health care

The South Lake Tahoe City Council will be continuing their July 17 discussion and voting on the new cannabis ordinance at their next meeting on Tuesday, August 21.

If approved, the new ordinance will replace the existing medical marijuana ordinance.

To enter the cannabis industry in South Lake Tahoe, businesses will have to obtain a Use Permit, a Development Agreement and a Public Safety License.

No more than two retailers, two microbusinesses and two cultivators. No person can own more than one cannabis business, and no more than one cannabis business can exist on a lot or parcel.

Another bird found in El Dorado County has tested positive for West Nile virus, the second so far for the County in 2018. The first one was in South Lake Tahoe and this one is on the west slope.

It has been a very tough and tragic week, with the passing of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain, and because of their suicides and a report released by the CDC, NAMI ((National Alliance on Mental Illness) El Dorado County is seeing an increase in phone calls from the community.

Suicide rates have been rising in nearly every state, according to the latest Vital Signs report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It is the 10th leading cause of death and is one of just three leading causes that are on the rise (behind diseases of the heart and Cerebrovascular diseases).

The first El Dorado County case of West Nile virus has been confirmed in South Lake Tahoe. County health officials received confirmation this week that a Stellar Jay found on May 7 has tested positive for the virus.

This bird was the first one for the county in 2018. Besides El Dorado COunty, West Nile virus activity in dead birds has been reported in two other California counties, San Mateo and Santa Clara.

El Dorado County residents who may qualify for CalFresh, CalWORKs, Medi-Cal or the County Medical Services Program (CMSP) now have multiple ways to enroll in the programs, check their benefits and more. Through a secure internet portal at www.C4yourself.com, individuals can complete their applications and annual renewals, submit documents, and check the status of their case online at any time; they can also access their case information over the phone via the State’s secure Interactive Voice Response (IVR) System at any time.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Barton Health has announced the addition of Dr. Gregory Burkard, Jr. to their family of care providers.

Burkard is Board Certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and is an interventional pain and sports medicine physiatrist. This means he is a physician that treats a wide variety of medical conditions affecting the brain, spinal cord, nerves, bones, muscles, joints and more.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Budding Van Goghs, Monets and O'Keeffes are honing their talents in the Tahoe Valley Elementary Library every Wednesday when Lake Tahoe Paint and Sip comes to help them them. Only thing different from the adult version of their unique painting classes is what is sipped.....the students get to sip water.

The Family Caregiver Support Program of the El Dorado County Health and Human Services Agency is pleased to present a free “Aging and Caregiving” educational series in South Lake Tahoe. This series will be held weekly on Mondays from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. beginning April 16, 2018, and ending May 21, 2018, at Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel located at 4130 Lake Tahoe Boulevard in South Lake Tahoe.

The educational series will give instruction and support for people who provide care for a family member or friend aged 60 years or greater.

The series will feature a different topic each week:

Human Trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labor, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others; a modern day form of slavery. It is a multi-billion dollar criminal industry that denies freedom to 20.9 million people around the world

And its happening outside our door.

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.

Influenza (or flu) activity has increased significantly over the recent weeks in the South Lake Tahoe area. The majority of influenza cases this year have been typed as A(H3N2), a particularly nasty strain of the flu that has been associated with more hospitalizations and complications. Do yourself, your family and your community a favor by recognizing flu symptoms and avoid spreading it.

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.

This opinion piece has been updated.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Philanthropy and South Lake Tahoe non-profits were recently celebrated by the Barton Foundation as they honored their 2017 grant recipients in a luncheon at Riva Grill.

Several viral meningitis cases have been reported from Susanville and Reno to El Dorado County.

As of November 2, 2017 a total number of four confirmed cases have been identified at Ponderosa High School in Shingle Springs and one confirmed case has been identified at El Dorado High School in El Dorado.

The school district has notified parents of the situation and extra cleaning has been done at the schools. Public Health is working closely with school staff and has notified county health care providers.

A bird found on the west slope of El Dorado County has tested positive for West Nile virus, the second for 2017. The bird found near Garden Valley, an Acorn Woodpecker, was tested on September 29 and county health officials just received confirmation this week it had the virus.

To date there have been 463 dead birds to test positive in 38 counties in California. Nearby Sacramento has had 86 birds and Placer County, three birds.

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval signed a Declaration of Emergency for Clark County and a Public Health and Medical Disaster declaration on Monday following the mass shooting incident in Las Vegas Sunday night that killed at least 59 people and wounded more than 500.

Through the order, Sandoval has directed all state agencies to supplement the local efforts to save lives and protect the health and safety the victims of Sunday night’s attack.

September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, and South Tahoe Now will be running a series of stories on suicide prevention.

Each year, more people die from suicide than war, homicide, and natural disasters combined.

The good news is that suicide can be prevented if the signs are detected and the right actions are taken.

The first El Dorado County case of West Nile virus was confirmed in South Lake Tahoe. County health officials received confirmation this week that a Stellar Jay found on July 31 has tested positive for the virus.

So far this year, West Nile virus activity has been reported in 28 California counties, including neighboring Sacramento and Placer counties. There have been four human cases of the virus reported from Kings, Kern, San Bernardino
and Los Angeles counties.

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - El Dorado County has received a $57.14 million loan to build a public safety complex in Diamond Springs that will bring together the Sheriff’s Office operations which are currently spread out across 13 different locations in the county.

The loan is provided through the Community Facilities Direct Loan Program.

Over 3,000 cyclists will be participating in the 26th annual America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride around Lake Tahoe on Sunday, June 4,

"Imagine the scenic beauty of Lake Tahoe with its crystal clear blue waters surrounded by towering majestic snow capped peaks. Imagine being able to ride a bicycle around its 72-mile shoreline or a 100-mile century ride," said Event Director Curtis Fong.

The ride isn't a race, but a fun ride and is fully supported with volunteers manning rest stops along the way with food and beverage.

Members of the California Teacher's Association (CTA) and California Federation of Teachers (CFT) across the state brought out the posters and wore red on May 1 to advocate for public education and immigrant students.

South Lake Tahoe teachers joined in and greeted parents and students as they arrived for school Monday, displaying posters and letting students know they all had a right to quality and free public education, and asking all to take the pledge (as seen below).

The Republican Party’s decision on March 24 to pull the vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was met with disappointment and relief. While backers of the newly proposed legislation were disappointed that they could not find sufficient support, residents who depend on the Affordable Care Act’s medical protections and insurance options felt relief. Hope continues for a broad bipartisan approach to change this complex legislation resulting in improved coverage balanced with affordability for our citizens.

Eligible retirees from the City of South Lake Tahoe will soon be able to opt out of the City's medical insurance plan and get the money to use as they wish.

The City Council voted Tuesday to give the one time offer to their 145 retirees. How much they'll get is based on their years of service and number of years to being eligible for Medicare. They will be notified what their compensation offer will be.