests mark the first detections of West Nile virus in the county this year. There have been no reported human cases in San Diego County this year.

However, West Nile virus remains a potentially deadly threat. County officials said people should continue to follow the County’s “Prevent, Protect, Report” guidelines to protect themselves from mosquitoes. Those include finding and dumping out standing water around homes to keep mosquitoes from breeding.

Rabies is nearly always fatal without treatment

Image Credit: PhotoSpin

Source: San Diego County News Service

May 10, 2025 (Escondido) -- County public health officials are looking for people who may have come in contact with a wild bat found at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in Escondidio on Wednesday, May 7 at 10:45 a.m. that later tested positive for rabies.    

The bat was found at the base of the public elevator in the African Loop near the hot air ballon ride. There is only one public elevator in the park.

May 6, 2025 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• This Infectious Disease Has Increased 1,500% Nationwide: See CA Data (Patch.com)
• The Vietnam War ended 50 years ago, but the battle with Agent Orange continues (AP)
• US Justice Department unit for drug and food safety cases being disbanded (Reuters)
• USDA withdraws a plan to limit salmonella levels in raw poultry (AP)

SCIENCE AND TECH

• Amazon launches Project Kuiper satellites designed to compete with Elon Musk’s SpaceX (CNN)
• New proposed law would require Apple and Google to verify your age before letting you into their app stores (CNN)  
• Where EV batteries go to die—and be reborn (BBC)
• After CalMatters investigation, LinkedIn and Google face lawsuit alleging improper access to health data (Cal Matters)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

Impacts include dismantling a DOJ unit, withdrawal of a Biden-era effort, and mass layoffs that were only partially reversed. 

By G. A. McNeeley 

Photo: FDA lab tests seafood; public domain image via FDA

May 2, 2025 (Washington D.C.) — The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) unit that oversees the criminal and civil enforcement of food and drug safety regulations is being disbanded by President Donald Trump’s Administration, according to three individuals who are familiar with the issue, Reuters reports. 

Meanwhile, The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is withdrawing a rule proposed back in August 2024 that aimed to help prevent food poisoning from poultry contaminated with salmonella, according to CBS News. The rollback increases the risk to public health, since the USDA has estimated that there are 125,000 salmonella infections from chicken and 43,000 salmonella infections from turkey every year, according to CBS News. San Diego County has had 184 cases of Salmonella so far this year, and 753 cases last year.

Also, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is bringing some of their recently fired employees back, according to KOCO News. Staffers were reportedly informed that about a third of the fired staff would be returning. 

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Kaiser attorney Jennifer Lynch

April 23, 2025 (El Cajon) – For 23 years, ever since an old medical facility was torn down, Kaiser Permanente has been promising to build a new hospital at its property on Main Street near Greenfield Ave.in El Cajon.  Frustrated by the lack of action, the City Council yesterday considered changing the zoning to residential—a proposal that surprised Kaiser representatives.

“We received no notice,” Kaiser representative Skyler Denniston told the Council.  “We would like the site developed as a hospital,” he said, adding that Kaiser representatives had just spoken with the City Manager and felt they were making “good progress.”  He asked for a 30-day extension of any proposed rezoning.

Mayor Bill Wells indicated that while he was open to an extension of 30 days or more, he wants to see a development agreement to assure that construction will commence soon. “I have no confidence that a hospital will be built within five years,” he said, adding that the vacant property attracts homeless camps and is an eyesore.  “Our constituents are screaming at us to do something,” he said.

By Miriam Raftery

April 7, 2025 (Oakland, CA)—California Attorney General Rob Bonta has scored a keyvictory in federal court. Trump-appointed judge,  Mary McElroy, issued a temporary restraining order to stop the Trump administration from clawing back over $11 billion in public health funding from state and local health departments. California stands to lose over $972 million, according to Bonta.

The action came in a lawsuit led by Bonta, joined by 23 states and the District of Columbia. The suit was filed against the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services and its director, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

“The likelihood of success on the merits is extremely strong,” Judge McElroy stated after a hearing. She stated that the record is “voluminous” with “allegations of irreparable harm” if funding stops.

By Fernanda Lopez Halvorson, County of San Diego Communications Office

April 4, 2025 (San Diego) - ​The County of San Diego is advising people not to eat locally harvested mussels, clams, scallops or oysters that were not purchased from a state-certified commercial shellfish harvester or dealer.  

April 4, 2025 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Tuberculosis cases in the US rose to their highest levels in more than a dozen years (AP)
• The CDC Buried a Measles Forecast That Stressed the Need for Vaccinations(ProPublica)
• Vaccine critic’s apparent selection to head HHS autism study shocks experts (Stat)
• Utah becomes the first state to ban fluoride in public drinking water (ABC)
•  CDC advisory committees not mandated by law at risk of being terminated (Politico)

SCIENCE AND TECH

• Exclusive: Secretive Chinese network tries to lure fired federal workers, research shows (Reuters)
• Trump shifts cyberattack readiness to state and local governments in wake of info-sharing cuts (CSO)
• Encrypted messaging apps promise privacy. Government transparency is often the price (AP)
•  Humming along in an old church, the Internet Archive is more relevant than ever (NPR)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

March 19, 2025 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Kennedy gives food company CEOs an ultimatum (Politico)
• USDA cancels $1B in local food purchasing for schools, food banks (Politico)
• Bird flu-infected San Bernardino County dairy cows may have concerning new mutation (Los Angeles Times)
• As Texas measles outbreak grows, U.S. cases quickly surpass total for all of 2024 (NBC)
• Doctors didn't warn women of 'risky sex' drug urges (BBC)
• DOGE wants access to very personal information of Americans  (NPR)

SCIENCE AND TECH

• NASA’s Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore finally return home after more than nine months in space  (CNN)
• DOGE cuts could end decades of ground-breaking climate research in Hawaii (USA Today)
• This machine turns carbon dioxide into fuel (BBC)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

By Seraphina Eberhardt, Program Manager, Institute for Public Strategies East County

March 17, 2025 (San Diego) -- The U.S. Surgeon General issued an advisory in January highlighting the cancer risks associated with even small amounts of alcohol consumption, noting that alcohol links to at least seven types of cancer. However, alcohol does not only increase the risk of cancer. Alcohol consumption has also been a topic of debate concerning its effects on heart health. Even minimal alcohol intake can elevate the risk of heart disease. For residents of East County, understanding these risks and taking proactive measures can help maintain heart health.

By Karen Pearlman 

Photo, left:  Aaron  J. Byzak, Interim CEO, Grossmont Healthcare District

Updated March 11, 2025 with comments from Christian Wallis.

March 10, 2025 (La Mesa) -- The Grossmont Healthcare District’s communications strategy consultant Aaron J. Byzak is adding a title, acting for a short time as the public agency’s interim CEO. 

At a GHD Board of Directors special meeting on Monday, March 10, the board voted 5-0 to appoint Byzak in the role effective immediately. 

Byzak, 47, will advise and help the board find the successor to its most recent CEO, Christian Wallis, whose contract was not renewed by the GHD board last week during a closed session on March 4.