From PublicCEO.com.

Lives are being saved because California local governments are laboratories for innovation and efficiency. Recent improvements in how county health care systems respond to and treat strokes have improved recovery rates and provided patients with an easier road back to health.

Counties, in coordination with the California Department of Public Health, have begun certifying stroke treatment procedures. These procedures mandate that a patient have access to advanced imaging technology 24 hours a day. They also require access to a drug called tPA ? which can destroy clots in the brain without invasive surgery, so long as it is administered within the first three hours of a stroke.

From the Cupertino Patch.

With the ever rising cost of health care, women over 55 are postponing - and even forgoing their annual breast exam all in name of saving a few bucks.
The California Department of Public Health has a Cancer Detection Program named "Every Woman Counts." To be eligible for a free screening and diagnostic services women need to be age 40 or older.

From the Los Angeles Times.

A random inspection of a commercial truck in Northern California turned up radioactivity in a load of cargo, the California Highway Patrol said late Friday.
What was surprising was the source: metal bathroom tissue boxes.
After an investigation by the California Department of Public Health and the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the retail chain Bed Bath & Beyond issued a recall notice for the boxes, Dual Ridge Metal Boutique Tissue Holders.

From California Watch.

California public health authorities released a ream of documents reflecting reports by hospitals on infections that crop up during patient stays.
California authorities say they are reviewing results of an in-depth infection-reporting audit of four types of infections reported by 100 hospitals. The Department of Public Health says it plans to use the results to educate hospitals on infection surveillance. But the state lacks the funding needed to keep a steady eye on hospital-generated reports.

From the Food Poison Journal.

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued a letter on January 17, 2012 to Mark McAfee, CEO of Organic Pastures Dairy in Fresno, California, explaining the link between his company?s raw milk products and a cluster of E. coli O157:H7 infections in California children. The letter further detailed problems found at the facility, including the isolation of a matching strain of E. coli to the ill children.

From the Sacramento Bee.

When scientists in labs in the Netherlands and Wisconsin recently took a fearsome bird-flu virus, which until now hasn't been very contagious for humans, and made it airborne, the news provoked an international flutter of alarm.
The U.S. government, which paid for the research, asked scientists not to publish their methods lest the information fall into bioterrorists' hands.
In the Sacramento area, public health officials weren't that ruffled.
"I'm not particularly alarmed by the recent research," said James Watt, head of Communicable Disease Control with the California Department of Public Health. "We have always known that influenza is a serious disease and that we need to be ready for a serious strain to emerge."
State and county officials took the news in stride, they said, because they've already been planning for years on what to do if such a virus fully jumps from birds to humans.

From the Turlock Journal.

An emission-reducing raisin tray burning system, a natural gas conversion kit for locomotive engines, and an all-electric agricultural sprayer are just a few of the new technologies being developed with the goal of improving air quality in the Central Valley.
The California Department of Public Health reports that San Joaquin Valley residents experience three times California's state average for asthma attacks and five times the national average for asthma attacks.