In his final 2018-2019 budget former California Gov. Jerry Brown allocated $8 million in state funding toward combating valley fever, split evenly between the University of California system and the new Valley Fever Institute at Kern Medical in Bakersfield. Here’s how that money’s been spent.
Despite the chokehold heroin and pain pills have had on public health for years, Bakersfield cops are dealing with far more than opioids.
This story was produced as part of a larger project led by Kerry Klein, a participant in the USC Center for Health Journalism's 2018 Data Fellowship.
Other stories in this series include:
It Used To Be Kern County's Opioid Epicenter, But Oildale May Be Cleaning Up
This story is part of a series called In Recovery, about opioid addiction and treatment in the San Joaquin Valley.
The Central Valley's Kern County reported a 30 percent rise in overdose deaths from 2016 to 2017, bucking the statewide decline in fatal overdoses.
The antifungal drugs used to treat valley fever can cause hair loss. With the number of valley fever cases on the rise, a wig shop in Bakersfield, Calif., is helping women feel better about themselves.
Facing pushback from the medical community, California Assemblyman Vince Fong withdrew a bill late last month that would have required doctors to order specific types of lab tests when they suspect valley fever.
More than 50 farmworkers were exposed to the pesticide near Bakersfield, California, last spring.
This reporting was undertaken as part of a project with the USC Center for Health Journalism’s California Fellowship. ...
Valley Public Radio in California's Central Valley reports on what law enforcement agencies in the valley say they are doing to help police officers cope with the mental strain of a violent line of work.
