Staff Perspectives
Staff Perspective
The Health Policy & Planning staff at San Mateo County Health offer their perspective on public health issues featured in our newsletters.
Increasing School Breakfast Participation to Address Food Insecurity
Greetings Get Healthy SMC Partners,
A Path to Resilient Homes
Greetings Get Healthy SMC Partners,
Last year, the Built Environment Committee (BEC) of BARHII, which is the Bay Area coalition of public health departments, has been exploring the intersection of habitability and community resiliency. Environmental factors such as extended heat waves and severe weather caused by climate change exposes those who reside in substandard households to higher health risks such as heat-related illnesses or death.
Reflecting on 2018, Looking Toward 2019
Greetings Get Healthy SMC partners,
Youth Speak! Amplifying Voices from the Community Collaboration for Children’s Success
“Family therapy brought me closer to my dad,” says an incarcerated youth at San Mateo County’s Youth Services Center. “I was never as close to my dad as I am now.” We’re discussing what would have made a difference for him—the supports and barriers along his path, which for most of the last two years has taken him in and out of this detention facility. Access to family therapy and a supportive parole officer has been stabilizing since he has been incarcerated, and he pauses to consider the earlier supports that could have made a difference.
Voting is Good for Health!
While voting may not seem like a public health issue, research shows a correlation between voter turnout and positive health outcomes. This means that places with higher rates of voters also have higher rates of positive health outcomes, such as overall improved mental and physical health [1]. Alternatively, places with low voter turnout have higher rates of poor self-reported health, and research shows that there is a connection between reported and actual health outcomes [2].
Get Us Moving, San Mateo!
Every Autumn when school is back in session, I find myself reminiscing about my own childhood. My brother and I walked everywhere, then when we were old enough we rode our bikes all over town. We knew our neighbors and I delivered the local paper to my neighbors on my way to school. I grew up in a leafy suburb in Los Angeles, lived ten blocks from school and my parents never worked more than 20 minutes away. This is not a typical experience in present day California.
Supporting Small Business Health
The fate of local small businesses is tied to community health.
Healthy Communities in the Making: Highlights from our 2018 Get Healthy SMC Awardees
Greetings, Get Healthy SMC Partners:
Affordable Housing is a Congestion Mitigation Strategy
Greetings Get Healthy SMC Partners,
Second Units: The Potential for Promoting Affordability and Quality Jobs
Greetings Get Healthy Partners,
Reflections from the PolicyLink Equity Summit
Colleagues and Friends – I feel more energized than ever to continue our fight for health equity in San Mateo County! I had the great opportunity to join over 4,000 professionals last week at the 2018 PolicyLink Equity Summit. The Summit shared an inspiring vision of diverse leadership paving the way for a more equitable, healthier and prosperous future. It was clear that the issues of Get Healthy San Mateo County, are also the issues of the nation and we were able to dig into them with other jurisdictions and leaders working on similar issues.
Reflections from the PolicyLink Equity Summit
Colleagues and Friends – I feel more energized than ever to continue our fight for health equity in San Mateo County! I had the great opportunity to join over 4,000 professionals last week at the 2018 PolicyLink Equity Summit. The Summit shared an inspiring vision of diverse leadership paving the way for a more equitable, healthy and prosperous future. It was clear that the issues of Get Healthy San Mateo County are also the issues of the nation, and we were able to dig into them with other jurisdictions and leaders working on similar issues.
Promoting Economic Well-Being in San Mateo County
As Health Policy and Planning’s newest Community Health Planner, I’ll be supporting Get Healthy SMC objectives to improve health outcomes for San Mateo County residents by tackling economic obstacles to health like poverty and financial insecurity.
Introducing our Newest Health Equity Team Member
Advancing Health Equity in San Mateo County
I’m so excited to be joining the team as its newest Senior Community Health Planner and bringing over six years of experience in transportation politics, policy, and planning. As a recent transplant from Los Angeles, I look forward to working with you and exploring this great county that my family and I now call home. Prior to joining the Health System, I worked for the city of Los Angeles, where I oversaw the transportation agenda for Los Angeles City Council President Pro Tempore Mitch Englander.
Reflecting on Our Work in 2017
Hello Colleagues and Friends – As 2017 is coming to a close, I wanted to take the time to reflect with you on our collective priorities under Get Healthy SMC. We are half way through the five year strategic plan and have learned a lot as a collaborative on how the four community-identified priorities come together to impact healthy, equitable communities. We have now built strong partnerships with the leaders working across the priority issues and sharpened our strategies to have impact. I have one or two highlights for each priority that I want to lift up and celebrate with you.
The New California Housing Bill Package
By now, most people who follow housing news know that Governor Jerry Brown signed a landmark housing bill package in September that is expected to fundamentally change the ways we fund and approve housing projects in the state.
Clarifying our Contract Process
Hi, Get Healthy Partners:
Many of you have interacted with me as the Contract Coordinator of Health Policy and Planning. I coordinate the contract development and amendment process with departments, program managers, and other County departments. As we select the next cohort of 2018 GHSMC Community Implementation recipients, I wanted to take this opportunity to share the basics of the contract process to clarify some of the questions we often receive during the application and contracting process.
There are 5 phases in the contract process:
Making it Easier to Find Career-Quality Jobs in an Hourglass Economy
Dear GHSMC partners,
A Vision for San Mateo County Food and Farm Bill
Get Healthy San Mateo County and its partners have a long history of working to ensure that all residents of San Mateo County have access to healthy and affordable fresh food. Get Healthy SMC has supported numerous projects to achieve this goal, while we’ve made great progress, there is still work to do. Get Healthy SMC along with the San Mateo County Food System Alliance recently embarked on an ambitious project to connect all of the various food related efforts underway in the county to maximize their impact in the community.
Active Transportation for All San Mateo County Residents
Active transportation, or the use of any human powered mode of transportation such as walking or biking, is an important element in staying healthy. When people are physically inactive this can compound preventable health issues like obesity, diabetes, or heart disease, but not everyone has the same opportunities for staying active. These opportunities include infrastructure, such as sidewalks, cross walks, or bike lanes, or it can mean having a safe environment, public transportation within walking distance, or other resources nearby, such as grocery stores.