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Over the past three decades, the world has seen a steady decline in the number of women dying from childbirth. There’s been a notable outlier: the United States. Here the maternal mortality rate has been climbing, putting the United States in the unenviable company of Afghanistan, Lesotho and Swaziland as countries with rising rates. But that trend has been reversed in dramatic fashion in one state: California. The state Department of Public Health calculates that between 2006 and 2013, California lowered its maternal mortality rate by 55 percent from 16.9 to 7.3 deaths for every 100,000 live births, which translates to saving about one life in every 10,000 live births. (Ollove, 10/23)

The Department of Health and Human Services says it will receive a $1.85 million federal grant aimed at improving dental health. The funds, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will allow the state's oral health program to continue its school-based approach.That means bringing dental hygienists directly to kids at their school, says Oral Health Program director Hope Saltmarsh. (Garrova, 10/22)

Thousands of University of California medical workers began a three-day strike Tuesday against hospitals, clinics and campuses that prompted the rescheduling of thousands of surgeries and outpatient appointments. Picket lines were called for the five UC medical centers in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Irvine and Davis. (10/23)

With lawyers for state inmates insisting that a secret report prepared by California’s top prison psychiatrist must be made public, attorneys in the case say more whistleblowers are beginning to come forward. The revelation came during a hearing in federal court in Sacramento on Monday, where U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller is wrestling with how to deal with a 160-page report compiled by Dr. Michael Golding, the top psychiatrist in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. (Stanton, 10/22)

For several years, UConn Health has been exploring the possibility of partnering with a private entity as a way of ensuring the long-term financial sustainability of the system. On Monday, the health system took the next necessary step in pursuing a public-private partnership by releasing a national “Solicitation of Interest” letter. The letter is a request for proposals from health organizations across the country interested in partnering with the Farmington-based health system. (Rigg, 10/22)

Every day, Mayra Garcia wakes up with the same thoughts. Is today going to be the day? Will she get the call telling her there’s a match for her young son? Will he finally get the bone marrow transplant to save his life? “It’s getting harder every day,” she said, fighting back tears. “He’s only a little kid. We need help.”Garcia, 31, who lives in Homestead with her husband Dany Morales, 34, said her life has been a constant waiting game since her 7-year-old son Julian was diagnosed with Dyskeratosis Congenita, a rare genetic disorder in which the marrow does not produce sufficient blood cells, when he was 3. (Teproff, 10/22)

New Hampshire Police Chiefs say a forthcoming report on marijuana legalization shows that now is a bad time to legalize recreational pot here. The Association of Chiefs of Police gathered in Concord on Monday to repeat its opposition.It comes as the legislative commission tasked with studying legalization, taxation and regulation of cannabis is wrapping up its report. (Tuohy, 10/22)

Six local U.S. veterans, including a Milpitas resident and a Willow Glen coach, received free Lasik surgery Oct. 17 as part of the annual Gift of Sight program provided by Furlong Vision Correction in San Jose. Milpitas resident Ethan Provost entered the U.S. Army in 2001 at age 22, serving in the 101st Airborne. He was deployed to Iraq for one year and South Korea for two years. Ethan operated and drove heavy equipment trucks and supplied military supplies in Tikrit, Iraq. His entire deployment was spent in convoys and vehicle maintenance. (Gelhaus, 10/21)

Less than three hours before a 5 p.m. deadline, Gov. Rick Scott’s administration Friday filed a notice to appeal a Tallahassee judge’s order that struck down a 2017 medical marijuana law as unconstitutional. The notice, filed at 2:36 p.m. Friday, came after Scott sought support from Republican legislators and the state’s marijuana operators to appeal Leon County Circuit Judge Charles Dodson’s decision that the 2017 law ran afoul of a voter-approved constitutional amendment. (10/22)

Almost everything a phone call to your doctor can accomplish, an online patient portal can do better and at any time of the day or night. That's the sentiment — and reality — from those on both sides of the patient-care equation in this age of electronic health records (EHR) and online access to everything from ahi tuna to zoo tickets. According to HealthIT.gov, the official website of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), a patient portal is a secure website that gives patients using a secure username and password convenient, 24-hour access to personal health information from anywhere with an Internet connection. (Terry, 10/22)

UC Davis Medical Center leaders announced last week that the institution once again claimed a place among the upper echelon of nursing employers – the top 8 percent in the United States, to be exact – after the American Nurses Credentialing Center renewed its magnet status. The magnet designation is given only to hospitals that stress giving their nursing staff the authority to make clinical decisions at patient bedsides, according to the credentialing organization, and nurses at these facilities are encouraged to be involved in decisions about the patient-care environment and to collaborate with team members from other disciplines. (Anderson, 10/22)

Four Timberlane Regional Middle School students were sickened after ingesting chocolates believed to have been laced with marijuana, officials said Monday. According to Superintendent Dr. Earl Metzler, the incident last Thursday required that one student to be sent to the hospital for evaluation while the other three were checked out by a school nurse and released to their parents. (Schreiber, 10/22)