doctors

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - In search of something positive to do while staying at home during the pandemic, South Lake Tahoe parent Gantt Miller and his daughter Mackenzie started brainstorming. They couldn't sew, so making masks were out of the question. What could they do?

They could tell a story.

The nine-year-old Mackenzie and her dad, who wrote the book under a pen name, M.C. Behm, started to explore what messages they could convey between the front and back covers.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Barton Health has welcomed two new primary care providers, Krista Ault, MD and Tyler Peterson, DO, at its network of family care medical offices in South Lake Tahoe.

These physicians will expand community access to care, a priority of Barton’s in response to its Community Health Needs indicating access to health services being a top concern of surveyed residents in the local area.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The local community has been showing their love and support for Chris Hogbin and his family. Chris has been diagnosed with Stage 4 Metastatic Melanoma in his neck, lungs, liver, lymph nodes and bones.

He and his wife Sonnet, and their three children "are doing the best they can under the circumstance but things are tough for them right now," said a story on GoFundMe.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - It has been a wild two weeks for the Howard family, ever since ten-year-old Maeson entered the UC Davis Children’s Hospital with what appeared to be a COVID-19-releated multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C), or Kawasaki disease.

Maeson Howard is on the road to recovery and back in his Christmas Valley home with his parents and sister.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - There has been an outpouring of concern for 10-year-old Maeson Howard who is currently in the UC Davis Children’s Hospital fighting multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C) or Kawasaki disease. Since we shared Maeson's story on Monday, many had asked how they can help the family. Maeson attends Lake Tahoe Environmental Magnet School and lives with his parents and sister in Christmas Valley.

The El Dorado County Opioid Coalition (EDCOC) has launched its new opioid prevention public education campaign, "Your Pain is Real. So Are the Risks.”

The EDCOC works to prevent opioid addiction and overdose in El Dorado County through its treatment, safe prescribing, and naloxone distribution programs and has now started working with the California Department of Public Health (CDPH).

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - In less than 90 days life has changed in South Lake Tahoe, California and the United States. The West caught up quickly to the novel coronavirus pandemic that was first contracted by a human in China on November 17, 2019.

Scientists and doctors pled for the public to stay home to keep the virus from spreading, and that plea worked better in some areas than others.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - El Dorado County has announced three new COVID-19 cases. As of 4:45 p.m. Friday, March 27, 12 people have tested positive for the virus. Health officials said the virus has been identified in both the West Slope and South Lake Tahoe areas.

There have been no numbers released on how many confirmed cases are in each area.

The best way to prevent the spread is to stay inside, and if going to an essential service such as the grocery store, maintain a distance of at least six feet from others.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The threat of the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 is a scary one for all people, especially the more vulnerable citizens of the community including senior citizens.

The South Lake Tahoe Senior Center is closed but nutrition services are being provided on a "to go" basis. Those 60 and older can stop by Monday through Friday between 11:00 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. and get a hot meal to go for a $3 suggested donation. Their Meals on Wheels program serves about 80 seniors with hot meals delivered Monday through Friday.

LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The Humane Society of Truckee-Tahoe (HSTT) is joining local veterinarians as well as the Town of Truckee in providing free spay and neuter surgeries during World Spay Day on February 25 and February's Spay/Neuter Awareness Month around Lake Tahoe.

The procedures are available for qualifying cats or dogs in the community to mark World Spay Day on February 25th, 2020. South Lake Tahoe appointments are full that day, but there are still some available on the North Shore.

New laws will be going into effect in California in the new year, putting into place California legislature action during 2019. There are many changes including road safety and distracted driving penalties, roadkill rules, minimum wage, independent workers and rent caps.

Except where noted, these laws are effective January 1, 2020:

Traffic Safety

The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is highlighting several new laws passed this year:

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - An active shooting training at South Tahoe High School last week gave local, state and federal agencies the opportunity to use their collaborative skills in responding to an emergency at the school.

In the simulated event after school, a call went over the radios on a secure channel to alert all first responders of a shooting at the high school and with the shooter still on the loose. At the first call, there were seven "victims" (volunteers acting for the training).

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - It was on this day in 2001 when a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks against the United States left 2,996 people dead, over 6,000 injured and causing at least $10 billion in infrastructure and property damage.

South Lake Tahoe joined communities around the country in honoring those who jumped in to rescue the survivors and joined in the fight against terrorism. At the American Legion, firefighters, police officers, veterans and community members gathered for a ceremony hosted by members of the American Legion and American Legion Auxiliary.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Sharon Morse is known in the community both as wife to South Lake Tahoe First Baptist Church Pastor Alan Morse and as a foster parent to 64 children in South Lake Tahoe.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Many in the community were just getting their day underway on Thursday when they heard of the passing of Dr. Stephen Bannar, a respected orthopedist whose talent was known beyond the borders of our country.

Gregory Burkard Jr., DO is an interventional pain and sports medicine physiatrist who recently joined Tahoe Orthopedics and Sports Medicine. I sat down with him to learn more about his medical specialty and the services available.

Natasha Schue (NS): What exactly does a physiatrist do?
Dr. Burkard: I see and treat people living with pain. Pain can be caused by one or several factors. Most patients I see have pain from sports injuries, overuse injuries, and accidents that unfortunately resulted in functional disabilities.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Imagine you're ten years old and have just been diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. No other students in your school have this disease, nor do any of your friends or family members. Insulin, glucose, pumps, blood testing, counting carbs are new words you now need to grasp and understand.

Facing life with this chronic condition in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin is daunting, confusing, overwhelming.

This is an Open Letter to Lisa Maloff

First let me say how grateful our city is to you for the generosity you have displayed. As a private citizen of more modest means, it is over whelming to think of how much can be realized when a person is so giving.

El Dorado County has filed a lawsuit against opioid manufacturers and distributors for creating the opioid epidemic in El Dorado County, joining a consortium of 30 California counties to do so. The County has retained the national law firm of Baron & Budd and a joint venture of law firms to represent its interests, seeking an abatement remedy in addition to legal damages for taxpayer money spent providing social resources in response to the crisis.

Dr. Bob LaPerriere, retired medical doctor and historian, is sharing stories of the woes of immigrants traveling to California for the Gold Rush. These adventurers were subjected to numerous devastating diseases at a time when doctors were unable to provide specific treatment and many of the doctors were really not doctors. Thousands died from various epidemics at a time in history when the most advanced medical treatment consisted of bleeding, cupping, puking, purging and the use of “drugs” such as mercury and arsenic.

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Let’s hope it never happens, but there may come a time in your life when you need mental health care. Your Medicare covers a wide variety of such services, in both hospital inpatient and outpatient settings.

If you have Medicare Part A (hospital insurance), you’re eligible for mental health services when you’re admitted to a hospital as an inpatient. You can get these services either in a general hospital or a psychiatric hospital that only cares for people with mental health conditions.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CALIF. - Leading up to SnowGlobe, days have been filled with meetings and emergency drills, staffing instructions and planning, all to create a safe atmosphere for the thousands of people in South Lake Tahoe for the three-day music festival.

As the show got underway Friday, December 26, there was a heavy presence of law enforcement and safety personnel, though many of them could not be detected as they moved about the venue in plain clothes. A drone was also in the air, surveying the crowd below.

Dr. Devendra I. Patel, aka Devendrakumar I. Patel, 58, of Elko, Nev., was arrested Tuesday on 39 charges of unlawful distribution of prescriptions opioids and Medicaid fraud.

Patel is charged with 36-counts of distribution of controlled substances such as oxycodone and hydrocodone, and three-counts of health care fraud. He is a cardiologist at his medical practice, Northeastern Nevada Cardiology. The statutory maximum penalty for distribution of a controlled substance is 10 years in prison and the maximum penalty for health care fraud is 10 years in prison.

Dr. Robert Rand, whose pain pill prescribing practices led to the death of at least one patient and helped fuel a rampant pill mill run out of the Jones West Ford dealership, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison on Monday.

In handing down the sentence, Judge Miranda Du said doctors like Rand, who show ignorance and a reckless disregard for life, are fueling addiction and illegal distribution of pain pills.

"Doctors like Dr. Rand...are enablers and contribute to the opioid crisis in this community," Du said.