Health
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- Written by: Editor
WILLITS, Calif. – In keeping with the historical esteem of Frank R. Howard Memorial Hospital’s legacy, it’s off to the races to move into the new hospital.
Howard Memorial Hospital officially received staff and stock certificate of occupancy from the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, or OSHPD, on Aug. 11.
OSHPD is required by the state to review all new hospital plans and designs to ensure that they meet all special building code requirements. The agency also oversees all aspects of hospital construction.
According to Rick Bockmann, president and chief executive officer of Howard Memorial Hospital, “It has been a long time coming, but now we are that much closer to moving in to our community’s brand new state-of-the-art hospital. As you can imagine, this is an exciting time for our employees, physicians and community.”
With OSPHD approval, this means that Howard Memorial Hospital is now allowed to bring people into the building and stock the building as a hospital.
One of the next steps is to secure licensure from the California Department of Public Health, or CDPH.
“Once CDPH has a chance to thoroughly review our personnel’s competencies we will then be ready to open the hospital on Oct. 15, 2015. For now, our clinic teams are hard at work, learning the ins-and-outs of the new facility and the new technology that comes along with it and making sure we have everything in place for patient move-in,” explained Bockmann. “There is much work ahead but I am proud of our efforts on behalf of the communities we serve.”
With this development, Howard Memorial Hospital is pleased to announce a grand open house scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 13, from 1 to 4 p.m., where the community will have a chance to get a behind-the-scenes tour of the new facility.
“This is a pivotal milestone. Having grown up here, I know how much we need this hospital. It was a great privilege to be part of this once-in-a-lifetime experience,” said Amy Ford, senior project manager over hospital construction.
“We are excited to show the community their brand new hospital. Everyone is invited to our Grand Open House. This is their chance to see all the rooms and the equipment without actually being patients themselves,” shares Bockmann.
The new hospital offers private rooms with bathrooms, state-of–the-art operating rooms, a spacious emergency department with trauma bays, a helipad, and Roots – an organic farm-to-fork restaurant.
Frank R. Howard Memorial Hospital is a 25-bed acute care hospital recognized internationally for its dedication to high quality patient-centered care.
Services include the Orthopedic Joint Center of Northern California, state-of-the-art radiology imaging, laboratory, in-patient and out-patient surgery, 24-hour emergency services, physical therapy and a soon-to-be full-service restaurant.
For more information about these services please visit www.howardhospital.com .
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SACRAMENTO – The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Office of Health Equity (OHE) has released a strategic plan, Portrait of Promise: The California Statewide Plan to Promote Health and Mental Health Equity, that examines health and mental health equity, and the social, economic, and environmental conditions that affect health.
These social determinants of health shape the health of communities.
“As a physician and a public health officer, I have seen firsthand how those who suffer the stresses of poverty and discrimination also suffer disproportionately from conditions that shorten lives and lower quality of life,” said Dr. Karen Smith, CDPH director and state health officer. “With a better data-based understanding of the causes and consequences of inequity, we will be better prepared to take the steps to improve the health of all Californians.”
OHE was formed within CDPH in order to eliminate unjust and preventable disparities in health and mental health for all California residents.
Portrait of Promise is the first demographic report and statewide strategic plan for OHE. It presents evidence on the root causes of health inequities and offers strategies on how to address them.
According to Portrait of Promise: The California Statewide Plan to Promote Health and Mental Health Equity, almost one in four children in California lives in poverty, which is one factor that negatively impacts health. Other inequities include:
· The death rate for African Americans is higher than all races/ethnicities
· African American families are twice as likely as White families to suffer the loss of an infant
· Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Questioning (LGBTQQ) youths attempt and complete suicide more often than their straight peers
· Compared with the salaries paid to men, women still make less for the same work
“The data shows that income, education level, race, ethnicity, employment status, gender identity and sexual orientation are all related to health and health outcomes for Californians. Beyond the social and moral implications of inequities, there is also a financial burden to be paid as well.” said Jahmal Miller, deputy director of OHE.
Portrait of Promise calls for better data collection and analysis to identify and respond to inequities, strategic communication to build awareness and enlist support in the fight against them, and changes in infrastructure aligned with the equitable health needs of the community.
The strategic plan calls for leveraging the collective strengths of public and private resources in order to address the causes of the disparities.
To receive notices related to the Strategic Plan and OHE affairs, the public may subscribe at
“Portrait of Promise: The California Statewide Plan to Promote Health and Mental Health Equity” is available on the CDPH Web site, www.cdph.ca.gov .
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SACRAMENTO – California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Director and State Health Officer Dr. Karen Smith announced that the department has been notified of a presumptive positive case of plague contracted by a recent visitor to California from Georgia.
Confirmatory testing is being conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Prior to becoming ill, the patient had been vacationing in Yosemite National Park (Yosemite), the Sierra National Forest and surrounding areas in California in early August. CDPH is in contact with Yosemite, CDC and the National Forest Service to assess locations where the patient visited.
Plague is an infectious bacterial disease that is carried by squirrels, chipmunks and other wild rodents and their fleas.
When an infected rodent becomes sick and dies, its fleas can carry the infection to other warm-blooded animals including humans.
Although the presence of plague has been confirmed in wild rodents over the past two weeks at Crane Flat and Tuolumne Meadows campgrounds in Yosemite, the risk to human health remains low.
Action to protect human and wildlife health by closing and treating campgrounds was taken out of an abundance of caution.
Park visitors are being notified by Yosemite of camp treatments, possible plague risks and are being provided information on how to prevent plague transmission.
CDC has notified CDPH that recent communications about plague enabled health care providers in Georgia to make the diagnosis more quickly.
“The California Department of Public Health and Yosemite National Park were very proactive in their campaign to educate visitors about plague,” said Dr. Smith. “Warnings issued in California regarding plague were useful all the way across the country in Georgia. Those warnings helped the patient get the prompt medical attention necessary to recover from this illness.”
Flea treatment successfully reduced the risk of plague transmission at Crane Flat Campground and Tuolumne Meadows Campground in the National Park.
The treatments controlled potentially plague-infected fleas which could spread the disease to humans and other warm-blooded hosts. Yosemite National Park remains open and all campgrounds and facilities, except Tuolumne Meadows, remain open to visitors. CDPH reminds the public to take protective measures against the illness.
Steps the public can take to avoid exposure to human plague include:
· Never feed squirrels, chipmunks or other rodents and never touch sick or dead rodents.
· Avoid walking or camping near rodent burrows.
· Wear long pants tucked into socks or boot tops to reduce exposure to fleas.
· Spray insect repellent containing DEET on skin and clothing, especially socks and pant cuffs to reduce exposure to fleas.
· Keep wild rodents out of homes, trailers, and outbuildings and away from pets.
Early symptoms of plague may include high fever, chills, nausea, weakness and swollen lymph nodes in the neck, armpit or groin.
People who develop these symptoms should seek immediate medical attention and notify their health care provider that they have been camping or out in the wilderness and have been exposed to rodents and fleas.
In California, plague-infected animals are most likely to be found in the foothills and mountains and to a lesser extent, along the coast. State and local health officials regularly monitor plague-prone areas by testing animals and their fleas.
In 2014, non-human plague activity was detected in animals in seven counties: El Dorado, Mariposa, Modoc, Plumas, San Diego, Santa Barbara and Sierra.
Human illness with plague is rare in California. Prior to 2015, the last reported cases of human plague in California occurred in 2005 and 2006 in Mono, Los Angeles and Kern counties and all three patients survived following treatment with antibiotics.
Plague is not transmitted from human to human unless a patient with plague also has an infection in the lungs and is coughing.
The CDPH Web site, www.cdph.ca.gov , has plague information, including precautions people can take to minimize their risk.
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SACRAMENTO – California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Director and State Health Officer Dr. Karen Smith on Friday announced that the department, working closely with Yosemite National Park, successfully reduced the risk of plague transmission at Crane Flat Campground in Yosemite.
The campground, which had been closed for four nights to allow for rodent burrows to be treated for fleas, is reopening today.
The treatment controlled potentially plague-infected fleas which could spread the disease to humans and other warm-blooded hosts.
Based on new evidence of plague activity in animals, Tuolumne Meadows Campground in Yosemite will be closed from Monday to Friday next week for similar treatment. This flea treatment is commonly used to protect wildlife, pets and human health from this disease.
Yosemite National Park remains open and all other campgrounds and facilities in the park remain open to visitors.
Although the presence of plague has been confirmed at Crane Flat and Tuolumne Meadows campgrounds, the risk to human health remains low.
Action to protect human and wildlife health by closing and treating campgrounds is being taken out of an abundance of caution.
Campground visitors are being notified by Yosemite National Park of camp treatments, possible plague risks and provided information on how to prevent plague transmission.
An investigation into a case of human plague in California, and environmental evaluation in the Stanislaus National Forest, Yosemite National Park and the surrounding areas led to these actions.
Plague is an infectious bacterial disease that is carried by squirrels, chipmunks and other wild rodents and their fleas. When an infected rodent becomes sick and dies, its fleas can carry the infection to other warm-blooded animals including humans.
“Although this is a rare disease, and the current risk to humans is low, eliminating the fleas is the best way to protect the public from the disease,” said Dr. Smith. “By eliminating the fleas, we reduce the risk of human exposure and break the cycle of plague in rodents at the sites. People can protect themselves from infection by avoiding any contact with wild rodents,” Dr. Smith added.
Steps the public can take to avoid exposure to human plague include:
· Never feed squirrels, chipmunks or other rodents and never touch sick or dead rodents.
· Avoid walking or camping near rodent burrows.
· Wear long pants tucked into socks or boot tops to reduce exposure to fleas.
· Spray insect repellent containing DEET on socks and pant cuffs to reduce exposure to fleas.
· Keep wild rodents out of homes, trailers, and outbuildings and away from pets.
Early symptoms of plague may include high fever, chills, nausea, weakness and swollen lymph nodes in the neck, armpit or groin.
People who develop these symptoms should seek immediate medical attention and notify their health care provider that they have been camping or out in the wilderness and have been exposed to rodents and fleas.
In California, plague-infected animals are most likely to be found in the foothills and mountains and to a lesser extent, along the coast. State and local health officials regularly monitor plague-prone areas by testing animals and their fleas.
In 2014, non-human plague activity was detected in animals in seven counties: El Dorado, Mariposa, Modoc, Plumas, San Diego, Santa Barbara and Sierra.
The last reported cases of human plague in California occurred in 2005 and 2006 in Mono, Los Angeles and Kern counties and all three patients survived following treatment with antibiotics.
Plague is not transmitted from human to human unless a patient with plague also has a lung infection and is coughing.
The CDPH Web site, www.cdpha.ca.gov , has plague information, including precautions people can take to minimize their risk.