Category: Health
Posted inCity Hall, Health, Law & Justice, News, Overdose Crisis

Supervisor Defends Dropping Support for Addiction-Treatment Centers

Avatar photo by Sylvie Sturm

Supervisor Matt Dorsey received backlash this month for asking the mayor to redirect the entire $18.9 million in city funding budgeted for a new drop-in addiction treatment center toward jails instead.

Dorsey told the San Francisco Public Press that he reversed his previous support for the centers — called wellness hubs — once the city’s plans narrowed to one site from six, and removed safe consumption sites, which would have allowed people to consume drugs under supervision so they could receive immediate help in case of overdose.

Dorsey said he now wants the funds to go toward jail health services, including forcing treatment for people in jail who are struggling with substance abuse disorder.

Posted inCity Hall, Health, Law & Justice, Overdose Crisis, Social Services

City Leaders at Odds as Overdose Deaths Trending Toward Record High

Avatar photo by Sylvie Sturm

Accidental drug overdose deaths continue to torment San Francisco, according to data released Tuesday by the city medical examiner’s office.

While June saw the lowest monthly number of overdose deaths this year, 54, in July it climbed back up to 71. With 473 overdose deaths this year, San Francisco is on track to surpass its highest recorded number of overdose deaths in a calendar year — 725 in 2020.

Posted inCity Hall, Health, Law & Justice, Overdose Crisis, Public Safety

Military-Style Drug War in Tenderloin Sparks Fears That More Drug Users Could Overdose

Avatar photo by Sylvie Sturm

Last week’s deployment of the National Guard and California Highway Patrol onto San Francisco’s streets to crack down on drugs comes amid intense public pressure to address open air drug use and sales.

But the emphasis on law enforcement for addressing the city’s drug crisis has distressed public defense attorneys and harm reduction advocates who fear the move may worsen the rate of fatal overdoses.

Posted inHealth, Homelessness, Overdose Crisis, Public Safety, Social Services

With Overdose Deaths Surging, Critics Chide City, State for Curbing Safe Consumption Centers

Avatar photo by Sylvie Sturm

San Francisco’s chief medical examiner delivered grim statistics last week about a recent increase in deaths related to drug use. In the first three months of the year, 200 people died of accidental overdose. That’s up significantly from the first quarter last year, with 142 deaths.

These tragedies were disproportionately suffered by marginalized groups. The biggest increase in deaths occurred among those who lacked housing. People listed as having “no fixed address” accounted for 61 overdose deaths in the first quarter, up from 26 during the same period in 2022. Black residents accounted for 33% of fatal overdoses in the first quarter this year, despite representing only 5% of the city’s population.

Addiction experts say the recent increase in overdose deaths could be linked to the closure of the Tenderloin Linkage Center, a temporary facility that operated in United Nations Plaza from January to December 2022 to help drug users and people without housing access supportive services.

Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Health, Law & Justice

Family Courts Rely on Dubious Theory to Dismiss Child Abuse Claims

Avatar photo by Sylvie Sturm

Disbelieving a child’s allegation of abuse based on the notion that the other parent brainwashed them into lying is a hotly debated legal tactic called parental alienation.

A growing chorus of international media coverage, medical groups and judicial bodies are expressing doubts over the validity of this legal defense tactic and of its practitioners.

Posted inAging, California, Climate Change, Health

Research on Climate Change and Health Reveals Risks for Older Adults: Q&A With Dr. Andrew Chang

by Ambika Kandasamy

Dr. Andrew Chang, an attending physician specializing in cardiology at the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System and postdoctoral research fellow at the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute, is investigating how the biological mechanisms of aging and a warming world will affect the health of older adults.

Posted in“Civic” Podcast, California, Coercive Control, Health, Law & Justice

Coercive Control Victims Face Skeptical Judges, Court Transcripts Show

Avatar photo by Sylvie Sturm

On average in the U.S., more than 1 in 3 women, and 1 in 4 men, will experience physical violence, rape or stalking by an intimate partner, according to the National Domestic Violence Hotline. Nevertheless, when victims turn to family court for protection from their abusers, they often face skeptical judges. And that’s especially true when the abuse doesn’t leave a mark.

Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Aging, Health

Laguna Honda Hospital Has to Self-Destruct to Survive

Avatar photo by Sylvie Sturm

Administrators are overhauling policies and procedures to regain federal funding that is set to expire following the issuance of multiple damning inspection reports at Laguna Honda Hospital. They have until Sept. 13 to implement changes, which include a requirement to transfer or discharge all patients, before they can apply for recertification from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

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