Tag archives: Cottage Hospital
For a local cancer patient, the alarm bells rang loudly — while recovering from an outpatient surgery at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, she received a call. A member of the patient’s medical treatment team had tested positive for COVID-19. The patient has been unable to get vaccinated due to their ongoing treatment. Already dozens of […]
Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital Foundation’s 2020 Tiara Ball, one of the more popular annual black-tie galas in a town with no shortage of big bash benefits, was one of the last public events in the community before the COVID crisis closed everything down. The so-called “Party of the Year,” held on February 29, Leap Year […]
When my husband and I moved our family from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara in search of a more congenial habitat, we were determined to hold on to one key big city perk — excellent medical care. So, we kept our L.A. doctors despite the time we knew it meant we’d spend in the car. […]
I know I am not alone in having friends or family battling COVID – making up a small part of our national tragedy. The more devastating piece for Santa Barbara is those who are fighting for their next breath at Cottage Hospital after being denied or deemed ineligible for vaccination by the County. In the last […]
If you feel confused and uncertain about COVID-19 vaccinations, you’re in the majority. The rollout has been confusing and startling, at times. The federal government releases buckets of vaccine to states, based on population. States set their priorities, hopefully in line with what the CDC recommends, and then allocate doses to counties based on their […]
Cottage Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation presents a fundraising screening of the 2017 film Charged: The Eduardo Garcia Story, which describes Eduardo Garcia‘s rehabilitation journey following injuries he suffered from a massive electric shock while hunting. A classically trained chef who found his passion for cooking at an early age, Garcia cut his teeth in the industry […]
Montecito’s Ginger Salazar has joined the volunteer Board of Directors of Cottage Health. Salazar, born and raised in Lompoc, has spent the last decade working to improve health and opportunities for Santa Barbara County residents. She leads branding at Kate Farms. Her professional career began in brand management and marketing for Procter & Gamble. She […]
When a young, skilled dermatological surgeon asks if you mind “talking shop” with his assistant while he takes out a squamous-cell skin cancer from your forehead, you answer, “No, I don’t mind.” Especially if you’re a writer and the doctor took out a melanoma on your forearm just nine months before. When that doctor, answers […]
It’s been more than three months since the scary reality of the coronavirus threat began to sink in with public officials in California, and unfortunately, the pandemic shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, recent reports suggest the virus is not only spreading thanks to lackluster social-distancing efforts by sun-worshipping millennials, but is possibly […]
CREST is a Crispr Hope in the Testing Crisis With the United States and the world on the verge of reopening from the global shutdown, there has never been a greater need for effective and reliable COVID-19 testing. While the current methods all have their advantages and drawbacks, they are hampered by shortages, expense, and […]
When you ask Dr. Lynn Fitzgibbons what’s new, you don’t hear stories about reordering her spice rack in quarantine, streaming the latest show on Netflix, or growing her own victory garden. She’s kind of busy. Quarantine is a luxury for others. She did mention that she’s taken up marathon running, which is pretty remarkable, considering […]
Plant-Based Nutrition with Personal Roots Perseverance must be all over the Laver family DNA. It was there for tennis giant Rod Laver when he won the Australian Open in five sets, four hours, and one-hundred-degree heat. It was there for Laver’s nephew Richard, who, with his wife Michelle spent years developing their own home-grown nutrition […]
Note to Readers: In 2007, when I wrote about the 1918 Spanish Flu Epidemic in Santa Barbara, I never thought its story would ever be timely and relevant to today. I am sorry to have been wrong. I offer it again for your curiosity, instruction, and hope. They got through it then, and we’ll get […]
On date March 18, 2020, Dr. Jason J. Prystowsky, the ER Doctor at Cottage Hospital, gave a webinar talk to over a thousand participants including first responders, hospital workers, and support staff to update everyone on the coronavirus from the ER perspective. Emergency Rooms all over the country are getting slammed by every variation of […]
Let’s get real – what do you need to know now? Talking COVID-19, the pandemic, local life, and help. We had the opportunity to talk with Dr. Lynn Fitzgibbons, the Infectious Diseases and Internal Medicine specialist at Cottage Hospital, whose Cottage Grand Rounds Doctor to Doctor video has gone viral locally. Dr. Fitzgibbons and the […]
The Cottage Health folks call it the “party of the year” and the Tiara Ball was certainly one of the most elegant. Tiaras and tuxes abounded. Formal is fun! It could have been a scene in a movie. There was no silent or live auction in sight thanks to the generous support of its patrons. […]
Family Nurse Practitioner Vicky (Virginia) Diaz Pagenkopf apologizes for getting emotional when she talks about the woman who convinced her to pursue a nursing career. “I was finishing my requirements to go to UCSB to become a high school teacher and was looking for a temporary job. My younger sister, who worked as a nurse’s […]
They called it the “Party of the Year” held at the Ritz-Carlton Bacarato benefit critical care services at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital. It was a sellout with 511 attendees in spite of the rainstorm. The gentlemen were elegant in black tie and the ladies with long gowns, many topped with tiaras. Wearing a tiara must […]
Dr. Michael Fisher has been co-medical director of acute dialysis at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital since 1984. He is the co-founder of Santa Barbara and Lompoc Artificial Kidney Centers – both dialysis centers – and, until his diagnosis with lung cancer five years ago, was an associate clinical professor of medicine at the USC Keck […]
After 13 years and at a cost of $820 million, more than $110 million of which came from our community, Cottage Hospital is finally ready for its close-up. The 713,000-sq.-ft. property, which boasts 337 beds, has just opened its final two pavilions – the Compton and the Arlington – with a launch bash with more […]
