VOICE FOR CHANGE

"I want to see health considered in all federal, state, and local policies."

 - C. Moder, San Diego

What's YOUR voice for change? Click here and tell us!

Wellness in the Workplace

For the past several years, CPEHN has been advocating for policies that create healthy environments - in our neighborhoods, in our schools, in the workplace. At the same time, we have also been modeling what we're trying to legislate - at the CPEHN office...

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Leading Health Journal Devotes Issue to AA and NHPIs

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Translating Health Reform

Dong Suh, Asian Health Services

Like many community clinics across the state, Asian Health Services is struggling under the pressures of California's budget cuts and our health care crisis. Currently, 34% of our 21,000 patients are uninsured and our waitlist has grown to over 2,000 individuals...

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The Fight's Not Over

Elizabeth Abbott, Director of Administrative Advocacy, Health Access

Health Access, a state-wide consumer coalition working for quality, affordable health care for all Californians; has been active in health policy since its founding over 20 years ago. Since I joined Health Access four years ago, one of my principle areas of responsibility has been administrative advocacy...

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Marty's Policy Update

New Bill Will Make Prescription Labels Understandable to Patients

Despite public outcry, the Board of Pharmacy at its June meeting finalized regulations that do not meet the needs of our communities. Senator Ellen Corbett, author of the previous bill the Board was charged with implementing, has responded to these concerns by amending SB 1390, a new bill co-sponsored by CPEHN, to overturn the Board's actions. The bill would establish meaningful patient-centered prescription labeling in California, including requirements for large type font, translated labels, and interpreter services.

Legislation Senator Corbett authored in 2008 required the Board to create a standardized, patient-centered prescription drug label with the goal of providing medical information in a consistent, legible, and culturally appropriate manner. Unfortunately, the Board bowed to industry, ignoring testimony from patients, researchers, and advocates. The Board's final regulations only require the use of 10-point font and include no requirements for pharmacies to use translated labels, and oral interpretation is only required to be provided "if available." This is a far cry from creating culturally appropriate labels.

Senator Corbett's new bill, SB 1390, requires pharmacies to provide prescription labels in a patient-centered format including at least 12-point font and in the patient's primary language. The bill also requires pharmacies to provide interpreter services.

You can find information on the status of the bill, including a sample letter of support here.

State Budget and Revenue Reform

Governor Schwarzenegger and Legislative Democrats have been clashing over how to address the state's budget deficit. The Governor, in his January and May Revise proposals, has called for a cuts-only budget that would eliminate CalWORKs, the Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants (CAPI), and the California Food Assistance Program (CFAP). He would also raise co-pays, limit access to prescription drugs and provider visits in Medi-Cal, and increase premiums and eliminate vision coverage in Healthy Families. The Budget and Conference Committees have so far rejected these cuts...

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State Legislation

The budget battle has already resulted in two important bills failing to advance this year. AB 1737 (Eng), which would have improved the collection of data on Asian and Pacific Islander communities to address inequities, and AB 2705 (Hall), which would have addressed the obesity epidemic by requiring vigorous physical activity in PE classes and after-school programs, as well as improving the State's joint use program. Both bills were held in Assembly Appropriations Committee because of California's budget crisis...

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National Health Care Reform

With the passage of national reform, we are now focusing our efforts to ensuring successful implementation of the new law. We are working with our partner advocates to develop recommendations for ensuring that a culturally and linguistically competent insurance exchange is established as early as possible...

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June 8 Election Results

The election results are in. Democratic State Attorney General Jerry Brown will be facing the former CEO of eBay, Republican Meg Whitman, for Governor of California. In the race for Insurance Commissioner, Assemblymember Dave Jones won the Democratic primary, while the winner in the Republican race between Assemblymember Mike Villines and attorney Brian FitzGerald is still undecided pending a final vote count in this extremely close contest...

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How Health Care Reform Benefits You - A set of four fact sheets outlining how the new health reform law will benefit California's Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, African American, and Native American communities (translated into Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Tagalog, and Cambodian).
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The Inextricable Connection Between Food Insecurity & Diabetes - This policy brief describes the interplay between food insecurity and the onset and management of diabetes, and underscores the need for a comprehensive framework to alleviate poverty and increase access to healthy foods. Look for information on an upcoming webinar on August 2, 2010 featuring author Hilary Seligman, MD, MAS, at www.caldiabetes.org.
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ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE

U.S. Citizen and Immigrant Treatment Chart for Health Care Reform Legislation - A new report from the National Council of La Raza, looks at how the new health reform law treats U.S. citizens, legal immigrants, and undocumented immigrants.
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Health Care Reform Resource Center - A new webpage by the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, sheds light on how the new health care reform law affects Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities.
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Health Reform: Help for American Indians and Alaska Natives - A brief from Families USA, outlines changes made by the new health reform law, including the overdue reauthorization of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (IHCIA).
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Critical Things You Should Know About Health Care Reform - A report from National Council of La Raza, provides information on the new law and answers frequently asked questions about its impact on the Latino community.
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Providing Underserved Patients with Medical Homes: Assessing the Readiness of Safety-Net Health Centers - A study from Commonwealth Fund, examines health centers and their potential to become medical homes.
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Costs of Long-Term Care - A report by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, finds that most Californians are unprepared for the costs of long-term care.
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PROMOTING PHYSICAL ACTIVITY & HEALTHY EATING

Food Environment Atlas - A new mapping tool by the USDA, assembles statistics on food environment indicators to generate research on the determinants of food choices and diet quality.
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Recipes for Change: Healthy Food in Every Community - A new report by Prevention Institute for the Convergence Partnership, showcases opportunities to change the food system to benefit our physical, economic, social, and environmental health.
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USING DATA

Health Status of Native American Population - A report from the CDC, compares national estimates for selected health indicators for American Indian or Alaska Native (AIAN) adults with those of all other adults.
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America's Future: Latino Child Well-Being in Numbers and Trends - A report from Population Reference Bureau and National Council of La Raza, provides an overview of current national- and state-level trends for Latino children under age 18.
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Women's Health in California: A Snapshot - A new fact sheet from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, provides a useful overview of some of the biggest health challenges for women ages 18-64 in California.
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ELIMINATING HEALTH DISPARITIES

Reducing Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities: Key Health Equity Provisions - A new brief from Families USA, discusses how health reform will improve language access and cultural competence, strengthen the federal Office of Minority Health, increase workforce diversity, and reauthorize the Indian Health Care Improvement Act.
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National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports - New reports from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, measure trends in effectiveness of care, patient safety, timeliness of care, patient centeredness, and efficiency of care.
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Health Equity and Prevention Primer - A new resource by Prevention Institute, packages tools, research, and case examples for community-based prevention into an easy-to-access, online training format.
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A Time of Opportunity: Local Solutions to Reduce Inequities in Health and Safety - A brief and executive summary by Prevention Institute for the Institute of Medicine's Roundtable on Health Disparities, provide straightforward, cross-disciplinary recommendations to reduce inequities at the community, regional, and state levels.
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Sacramento SCORECARD - An analysis from the Coalition on Regional Equity and the UC Davis Center for Regional Change, highlights conditions in the Sacramento region across a wide range of equity indicators.
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H1N1 Influenza Vaccine Awareness Campaign for Native Americans - A new resource by the California Rural Indian Health Board, consists of culturally appropriate tools to educate the American Indian/Alaska Native population about H1N1.
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CULTURAL & LINGUISTIC COMPETENCY

Medicaid and SCHIP Reimbursement Models for Language Services - An updated issue brief from National Health Law Program, describes which states pay for interpreters in Medicaid and CHIP and how they do it.
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Improving Language Access: CHIPRA Provides Increased Funding for Language Services - A policy brief by Families USA, discusses the increased funding for language assistance services and how states cover these services for Medicaid and CHIP enrollees.
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What's in a Word: A Guide to Understanding Interpreting and Translation in Health Care - A guide from the American Translators Association, National Council on Interpreting in Health Care, and National Health Law Program, describes the differences between oral interpreting and written translation, including the skills needed to competently undertake each.
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Health Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit - A new resource from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, provides actions providers can take to make health information more understandable for all patients.
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THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

Partners for Public Health: Working with Local, State, and Federal Agencies to Create Healthier Communities - A new guide from Public Health Law & Policy and the Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative, provides an overview of how different agencies are structured, highlighting specific ways public health professionals can get involved.
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Health Impact Assessment Toolkit: A Handbook to Conducting HIA - An updated resource from Human Impact Partners, aims to support new practitioners in implementing an HIA practice.
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New Partnerships for Healthier Neighborhoods: Bringing Public Health and Redevelopment Together - A report by Public Health Law & Policy, the Bay Area Health Inequities Initiative, and the National Policy & Legal Analysis Network to Prevent Childhood Obesity, shows how public health and redevelopment agencies can overcome their own institutional challenges to create a strong partnership to improve community health.
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Association between Childhood Incident Asthma and Traffic-Related Air Pollution at Home and School - A study by the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, evaluates the relationship of new onset asthma with traffic-related pollution near homes and schools.
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Addressing Substandard Housing: A Resource Guide - A new resource by Regional Asthma Management and Prevention (RAMP), includes six easy-to-use guides outlining governmental and community based resources to address substandard conditions in rental housing.
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Green Cleaning In Schools: A Guide for Advocates - A new resource by Regional Asthma Management and Prevention (RAMP), provides information and guidance on how school districts and others can improve indoor air quality by using certified green cleaning products.
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2nd Health Information Technology Resource Teach In 
June 23, Los Angeles
Hosted by Summit Health Institute for Research and Education & The California Endowment
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AskCHIS In-Person Community Workshop
June 25, Sacramento
Hosted by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research
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2010 California Clinical Asthma Summit
June 29, Los Angeles
Hosted by the California Asthma Public Health Initiative
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The Convergence Partnership's Healthy People Healthy Places Webinar Series
June 29, July 27, September 21, Webinar
Hosted by the Convergence Partnership
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AskCHIS In-Person Community Workshop
July 23, Oakland
Hosted by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research
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Money for Our Movements: A Social Justice Fundraising Conference
August 12-13, Oakland
Hosted by the Grassroots Institute for Fundraising Training
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Seventh National Conference on Quality Health Care for Culturally Diverse Populations
October 18-21, Baltimore
Hosted by DiversityRx
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Eighth Annual Promotora and Community Health Worker Conference
December 4-5, Los Angeles
Hosted by Vision y Compromiso
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Insure the Uninsured Project's 15th Annual Conference
February 1-2, 2011, Sacramento
Hosted by Insure the Uninsured Project
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The 5th Biennial Childhood Obesity Conference
June 28-July 1, 2011, San Diego
Hosted by the California Department of Public Health
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RWJ Active Living Research Program
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF)
Deadline: July 1
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Ladder to Leadership: Developing the Next Generation of Community Health Leaders
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF)
Deadline: July 2
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Healthy Living Grant Program
American Medical Association
Deadline: July 15
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Thank You

To join this distinguished list, please donate to CPEHN now.

Questions? Please contact Ruben Cantu, Program Director, at rcantu@cpehn.org or (510) 832-1160.