Health
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Spectrum of LIGHT is a collaboration among the four local Seventh-day Adventist churches.
Among the services offered are free dental cleanings and fillings, free A1C and glucose screenings, blood pressure, BMI, health age and vision screenings.
There will also be education and coaching from medical providers for chronic conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, weight loss, etc.
Other offerings include health lectures and cooking demonstrations with samples.
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The Task Force will advise the administration’s efforts to advance statewide behavioral health services, prevention, and early intervention to stabilize conditions before they become severe.
The Behavioral Health Task Force, chaired by Secretary Ghaly, will hold its first meeting on March 4 in Sacramento.
Task Force members include a broad range of stakeholders, including people living with behavioral health conditions, family members, advocates, providers, health plans, counties, and state agency leaders.
“More and more Californians now have health coverage thanks to Medi-Cal, Covered California and private coverage, but too many of our neighbors still struggle to access the timely mental health and substance use disorder treatment that they need,” said Secretary Ghaly. “This Task Force will work toward a behavioral health system that provides timely access to high-quality care for all Californians.”
The Behavioral Health Task Force members are:
· Lenore Anderson, founder and president of Californians for Safety and Justice;
· Sarah Arnquist, vice president, account partnerships, for West Beacon Health Options;
· Charles Bacchi, president and CEO for the California Association of Health Plans;
· Michelle Cabrera, executive director of the County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California;
· Carmela Coyle, president and CEO of the California Hospital Association;
· Jessica Cruz, chief executive officer for NAMI California;
· Mary June (MJ) Diaz, government relations advocate for SEIU;
· Vitka Eisen, president and chief executive officer with HealthRIGHT 360;
· Lishaun Francis, associate director, health collaborations with Children Now;
· Le Ondra Clark Harvey, director of policy and legislative affairs for the California Council of Community Behavioral Health Agencies;
· Virginia Hedrick, director of policy and planning for the California Consortium for Urban Indian Health;
· Tanja Heitman, chief probation officer for the Santa Barbara County Probation Department;
· Emma Hoo, director at the Pacific Business Group on Health;
· Andrew Imparato, executive director with Disability Rights California;
· Linnea Koopmans, government affairs director for the Local Health Plans of California;
· Dr. Tom Insel, board chair of the Steinberg Institute;
· Kim Lewis, managing attorney for the National Health Law Program;
· Elizabeth Oseguera, associate director of policy for the California Primary Care Association;
· Hector Ramirez, board member with Disability Rights California;
· Cathy Senderling, Deputy Executive Director of the County Welfare Directors Association of California;
· Albert Senella, president and CEO of Tarzana Treatment Centers;
· Christine Stoner-Mertz, chief executive officer with the California Alliance of Child and Family Services;
· Mandy Taylor, outreach and advocacy coordinator for the California LGBTQ Health and Human Services Network;
· Carolina Valle, policy manager for the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network;
· Marie Webber, chief administrative officer of UCSD Health;
· Jose Zavala, a school psychologist with the Fresno Unified School District;
· Dr. Ashley Zucker, chief of psychiatry for Kaiser Permanente.
State representatives on the task force are:
· Dr. Sonia Angell, director of the California Department of Public Health;
· Stephanie Clendenin, director of the Department of State Hospitals;
· Toby Ewing, executive director of the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission;
· Dr. Bradley Gilbert, director of the California Department of Health Care Services;
· Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, California Surgeon General;
· Tom Herman, Administrator in the Educator Excellence and Equity Division with the California Department of Education;
· Kim Johnson, director of the Department of Social Services;
· Shelley Rouillard, director of the Department of Managed Health Care;
· Stephanie Welch, executive officer with the Council on Criminal Justice and Behavioral Health.
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“Eating disorders are serious conditions that are potentially life-threatening and have a great impact on our physical and emotional health,” Sen. Dodd said. “We must improve the public’s understanding of the causes, encourage early intervention and lay to rest the stigma of this pervasive affliction. As someone who’s had a loved one suffer from an eating disorder, I know how difficult it can be, but with support recovery is possible.”
Sen. Dodd’s resolution raises awareness of a range of disorders affecting men and women across all backgrounds. Conditions include anorexia, bulimia and binge-eating disorders.
This year’s theme, “Come as You Are: Hindsight is 20/20,” will focus on alerting the public to environmental and biological causes as well as empowering people to reduce personal risk factors for developing eating disorders.
California Treasurer Fiona Ma is a co-sponsor. Supporters include the National Eating Disorders Association, American Nurses Association-California, Cielo House and the Eating Disorders Resource Center.
“For too long the media has focused on women being beautiful and thin, which can affect the eating habits of impressionable girls and young women,” said Treasurer Fiona Ma. “I developed eating disorders when I went off to college. Complications to my body forced me to look inward and correct unhealthy habits. We need to talk more openly about this illness and not let eating disorders define us.”
Sen. Bill Dodd represents the Third Senate District, which includes all or portions of Napa, Yolo, Sonoma, Solano, Sacramento and Contra Costa counties.
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Many children and adolescents’ mental health needs could be effectively managed in a primary care setting, but their pediatric primary care providers currently lack the specialized training and resources they need.
This bill utilizes existing health technology and collaboration between providers to solve the problem.
“Too many of our children are in crisis, and the lack of trained mental health professionals is an enormous contributor,” said Aguiar-Curry. “We must continue efforts to recruit and train new specialty mental health professionals, but we must also act now to connect children’s primary care providers with mental health experts. By using telehealth and provider-to-provider consultation, we can make children’s mental health services accessible throughout California today.”
Specifically, AB 2464 creates a competitive grant program to identify ten children’s hospitals and community-based mental health providers to serve as telehealth “hubs” of expertise for their region.
These centers of expertise would leverage telehealth and tele-consult technology to connect primary care providers with pediatric mental health specialists to help them manage children’s mental health needs in a primary care setting when possible, and to provide direct services when a higher level of care is required but unavailable in the community.
The bill would prioritize working with community providers that predominantly serve low-income, rural, and underserved populations.
Once established, these regional hubs would be sustained by reimbursements from both public and commercial payers for telehealth consultations and clinical services.
This is possible because of the telehealth reimbursement law that Aguiar-Curry authored and the Governor signed last year in her bill, AB 744. These services may also be eligible for federal matching funds when provided to Medi-Cal beneficiaries.
Ann-Louise Kuhns, President and CEO of the California Children’s Hospital Association, added: “We thank Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry for bringing forward this common-sense solution that will increase access to mental health services for children throughout the state, and provide valuable resources and support to pediatricians and other primary care providers who are on the frontline of the state’s mental health crisis.”
Half of all lifetime cases of mental illness begin by age 14 and three-quarters begin by age 24. In fact, as many as 1.8 million California children may be living with a mental health diagnosis, and our current system for serving children struggling with depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions is insufficient.
By strategically expanding the use of telemedicine and tele-consults, our state’s pediatricians and mental health experts can collaborate to deliver direct care to patients who currently lack access.
According to Aguiar-Curry, “We must admit and address our failure to step up and bring mental health resources to our children. Ignoring the critical situation will damn this generation of young people to mental health conditions that can lead to lifelong challenges, increased mortality, joblessness, homelessness, and enormous long-term state costs. If we act to create a statewide provider network today, we can bring the benefits of mental health care to children and their families. It is the right thing to do to make care accessible so every child can realize their potential, and furthermore, it’s also the responsible thing to do.”
AB 2464 brings together the existing health and technology resources in our state to make access to mental health care for children and adolescents a reality, regardless of where a child and their family lives.
Aguiar-Curry represents the 4th Assembly District, which includes all of Lake and Napa Counties, parts of Colusa, Solano and Sonoma counties, and all of Yolo County except West Sacramento.
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