SACRAMENTO – The California Health and Human Services Agency (CHHS) and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) on Wednesday announced the Let’s Get Healthy California “Innovation Challenge” to engage and empower people to work together toward improving the health of their community and the state.
“Let’s Get Healthy California encourages us all – state policymakers and local communities – to create and share innovations as we strive to make California the healthiest state in the nation,” said CHHS Secretary Diana S. Dooley. “The Innovation Challenge is an exciting opportunity for us to learn from and connect with our local community partners.”
The agency invites all passionate creative thinkers, community and health advocates, health care providers, community-based organizations, civic data enthusiasts, and visionary practitioners impacting the lives of Californians to participate and share their innovations.
Submissions are being accepted now through Sept. 30 in the six Let’s Get Healthy California goal areas: healthy beginnings, living well, end of life, redesigning the health system, creating healthy communities and lowering cost of care.
“This Innovation Challenge allows people to think outside of the traditional public health framework to create innovative solutions that support the Triple Aim of better health, better care, and lower costs,” said Dr. Karen Smith, CDPH director and state health officer. “We hope that these ideas will launch Californians on a path to living healthier lives.”
Finalists will be selected from each of the six Let’s Get Healthy California goal areas. Finalists will be announced this fall and will be highlighted at the statewide Innovation Conference in early 2016.
Selected submissions will also be featured on the Let’s Get Healthy California website, scheduled for a 2016 launch. Data-focused innovations will additionally be highlighted at the statewide Open Data Fest in spring 2016.
To submit an innovation, or for more information regarding Let’s Get Healthy California and the Innovation Challenge, visit the California Health and Human Services Agency Let’s Get Healthy Web site or email
In 2012, Gov. Jerry Brown issued Executive Order B-19-12 to create the Let’s Get Healthy California Taskforce with the goal of making California the healthiest state in the nation by 2022.
The Let’s Get Healthy California initiative focuses on furthering the Triple Aim – better health, better care, and lower costs – and promoting health equity.
SACRAMENTO – California Department of Public Health Director and State Health Officer Dr. Karen Smith reminds parents to make sure that their children are up-to-date on required vaccinations before the school year begins.
“Parents should put vaccinations on their back-to-school checklists,” Dr. Smith said. “Vaccinations are the best way to ensure that students are protected and to stop the spread of measles and other serious diseases.”
Children are required to have received certain vaccinations in order to attend school or child care in California.
Dr. Smith urges parents to make an appointment now with their health care provider to help protect themselves and their families.
Cost should not be a barrier for childhood vaccinations. If health insurance does not cover the recommended vaccinations, children may qualify for free vaccines under the national Vaccines for Children Program. Talk to your doctor or local health department for more information.
On June 30, 2015, Gov. Brown signed into law Senate Bill 277, which does not change procedures for the fall of 2015.
Under this new law only medical exemptions to required immunization will be allowed for students entering school after Jan. 1, 2016.
To learn more about the law and the immunizations required for child care and schools, visit www.shotsforschool.org .
SACRAMENTO – California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Director and State Health Officer Dr. Karen Smith announced the department is investigating a case of human plague in California, and conducting an environmental evaluation in the Stanislaus National Forest, Yosemite National Park and the surrounding areas.
The department began investigating this incident after a child from Los Angeles County became ill and was hospitalized after visiting the Stanislaus National Forest and camping at Crane Flat Campground in Yosemite National Park in mid-July.
No other members of the camping party reported symptoms and health officials are continuing to monitor the child’s family and treatment providers.
The child is recovering, officials said.
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 or humans.
“Human cases of plague are rare, with the last reported human infection in California occurring in 2006,” Dr. Smith said.
“Although this is a rare disease, people should protect themselves from infection by avoiding any contact with wild rodents. Never feed squirrels, chipmunks, or other rodents in picnic or campground areas, and never touch sick or dead rodents. Protect your pets from fleas and keep them away from wild animals,” Dr. Smith added.
CDPH is working closely with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LACDPH), U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Yosemite National Park and the U. S. Forest Service to investigate the source of the infection, and the patient’s travel history and activities during the incubation period.
As a precaution, Yosemite National Park will provide additional information to visitors about steps to prevent plague exposure, and post caution signs at the Crane Flat campground and nearby campgrounds.
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, hiking 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 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.
Plague is treatable in its early stages with prompt diagnosis and proper antibiotic treatment. If not treated, plague can be fatal.
In California, plague-infected animals are most likely to be found in the foothills and mountains and to a lesser extent, along the coast.
Desert and Central Valley areas are considered low risk for plague. 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.
Plague is not transmitted from human to human, unless a patient with plague also has a lung infection and is coughing.
There have been no known cases of human-to-human infection in California since 1924. LACDPH and CDPH believe the risk of human-to-human transmission is similarly low in this case.
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. Since 1970, 42 human cases of plague have been confirmed in California, of which nine were fatal.
The CDPH Web site, www.cdph.ca.gov , has plague information, including precautions people can take to minimize their risk.
SACRAMENTO – On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, announced that California’s Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA) will receive a grant of $2.75 million over two years to advance health information exchange (HIE) statewide during a disaster and regionally in daily emergency medical services (EMS).
California is one of 12 states to receive support through this $29.6 million program, funded by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009.
The selected projects seek to expand the adoption of HIE technology, tools and services and increase the integration of health information in interoperable health IT to support care processes.
“This project will allow us to work through the obstacles and find the best solutions, which can then be implemented across the state,” said Dr. Backer. “The benefits will be measurable, as we will have a system that will not only allow us to provide better patient care in the field, but will also collect data to track the impacts on the EMS system and patient outcomes.”
The funds will be used to develop two health information technology projects over two years: 1) connectivity between existing health information organizations (HIOs) to support health care provider access to health records statewide during a disaster, and 2) technology and infrastructure to give EMS providers in the field access to send and receive critical patient information.
The grant will also fund an advisory committee consisting of public and private partners from HIE organizations, local EMS agencies, ambulance providers, hospitals and consumers as well as a robust education effort to ensure that the learning is shared.
Participants will address difficult policy considerations and interoperability issues between proprietary data systems, and develop cooperative agreements to make the greatest use of the health information infrastructure that now exists.
Anyone interested in following the progress of this project is invited to visit the Web site at www.emsa.ca.gov/HIE or contact the EMSA HIE in EMS Project Coordinator June Iljana at