Public Health

Local hospitals and clinics are struggling along with others across the nation to find enough nurses — as schools look for ways to train more nursing educators.

Flood season is coming faster than housing solutions, as recovery from November 2021 flooding continues in Whatcom County.

Summer services in the Bellingham and Nooksack Valley school districts aimed to fill gaps with a new option this year: mental health therapy.

A Cliffside neighborhood resident is challenging federal, state and local officials including the Port of Bellingham over the use of leaded airplane fuel.

With bans on abortion rolling out in many states after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, it can be difficult to know what to do and what to expect when seeking reproductive health care.

With both optimism and anxiety about what may lie ahead, Sumas is still in recovery from November’s devastating flooding.

Recent school shootings and threats have renewed concern over safety — and impact on students’ mental health.

China’s 2018 steps back in accepting the world’s throw-aways have resulted in better local systems for managing our millions of tons of waste and recyclables—but more needs to be done.

Washington residents won’t be required to wear masks inside many public areas starting March 12. But experts advise not to throw out those masks yet and caution that vulnerable groups are still at high risk of infection from COVID-19.

Electrical power was out due to severe weather almost three times more hours in 2021 than in 2020 for customers of one of the state’s largest utilities, prompting some customers to look at fallback plans — and for insights as to how outages are managed.

The City of Bellingham has renewed its search for a new police chief, and aims to choose from a short list of finalists by this summer.

Faced with a looming crisis in long-term eldercare, voters approved a tax increase levy for San Juan Island Hospital District 1 to buy the Village at the Harbor, a privately owned assisted-living center in Friday Harbor. The hospital district’s innovative solution — one of few similar programs in the country — could provide a new model for assisted living.

Restaurants are open for business but definitely not back to normal, as management and staff work their way through post-pandemic-shutdown changing realities. While federal support dollars helped many owners to carry on and stay in business, the industry is seeing a trend toward workers leaving, prompted by concerns for their physical and mental health as well as newly difficult social interactions in an already stressful work environment.

Well over 700 homes have been reported damaged in Whatcom County after the area endured three atmospheric rivers in less than three weeks. While cleanup is underway, the impacts on lives and livelihoods will continue for some time.