When community health workers from Fresno travel to the region’s rural communities and disadvantaged urban neighborhoods to provide support, one issue keeps coming up again and again: Growing numbers of San Joaquin Valley residents say they are experiencing acute mental health challenges. Whether they are worried about where their next meal will come from, the arrival of an unexpectedly high utility bill or the disappearance of the last anti-eviction programs from the COVID era, stress is mounting. And in this region, it often doesn’t have anywhere to go. One out of every five Valley resident ..read more

Panelists at CHCF’s April 25 briefing on AI in the safety net were, from left, Kara Carter, CHCF’s senior vice president for strategy and programs; David Lubarsky, vice chancellor of human health sciences and CEO at UC Davis Health; Carolina Reyes, associate clinical professor in maternal-fetal medicine at the UC Davis School of Medicine and chair of the CHCF board of directors; and Susan Ehrlich, chief executive officer of Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and a professor of medicine at UCSF. Photo: José Luis Villegas Artificial intelligence (AI) could revolutionize health care delive ..read more

California’s Office of Health Care Affordability adopted a regulation that aims to limit rising health care costs by capping industry spending increases. Here, a nurse checks on a patient in the emergency department of Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital in Hollister. Photo: Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters / CatchLight Local You won’t notice it right away, but a new California state agency took a major step last week toward reining in the seemingly uncontrollable costs of health care. The Office of Health Care Affordability approved the state’s first cap on health industry spending increase ..read more

Illustration: Jim Frazier As we were getting off the plane in Ghana, my mom looked at me, her six-year-old daughter from Southern California, and flashed her signature bright and exaggerated smile. “Are you excited?” she asked. I looked at her and made a face, and I thought to myself, “Mom, after 16 hours, two planes, and now feeling the suffocating humidity, would I really be excited?” To be honest, I was exhausted. But then I saw a blue sign with the word “Akwaaba” on it — the Ghanaian greeting — and that’s when it hit me: I was in Ghana for the first time to visit my dear grandma Georgina ..read more

Illustration: Brian Stauffer For many years, volunteer work at her local church brought Maria close to other seniors in her community. When one of those acquaintances passed away several years ago, Maria unexpectedly inherited $80,000. Because Maria was facing some major expenses, such as vehicle repairs, the bequest provided much-needed financial relief. Then she learned that her friend’s gift would disqualify her from continuing participation in Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program for people with low incomes. At the time, anyone with more than $2,000 in qualified assets, including cash s ..read more

Sayida Peprah-Wilson, PsyD. Photo: Harrison Hill For centuries, devoted community members have supported expectant parents during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. In the late 1970’s, the term “doula,” a Greek word meaning “a woman who serves,” was used to describe an emerging profession following this tradition. These nonclinical health professionals provide physical and emotional support to families before, during, and after childbirth, which is part of a well-established tradition in Black and Indigenous communities. Yet only recently has “community-based” doula care, as opposed to ind ..read more

Illustration: Amanda Howell Whitehurst “You have a big voice, Dr. Grubbs,” the clinic manager said. I flinched. The last time I heard similar words, they were part of a common refrain that I had encountered often. “You’re too direct.” “Too outspoken.” “Intimidating.” Peers who looked like me encouraged me to put my head down, make myself smaller, endure — and never, ever call out racism. This, they insisted, was the pathway to success in a predominantly White, academic medicine institution like those where I spent most of my medical career. Until now. “No,” the clinic manager said, “that’s a g ..read more

At WellSpace Health Oak Park Clinic in Sacramento: rheumatologist Faye Sajjadi, MD, left, a UC Davis assistant professor with Specialty Connect; Ann Boynton, UC Davis Medical Center’s associate chief strategy officer, seated; and Janine Bera, MD, WellSpace Health’s chief medical officer. Photo: José Luis Villegas The greater Sacramento area, like so many communities across the country, has a specialist health care problem that’s not easily solved. The UC Davis Health 2022 Community Health Needs Assessment (PDF) found that, regardless of payer, wait times for appointments to see specialists are ..read more

Alex Fajardo, executive director of a San Bernardino-based center that trains CHW/P/Rs, testified to lawmakers about the importance of community health workers: “This is a movement to carry the hopes of marginalized communities.” Photo: El Sol Neighborhood Educational Center How can California integrate community health workers, promotores, and representatives — also known as CHW/P/Rs — into the health care system while embracing the social justice focus that is central to delivering their services to community members? The Assembly Health Committee and Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 1 ..read more

Kathryn E. Phillips, associate director of CHCF’s Improving Access team, testified at a February 20 hearing of the Assembly Health Committee. Photo: California State Assembly Media Services Why does California need a more diverse health care workforce, and how can such efforts improve patients’ health access, experiences, and outcomes? Health workforce experts, doctors, and community-based organizations tackled these questions at the February 20 Assembly Health Committee informational hearing chaired by Assemblywoman Mia Bonta (D-Oakland). Their main message: legislators should make policies t ..read more