Health

People experiencing mental health-related distress can now call 988, the new three-digit dialing code, to access the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. On July 16, the 988 dialing code began routing people in crisis to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline services. The shortened number may make...

On Sept. 8, Good Samaritan Hospital “Good Sam” emailed this reporter a press release that proclaimed, “Good Samaritan Hospital (Good Sam) becomes the first hospital in the South Bay to perform a histotripsy procedure—a groundbreaking, non-invasive treatment that destroys liver tumors using sound waves...

A former detox facility adjacent to the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center campus has been transformed into a residential treatment center for people with serious mental illnesses.  The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, Behavioral Health Services Department and operating partner Momentum for Health celebrated...

After Los Gatos resident Kathy Bays retired from a long career as a special education instructor and school administrator, she had some time to clean out the closets full of her kids’ old stuff. She ended up with two shoeboxes full of old crayons to...

About 43,000 former patients of Santa Clara Valley Healthcare (SCVH) will soon receive notice of possible billing corrections and refunds as part of a settlement between Santa Clara County and some past patients of the public hospital system. The county said in a news release...

For 66 years, Jerry and Judie Butler of Saratoga built a life together, raising three children, sharing adventures and creating lasting memories. When health challenges separated them for several weeks, with Jerry, 86, hospitalized at Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose and Judie, 83, receiving...

Niku Sedarat, who is just starting her senior year of high school at De Anza College, has been building a mental health organization called Unité over the past year that’s helping West Valley youth who are going through tough times. While the 17-year-old knows she...

Santa Clara County health officials today reported the first death attributed to West Nile virus, a mosquito-borne illness. The death this month of an immunocompromised adult at a local hospital “after experiencing West Nile virus symptoms” is the second reported human case of the potentially...

This week, a Los Gatos medical start-up announced it had secured new funding to develop technology involved in the filtering of blood, to improve care for people with chronic kidney and end-stage renal diseases. Venova Medical, Inc. was co-founded by Erik van der Burg and...

Bay Area and statewide Covid-19 infections rates are up over the past couple of months and health officials are advising people to get the updated vaccines when they become available.   In California, 13.7% of people who took Covid tests reported positive results for the seven-day...