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Maria Fire in Ventura County Causing Smoke Impacts

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. —Santa Barbara County Public Health Department and Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District issued an Air Quality Alert through the weekend, or until conditions improve. The Maria Fire burning in Ventura County is producing smoke that may affect Santa Barbara County.

This month includes recognition of World Mental Health Day, a special reminder about global mental health education, awareness and advocacy against the social stigma of mental health.

Lompoc Valley Medical Center has received notice that power companies such as PG&E and Southern California Edison may periodically turn off public power during extreme weather or wildfire conditions. This is called a Public Safety Power Shutoff. When that occurs, LVMC is prepared to assist people who are dependent on electricity to maintain their health status.

With the eruption of a multistate outbreak of severe pulmonary disease associated with using e-cigarette products (devices, liquids, refill pods, and cartridges) the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working to get information out to the public about its concerns, and to provide recommendations for clinicians, public health officials and the public based on currently available information.

Power outages can occur for a variety of reasons – including earthquakes, floods, wildfires or a Public Safety Power Shut-off, or PSPS.

The arrival of summer brings not only the end of the school year but the start of the festival and fair season.

Three people in San Luis Obispo County were recently diagnosed with Hepatitis A following their attendance at a private catered event.

(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) – The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department (PHD) has confirmed the first case of measles in the county since 2016. The person identified is a resident of Santa Barbara in his 20s. The individual is considered infectious between May 25, 2019, through June 2, 2019, but has been in isolation since May 29, 2019.

Most parents have encountered the highly contagious inflammation known as “pink eye” at some point. Also known by its medical term of “conjunctivitis,” it is one of the most common and treatable eye conditions in the world, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

The flu season in California is surging, with recent reports of 42 fatalities in the state attributed to influenza since last October.

The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department is urging local residents to be aware of the dangers of ingesting wild mushrooms.

The National Weather Service is predicting record-setting temperatures Friday and Saturday across the Central Coast.

The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department and LVMC are informing residents that there has been a recent increase in the number of clinical cases of Valley Fever observed in Santa Barbara County residents, particularly those in the North County.

A recent, and now deadly, outbreak of E. coli infections has consumers on the alert about the safety of romaine lettuce and other foods. The Centers for Disease Control wants to educate people that most types of E. coli are harmless, but others can make a person sick, or even die.

Thousands of Medicare members in Santa Barbara County will start receiving new cards during the next year. Medicare is removing Social Security numbers that were previously on identification cards and replacing them with a new Medicare Beneficiary Identifier number that is secure and unique to the cardholder. The cards will be used for Medicare transactions like billing, eligibility status, and claim status.