By Dianne Anderson Most people would think twice before reaching out to pull notorious archenemies, the Bloods, the Crips, the Insanes and the Rolling 20’s, all together for a day of hamburgers, hotdogs and three different jumpies. Admittedly, Rev. Dr. Gerald Johnson said it’s not the easiest population to deal with, but there’s not much ...

By Isadore Hall Special to California Black Media Partners Last spring, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first new Alzheimer’s disease therapy since 2003. For the six million-plus people living with the fatal disease in the United States, the availability of a medicine designed to treat the underlying cause of their ailment was ...

New law takes effect to end “surprise” medical bills By Charlene Crowell A new report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finds that the nation’s healthcare system is supported by an infrastructure of billing, payments, collections, and credit reporting that is fraught with commonplace mistakes. At the same time, patients encounter difficulty in getting ...

By Tanu Henry California Black Media Black faith and public health leaders are hailing Gov. Newsom’s new COVID response plan. Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled the proposal designed to be more strategic, nimble and sustainable than it is reactive. California is the first in the nation to transition the Coronavirus crisis from a pandemic ...

By Dianne Anderson About 60 percent of the country is now fully vaccinated, but 40% are still on the fence, even with the recent rush for a booster in the face of future variants that could be worse, or much different, than the last one. Omicron seems to transmit twice as fast as Delta, which ...

By Dianne Anderson Putting off that mammogram and other essential doctor appointments through the pandemic was not too unusual, but it was not a good idea. Local health advocate Ernesta Wright is not judging, but she is concerned. Health screenings are never fun, and she said some women may also delay care for other reasons. ...

By Dianne Anderson Putting off that trip to the doctor’s office for regular checkups for fear of secondary consequences – namely COVID-19 exposure – is something that health advocate Starla Simmons seriously warns against. Avoiding the doctor is a bad idea, specifically when it came down to her own kids, who both have Sickle Cell ...

By Dianne Anderson Black men can run and hide from the needle, but they are still over twice as likely to die from prostate cancer than white men, even though a simple PSA blood antigen test starting at age 35 could save their lives. It’s a problem that Eric Burroughs has been chipping away at, ...

By Dianne Anderson Eyes still roll at the persistent prodding to get the jab, but maybe not so much lately as the nation watches ICU hospital beds fill past capacity, spilling over into tents and hospital parking garages. The impact of the Delta variant is hitting communities of color harder, faster and younger than the ...

By Dianne Anderson Since May, the COVID Delta variant has become the most common strain, escalating from 5% to 35% of cases in California, and fully 99% of all those that are dying right now nationwide are unvaccinated. Those sheer numbers of preventable deaths are driving groups like the National Council of Negro Women to ...