July 2020

In the May 2020 newsletter we shared our policy brief titled “ Babies Don’t Go to the Doctor By Themselves ” and the news that CCT was collaborating with the UCSF/Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital (SFGH) and Trauma Center/Children’s Health Center to propose a pilot to improve health outcomes for young children and their caregivers. The list of collaborators in this work is long. At the top of it are the staff and patients at the Children’s Health Center at SFGH. Just two months...

By Danielle Roubinov, Nicole R. Bush, and W. Thomas Boyce, JAMA Pediatrics, July 27, 2020 The reach of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is global, a health crisis with a ubiquity never before experienced. While the physical health consequences of COVID-19 appear to affect proportionally fewer children compared with adults, its psychosocial consequences may be magnified within families who consistently weather a landscape of severe stressors or adverse childhood experiences...

During this webinar, panelists discussed how integrating behavioral health screenings and care into the dental clinic can improve patient overall well-being while reducing stigma. Participants learned about the behavioral health challenges facing our youth today and how integration can assist with identifying and addressing issues early, as well as what integration of behavioral health practices into the dental clinic looks like in practice. [ Please click here to watch the recording .]

With introductory remarks from Nadine Burke Harris, MD, MPH, FAAP, California Surgeon General Wednesday, July 29, 2020 Noon – 1 p.m. Register for the Webinar Presenters Brent Sugimoto, MD, MPH, FAAFP – Family Medicine Physician and New Physician Director, American Academy of Family Physicians Mimi Mateo, CNM, MSN, CDE – Certified Nurse Midwife and Clinical Director of Midwifery, North County Health Services Denise Gomez, MD, PharmD, ACP – Internal Medicine Physician and Associate Medical...

By Catherine Teare and Katherine Haynes, California Health Care Foundation, July 16, 2020 As the new coronavirus began spreading across the country, what was an infectious disease crisis also became a behavioral health emergency. Compared to a year ago, the rate of people reporting symptoms of anxiety and depression has tripled from April through June, according to the weekly Household Pulse Survey , a new product from the National Center for Health Statistics and the US Census Bureau. The...

By Michael Burke, Ed Source, July 22, 2020 Students at California State University for the first time will be required to take a course in ethnic studies or a class with a social justice component under a policy approved Wednesday by the system’s Board of Trustees. The trustees voted 13-5 to approve the new general education requirement for students who enter the 23-campus system beginning in 2023-24. Students will be required to either take a class in one of four ethnic studies disciplines...

From Latino Health Forum, July 2020 The LATINO HEALTH FORUM is one of the bay area’s premier educational conferences. Our goals include: Inform professionals about some of the most relevant problems facing the Latino population in Sonoma County; Enhance access to health services; Encourage students and individuals to pursue careers in health and medicine; Facilitate networking among healthcare providers. Dates & Speakers: Please note: There are no presentations on Saturday 8/1 or Sunday...

By Lenny Mendonca, Special to CalMatters,July 7, 2020, Cal Matters. Lenny Mendonca was the Chief Economic and Business Advisor to Gov. Gavin Newsom and is now recovering-in-place at home in California. Mendonca is also a supporter of CalMatters. On Friday, April 10, at 5 p.m., Californians learned I had resigned as Chief Economic and Business Advisor to Gov. Gavin Newsom and chair of the California High Speed Rail Authority. The press release stated I was leaving “to focus on family and...

By Carolyn Jones, July 24, 2020, Daily Democrat. Faced with a soaring budget deficit and a growing fear of school shootings, Fontana Unified took a drastic step in the early 2010s: First, the board laid off the district’s entire staff of 69 counselors. And then it bought its police department 14 automatic rifles. The San Bernardino County district was not unusual. In the wake of the Columbine school shooting, 9/11 and the 2008 recession, school districts throughout California were making...

In late May, Betsy Andersen’s 7-year-old son, Ezra, had a serious meltdown. He and his six-year-old sister Abby had been enjoying an online Zoom interaction with “Miss Eileen,” “Miss Savannah,” a couple of their colleagues, and a puppet. Betsy Andersen “I could see him trailing off and then he started crying,” says Andersen, who lives in Mundelein, Illinois. But before she swooped in, she heard Miss Eileen talking to him: “She was saying ‘Hey, I see you’re having some big emotions.” Speaking...

By Bay City News, July 23, 2020. The Santa Clara County Office of Education was awarded a $6 million grant from California's Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission on Thursday to create wellness centers on school campuses. The development of the wellness centers will provide mental and behavioral health services to students. [ Please click here to read more. ]

From California Department of Public Health, July 2020 In 2018, recognizing an alarming statewide gap in Black infant mortality, the state Legislature passed the Budget Act of 2018 which included the establishment of the California Perinatal Equity Initiative (PEI) within the Department of Public Health. While declines in infant mortality have been achieved, the statewide mortality rate for Black infants continues to be two to four times higher than rates for other groups. The PEI aims to...