Study finds LA County pilot program to aid gravely disabled residents could improve housing, hospitalization rates

A UCLA Health-led evaluation of Los Angeles County’s pilot program aimed at bolstering aid to gravely disabled homeless residents found the initiative could offer a promising framework to improve housing and health outcomes for this vulnerable population while also relieving overburdened psychiatric hospitals.

Domestic violence involving firearms increased in Chicago, Los Angeles and Nashville during pandemic

Domestic violence went down or stayed the same during the first 10 months of the COVID-19 pandemic in five major U.S. cities. However, domestic violence involving firearms increased in three of those cities, according to a new UC Davis study published in the Journal of Family Violence.

UCLA biobank study reveals disease risk, heath care use among LA’s diverse population

The research underscores the limitations of the health care system’s frequent reliance on broad self-reported race and ethnicity data to assess patients’ risk of developing disease, and the findings also support expanding genetic screening to more groups.

UCI-led study finds disparities in severe illness and lengthy hospitalizations between undocumented and Medi-Cal patients

Lithium is a common medication prescribed to patients with psychiatric disorders, namely bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and depression. It is used as a mood stabilizer and lessens the intensity of manic episodes, with particular benefit in reducing suicidality. While highly effective, the drug requires routine blood monitoring, which can be uncomfortable, expensive, and inconvenient for patients who must travel to clinical labs for frequent blood testing.

Due to the COVID surge, ambulances in the Los Angeles area are refusing to transfer patients with no chance of survival

As the surge of COVID-19 cases increase exponentially across the U.S., the hospitals in the Los Angeles metro area have been particularly hit hard. There are now more than 7,600 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Los Angeles County. Ambulance crews in the area have been advised to cut back on their use of oxygen and to not bring to hospitals patients who have virtually no chance of survival in order to increase capacity and triage care to focus on the sickest patients.