Heidi de Marco, Kaiser Health News

Author's posts

Etching the Pain of Covid Into the Flesh of Survivors

Memorial tattoos have grown more popular in recent years. Since parlors reopened after the lockdown, inkers have found that many people are eager to memorialize relatives and friends lost to covid.

Etching the Pain of Covid Into the Flesh of Survivors

Memorial tattoos have grown more popular in recent years. Since parlors reopened after the lockdown, inkers have found that many people are eager to memorialize relatives and friends lost to covid.

Children With Disabilities Face Special Back-to-School Challenges

For children with special needs returning to an L.A. classroom, mask-wearing is the least of their troubles.

No Papers, No Care: Disabled Migrants Seek Help Through Lawsuit, Activism

A class action lawsuit seeks better care for immigrants with physical disabilities or mental illness who were detained after trying to enter the country. Other disabled immigrants without legal status are also finding it difficult to get care.

‘It’s a Mission’: Volunteers Treat Refugees Massing at the Border

A growing number of Mexican and Central American migrants are trying to cross into the U.S. at the southern border. Volunteers at one free clinic in Tijuana tend to the health needs of migrants waiting for their immigration cases to come up — and simply trying to survive in packed and dangerous encampments.

Collecting FEMA Funeral Money Takes Some Tenacity — And Help

A federal program to help with the funeral expenses for people who died of covid is a challenge for grieving family members who aren’t fluent in English or the ways of a bureaucracy.

Covid Fears Keep Many Latino Kids out of Classrooms

Latinos got hit disproportionately hard by covid-19. When faced with the choice of sending their kids back to school or keeping them in online classes, many Latino parents say their kids are safer at home.

For This Hospice Nurse, the Covid Shot Came Too Late

Antonio Espinoza, a hospice nurse in Southern California, ministered to terminally ill patients, including those with covid. He tested positive for covid five days after getting his first dose of vaccine and died a few weeks later.

Role Reversal: Covid Increases Ranks of Child Caregivers

Millions of teens and preteens help care for ill parents or grandparents. The pandemic has boosted their numbers while making it harder for them to get social and emotional support outside the home.

Dispelling Vaccine Misinformation and Myths in California’s Breadbasket

Even though farmworkers are vulnerable to covid, many hesitate to get the vaccine, worried the shot could have severe side effects or signal their whereabouts to immigration officials. Immigrant advocates in the Coachella Valley and other farming regions are visiting workers to try to allay their fears.