Nursing Homes

Howdy, California. It’s Wednesday, April 7. This is CalMatters politics reporter Ben Christopher filling in for Emily Hoeven who really is still on vacation. Await the ides of June California’s collective year-long ordeal spent shuttered and sheltered-in-place finally has a tentative expiration date: June 15. Assuming all goes as planned, that’s the day that California […]

Good morning, California. It’s Tuesday, April 5. CalMatters politics reporter Ben Christopher here, filling in for Emily Hoeven. Emily will be back next week. Rife with indecision and inconsistencies As California nursing homes slowly recover from the COVID-19 siege that killed thousands, the role of state regulators in protecting the frail and elderly has come […]

A CalMatters investigation reveals an opaque licensing process for California nursing homes, rife with indecision and contradictions. Officials have let the state’s largest nursing home owner and his companies operate 18 homes for years while failing to decide whether to grant the required licenses.

More than 9,000 people have died of COVID-19 in California nursing homes, and many others have suffered from isolation. But after a massive vaccination campaign, infections and deaths have plummeted — and nursing homes are cautiously reopening to visitors.

Tech glitches have struck California’s beleaguered unemployment department once again. The Employment Development Department’s website was unable to process claimants’ information over the weekend and was still plagued with difficulties Monday. “Some customers are experiencing issues using these services,” a pop-up on EDD’s benefits registration webpage read Monday. “We’re working to restore service as soon […]

Good morning, California. It’s Tuesday, March 2. Third time’s the charm? The school reopening deal Gov. Gavin Newsom and top lawmakers unveiled Monday stops short of requiring campuses to reopen — raising questions about whether it will actually accelerate students’ return to the classroom. The $6.6 billion proposal would incentivize schools to bring their youngest […]

COVID-19 cases at California’s nursing homes have plummeted 98% since December. But long-term care facilities say they are waiting for state guidance before reopening to family visits. “The sacrifice our seniors have made has been very, very difficult and caused a lot of harm. Now is the time to stop sacrificing them," one doctor said.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said California could see “a surge on top of a surge arguably on top of a surge" after the holidays.

As California clamps down amid a daunting coronavirus surge, the state will begin placing its first vaccine orders Friday, officials announce.

California elected officials are rapidly losing credibility at a critical point in the pandemic, with hospitalizations at an all-time high and Gov. Gavin Newsom expected to announce a state lockdown today. On Tuesday, the San Francisco Chronicle broke the news that Mayor London Breed attended a dinner party with seven other people at the three-Michelin-starred […]