Managing mental health for older adults

KTVU's Alex Savidge is joined by Dr. Alicia English, Licensed Clinical Psychologist with the Center for Elders' Independence for more on the unique mental health challenges adults over 60 face and the best strategies to support anyone in your life who may be struggling with mental health issues.

Local health experts call on city leaders to address drug crisis

Today a group of doctors, public health experts and community organizations joined together to call on San Francisco city leaders to do more to address the drug overdose crisis. They held a news conference outside of the medical examiner's office to highlight the more than 3000 people who've died from overdoses in the city since the beginning of 2020. KTVU's Alex Savidge discusses some of the data-driven strategies the group is suggesting the city implement with Laura Thomas, Director of Harm Reduction Policy at the San Francisco AIDS Foundation.

Stroke Awareness Month: Recognizing the signs

It's one of the leading causes of death in the United States and during this American Stroke Month, organizations like the American Stroke Association want to raise awareness about the warning signs and the increased risks you face once you've already had a stroke. KTVU's Heather Holmes is joined by Deb Shaw, President and Founder of Champion the Challenges and three-time stroke survivor and her husband Bob Shaw to talk about what strokes can look and feel like for someone experiencing or witnessing one.

Prioritizing mental health services in the AAPI community

Asian Health Services is a community organization with clinics across Oakland. Since the start of the pandemic, the organization has seen two and a half times as many patients coming in for mental health visits. This Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month the group is also spotlighting the unique mental health challenges facing the AAPI community. KTVU's Alex Savidge is joined by Thu Quach, Mon Wong and Tera Eng to discuss the services they offer.

Survey: Americans see major gap between physical vs mental healthcare

A new survey from West Health and Gallup finds that Americans see a major difference in approach when it comes to physical healthcare versus mental healthcare in the U.S. The same survey also found that more than 80% of Americans are seeing a rise in mental health issues over the last 5 years. KTVU's Cristina Rendon discusses the findings with Timothy Lash, President of West Health Institute, which spearheaded this survey.

Marijuana could be reclassified as "less dangerous" drug in U.S.

In a major shift, marijuana could soon be reclassified as a less dangerous drug in the U.S. Last fall, federal health officials had recommended to reschedule marijuana and now, the U.S. Department of Drug Enforcement plans to move forward with reclassifying. Changing its status from a Schedule One drug to a Schedule Three drug could have a ripple effect across the country. KTVU's Heather Holmes discusses the possible change with Tamar Todd, Lecturer of marijuana law and policy at UC Berkeley.

Deadly Risk: Sedation and Restraint

A new investigative report is shining a light on the number of people dying in police custody after being given sedatives. Those drugs, administered by paramedics, are meant to calm people who are agitated or combative during an arrest. The AP collaborated with PBS's Frontline and The Howard Center of Investigative Journalism to dig into the numbers. They found between 2012 and 2021, more than 1,000 people died following police restraint and nearly 10% of those who died, were sedated by injection. KTVU's Alex Savidge and Heather Holmes discuss the report with Carla K. Johnson, a medical journalist with the Associated Press and one of the lead reporters involved in this investigation.

California buying generic version of Narcan at reduced price

Today Governor Newsom announced the state is buying a generic version of overdose-reversal drug Narcan at a reduced price to boost supply across California and combat the rising number of opioid-related deaths. KTVU's Alex Savidge speaks with Michael Snow from The HIV Education and Prevention Project of Alameda County (HEPPAC) about the impact of this purchasing agreement and how the Naloxone Distribution Program aims to fight the opioid epidemic.

Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention: What you need to know

April marks National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention month. KTVU's Alex Savidge sits down with Dr. Naomi Adler, Emergency Room physician at Kaiser Permanente to talk about the obstacles survivors face, and the available resources for healing.

Black Maternal Health Week

KTVU's Jana Katsuyama speaks with Kaiser Permanente East Bay OBGYN Dr. Carla Wicks about some of the steps we can take to correct racial bias and disparity in women's healthcare.

Stanford researchers make critical COVID-19 discovery

After 5 years with COVID-19, health experts say there is still much to learn about the virus that causes the disease. At the height of the pandemic, hospitals were overwhelmed with patients with severe cases of the respiratory virus including life-threatening complications. It was believed that a certain type of lung cell made some people more susceptible to severe infection but now that is no longer the case. KTVU's Heather Holmes speaks with Stanford scientists Catherine Blish and Mark Krasnow about their critical new research that found a different suspected source of vulnerability. Illustration by Emily Moskal.

Minimally-invasive surgeries now available to treat esophageal cancer

According to the American Cancer Society, more than 22,000 Americans are diagnosed with esophageal cancer each year, but it doesn't have to be a death sentence. KTVU's Heather Holmes speaks with Kaiser Permanente Thoracic Surgeon Dr. Jeffrey Velotta and his patient Francisca Ortiz about her fight against esophageal cancer at age 61 and how she found out something was wrong in the first place.

Study: number of meth users in California hits all-time high

According to the San Francisco Health Department, 64 people died from accidental overdoses in February of this year including 47 from fentanyl. Now a new study shows the number of people using meth and also fentanyl here in California is at an all-time high. 72% of drug test results in 2023 from those who used fentanyl also contained meth, resulting in more than a 2000% increase since 2013. KTVU's Joey Horta discusses the report with Angela Huskey, Senior Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer of Millennium Health, whose researchers gathered the data.