Brian Krans

Author's posts

Judges Try To Balance Legal Rights And Courtroom Health

Courtrooms aren’t built for social distancing, and pandemics don’t offer ideal conditions for fulfilling the right to a speedy trial. But, eventually, every court in the nation will have to reckon with a return that may risk safety to some degree.

San Francisco Quick To Fight COVID-19, Slow To Help Homeless

San Francisco Mayor London Breed won nationwide praise for taking drastic early measures against COVID-19. But her hesitation over how to care for the homeless came back to bite her.

Patients Caught In Crossfire Between Giant Hospital Chain, Large Insurer

Insurance giant Cigna and San Francisco-based Dignity Health have failed to ink a 2020 contract, leaving nearly 17,000 patients in California and Nevada scrambling to find new health care providers. Meanwhile, Dignity faces financial and legal challenges while it strives to implement its merger with Catholic Health Initiatives, which created one of the nation’s largest Catholic hospital systems.

San Francisco Hopes To Improve Care For People With Mental Illness Living On Streets

Dr. Anton Nigusse Bland, a veteran of public health psychiatry, was appointed by San Francisco’s mayor earlier this year to a newly created job: director of mental health reform. His main task is to improve mental health and addiction treatment for people experiencing homelessness.

California’s Working Mothers Get Stronger Support For Workplace Lactation

A new state law that takes effect Jan. 1 requires employers to provide spaces where women can pump their breast milk comfortably and privately, with access to electricity, running water and refrigeration.