San Diego, CA
Got a medical question? This East County library has answers.
Everyone has medical questions at one time or another, and it’s tempting to search the internet for answers instead of making a doctor’s appointment.
But that doesn’t always lead to the best information, said Holland Kessinger, head librarian at the Health and Wellness Library in La Mesa.
“Anybody can put anything out on the internet,” she cautioned. “We want people to really develop their health literacy and discern what quality and authoritative, reliable health information looks like, and Google is not always it.”
Kessinger said good advice can be found online, and staff at the library can help lead people to reliable sources such as MedLine Plus. For people who want hands-on material, the library has a collection of almost 5,000 items, including books on specific diseases, cookbooks in a nutrition section and children’s material with a play area.
There’s also a DVD section of health-related movies and TV shows plus stations where people can check their blood pressure for free and small offices for patrons to research in private.
“We’re often stressed and emotional when we receive information about our health,” Kessinger said. “And so giving people quality information is really, really key to helping them stay healthy and get help.”
The library is at 9001 Wakarusa St., La Mesa, and was opened in 2002 by the Grossmont Healthcare District, which still runs it.
The district includes Alpine, El Cajon, Harbinson-Crest, Jamul, La Mesa, Laguna-Pine Valley, Lakeside, Lemon Grove, Mountain Empire, Santee, and Spring Valley. District residents can get a library card and check out material, while the library itself is open to anyone for on-site research.
Residents in the district also get priority to participate in programs such as fitness classes and Wellness Wednesday talks, and Kessinger said the library had just over 9,000 visitors in 2023 and about 3,100 in the last quarter.
For district residents who can’t make it to the brick and mortar building, a mobile version will be coming to them sometime in the spring.
Grossmont Healthcare District CEO Christian Wallis, who has referred to the library as the best-kept secret in the county, said a van is being retrofitted and will bring library material to different areas of the district when it is up and running.
“Our library is a unique community resource and one of only a few consumer health libraries in the country,” he said. “The number of users from the immediate surrounding area has grown over the years. The Board of Directors’ intention in developing the mobile outreach library is to ensure everyone in East County has access to high quality, reliable health information.”
Kessinger said the library is not unlike any public library, although this one has just one section.
“It’s consumer health written for the average person,” she said. “Not for a medical professional, not doctors, not nurses, but for the average consumer. So there are very, very few public libraries that focus just on consumer health.”
The library, the only one of its kind in the county, includes an art gallery that is changed quarterly and currently features work created by participants in Family Health Center’s PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) program. In January, the gallery will feature work created by the San Diego River Artists Alliance.
One section is for health careers and used by many students in Grossmont Union School District’s Health Pathways program. Students and other visitors can find books on dental schools, medical emergency dispatching and how to become a nurse or a certified nursing assistant, among other subjects.
The library also has sections on men’s and women’s health, a display a vintage medical equipment and plastic models of human organs.
Originally Published:
San Diego, CA
City considering cutting funding to resource center for those experiencing homelessness
Last week Mayor Todd Gloria released the budget proposal for the 2027 fiscal budget. Protected homeless services is among his top priorities mentioned in the proposal. However, some of the reductions he’s proposing could impact thousands of San Diegans experiencing homelessness.
Located on 17th and K Street, the Neil Good Day Center offers an array of services to nearly seven thousand people experiencing homelessness. The services include giving them a place to shower and do laundry, and connecting them to a case manager, among others.
“These are critical services that are helping people off the streets, but really better their lives and their health and their employment situation as well,” Deacon Vargas with Father Joe’s Villages said.
Deacon Jim Vargas heads Father Joe’s Villages, which runs the center. He said through their prevention and diversion strategies, they’ve managed to keep nearly one thousand individuals from falling into homelessness.
“So by helping them pay rent, or helping them with their utilities, or helping them to reunite with family,” Vargas said.
Right now, the city allocates at least $850,000 per year to the Neil Good Day Center, according to Vargas.
But the future and funding for these services are in limbo because of Mayor Todd Gloria’s proposed budget cuts.
“The impact to those whom we’ve been serving the Daily Center would be very severe,” Deacon Vargas said.
In a statement to NBC 7, Mayor Todd Gloria said in part, “We must find more efficient and cost-effective ways to address this crisis and prioritize funding for programs that provide shelter beds and maximize resources to programs that place people into permanent housing.”
Since it’s still at a proposal stage, Deacon Vargas said it’s unclear how the city will decide to move forward.
However, Deacon Vargas said services would be significantly reduced because they would be forced to operate solely on a budget of about half a million dollars they receive from philanthropy.
“The hours would be cut. Some days would be cut. We would have showers that might be impacted because they’re given seven days a week and we’d close two days a week, then the showers would be five days a week, the case management,” Deacon Vargas said.
Deacon Vargas is certain of one thing.
He would like to continue offering services at the Day Center, even if the city goes through with the funding cuts.
“As we work with individuals at the Day Center and at Father Joe’s Villages, the community becomes healthier as a result of it,” Deacon Vargas said.
The budget also recommends additional cuts to homeless services, but does not give specifics as to where those cuts would be.
San Diego Padres (14-7) at Los Angeles Angels (11-11), April 19, 2026, 1:07 p.m. PST
Watch: Padres.TV
Location: Angel Stadium – Anaheim, Calif.
Listen: 97.3 The Fan
Please remember our Game Day thread guidelines.
Advertisement
-
Don’t troll in your comments; create conversation rather than destroying it
-
Remember Gaslamp Ball is basically a non-profanity site
-
Out of respect to broadcast partners who have paid to carry the game, no mentions of “alternative” (read: illegal) viewing methods are allowed in our threads
Join the conversation!
Sign up for a user account and get:
-
Comment on articles, community posts
-
Rec comments, community posts
-
New, improved notifications system!
San Diego, CA
Solans, Luna, Guilavogui help RSL beat slumping San Diego, extend unbeaten streak to 6 games :: WRALSportsFan.com
SANDY, Utah — SANDY, Utah (AP) — Sergi Solans had two goals and an assist, Diego Luna added a goal and two assists, and Real Salt Lake beat San Diego FC 4-2 on Saturday night to extend its unbeaten streak to six games.
Morgan Guilavogui scored his first goal in MLS and had an assist for Real Salt Lake (5-1-1). The 28-year-old designated player has five goal contributions in his first six career games.
RSL hasn’t lost since a 1-0 defeat at Vancouver in the season opener.
San Diego (3-3-2) has lost three in a row and is winless in five straight.
Luna opened the scoring in the fifth minute when he re-directed a misplayed pass by Duran Ferree, San Diego’s 19-year-old goalkeeper, into the net.
Moments later, Solans headed home a perfectly-placed cross played by Luna from outside the right corner of the 18-yard box to the back post to make it 2-0. Solans, a 23-year-old forward, flicked a header from the center of the area inside the right post and past the outstretched arm of Ferree to make it 3-1 in the 37th minute.
Guilavogui slammed home a first-touch shot to give RSL a three-goal lead in the 45th.
Marcus Ingvartsen scored a goal in the 14th minute and Anders Dreyer converted from the penalty spot in the 66th for San Diego.
Ingvartsen has five goals and an assist this season and has 10 goal contributions (seven goals, three assists) in 16 career MLS appearances.
Rafael Cabral had three saves for RSL.
Ferree finished with five saves.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer
-
Georgia7 minutes agoGeorgia Tech salvages finale vs. North Carolina ahead of UGA matchup
-
Hawaii13 minutes agoHawaii Snorkel Tour Hits Rough Waters After Tourtist Allegedly Stabs Boat Captain | Oxygen
-
Idaho19 minutes agoThe Camas Prairie is Biblical Idaho
-
Illinois25 minutes agoHas Trump’s approval dropped in Illinois amid Pope Leo feud? See polls
-
Indiana31 minutes agoOp-ed: Healthy rural communities strengthen all of Indiana
-
Iowa37 minutes agoSen. Chuck Grassley shares he’s recovering from gallstone surgery
-
Kentucky49 minutes agoKentucky will get a visit from a forward with three-point upside
-
Louisiana55 minutes agoOfficials probing how Louisiana gunman who killed 8 children got the weapon