Berkeley Resident Becomes CPMC’s 10,000th Organ Transplant
On New Year’s Day, 29-year-old Bradley Ganoe got a new lease on life. That’s the day Ganoe received a liver transplant that saved his life, about four months after he went into multiple acute organ failure. The Berkeley resident also became the 10,000th organ...
Have Mild Cold-Like Symptoms? You Don’t Need a COVID Test
If you have cold-like symptoms and fear you have COVID-19 but aren’t sick enough to go to the hospital, stay home and take care of yourself. That’s the consensus of healthcare professionals as they grapple with short supplies of COVID-19 tests and long waits for...
Betty White Lived to 99; Research May Help More Reach ‘Ripe Old Age’
You can’t help but love Betty White and be inspired by the actress’ long and energetic life. America’s “Golden Girl” died on New Year’s Eve at age 99, just shy of her 100th birthday. “White was the picture of aging healthfully and gracefully,” said Dr. Steven...
Editor’s Picks
Nurse Saw Opportunity During Dark Days of the Pandemic
By Stephanie Breitbart and Liz Madison, Vitals contributors Eighteen years ago, Kim Watson took her first steps inside a hospital as a registered nurse. There were many unknowns in that moment. Perhaps one consideration that didn’t cross Watson’s mind was how she...
NorCal Hospitals Help with National Blood Shortage
The United States' blood supply is dangerously low on all blood types. “Blood banks are hurting right now,” said Denise Sobiek, a head nurse at Vitalant, a national nonprofit that collects and provides blood products and services. Sobiek and Vitalant were at...
What NorCal Physicians Are Looking Forward to in 2022
While the coronavirus has dominated health news for the past two years, there continue to be advances in all areas of medical care. We asked physicians throughout Northern California in many specialties an open-ended question: “What are you anticipating, hoping...
Omicron is the Dominant COVID Variant for Two Reasons
The Omicron variant of COVID-19 has taken firm hold in the United States. Infectious disease specialist Dr. Gary Green explains why that is, plus how to help maximize your chances of staying healthy this winter. Omicron is highly transmissible The first case of...
Dive Deeper
A Vital Recital: Here Are Some of Our Favorite Stories from Year 1
Your health is vitally important to you … and to us. That’s why we launched this news site, Vitals, in December 2020 right in the middle of a pandemic. We wanted to give Northern Californians a venue for accurate, reliable health news, with stories written and...
Flu Hasn’t Flown; Time Is Now to Get Vaccinated
While the world grapples with the newest COVID-19 variant – omicron – flu cases continue to rise. That’s why it’s important to get your flu shot as well as being vaccinated for COVID-19 and getting your booster when the time comes. That’s the recommendation of Dr....
Mexican American Medical Assistant Calls COVID Vaccine ‘Modern Miracle’
Cynthia Mendoza is comfortable with contradictions. The 40-year-old mother of three is shy with strangers but bold with family, friends and co-workers. Equal parts loyal and restless, she says being a medical assistant is the perfect job. No two days have been the...
From Micro-Preemie to ‘Super Sam’: One Boy’s Incredible Odyssey
By Clayton Warren and Monique Binkley Smith, Vitals contributors Sam Harris spent the first three months of his life in a Bay Area neonatal intensive care unit undergoing surgery and treatment for one medical challenge after another. Born 16 weeks early at 24 weeks...