Texas has used 41% of its COVID-19 vaccine, according to figures from Bloomberg's state-by-state vaccine tracker. West Virginia, 71.8%. Florida, 44%. Meanwhile, lagging well behind most of the large states is California at 31.7%. Even former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown is speaking out over the slow rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine in California....
New COVID Protocol Means Valley Ambulances Might Not Take You to Emergency Room
"We are in a very grim, challenging time when it comes to the pandemic," Fresno County Interim Health Officer Dr. Rais Vohra said in a Friday afternoon briefing with reporters. Emphasizing the point, Fresno, Kings, Madera and Tulare counties will begin sending paramedics with ambulances on Friday to determine whether...
CRMC Resolves Dispute With Physician Provider, at Least for Now
A labor dispute that threatened Community Regional Medical Center's level 1 trauma status and impacted patient care for about two weeks is temporarily resolved. The issue came to a head when CRMC’s contract with Central California Faculty Medical Group covering 28 physicians in 12 specialties ended Aug. 31. Six of these physicians are...
CRMC Won’t Lose Level 1 Trauma Status as Two Neurosurgeons Arrive
A threat to Community Regional Medical Center's level 1 trauma center designation ended one day before it would have been stripped. Fresno County EMS Director Daniel Lynch had given the hospital a 5 p.m. Friday deadline to restore 24-hour on-call neurosurgical services. At least two neurotrauma patients had to be...
CRMC Faces Friday Deadline To Resolve Labor Issue or Lose Level 1 Trauma Status
Fresno County EMS Director Daniel Lynch has notified Community Regional Medical Center that it has until 5 p.m. Friday to provide the staffing necessary to retain its level 1 trauma center status. At issue is a CRMC's relationship with Central California Faculty Medical Group covering 28 physicians in 12 specialties that ended...
With Creek Fire Blazing, Labor Dispute Prevents Full CRMC Trauma Services
Despite a weekend of negotiations, and in the shadow of the Creek fire, Community Regional Medical Center and its physician provider — Central California Faculty Medical Group —still haven't come to a resolution. This means anyone with head trauma requiring neuro-surgery after hours must be sent to another level 1 trauma center as...
CRMC Contract Dispute Drags Into Labor Day Weekend, No Neurosurgical Services
It's unclear if Community Regional Medical Center will have doctors to provide care for anyone suffering a head injury that requires surgery over the busy Labor Day weekend. What is clear? There's still no agreement between the hospital and its physician provider — Central California Faculty Medical Group — to treat new...
Valley Hospitals Get Two More Weeks of Military Help
With hospitalizations in the Valley down only slightly, military medical teams are extending their help in the coronavirus battle by 14 days. But, according to Fresno County EMS Director Dan Lynch, that won't be long enough. Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno, Kaweah Delta Medical Center in Visalia, and Adventist...
As Hospitals Near Capacity, County Takes Steps to Open Convention Center
Fresno area hospitals are scrambling to make bed space available in every nook, cranny, and extra building they have. But despite their best efforts, ICU bed space continues to dwindle. The latest numbers from the state show Fresno County only has 16% of its ICU beds available. Just last week...
Fresno County Out of COVID-19 Drug, Tired Doctors Welcome Military Help
The federal government is pushing out remdesivir as fast as it can get it, and yet Fresno County says the cupboard is bare. The potentially life-saving drug, which has anecdotally helped COVID-19 patients in the Valley, is hard to come by. The hospitals that do have it are sharing it...