This is the index to Noozhawk’s Safety Net series, a special project exploring Santa Barbara County’s safety-net population and its impacts on local health-care services currently and in advance of changes mandated by the health-care reform law that takes effect Jan. 1.
Our series is a result of an exciting partnership with USC’s Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism, which awarded Noozhawk reporters Lara Cooper and Giana Magnoli a rare dual California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowship to undertake this important work.
One in five Santa Barbara County residents has no health insurance, and many more are underinsured. Safety-net care providers are seeing record numbers of patients, even as they confront growing financial strains and profound changes in their industry.
Under the direction of executive editor Tom Bolton, our reporters have taken a comprehensive look at the difficulty of serving this under-represented population, including low-income, Spanish-speaking, uninsured or homeless residents. They also have explored the looming challenges from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Critical safety-net services have not had the visibility they deserve. We believe Noozhawk has a unique ability to raise public awareness and identify possible solutions.
This project is sponsored by the Santa Barbara Foundation, CenCal Health, Doctors Without Walls-Santa Barbara Street Medicine, Pacific Western Bank and the Santa Barbara Community Housing Corp.
Day One
» Patchwork of Clinics Struggles to Keep Santa Barbara County Healthy
Day Two
» Without Health Insurance, Many Put Off Critical Treatment
Day Three
» Poor Children May Have Most to Gain from Health-Care Changes
Day Four
» Health-Care Providers Face Significant Challenges Serving Uninsured
Day Five
» Emergency Rooms Strained by Growing Load of Patients
» Mental Illness Places Escalating Burden on Emergency Rooms
Day Six
» Demand for Services Expected to Jump with Affordable Care Act
You can support more independent quality journalism like Noozhawk’s Safety Net series by becoming a member of Noozhawk’s Hawks Club. Click here to make a donation online, or mail your check to Noozhawk, P.O. Box 101, Santa Barbara 93102. Personal contributions to Noozhawk are not deductible as charitable donations.
— Noozhawk publisher Bill Macfadyen can be reached at wmacfadyen@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.