As the governor and lawmakers wrangle over the budget, local public health departments are underfunded and overwhelmed. Outdated equipment and insufficient staff hamper handling of everything from asthma to syphilis.
Author Archives: Barbara Feder Ostrov
Barbara Feder Ostrov, Contributing Writer for CalMatters, has reported on medicine and health policy for more than 15 years. She most recently covered California and national health issues for Kaiser Health News. Previously, she covered the medical beat for the San Jose Mercury News for eight years and edited the website of the Center for Health Journalism at the USC Annenberg School of Journalism. She also worked at The Palm Beach Post and the Miami Herald. Her work has been published in the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Atlantic.com, Salon, Scientific American, PBS NewsHour, NPR, CNN.com, Ms. Magazine and Women's Day among other media outlets. She has won awards from the Society for Women’s Health Research, the California Newspaper Publishers Association and the Florida Press Club. She is based in San Jose, California.
