Left to Right - Enrique Sanchez Peña and Victoria Lee Shared decision-making and strong communication skills are essential for creating a positive patient-provider relationship that leads to better health care outcomes. Investing in a culture that values the patient’s voice is the cornerstone of the Pre-Medical Student Health Coach Program at [...]
A new three-part series from National Public Radio (NPR) explores how Beloved Birth Black Centering is empowering Black women to redefine perinatal care and implementing evidence-based strategies to eliminate racism-based disparities in Black birth experiences. Part one features Beloved Birth Black Centering Program Director Jyesha Wren, who shares data about the program’s success and why [...]
Beloved Birth Black Centering's unique, Black-centered approach to eliminating racism-based disparities in Black birth experiences was novel when it began in 2020. The program, which is delivered by Alameda Health System (AHS), the Alameda County Public Health Department (ACPHD), and the Beloved Birth Collective, provides group perinatal care by, for, and with Black people — [...]
Something unusual occurred on the Wilma Chan Highland Hospital Campus yesterday – a wedding. Francisco Jeronimo Lucas and Marcelina Pablo Bautista planned to marry in a courthouse ceremony on Jan. 4, but their plans were dashed when Lucas was admitted to Highland Hospital on the couple’s wedding day. Mr. Lucas and Ms. Bautista have been [...]
Alameda Health System’s first baby of 2024 is ZaLayah Ridgle. She was born at 1:18 a.m. on Jan. 1 at The Family Birthing Center on The Wilma Chan Highland Hospital Campus in Oakland, CA. She is six pounds, 10 ounces. She is named after her great-grandmother. ZaLayah’s parents are LaTasha Dixon and Allen Ridgle. Dixon [...]
Patients at John George Psychiatric Hospital (JGPH) recently received some unusual visitors from the Oakland Zoo: a gopher snake, a blue-tongued skink and an eastern box turtle. The visit was coordinated by JGPH activity therapists, who try to provide some sense of normalcy to patients recovering from severe mental health crises. “Just because people come [...]
Jody Reshaw had a successful career working in corporate kitchens and catering when she found herself struggling to walk or stand without debilitating pain in her legs and feet. Forced to put her culinary passion on hold, Reshaw found a supportive health care team at Alameda Health System (AHS) who continue to empower her on [...]
A new supply of iPads equipped with video interpreter services is making it easier for patients who don't speak English to communicate with their providers at Alameda Health System (AHS). "They are a complete revolution for the Emergency Department," said Dr. Jeffrey Herrala, an emergency medicine physician at The Wilma Chan Highland Hospital Campus. Alameda [...]
The AHS Index is a new way to look at data that illuminates a snapshot of our world today. It is intended to highlight health inequities and spark conversation, debate, outrage, and wonder. Estimated percent of Alameda County residents who experienced food insecurity in 2022: 20% Pounds of food delivered by Alameda County’s [...]
In September 2022 spinal cord stimulation therapy was first approved for use at Alameda Health System (AHS) and it represents an important and innovative option in the treatment of chronic pain. For patient Elena Torres, it has freed her from being trapped by agonizing pain and dependence on opioid medications. “It’s nothing less than a [...]
