Central Valley Daily · Episode

The distinct fragrance of automotive exhaust hangs in the air in the parking lot of a popular commercial corner in north Fresno during a recent weekday lunch rush.  Standing between a pair of fast-foo...

ATWATER – U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. unveiled a new funding stream for health clinics nationwide, $102 million aimed at expanding access to primary care, including ...

The number of people confirmed to be infected with West Nile virus in the San Joaquin Valley is creeping higher, wrestling in California’s first death from the mosquito-borne virus in Kings County. Th...

West Nile virus, a disease that is typically transmitted to people by mosquitos that have fed on blood from infected birds, has infected six people in California so far in 2026, including the San Joaq...

Almost 167,000 San Joaquin Valley residents who are enrolled in health insurance plans under Covered California will see their premiums climb by an average of almost 11% or more in 2027. Covered Calif...

Health insurance coverage under Covered California was terminated for almost 27,000 San Joaquin Valley residents over the first three months of 2026, mirroring a nationwide trend triggered in large pa...

A new 911 Nurse Navigation program launched in June by American Medical Response and Stanislaus County aims to reduce the number of non-emergency ambulance runs to hospital emergency rooms by referrin...

The number of senior citizens who live alone in the San Joaquin Valley has grown by more than 30% since 2012, adding to a population at increased risk to both physical and mental health. That amounts ...

This summer, like most summers in the San Joaquin Valley, is poised to drop a hot hammer on the region, bringing dozens of days in which high daytime temperatures will top 100 degrees. And The Old Far...

An increase in seasonal agricultural work and the end of the school year in the San Joaquin Valley are expected to mean more people spending more time working and playing outside – and potentially inc...

The San Joaquin Valley’s premiere pediatric hospital opened its doors to scores of nurses from across the region to share tips and tactics for caring for infants, toddlers and children, spreading spec...

This year is bringing substantial changes to California’s health-care program for low-income residents, particularly new limitations on Medi-Cal eligibility for enrollees with “unsatisfactory” immigra...

Veteran journalist offers a closer look at the San Joaquin Valley's health-care realities

Eight hospitals in the San Joaquin Valley have emergency departments that are designated as “trauma centers” equipped to deal with varying degrees of injuries, including one Level I facility capable o...

Health care leaders across the central San Joaquin Valley fear that federal cuts to Medicaid and state reductions in Medi-Cal benefits represent a “tsunami” of changes that jeopardize the financial st...

A visit to a hospital emergency room is typically no walk in the park. Along with the stress of a potential medical crisis, patients know they’re likely to be there for hours to be poked, prodded, tes...

California leaders are in the process of hammering out the state’s budget and will have to account for healthcare spending cuts from the federal government. On today’s episode, Tim Sheehan, with our n...

Covered California, the state’s insurance marketplace under the Affordable Care Act, is seeing marked declines in enrollment as well as a substantial number of people cancelling their coverage followi...

Undocumented immigrants in California will bear the brunt of reductions in health care and nutrition programs under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s initial proposal for a 2026-27 state budget unveiled earlier thi...

The U.S. Congress adjourned for its holiday break without taking action on legislation to forestall the expiration of tax credits that help subsidize the cost of health insurance premiums under the fe...

The eight counties in the San Joaquin Valley experience some of the highest levels of air pollution in California, with levels of several pollutants far above the statewide average. All eight counties...

How expiring tax credits could impact health insurance in the San Joaquin Valley. Plus, new coalition works to address dangers related to e-bikes. Finally, learn more about the culture and history of ...

Fresno barber Juan Gonzalez expects to pay more than three times more for health insurance coverage through Covered California than he did in 2025 because federal tax credits that help subsidize the c...

The chairwoman of the California State Assembly’s Health Committee said changes to the federal Medicaid health insurance program for low-income residents could strip as many as 400,000 San Joaquin Val...

November is Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, a reminder that mortality data places Alzheimer’s disease as the fifth leading cause of death across the entire San Joaquin Valley, claiming 9,061 lives betwee...

Registered nurses at six Tenet Health hospitals in California, including three in the northern San Joaquin Valley, expect to go on a one-day strike on Thursday as they seek better wages and staffing c...

A new poll reveals the urgency with which California residents view health care as an issue for the state’s 2026 election for governor, with almost eight out of 10 likely voters concerned about the af...

The San Joaquin Valley’s Latino population is experiencing obesity rates that significantly exceed non-Latinos among both adults and children – a disparity that carries with it broader health implicat...

Award-winning journalist Vicki Gonzalez hosts interviews with community leaders, advocates, experts, artists and more to provide background and understanding on breaking news, big events, politics and...

Almost 185,000 lower-income San Joaquin Valley residents – and nearly 2 million statewide – who purchase health insurance through Covered California will see their monthly premiums skyrocket in Januar...

West Nile virus, a disease that is typically transmitted to people by mosquitos that have fed on blood from infected birds, has so far killed four California residents in 2025, including three in the ...

Up and down the San Joaquin Valley, hospital programs for newly-hired registered nurses are providing a year of additional training and experience beyond what they received en route to their nursing d...

When Madera Community Hospital reopened in March 2025 after being closed for more than two years, it did so without resuming labor and delivery services for expectant mothers that had existed before t...

Hundreds of thousands of low-income households in the San Joaquin Valley will ikely face a reduction in benefits

Three hospitals in the San Joaquin Valley – two in Fresno, one in Modesto – have received places among the rankings of best regional hospitals in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The rankings, ...

Undocumented, low-income immigrants in California who are covered by Medi-Cal health insurance are likely to face challenges moving forward – a combination of budget cuts coming down from the state an...

Health clinics that serve more than 1.1 million patients up and down the San Joaquin Valley are bracing for the prospect of budget cuts and other fallout in the wake of the passage of President Donald...

Suicide is among the leading causes of death in the San Joaquin Valley. Journalist Tim Sheehan joins us to break down the data and the resources available to residents. If you or someone you know is a...

Over the last seven years, the suicide rate in the San Joaquin Valley has been significantly higher than the statewide rate, according to a review of state and federal data.  Across Fresno, Kern, King...

In some neighborhoods in the San Joaquin Valley, it’s challenging to go more than a block or two without finding someplace to buy alcohol. Between liquor stores, convenience stores, neighborhood marke...

Just four years ago, COVID-19 had taken a place among the leading causes of death in the San Joaquin Valley, right along with heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s and strokes. In 2021, in the peak of th...

Baby boomers are aging, and that means the number of senior citizens is on the rise. However, there are not enough medical providers in the San Joaquin Valley to treat this aging population. Journalis...

Senior citizens make up the fastest growing age demographic in the San Joaquin Valley. And they need more doctors. Members of the Baby Boomer generation – people born in the post-World War II era from...

Across most of the San Joaquin Valley, calls to law enforcement to report domestic violence have remained steady – or even gone down – in recent years. But a dramatic spike in Fresno County has given ...