Philip Salata is an investigative reporter covering environment, energy and public health at inewsource, a non-profit accountability news platform. Salata is a USC Annenberg Fellow, where he won the Director’s Award for Excellence, and is also a UC Berkeley California Local Reporting Fellow. He has reported on equity and social justice issues in Southern California, with a focus on community stories related to the green energy transition. Salata’s California Health Equity Fellowship project will report on how plans to build the nation's largest lithium battery factory in Imperial County will take a substantial toll on an already impacted public healthcare system.
Articles
The closure of El Centro's maternity ward strains Imperial County's lone hospital, forcing many to seek care far away, highlighting rural healthcare challenges and urgent need for more resources.
As record-breaking temperatures melt California this summer, medical professionals are sounding the alarm about the added risks extreme heat poses to people with diabetes. But one bakery in Imperial County has some solutions.
In Califorina's Imperial Valley, Elsa Ordona’s sugar-free bakery helps locals manage the disease with tasty, low-carb treats, while promoting education and small lifestyle changes.
Imperial Valley's high diabetes rates and extreme heat, worsened by poverty and limited healthcare, pose severe health risks. More resources and education are crucial to address the crisis.
While lithium has been in the limelight, Imperial Valley locals have been watching their already strained health care system struggle to provide critical resources.