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Ryan White

Content Editor

Ryan White is content editor of CenterforHealthJournalism.org, where he oversees daily content across a range of health topics. He also is the lead for the Center’s Health Matters webinar series. Ryan has nearly two decades of experience reporting, writing and editing for newspapers in California, national magazines and online outlets. After graduating from UC Berkeley in 2003, Ryan reported widely on the environment, local politics, urban planning, affordable housing and public health issues throughout the Bay Area and Los Angeles. In the past, he’s worked on KQED’s public television program “This Week in Northern California,” served as the editor of the Alameda Sun, worked as a reporter and editor for Marinscope Community Newspapers and freelanced for a long list of outlets. He was a 2012 California Fellow, reporting on the plight of the “anchor out” community in San Francisco Bay.

Articles

New research has found that bullies had better health profiles than those not involved in bullying at all, while victims displayed less healthy blood readings over time. The study adds to a growing body of knowledge on how adversity and stress become embedded in our bodies and shape health.

The battle over school lunch returned this week, as a House subcommittee moved to weaken stricter school lunch standards set to go into effect later this year. Critics say the rules go to far and lead to kids dumping out their lunch. Supporters insist the rules will make kids healthier.

Preschool is enjoying a new heyday, right? Not so fast: A new report out this week from the National Institute of Early Education Research finds that in 2013, total enrollment in state-funded pre-K program dipped slightly, funding was flat, and quality was questionable in many programs.

One of the recurring themes in early childhood research is that early is rarely early enough. Positive back-and-forth interactions between kids and caregivers are key to building budding brains, while their absence can lead to kids who suffer the longterm effects of what experts call "toxic stress."

While the CDC declared measles 'eliminated' in 2000, California is seeing an unusually high number of measles infections so far this year. And of the state’s 56 reported cases to date, one county has more than a third of them.

School nurses are increasingly stretched thin over many campuses or absent altogether due to budget cuts. Meanwhile, students are still showing up to school with complex health needs, putting new pressures on school staff to deliver levels of care they may not be trained or ready for.

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles is among the most famous and expensive hospitals in the country. Experts say it makes a great test case to see whether big-name hospitals can thrive in an era of cost-cutting and shrinking networks.