Rehabilitation stations

As in many counties in California, jail overcrowding has been a substantial public safety concern for several decades in Santa Barbara County. Since 1986, the county has been under court order to limit jail populations and the impacts of overcrowding. A major solution to this problem—a North County jail facility—is currently in the works. And […]

Dr. Rupert Chowins is director of Optometric Services. Pacific Eye’s Eric White is a high-level surgical-technician. Together, they’re traveling to Guatemala. Their time spent south, however, won’t be much of a vacation. Based on Chowins’s previous experience—he’s been to Guatemala four times in the past two years—he thinks they’ll be aiding about 1,000 patients and […]

In the Sun’s Feb. 18 cover story, “Bridging the controversy,” the number of suicides from the bridge was misreported. A total of 52 people have jumped to their deaths at the bridge, including eight in 2009. News Briefs is compiled by Sun staffers from staff reporting and local and national media. Information should be sent […]

Scott McCann, the county’s director of health education, said he came to a similar conclusion while compiling a community health status report for the Public Health Department. That study focused more on premature death, risk factors, and prevention, but also considered disease prevalence, physical activity levels, poverty levels, and other important factors. McCann said Santa […]

Emotionally stable? Physically fit? Happy at work? A new poll released by Gallup suggests people living in Santa Barbara County are more likely to answer “yes” to all those questions than people living in most other areas across the nation. The Gallup-Healthways Life Evaluation Index poll has ranked the Santa Barbara/Santa Maria/Goleta area No. 6 […]

From San Luis Obispo to Santa Maria, there’s one major hospital patients seem to like most, according to data from the California HealthCare Foundation. As of Feb. 25, the data—which can be found online at calhospitalcompare.org—indicates French Hospital in San Luis Obispo ranks the highest in “overall patient experience,” with an approval rating of 74 […]