By MELISSA HARTMAN | The Santa Cruz Sentinel | Published: March 6, 2021
Stars and Stripes is making stories on the coronavirus pandemic available free of charge. See more staff and wire stories here. Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter here. Please support our journalism with a subscription. SANTA CRUZ Local military veteran Jim McBurney described getting inoculated through Veterans Affairs as an operation with military precision. In the wake of limited vaccine supply across the state of California, hundreds of Santa Cruz veterans such as McBurney are turning to nearby VA clinics for their shots. According to information provided to the Sentinel by VA Palo Alto Health Care System public affairs specialist Michael Hill-Jackson, residents in almost every city in the county have turned to the VA to be vaccinated. More than 800 Santa Cruz County veterans have taken advantage of having another vaccine route from their military background.
By GCN Staff
Mar 02, 2021
The Department of Veterans Affairs is installing 5G networks at its Miami and Puget Sound health care facilities.
Working with T-Mobile, which currently provides the in-building 4G LTE wireless connectivity at the Miami Health Care System, the VA will install in-building 5G radios for 2.5 GHz spectrum to deliver speeds of 300 megabit/sec with peaks up to 1 gigabit/sec.
The faster network will allow medical teams to quickly move and access large, complex data files, such as imaging results, labs and medical charts, without having to be tethered to a computer, the company said.
T-Mobile already provides up to 70,000 lines of wireless service to doctors, nurses and hospital staff across VA hospitals and has helped enhance access to the VA s telehealth platform, VA Video Connect.
Pathologist, Christmas tree farmer Jon Kosek dies at 90
An outdoor enthusiast, bicyclist and founder of a Christmas tree farm, Kosek was a staff pathologist at the VA Palo Alto Heath Care System for nearly 45 years, mentoring hundreds of residents and students. Feb 8 2021
Jon Kosek
Jon Kosek, MD, clinical professor emeritus of pathology, died Oct. 16 at his home on the Stanford campus. He was 90.
“Jon Kosek was a dedicated teacher and an expert pathologist who devoted decades to his field,” said Lloyd Minor, MD, dean of the School of Medicine. “Countless trainees and colleagues benefited from his wisdom and guidance. He will be missed here at Stanford Medicine, and his influence in pathology labs across the nation will be lasting.”
Mental disorders highly prevalent during coronavirus pandemics
Researchers in the United States have conducted an analysis showing the high prevalence of mental disorders across populations impacted by coronavirus pandemics.
The team’s meta-analysis of research on COVID-19, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) found that one in five adults developed pandemic-related mental disorders.
Psychiatric morbidity and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were the most prevalent disorders among most populations.
These disorders occurred most frequently among infected or recovered adults, followed by healthcare providers, adults in the community and quarantined adults.
Future research examining subpopulations most at-risk of mental disorders will be key to implementing interventions in a cost-effective and equitable manner, says Matthew Boden from VA Palo Alto Healthcare System in California and colleagues.