April Dembosky
April Dembosky is the health reporter for The California Report and KQED News. She covers health policy and public health, and has reported extensively on the economics of health care, the roll-out of the Affordable Care Act in California, mental health and end-of-life issues. Her work is regularly rebroadcast on NPR and has been recognized with awards from the Society for Professional Journalists (for sports reporting), and the Association of Health Care Journalists (for a story about pediatric hospice). Her hour-long radio documentary about home funeralswon the Best New Artist award from the Third Coast International Audio Festival in 2009. April occasionally moonlights on the arts beat, covering music and dance. Her story about the first symphony orchestra at Burning Man won the award for Best Use of Sound from the Public Radio News Directors Inc. Before joining KQED in 2013, April covered technology and Silicon Valley for The Financial Times, and freelanced for Marketplace and The New York Times. She is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and Smith College.
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As some young women head to HBCUs in states where abortion is restricted or banned, they're getting education and birth control to help safeguard their reproductive health during college.
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Expanding the use of involuntary commitment is being discussed in liberal California and Oregon, where severe mental illness, drug use and homelessness are becoming political liabilities for leaders.
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California voters will decide whether to amend their state constitution to explicitly protect abortion rights. But it's unclear whether the amendment would allow abortions at any point in pregnancy.
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California volunteers are gearing up to host women from out of state in their homes or drive them to abortion appointments. One is a 75-year old woman motivated by having had abortions before 'Roe.'
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A proposed bill would require cannabis products to carry large warnings, similar to cigarettes. But the state's legal pot industry says more rules make it harder to compete with the illicit market. -
California lawmakers are considering 13 bills that would expand access to abortion and welcome women from states where abortion is being banned or restricted.
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A spike in pandemic pets is increasing shortages and burnout among veterinarians — a field that already had high rates of suicide. A new mental health initiative offers professional help for free.
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Many Americans with mental illness report waiting weeks for care, even for serious depression or suicidality. California has a new law for insurers, limiting those wait times to two weeks or less.
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Fatal drug overdoses, including from meth, have soared. California is preparing to roll out a controversial but proven treatment for meth addiction that involves paying users small sums not to use.
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To get a new drug for postpartum depression, some insurers want women to try other drugs first and even electroconvulsive therapy. It could be a test for California's new mental health parity law.
